3 ms·

> The blades have a 20 year lifespan What stops us from making blades with a 60 year lifespan?

• deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
• dylan604 3y ago
  it would be interesting if this is a material science issue where UV exposure just breaks things down to the point that after a certain point they are just unsafe from to be spinning at the rates and mass involved. that's a lot of kinetic energy if an unscheduled rapid disassembly were to occur.
  • tuatoru 3y ago
    Yes, it's a material science issue. With stronger materials they would just make the blades longer because the power produced is proportional to the square of blade length (or cube?). Anyway, the blades will be at the limits of material strength (over a reasonable lifetime).
    • rdm70 3y ago
      I think there is another factor limiting blade length which is blade tip speed which needs to be below the speed of sound by a bit.
      • bluGill 3y ago
        That just limits rpm
• coryrc 3y ago
  Ablation is one problem, fatigue is another.