A matter of course: Generating optimal manufacturing instructions from a structural layup plan of a wind turbine blade

Design and manufacturing are highly interlinked when it comes to laminated composites, e.g. wind turbine blades. The structural design defined through the layup plan is not necessarily straightforward to realize during manufacturing. The sheer size of a typical blade means that multiple courses, or roll-widths, of glass fiber must be placed in the casting mold. Further, the layup plan is typically coarsely defined and uses idealized fiber angles. This paper deals with the specification of the individual fabric courses based on an overall layup plan. The courses are modeled using a kinematic draping algorithm and a genetic algorithm optimization routine determines their placement under the consideration of drapability (producibility), structural performance, material waste and practical placement concerns. The results highlight the isolated impact of the different criteria using smaller models. Afterwards, a full 30-layer stack of UD plies is optimized to a feasible course specification with a favorable criteria balance.