Male spar beam for a segmented wind turbine blade

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12372056-B2
Application number	US-202118023187-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 22, 2021
Priority date	Sep 25, 2020
Publication date	Jul 29, 2025
Grant date	Jul 29, 2025

Abstract

A male spar beam for mutually attaching a segmented wind turbine blade and, comprising: a leading-edge part comprising a second upper wall, a second lower wall, and a second shear wall connecting the second upper wall with the second lower wall, the leading-edge part; and a trailing-edge part comprising a first upper wall, a first lower wall, and a first shear wall connecting the first upper wall with the first lower wall. The leading-edge and trailing-edge parts being separately formed integrally in one piece, respectively. An end of the first lower wall is attached to an end of the second lower wall so that the first lower wall and the second lower wall form a lower spar cap of the male spar beam, and an end of the first upper wall is attached to an end of the second upper wall so that the first upper wall and the second upper wall form an upper spar cap of the male spar beam.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A male spar beam for engaging with a female receiving section of a first blade segment of a segmented wind turbine blade and for attachment to a second blade segment of the segmented wind turbine blade and, the segmented wind turbine blade having a profiled contour including a pressure side and a suction side, and a leading edge and a trailing edge with a chordwise direction extending therebetween, the segmented wind turbine blade extending in a longitudinal direction from a root end to a tip end thereof,
wherein the male spar beam extends in a longitudinal direction extending from a first end to a second end thereof, the second end being configured for engaging with the female receiving section of the segmented wind turbine blade, and wherein the male spar beam comprises:
an upper spar cap extending in the longitudinal direction, having a width bounded by a left upper boundary and a right upper boundary, and having an upper joint arranged between the left upper boundary and the right upper boundary, and being configured for facing one of the pressure side and the suction side of the segmented wind turbine blade;
a lower spar cap extending in the longitudinal direction, and having a width bounded by a left lower boundary and a right lower boundary, having a lower joint arranged between the left lower boundary and the right lower boundary, and being configured for facing the other one of the pressure side and the suction side of the segmented wind turbine blade, the lower spar cap being positioned opposite of and extending in parallel to the upper spar cap;
a leading-edge part comprising a first upper wall, a first lower wall, and a first shear wall connecting the first upper wall with the first lower wall, the leading-edge part being formed integrally in one piece in a first female mould ( 100 ) and comprising a fibre-reinforced laminate material; and
a trailing-edge part comprising a second upper wall, a second lower wall, and a second shear wall connecting the second upper wall with the second lower wall, the trailing-edge part being formed integrally in one piece in a second female mould ( 100 ) separately from the leading-edge part and comprises a fibre-reinforced laminate material,
wherein an end of the first lower wall of the leading-edge part is attached to an end of the second lower wall of the trailing-edge part to form the lower joint so that the first lower wall and the second lower wall form the lower spar cap of the male spar beam, and
wherein an end of the first upper wall of the leading-edge part is attached to an end of the second upper wall of the trailing-edge part to form the upper joint so that the first upper wall and the second upper wall form the upper spar cap of the male spar beam.

2. The male spar beam according to claim 1 , wherein the upper joint and/or the lower joint is positioned at a position in the range of 5%-95% of the width of the upper spar cap and/or the lower spar cap, respectively.

3. The male spar beam according to claim 1 , further comprising an upper interior strip and/or a lower interior strip,
wherein the upper interior strip is attached to and overlaps an interior surface of the first upper wall of the leading-edge part and an interior surface of the second upper wall of the trailing-edge part, and/or
wherein the lower interior strip is attached to and overlaps an interior surface of the first lower wall of the leading-edge part and an interior surface of the second lower wall of the trailing-edge part.

4. The male spar beam according to claim 3 , further comprising a first shear web part having a third shear wall attaching the upper interior strip to the lower interior strip, the first shear web part being manufactured separately from the leading-edge part and the trailing-edge part, and the third shear wall is formed integrally in one piece with the upper interior strip and the lower interior strip.

5. The male spar beam according to claim 1 , further comprising an upper exterior strip and/or a lower exterior strip
wherein the upper exterior strip is attached to and overlaps an exterior face of the first upper wall of the leading-edge part and an exterior face of the second upper wall of the trailing-edge part, and/or
wherein the lower exterior strip is attached to and overlaps an exterior face of the first lower wall of the leading-edge part and an exterior face of the second lower wall of the trailing-edge part.

6. The male spar beam according to claim 1 , further comprising an engagement member protruding from the second end of the male spar beam, the engagement member being configured for being inserted into and engaging with the female receiving section of the segmented wind turbine blade.

7. The male spar beam according to claim 1 , wherein the first shear wall of the leading-edge part comprises an at least partially embedded first reinforcement structure including a first receiving portion, and the second shear wall of the trailing-edge part comprises an at least partially embedded second reinforcement structure including a second receiving portion aligned with the first receiving portion, wherein the first reinforcement structure and/or the second reinforcement structure comprise a metal, and
the first receiving portion and/or the second receiving portion form part of a locking arrangement of the segmented wind turbine blade and are configured for receiving an engagement element of the locking arrangement, thereby mutually locking the segmented wind turbine blade.

8. The male spar beam according to claim 1 , wherein the first upper wall and the first lower wall of the leading-edge part and the second upper wall and the second lower wall of the trailing-edge part have a positive draft angle to ease removal from the first female mould and the second female mould, respectively.

9. A segmented wind turbine blade having a profiled contour including a pressure side and a suction side, and a leading edge and a trailing edge with a chord extending therebetween, the segmented wind turbine blade extending in a longitudinal direction between a root end and a tip end, the segmented wind turbine blade comprising a first blade segment having a female receiving section, and a second blade segment having the male spar beam according to claim 1 configured for insertion into and engaging with the female receiving section of the first blade segment.

10. The segmented wind turbine blade according to claim 9 , wherein the female receiving section defines an inner cavity and has a longitudinal inner end and an opposite longitudinal open end at an end face of the first blade segment, wherein the second blade segment is connected to the first blade segment at a chord-wise joint,
the male spar beam protruding at the chord-wise joint from an end face of the second blade segment and extending through the longitudinal open end of and into the cavity of the female receiving section to be received therein, thereby attaching the first blade segment to the second blade segment, the segmented wind turbine blade additionally comprising a locking arrangement mutually locking the female receiving section and the male spar beam and thereby the first and second blade segment.

11. A method of manufacturing a male spar beam for a segmented wind turbine blade, the segmented wind turbine blade having a profiled contour including a pressure side and a suction side, and a leading edge and a trailing edge with a chordwise direction extending therebetween, the segmented wind turbine blade extending in a longitudinal direction from a root end to a tip end thereof, the method comprising the steps of:
providing a pre-cured trailing-edge part comprising a first u

Assignees

• Blade Dynamics Ltd

Inventors

• Todd Paul Damian Michael
• Hancock Mark

Classifications

• F05B2280/6003

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

• F05B2230/60

  Assembly methods · CPC title

• B32B2603/00

  Vanes, blades, propellers, rotors with blades · CPC title

• B32B2260/046

  Synthetic resin · CPC title

• B32B2260/023

  Two or more layers · CPC title