Disclosed is an energy converting apparatus for converting mechanical energy obtained by a fluid flow into electric energy. The energy converting apparatus comprises: a blade; a measuring device for measuring reaction of the blade when the fluid flow exerts an external force on the blade, and generating a measurement value corresponding to a measurement result; a memory for storing control values; a controller for reading a first control value among the control values from the memory in response to the measurement value output from the measuring device, and generating a control signal by using the first control value; and an actuator for changing a three-dimensional shape of the blade in response to the control signal output from the controller.

Improvements Relating to Wind Turbines A wind turbine apparatus and a method of operating said wind turbine to maintain the load on the rotor blade below a predetermined threshold level is provided. The method comprises: measuring load at a root end of the rotor blade; measuring an acceleration at a location on the rotor blade outboard from the root end, the acceleration being caused by transient loads acting on the rotor blade; and controlling the wind turbine based upon the measured load and the measured acceleration to maintain the load on the rotor blade below a predetermined threshold level.

Provided is a trailing edge assembly of a wind turbine rotor blade, which includes a mounting portion; a flap portion flexibly connected to the mounting portion so that a flap angle subtended between the mounting portion and the flap portion can be altered; a volume adjustable chamber arranged between the mounting portion and the flap portion and realised to alter its volume between a minimum volume associated with a minimum flap angle and a maximum volume associated with a maximum flap angle; and at least one tube to face into an airflow passing over the airfoil region of the rotor blade, and an inner orifice arranged to face into the interior of the volume adjustable chamber such that an airflow between the outer orifice and the inner orifice alters the volume of the volume adjustable chamber. Embodiments of the invention further describe a wind turbine rotor blade.

A method of reducing the load of a rotor blade of a wind turbine during installation of the wind turbine, whereby the rotor blade includes an aerodynamic device such as a vortex generator or a noise reducer is provided. The method includes the steps of attaching a cover on the rotor blade for covering at least a part of the aerodynamic device before lifting the rotor blade to the top of the tower of the wind turbine, and detaching the cover subsequently. An arrangement including a rotor blade of a wind turbine and such a cover, is also provided.

A rotor blade for a wind turbine is provided. The rotor blade includes an aerodynamic device for influencing the airflow flowing from the leading-edge section of the rotor blade to the trailing edge section of the rotor blade. The aerodynamic device is mounted at a surface of the rotor blade and includes a pneumatic or hydraulic actuator, such as a hose or a cavity, of which the volume depends on the pressure of a fluid being present inside the pneumatic or hydraulic actuator. The rotor blade further includes a control unit for controlling the pressure of the fluid in the hose or the cavity of the aerodynamic device.

Provided is a method of setting and clearing a full-power flag in a control process running on a wind turbine controller, the method including (a) acquiring a set of measured values and/or reference values for: rotor speed, output power, blade pitch angle, and activation level of an adaptive flow regulating system, (b) determining that a first condition is fulfilled when the value of the rotor speed equals a speed limit value and the output power reference value equals a power limit value, (c) determining when the blade pitch angle reference value fulfills a pitch condition and the activation level of the adaptive flow regulating system fulfills an adaptive flow regulating condition, or when the measured value of the rotor speed is below the speed limit value, (d) setting the full-power flag, and (e) clearing the full-power flag. Furthermore, a wind turbine controller and a wind turbine including such a controller.

A method of controlling at least one adaptable airflow regulating system, in particular spoiler and/or flap, of at least one rotor blade of a wind turbine having a wind turbine tower includes: determining a quantity related to a distance between the rotor blade and the wind turbine tower; controlling the airflow regulating system based on the quantity.

A wind turbine blade includes a plurality of add-on elements, which are arranged on an outer surface of the blade, wherein the plurality of add-on elements includes at least one flexible add-on element and at least one stiff add-on element of the same add-on element type, wherein the flexible add-on element is made at least predominantly of an elastic material and the stiff add-on element are made at least predominantly of a stiff material, which is stiffer than the elastic material, wherein the flexible add-on element and the stiff add-on element are arranged offset in span-wise direction and/or in chord-wise direction of the blade.

Techniques for controlling loading on a wind turbine blade in the flap-wise direction. A system model has a description of flap loading on the blade and is used to predict flap loading on the blade over a prediction horizon using the system model. A dynamic flap loading limit is determined based on predicted flap loading and a measured flap loading, and a constraint is defined to limit flap loading on the blade based on the dynamic flap loading limit. The predicted flap loading is used in a cost or performance function, and the cost function is optimized subject to the constraint to determine pitch for the blade to control flap loading on the blade. Advantageously, the dynamic limit varies based on discrepancies between predicted and measured flap loading to allow for adaptive back-off from extreme loads prior to such loads building up or being exceeded.

Within examples, systems for enhanced performance blades for rotor craft are provided and methods for operation. An example system for a rotary device is provided comprising a rotor blade coupled to a rotor hub. The system also comprises an air channel disposed within the rotor blade, where the air channel is sealed proximate to a distal end of the rotor blade. The system also comprises an inlet positioned at a proximal end of the rotor blade, where the inlet is in fluid communication with the air channel. The system also comprises a plurality of outlets positioned along the rotor blade, where each of the plurality of outlets are in fluid communication with the air channel.