WIND TURBINE COMPONENT, WIND TURBINE, AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING OF A WIND TURBINE COMPONENT

Abstract

A wind turbine component adapted to be attached to a wind turbine, wherein the component is a cover element adapted to cover at least one part of a wind turbine or an aerodynamic element adapted to be attached to a rotor blade of a wind turbine, wherein the component includes a main body with a continuous and at least partly curved surface, wherein the main body is formed by a layer stack including a plurality of layers, wherein at least two of the layers are of a different material.

Claims

1. A wind turbine component adapted to be attached to a wind turbine, wherein the component is a cover element adapted to cover at least one part of a wind turbine or an aerodynamic element adapted to be attached to a rotor blade of a wind turbine, wherein the component comprises a main body with a continuous and at least partly curved surface, wherein the main body is formed by a layer stack comprising a plurality of layers, wherein at least two of the layers consist of a different material.

2. The wind turbine component according to claim 1, wherein the layer stack comprises at least one inner layer and at least one outer layer, wherein the inner layer is embedded in an outer layer and/or in between at least two outer layers.

3. The wind turbine component according to claim 2, wherein the at least one inner layer is a supporting layer and the at least one outer layer is a protective layer, wherein the material of the inner layer is more rigid than the material of the at least one outer layer.

4. The wind turbine component according to claim 1, wherein the layer stack comprises a varying thickness and/or at least one thickness gradient, in at least one of a chord-wise direction and/or in a span-wise direction of the wind turbine component, and/or that the layer stack comprises a tapered portion in at least one edge region of the main body, wherein the thickness of the layer stack in the tapered portion decreases towards the edge of the main body.

5. The wind turbine component according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the layers of the layer stack comprises a plastic material.

6. The wind turbine component according to claim 1, wherein the layer stack comprises at least one sensing layer, wherein the sensing layer comprises at least one electrically conductive and/or optically conductive and/or piezo-resistive material and/or that the layer stack comprises at least one active layer for changing a geometry and/or a property of the component.

7. The wind turbine component according to claim 1, wherein the wind turbine component is a bearing cover for covering a main bearing of the wind turbine or that the wind turbine component is an edge protection cover for covering a leading edge or a trailing edge of a rotor blade or that the wind turbine component is an aerodynamic rotor blade add-on.

8. The wind turbine comprising at least one wind turbine component according to claim 1.

9. A method for manufacturing of a wind turbine component, wherein the wind turbine component comprises a main body with a continuous and at least partly curved surface, comprising the steps: providing a layer stack comprising a plurality of planar or essentially planar layers, wherein at least two of the layers are of a different material, fabrication the main body from the layer stack, wherein the continuous and at least partly curved surface of the main body is formed in a vacuum forming process.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein a layer stack comprising at least one inner layer and at least one outer layer is used, wherein the inner layer is embedded in an outer layer; and/or in between at least two outer layers.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein a layer stack with a supporting layer as the at least one inner layer and a protective layer as the at least one outer layer is used, wherein the material of the inner layer is more rigid than the material of the at least one outer layer.

12. The method according to claim 9, wherein a layer stack comprising at least one of a varying thickness and/or at least one thickness gradient, are in at least one of a chord-wise direction and/or in a span-wise direction of the wind turbine component, is used and/or that a layer stack comprising a tapered portion in at least one edge region of the layer stack is used, wherein the thickness of the layer stack in the tapered portion decreases towards the edge of the layer stack, wherein the tapered portion is used to form an edge region of the main body during fabrication of the main body.

13. The method according to claim 9, wherein a layer stack with at least one layer comprising a plastic material is used.

14. The method according to claim 9, wherein a layer stack comprising at least one sensing layer is used, wherein the sensing layer comprises at least one electrically conductive and/or optically conductive and/or piezo-resistive material, and/or that a layer stack comprising at least one active layer for changing a geometry and/or a property of the component is used.

15. The method according to claim 9, wherein as wind turbine component, a cover element is manufactured.

16. The wind turbine component according to claim 7, the aerodynamic rotor blade add-on is a spoiler or a slat.

17. The method according to claim 15, the cover element, is a bearing cover for covering a main bearing of the wind turbine or an edge protection cover for a leading edge or a trailing edge of a rotor blade, is manufactured.

Description

[0049] Some of the embodiments will be described in detail, with reference to the following figures, wherein like designations denote like members, wherein:

[0050] FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a wind turbine according to the invention;

[0051] FIG. 2 shows a layer stack used for forming a main body of a wind turbine component;

[0052] FIG. 3 shows a first embodiment of a wind turbine component according to the invention;

[0053] FIG. 4 shows a second layer stack used for forming a main body of a wind turbine component;

[0054] FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment of a wind turbine component according to the invention; and

[0055] FIG. 6 shows a third embodiment of a wind turbine component according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0056] In FIG. 1, a wind turbine 1 according to embodiments of the invention is shown. The wind turbine 1 comprises a tower 2, wherein on top of the tower 2 a nacelle 3 of the wind turbine 1 is arranged. Inside the nacelle 3, a generator (not shown) of the wind turbine 1 is accommodated, wherein the generator is connected to a hub 4 of the wind turbine via a main shaft 5 of the wind turbine 1. On the hub 4, a plurality of rotor blades 5 is mounted.

