Predicting fibre wrinkling in binder-stabilised preforms during wind turbine blade manufacturing

Binder-stabilised fibre preforms may be used to decrease production costs of large wind turbine blades by increasing throughput. In this context, preforms are stacks of unidirectional glass fibre non-crimp fabrics (UD-NCFs), pre-consolidated with a polymeric binder. The preforms are manufactured separately and subsequently placed in the casting mould. Limitations of the preform deformations may lead to fibre wrinkling during placement in the casting mould. In this paper, we propose a simulation model capable of predicting fibre wrinkling in preforms such that severe wrinkles may be avoided during wind turbine blade manufacturing. The UD-NCFs are modelled at a macroscale using solid finite elements, and the binder interface is modelled with a bilinear traction-separation law. The model shows good agreement with preform coupon specimens of real thickness and can predict final wrinkle geometry and location.