Serrated trailing edge panel for a wind turbine blade

Abstract

A serrated panel (70) for a wind turbine blade is disclosed. The panel (70) is configured to be attached to the trailing edge of a blade to form a plurality of serrations (71) at the trailing edge of the blade. The serrated panel comprises a base part (72) for attaching the panel (70) to the trailing edge of the blade. An exterior surface (78) of the base part comprises a corrugated surface in direction between longitudinal ends of the panel such that the exterior surface comprises crests (82) aligned substantially with midpoints of bases (80) of the serrations (71) and valleys (83) aligned substantially between serrations (71).

Claims

1. A serrated panel (70) for a wind turbine blade, whereby the serrated panel (70) is configured to be attached to a trailing edge of a wind turbine blade to form a plurality of serrations (71) at the trailing edge of the wind turbine blade, wherein the serrated panel comprises: a base part (72) configured for attaching the serrated panel (70) to the trailing edge of the wind turbine blade, the base part (72) comprising: a first longitudinal end (73) configured for arrangement nearest a tip end of the wind turbine blade; a second longitudinal end (74) configured for arrangement nearest a root end of the wind turbine blade; a first side (75) configured for arrangement nearest a leading edge of the wind turbine blade; a second side (76) configured for arrangement farthest from the leading edge of the wind turbine blade; an attachment surface (77) configured for attaching to an exterior surface of the wind turbine blade; and an exterior surface (78) configured to face away from the exterior surface of the wind turbine blade when the serrated panel (70) is attached to the wind turbine blade, wherein the plurality of serrations (71) extend from the second side (76) of the base part (72), wherein the serrations (71) each comprise a base (79) proximal to the second side (76) of the base part, and an apex (80) distal to the second side (76) of the base part (72) with a notional line (81) extending from a midpoint of the base (79) to the apex (80), and wherein the serrated panel (70) comprises two discrete alignment protrusions (91, 92) that protrude from an attachment side of the serrated panel (70), the two discrete alignment protrusions being configured to abut a trailing edge of the wind turbine blade and thereby align the serrated panel (70) relative to the trailing edge of the wind turbine blade, wherein each of the discrete alignment protrusions (91, 92) is positioned entirely on the base (79) of a corresponding one of the serrations (71) and adjacent to the base part (72).

2. The serrated panel (70) according to claim 1, wherein a first discrete protrusion of the two discrete alignment protrusions is arranged near the first longitudinal end of the base part and a second discrete protrusion of the two discrete alignment protrusions is arranged near the second longitudinal end of the base part.

3. The serrated panel (70) according to claim 1, wherein the exterior surface (78) of the base part comprises a corrugated surface in direction between the first longitudinal end (73) and the second longitudinal end (74) such that the exterior surface comprises crests (82) aligned substantially with the midpoints of respective bases (80) of the serrations (71) and valleys (83) aligned substantially between serrations (71).

4. The serrated panel (70) according to claim 3, wherein the base part (72) comprises a maximum thickness line (84) extending in a direction between the first longitudinal end (75) and the second longitudinal end (76), the maximum thickness line (84) defining the position, where the serrated panel in a transverse cross-sectional view has a maximum thickness, a transverse direction being defined as a direction between the first side and the second side and transverse to a direction between the first longitudinal end and the second longitudinal end.

5. The serrated panel (70) according to claim 4, wherein the maximum thickness line (84) is positioned with a spacing from the first side (75) of the base part (72).

6. The serrated panel (70) according to claim 5, wherein the base part (72) is tapered from the maximum thickness line towards the first side (75) of the base part (72).

7. The serrated panel according to claim 5, wherein the base part comprises a triangular surface that extends from valleys at the first side (75) of the base part and to a crest at the maximum thickness line.

8. The serrated panel (70) according to claim 4, wherein the serrations are tapered from the maximum thickness line towards the apexes (80) of the serrations (71).

9. The serrated panel (70) according to claim 8, wherein the base part (72) is tapered from the maximum thickness line towards the apexes (80) of the serrations (71).

