Rotor blade, wind turbine, and method for optimizing a wind turbine

Abstract

A rotor blade of a rotor of a wind turbine, and to an associated wind turbine, and to a method for optimizing a wind turbine. Prior to being mounted on the wind turbine, the rotor blade is split at a parting point into an inner blade section and an outer blade section, wherein a longitudinal direction of the rotor blade is defined from the root section to the blade tip, wherein the rotor blade has at least one swirl element, wherein the swirl element has an extent in the longitudinal direction of the rotor blade, wherein a distance between a start, facing toward the root section, and an end, facing toward the rotor blade tip, of the swirl element in the longitudinal direction is referred to as total length, and wherein a distance between the parting point and the outer end of the swirl element is referred to as outer length, wherein a ratio of outer length to total length is less than 0.25.

Claims

1. A rotor blade of a rotor of a wind turbine, comprising: an inner blade section, an outer blade section, a parting point, and at least one swirl element, wherein, prior to being mounted on the wind turbine, the rotor blade is split apart at the parting point into the inner blade section and the outer blade section, wherein the inner blade section extends from a root section for mounting the rotor blade on the rotor of the wind turbine to the parting point, and the outer blade section extends from the parting point to a rotor blade tip, wherein a longitudinal direction of the rotor blade is defined from the root section to the blade tip, wherein the swirl element extends in the longitudinal direction of the rotor blade, wherein a distance between a start, facing toward the root section, and an end, facing toward the rotor blade tip, of the swirl element in the longitudinal direction is referred to as a total length, wherein a distance between the parting point and the end of the swirl element is referred to as an outer length, and wherein a ratio of the outer length to the total length is less than 0.25.

2. The rotor blade as claimed in claim 1, wherein the swirl element has one or more vortex generators arranged on a suction side of the rotor blade.

3. The rotor blade as claimed in claim 2, wherein the one or more vortex generators are formed as fins arranged in pairs and are perpendicular to the suction side.

4. The rotor blade as claimed in claim 3, wherein the one or more vortex generators have a geometry as a function of position in the longitudinal direction of the rotor blade.

5. The rotor blade as claimed in claim 1, wherein the start of the swirl element is adjacent to the root section.

6. The rotor blade as claimed in claim 1, wherein the outer length is negative if the end of the swirl element, in the longitudinal direction, is situated closer to the root section than the parting point such that the ratio of the outer length to the total length is negative.

7. The rotor blade as claimed in claim 1, wherein parting point is a first parting point, wherein the outer blade section has a second parting point.

8. A rotor having at least one rotor blade as claimed in claim 1, wherein a diameter of the rotor is at least 170 meters.

9. A wind turbine having the rotor as claimed in claim 8.

10. A wind farm having a plurality of wind turbines as claimed in claim 9.

11. The rotor blade as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ratio of the outer length to the total length is less than 0.2.

12. The rotor blade as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ratio of the outer length to the total length is less than 0.15.

13. A method for optimizing a wind turbine, wherein the wind turbine has an aerodynamic rotor having at least one rotor blade, wherein the rotor blade is split at a parting point into an inner blade section and an outer blade section, wherein the inner blade section extends from a root section for mounting the rotor blade on a rotor hub of the wind turbine to the parting point, and the outer blade section extends from the parting point to a rotor blade tip, wherein a longitudinal direction of the rotor blade is defined from the root section to the rotor blade tip, and wherein the method comprises: mounting at least one swirl element to the rotor blade, wherein the mounting comprises mounting the at least one swirl element so that the at least one swirl element extends in the longitudinal direction of the rotor blade, wherein a distance between a start, facing toward the root section, and an end, facing toward the rotor blade tip, of the at least one swirl element in the longitudinal direction is referred to as a total length, and wherein a distance between the parting point and the outer end of the at least one swirl element is referred to as an outer length, and wherein the at least one swirl element is provided and mounted in such a way that a ratio of the outer length to the total length is less than 0.25.

14. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the ratio of outer length to total length is less than 0.2.

15. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the ratio of the outer length to the total length is less than 0.15.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Further advantages and configurations will be described below with reference to the appended drawings. In the drawings:

(2) FIG. 1 shows schematically and by way of example a wind turbine, and

(3) FIG. 2 shows schematically and by way of example a rotor blade of a wind turbine.

(4) FIG. 3 shows schematically and by way of another example a rotor blade of a wind turbine.

