Polyurethane material, process for preparing such material and protective cover for wind turbine blade

Abstract

The polyurethane material is prepared from a polyol, butanediol, and an isocyanate. The protective cover is adapted to be attached along at least a part of a longitudinal edge of the wind turbine blade by adhesion of an inside of the protective cover to a surface of the longitudinal edge of the wind turbine blade. The protective cover is elongated in a longitudinal direction and has an at least substantially U-formed cross-section. The protective cover includes a central cover section extending in the longitudinal direction and two peripheral cover sections extending in the longitudinal direction at either side of the central cover section, respectively. The central cover section has a minimum thickness of at least 1 millimetre, and each peripheral cover section has a thickness decreasing from a maximum thickness of at least 1 millimetre to a minimum thickness of less than ½ millimetre.

Claims

1. A preformed protective cover for a wind turbine blade, wherein the preformed protective cover is made of a polyurethane material prepared from a polyol, butanediol, and an isocyanate, wherein the preformed protective cover is adapted to be attached along at least a part of a longitudinal edge of the wind turbine blade by adhesion of an inside of the preformed protective cover to a surface of the longitudinal edge of the wind turbine blade, wherein the preformed protective cover is elongated in a longitudinal direction and has an U-formed cross-section, wherein the preformed protective cover includes a central cover section extending in the longitudinal direction and two peripheral cover sections extending in the longitudinal direction at either side of the central cover section, respectively, wherein the central cover section has a minimum thickness of at least 1 millimetre, and each peripheral cover section has a thickness decreasing from a maximum thickness of at least 1 millimetre to a minimum thickness of less than ½ millimetre, wherein the polyol, butanediol, and isocyanate are used in a ratio by weight polyol:butanediol:isocyanate of 100:(3 to 5):(30 to 35).

2. The preformed protective cover according to claim 1, wherein the maximum thickness of each peripheral cover section is equal to the minimum thickness of the central cover section.

3. The preformed protective cover according to claim 1, wherein the minimum thickness of the central cover section is at least 2 millimetres.

4. The preformed protective cover according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of the central cover section is constant from side to side of the central cover section.

5. The preformed protective cover according to claim 1, wherein the minimum thickness of each peripheral cover section is less than ⅓ millimetre.

6. The preformed protective cover according to claim 1, wherein each peripheral cover section has a thickness decreasing constantly from its maximum thickness to its minimum thickness.

7. The preformed protective cover according to claim 1, wherein a width of each peripheral cover section is at least 3 percent of a total width of the preformed protective cover.

8. The preformed protective cover according to claim 1, wherein a total width of the preformed protective cover is at least 30 millimetres.

9. The preformed protective cover according to claim 1, wherein the isocyanate is an optionally modified diphenylmethane 4,4′-diisocyanate.

10. The preformed protective cover according to claim 1, wherein the butanediol is 1,4-butanediol.

11. The preformed protective cover according to claim 1, wherein the polyurethane comprises an UV stabilisator and/or colour pigment(s).

12. The preformed protective cover according to claim 1, wherein the polyol, butanediol, and isocyanate are used in a ratio by weight polyol:butanediol:isocyanate of 100:4:32.3.

13. The preformed protective cover according to claim 1, wherein the polyol comprises an UV stabilisator and/or colour pigment(s).

14. The preformed protective cover according to claim 1, wherein butanediol is 1,4-butanediol.

15. A wind turbine blade including a preformed protective cover according to claim 1, wherein the preformed protective cover is attached along at least a part of a longitudinal edge of the wind turbine blade by adhesion to a surface of the longitudinal edge of the wind turbine blade.

16. The wind turbine blade according to claim 15, wherein the wind turbine blade includes a first blade shell and a second blade shell joined together to form a wind turbine blade along a first longitudinal joint at a leading edge of the wind turbine blade and along a second longitudinal joint at a trailing edge of the wind turbine blade, and wherein the preformed protective cover is symmetrically attached to the first or second longitudinal joint.

