Comparative analysis on erosion performance of thin coated GFRP laminates in offshore conditions

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the erosion performance of coated and uncoated surfaces of glass fibre-reinforced polymers (GFRP) wind turbine blade material using Taguchi's approach. Taguchi's array (L25) optimized erosion wear by varying three parameters: impact velocity, impact angle and run time across five levels. Design/methodology/approach The studies were carried out using a whirling arm rig tester with an impact velocity range of 30–70 m/s (metre per second), an impact angle of 0–90 degree and a run time of 30–90 min. Salt water is used as an erosion agent to replicate the offshore environment. Taguchi's method was used to optimize the process parameters. Findings The results showed that erosion is less on the coated surface than on the uncoated surface. When compared to other factors, impact velocity was determined to be the most dominant, whereas run time was the least dominant. In addition, GFRP wind turbine blade material exhibits a ductile erosion process. Furthermore, in all experimental trials less erosion was observed on coated surfaces as compared to uncoated surfaces. Originality/value Few researches have been done using different design of experiment techniques to optimize the erosion wear response of uncoated GFRP materials and coatings based on polyurethane. Furthermore, mechanism of the erosion and morphology of both surface conditions was investigated using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy testing and Minitab software.