Abstract:
A wind turbine blade comprising a spar and a method of preparing these are provided. The spar comprises a laminated member having a surface to be connected to the surface shells of the blade reinforced by oriented first type fibres and the first type fibres are supported by second type fibres. Aspects concerning buckling, cross-sectional shape, twisting of fibres, straightness of fibres and electrical potential equalising are also considered. A band comprising fibres for electrical potential equalising is also provided. The wind turbine blade and elements of it will be appreciated for being relatively light, stiff and easy to manufacture, for example by automated processes.
Abstract:
In a first aspect of the invention there is provided a modular wind turbine blade comprising a first blade module and a second blade module. The first blade module comprises a first spar cap portion extending longitudinally in a spanwise direction, and the second blade module comprises a second spar cap portion extending longitudinally in the spanwise direction. The blade modules are configured for connection end-to-end via their respective spar cap portions. The first spar cap portion comprises a plurality of first elongate fingers defining a plurality of first recesses therebetween. The first fingers extend in the spanwise direction and taper in width towards respective first finger tips. The second spar cap portion comprises a plurality of second elongate fingers defining a plurality of second recesses therebetween. The second fingers extend in the spanwise direction and taper in width towards respective second finger tips. The first and second finger tips are mutually opposed and spaced apart in the spanwise direction such that a connection region is defined between the first and second finger tips. The first and second blade modules are connected by at least one connection element. The at least one connection element comprises a first tapered portion and a second tapered portion. The at least one connection element further comprises an intermediate portion between the first and second tapered portions. The first tapered portion is received in a first recess between adjacent first fingers. The second tapered portion is received in a second recess between adjacent second fingers. The intermediate portion is located in the connection region.
Abstract:
A hub (1) for a wind turbine and a method for fabricating the hub (1) are disclosed. The hub (1) comprises a continuous shell forming a hollow body with a main shaft flange (4) adapted to connect the hub (1) to a main shaft, and one or more blade flanges (5), each blade flange (5) being adapted to connect the hub (1) to a wind turbine blade. The hub (1) further comprises at least two hub parts (2, 3, 7), each hub part (2, 3, 7) being casted separately from a castable material, and each hub part (2, 3, 7) being subsequently connected to at least one other hub part (2, 3, 7) via one or more connecting portions (6), so that at least one blade flange (5) and/or the main shaft flange (4) comprises a section forming part of or being attached to one of the hub parts (2, 3, 7) and a section forming part of or being attached to another hub part (2, 3, 7), thereby ensuring that the casted parts have a size and a weight which are manageable during the manufacture, in particular during the casting. The hub (1) may comprise one or more reinforcement elements arranged at or near the blade flange(s) (5), e.g. comprising an inner wall (8) arranged at a distance to the continuous shell, thereby forming a cavity (9) between the inner wall (8) and the continuous shell. This allows the regions between the blade flanges (5) to be small or narrow, thereby reducing the size and weight of the hub (1), while maintaining a sufficient strength and stiffness of these regions.
Abstract:
A wind turbine with a drive train placed partly or entirely in a nacelle of the wind turbine is provided. The drive train includes an epicyclical gearbox including at least one gear stage having a plurality of planet gears meshing with a sun gear and an annulus gear. The gearbox is used to transfer and speed-up the rotation of a rotor of the wind turbine, as applied to at least one generator of the wind turbine. The drive train further includes at least one locally radial self tracking bearing for enabling the rotation of the rotor in relation to a nacelle structure of the nacelle. The self tracking bearing includes bearing elements for locally transferring loads in both radial directions between one or more bearing rings.
Abstract:
A method of tapering an edge (25) of a fibrous reinforcement sheet (18) for a composite structure is described. The method includes supporting at least a portion of the sheet (18) and creating a tapered edge by relative translational movement of a rotary tool (20) with respect to the supported portion of the sheet. Rotation of the tool defines a cutting direction transverse to the tapered edge.