17. A method of providing a wind turbine blade with a preformed protective cover according to claim 1, whereby the preformed protective cover is prepared by a) mixing a polyol and butanediol to form a mixture, b) tempering and degassing the mixture, c) tempering and degassing an isocyanate, d) pumping the degassed mixture from step b) and the degasses isocyanate from step c) through a mixing head into a mould, e) curing in the mould, and f) demoulding the preformed protective cover from the mould, whereby the preformed protective cover is attached along at least a part of a longitudinal edge of the wind turbine blade by adhesion of the inside of the preformed protective cover to a surface of the longitudinal edge of the wind turbine blade, whereby the adhesion is performed by the following steps: providing an adhesive on the inside of the preformed protective cover, pressing the inside of the preformed protective cover against the surface of the longitudinal edge of the wind turbine blade, and removing excess adhesive leaking between each peripheral cover section and the surface of the longitudinal edge of the wind turbine blade.

18. The method according to claim 17, whereby the adhesive is provided as string of adhesive on the inside of the preformed protective cover along a longitudinal symmetry axis of the preformed protective cover.

19. The method according to claim 17, wherein the mould is produced by the following steps: providing a male form part having a geometry resembling or matching the outer geometry of the at least part of the longitudinal edge of the wind turbine blade, providing a female form part having a geometry matching the male form part, but being slightly larger, and closing the male form part against the female form part thereby forming a form cavity; and wherein demoulding the preformed protective cover from the mould includes opening the form cavity by separating the male form part from the female form part and ejecting the moulded preformed protective cover.

20. The method according to claim 17, whereby the wind turbine blade is provided with the preformed protective cover as a repair operation, whereby an area of said surface of the longitudinal edge of the wind turbine blade corresponding to the preformed protective cover is machined before attachment of the preformed protective cover.

21. The method according to claim 17, whereby the wind turbine blade is provided with the preformed protective cover when the wind turbine blade is still mounted on a wind turbine.

22. The method according to claim 17, whereby the tempering according to b) and/or c) is carried out at a temperature from 30° C. to 50° C.

23. The method according to claim 17, whereby the tempering according to b) and/or c) is carried out at a temperature of 40° C.

24. The method according to claim 17, whereby the mould in step d) is preheated.

25. The method according to claim 24, whereby the mould in step d) is preheated to a temperature from 90° C. to 120° C.

26. The method according to claim 25, whereby the mould in step d) is preheated to a temperature of 100° C.

27. The method according to claim 17, whereby the curing in step e) is carried out at a temperature from 90° C. to 120° C.

28. The method according to claim 27, whereby the curing in step e) is carried out at a temperature of 100° C.

29. The method according to claim 17, whereby the curing in step e) is carried out for about 15 minutes.

30. The method according to claim 17, comprising a further step: g) post-curing.

31. The method according to claim 30, whereby the post-curing in step g) takes place in 12 hours at a temperature of 100° C.

32. The method according to claim 17, whereby the polyol, butanediol, and isocyanate are used in a ratio by weight polyol:butanediol:isocyanate of 100:4:32.3.

33. The method according to claim 17, whereby the polyol comprises an UV stabilisator and/or colour pigment(s).

34. The method according to claim 17, whereby butanediol is 1,4-butanediol.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 illustrates a cross-section through a wind turbine blade and a preformed protective cover before attachment to the wind turbine blade,

(2) FIG. 2 illustrates on a larger scale a cross-section through the preformed protective cover of FIG. 1, and

