In a general aspect, a method is presented for manufacturing support structures for offshore wind turbines. In some implementations, the method includes constructing a plurality of modular sections that assemble to define the support structure. One or more of the plurality of modular sections are configured to anchor to an underwater floor. At least one of the plurality of modular sections is constructed by operations that include forming a wall along a perimeter to bound a volume, filling the volume with a castable material, and hardening the castable material. In some instances, forming the wall includes depositing layers of printable material successively on top of each other. The method also includes joining the plurality of modular sections to assemble the support structure.

The invention relates to a method for designing and fabricating bucket turbines with calibrated jets characterised in that the skeletons of the turbines displayed on the screen allow them to be designed and then fabricated in any dimensions, any materials and any quantities, and they are built with blades designed according to the so-called five-parameter arithmetic principle, the skeleton of the turbine is displayed on the screen by means of virtual neutral fibres which are subsequently covered with a material, the turbines being contained, over the entire length thereof, in a circular envelope, which is in principle slightly rounded and has a diameter that varies over the length thereof according to the contents of the envelope, and the length of said single-component envelope is shown on a drawing and divided into four zones intersected by temporary virtual discs which each separate the zones according to the functions carried out in these areas, the front edge of said envelope being very sharp or, on demand, provided with a flange Br for allowing connection to installations, the four zones comprising:

a first zone for (1) for injecting the fluid, which is an empty space or a space containing valves or inducers, of the corkscrew type, which optionally cause a pre-rotation of the fluid which enters a second zone (2), a pointed shield pushing the flow of fluid away from the centre on arrival, and directing it away towards the second zone (2), the second zone (2) where the rotation of the fluid is created in channels that wind in spirals and open up at the rear of the second zone (2), rotating the fluid, a third zone (3) containing the rotating wheel provided with buckets with calibrated jets that harness the energy supplied by the jets of fluid leaving the second zone (2), and a fourth zone (4) containing a housing attached to the stationary casing of the turbine and placed after the rotating wheel, said housing containing channels that orient the fluid towards the outlet at the rear of the turbine, and the fluid is guided, as soon as it reaches the second zone (2), by channels contained in tubes that are arranged in continuity face to face, over the entire length of the turbine.

A structure adapted to traverse a fluid environment exerting an ambient fluid pressure is provided. The structure includes an elongate body extending from a root to a wingtip and encapsulating at least one interior volume containing an interior fluid exerting an interior fluid pressure that is different from the ambient fluid pressure. A method of retrofitting a structure adapted to traverse a fluid environment exerting an ambient fluid pressure, the structure comprising an elongate body extending from a root to a wingtip and having at least one interior volume is also provided. The method includes sealing the elongate body to encapsulate the at least one interior volume containing an interior fluid; associating at least one valve with the at least one interior volume; and modifying interior fluid content via the at least one valve to produce an interior fluid pressure that is different from the ambient fluid pressure.

A method of making a wind turbine blade having at least one pultruded strip of fibrous reinforcing material integrated with a shell of the blade is described. The method comprises the steps of: providing at a first location a feed apparatus for dispensing a pultruded strip of fibrous reinforcing material; supporting a coiled pultruded strip of fibrous reinforcing material for rotation in the feed apparatus; causing the coiled strip to rotate in the feed apparatus at the first location; and feeding a free end of the strip from the feed apparatus in a feed direction towards a second location remote from the first location. An associated feed apparatus for use in the method is also described.

A method for manufacturing a gear assembly of a gearbox in a wind turbine includes providing a pin shaft of the gear assembly. The method also includes depositing material onto an exterior surface of the pin shaft of the gear assembly via an additive manufacturing process driven by a computer numerical control (CNC) device to form a bearing that circumferentially surrounds and adheres to the pin shaft. Further, the method includes providing a gear circumferentially around the bearing to form the gear assembly.

An additively manufactured component includes a heat transfer augmentation feature with a surface finish between about 125-900 micro inches.

A ram air turbine (RAT) is provided and includes a turbine assembly including blades and a hub to which the blades are connected, a generator or a pump and a drivetrain mechanically interposed between the turbine assembly and the generator or the pump. Each blade includes an exterior, airfoil-shaped structure defining an interior and support structures disposed within the interior which connect with an inner surface of the exterior, airfoil-shaped structure and which define hollow regions within the interior.

An apparatus for modifying the geometry of at least one part of a turbine can include a shell assembly 3 that includes an outer shell that is shaped to modify the shape of a pre-existing element of a turbine. The outer shell 8 of the shell assembly 3 can be composed of a fiber-reinforced polymeric material and can at least partially define an inner cavity. The outer shell 8 can be bonded to a structure to modify the geometrical shape of that structure. Thereafter, a polymer casting 12 can be injected into the inner cavity via at least one injection port attached to the shell assembly. In some embodiments, one or more stiffeners 9 and/or a core 10 can be positioned within the inner cavity to help improve the bonding of the polymer casting 12 to the shell 2 and/or improve a structural property of the apparatus.

The present disclosure is directed to an apparatus and method for manufacturing a composite component. The apparatus includes a mold onto which the composite component is formed. The mold is disposed within a grid defined by a first axis and a second axis. The apparatus further includes a first frame assembly disposed above the mold and a plurality of machine heads coupled to the first frame assembly within the grid in an adjacent arrangement along the first axis. At least one of the mold or the plurality of machine heads is moveable along the first axis, the second axis, or both. At least one of the machine heads of the plurality of machine heads is moveable independently of one another along a third axis. A second frame assembly is moveable above the mold along the first axis, the second axis, or both. The second frame assembly includes a holding device. The holding device affixes to and releases from an outer skin to place and displace the outer skin at the mold.

A structure adapted to traverse a fluid environment exerting an ambient fluid pressure is provided. The structure includes an elongate body extending from a root to a wingtip and encapsulating at least one interior volume containing an interior fluid exerting an interior fluid pressure that is different from the ambient fluid pressure. A method of retrofitting a structure adapted to traverse a fluid environment exerting an ambient fluid pressure, the structure comprising an elongate body extending from a root to a wingtip and having at least one interior volume is also provided. The method includes sealing the elongate body to encapsulate the at least one interior volume containing an interior fluid; associating at least one valve with the at least one interior volume; and modifying interior fluid content via the at least one valve to produce an interior fluid pressure that is different from the ambient fluid pressure.