A vertical axis wind turbine is supported by a durable and lightweight composite mast comprising a foam material and a support material, wherein the foam material is either (i) layered within or (ii) distributed among the support material. The foam material may be selected from polyethylene, cross-linked polyethylene, ethafoam, polyester, polyether, ether-like-ester, expanded polystyrene, and/or polyurethane. The support material may be selected from steel, metal, carbon nanotubes, and/or plastics such as polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene, polystyrene, polylactic acid, polycarbonate, acrylic, acetal and/or nylon. A mixture ratio between the foam material and the support material may be at least 15:1. The mast may comprise a central core layer of foam and a peripheral layer of the support material. In an embodiment, adjacent layers of the central core layer and the peripheral layers alternate between the core and support materials.

Provided is a method of manufacturing a rotor blade of a wind turbine, the method including: placing fiber material on a shape forming surface; arranging phase change material being in a first state at at least one predetermined first region and/or arranging phase change material being in a second state at at least one predetermined second region; soaking the fiber material with resin to be in thermal contact with the phase change material at the first region and/or second region; during a crosslinking reaction for crosslinking the resin: absorbing heat generated within the resin by the phase change material at the first region; and/or releasing heat from the phase change material toward the resin at the second region.

Provided is a method of manufacturing a rotor blade of a wind turbine, the method including: placing fiber material on a shape forming surface; arranging phase change material being in a first state at at least one predetermined first region and/or arranging phase change material being in a second state at at least one predetermined second region; soaking the fiber material) with resin to be in thermal contact with the phase change material at the first region and/or second region; during a crosslinking reaction for crosslinking the resin: absorbing heat generated within the resin by the phase change material at the first region); and/or releasing heat from the phase change material toward the resin at the second region(.

A centrifugal compressor impeller (60; 160) has a hub (62; 162) having a gaspath surface (64; 164) extending from a leading end to a trailing end. A plurality of blades (70A, 70B; 170) extend from the hub gaspath surface and each have: a leading edge (72A, 72B; 172); a trailing edge (74A, 74B; 174); a first face (80A, 80B; 180); a second face (82A, 82B; 182); and a tip (78A, 78B; 178). A plurality of flow splitter segments (120, 122; 320, 322) extend between associated twos of the blades and each spaced from both the hub gaspath surface and the tips of the associated two blades.

A method of making a wind turbine blade is described. The blade comprises an outer shell having a laminate structure. The method comprises providing a blade mould (82) defining a shape of at least part of the outer shell of the blade. The mould extends in a spanwise direction between a root end (94) and a tip end (96), and extends in a chordwise direction between a leading edge (90) and a trailing edge (92). The method further includes providing a plurality of dry plies (66) comprising dry structural fibrous material and a plurality of prepreg (68) plies comprising structural fibrous material impregnated with resin. The plurality of dry plies and the plurality of prepreg plies are arranged in the mould to form a plurality of layers of the laminate structure of the outer shell of the blade. The plies are arranged in the mould such that the dry plies are interleaved with the prepreg plies to form a hybrid shell structure in which the plies are arranged in a staggered relationship such that corresponding edges of the dry plies are offset from one another in the spanwise and/or chordwise direction of the mould and/or corresponding edges of the prepreg plies are offset from one another in the spanwise and/or chordwise direction of the mould.

Wind turbine rotor blade components including pultruded rods and methods of manufacturing the same are disclosed. More specifically, the rotor blade component includes a plurality of pultruded rods housed within an enclosed primary outer casing. The enclosed primary outer casing includes a hollow interior, a root end, and an opposing tip. As such, each of the plurality of pultruded rods is received within the enclosed primary outer casing and secured therein via a first resin material. Further, an arrangement of the plurality of pultruded rods within the primary outer casing and a relationship of a maximum dimension of each of the plurality of pultruded rods and a maximum dimension of the enclosed primary outer casing are configured to maximize flexibility of the rotor blade component.

A method for manufacturing a rotor blade of a wind power plant which has an area close to the blade root in which the rotor blade has an obtuse rear edge. The method includes manufacturing a half-shell on the pressure side and a half-shell on the suction side, introducing and adhesively bonding filler bodies into at least one section of the area of the obtuse rear edge of the pressure-side half-shell and the suction-side half-shell, wherein the sections with the filler bodies lie opposite one another in the assembled rotor blade, assembling and positioning the half-shells relative to one another, wherein an adhesive gap which is delimited by the first adhesive surfaces of the filler bodies remains between the filler bodies, and introducing an adhesive medium into the adhesive gap. Also a rotor blade manufactured according to the method, and a wind power plant including such a rotor blade.

A centrifugal compressor impeller (60; 160) has a hub (62; 162) having a gaspath surface (64; 164) extending from a leading end to a trailing end. A plurality of blades (70A, 70B; 170) extend from the hub gaspath surface and each have: a leading edge (72A, 72B; 172); a trailing edge (74A, 74B; 174); a first face (80A, 80B; 180); a second face (82A, 82B; 182); and a tip (78A, 78B; 178). A plurality of flow splitter segments (120, 122; 320, 322) extend between associated twos of the blades and each spaced from both the hub gaspath surface and the tips of the associated two blades.

Wind turbine rotor blade components including pultruded rods and methods of manufacturing the same are disclosed. More specifically, the rotor blade component includes a plurality of pultruded rods housed within an enclosed primary outer casing. The enclosed primary outer casing includes a hollow interior, a root end, and an opposing tip. As such, each of the plurality of pultruded rods is received within the enclosed primary outer casing and secured therein via a first resin material. Further, an arrangement of the plurality of pultruded rods within the primary outer casing and a relationship of a maximum dimension of each of the plurality of pultruded rods and a maximum dimension of the enclosed primary outer casing are configured to maximize flexibility of the rotor blade component.

A method of making a wind turbine blade is described. The blade comprises an outer shell having a laminate structure. The method comprises providing a blade mould (82) defining a shape of at least part of the outer shell of the blade. The mould extends in a spanwise direction between a root end (94) and a tip end (96), and extends in a chordwise direction between a leading edge (90) and a trailing edge (92). The method further includes providing a plurality of dry plies (66) comprising dry structural fibrous material and a plurality of prepreg (68) plies comprising structural fibrous material impregnated with resin. The plurality of dry plies and the plurality of prepreg plies are arranged in the mould to form a plurality of layers of the laminate structure of the outer shell of the blade. The plies are arranged in the mould such that the dry plies are interleaved with the prepreg plies to form a hybrid shell structure in which the plies are arranged in a staggered relationship such that corresponding edges of the dry plies are offset from one another in the spanwise and/or chordwise direction of the mould and/or corresponding edges of the prepreg plies are offset from one another in the span-wise and/or chordwise direction of the mould.