WIND TURBINE BLADE ASSEMBLY AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING A WIND TURBINE BLADE

Abstract

Disclosed is a wind turbine blade assembly and a method for its manufacture. The wind turbine blade assembly comprises a leading edge, a trailing edge, a blade shell with a trailing portion, and a flatback profile component. The trailing portion has an outwardly curving arc shape and the flatback profile is positioned so as to cover the trailing portion of the blade shell.

Claims

1. A wind turbine blade assembly having a longitudinal axis extending between a root end to a tip end, a chord extending transversely to the longitudinal axis between a leading edge and a trailing edge, the wind turbine blade assembly comprising: a blade shell having a upwind shell side, a downwind shell side, a leading portion defining the leading edge of the wind turbine blade assembly, and a trailing portion arranged opposite to the leading portion and connecting the upwind shell side with the downwind shell side, wherein a cross-section of the trailing portion perpendicular to the longitudinal axis having an outwardly curving arc shape; and a flatback profile component having an upwind side positioned substantially flush with the upwind shell side, a downwind side positioned substantially flush with the downwind shell side, and a substantially planar flatback side connecting the upwind side with the downwind side, the flatback side defining the trailing edge of the wind turbine blade assembly and being shaped so as to provide the wind turbine blade assembly with a flatback airfoil shape; wherein the flatback profile component is positioned to cover the trailing portion of the blade shell.

2. A wind turbine blade assembly according to claim 1, wherein the flatback profile component and the blade shell are formed as separate components.

3. A wind turbine blade assembly according to claim 1, wherein the upwind side of the flatback profile component is attached, preferably by thermoplastic welding, plastic welding, adhesive, and/or glue, to an outer surface of the upwind shell side, and/or wherein the downwind side of the flatback profile component is attached, preferably by thermoplastic welding, plastic welding, adhesive, and/or glue, to an outer surface of the downwind shell side.

4. A wind turbine blade assembly according to claim 1, wherein the flatback profile component comprises a first edge between the flatback side and the upwind side of the flatback profile component and/or a second edge between the flatback side and the downwind side, wherein the first and/or the second edge is/are aerodynamically sharp.

5. A wind turbine blade assembly according to claim 1, wherein the upwind shell side and the downwind shell side are formed as separate upwind and downwind shell parts, the blade shell further comprises a joint portion having an upwind joint portion formed integrally with the upwind shell part in one piece, a downwind joint portion formed integrally with the downwind shell part in one piece, and a flange adhering to an inner surface of the upwind joint portion and to an inner surface of the downwind joint portion, so as to structurally join the upwind shell part to the downwind shell part.

6. A wind turbine blade assembly according to claim 1, wherein, in a cross-section perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, the perimeter of the trailing portion of the blade shell from the attachment of upwind side of the flatback profile component to the attachment of the downwind side of the flatback profile component is outwardly arc shaped, convexly rounded, circular arc shaped, elliptical arc shaped, and/or C-shaped.

7. A wind turbine blade assembly according to claim 1, wherein the trailing portion of the blade shell is curving non-abruptly.

8. A wind turbine blade assembly according to claim 1, wherein the flatback profile component consists essentially of a fibre-reinforced composite material.

9. A wind turbine blade assembly according claim 1, wherein the flatback profile component or a matrix material of the flatback material comprises or consist essentially of a thermoplastic material or a thermoset material.

10. A wind turbine blade assembly according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of the upwind, downwind, and/or the flatback side of the flatback profile component is/are equal to or less than the thickness of the blade shell.

11. A wind turbine blade assembly according to claim 1, wherein the flatback profile component covers the trailing portion of the blade shell at least along 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, or 70% of the distance from the root end to the tip end of the wind turbine blade assembly.

12. A kit of parts for a wind turbine blade assembly, comprising: a blade shell having a upwind shell side, a downwind shell side, a leading portion defining the leading edge of the wind turbine blade assembly, and a trailing portion arranged opposite to the leading portion and connecting the upwind shell side with the downwind shell side, wherein the trailing portion has an outwardly curving arc shape; and a flatback profile component having an upwind side configured for being attached substantially flush with the upwind shell side, a downwind side configured for being attached substantially flush with the downwind shell side, and a flatback side connecting the upwind side with the downwind side, the flatback side being configured to provide the wind turbine blade assembly with a flatback airfoil shape, the flatback profile component being configured for covering the trailing portion of the blade shell.

