My name is Tuan Minh Dam, I have just finished my fourth year in Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering at Western Sydney University. I chose engineering as my career as I love to find innovative and creative solutions. Studying engineering at university has taught me to tackle problems from different perspectives and I learned that in the engineering world, there are more than one way to solve a problem. In my free time, I enjoy playing video games while also exploring different aspects of the engineering field, especially in new materials and product design.
Wind turbine is one of the most popular way to harvest renewable energy to achieve the goal of sustainable development. However, the wind blades of these electricity generators are not environmentally friendly at all due to waste issues caused at the end of life period. Hence, the aim of this thesis is to research and develop a fully recyclable and fully biodegradable material that is extracted from natural material. Among various green composite options researched and outlined in the literature review, basalt fiber was chosen as the most suitable candidate that is both friendly to the environment while also meeting the mechanical properties to be used as a blade in wind turbine. The basalt fiber will be fabricated using both recyclable and non-recyclable resin into large panels by implying the vacuum bagging technique to maximize the saturation ratio. These panels are then cut with waterjet technology into specimens with size 250x25 for comparison in tensile and shear property. In addition, the specimens are also separated in different batches for environmental exposure of 55 degrees Celsius and 100% humidity over the period of 2, 4 and 6 weeks. The project also includes a recycling process to verify the recycling property of panels fabricated with recyclable resin. *This project is carried out with huge assistance from my supervisor, Dr. Nariman Saeed and Miss Pragya Mathema*