A tower structure of a wind turbine includes a plurality of tower sections stacked atop each other in an end-to-end configuration along a vertical axis to form the tower structure of the wind turbine at a wind turbine site. Each of the tower sections is formed of at least one first tubular portion and at least one second tubular portion. Further, the first and second tubular portions of each of the plurality of tower sections are concentric with each other. Moreover, the first tubular portion is formed at least in part, of a cementitious material and the second tubular portion is formed of a perforated material having a plurality of holes.

An additive printing device and a method for using the same to manufacture a tower structure of a wind turbine is provided. The additive printing device includes a vertical support structure, a support ring suspended from the vertical support structure, and a printer head movably coupled to the support ring for selectively depositing cementitious material. A drive mechanism, such as a rack and pinion, moves the printer head around the support ring while selectively depositing cementitious material. The vertical support structure may be raised and/or the relative position between the vertical support structure and the printer head may be adjusted to raise the printer head to print subsequent layers. This process may be repeated to print the tower structure layer-by-layer from the ground up.

A method for manufacturing a tower structure of a wind turbine includes printing, via an additive printing device, the tower structure of the wind turbine of a cementitious material. During printing, the method includes embedding one or more reinforcement sensing elements at least partially within the cementitious material at one or more locations. Thus, the reinforcement sensing element(s) are configured for sensing structural health of the tower structure, sensing temperature of the cementitious material, heating to control cure time of the cementitious material, and/or reinforcing the cementitious material. In addition, the method includes curing the cementitious material so as to form the tower structure.

A method for manufacturing a tower structure of a wind turbine includes printing, via an additive printing device, a plurality of concentric sections of the tower structure of the wind turbine. The concentric sections may be printed simultaneously from concrete, may include tensioning cables or other structural supports, and may define other support flanges or overhangs. After curing, the method may include raising an inner section of the plurality of concentric sections to a top of an adjacent outer section and joining the two sections. This process may be repeated to telescope the concentric sections and raise the tower structure.

A method for manufacturing a tower structure of a wind turbine includes printing, via an additive printing device, the tower structure of the wind turbine of a cementitious material. The method also includes printing, via the additive printing device, one or more additional airflow modifying features on an outer surface the tower structure of the wind turbine so as to reduce and/or prevent vortex shedding, excitation, and/or drag of the tower structure. Further, the method includes curing the cementitious material so as to form the tower structure.

A wind-powered generator is provided. The wind-powered generator includes a housing defining an internal volume and having an inlet, an outlet, and a throat, the inlet, outlet, and throat being coaxial about an axis of symmetry of the housing, wherein a portion of the internal volume between a leading edge of the housing and the throat is defined by revolution of a curve about the axis of symmetry, and the internal volume between the throat and a trailing edge of the outlet is defined by revolution of a substantially straight line about the axis of symmetry and a nacelle mounted within the internal volume. The nacelle includes a first rotor mounted on a first end of the nacelle and positioned at least partially within the inlet, the first rotor comprising a first output shaft configured to output a first power output, and a second rotor mounted on a second end of the nacelle opposite the first end, the second rotor being positioned at least partially within the outlet and having a diameter less than the first rotor, wherein the second rotor comprises a second output shaft configured to output a second power output. The first power output and the second power output are combined within an interior portion of the nacelle to provide a combined power output of the wind-powered generator, and a nacelle ratio between an outer diameter of the nacelle at the inlet to an outer diameter of the nacelle at the outlet ranges from between about 1.60-1.70 as measured, and a housing ratio of an inner diameter of the housing at the inlet to an inner diameter of the housing at the outlet ranges from about 1.85-1.97.

Provided is a method of shaping an initial edge seal along a longitudinal edge step of an add-on part mounted on the outer surface of a rotor blade, which method includes the steps of providing an initial edge seal along a longitudinal edge step of an add-on part mounted on an outer surface of a rotor blade, and removing a top layer of the initial edge seal. Further provided is wind turbine rotor blade.

A method for manufacturing a pitch bearing or a yaw bearing for a wind turbine includes forming an outer race of the bearing of a base material. The method also includes forming an inner race of the bearing of the base material. Further, one of the inner race or the outer race defines a circumferential surface comprising a plurality of gear teeth. The method further includes arranging the inner race within the outer race. In addition, the method includes providing a plurality of roller elements between the outer and inner races. Moreover, the method includes applying a coating material to at least a portion of the plurality of gear teeth via an additive manufacturing process. The coating material is different than the base material. As such, the coating material provides at least one of increased hardness, strength, or durability to the base material.

The disclosure discloses a numerical simulation method of an influence of a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)-based membrane on an aerodynamic characteristic of a wind turbine blade, and relates to the technical field of polymer composites. The simulation method comprises the following steps: selecting a wind turbine generator, a blade airfoil and a PTFE-based nano functional membrane; setting a numerical simulation computation network and a computation area of a wind energy capture area; determining main computation parameters and a Reynolds number for aerodynamic characteristic computation; establishing a geometrical model whose airfoil boundary extends by 0.26 mm (membrane thickness) along a normal direction to obtain a new computational geometry; computing by using a hydrodynamic computation method and a finite volume method; and obtaining an influence number simulation computation result.

In a general aspect, a method is presented for manufacturing support structures for offshore wind turbines. In some implementations, the method includes constructing a plurality of modular sections that assemble to define the support structure. One or more of the plurality of modular sections are configured to anchor to an underwater floor. At least one of the plurality of modular sections is constructed by operations that include forming a wall along a perimeter to bound a volume, filling the volume with a castable material, and hardening the castable material. In some instances, forming the wall includes depositing layers of printable material successively on top of each other. The method also includes joining the plurality of modular sections to assemble the support structure.