ROTOR BLADE COMPONENTS FORMED FROM DISSIMILAR THERMOPLASTICS AND METHODS OF ASSEMBLING SAME

• US 20170058862A1
• Filed: 08/26/2015
• Published: 03/02/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/26/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GE Infrastructure Technology, LLC (GE Vernova, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Caruso, Christopher Daniel, Yarbrough, Aaron A., Hynum, Daniel Alan, Tobin, James Robert
• Granted Patent: US 10,253,752 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 65/02 by heating, with or without pressure
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 65/08 using ultrasonic vibrations non-plastics element to plastics elements B29C65/645
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 65/10 using hot gases (e.g. combustion gases) or flames coming in contact with at least one of the parts to be joined
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 65/14 using wave energy , i.e. electromagnetic radiation, or particle radiation using mechanical waves B29C65/06; using ultrasonic waves B29C65/08; pressing means transparent to electromagnetic radiation B29C66/81267
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 65/1412 Infrared [IR] radiation
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 65/16 Laser beams
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 65/34 using heated elements which remain in the joint, e.g. "verlorenes Schweisselement"
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 65/5057 positioned between the surfaces to be joined B29C65/5035 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/1122 Single lap to lap joints, i.e. overlap joints B29C66/45, B29C66/472, B29C66/52272 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/1142 Single butt to butt joints
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/54 Joining several hollow-preforms, e.g. half-shells, to form hollow articles, e.g. for making balls, containers; Joining several hollow-preforms, e.g. half-cylinders, to form tubular articles
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/61 Joining from or joining on the inside for making tubes by bending sheets and joining from the inside B29C53/387
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/636 using a support which remains in the joined object
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/71 characterised by the composition of the plastics material of the parts to be joined welding bar compositions B29C65/125
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/712 the composition of one of the parts to be joined being different from the composition of the other part
• 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 66/73921 characterised by the materials of both parts being thermoplastics
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2033/12 Polymers of methacrylic acid esters, e.g. PMMA, i.e. polymethylmethacrylate
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2067/003 PET, i.e. poylethylene terephthalate
• 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 2280/6003 : Composites; e.g. fibre-reinforced
• CPC Class Codes: F05B 2280/6015 : Resin
• 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 rotor blade for a wind turbine may generally include a first blade component formed from a first fiber-reinforced composite including a first thermoplastic resin material and a second blade component configured to be coupled to the first blade component at a joint interface. The second blade component may be formed from a second fiber-reinforced composite including a second thermoplastic resin material, wherein the second thermoplastic resin material differs from the first thermoplastic resin material. The rotor blade may also include an additional layer(s) of thermoplastic resin material positioned on or integrated into the second fiber-reinforced composite at the joint interface that differs from the second thermoplastic resin material. Moreover, the first thermoplastic resin material of the first fiber-reinforced composite may be welded to the additional layer(s) of the thermoplastic resin material to form a welded joint at the joint interface between the first and second blade components.

Claims

1. A rotor blade for a wind turbine, the rotor blade comprising:

a first blade component formed from a first fiber-reinforced composite including a first matrix material, the first matrix material primarily corresponding to a first thermoplastic resin material;

a second blade component configured to be coupled to the first blade component at a joint interface, the second blade component formed from a second fiber-reinforced composite including a second matrix material, the second matrix material primarily corresponding to a second thermoplastic resin material, the second thermoplastic resin material differing from the first thermoplastic resin material; and

at least one additional layer of thermoplastic resin material being positioned on the second fiber-reinforced composite or integrated into the second fiber-reinforced composite at the joint interface, the at least one additional layer of the thermoplastic resin material differing from the second thermoplastic resin material,

wherein the first thermoplastic resin material of the first fiber-reinforced composite is welded to the at least one additional layer of the thermoplastic resin material to form a welded joint at the joint interface between the first blade component and the second blade component.

2. The rotor blade of claim 1, wherein the at least one additional layer of the thermoplastic resin material corresponds to a coating applied to an exterior surface the second fiber-reinforced composite.

3. The rotor blade of claim 1, wherein the at least one additional layer of the thermoplastic resin material is co-infused into the second fiber-reinforced composite together with the second thermoplastic resin material.

4. The rotor blade of claim 1, wherein the at least one additional layer of the thermoplastic resin material corresponds to at least one additional layer of the first thermoplastic resin material.

5. The rotor blade of claim 1, wherein the at least one additional layer of the thermoplastic resin material is fiber-reinforced.

