Provided is a method of manufacturing a wind turbine rotor blade, which method includes the steps of preparing a mold by forming a partial negative leading-edge profile in a first mold half, which partial negative leading-edge profile includes a plurality of first indentations along a leading edge region of the first mold half; forming a partial negative leading-edge profile in a second mold half, which partial negative leading-edge profile includes a complementary plurality of second indentations along a leading edge region of the second mold half; and wherein the combined shape of a first indentation and a complementary second indentation corresponds to the negative shape of a leading-edge fin that will extend radially outward from the body of the rotor.

A wind turbine rotor blade (10) is provided with a lightning protection device (84) and a leading edge member (70), the leading edge member (70) comprising an erosion shield (78, 80), deicing means, and an electrically conductive outer surface (80) which is operatively connected to the lightning protection device (84). The invention also relates to the use of the leading edge member (70) for providing leading edge erosion protection, ice mitigation and lightning protection of a wind turbine rotor blade.

The present invention relates to coating compositions for wind turbine blades. The compositions are particularly useful as topcoats for wind blades and for Leading Edge Protection (LEP). The invention also relates to a wind blade coated with a coating composition of the invention and to a method for application of the coating composition and to a method for repairing and/or replacing the existing coating layer on a wind blade by application of a coating composition of the invention. The invention also relates to a kit of parts comprising the base composition and the curing agent used in the coating composition. The coating composition used for coating a wind blade comprises a base composition comprising a polyetheraspartic ester having the formula (I) below, wherein each R represents a linear or branched C.sub.1-C.sub.10 alkyl residue, such as a linear or branched C.sub.1-C.sub.6 alkyl residue, such as for example a methyl, ethyl, propyl or butyl residue; and wherein X is a polyether. The coating composition further comprises a curing agent. ##STR00001##

A rotor blade of a wind turbine include sa first rotor blade segment having a first shell portion, a second rotor blade segment having a second shell portion and a joint connecting the first rotor blade segment with the second rotor blade segment between the first shell portion and the second shell portion, whereby the rotor blade further includes a fairing, the fairing covering the joint and being attached to the first shell portion and the second shell portion by means of an adhesive. Further provided is a wind turbine having this rotor blade.

Turbines and associated components, systems, and methods are described. In some embodiments, the turbine blades and turbines are configured to convert kinetic energy present in fluid (e.g., water) to other forms of energy (e.g., in a hydrokinetic energy system in a river or ocean) relatively efficiently and/or at relatively low cut-in speeds. The turbine blades may have a shape and/or include structural features that contribute at least in part to relatively high efficiency and/or relatively low cut-in speeds. In some embodiments, the turbine blades have a geometry similar to the geometry of a maple seed.

Provided is a protective cover system including a first protective cover and a second protective cover, both include a polymer and being pre-formed into a curved shape so as to accommodate at least a part of a wind turbine blade to be protected, each of the first and second protective covers has a tip end and a root end, wherein the first protective cover includes a first overlap portion at the root end, and the second protective cover includes a second overlap portion at the tip end, wherein the shape of the first overlap portion is substantially complementary to the shape of the second overlap portion such that when overlapping the first and second overlap portions, the resulting cross section of the overlapped overlap portions substantially corresponds to the cross sections of at least one of the first and second protective covers outside the overlap portions.

Wind Turbine Blade (12) Leading Edge (24, 30, 88) Protection Method In a first aspect of the invention there is provided a method of applying an erosion shield (22) to a leading edge region (30) of a wind turbine blade (12). The method comprises providing a wind turbine blade (12) comprising a blade shell (26) having an aerodynamic profile and defining a leading edge region (30); providing an erosion shield (22) made of a polymer material, the erosion shield (22) having an inner surface (36) to be bonded to the leading edge region (30) of the blade shell (26), and an outer surface (38, 84, 98) to be exposed in use; activating (44) the inner surface (36) of the erosion shield (22), and cleaning (42) the inner surface (36) of the erosion shield (22) using a solvent. The method further comprises applying a layer of wet adhesive (66, 68, 72A) to the inner surface (36) of the erosion shield (22); applying a layer of wet adhesive (66, 68, 72A) to the leading edge region (30) of the blade shell (26); arranging the erosion shield (22) against the leading edge region

The present invention relates to coating compositions for wind turbine blades. The compositions are particularly useful as topcoats for wind blades and for Leading Edge Protection (LEP). The invention also relates to a wind blade coated with a coating composition of the invention and to a method for application of the coating composition and to a method for repairing and/or replacing the existing coating layer on a wind blade by application of a coating composition of the invention. The invention also relates to a kit of parts comprising the base composition and the curing agent used in the coating composition. The coating composition used for coating a wind blade comprises a base composition comprising a polyetheraspartic ester having the formula (I) below, wherein each R represents a linear or branched C.sub.1-C.sub.10 alkyl residue, such as a linear or branched C.sub.1-C.sub.6 alkyl residue, such as for example a methyl, ethyl, propyl or butyl residue; and wherein X is a polyether. The coating composition further comprises a curing agent.

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A protective shield for a rotor blade of a wind turbine is provided. The shield protects the leading edge section of the rotor blade from erosion, and covers at least a part of the leading edge of the rotor blade. The shield is preformed with a shape which approximately corresponds to the contour of the leading edge section where it is destined to be mounted to. The shield includes a mark which allows to accurately position the shield at a predetermined position on the surface of the rotor blade or which allows to accurately position a tool at a predetermined position on the surface of the shield. A method of accurately positioning a protective shield on the surface of a rotor blade of a wind turbine and a method of documenting how precisely the shield has actually been attached to the surface of the rotor blade is also provided.

Methods of fabricating wind turbine blades, leading edge protection surfaces of wind turbine blades and wind turbine protection shields using coreactive additive manufacturing. The blades, surfaces (605), and protection shields can include a single layer or multiple layers of a cured composition applied using coreactive manufacturing such as three-dimensional printing. Methods of repairing leading edge (601) surfaces of wind turbine blades include applying one or more layers of a coreactive composition onto the damaged leading edge surfaces using coreactive additive manufacturing or applying a leading edge protection shield onto a damaged leading edge (601) of a wind turbine blade.