System and method for manufacturing a wind turbine blade

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10099324-B2
Application number	US-201314376254-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 31, 2013
Priority date	Feb 2, 2012
Publication date	Oct 16, 2018
Grant date	Oct 16, 2018

Abstract

A manufacturing method for a wind turbine blade is described which utilizes a post-molding station in the manufacturing process. A blade shell forming part of a wind turbine blade is initially molded in a blade mold, the blade shell subsequently transferred to a post-molding station which allows for various post-molding operations to be carried out on the blade shell away from the mold, thereby increasing the productivity of the blade mold in the manufacturing process. The post-molding station may be operable to perform the closing of first and second blade shells to form a wind turbine blade, and may be formed from an adjustable structure which can provide relatively easy access to the contained blade shell for working thereon. Accordingly, the manufacturing equipment may be of reduced cost, combined with an increase in the overall productivity of the manufacturing system.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of manufacturing a wind turbine blade of at least 40 meters in length, the method comprising the steps of:
curing an upwind blade shell in a first blade mould;
curing a downwind blade shell in a second blade mould;
transferring the cured upwind blade shell and the cured downwind blade shell from said first and second blade moulds to a post-moulding station comprising blade cradles to receive cured blade shells, wherein said step of transferring comprises transferring the cured upwind blade shell to a first blade cradle and transferring the cured downwind blade shell to a second blade cradle;
applying an adhesive at a leading edge and a trailing edge of at least one of the cured upwind blade shell and the cured downwind blade shell;
closing the cured upwind blade shell and the cured downwind blade shell by rotationally turning the cured upwind blade shell relative to the cured downwind blade shell in the post-moulding station to form a closed wind turbine blade shell, wherein a hinge couples the first blade cradle to the second blade cradle and assists the first blade cradle translationally moving relative to the second blade cradle; and
bonding the cured upwind blade shell and the cured downwind blade shell in said closed wind turbine blade shell to form a wind turbine blade.

2. A manufacturing system for the manufacture of wind turbine blades formed from a pair of cured blade shells bonded together, the system comprising:
a first upwind blade mould to produce at least a portion of a first upwind cured blade shell;
a second downwind blade mould to produce at least a portion of a second downwind cured blade shell;
a post-moulding station to receive said first and second cured blade shells from said first and second blade moulds, said post-moulding station comprising a first blade cradle to receive a first cured blade shell and a second blade cradle to receive a second cured blade shell, wherein a post-moulding operation can be performed on said first and second cured blade shells at said post-moulding station, wherein an adhesive is applied at a leading edge and a trailing edge of at least one of the first upwind cured blade shell and second downwind cured blade shell as a post-moulding operation; and
a closing mechanism operable to close said first and second cured blade shells to form a wind turbine blade, wherein said closing mechanism is coupled to said post-moulding station, said closing mechanism operable to translationally move said first blade cradle relative to said second blade cradle, to close first and second cured blade shells received in said cradle to form a closed wind turbine blade shell, wherein a hinge couples the first blade cradle to the second blade cradle and assists the first blade cradle translationally moving relative to the second blade cradle.

3. A post-moulding station for use in the system of claim 2 , the post-moulding station used to perform at least one post-moulding operation on at least a section of a cured wind turbine blade shell of at least 40 meters length, the post-moulding station comprising:
at least one cradle to receive at least a section of a cured wind turbine blade shell transferred from a blade mould,
wherein at least one post-moulding operation can be performed on at least one surface of said cured wind turbine blade shell received in said cradle.

Assignees

• Lm Wp Patent Holding As

Inventors

• De Waal Malefijt Bernard Willem

Classifications

• Y10T29/5137

  including assembling or disassembling station · CPC title

• Y10T29/49337

  Composite blade · CPC title

• F05B2260/4031

  as in toothed gearing · CPC title

• B29L2031/085

  Wind turbine blades · CPC title

• B29C66/54

  Joining several hollow-preforms, e.g. half-shells, to form hollow articles, e.g. for making balls, containers; Joining several hollow-preforms, e.g. half-cylinders, to form tubular articles · CPC title