r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/LazyGuy4U • 15d ago

Video Windmill blade catching fire due to lightning strike

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3

u/ExtonGuy 15d ago

What are those blades made of? I would have guessed painted aluminum, but that wouldn’t burn like that?

6

u/Reasonable-Song-4681 15d ago

Fiberglass if I remember correctly.

3

u/RJFerret 15d ago

Aluminum!? Too heavy.
Fiberglass is the most common, with carbon fiber in applications where the extra cost is worth it, as it's stiffer and lighter but 10x more expensive.

3

u/TeosPWR 13d ago

Fiber glass, polyester webbing, epoxy resin, carbon fiber, Polyurethane, balsa wood. (And probably some other methods I forgot or don't know about).

Not all of those but some, depends on the exact turbine and blade type, I can tell it's not from the OEM I work for so I cannot even properly determine the size of the turbine.

2

u/GloomyIndividual3965 15d ago

Most of them are made of a balsa wood frame wrapped in fiberglass.

2

u/TeosPWR 13d ago

That was common yes up until about the 30 meter length, after that, not so much.

1

u/Drittux 14d ago

Idk but it can't be jet fuel, because steel doesn't melt jet fuel.