10. The serrated panel (70) according to claim 3, wherein the crests extend from the base part (72) of the serrations (71) and along the notional line (82) of the serrations.

11. The serrated panel (70) according to claim 3, wherein a ratio between a thickness of the crest and a thickness of the valley is at least 2:1.

12. The serrated panel (70) according to claim 3, wherein the ratio between a thickness of the crest and a thickness of the valley is at most 5:1.

13. The serrated panel (70) according to claim 1, wherein the serrations comprises a shape and are mutually spaced so that a slit is formed between adjacent serrations, wherein each of the slits (85) comprises a first side wall (86) at a first adjacent serration and a second side wall (87) at a second adjacent serration and a connecting surface (88) extending between the first side wall (86) and the second side wall (87), wherein the connecting surface (88) is flattened and comprises a first rounded surface (89) at the first sidewall (86) and a second rounded surface (90) at the second side wall (87).

14. The serrated panel (70) according to claim 13, wherein the first sidewall and the second sidewall comprises a section, where the first sidewall and the second sidewall are substantially parallel.

15. The serrated panel (70) according to claim 13, wherein the connecting surface has a curvature of radius (R.sub.b), which is larger than a curvature of radius of the first rounded surface and a curvature of radius of the second rounded surface.

16. A wind turbine blade (10) having a profiled contour including a pressure side and a suction side, and a leading edge (18) and a trailing edge (20) with a chord having a chord length extending therebetween, the wind turbine blade (10) extending in a spanwise direction between a root end and a tip end, the wind turbine blade comprising at least one serrated panel (70) provided along at least a portion of the trailing edge (20) of the blade (10), wherein the at least one serrated panel (70) comprises: a base part (72) configured for attaching the at least one serrated panel (70) to the trailing edge of the wind turbine blade, the base part (72) having: a first longitudinal end (73) configured for arrangement nearest a tip end of the wind turbine blade; a second longitudinal end (74) configured for arrangement nearest a root end of the wind turbine blade; a first side (75) configured for arrangement nearest a leading edge of the wind turbine blade; a second side (76) configured for arrangement farthest from the leading edge of the wind turbine blade; an attachment surface (77) configured for attaching to an exterior surface of the wind turbine blade; and an exterior surface (78) configured to face away from the exterior surface of the wind turbine blade when the at least one serrated panel (70) is attached to the wind turbine blade; wherein the plurality of serrations (71) extend from the second side (76) of the base part (72), wherein the serrations (71) each comprise a base (79) proximal to the second side (76) of the base part, and an apex (80) distal to the second side (76) of the base part (72) with a notional line (81) extending from a midpoint of the base (79) to the apex (80), and wherein the serrated panel (70) comprises two discrete alignment protrusions (91, 92) that protrude from an attachment side of the serrated panel (70), the two discrete alignment protrusions being configured to abut a trailing edge of the wind turbine blade and thereby align the serrated panel (70) relative to the trailing edge of the wind turbine blade, wherein each of the discrete alignment protrusions (91, 92) is positioned entirely on the base (79) of a corresponding one of the serrations (71) and adjacent to the base part (72).

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(1) FIG. 1 shows a wind turbine;

(2) FIG. 2 shows a schematic view of a wind turbine blade according to the invention;

(3) FIG. 3 shows a schematic view of an airfoil profile of the blade of FIG. 2;

(4) FIG. 4 shows a schematic view of the wind turbine blade of FIG. 2, seen from above and from the side;

(5) FIG. 5A shows a bottom view of a serrated panel of the wind turbine blade;

(6) FIG. 5B shows a side view of the serrated panel of FIG. 5A;

(7) FIG. 5C shows a top view of the serrated panel of FIG. 5A;

(8) FIG. 5D shows an end view of the serrated panel of FIG. 5A; and

(9) FIG. 5E illustrates a bottom view of a slit formed between adjacent serrations of the serrated panel of FIG. 5A.

(10) It will be understood that elements common to the different embodiments of the invention have been provided with the same reference numerals in the drawings.