(5) The explanation of the invention on the basis of examples with reference to the figures is substantially schematic, and, for the sake of better illustration, the elements which are explained in the respective figure may be exaggerated in it and other elements may be simplified. In this regard, for example, FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a wind turbine as such, such that a provided arrangement of swirl elements cannot be clearly seen.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(6) FIG. 1 shows a wind turbine 100 having a tower 102 and having a nacelle 104. A rotor 106 having three rotor blades 108 and having a spinner 110 is arranged on the nacelle 104. During operation, the rotor 106 is set in rotational motion by the wind and in this way drives a generator in the nacelle 104. The rotor blades 108 are settable in terms of their blade angle.

(7) FIG. 2 shows a schematic view of an individual rotor blade 108 with a rotor blade leading edge 120 and a rotor blade trailing edge 122. A plan view of a suction side 124 of the rotor blade is shown, the opposite pressure side not being visible in the view.

(8) The rotor blade 108 has a rotor blade root 114 and a rotor blade tip 116. The length between the rotor blade tip 114 and the rotor blade root 116 is referred to as the rotor blade length R along a longitudinal direction L. The distance between the rotor blade leading edge 120 and the rotor blade trailing edge 122 is referred to as the profile depth T. At the rotor blade root 114, or in general in the region close to the rotor blade root 114, the rotor blade 108 has a large profile depth T. At the rotor tip 116, the profile depth T is, by contrast, very much smaller.

(9) A parting point 130 is provided approximately in a middle region in the longitudinal direction L of the rotor blade 108. The parting point splits the rotor blade into two sections, an inner blade section 132 and an outer blade section 134. The inner blade section 132 extends from the region of the rotor blade root 114 as far as the parting point 130, and the outer blade region 134 adjoins the parting point 130 and extends as far as the rotor blade tip 116. Naturally, it is also conceivable for there to be more than one parting point 130, such as parting point 130′ in FIG. 3, wherein then the outer blade region 134 is split into multiple parts. The rotor blade 108 is joined together at the blade parting point 130 prior to or during mounting at the erection site.

(10) A swirl element 140 is furthermore arranged in the schematic plan view shown in FIG. 2 of the suction side 124. In other embodiments, the swirl element 140 may also be arranged for example on the pressure side. The swirl element 140 delays flow separation in the region in which the swirl element 140 is arranged through additional input of energy into the boundary layer. Various types of swirl elements 140 are known, including active and passive swirl elements.

(11) The discovery of the interplay of parting point 130 and extent of the swirl element 140 in the longitudinal direction L of the rotor blade 108 is useful. A total extent L.sub.tot refers to the extent of the swirl element 140 from the rotor blade root 114 as far as a radially outer end 142 in the longitudinal direction L. An outer length L.sub.outer of the swirl element 140 refers to the length in the longitudinal direction L from the blade parting point 130 as far as the radially outer end 142 of the swirl element 140. For the case in which the parting point 130 is situated further to the outside than the end 142 of the swirl element 140 as shown in FIG. 3, the value of L.sub.outer will acquire a negative sign.

(12) For the assessment as to whether the arrangement of the swirl element 140 is advantageous or not, a ratio of the outer length or outside length L.sub.outer to the total length L.sub.tot is formed. The ratio is considered to be advantageous as soon as it reaches a value of at most 0.25. In other words, the blade parting point 130 has to be relatively far to the outside in relation to the total length of the swirl element 140.

(13) Here, the parting point 130 may also be situated further to the outside than the end 142 of the swirl element 140, it however being disadvantageous if the swirl element 140 extends to the outside such that the ratio of L.sub.outer to L.sub.tot is greater than 0.25.

(14) One realization of the present invention is that swirl elements extending further to the outside generate drag to an excessive extent, while no longer bringing about the flow separation-delaying effect to the extent that an overall consideration which is efficiency-increasing as a result follows.

(15) For the ratio, the particular geometry and aerodynamics of the parting point 130 that are to be considered in the case of two-part rotor blades 108 are particularly relevant. In this regard, the particular realization of the present invention is the necessity of setting the extent of the swirl element 140 in relation to the position of the parting point 130. Preferably, the wind turbine has a rotor diameter D of at least 170 m, since it is the case particularly for large rotors that the advantages of the swirl element 140 and of the multiple splitting of the rotor blades 108 are fully realized.