13. A wind turbine comprising a wind turbine blade assembly according to claim 1.

14. A wind turbine farm comprising a plurality of wind turbines according to claim 0.

15. A method for manufacturing a wind turbine blade assembly according to claim 1, the wind turbine blade assembly having a longitudinal axis extending between a root end to a tip end, a chord extending transversely to the longitudinal axis between a leading edge and a trailing edge, the method comprising the steps of: providing a blade shell having an upwind shell side, a downwind shell side, a leading portion defining the leading edge, and a trailing portion arranged opposite to the leading portion and connecting the upwind shell side with the downwind shell side, wherein the trailing portion has an outwardly curving arc shape; providing a flatback profile component having an upwind side, a downwind side, and a flatback side connecting the upwind side with the downwind side; positioning the flatback profile component to cover the trailing portion of the blade shell so that the flatback side defines the trailing edge of the wind turbine blade assembly; attaching, preferably by thermoplastic welding, plastic welding, adhesive, and/or glue, the upwind side of the flatback profile component to the upwind shell side, so that the upwind side of the flatback profile component is positioned substantially flush with the upwind shell side; and attaching, preferably by thermoplastic welding, plastic welding, adhesive, and/or glue, the downwind side of the flatback profile component to the downwind shell side, so that the downwind side of the flatback profile component is positioned substantially flush with the downwind shell side.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0047] Embodiments of this disclosure will be described in more detail in the following with regard to the accompanying figures. The figures show one way of implementing the present invention and are not to be construed as being limiting to other possible embodiments falling within the scope of the attached claim set.

[0048] FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating an exemplary wind turbine,

[0049] FIG. 2 is a schematic view illustrating an exemplary wind turbine blade,

[0050] FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing a wind turbine blade with a flatback profile at the trailing edge in more detail,

[0051] FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a cross-section perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the blade shell with an attached flatback profile component,

[0052] FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing the trailing portion of the wind turbine blade assembly in more detail,

[0053] FIG. 6 is flowchart of an exemplary method for manufacturing a wind turbine blade assembly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0054] 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 blade assemblies 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.

[0055] FIG. 2 shows a schematic view of an exemplary wind turbine blade assembly 10. The wind turbine blade assembly 10 extends along a longitudinal axis L with a root end 17 and a tip end 15 and has the shape of a conventional wind turbine blade with comprises a root region 12 closest to the hub, a profiled or an airfoil region 11 furthest away from the hub and a transition region 13 between the root region 12 and the airfoil region 11. The blade assembly 10 comprises a leading edge 18 facing the direction of rotation of the blade assembly 10, when the blade is mounted on the hub, and a trailing edge 20 facing the opposite direction of the leading edge 18.

[0056] The airfoil region 11 (also called the profiled region) has an ideal or almost ideal blade shape with respect to generating lift, whereas the root region 12 due to structural considerations has a substantially circular or elliptical cross-section, which for instance makes it easier and safer to mount the blade assembly 10 to the hub. The diameter (or the chord) of the root region 12 may be constant along the entire root area 30. The transition region 13 has a transitional profile gradually changing from the circular or elliptical shape of the root region 12 to the airfoil profile of the airfoil region 11. The chord length of the transition region 13 typically increases with increasing distance r from the hub. The airfoil region 11 has an airfoil profile with a chord extending between the leading edge 18 and the trailing edge 20 of the blade assembly 10. The width of the chord decreases with increasing distance r from the hub.

[0057] A shoulder 40 of the blade assembly 10 is defined as the position, where the blade assembly 10 has its largest chord length. The shoulder 40 is typically provided at the boundary between the transition region 13 and the airfoil region 11.

[0058] 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.

