Protection Pads for Handling Wind Turbine Blades

The AAG Protection Pad is a custom-manufactured EPDM pad designed to protect wind turbine blades during transport, lifting, handling, and installation.

Transporting and handling modern wind turbine blades places high demands on the contact surfaces that come into contact with the blade.
These surfaces must protect the blade’s surface while ensuring the necessary friction and stability—even under high loads and varying environmental conditions.

AAG supplies Protection Pads made of high-quality EPDM for precisely these applications.

Protection and Friction in a Single Solution
The Protection Pad serves as a contact surface between the wind turbine blade and the equipment used for, for example, transport, lifting, and installation.
The EPDM material protects the sensitive surface of the blade without leaving unwanted marks.
At the same time, the pad’s profiled surface helps create an effective contact surface and provides the necessary friction between the blade and the handling equipment.

Tested and Documented
When a Protection Pad is used for handling large wind turbine blades, the choice of material and friction properties are crucial.
That is why the AAG Protection Pad has been tested under various conditions.
Among other things, documented friction tests have been conducted under various loads and environmental conditions, as well as compression tests that document the pad’s behavior under mechanical stress.
The product has also been used in practice in the wind industry and has thus proven its effectiveness under real-world operating conditions.

One pad – many applications
The Protection Pad can be used in various structures and types of equipment that come into contact with the wind turbine blade—from initial handling to final installation.
Typical applications include lifting equipment, transport equipment, blade stackers, handling equipment, and installation equipment.

The benefits include:

• High-Quality EPDM
• Non-marking contact with the wing's surface
• Documented Friction Properties
• Tested under various loads and environmental conditions
• Compression-tested
• Contoured contact surface
• Tested and proven under real-world conditions
• Can be used in a wide variety of structures for handling wind turbine blades

At AAG, we have extensive experience with rubber, plastic, and foam for the wind industry and can supply Protection Pads for both new and existing structures.