The windmill converts the kinetic energy of a flowing fluid into rotational energy that can be used to power a mechanical load. The turbine incorporates a plurality of plate structures, a plurality of sail/wing structures, and a drive shaft. The plurality of plate structures attach to the plurality of sail/wing structures such that the passage of the flowing fluid through the plurality of sail/wing structures rotates the combined structure. The combined structure formed by the plurality of plate structures and the plurality of sail/wing structures rotates around an axis of rotation. The drive shaft attaches to the combined structure formed by the plurality of plate structures and the plurality of sail/wing structures such that the rotation of the combined structure rotates the drive shaft.

It is described a method of operating at least one adaptable airflow regulating system (13) of at least one rotor blade (15) of a wind turbine (1) connected to a utility grid (6), the method comprising: receiving information (10) regarding a grid disturbance; adapting, in particular during a disturbance duration, the airflow regulating system (13) based on the information (10), while the wind turbine (1) stays connected to the utility grid (6).

A wind turbine includes a blade. The blade includes a blade body; an active member mounted to the blade body and configured to move between a retracted position and an extended position to change an aerodynamic property of the blade; and a bladder which is configured to be connected to a pneumatic or hydraulic system of the wind turbine to move the active member when the bladder is filled by a fluid supplied by the pneumatic or hydraulic system, or when the fluid is removed from the bladder by the pneumatic or hydraulic system. The wind turbine includes a retaining means configured to prevent the active member from moving towards the extended position.

The present disclosure relates to a wind power installation having an aerodynamic rotor with at least one rotor blade, wherein the rotor blade has an active flow control device, which is designed to actively influence a flow over the rotor blade, wherein the flow control device comprises an opening in a rotor blade surface, referred to as a rotor blade surface opening, wherein the flow control device is configured to draw off and/or blow out air through the rotor blade surface opening air by way of a controllable air flow, wherein the wind power installation has a controller which is configured to control an amount of the controllable air flow through the rotor blade surface opening according to at least one of the following rules: if a rotational speed threshold value of a rotational speed of the rotor is exceeded, increasing the maximum controllable air flow successively with increasing rotational speed, if a torque threshold value of a torque of the rotor is exceeded, increasing the maximum controllable air flow successively with increasing torque.

Provided is a wind turbine, including: at least one rotor blade, at least one 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, wherein the aerodynamic device is mounted at a surface of the rotor blade, a pneumatic actuator of the aerodynamic device for actuating the aerodynamic device at least between a first protruded configuration and a second retracted configuration, a pressure supply system for operating the actuator by a pressurized fluid, a centrifugal device rotatable about a rotor axis of the wind turbine, the centrifugal device including an air inlet of receiving a flow of the pressurized fluid including humidity from the pressure supply system and a water outlet for letting a flow of condensed water to exit the centrifugal device.

A lift control device actively controls the lift force on a lifting surface. The device has a protuberance near a trailing edge of its lifting surface, which causes flow to separate from the lifting surface, generating regions of low pressure and high pressure which combine to increase the lift force on the lifting surface. The device further includes a means to keep the flow attached around the protuberance or to modify the position of the protuberance in response to a command from a central controller, so as to provide an active control of the lift between a maximum value and a minimum value.

An actuator device for a wind turbine, in particular for a rotor blade of a wind turbine, and also to an associated wind turbine and a method of assembly, with an actuator component and a control component, wherein the actuator component has at least one actuator layer with a preferential direction and, substantially parallel to the actuator layer, at least one exciting layer, wherein the actuator layer comprises a photoactuator, wherein the photoactuator is designed to change a strain and/or stress of the actuator layer in the preferential direction on the basis of excitation light, wherein the exciting layer is designed to guide excitation light into the actuator layer, wherein the control component comprises a light source and a light guide, wherein the light source is arranged away from the exciting layer and is connected to the exciting layer by means of the light guide and wherein the light guide runs in different directions through the exciting layer.

A method of controlling a wind turbine, wherein the wind turbine includes a hub having at least one blade with at least one an add-on member which is actuated to alter aerodynamic properties of the blade. The method includes a step of acquiring a target noise level, and a step of controlling the at least one add-on member of the blade such that an actual noise level caused by the operation of the wind turbine is equal to or below the target noise level.

A method for installing or servicing a wind turbine that includes at least a rotor blade having a plurality of aerodynamic devices for influencing the airflow flowing from the leading edge of the rotor blade of the wind turbine to the trailing edge of the rotor blade, includes the steps of activating the aerodynamic devices, installing the rotor blade or performing a service on the wind turbine, deactivating the aerodynamic devices. The phase of activating the aerodynamic devices is performed before or during the phase of installing the rotor blade or performing the service on the wind turbine and the phase of deactivating the aerodynamic devices is performed during or after the phase of installing the rotor blade or performing a service on the wind turbine.

Method of operating a wind turbine comprising a plurality of blades rotatable along their longitudinal axes using a pitch mechanism, and comprising one or more movable trailing edge surfaces. The method includes predicting, at a first moment in time, a high load for one or more of the blades at a second moment in time. The method further comprises actuating on one or more of the movable trailing edge surfaces of these blades such that the trailing edge surfaces have a wider range of control to counteract the predicted high loads before the second moment in time, and simultaneously pitching the blades such as not to negatively affect the operation of the wind turbine. The method furthermore comprises, at the second moment in time, actuating the one or more movable trailing edge surfaces of the at least one or more blades to counteract the high loads.