6. The rotor blade of claim 1, wherein the rotor blade corresponds to a modular rotor blade formed from a plurality of blade components, wherein the first blade component corresponds to a blade root section, a blade tip section, a leading edge segment, a trailing edge segment, a pressure side segment, a suction side segment, a spar cap or a shear web of the modular blade and wherein the second blade component comprises a blade component of the modular rotor blade configured to be coupled to the first blade component at the joint interface.

7. The rotor blade of claim 1, wherein the first blade component comprises one of a pressure side shell, a suction side shell, a spar cap or a shear web of the rotor blade and the second blade component comprises a blade component of the rotor blade configured to be coupled to the first blade component at the joint interface.

8. The rotor blade of claim 1, wherein the first thermoplastic resin material corresponds to a methacrylate-based resin material and the second thermoplastic resin corresponds to a PET-based resin material.

9. The rotor blade of claim 1, wherein more than 80% of the first matrix material corresponds to the first thermoplastic resin material and wherein more than 80% of the second matrix material corresponds to the second thermoplastic resin material.

10. A rotor blade for a wind turbine, the rotor blade comprising:

a first blade component formed from a first fiber-reinforced composite including a first matrix material, wherein more than 80% of the first matrix material corresponds to a first thermoplastic resin material;

a second blade component configured to be coupled to the first blade component at a joint interface, the second blade component formed from a second fiber-reinforced composite including a second matrix material, wherein more than 80% of the second matrix material corresponds to a second thermoplastic resin material, the second thermoplastic resin material having a different resin chemistry than the first thermoplastic resin material; and

at least one additional layer of thermoplastic resin material being positioned on the second fiber-reinforced composite or integrated into the second fiber-reinforced composite at the joint interface, the at least one additional layer of the thermoplastic resin material differing from the second thermoplastic resin material,

wherein the first thermoplastic resin material of the first fiber-reinforced composite is welded to the at least one additional layer of the thermoplastic resin material to form a welded joint at the joint interface between the first blade component and the second blade component.

11. The rotor blade of claim 10, wherein the at least one additional layer of the thermoplastic resin material corresponds to a coating applied to an exterior surface the second fiber-reinforced composite.

12. The rotor blade of claim 10, wherein the at least one additional layer of the thermoplastic resin material is co-infused into the second fiber-reinforced composite together with the second thermoplastic resin material.

13. The rotor blade of claim 10, wherein the at least one additional layer of the thermoplastic resin material corresponds to at least one additional layer of the first thermoplastic resin material.

14. The rotor blade of claim 10, wherein the at least one additional layer of the thermoplastic resin material is fiber-reinforced.

15. The rotor blade of claim 10, wherein the rotor blade corresponds to a modular rotor blade formed from a plurality of blade components, wherein the first blade component corresponds to a blade root section, a blade tip section, a leading edge segment, a trailing edge segment, a pressure side segment, a suction side segment, a spar cap or a shear web of the modular blade and wherein the second blade component comprises a blade component of the modular rotor blade configured to be coupled to the first blade component at the joint interface.

16. The rotor blade of claim 10, wherein the first blade component comprises one of a pressure side shell, a suction side shell, a spar cap or a shear web of the rotor blade and the second blade component comprises a blade component of the rotor blade configured to be coupled to the first blade component at the joint interface.

17. The rotor blade of claim 10, wherein the first thermoplastic resin material corresponds to a methacrylate-based resin material and the second thermoplastic resin corresponds to a PET-based resin material.

18. The rotor blade of claim 10, wherein more than 90% of the first matrix material corresponds to the first thermoplastic resin material and wherein more than 90% of the second matrix material corresponds to the second thermoplastic resin material.

19. A method for assembling a rotor blade, the method comprising:

positioning a first blade component adjacent to a second blade component at a joint interface to be defined between the first and second blade components, the first blade component being formed from a first fiber-reinforced composite including a first matrix material that primarily corresponds to a first thermoplastic resin material, the second blade component being formed from a second fiber-reinforced composite including a second matrix material that primarily corresponds to a second thermoplastic resin material, wherein the second thermoplastic resin material differs from the first thermoplastic resin material; and

welding a portion of the first thermoplastic resin material of the first fiber-reinforced composite to at least one additional layer of thermoplastic resin material positioned on the second fiber-reinforced composite or integrated into the second fiber-reinforced composite at the joint interface so as to form a welded joint at the joint interface.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the at least one additional layer of the thermoplastic resin material corresponds to at least one additional layer of the first thermoplastic resin material.