(3) FIG. 3 illustrates the preformed protective cover of FIG. 1 seen from its inside.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(4) FIG. 1 shows a preformed protective cover 1 for a wind turbine blade 2, wherein the preformed protective cover 1 is made of a polymer material, such as a polyether based polyurethane. The preformed protective cover 1 is adapted to be attached along at least a part of a longitudinal edge 3 of the wind turbine blade 2 by adhesion of an inside 4 of the preformed protective cover 1 to a surface 5 of the longitudinal edge 3 of the wind turbine blade 2. The preformed protective cover 1 is elongated in a longitudinal direction D and has an at least substantially U-formed cross-section. The preformed protective cover 1 includes a central cover section 6 extending in the longitudinal direction D and two peripheral cover sections 7 extending in the longitudinal direction at either side of the central cover section 6, respectively. The central cover section 6 has a minimum thickness of at least 1 millimetre, and each peripheral cover section 7 has a thickness decreasing from a maximum thickness of at least 1 millimetre to a minimum thickness of less than ½ millimetre.

(5) The particular form of the peripheral cover sections 7 provides for a good transition from the central cover section of the preformed protective cover 1 to the surface of the wind turbine blade 2. A good transition without edges is of great importance in order to avoid that the wind will destroy the materials. A sealing material (sealer) may be applied in a possible groove between an edge of the peripheral cover sections 7 and the surface of the wind turbine blade 2 in order to even further improve the transition.

(6) The maximum thickness of each peripheral cover section 7 may correspond to the minimum thickness of the central cover section. The minimum thickness of the central cover section may be at least 2 millimetres, preferably at least 3 millimetres, more preferred at least 4 millimetres and most preferred approximately 5 millimetres.

(7) The thickness of the central cover section 6 may be at least substantially constant from side to side of the central cover section.

(8) The minimum thickness of each peripheral cover section 7 may be less than ⅓ millimetre, preferably less than ⅕ millimetres, more preferred less than 1/7 millimetres and most preferred approximately 1/10 millimetres.

(9) Each peripheral cover section 7 may have a thickness decreasing at least substantially constantly from its maximum thickness to its minimum thickness.

(10) The width of each peripheral cover section 7 may be at least 3 percent, preferably at least 7 percent, more preferred at least 12 percent and most preferred at least 15 percent of the total width of the preformed protective cover.

(11) The total width of the preformed protective cover 1 may be at least 30 millimetres, preferably at least 50 millimetres, more preferred at least 100 millimetres and most preferred approximately 150 to 250 millimetres.

(12) The total width of the preformed protective cover 1 may increase in the longitudinal direction as illustrated in FIG. 3.

(13) The inside of the preformed protective cover 1 may be provided with a number of not shown protrusions having a height of between ½ and 2 millimetres, preferably approximately 1 millimetre. Such not shown protrusions may have the function of ensuring an appropriate layer thickness of adhesive between the preformed protective cover 1 and the surface of the wind turbine blade 2.

(14) The preformed protective cover may have a symmetry axis 8 extending in the longitudinal direction D. The inside of the preformed protective cover 1 at either side of the symmetry axis may be provided with a number of not shown spaced elongated protrusions extending with an oblique angle in relation to the longitudinal direction. Such not shown protrusions may in addition to the above-mentioned function have the function of leading the adhesive appropriately from the area around the symmetry axis 8 to the area of the peripheral cover sections 7.

(15) As seen in FIG. 1, the preformed protective cover 1 is adapted to be attached along at least a part of the longitudinal edge 3 of the wind turbine blade 2 by adhesion to the surface 5 of the longitudinal edge of the wind turbine blade.

(16) The wind turbine blade 2 may include a first blade shell 9 and a second blade shell 10 joined together to form 2 wind turbine blade along a first longitudinal joint 11 at a leading edge 13 of the wind turbine blade and along a second longitudinal joint 12 at a trailing edge 14 of the wind turbine blade. The preformed protective cover 1 may be attached at least approximately symmetrical about the first or second longitudinal joint 11, 12, and preferably about the first longitudinal joint 11.