(11) FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional modern upwind wind turbine 2 according to the so-called “Danish concept” with a tower 4, a nacelle 6 and a rotor with a substantially horizontal rotor shaft. The rotor includes a hub 8 and three blades 10 extending radially from the hub 8, each having a blade root 16 nearest the hub and a blade tip 14 furthest from the hub 8, the blade extending in a spanwise direction between the root 16 and the tip 14. The rotor has a radius denoted R.

(12) FIG. 2 shows a schematic view of a wind turbine blade 10. The wind turbine blade 10 has the shape of a conventional wind turbine blade and comprises a root region 30 closest to the hub, a profiled or an airfoil region 34 furthest away from the hub and a transition region 32 between the root region 30 and the airfoil region 34. The blade 10 comprises a leading edge 18 facing the direction of rotation of the blade 10, when the blade is mounted on the hub, and a trailing edge 20 facing the opposite direction of the leading edge 18. An array of trailing edge serrations are provided along a portion of the trailing edge 20 of the blade. In general, flow of air over the wind turbine blade 10 extends from the leading edge 18 to the trailing edge 20 in a generally transverse or chordwise direction. While the serrations in FIG. 2 are depicted as being arranged along a outboard portion of the blade, it is recognised that the serrations may be arranged for instance closer to the root of the blade 10, or that they may be arranged along for instance the entire airfoil region 34 of the blade 10.

(13) According to the inventions, the serrations are provided in form of serrated panels 70, 70′ that are attached to a surface of the blade 10 at the trailing edge 20 of the blade 10. The serrated panels 70, 70′ may comprise serration having different sizes. The serrations near the tip of the blade 10 may for instance as shown in FIG. 2 have a smaller dimensions than serrations closer to the root of the blade 10.

(14) The airfoil region 34 (also called the profiled region) has an ideal or almost ideal blade shape with respect to generating lift, whereas the root region 30 due to structural considerations has a substantially circular or elliptical cross-section, which for instance makes it easier and safer to mount the blade 10 to the hub. The diameter (or the chord) of the root region 30 is typically constant along the entire root area 30. The transition region 32 has a transitional profile 42 gradually changing from the circular or elliptical shape 40 of the root region 30 to the airfoil profile 50 of the airfoil region 34. The chord length of the transition region 32 typically increases substantially linearly with increasing distance r from the hub.

(15) The airfoil region 34 has an airfoil profile 50 with a chord extending between the leading edge 18 and the trailing edge 20 of the blade 10. The width of the chord decreases with increasing distance r from the hub.

(16) It should be noted that the chords of different sections of the blade normally do not lie in a common plane, since the blade may be twisted and/or curved (i.e. pre-bent), thus providing the chord plane with a correspondingly twisted and/or curved course, this being most often the case in order to compensate for the local velocity of the blade being dependent on the radius from the hub.

(17) FIG. 3 shows a schematic view of an airfoil profile 50 of a typical blade of a wind turbine depicted with the various parameters, which are typically used to define the geometrical shape of an airfoil. The airfoil profile 50 has a pressure side 52 and a suction side 54, which during use—i.e. during rotation of the rotor—normally face towards the windward (or upwind) side and the leeward (or downwind) side, respectively. The airfoil 50 has a chord 60 with a chord length c extending between a leading edge 56 and a trailing edge 58 of the blade. The airfoil 50 has a thickness t, which is defined as the distance between the pressure side 52 and the suction side 54. The thickness t of the airfoil varies along the chord 60. The deviation from a symmetrical profile is given by a camber line 62, which is a median line through the airfoil profile 50. The median line can be found by drawing inscribed circles from the leading edge 56 to the trailing edge 58. The median line follows the centres of these inscribed circles and the deviation or distance from the chord 60 is called the camber f. The asymmetry can also be defined by use of parameters called the upper camber (or suction side camber) and lower camber (or pressure side camber), which are defined as the distances from the chord 60 and the suction side 54 and pressure side 52, respectively.

