Wind turbine blade including leading edge protector and wind turbine including the wind turbine blade

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11519390-B2
Application number	US-202117314352-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 7, 2021
Priority date	Jun 1, 2020
Publication date	Dec 6, 2022
Grant date	Dec 6, 2022

Abstract

A wind turbine blade includes a blade main body and a leading edge protector. The leading edge protector includes a conductive material and covers a leading edge of the blade main body. The leading edge protector is also electrically connected to a down conductor disposed in a hollow space enclosed by a skin in the blade main body or a conductive mesh member provided along an outer surface of the skin.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A wind turbine blade, comprising:
a blade main body; and
a leading edge protector including a conductive material, the leading edge protector covering a leading edge of the blade main body, and being electrically connected to a down conductor in a hollow space enclosed by a skin in the blade main body;
a first receptor electrically connected to the down conductor and provided on an outer surface of the skin at a first position separated from the leading edge protector;
a second receptor electrically connected to the down conductor and provided on the outer surface of the skin at a second position separated from the leading edge protector;
a first diverter strip; and
a second diverter strip,
wherein:
the leading edge protector, the first receptor and the second receptor are connected in parallel by the first diverter strip on a suction side of the blade main body and the second diverter strip on a pressure side of the blade main body such that lightning current generated by a lightning strike is directed on the suction side along a first route along the skin on the suction side from the leading edge protector toward the first receptor and a second route from the first receptor toward the down conductor, and is directed on the pressure side along a third route along the skin on the pressure side from the leading edge protector toward the second receptor and a fourth route from the second receptor toward the down conductor.

2. The wind turbine blade according to claim 1 , wherein the leading edge protector includes a plurality of protector members disposed along a blade longitudinal direction of the blade main body.

3. The wind turbine blade according to claim 2 , wherein the plurality of protector members are electrically connected to each other.

4. The wind turbine blade according to claim 3 , wherein the plurality of protector members are electrically connected via a conductive plate provided between the plurality of protector members and the skin.

5. The wind turbine blade according to claim 3 , wherein a protector member closest to a blade root of the blade main body among the plurality of protector members is electrically connected to the down conductor.

6. The wind turbine blade according to claim 1 , wherein the leading edge protector includes:
a first region constructed of a metal board; and
a second region provided closer to a blade root side of the blade main body than the first region and constructed of a thermal spray film.

7. The wind turbine blade according to claim 1 , wherein the leading edge protector is fixed to the blade main body with a bolt member that passes through the skin.

8. A wind turbine comprising the wind turbine blade according to claim 1 .

9. The wind turbine blade according to claim 1 , wherein the leading edge protector is electrically connected to a conductive mesh member provided along the outer surface of the skin.

Assignees

• Mitsubishi Heavy Ind Ltd

Inventors

• Murata Naoto
• YAMAMOTO Syusaku
• Tsumura Yoichiro
• Aoi Tatsufumi
• Ikeda Akio
• Kamihara Nobuyuki
• Naka Takehiro

Classifications

• F05B2240/303

  Details of the leading edge · CPC title

• F03D80/30 Primary

  Lightning protection · CPC title

• F05B2230/90

  Coating; Surface treatment · CPC title

• F03D1/0675

  of the blades · CPC title

• Y02E10/72

  Wind turbines with rotation axis in wind direction · CPC title