A novel material and process was developed using fibre-reinforced powder-epoxy to produce unidirectional towpreg with a pilot-scale towpregging line, for cost-effective production of large composite structures for the renewable energy market, specifically for wind and tidal turbine blades. Electrostatic attraction was used to coat fibre tows with powder epoxy and either joule or radiant heating employed to heat and melt the polymer, followed by consolidation between rollers. Unidirectional carbon-fibre and basalt-fibre reinforced polymer laminates (UD-CFRP and UD-BFRP, respectively) were manufactured from the towpreg. Tensile test results showed that the towpregging process could be employed to achieve high performance UD-CFRP with 0° tensile properties that are similar or better than commercially-available UD-CFRP systems. The competitive advantages of the powder-epoxy towpreg system include lower cost, better overall manufacturing control for vacuum-bag-only manufacturing and the ability to co-cure parts together at a later stage. Mechanical test results showed some variation between two types of UD-BFRP, but the results compared well with published data on UD-BFRP and equivalent glass-fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) systems. Finally, the influence of hygrothermal ageing due to water immersion on the tensile properties of the materials was investigated, with tests revealing that the water ageing effect was more severe in the case of UD-BFRP than for UD-CFRP.

使用纤维增强的粉末环氧树脂开发了一种新颖的材料和工艺，以生产具有中试规模的预浸料生产线的单向预浸料，以经济高效地生产可再生能源市场的大型复合结构，特别是用于风轮机和潮汐涡轮机叶片。静电引力用于在纤维束上涂上环氧粉末，并采用焦耳或辐射加热的方式加热和熔化聚合物，然后在辊子之间固结。单向碳纤维和玄武岩纤维增强的聚合物层压板（分别为UD-CFRP和UD-BFRP）是由拖缆制成的。拉伸测试结果表明，预浸工艺可用于获得高性能UD-CFRP，其拉伸性能为0°，与市售UD-CFRP系统相似或更好。粉末-环氧树脂丝束系统的竞争优势包括更低的成本，更好的整体生产控制（仅真空袋生产）以及在后期共固化零件的能力。机械测试结果表明，两种类型的UD-BFRP之间存在一些差异，但结果与UD-BFRP和等效的玻璃纤维增​​强聚合物（GFRP）系统的已发布数据进行了比较。最后，研究了浸水引起的湿热老化对材料拉伸性能的影响，测试表明，UD-BFRP的水老化作用比UD-CFRP的水老化作用更为严重。机械测试结果表明，两种类型的UD-BFRP之间存在一些差异，但结果与UD-BFRP和等效的玻璃纤维增​​强聚合物（GFRP）系统的已发布数据进行了比较。最后，研究了浸水引起的湿热老化对材料拉伸性能的影响，测试表明，UD-BFRP的水老化作用比UD-CFRP的水老化作用更为严重。机械测试结果表明，两种类型的UD-BFRP之间存在一些差异，但结果与UD-BFRP和等效的玻璃纤维增​​强聚合物（GFRP）系统的已发布数据进行了比较。最后，研究了浸水引起的湿热老化对材料拉伸性能的影响，测试表明，UD-BFRP的水老化作用比UD-CFRP的水老化作用更为严重。