HSLA-65 steel (6.4 mm thick) was friction stir welded at various welding speeds and spindle speeds. Varying weld parameters provided a range of heat inputs. Impact toughness was evaluated as a function of the different weld parameters and corresponding weld heat inputs. Charpy V-Notch (CVN) tests were conducted in parent material and at both the weld nugget centerline and heat-affected zone (HAZ) locations. The upper shelf CVN impact energy of the weld nugget was above that of the base metal for all weld parameters. The upper shelf impact toughness in the HAZ was largely unaffected by changing weld parameters. The nil-ductility transition (NDT) temperature in the weld nugget increased with increasing heat input. The toughness, with respect to the ductile-to-brittle transition, was negatively affected by the increase in heat input. The NDT temperature in the HAZ did not correlate with heat input. The microstructures and microhardness data were examined. Aspects of variation in the impact energy results were identified as the inhomogeneity of the weld microstructure and the placement of the V-notch. Weld nugget microstructures were more inhomogeneous than base metal. Hardness results showed varying values of hardness from the weld crown to the root, transversely across the weld, and longitudinally along the length. Variation due primarily to the inhomogeneity of the weld microstructure is compounded by the location of the V-notch.

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As clean energy demand is on the rise and the wind energy sector in growth, locations with the highest wind potential are becoming of higher interest for wind farm projects, but they are located in colder regions. In cold climates, ice accumulation on wind turbine blades is a serious issue, both in terms of safety and performance. To prevent this, anti-icing technologies, such as Vestas Wind Systems A/S’s, electro-thermal elements are added to wind turbine blades’ construction. This thesis project consists of developing a method to investigate the heat transfer inside and out of wind turbine blades to assess the performance of the anti-icing system and most importantly, verify if it could lead to thermal damage of the blade’s adhesive. In an integrated MATLAB code, the heating requirement is calculated and the 2D conduction modelled based on the wind conditions. The output is a temperature map of the internal structure along with the points with the highest temperature for all adhesive locations, which shows that the selected heating power provided by the heating elements compromises the integrity of the adhesive and doesn’t perform to allow the surface temperature to reach the necessary threshold the prevent icing.