Cloud County
Wind turbine blades are exposed to weather elements 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for 20-25 years expected longevity. During that time, they will experience lightning and hail storms, wind gusts, tornadoes, and dirt or sand storms, all wearing on the leading edges of the blades and flexing internal and external components. For turbines with an expected service life of 20-25 years, much of the blades’ maintenance is outside of the warranty window. Blade maintenance is generally not scheduled, however most will require service within the first 3-7 years of operation, and all blades require inspection at the end of warranty periods in order to formulate new maintenance agreements.
Blade Repair Technicians, also called Composite Repair Technicians (CRTs) are in very high demand. Highly skilled and trained Technicians are needed to travel to wind farm sites in need of blade repair services. A CRT is responsible for the damage assessment, repair, finishing, and inspection of wind turbine blades as well as other composite components.
Composite students at Cloud County Community College are presented many facets of the world of composites and those specifically used in the wind turbine industry. The Blade Repair Certificate earned covers materials and processes used in the blade manufacturing and repair of composite wind turbine blades. There are three courses of study that cover the Introduction to Composites. Customized training is available for specific industry needs in our state of the art composites lab.
WE 255 Airfoils and Composite Repair-- This course will cover basic principles of the wind turbine blade design, blade composition, and base construction.
WE 257 Applied Airfoils-- This course will cover fundamental principles of mold construction, blade construction, quality control, inspection, and materials used for wind turbine blades.
WE 262 Blade Repair Operations—Students will be trained on the proper techniques and safety to gain access to the blades of a wind turbine for inspection and repair procedures.
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