[0059] The trailing edge 20 may be embodied as a flatback trailing edge, wherein the trailing edge 20 is flattened in order to achieve better aerodynamic properties. This construction may increase the aerodynamic efficiency of the wind turbine blade in comparison with a sharp trailing edge design. FIG. 3 shows a wind turbine blade assembly 10 with a flatback profile at the trailing edge 20 in more detail. The wind turbine blade assembly 10 comprises a blade shell 22 including two blade shell parts, a first blade shell part 24 and a second blade shell part 26, typically made of fibre-reinforced polymer. The first blade shell part 24 is typically a pressure or upwind blade shell part. The second blade shell part 26 is typically a suction or downwind blade shell part. The first blade shell part 24 and the second blade shell part are typically glued together along bond lines or glue joints 28 extending along the trailing edge 20 and the leading edge 18 of the blade assembly 10 as shown in more detail on FIG. 5. Typically, the root end 17 of the blade shell parts 24, 26 have a semi-circular or semi-oval outer cross-sectional shape.

[0060] The trailing edge 20 has a flattened profile. The flattened profile may increase the aerodynamic efficiency and also helps to reduce the chord width. The flatback profile is provided by a flatback profile component 30 which connects the upwind side shell part 24 to the downwind side shell part 26. In the present embodiment, the flatback profile component 30 extends substantially along the entire length of the trailing edge 20, however in other embodiments, the flatback profile component 30 may extend at least along 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, or 70% of the distance from the root end 17 to the tip end 15 of the wind turbine blade assembly 10. Details of this flatback profile component 30 and the method for manufacturing the wind turbine blade assembly 10 will be explained in more detail with reference to the following drawings.

[0061] FIG. 4 shows a flatback airfoil profile of the wind turbine blade assembly 10 in a cross-section perpendicular to the longitudinal axis L along lines I-I shown in FIG. 3. The wind turbine blade assembly 10 comprises the upwind blade shell part 24, the blade shell part 26, and the flatback profile component 30 which were formed as separate components. The blade shell parts 24, 26 has been joined at a trailing portion 21 of the blade shell parts 24, 26 to form an integral blade shell 24, 26 which will be discussed in more detail in connection with FIG. 6. A leading portion 19 of the blade shell includes the leading edge 18 of the blade assembly 10 and a trailing portion 21 of the blade shell 24, 26 is covered by the flatback profile component 30 which shaped so as to provide the wind turbine blade assembly 10 with a flatback airfoil shape with a flattened trailing edge 20.

[0062] FIG. 5 shows the trailing portion 21 of the blade shell 24, 26 and the flatback profile component 30 in more detail. The trailing portion 21 of the blade shell 24, 26 has an outwardly curving arc shape substantially in the shape of a C. This geometric shape sustains loads much better relative to a more typical airfoil with an aerodynamically sharp trailing edge which substantially has the shape of a >. The flatback profile component 30 has an upwind side 31 positioned substantially flush with the upwind shell side 24, a downwind side 32 positioned substantially flush with the downwind shell side 26, and a substantially planar flatback side 33 connected to the upwind side 31 at an upwind edge 34 and to the downwind side 32 at a downwind edge 35. The flatback side 33 defines the trailing edge 20 of the wind turbine blade assembly 10. The upwind edge 34 and the downwind edge 35 are aerodynamically sharp so that wind traversing the edges 34, 35 substantially instantaneously separates from the respective flatback side 33 at the aerodynamically sharp edge 34, 35.

[0063] The blade shell parts are made of fibre-reinforced plastic, typically a thermoplastic or thermoset polymer with carbon or glass fibre-reinforcement, usually wrapped around a core, often of balsa wood, to form a sandwich structure. The flatback profile component 30 advantageously consist essentially of the same material as the blade shell parts 24, 26, however typically the flatback profile component 30 is formed as a non-sandwich structure. In particular, the thickness of the upwind 31, downwind 32, and/or the flatback side 33 of the flatback profile component 30 is/are usually equal to or less than the thickness of the blade shell 24, 26.

[0064] Typically, the upwind side 31 of the flatback profile component 30 is adhered to an outer surface 25 of the upwind shell side part 24, and the downwind side 32 of the flatback profile component 30 is adhered to an outer surface 27 of the downwind shell side 26. In other embodiments, the upwind 31 and downwind 32 side are plastic welded onto the respective outer surfaces 25, 27.

