WIND TURBINE BLADE, TUBULAR STRUCTURE FOR WIND TURBINE BLADE, WIND TURBINE AND WIND-UTILIZATION MONITORING METHOD

Abstract

The present invention describes a wind turbine whose blades have: a differentiated slope intended to compensate for the structural deformations caused by the wind action; a pitch control mechanism for better use of wind speed and direction in each section of blade length; parallel internal and movable structural tubes with each other that make the blade structure more flexible; steel wires connecting the blade ends so that they remain cable-stayed and rigid against wind forces; besides a tubular structure for wind blade; a wind turbine; and a method of controlling wind utilization. The present invention is in the field of renewable energy technologies.

Claims

1. A wind blade, comprising at least one of: a) an internal composition of at least one structural tube; b) a differentiated slope angle () with a vertical plane; c) movable sections for pitch angle adjustment by regions; and d) at least one end connected to ends of other wind blades by a wire.

2. The wind blade according to claim 1, wherein the at least one end is connected to the ends of the other wind blades by at least one steel wire.

3. The wind blade according to claim 1, wherein the wind blade has a structure that is composed of a flexible, resilient and torsion resistant metal filament.

4. A tubular structure for a wind blade, comprising tube threads defined by the association of a plurality of tubes in parallel along a length of the wind blade.

5. The tubular structure according to claim 4, wherein the tubes are overlapped and movable with each other.

6. The tubular structure according to claim 5, further comprising a material for associated deformation absorption at ends of the tube threads.

7. The tubular structure according to claim 6, wherein the tubes are composed of carbon fiber.

8. A wind turbine, comprising: a nacelle; and blades associated with the nacelle, wherein the blades are inclined at an angle () of 5 to 7 with respect to a vertical plane in a direction distal to the nacelle.

9. A method of controlling wind utilization, comprising a step of changing a pitch angle of at least one section of a wind blade as a function of wind conditions affecting the wind blade and/or by means of inclination of flaps arranged in edges of the wind blade.

10. The wind blade according to claim 2, wherein the wind blade has a structure that is composed of a flexible, resilient and torsion resistant metal filament.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] The following figures are presented in order to better define and clarify the contents of the present patent application:

[0015] FIG. 1 shows an example of the cross-section of an embodiment of the blade, sectioned in three parts (A-B-C), and some of the cylindrical structural tubes (2) comprising it, according to the present invention, tubes (2) run through almost the entire internal length of the blade and have a rubber absorbent material (3) connecting their ends.

[0016] FIG. 2a shows a state-of-the-art wind turbine, where the nacelle (1) has a slope angle () from 5 to 7 with the horizontal to prevent contact of the blades with the tower (5), when the blades are flexed by the action of the wind.

[0017] FIG. 2b shows an embodiment of the wind turbine of the present invention, wherein each blade has an angle () from 5 to 7 with the vertical plane, the nacelle (1) supporting said blades arranged at an angle horizontal () parallel to the ground.

[0018] FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the front (at left) and lateral (at right) profiles of a wind turbine in accordance with the present invention in which the ends of the blades are connected by steel wire (4).

[0019] FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of an example of a single wind blade according to the present invention, sectioned in three parts (A-B-C) whose pitch angles can be controlled.

[0020] FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of the wind blade profile and how the pitch angle of each can vary depending on its mechanical configuration.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0021] The following descriptions are given by way of example and not limiting the scope of the invention and will make the object of the present patent application more clearly understood.

[0022] The structural tubes (2) inside of the wind turbines are associated in parallel and are movable with each other. These two characteristics allow the blade to be flexible, which is an essential requirement for the proper work of a wind turbine. Wind constantly changes speed, strength and direction, and the absence of a flexible structure in this equipment can cause extremely damaging or even irreparable mechanical damage.

[0023] The cross-sectional profile of these tubes (2) may vary from circular to hexagonal, but it is necessary that such profile be standardized, since as the tubes (2) will be in contact, they must be compatible so as not to compromise the safety of the blade. The ends of the tubes (2) are attached by a rubber material (3) responsible for controlling the deformation thereof as they move relative to each other, according to FIG. 1.

[0024] In order to increase the stiffness of the turbine blades, the present invention proposes the use of a steel wire (4) connecting the ends of the blades in order to keep the assembly stable against the action of the wind, as shown by FIG. 3, which increases the performance of the system by the fact that the rotor stores more amount of mechanical energy and also reduces the risk of accidents or damage to the wind structure.

[0025] Last but not least, the Active Blade mode referred to herein represents a pitch angle control system of each blade region. Its operation is similar to the operation of the wing flaps mechanism in aircraft for manual control of flight altitude, that is, the wings of an aircraft have flaps whose angles (in relation to the wind incidence plane) vary, causing the gain or loss of high of the vehicle, as shown in FIG. 5.

[0026] In other words, to increase the efficiency of the system and considering that the physical characteristics of the wind are different for each blade length section, each section will have its pitch angle modified according to its current yield, according to the example of FIG. 4.

Example 1. Preferred Embodiment

[0027] In one embodiment of the present invention, the material used in making the structural tubes (2) of the wind blades is of resistant carbon fiber. The slope angle () of each of the wind blades varies from 5 to 7 in relation to the plane containing the vertical structure of the turbine, so that the blades do not collide with the tower (5) in the case of strong winds or gusts, as the example in FIG. 2b illustrates.

Example 2. Preferred Embodiment

[0028] In a second embodiment of the present invention, the material used in making the structural tubes (2) of the wind blades is of resistant carbon fiber. The slope angle () of the nacelle (1) to the horizontal is about 5 to 7, according to FIG. 2a, and the slope angle () of the wind blades in relation to the vertical plane also has a value close to this, thus preventing strong gusts of wind causing the blades to collide with the tower (5) of the turbine.

Example 3. Preferred Embodiment

[0029] In a third embodiment of the present invention, the material used in making the structural tubes (2) of the wind blades is of resistant carbon fiber. The Active Blade mode can also control the pitch angle of the different wind blade sections by means of a continuous metal filament, constituting the outer structure of the blades, that is: a system consisting of a flexible, resilient and torsion resistant material to the point where it allows twisting of the wind blades without causing structural damage or turbulence therein.

Example 4. Preferred Embodiment

[0030] In a fourth embodiment of the present invention, the material used in making the structural tubes (2) of the wind blades is of resistant carbon fiber. The Active Blade mode can be configured to: perform variable pitch angle control of different wind blade longitudinal sections, as shown in FIG. 4; and/or perform variable pitch angle control along its width, in different mechanical configurations, as in the flap system, exemplified by FIG. 5.

[0031] Those skilled in the art will appreciate the knowledge presented herein and may reproduce the invention in the embodiments presented and in other embodiments, falling within the scope of the appended claims.