Wind turbines seem to be popping up all over the place. A recent drive through the hills of western Pennsylvania spied several on the turnpike and a state highway. 

 

As turbines and wind energy become more common, more efficient means of manufacturing will be increasingly important. Wind turbine rotor blades have traditionally been assembled using epoxy adhesives that require up to 24 hours to cure and generate potentially damaging levels of heat during the cure process. To simplify and accelerate blade manufacturing, Henkel Corp. has introduced Macroplast® UK 8340, the first Germanischer Lloyd-certified polyurethane adhesive products for the wind power market.

The UK 8340 Series products are solvent-free, two-component structural polyurethane adhesives that fully cure in just eight hours, greatly accelerating the blade assembly process and increasing productivity. The adhesives are applied at room temperature and undergo a much lower exothermic reaction (less than 100ºC) during the cure process, minimizing the possibility of substrate damage or stress cracking.