Provided is a method for fabrication of a profile for a spar cap for a wind turbine blade, wherein the profile is fabricated in a pultruding process using one or more strands and/or layers of unidirectional fibres or rovings of unidirectional fibres arranged along a longitudinal direction of the profile and a tool for moulding of the fibres, wherein one or more additional fibres or rovings of additional fibres are introduced in the pultruding process prior to the moulding, wherein the additional fibres are arranged under an angle to the unidirectional fibres, and/or wherein one or more surficial fibres or rovings of surficial fibres are introduced in the pultruding process after the moulding, wherein the surficial fibres are arranged on the outer surface of the moulded profile.

A wind power installation comprising one or more rotor blades, a rotor hub to which the rotor blade or blades are mounted, and a generator for generating electrical power, wherein the generator has a generator stator and a generator rotor which is non-rotatably connected to the rotor hub and which is rotatable about an axis, wherein the rotor hub and the generator rotor have a common main bearing system or means which is subdivided into two bearing portions which are spaced from each other in the direction of the axis, wherein in that the first bearing portion has a first radial plain bearing and a first axial plain bearing and the second bearing portion has a second radial plain bearing and a second axial plain bearing.

A wind turbine rotor blade spar cap, the spar cap having a length and comprising: a stack comprising a plurality of layers of conductive material and at least one intermediate layer, wherein the layers of conductive material each have a length along the length of the spar cap in a first direction, wherein the intermediate layer is arranged between adjacent layers of the conductive material, wherein the intermediate layer includes a fibre fabric material having: a first edge extending in the first direction, a conductive portion having conductive fibres oriented in the first direction, a first border portion between the first edge and the conductive portion, the first border portion having a plurality of non-conductive fibres oriented in the first direction and no conductive fibres oriented in the first direction, and cross fibres oriented to cross the conductive fibres and the non-conductive fibres, and wherein the intermediate layer is bonded with the adjacent layers of the conductive material and is electrically coupled to the adjacent layers of conductive material so as to equipotentially bond the adjacent layers of the conductive material via the conductive portion of the intermediate layer.

A method for manufacturing an outer skin of a rotor blade includes forming an outer skin layer of the outer skin from a first combination of at least one of one or more resins or fiber materials. The method also includes forming an inner skin layer of the outer skin from a second combination of at least one of one or more resins or fiber materials. More specifically, the first and second combinations are different. Further, the method includes arranging the outer and inner skin layers together in a stacked configuration. In addition, the method includes joining the outer and inner skin layers together to form the outer skin.

A winglet is provided for retrofitting to a wind turbine. Aerodynamic and centrifugal forces for winglets having a range of configurations including winglet height, taper ratio, twist, and cant angle are modeled, wherein the winglet height, taper ratio, twist, and cant angle are used to define a grid in a Vector Lattice. An increase in a coefficient of power C.sub.p of each winglet design when applied to a predetermined main blade of the wind turbine can be determined. A winglet configuration can then be selected wherein the coefficient of power C.sub.p of the main blade and winglet is at least 2% greater than the coefficient of power C.sub.p of the main blade alone, and wherein a ratio of normal aerodynamic force generated by the winglet to centrifugal force generated by the winglet during rotation at a nominal rated speed is in a range between 0.75 and 2.

A rotor blade uses hot-air, for example exhaust from a generator positioned inside a nacelle of a wind turbine, for de-icing and/or anti-icing. The rotor blade has an airfoil section and a cavity enclosed therein. A flow path inside the cavity, for flow of the hot-air, extends from a root section towards a tip section. Exhaust holes, fluidly connected with the flow path, at an outer surface of the airfoil section emit the hot-air from the airfoil section. The rotor blade includes a cover plate positioned at the outer surface of the airfoil section and masking the exhaust holes, thereby creating an external flow space between the exhaust holes and the cover plate's inner surface. The cover plate guides the hot-air over the outer surface of the airfoil section after the hot-air exits, via the exhaust holes, the airfoil section and before the hot-air escapes the rotor blade.

A compressor wheel that can be employed in devices such as turbochargers. The compressor wheel includes an axially extending hub having an inlet end, a shaft bore extending from the inlet end and an arcuate outer surface opposed to the shaft bore. The axially extending hub is composed of a metal and has a porous region located proximate to the arcuate outer surface of the axially extending hub. The compressor wheel also includes a blade array disposed on the arcuate outer surface of the axially extending hub. The blade array has an outer surface and an inner region. The blade array comprises a plurality of circumferentially-spaced, radially and axially extending blades disposed thereon and is composed, at least in part of a polymeric material. Polymeric material located in the inner region of the blade array extends into the porous region defined in the axially extending hub.

A spar cap for a rotor blade of a wind power installation, having a longitudinal extent from a first end to a second end, a transverse extent orthogonal to the longitudinal extent, and a thickness orthogonal to the longitudinal extent and to the transverse extent. A method for producing a spar cap as mentioned at the outset. The spar cap has a longitudinal extent from a first end to a second end, a transverse extent orthogonal to the longitudinal extent, and a thickness orthogonal to the longitudinal extent and to the transverse extent, at least two tiers of a first fiber composite material, and at least one tier of a second fiber composite material, wherein the first fiber composite material has a matrix material and/or fibers which is/are different from that/those of the second fiber composite material, the second fiber composite material is disposed in a portion adjacent to the second end, in the direction of the thickness between the at least two tiers of the first fiber composite material, and the at least one tier of the second fiber composite material terminates ahead of the second end.

A wind turbine blade, extending longitudinally root end to tip end, having a load carrying structure, a shell body and a lightning protection system is described. The load carrying structure is fiber-reinforced polymer in a plurality of stacked layers comprising electrically conductive fibers. The lightning protection system comprises a lightning receptor arranged freely accessible in or on the shell body and a lightning down-conductor electrically connected to the lightning receptor and is configured to be electrically connected to a ground connection. The blade further comprises a potential equalisation system providing a potential equalising connection between a number of the electrically conductive fibers of the load carrying structure and the lightning protection system. The system comprises a dissipating element made of an electrically conductive material which in turn comprises at least one transverse connector arranged to extend transverse through a thickness of the stacked fiber layers and configured to dissipate.

A wind turbine rotor comprising a hub (1) from which a plurality of blades (2) project to a radius of at least 50 meters. Each blade comprising a hollow fairing supported by a central spar. Each blade has a thickness t at a radius r; characterized in that when r=0.5 R, t>0.3 T, where R is the radius of the blade and T is the thickness of the blade at the root end. By being thicker for a greater proportion of the blade, the aerodynamic performance of this part of the blade is worse, but this is more than compensated for as it allows better aerodynamic performance where it matters more, namely at the outer part of the blade. It also allows larger blades to be provided.