(18) Airfoil profiles are often characterised by the following parameters: the chord length c, the maximum camber f, the position d.sub.f of the maximum camber f, the maximum airfoil thickness t, which is the largest diameter of the inscribed circles along the median camber line 62, the position d.sub.t of the maximum thickness t, and a nose radius (not shown). These parameters are typically defined as ratios to the chord length c. Thus, a local relative blade thickness t/c is given as the ratio between the local maximum thickness t and the local chord length c. Further, the position d.sub.p of the maximum pressure side camber may be used as a design parameter, and of course also the position of the maximum suction side camber.

(19) FIG. 4 shows some other geometric parameters of the blade. The blade has a total blade length L. As shown in FIG. 2, the root end is located at position r=0, and the tip end located at r=L. The shoulder 40 of the blade is located at a position r=L.sub.w, and has a shoulder width W, which equals the chord length at the shoulder 40. The diameter of is the root is defined as D. Further, the blade is provided with a pre-bend, which is defined as Δy, which corresponds to the out of plane deflection from a pitch axis 22 of the blade.

(20) The wind turbine blade 10 generally comprises a shell made of fibre-reinforced polymer, and is typically made as a pressure side or upwind shell part 24 and a suction side or downwind shell part 26 that are glued together along bond lines 28 extending along the trailing edge 20 and the leading edge 18 of the blade 10. Wind turbine blades are generally formed from fibre-reinforced plastics material, e.g. glass fibres and/or carbon fibres which are arranged in a mould and cured with a resin to form a solid structure. Modern wind turbine blades can often be in excess of 30 or 40 metres in length, having blade root diameters of several metres. Wind turbine blades are generally designed for relatively long lifetimes and to withstand considerable structural and dynamic loading.

(21) FIG. 5A shows a bottom view of serrated panel 70, FIG. 5B shows a side view of serrated panel 70, FIG. 5C shows a top view of serrated panel 70, FIG. 5D shows an end view of serrated panel 70, and FIG. 5E illustrates a slit 85 formed between adjacent serrations 71 of the serrated panel 70.

(22) The serrated panel 70 (also called a serrated trailing edge panel) is configured to be attached to the trailing edge 20 of the blade 10 to form a plurality of serrations 71 at and projecting from the trailing edge of the blade. The serrated panel 70 comprises a base part for attaching the panel to the trailing edge of the blade. The base part 72 has a first longitudinal end 73 for arrangement nearest a tip end of the wind turbine blade, a second longitudinal end 74 for arrangement nearest a root end of the wind turbine blade, a first side 75 for arrangement nearest a leading edge of the blade, a second side 76 for arrangement farthest from the leading edge of the blade, an attachment surface 77 for attaching to an exterior surface of the wind turbine blade 10, and an exterior surface 78 facing away from the exterior surface of the wind turbine blade 10, when the serrated panel 70 is attached to the wind turbine blade 10.

(23) The serrated panel 70 further comprises a plurality of serrations 71 extending from the second side 76 of the base part 72. The serrations 71 each comprise a base 79 proximal to second side 76 of the base part, and an apex 80 distal to the second side 76 of the base part 72 with a notional line 81 extending from a midpoint of the base 79 to the apex 80.

(24) According to a first aspect, the exterior surface 78 of the base part may comprise a corrugated surface in direction between the first longitudinal end 73 and the second longitudinal end 74 such that the exterior surface comprises crests 82 aligned substantially with the midpoints of bases 80 of the serrations 71 and valleys 83 aligned substantially between serrations 71.

(25) This corrugated design makes it possible to decrease the thickness of the panel 71 and reduce the longitudinal stiffness, which in turn leads to decreased peeling forces and stress concentrations going into the blade laminate, in particular at the longitudinal ends 73, 74 of the panels 70. The thin parts, i.e. the valleys 83, of the panel 70, result in less force transferred to the panel when subjected to blade straining, e.g. from blade deflections. The thick parts, i.e. the crests 82, of the panel 70 provide higher stiffness to the serrations 71 so as to ensure them to withstand aerodynamic loading and prevent fluttering. In addition hereto, the corrugated design has surprisingly been found to provide more efficient noise mitigation than serrated panels having a uniform thickness in the longitudinal direction.