[0057] On each of the rotor blades 5, a plurality of wind turbine components 6 is attached, wherein the components 6 attached to the rotor blades 5 are each a cover element 7 covering a leading edge 8 of the rotor blades 5 or an aerodynamic element 9, in particular an aerodynamic rotor blade add-on that enhances the performance of the rotor blade 5, or of the wind turbine 1, respectively. The aerodynamic elements 9 are for instance spoilers or slats mounted to a surface, or a shell, respectively, of the rotor blades 5.

[0058] One of the wind turbine components 6 is a bearing cover 10 covering a main bearing of the wind turbine 1, which supports the shaft 5 on the nacelle 3, or on a supporting structure of a nacelle 3, respectively. The bearing cover 10 is attached to the nacelle 3 of the wind turbine 1.

[0059] Each of the components 6 comprises a main body 11 formed by a layer stack 12 comprising a plurality of layers, wherein at least two of the layers consists of a different material. The components may be fabricated in an embodiment of a method for manufacturing of a wind turbine component according to embodiments of the invention described in relation to the following figures.

[0060] In FIG. 2, a layer stack 12 for forming a main body 11 of a component 6 is shown. The layer stack 12 comprises an inner layer 13, which is embedded in an outer layer 14. The inner layer 13 is a supporting layer consisting of a material, which is more rigid than the material of the at least one outer layer 14. The inner layer 13 provides a mechanical stability and/or a shape stability of the component 6 fabricated from the layer stack 12.

[0061] Furthermore, the layer stack 12 comprises a sensing layer 15, which is also an inner layer and which is embedded in the outer layer 14. The outer layer 14 is a protective layer protecting the inner layer 13 and the sensing layer 15 from environmental influences. The inner layer 13 and the outer layer 14 consist of different materials, in particular they may each consist of a different plastic material.

[0062] The sensing layer 15 comprises at least one electrically conductive and/or optically conductive and/or piezo-resistive material. The sensing layer 15 may comprise for instance a metal or a plurality of glass fibres or glass fibres-based materials, respectively. The material of the sensing layer 15 may be provided as a planar and a continuous layer or as a mesh or a grid. The material of the sensing layer 15 may be embedded in a further material of the sensing layer 15, for instance in a plastic and/or in a resin. The sensing layer 15 may be fixed to the inner layer 13 and/or to the outer layer 14 so that a stable layer stack 12 is provided.

[0063] The layer stack 12 comprises a tilted edge portion 16, in which a thickness of the layer stack 12 decreases. From the layer stack 12, a wind turbine component 6 may be formed in a vacuum-based forming process. In this process, the layer stack 12 may be sucked in a mould using a vacuum, wherein the mould comprises a shape corresponding to the component 6 to be fabricated from the layer stack 12. During this vacuum forming process, the layer stack 12 adopts to the shape of the mould forming the main body 11 of the component 6. The planar layers of the layer stack 12 are formed in the vacuum forming process to build the main body 11 comprising a continuous and curved surface 19 of the component 6.

[0064] In FIG. 3, a wind turbine component 6 fabricated from the layer stack 12 depicted in FIG. 2 is shown. The wind turbine component 6 is an aerodynamic element 9, in particular a spoiler or a slat, which is shown attached to a surface 17 of a shell of the rotor blade 5. The attachment of the component 6 to the surface 17 of the rotor blade 5 may occur for instance using fastening means and/or one or more adhesive layers 18 fixating the component 6 to the surface 17.

[0065] From the tilted portion 16 of the layer stack 12, an edge region of the main body 11 is formed during manufacturing of the component 6. By providing the tilted edge portion 16 of the layer 12, also a tilted edge portion of the component 6, or of its main body 11, respectively, is obtained enabling a smooth transition between the surface 17 of the rotor blade 5 and the component 6. In particular, a height of the component 6, or its thickness, respectively, in a portion directed to the leading 8 of the rotor blade 5 in a mounted state of the component 6 may be reduced advantageously.

[0066] In FIG. 4, a second embodiment of the layer stack 12 for forming a main body 11 of a component 6 is shown. In this embodiment, the layer stack 12 comprises an additional thickness gradient in a chord-wise direction of the wind turbine component 6. From this layer stack 12, a wind turbine component with a reduced thickness in a chord-wise direction is formed. The chord-wise direction of the component 6 refers to the chord-wise direction of the rotor blade 5 to which the component 6 is mounted in such manner, that one of the dimensions of the components extends parallelly to the chord-wise direction of the rotor blade 5, so that this dimension forms the chord-wise direction of the component 6. In FIG. 4, the chord-wise direction of the component 6 extends from left to right, or from right to left, respectively. By providing the layer stack 12 with at least one thickness gradient in chord-wise direction, the shape of the component 6 formed from the layer stack 12 may be adapted to loads acting on the component 6 during operation of the wind turbine 1.