[0065] The blade shell 24, 26 comprises a joint portion 28 having an upwind joint portion 28a formed integrally with the upwind shell part 24 in one piece, a downwind joint portion 28b formed integrally with the downwind shell part 26 in one piece, and a flange 29 extending in parallel by and slightly offset to the trailing portion 21 of blade shell parts 24, 26. The flange 29 adheres to an inner surface of the upwind joint portion 28a and to an inner surface of the downwind joint portion 28b, so as to structurally join the upwind shell part 24 to the downwind shell part 26. In the present embodiment, the joint portion 28 is positioned at the trailing portion 21, but in other embodiments, the joint portion 28 may be positioned away from the trailing portion 21, for instance on the upwind or downwind side of the blade shell 24, 26.

[0066] FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the steps of producing a wind turbine blade according to a detailed embodiment.

[0067] Firstly 100, a blade shell 24, 26 is provided, typically in an upwind blade shell part 24 and a downwind blade shell part 26 joined at a joint portion 28. The blade shell 24, 26 has an upwind shell side 24, a downwind shell side 26, a leading portion 19 defining a leading edge 18, and a trailing portion 21 arranged opposite to the leading portion 19 and connecting the upwind shell side 24 with the downwind shell side 26. The trailing portion 21 has an outwardly curving arc shape.

[0068] Secondly 101, a flatback profile component 30 is provided. The flatback profile component 30 has an upwind side 31, a downwind side 32, and a flatback side 33 connecting the upwind side 31 with the downwind side 32.

[0069] Thirdly 102, the flatback profile component 30 is positioned to cover the trailing portion 21 of the blade shell 24, 26 so that the flatback side 33 defines the trailing edge 20 of the wind turbine blade assembly 10.

[0070] Fourthly 103, the upwind side 31 of the flatback profile component 30 is attached, preferably by thermoplastic welding, plastic welding, adhesive, and/or glue, to the upwind shell side 24, so that the upwind side 31 of the flatback profile component 30 is positioned substantially flush with the upwind shell side 24.

[0071] Fifthly 104, the downwind side 32 of the flatback profile component 30 is attached, preferably by thermoplastic welding, plastic welding, adhesive, and/or glue, to the downwind shell side 26, so that the downwind side 32 of the flatback profile component 30 is positioned substantially flush with the downwind shell side 26.

[0072] Due to the fact, that the blade shell 24, 26 is manufactured in a different step than the flatback profile component 30, the blade shell 24, 26 can form the structural basis of many different wind turbine blade assemblies since a number of different flatback profile components 30 can be produced to correspond to different wind regimes.

[0073] The invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments. However, the scope of the invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiments, and alterations and modifications can be carried out without deviating from the scope of the invention.

LIST OF REFERENCES

[0074] 2 wind turbine [0075] 4 tower [0076] 6 nacelle [0077] 8 hub [0078] 10 blade assembly [0079] 11 airfoil region [0080] 12 root region [0081] 13 transition region [0082] 14 blade tip [0083] 15 tip end [0084] 16 blade root [0085] 17 root end [0086] 18 leading edge [0087] 19 leading portion [0088] 20 trailing edge [0089] 21 trailing portion [0090] 22 blade shell [0091] 24 first/lower blade shell part (upwind/pressure side shell part) [0092] 25 outer surface [0093] 26 second/upper blade shell part (downwind/suction side part) [0094] 27 outer surface [0095] 28 joint portion [0096] 28a upwind joint portion [0097] 28b downwind joint portion [0098] 29 flange [0099] 30 flatback profile component [0100] 31 upwind side [0101] 32 downwind side [0102] 33 flatback side [0103] 34 upwind edge [0104] 35 downwind edge [0105] 40 shoulder [0106] 100 providing a blade shell [0107] 101 providing a flatback profile component [0108] 102 positioning the flatback profile component to cover the trailing portion [0109] 103 attaching the upwind side to the upwind shell side [0110] 104 attaching the downwind side to the downwind shell side