(26) The corrugated surface may for instance be triangular or saw tooth shaped, e.g. with rounded valleys and crests. The corrugated surface may also be substantially sinusoidal.

(27) The base part 72 of the serrated panel 70 may further comprise a maximum thickness line 84 extending between the first longitudinal end 75 and the second longitudinal end 76, wherein the maximum thickness line 84 defines the position, where the serrated panel in a transverse cross-sectional view has a maximum thickness. The maximum thickness line may be positioned with a spacing from the first side 75 of the base part 72, and the base part 72 may further be tapered from the maximum thickness line 84 towards the first side 75 of the base part 72, e.g. as shown in the side view in FIG. 5D. Thereby, a smooth transition to the surface of the wind turbine blade may be achieved.

(28) The base part 72 may as indicated in FIG. 5C comprise substantially triangular surface parts that extend from valleys 82 at the first side 75 of the base part 72 and to a crest 83 at the maximum thickness line 84.

(29) The serrations 71 (and optionally the base part 72) may as indicated in the side view in FIG. 5D tapered from the maximum thickness line 84 towards the apexes 80 of the serrations 71.

(30) The crests may as shown in FIG. 5C extend from the base part 76 of the serrations 71 and along the notional line 82 of the serrations 71.

(31) As shown in FIG. 5B, the thickness of the crests is defined at t.sub.c and the thickness of the valleys is defined as t.sub.v. The ratio between t.sub.c and t.sub.v (e.g. at the maximum thickness line 84) may be at least 3:2 and advantageously at least 2:1. The serrations 71 may advantageously further have rounded edges 95.

(32) According to a second aspect, the serrations 71 may comprise a shape and are mutually spaced so that a slit 85 is formed between adjacent serrations 71. FIG. 5E shows a detail of such a slit 85. Each of the slits 85 comprises a first side wall 86 at a first adjacent serration and a second side wall 87 at a second adjacent serration and further a connecting surface 88 extending between the first side wall 86 and the second side wall 87. The connecting surface 88 is substantially flat or flattened and comprises a first rounded surface 89 at the first sidewall 86 and a second rounded surface 90 at the second side wall 87. In other words, the slit does not have a fully rounded or semi-circular end section near the base part of the serrated panel, but comprises a flattened surface with rounded portions at the sidewalls. The flattened part may have a radius of curvature (and thus form part of circular path). However, the radius of curvature of the flattened part is larger than the radius of curvature of the first rounded surface and the second round surface. Such a design has surprisingly been found to further reduce stress between serrations compared to conventional serrated panels, and thus lower the risk of damages to the serrated panel, when the wind turbine blade bends due to pressure fluctuations.

(33) In one embodiment, the connecting surface 88 has a curvature of radius (R.sub.b), which is larger than those R.sub.1,R.sub.2 of the first rounded surface and the second rounded surface. R.sub.b is advantageously at least 10 times larger than R.sub.1 and R.sub.2.

(34) According to a third aspect, the serrated panel 70 may be provided with two discrete alignment protrusions 91, 92 that protrude from an attachment side 72 of the serrated panel 70. The two discrete alignment notches may be configured to abut the trailing edge 20 of the wind turbine blade 10 and thereby align the serrated panel 70 relative to the trailing edge 20 of the blade 10. The two discrete alignment protrusions 91, 92 may be arranged near the second side 76 of the base part 70. The discrete alignment protrusions are advantageously arranged near the first longitudinal end 73 of the base part 72 and the second longitudinal end 74 of the base part 72, respectively.

(35) The serrations 71 of the serrated panel 70 may be angled relative to the base part 72 of the serrated panel, such that the base part 72 and the serrations 71 form an angle α. The angle α may be zero degrees, in which case the serrated panel 70 is straight. For angled serrated panels, the angle α may be between 2 and 15 degrees, typically around 5 or 10 degrees.

(36) The invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein, and may be modified or adapted without departing from the scope of the present invention.