(17) According to a method of providing a wind turbine blade with a preformed protective cover according to the invention, the preformed protective cover 1 is attached along at least a part of a longitudinal edge 3 of the wind turbine blade 2 by adhesion of the inside 4 of the preformed protective cover to a surface 5 of the longitudinal edge of the wind turbine blade. The adhesion is performed by the following steps: providing an adhesive, such as a two component polyurethane adhesive, on the inside 4 of the preformed protective cover 1, pressing the inside 4 of the preformed protective cover 1 against the surface 5 of the longitudinal edge 3 of the wind turbine blade 2, and removing excess adhesive leaking between each peripheral cover section 7 and the surface 5 of the longitudinal edge 3 of the wind turbine blade 2.

(18) The inside 4 of the preformed protective cover 1 may be pressed against the surface 5 of the longitudinal edge 3 of the wind turbine blade 2 by means of a special tool. For instance, a tools may have a form corresponding to the outside of the preformed protective cover 1 and may be slid along the outside of the preformed protective cover in order to make the preformed protective cover fit as good as possible onto the wind turbine blade.

(19) The adhesive may be provided as string of adhesive on the inside 5 of the preformed protective cover 1 at least substantially along the longitudinal symmetry axis 8 of the preformed protective cover 1. By subsequently positioning the protective cover 1 on the wind turbine blade 2 and pressing on the protective cover 1 substantially along the longitudinal symmetry axis 8, the adhesive may be pressed in the direction of the peripheral cover sections 7 and thereby be suitably distributed.

(20) The preformed protective cover 1 may be produced by the following steps: providing a not shown male form part having a geometry resembling or at least substantially matching the outer geometry of the at least part of the longitudinal edge 3 of the wind turbine blade 2, providing a not shown female form part having a geometry matching the male form part, but being slightly larger, closing the male form part against the female form part thereby forming a form cavity, pouring the adhesive into the form cavity, and opening the form cavity by separating the male form part from the female form part and ejecting the moulded preformed protective cover 1.

(21) The wind turbine blade 2 may be provided with the preformed protective cover 1 as a repair operation, whereby an area of said surface 5 of the longitudinal edge 3 of the wind turbine blade 2 corresponding to the preformed protective cover 1 is machined, such as by grinding or milling, before attachment of the preformed protective cover 1.

(22) The wind turbine blade 2 may be provided with the preformed protective cover 1 when the wind turbine blade 2 is still mounted on a wind turbine.

(23) Thereby, according to the invention, a damaged wind turbine blade 2 may be repaired in an advantageous way.

(24) The polyurethane material is preferably prepared from a polyol, butanediol, and an isocyanate. The isocyanate may be an optionally modified diphenylmethane 4,4′-diisocyanate. The butanediol may be 1,4-butanediol. The polyurethane material may comprise an UV stabilisator and/or colour pigment(s).

(25) The protective cover for a wind turbine blade may be prepared by

(26) a) mixing a polyol and butanediol,

(27) b) tempering and degassing the mixture according to a),

(28) c) tempering and degassing an isocyanate,

(29) d) pumping the degassed mixture according to b) and the degasses isocyanate according to c) through a mixing head into a mould,

(30) e) curing in the mould, and

(31) f) demoulding the cured item.

(32) The tempering according to b) and/or c) may be carried out at a temperature from 30° C. to 50° C. The tempering according to b) and/or c) may be carried out at a temperature about 40° C. The mould in step d) may be preheated. The mould in step d) may be preheated to a temperature from 90° C. to 120° C. The mould in step d) may be preheated to a temperature about 100° C. The curing in step e) may be carried out at a temperature from 90° C. to 120° C. The curing in step e) may be carried out at a temperature of about 100° C. The curing in step e) may be carried out for about 15 minutes. The process may comprise a further step: g) post-curing. The post-curing in step g) may take place in about 12 hours at a temperature of about 100° C. The polyurethane material or the process, the polyol, butanediol, and isocyanate may be used in a ratio by weight polyol:butanediol:isocyanate of 100:(3 to 5):(30 to 35). The polyol, butanediol, and isocyanate may be used in a ratio by weight polyol:butanediol:isocyanate of 100:4:32.3. The polyol comprises an UV stabilisator and/or colour pigment(s). The polyol may be Bayflex® OS 380-A-59A. The isocyanate may be DESMODUR® PF. Butanediol may be 1,4-butanediol.

