Wind turbine blade, a wind turbine and a method for manufacturing a wind turbine blade

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12281641-B2
Application number	US-202117925060-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 12, 2021
Priority date	May 27, 2020
Publication date	Apr 22, 2025
Grant date	Apr 22, 2025

Abstract

A wind turbine blade for a wind turbine is provided, the wind turbine blade including: an electrical conductor for conducting lighting strikes towards a hub of the wind turbine, a fiber sock fully enclosing the electrical conductor when seen in cross-section, a support element, and at least one finger connecting the support element and the fiber sock, the fiber sock, the support element and the at least one finger being made of electrically conductive fibers for conducting lightning strikes from the support element to the electrical conductor. Such a fiber sock mitigates the risk of delamination around the electrical conductor resulting from injected high voltages in case of lightning strikes.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A wind turbine blade for a wind turbine, the wind turbine blade comprising:
an electrical conductor for conducting lighting strikes towards a hub of the wind turbine;
a fiber sock fully enclosing the electrical conductor when seen in cross-section,
a support element and;
at least one finger connecting the support element and the fiber sock wherein the fiber sock, the support element, and the at least one finger being made of electrically conductive fibers for conducting lightning strikes from the support element to the electrical conductor.

2. The wind turbine blade according to claim 1 , wherein the fiber sock comprises multiaxial carbon fibers.

3. The wind turbine blade according to claim 1 , comprising at least two fingers both being made from electrically conductive fibers and connecting the support element and the fiber sock, wherein the fiber sock fully encloses the electrical conductor when seen in cross-section and over a full length between the at least two fingers.

4. The wind turbine blade according to claim 1 , wherein a distance between the support element and the electrical conductor is between 10 mm and 3000 mm, or larger than 150 mm.

5. The wind turbine blade according to claim 3 , wherein a distance between the at least two fingers is less than 500 mm, less than 400 mm, less than 300 mm, or less than 200 mm and/or larger than 50 mm or larger than 100 mm.

6. The wind turbine blade according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one finger is made of electrically conductive unidirectional carbon fibers.

7. The wind turbine blade according to claim 1 , comprising a further fiber sock which fully encloses the fiber sock when seen in cross-section, the at least one finger being connected to the fiber sock via the further fiber sock.

8. The wind turbine blade according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one finger comprises a weft thread which extends between the support element and the fiber sock for holding together the electrically conductive fibers of the at least one finger.

9. The wind turbine blade according to claim 1 , wherein the support element is a spar cap.

10. The wind turbine blade according to claim 1 , wherein the electrical conductor is a metal cable, extending in a lengthwise direction of the wind turbine blade.

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

Assignees

• Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy As

Inventors

• Hurup Allan
• Nauheimer Michael
• Nielsen Mogens
• Noerlem Michael
• Sun Wei

Classifications

• F05D2240/14

  Casings or housings protecting or supporting assemblies within · CPC title

• B64D45/02

  Lightning protectors; Static dischargers · CPC title

• F03D80/301

  Lightning receptor and down conductor systems in or on blades · CPC title

• F05D2300/603

  Composites; e.g. fibre-reinforced · CPC title

• F03D7/0268

  Parking or storm protection · CPC title