Mechanical characterization and damage assessment of thick adhesives for wind turbine blades using acoustic emission and digital image correlation techniques

Adhesives play a key role in the structural integrity of the Wind Turbine Blades as they are one of the main load carrying materials. A deep knowledge of the adhesives' mechanical behaviour in terms of failure mechanisms and damage processes enhances the attempt to optimize the blade design. Therefore, a comprehensive experimental programme was performed in order to determine the static mechanical properties of the adhesives. Ultimate tensile strength, ultimate compression strength, ultimate shear strength and the elastic properties of the adhesive specimens were determined through tensile and compression tests on dogbone specimens and single-lap bonded joints. The Acoustic Emission (AE) technique was used to relate the acoustic activity in the specimens to their damage state. More specifically, a frequency-based methodology, analysing the AE data, was used for the identification of the different damage mechanisms into the material during the loading. In addition, Digital Image Correlation technique, as a full-field technique, was used to measure displacements and deformations.