Tensile Strength Improvement of LLBC Material for Low Speed Wind Turbine Rotor Blade by Varying Composite Matrix

Low-speed wind energy conversion systems generally use Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) and Glass Fiber Reinforced Plastic (GFRP) as materials for rotor blade because these materials are light weight and hard but expensive. Layer Laminated Bamboo Composite (LLBC) is a bio-composite with bamboo base material which is abundant material and has a relatively lower price. This study investigates tensile strength of LLBC-based bio-composite materials for rotor blades of low-speed wind turbine. This research uses experimental method by varying three types of polymer (Araldite AV138M-1, Araldite AW106, and standard Epoxy Resin) as an adhesive of composite laminate LLBC based on Gombong bamboo. The results show that combination of polymer and bamboo increase the tensile strength ranges from 2 to 7 times as compared to pure bamboo. Araldite AV138 produces the highest tensile strength (230.11 MPa) while Araldite AW106 produces the highest average tensile strength (222.11 MPa). We conclude that combination of bamboo and polymer is a potential material for low speed wind turbine rotor blade.