MULTILAYER COMPOSITE COMPONENT

Abstract

A method of forming a composite component comprising a layer which consists at least partly of polyethylene, a layer which consists at least partly of a polyurethane and/or an elastomer, at least one layer which consists at least partly of a plastic reinforced by fibers, or which consists at least partly of an adhesive, wherein the layer is disposed directly between the layer and the layer, wherein the layers have been joined in a first operation to form a laminate composite and the layer have been joined in a second operation onto the laminate composite comprising the layers.

Claims

1. A method comprising: producing a composite component, comprising: forming a laminate composite comprising a first layer coupled to a second layer, the first layer including polyethylene, the second layer including at least one of polyurethane or an elastomer, and coupling a third layer with the laminate composite, the third layer including at least one of: a plastic reinforced by fibers or an adhesive, wherein the second layer is disposed directly between the first layer and the third layer.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein coupling the third layer with the laminate composite comprises joining the third layer with the laminate composite and curing the third layer.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein coupling the third layer with the laminate composite comprises coupling the third layer directly with the second layer and curing the third layer.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the third layer includes the plastic reinforced by fibers, wherein the plastic is a plastic resin system based on at least one of: epoxide, polyurethane, poly(meth)acrylate matrix, polymethyl (meth)acrylate matrix, or poly(meth)acrylamide matrix.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the third layer includes the plastic reinforced by fibers, wherein the fibers are ultrahigh molecular polyethylene fibers.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the third layer includes the plastic reinforced by fibers, wherein the plastic reinforced by fibers is a carbon fiber reinforced plastic or a glass fiber reinforced plastic.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the polyurethane is a thermoplastic polyurethane or a polyurethane elastomer.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the elastomer is one of: an ethylene-propylene rubber, ethylene-propylene-diene rubber, ethylene-acrylate rubber, fluorocarbon rubber, acrylate rubber, or acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the polyethylene is one of: a high molecular polyethylene, an ultrahigh molecular polyethylene, or polytetrafluoroethylene.

10. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the third layer includes the adhesive, wherein the adhesive is an epoxy resin adhesive or a polyurethane adhesive.

11. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the composite component is at least part of a wind turbine component.

12. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the wind turbine component is a wind turbine rotor blade.

13. The method as claimed in claim 12, further comprising securing the wind turbine rotor blade to a rotor of the wind turbine.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

[0126] In the context of the present invention, preferably two or more of the aspects identified above as being preferred are realized simultaneously; especially preferred are the combinations of such aspects, and of the corresponding features, that emerge from the appended claims.

[0127] FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of a wind power installation with rotor blade element according to the invention;

[0128] FIG. 2 shows schematically one embodiment of a rotor blade element according to the invention;

[0129] FIG. 3 shows in a schematic representation a detail of the rotor blade element from FIG. 2;

[0130] FIG. 4 shows in a schematic representation an alternative detail of the rotor blade element.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0131] FIG. 1 shows a wind power installation 1000 with a tower 1200 and a nacelle 1300. Disposed on the nacelle 1300 is a rotor 1400 having three rotor blades 1100 and a spinner 1500. In operation, the wind places the rotor 1400 into a rotary movement and so drives a generator in the nacelle 1300. The rotor blades 1100 of the wind power installation 1000 possess a base (layer 13) comprising a plastic reinforced at least partly by fibers, and are coated in places with a surface foil (layer 11) of polyethylene, there being a polyurethane layer and/or elastomer layer (layer 12) located between the surface foil and the base. This construction is elucidated in more detail with the following figures.

[0132] FIG. 2 shows a rotor blade element 1110 of the rotor blade 1100, namely the rotor blade nose. The rotor blade nose 1100 possesses a surface foil 11. In this exemplary embodiment, said foil consists of polyethylene of ultrahigh molecular weight (UHMW-PE). The surface foil 11 (layer 11) is joined via an attachment layer 12 (layer 12) to the base of the rotor blade element 13 (layer 13). The base 13 (layer 13) of the rotor blade element here consists at least partly of a plastic reinforced by fibers 14. In the exemplary embodiment, the fiber material is glass fiber reinforced plastic (GRP) and the curable resin is an epoxy resin. The attachment layer 12 (layer 12) consists at least partly of a polyurethane and/or an elastomer. Through the attachment of the surface foil 11 (layer 11) to the base 13 (layer 13) by means of an elastic attachment layer, it is possible to join UHMW-PE to epoxy resin. The surface foil 11 (layer 11) of UHMW-PE is particularly resistant toward abrasive loads of the kind which occur in the operation of wind power installations, particularly on the rotor edges.

[0133] FIG. 3 shows a detail of a composite component 10 of the rotor blade element 1110. At this point on the rotor blade element 1110, the rotor blade element 1110 possesses the following layer construction: A first layer 11 which consists at least partly of polyethylene; a layer 12 which consists at least partly of a polyurethane and/or an elastomer; and at least one layer 13 as base, consisting at least partly of a plastic reinforced by fibers 14. In this exemplary embodiment, the fiber material is glass fiber reinforced plastic (GRP) and the curable resin is an epoxy resin, the polyethylene is a polyethylene of ultrahigh molecular weight (UHMW-PE), and the polyurethane is a thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer or the elastomer is an ethylene-propylene-diene rubber (EPDM).

[0134] FIG. 4 shows an alternative detail of a composite component 10 of the rotor blade element 1110. At this point on the rotor blade element 1110, the rotor blade element 1110 possesses the following layer construction: A first layer 11 which consists at least partly of polyethylene; a layer 12 which consists at least partly of a polyurethane and/or an elastomer; at least one layer 13 which consists at least partly of an adhesive; and a layer 15 which consists at least partly of a plastic reinforced by fibers 14. In this exemplary embodiment, the fiber material is glass fiber reinforced plastic (GRP) and the curable resin is an epoxy resin, the polyethylene is a polyethylene of ultrahigh molecular weight (UHMW-PE), the polyurethane may be a thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer, a thermoplastic polyurethane or a polyurethane elastomer, or the elastomer is an ethylene-propylene-diene rubber (EPDM), and the adhesive is in each case an epoxy resin adhesive.