Wind Turbine Blade with Bond Paste Inspection Window and Associated Method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016123298-A1
Application number	US-201414529275-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Oct 31, 2014
Priority date	Oct 31, 2014
Publication date	May 5, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

A wind turbine blade has an upper shell member and a lower shell member bonded at a leading and trailing edge of the blade with a bond paste applied between respective forward and rearward edges of the shell members. At least one of the shell members includes a first inspection window defined therein along one of the leading edge or trailing edge at a location corresponding at least to a design minimum bond width of the bond paste applied at the respective leading edge or trailing edge. The inspection window provides a visible access through the shell member such that a visible indication is generated through the inspection window when bond paste is injected and reaches the minimum bond width location in the chord-wise direction.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A wind turbine blade with a leading edge and a trailing edge, said blade comprising:
an upper shell member and a lower shell member, each of the upper shell member and said lower shell member comprising a chord-wise forward edge and a rearward edge, the forward edges bonded at the leading edge and the rearward edges bonded at the trailing edge with a bond paste applied between the respective forward edges and rearward edges; at least one of the shell members comprising a first inspection window defined therein along one of the leading edge or trailing edge at a location corresponding at least to a design minimum bond width of the bond paste applied at the respective leading edge or trailing edge; the first inspection window providing a visible access through the shell member such that a visible indication is generated through the first inspection window when bond paste is injected and reaches the minimum bond width location or beyond in the chord-wise direction.

2 . The wind turbine blade as in claim 1 , wherein the visible indication is the visible presence of the bond paste through the first inspection window.

3 . The wind turbine blade as in claim 1 , wherein the visible indication is light transmitted through the first inspection window from a light source.

4 . The wind turbine blade as in claim 1 , further comprising a second inspection window defined in the opposite shell member along the respective leading or trailing edge such that the first and second inspection windows are aligned along an axis at the minimum bond width location or beyond in the chord-wise direction.

5 . The wind turbine blade as in claim 1 , wherein the first inspection window comprises a passage defined through the shell member, the passage filled with a translucent resin.

6 . The wind turbine blade as in claim 1 , comprising a plurality of the inspection windows spaced apart span-wise adjacent to the trailing edge.

7 . The wind turbine blade as in claim 1 , wherein the inspection window extends chord-wise from the trailing edge at least to the location corresponding to the design minimum bond width such that the visible indication is also a quantitative indication of closeness of the bond paste to the design minimum bond width.

8 . A method for verifying that bond paste has migrated to at least a minimum design bond width along a leading or trailing edge of a wind turbine blade, the wind turbine blade having an upper shell member and a lower shell member with respective forward and rearward edges bonded together at the leading and trailing edges, the method comprising:
defining a first inspection window through at least one of the shell members at a location corresponding to the design minimum bond width or beyond at the respective leading edge or trailing edge; and during bonding of the shell members, detecting a visual change through the inspection window as the bond paste migrates past the design minimum bond width location.

9 . The method as in claim 8 , further comprising defining a second inspection window in the opposite shell member along the respective leading or trailing edge such that the first and second inspection windows are aligned along an axis at the minimum bond width location or beyond, and directing light from a light source external to the wind turbine blade along the axis, wherein the visual change is an absence or decrease in light transmitted through the first and second inspection windows as the bond paste migrates past the first and second inspection windows.

10 . The method as in claim 8 , further comprising defining a second inspection window in the opposite shell member along the respective leading or trailing edge such that the first and second inspection windows are aligned along an axis at the minimum bond width location or beyond, and directing light from a light source internal to the wind turbine blade, wherein the visual change is an absence or decrease in light transmitted out through the first or second inspection windows as the bond paste migrates past the first and second inspection windows.

11 . The method as in claim 10 , wherein the absence or decrease in light is detected from each of the first and second inspection windows.

12 . The method as in claim 8 , further comprising transmitting light from a light source externally through the first inspection window, wherein the visual change is detection of reflected light from the bond paste as the bond past migrates past the first inspection window.

13 . The method as in claim 8 , wherein the first inspection window is defined along the trailing edge of the wind turbine blade.

14 . The method as in claim 13 , further comprising defining a plurality of the first inspection windows spaced apart span-wise adjacent to the trailing edge.

15 . The method as in claim 13 , wherein the first inspection window is defined as a continuous span-wise window adjacent to the trailing edge.

16 . The method as in claim 8 , wherein the first inspection window is formed by defining a passage through core material of the shell member and filling the passage with resin during set-up of the shell member, the resin curing to a translucent state.

Assignees

• Gen Electric

Inventors

• Caruso Christopher Daniel
• Yarbrough Aaron A

Classifications

• B29C66/1162

  Single bevel to bevel joints, e.g. mitre joints · CPC title

• F16B11/006

  by gluing (gluing of plastics material B29C65/48) · CPC title

• B29C65/54

  between pre-assembled parts · CPC title

• B29C65/48 Primary

  using adhesives {, i.e. using supplementary joining material; solvent bonding} · CPC title

• B29C65/483

  Reactive adhesives, e.g. chemically curing adhesives · CPC title