Composite materials application in modern wind turbine rotor blades, such as carbon fiber-reinforced (CFRP) and glass fiber-reinforced (GFRP) polymer composites, are dominating the blade manufacturing process. Carbon pultruded blades, which are widely implemented in blades with lengths above 50 m, can be approximated as a multi-conductor cable, where the carbon spar caps and the lightning current down conductor cable form a multiple phase model. The aim of this lecture is to adapt the Bergeron transmission line model to a carbon pultrusion blade and validate its transient response against impulse currents measured in the high voltage lab. Bergeron’s transmission line modeling shows an acceptable alternative concerning transient response compared to the oscillographs obtained in the lab.

Yarú Méndez is engaged as a principal engineer at the wind turbine blade manufacturer LM Wind Power in Denmark and as a lecturer in electrical engineering (EE) at the Universidad Simón Bolívar (USB) in Venezuela. The main focus of his professional and academic activity is power systems and renewable energy based power generation. Previously, he was Director of Engineering at the company Raycap GmbH in Germany and Research Engineer at the company General Electric Global Research (GEGR) in Germany. His primary responsibilities included renewable energy based systems (wind and solar) and their interaction to the grid with a main focus on electromagnetic transients. Concerning his education, he earned a degree in electrical engineering in power systems from the Universidad Simón Bolívar (USB), a Dr.-Ing. Degree from the University of Kassel (UNIK) in Germany, and an MBA degree from the University of Applied Sciences Munich (HM) in Germany. Currently, he holds 17 patents and has published 59 scientific publications as author and coauthor.