Wind turbine blade and a method of assembling a wind turbine blade and a spar cap connection piece

• US 10,451,030 B2
• Filed: 05/27/2016
• Issued: 10/22/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 05/27/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Blade Dynamics Limited (GE Aerospace)
• Original Assignee: Blade Dynamics Limited (GE Aerospace)
• Inventors: Hayden, Paul Trevor, Avaldi, Andrea Giuseppe
• Primary Examiner(s): Kershteyn, Igor
• Application Number:
  US15/166,340
• Publication Number:
  US 20170342959A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,243 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 65/5014 being fibre-reinforced B29C65/5028 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 65/505 and placed in a recess formed in the parts to be joined, e.g. in order to obtain a continuous surface
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 65/5078 and being composed by several elements
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/1142 Single butt to butt joints
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/5241 for forming coaxial connections, i.e. the profiled elements to be joined forming a zero angle relative to each other
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/7212 characterised by the composition of the fibres
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/72141 Fibres of continuous length
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 70/00 Shaping composites, i.e. plastics material comprising reinforcements, fillers or preformed parts, e.g. inserts
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2307/04 Carbon
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2309/08 Glass
• CPC Class Codes: B29L 2031/085 Wind turbine blades
• CPC Class Codes: F03D 1/0675 of the blades
• CPC Class Codes: F05B 2230/60 Assembly methods
• CPC Class Codes: F05B 2240/302 Segmented or sectional blades
• CPC Class Codes: F05B 2250/71 curved
• CPC Class Codes: F05B 2280/6003 Composites; e.g. fibre-reinforced
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/72 Wind turbines with rotation axis in wind direction
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 70/50 Manufacturing or production processes characterised by the final manufactured product

Abstract

A wind turbine blade comprising first and second adjacent blade sections arranged end to end along the length of the blade. Each section comprises an aerodynamic fairing and a spar. Each spar comprises a shear web extending across the fairing and a pair of spar caps, one at either end of the shear web. Each spar cap in the first section has a different cross-sectional shape and/or material from the respective spar cap in the second section and wherein the spar cap in the first section is joined to the respective spar cap in the second section via a connection piece. Each connection piece is a pre-cured component extending along the length of the blade from a first inclined end configured to connect to a first complimentary inclined end of a spar cap of the first blade section and a second inclined end.

Claims

1. A wind turbine blade comprising:

a first adjacent blade section and a second adjacent blade section arranged end to end along the length of the blade, each adjacent blade section comprising an aerodynamic fairing and a spar extending along the length of the section;

each spar comprising a shear web extending across the fairing and a pair of spar caps, one at either end of the shear web; and

wherein each spar cap in the first section has a different cross-sectional shape and/or material from the respective spar cap in the second section and wherein the each spar cap in the first section is joined to the respective spar cap in the second section via a connection piece;

each connection piece being a pre-cured component extending along the length of the blade from a first inclined end configured to connect to a first complimentary inclined end of the each spar cap in the first blade section and a second inclined end configured to connect to a second complimentary inclined end of the respective spar cap the second blade section;

wherein the cross-sectional shape and/or material varies along the length of the connection piece so as to be compatible at either end with the adjacent spar cap.

2. The wind turbine blade according to claim 1, wherein the first inclined end of the connection piece is longer than the second inclined end of the connecting piece.

3. The wind turbine blade according to claim 1, wherein the connection piece is made of fibrous layers of uniaxial fibre extending along the length of the blade.

4. The wind turbine blade according to claim 1, wherein there is a double scarf component between the connection piece and the spar cap of the adjacent section.

5. The wind turbine blade according to claim 4, wherein the double scarf component is connected to the second inclined end of the connection piece and an inclined end face of the adjacent spar cap which is oriented in the opposite sense from the second inclined end of the connection piece.

6. The wind turbine blade according to claim 1, wherein the spar caps of one section have a curved profile in cross-section and the spar caps of the adjacent section have a flat profile in cross-section.

7. A method of forming a wind turbine blade according to claim 1, the method comprising attaching a connection piece to each of the spar caps in the first section;

and subsequently attaching the connection pieces to a respective spar cap of the second section.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the connection piece and respective spar cap in the second section present outwardly facing inclined surfaces inclined in opposite directions and a double scarf component is attached to these surfaces to complete the joint.

9. The wind turbine blade according to claim 2, wherein the connection piece is made of fibrous layers of uniaxial fibre extending along the length of the blade.

10. The wind turbine blade according to claim 2, wherein there is a double scarf component between the connection piece and the spar cap of the adjacent section.

11. The wind turbine blade according to claim 3, wherein there is a double scarf component between the connection piece and the spar cap of the adjacent section.

12. The method of forming a wind turbine blade according to claim 2, the method comprising attaching a connection piece to each of the spar caps in the first section;

and subsequently attaching the connection pieces to a respective spar cap of the second section.

13. The method of forming a wind turbine blade according to claim 3, the method comprising attaching a connection piece to each of the spar caps in the first section;

and subsequently attaching the connection pieces to a respective spar cap of the second section.

14. The method of forming a wind turbine blade according to claim 4, the method comprising attaching a connection piece to each of the spar caps in the first section;

and subsequently attaching the connection pieces to a respective spar cap of the second section.

15. The method of forming a wind turbine blade according to claim 5, the method comprising attaching a connection piece to each of the spar caps in the first section;

and subsequently attaching the connection pieces to a respective spar cap of the second section.

16. The method of forming a wind turbine blade according to claim 6, the method comprising attaching a connection piece to each of the spar caps in the first section;

and subsequently attaching the connection pieces to a respective spar cap of the second section.

17. A spar cap connection piece comprising a pre-cured composite component comprising uniaxial fibre running along the length of the component from a first end to a second end in a longitudinal direction corresponding, in use, to the longitudinal direction of a spar to which it is fixed, the first and second ends being inclined in the same sense to the longitudinal direction each at a respective acute angle;

the spar cap connection piece having a transition region in which the cross-sectional shape of the spar cap connection piece transitions from one form to another along the transition region so that, in use, it is able to connect two spar caps having a different cross-sectional shape.

18. The spar cap connection piece according to claim 17, wherein each inclined end is angled at a different acute angle.

19. The spar cap connection piece according to claim 17, wherein the connection piece transitions from a curved profile in cross-section at one end to a flat profile in cross-section at the opposite end.

20. The spar cap connection piece according to claim 18, wherein the connection piece transitions from a curved profile in cross-section at one end to a flat profile in cross-section at the opposite end.