Wind-turbine blade and method for reducing noise in wind turbine

• US 20080286110A1
• Filed: 05/14/2007
• Published: 11/20/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/14/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Gupta, Anurag, Maeder, Thierry
• Granted Patent: US 7,901,189 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 416/241A
• CPC Class Codes: F03D 1/0675 of the blades
• CPC Class Codes: F05B 2240/307 Blade tip, e.g. winglets
• CPC Class Codes: F05B 2260/96 Preventing, counteracting or reducing vibration or noise
• CPC Class Codes: F05B 2280/4003 Synthetic polymers, e.g. plastics
• CPC Class Codes: F05C 2225/00 Synthetic polymers, e.g. plastics; Rubber
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/72 Wind turbines with rotation axis in wind direction
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 416/50 Vibration damping features

Abstract

Low-noise wind turbine blades are provided wherein metallic and/or polymeric cellular materials that are capable of bearing directional loads are used in the construction of wind turbine blade parts or entire sections. The use of such materials influences the air flow over them in such a way that the resulting boundary-layer turbulence is damped in a controlled way, thus weakening the noise scattering mechanism at the trailing edge, and the scattered acoustic waves are absorbed and attenuated by the material acting as an acoustic liner.

Claims

1. A wind turbine blade having a pressure side and a suction side, a leading edge, a trailing edge and a tip region, at least a portion of said blade being formed from a cellular material, said cellular material portion defining a portion of an exposed surface of said blade, whereby aerodynamic noise is reduced via noise source reduction and/or noise attenuation and absorption by the cellular material.

2. A wind turbine blade as in claim 1, wherein said cellular material comprises an open cell cellular material.

3. A wind turbine blade as in claim 1, wherein said cellular material comprises a closed cell cellular material.

4. A wind turbine blade as in claim 1, wherein said cellular material is metallic or polymeric or carbon.

5. A wind turbine blade as in claim 1, wherein said entire blade is formed from cellular material.

6. A wind turbine blade as in claim 1, wherein said cellular material is provided as a surface layer on at least a portion of the blade, said surface layer being of a predetermined depth.

7. A wind turbine blade as in claim 1, wherein an aft portion of said blade is formed from a cellular material.

8. A wind turbine blade as in claim 7, wherein said cellular material has a plenum defined therein or is connected to a plenum through which the blade'"'"'s transpiration can be actively controlled by blowing or suction to improve the aerodynamic and aeroacoustic performance of the blade.

9. A wind turbine blade as in claim 7, wherein said aft portion formed of cellular material comprises a plurality of cellular materials in a chord wise direction, each of said plurality of cellular materials having at least one property differing from an adjacent cellular material.

10. A wind turbine blade as in claim 9, wherein said cellular materials differ in at least one of porosity and open or closed cell characteristic.

11. A wind turbine blade as in claim 1, wherein at least a portion of an outboard section of said blade is made of cellular material.

12. A wind turbine blade as in claim 11, wherein said tip region comprises a tip and wherein a part of the trailing edge of the blade and said tip are both made of cellular material.

13. A wind turbine blade as in claim 12, wherein said tip comprises a winglet structure.

14. A wind turbine blade as in claim 13, wherein said winglet structure is formed from a cellular material having material properties differing from a cellular material provided in an adjacent tip region of the blade.

15. A wind turbine blade as in claim 1, wherein at least a portion of said tip region is made of metallic foam and wherein said blade incorporates a lightening protection system operatively coupled to said metallic foam portion.

16. A method of reducing noise in a wind turbine via at least one of noise source reduction and noise attenuation and absorption by a wind turbine blade, the method comprising:

providing a wind turbine blade for the wind turbine, said blade having a pressure side and a suction side, a leading edge, a trailing edge and a tip region;

wherein at least a portion of said blade is formed from a cellular material and wherein said cellular material portion defines a portion of an exposed surface of the blade.

17. A method as in claim 16, wherein said entire blade is formed from cellular material.

18. A method as in claim 16, wherein said cellular material is provided as a surface layer on at least a portion of the blade, said surface layer being of a predetermined depth.

19. A method as in claim 16, wherein an aft portion, i.e., from the mid-chord point on any blade section to the trailing edge, is formed from a cellular material.

20. A method as in claim 19, wherein said cellular material has a plenum defined therein or is connected to a plenum through which the blade'"'"'s transpiration can be actively controlled by blowing or suction to control acoustic attenuation and improve the aerodynamic performance including at least one of reduction of drag, delay of stall, and improvement in lift.

21. A method as in claim 19, wherein said aft portion formed of cellular material comprises a plurality of cellular materials in a chord wise direction, each of said plurality of cellular materials having at least one property differing from an adjacent cellular material.

22. A method as in claim 21, wherein said cellular materials differ in at least one of porosity and open or closed cell characteristic.

23. A method as in claim 16, wherein a part of the trailing edge of the blade and a tip of said tip region are both made of cellular material.

24. A method as in claim 23, wherein said tip comprises a winglet structure.

25. A method as in claim 24, wherein said winglet structure is formed from a cellular material having material properties differing from a cellular material provided in an adjacent tip region of the blade.