A wind turbine rotor blade having a blade shell with a generally chordwise layup of fibre plies and a generally spanwise spar cap. A lightning conductor extends over the spar cap, and the spar cap includes conductive material. An equipotential bonding element electrically bonds the lightning conductor to the spar cap. The equipotential bonding element extends between an outboard edge of one stack of the fibre plies and an inboard edge of an adjacent stack of the fibre plies, which overlap to define an overlapping edge region.

A wind turbine rotor blade having a blade shell with a generally chordwise layup of fibre plies and a generally spanwise spar cap. A lightning conductor extends over the spar cap, and the spar cap includes conductive material. An equipotential bonding element electrically bonds the lightning conductor to the spar cap. The equipotential bonding element extends between an outboard edge of one stack of the fibre plies and an inboard edge of an adjacent stack of the fibre plies, which overlap to define an overlapping edge region.

Disclosed herein is an electrically conductive sized fiber including a fiber and a sizing composition adhered to a surface of the fiber, wherein the sizing composition includes at least one sizing compound and a plurality of graphene oxide nanoparticles, The present disclosure also discloses fiber-reinforced resin composites, articles including fiber-reinforced resin composites and methods of making such electrically conductive sized fiber and articles therefrom.

Disclosed herein is an electrically conductive sized fiber including a fiber and a sizing composition adhered to a surface of the fiber, wherein the sizing composition includes at least one sizing compound and a plurality of graphene oxide nanoparticles, The present disclosure also discloses fiber-reinforced resin composites, articles including fiber-reinforced resin composites and methods of making such electrically conductive sized fiber and articles therefrom.

Provided is a lightning protection system for a carbon pultruded blade including a stack of carbon pultruded layers having at least a bottom layer and a top layer, each layer having a first end and a second end; the stack defining a tip-region, a root-region, and a mid-region; at least one lightning conductor extending along the stack from the tip-region to the root-region; and a plurality of electrical connections connecting the stack of layers with the lightning conductor, each end of each layer is electrically connected with the lightning conductor by one of the electrical connections; and each electrical connection that connects one of the ends of the top layer with the lightning conductor is electrically connected with the bottom layer. A carbon pultruded blade is also provided.

Provided is a lightning protection system for a carbon pultruded blade including a stack of carbon pultruded layers having at least a bottom layer and a top layer, each layer having a first end and a second end; the stack defining a tip-region, a root-region, and a mid-region; at least one lightning conductor extending along the stack from the tip-region to the root-region; and a plurality of electrical connections connecting the stack of layers with the lightning conductor, each end of each layer is electrically connected with the lightning conductor by one of the electrical connections; and each electrical connection that connects one of the ends of the top layer with the lightning conductor is electrically connected with the bottom layer. A carbon pultruded blade is also provided.

An electric circuit providing a ground connection includes at least two brushes and a contact member, wherein each brush and the contact member form a sliding contact, wherein the contact member is connected to a ground potential by at least one of the sliding contacts, wherein at least two of the sliding contacts are connected to a current source adapted to provide a current through the sliding contacts.

An electric circuit providing a ground connection includes at least two brushes and a contact member, wherein each brush and the contact member form a sliding contact, wherein the contact member is connected to a ground potential by at least one of the sliding contacts, wherein at least two of the sliding contacts are connected to a current source adapted to provide a current through the sliding contacts.

A multilayer protective covering can protect a surface from lightning strikes. The covering includes a bottom conductive layer affixed to the surface and having a first opening that is aligned with a grounding connection so that the grounding connection is exposed through first opening and not in contact with the bottom conductive layer. The covering also includes a dielectric layer affixed to the bottom conductive layer and having second opening aligned with the grounding connection so that the grounding connection is exposed through second opening and not in contact with the dielectric layer. The covering additionally includes a top conductive layer affixed to the dielectric layer and covering the grounding connection. The top conductive layer directs electrical current from a lightning strike on the surface to the grounding connection.

A multilayer protective covering can protect a surface from lightning strikes. The covering includes a bottom conductive layer affixed to the surface and having a first opening that is aligned with a grounding connection so that the grounding connection is exposed through first opening and not in contact with the bottom conductive layer. The covering also includes a dielectric layer affixed to the bottom conductive layer and having second opening aligned with the grounding connection so that the grounding connection is exposed through second opening and not in contact with the dielectric layer. The covering additionally includes a top conductive layer affixed to the dielectric layer and covering the grounding connection. The top conductive layer directs electrical current from a lightning strike on the surface to the grounding connection.