COMPARATIVE EXAMPLES

(33) To elucidate the Rain Erosion (RE) durability of the polyurethane material according to the present invention, the durability of the material has been compared to other products.

(34) Annex A illustrates the result of a so-called rain erosion test performed on a sample part of a protective cover for a wind turbine blade made of the polyurethane material according to the present invention. The test has been performed according to ASTM G73-10.

(35) Annex A-1 illustrates the sample part on a larger scale, before start of the test.

(36) Annex A-2 illustrates the sample part at nine different stages of the test. “UV” indicates the number of hours the sample part has been exposed to UV light. “RE” indicates the number of hours the sample part has been exposed to the simulated rain erosion.

(37) Annex A-3 illustrates the sample part at the end of the test. The sample part has been exposed to UV light for 573 hours and has been exposed to the simulated rain erosion for 40 hours. It is seen that no erosion is visible.

(38) Annex B illustrates the result of a rain erosion test performed on a sample part of a protective cover for a wind turbine blade (Blade no. 1); said protective cover not being made of the polyurethane material according to the present invention. The test has been performed according to ASTM G73-10. Annex B-3 illustrates the sample part before start of the test.

(39) Annex B-4 illustrates the sample part when it has been exposed to the simulated rain erosion for 0.5 hours. It is seen that no erosion is visible.

(40) Annex B-5 illustrates the sample part when it has been exposed to the simulated rain erosion for 1 hour. It is seen that severe erosion is visible.

(41) Annex B-6 illustrates the sample part when it has been exposed to the simulated rain erosion for 5.0 hours. It is seen that severe erosion is visible.

(42) Annex B-7 illustrates the sample part when it has been exposed to the simulated rain erosion for 11.5 hours at the end of the test. It is seen that severe erosion is visible.

(43) Annex C illustrates the result of a rain erosion test performed on a sample part of a protective cover for a wind turbine blade (Blade no. 2); said protective cover not being made of the polyurethane material according to the present invention. The test has been performed according to ASTM G73-10.

(44) Annex C-2 illustrates the sample part before start of the test.

(45) Annex C-3 illustrates the sample part when it has been exposed to the simulated rain erosion for 5.0 hours. It is seen that severe erosion is visible.

(46) Annex C-4 illustrates the sample part when it has been exposed to the simulated rain erosion for 10.0 hours. It is seen that severe erosion is visible.

(47) Annex C-5 illustrates the sample part when it has been exposed to the simulated rain erosion for 21.0 hours at the end of the test. It is seen that severe erosion is visible.

(48) Annex D illustrates the result of a rain erosion test performed on a sample part of a protective cover for a wind turbine blade (Blade no. 3); said protective cover not being made of the polyurethane material according to the present invention. The test has been performed according to ASTM G73-10.

(49) Annex D-2 illustrates the sample part before start of the test.

(50) Annex D-3 illustrates the sample part when it has been exposed to the simulated rain erosion for 0.5 hours. It is seen that severe erosion is visible.

(51) Annex D-4 illustrates the sample part when it has been exposed to the simulated rain erosion for 1.5 hours. It is seen that severe erosion is visible.

(52) Annex D-5 illustrates the sample part when it has been exposed to the simulated rain erosion for 3.5 hours at the end of the test. It is seen that severe erosion is visible.

(53) Annex E-1 illustrates respective speeds during the tests performed.

(54) Annex E-2 illustrates respective temperatures during the tests performed.

(55) It is therefore seen that the durability of the polyurethane material according to the present invention is significantly higher than the other tested materials.