[0067] As depicted in FIG. 5, from the layer stack 12 shown in FIG. 4, an aerodynamic element 9 is formed as previously described, wherein the thickness of the aerodynamic element 9 decreases in chord-wise direction, in particular in a portion of the component 6 which protrudes from the surface 17 of the rotor blade 5.

[0068] The protruding portion of the aerodynamic element 9 is supported on the surface 17 of the rotor blade by a further aerodynamic element 20, wherein the further aerodynamic element 20 influences the aerodynamic properties of the aerodynamic element 9. The further aerodynamic element 20 comprises a main body 21 with a continuous and at least partly curved surface, wherein the main body 21 is formed from a layer stack 22 comprising an inner layer 23 and an outer layer 24. Also, the further component 20 may be manufactured from the layer stack 22 as previously described. It is possible that also the further aerodynamic element 20 comprises a sensing layer. Besides aerodynamic elements 9, 20 also protective cover elements like the bearing cover 10 or edge protection covers 7 may be fabricated.

[0069] In FIG. 6, a component 6 forming a cover element 7, which is an edge protection cover 25, is shown attached to the leading edge 8 of a rotor blade 5. Also, the cover element 7 is fabricated from a layer stack 12 comprising an inner layer 13, an outer layer 14 and a sensing layer 15 as previously described in correspondence to the aerodynamic elements 9. The layer stack 12, or the cover element 7, respectively, comprises two tilted edge sections 16 allowing for a smooth transition between the cover element 7 and the surface 17 of the rotor blade 5. Alternatively, the edge protection cover 25 may be a trailing edge cover covering a trailing edge of the rotor blade 5.

[0070] In all embodiments, the sensing layer 15 may comprise a contact portion protruding the outer layer 14, so that the sensing layer 15 may be connected to a control unit of the component 6, or of the wind turbine 1, respectively. The control unit may be adapted to measure at least one physical property of the sensing layer 15, for instance an electrical resistance, an optical absorption, optical scattering or the like, in order to determine a load acting on the component and/or a state of the component 6. This allows for instance to detect operational states, in which the load acting on the component 6 is too high and/or to detect a component 6 that has been damaged or worn during operation.

[0071] In all embodiments, it is possible that the inner layers 13, 23 and/or the sensor layer 15 are embedded between two outer layers 14, 24 each consisting of a different material. This allows further adapting the characteristics of the components 6 to their use-case in the wind turbine 1. In all embodiments, the layer stacks 12, 22, or the components 6, 20 respectively, may comprise a varying thickness and/or a thickness gradient in span-wise direction, which is orthogonal to the drawing plane in FIG. 2 to 6.

[0072] In all embodiments, an active layer may be used as an alternative to the sensing layer 15 or in addition to the sensing layer 15. The active layer may be arranged as an inner layer or as an outer layer of a layer stack 12, 22. It is also possible that the active layer and/or the sensing layer 15 and/or further layers of a layer stack 12, 22 are stacked one on top of another in different orders.

[0073] By actuating an active layer in the layer stack 12, 22, the geometry of the active layer or a property of the active layer, for instance a mechanical property like a flexibility or a rigidity may be changed. By changing the geometry of the active layer, also the geometry of the component 6 may be changed. Correspondingly, by changing a property of the active layer, also a property of the component 6 may be changed.

[0074] Using the active layer allows for adjusting the geometry and/or a property of the component 6 during operation of the wind turbine 1, or during operation of the component 6, respectively. The adjustment of the component 6 may occur for instance in dependence of the operating conditions and/or in dependence of a state of the component 6, for instance in dependence of a state determined using a sensing layer 15 of the component 6 as previously described.

[0075] The active layer may comprise for instance a piezo-electrical material, so that by applying a voltage to the active layer by an actuation arrangement of the wind turbine 1, the geometry of the active layer and/or a property of the active layer may be changed. Additionally or alternatively, the active layer may comprise a heating arrangement and a material with a temperature-depending geometry and/or at least one temperature-depending property, so that the geometry and/or the property may be changed by heating the active layer using the heating arrangement of the active layer. The heating arrangement may be for instance an electrically conductive and/or an optically conductive material which is heated by applying an electric current and/or light to the heating arrangement using an actuation arrangement connected to the active layer.

[0076] Although the present invention has been disclosed in the form of embodiments and variations thereon, it will be understood that numerous additional modifications and variations could be made thereto without departing from the scope of the invention.

[0077] For the sake of clarity, it is to be understood that the use of “a” or “an” throughout this application does not exclude a plurality, and “comprising” does not exclude other steps or elements.