Balsa Wood for Wind Turbine Blades
Sandwich structures made from balsa wood have been used in composite materials around the
world for over 40 years.
Balsa wood is called the core material, as it has the function of providing structural filling in the wind turbine blade. it is made from blocks of wood cut across the grain of the wood.
The purpose of a core is to distribute stress and loads from one layer of fabric to the other across the thickness.
It is very common to use balsa wood in wind turbine blades and even in boats.
Balsa wood has good mechanical properties, such as compressive strength, in addition to being light and not deforming when heated. It acts as an insulating and ablative layer on fire (its core slowly carbonizes, allowing the part not exposed to fire to remain structurally healthy).
Juliana Lucena, Dr. in Energy (UFPE), Production Engineer (USP), Professor at the Federal Network
