Experimental Study of the Lightning Stroke to GFRP Material of Wind Turbines

In order to investigate the damage of Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) material used in the blades and nacelles of wind turbines from lightning strokes, this paper provides an experimental study with impulse current generator (ICG) and three different configurations of GFRP plate in a highvoltage lab. The first configuration of GRPF plates is with lightning receptors and embedded down-conductors. The second configuration of GRPF plates is with only embedded down-conductors. The third configuration is just pure GFRP material without any Lightning Protection System (LPS). The results show that the lightning receptor and down-conductor can lead the large lightning current to the ground. If there is no receptor and the embedded down-conductor is directly struck, the GFRP material and embedded down-conductor will burst and burn. If the lightning strike at a pure GFRP plate without receptors and down-conductors, the plate will also burst and burn. The coating material of the GFRP plate will influence the burning time.

I. Introduction

With the large-scale application of wind power generation, wind turbines are suffering from various natural hazards. Particularly, the lightning strokes cause the most significant economic loss among those hazards. The components damaged by lightning strokes are mainly divided into two types. One is the damage of blades and nacelle covers. The other is the damage of electronic and electrical systems. The composite material, Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP), is widely used in blades, nacelle covers and fairing. If the lightning receptors on the wind turbine fail to intercept lightning strokes, it is observed that GFRP will be struck and damaged [1].