A reinforcing structure for a wind turbine blade is in the form of an elongate stack of layers of pultruded fibrous composite strips supported within a U-shaped channel. The length of each layer is slightly different to create a taper at the ends of the stack; the centre of the stack has five layers, and each end has a single layer. The ends of each layer are chamfered, and the stack is coated with a thin flexible pultruded fibrous composite strip extending the full length of the stack. The reinforcing structure extends along a curved path within the outer shell of the blade. The regions of the outer shell of the blade on either side of the reinforcing structure are filled with structural foam, and the reinforcing structure and the foam are both sandwiched between an inner skin and an outer skin.

The polyurethane material is prepared from a polyol, butanediol, and an isocyanate. The protective cover is adapted to be attached along at least a part of a longitudinal edge of the wind turbine blade by adhesion of an inside of the protective cover to a surface of the longitudinal edge of the wind turbine blade. The protective cover is elongated in a longitudinal direction and has an at least substantially U-formed cross-section. The protective cover includes a central cover section extending in the longitudinal direction and two peripheral cover sections extending in the longitudinal direction at either side of the central cover section, respectively. The central cover section has a minimum thickness of at least 1 millimetre, and each peripheral cover section has a thickness decreasing from a maximum thickness of at least 1 millimetre to a minimum thickness of less than ½ millimetre.

The invention relates to a fibrous texture intended to form the fibrous reinforcement of a turbine engine blade made of composite material, the texture being in a single piece and having a three-dimensional weave between a plurality of first fiber warp yarns or strands extending in a radial direction and a plurality of first fiber weft yarns or strands extending in a chord direction, the texture comprising a blade root portion and a blade airfoil portion extending between the blade root portion and a free end of the fibrous texture. The blade airfoil portion has a reinforced area in the vicinity of the free end of the texture comprising weft yarns or strands made of second fibers different from the first fibers.

A method for manufacturing a centre wing box which includes inner stiffeners, at least one of which has at least one through-hole is described. For each stiffener having at least one through-hole and having a first leg of a first U-shaped and C-shaped profile and a second leg of a second U-shaped and C-shaped profile, the method includes, for each through-hole, the steps of producing a first section of the through-hole in the first U-shaped or C-shaped profile and of producing a second section of the through-hole in the second U-shaped or C-shaped profile before the first and second U-shaped or C-shaped profiles are positioned on the mould.

A tooling assembly for mounting a plurality of components, such as compressor blades, in a powder bed additive manufacturing machine to facilitate a repair process is provided. The tooling assembly includes component fixtures configured for receiving each of the compressor blades, a mounting plate for receiving the component fixtures, and a magnet assembly operably coupling the component fixtures to the mounting plate in a desired position and orientation to facilitate an improved printing process.

A gripping device (76) is provided for lifting a preform for a wind turbine blade from a preform mould (71). The gripping device (76) comprises a base frame (62), a plurality of arms (78) slidably mounted on the base frame (62), each arm (78) having a proximal end and a distal end, a plurality of gripping members (86) for gripping a top surface (75) of the preform. The vertical position of one or more arms (78) of the gripping device (76) relative to the base frame (62) may change when lowering the gripping device (76) towards a preform to reflect the top surface (75) of the perform.

A fibrous texture intended to form the fibrous reinforcement of a turbomachine blade made of composite material including a fibrous reinforcement densified by a matrix, wherein the fibrous texture includes an area of reduced stiffness including warp yarns or strands made of second fibers having a second elongation at break greater than the first elongation at break, the area of reduced stiffness extending in the longitudinal direction from the stilt area and up to a height less than or equal to 30% of the height of the blade, extending in the transverse direction between a first area and a second area, the first area extending over a first length from a first edge of the texture intended to form a leading edge, and the second area extending over a second length from a second edge of the texture intended to form a trailing edge.

A method for manufacturing of a pre-form part for a wind turbine blade including one or more components and an adhesive, wherein the component or at least one of the components is a mat-like component including fibres, includes the steps: arranging the adhesive at one or more positions on the component or arranging the components in a stack, wherein the adhesive is arranged at one or more positions between the components, and heating the adhesive by providing an electric current to at least one actively heated layer, wherein the mat-like component is used as actively heated layer and/or wherein at least one additional mat-like heating means provided and arranged on top of or below the component or the stack of components is used as actively heated layer.

This invention relates to a root end structure, a wind turbine blade comprising such a root end structure and a method of manufacturing such a wind turbine blade. The root end structure comprises a plurality of fastening members distributed along a root end of a blade part, wherein a first plurality of pultruded elements are arranged in between the fastening members and a second pultruded element is further arranged at the blade joint ends adjacent to an outermost fastening member. Each first pultruded element has opposite facing second sides each facing a first side of an adjacent fastening member. The second pultruded element has one second side facing the outermost fastening member and another second side facing the blade joint interface. The second pultruded element comprises a transition portion forming a smooth transition for the inner layers extending further along the mould edge surface.

A compacting and injection mold for a fiber preform is for use in fabricating a turbine engine guide vane out of composite material. The mold includes a shell forming a trough that is to receive the fiber preform and that is closed in leaktight manner by bottom and top covers, compacting blocks arranged inside the trough each having a surface pressing normally against a surface of the fiber preform that is to be compacted, and closure blocks arranged inside the trough. Each closure block has a surface pressing normally against a surface of a compacting block and does not have a surface in contact with the fiber preform.