A digital image analysis to evaluate delamination factor for wind turbine composite laminate blade

Kinetic energy of wind is converted into useful power by the rotation of blades that are fabricated using glass fiber reinforced composite. Bolted connections are used to fasten the spares with composite shells of the blades. In order the effect this fastening, holes of appropriate size are drilled in the composite laminates. Drilling in composite material is a common phenomena. However the damage caused in the material during drilling results in a drastical reduction of the performance of the component. A newer quantitative digital measurement model is generated using Buckingham's pi theorem to characterize the damage level, termed as refined delamination factor (F-DR). Along with FDR, a comparison of F-D and F-DA is presented. Experimental results are used to validate the accuracy of proposed criteria. (c) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.