Identifying opportunities for repurposing decommissioned wind turbine blades in bus station design: A product attribute-based method

Wind turbine blades exhibit performance advantages over conventional metals, such as a high strength-to-weight ratio and corrosion resistance, yet complex multi-layered structures and resistance to natural degradation of their composite materials hinder effective recycling. Repurposing blades offers a sustainable approach compared to landfilling, incineration, and low-value recycling practices. Accordingly, examples of blade repurposing are available, but there is a lack of systematic approaches. This paper proposes an attribute-based method to identify potential similarities between decommissioned product segments and target components, demonstrated through wind turbine blades and bus stations. As semi-open infrastructures exposed to outdoor environmental conditions, bus stations impose specific material performance requirements such as weather resistance, structural strength, and durability. Each product component is modeled as a vector of distinct attributes, forming matrices that link components with attributes across bus stations and wind turbine blades. Attributes are classified into three categories: inherent, developed, and image. The design potential of using specific components of blades in a bus station is identified by mapping component similarity in a matrix. This method enables the identification of non-obvious repurposing opportunities, avoids the problem that the original function of the components does not apply to the new application, and enriches the design possibilities of a green bus station.