Modular wind turbine blade with lightning protection system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12270372-B2
Application number	US-202218720055-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 13, 2022
Priority date	Dec 14, 2021
Publication date	Apr 8, 2025
Grant date	Apr 8, 2025

Abstract

A wind turbine blade having at least two blade modules extending in the spanwise direction of the blade and being configured for connection end-to-end at a connection joint An electromagnetic shield is positioned in electrically conductive contact with the blade modules and extending across the connection joint in the spanwise direction.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A wind turbine blade extending longitudinally in a spanwise direction between a root end and a tip end, and extending in a chordwise direction between a leading edge and a trailing edge, the wind turbine blade comprising:
a first blade module having a first spar cap portion extending in the spanwise direction of the wind turbine blade, the first spar cap portion comprising electrically conductive fibres;
a second blade module having a second spar cap portion extending in the spanwise direction of the wind turbine blade, the second spar cap portion comprising electrically conductive fibres;
the first spar cap portion and the second spar cap portion each having an outer surface facing towards an exterior of the blade, an inner surface facing towards an interior of the blade, a first side surface facing towards the leading edge of the blade, and a second side surface facing towards the trailing edge of the blade;
the first blade module and the second blade module being configured for connection end-to-end via their respective spar cap portions at a connection joint;
wherein an electromagnetic shield is positioned on and in electrically conductive contact with at least one surface of the first spar cap portion and at least one surface of the second spar cap portion, the electromagnetic shield extending across the connection joint in the spanwise direction.

2. The wind turbine blade according to claim 1 , wherein the electromagnetic shield is positioned on an upper surface and/or the inner surface of each of the first and second spar cap portions.

3. The wind turbine blade according to claim 1 , wherein the electromagnetic shield is positioned on the first side surface and/or the second side surface of each of the first and second spar cap portions.

4. The wind turbine blade according to any one of the preceding claim 1 , wherein the electromagnetic shield comprises a layer that extends unbroken across the connection joint.

5. The wind turbine blade according to claim 1 , wherein the electromagnetic shield comprises a first shield portion positioned on the first spar cap portion and a second shield portion positioned on the second spar cap portion.

6. The wind turbine blade according to claim 5 , wherein the first shield portion and the second shield portion are in contact with each other at the connection joint.

7. The wind turbine blade according to claim 5 , wherein the first shield portion and the second shield portion overlap at the connection joint.

8. The wind turbine blade according to claim 5 , wherein:
the first shield portion and the second shield portion are both positioned on the outer surface or the inner surface of the first and second spar cap portions respectively, and the first and second shield portions are separated from each other in the spanwise direction;
a third shield portion is positioned across the connection joint on the other of the outer surface or the inner surface such that the third shield portion is separated from the first and second shield portions by a thickness of the first and second spar cap portions;
the third shield portion overlaps, in projection, with the first shield portion and the second shield portion in the spanwise direction of the wind turbine blade.

9. The wind turbine blade according to claim 5 , further comprising a third shield portion wherein the first shield portion and the second shield portion are electrically connected via a third shield portion at the connection joint, the third shield portion being in electrical contact with both the first and second shield portions.

10. The wind turbine blade according to claim 1 , wherein the first and second spar cap portions have a thickness at the connection joint, and the electromagnetic shield terminates away from the connection joint at a spanwise distance from the connection joint, the spanwise distance being 40 times or less the thickness of the first and second spar cap portions at the connection joint.

11. The wind turbine blade according to claim 1 , wherein the connection joint comprises a mechanical jointed connection.

12. The wind turbine blade according to claim 1 , wherein the connection joint comprises an adhesively bonded joint.

13. The wind turbine blade according to claim 1 , further comprising a down conductor to transfer lightning current from a tip of the wind turbine blade to a root of the wind turbine blade.

14. The wind turbine blade according to claim 13 , wherein the down conductor includes a lightning protection layer in the form of a conductive sheet adjacent an outer surface of the wind turbine blade, the lightning protection layer being separated from the first spar cap portion and the second spar cap portion by insulating material.

15. The wind turbine blade according to claim 13 , wherein the down conductor is equipotentially bonded to the electromagnetic shield.

16. The wind turbine blade according to claim 1 , wherein the electromagnetic shield comprises a metallic foil.

17. The wind turbine blade according to claim 1 , wherein the electromagnetic shield comprises metallic wires incorporated into a glass fibre layer.

Assignees

• Vestas Wind Sys As

Inventors

• Anaya Calvo Julian
• Brilliant Nathan A
• Collard Toby
• Lykkegaard Lasse

Classifications

• F05B2240/32

  with roughened surface · CPC title

• F05B2240/85

  Electrical connection arrangements · CPC title

• F03D80/30

  Lightning protection · CPC title

• Y02E10/72

  Wind turbines with rotation axis in wind direction · CPC title

• F05B2260/99

  Radar absorption · CPC title