Rotor blade components for a wind turbine and methods of manufacturing same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9919488-B2
Application number	US-201414219131-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 19, 2014
Priority date	Mar 19, 2014
Publication date	Mar 20, 2018
Grant date	Mar 20, 2018

Abstract

Methods of manufacturing rotor blade components for a wind turbine and rotor blade components produced in accordance with such methods are disclosed. In one embodiment, the method generally includes heating first and second sheets of thermoplastic material to a forming temperature; placing the first sheet of thermoplastic material within a first half of a thermoforming mold and the second sheet of thermoplastic material in an opposite, second half of the thermoforming mold; forming the first sheet of thermoplastic material to the first half of the thermoforming mold; forming the second sheet of thermoplastic material to the second half of the thermoforming mold; compressing the first and second halves of the thermoforming mold so as to join at least a portion of the first and second sheets together; and, releasing the joined first and second sheets of thermoplastic material from the thermoforming mold so as to form the rotor blade component.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of manufacturing a rotor blade add-on component for a rotor blade of a wind turbine, the rotor blade having a pressure side and a suction side extending between a leading edge and a trailing edge between a blade root and blade tip, the method comprising:
heating a first sheet of thermoplastic material and a second sheet of thermoplastic material to a forming temperature;
placing the first sheet of thermoplastic material within a first half of a thermoforming mold and the second sheet of thermoplastic material in an opposite, second half of the thermoforming mold;
forming the first sheet of thermoplastic material to the first half of the thermoforming mold and the second sheet of thermoplastic material to the second half of the thermoforming mold;
compressing the first and second halves of the thermoforming mold so as to join at least a portion of the first and second sheets together and form the rotor blade add-on component; and,
releasing the rotor blade add-on component from the thermoforming mold, the rotor blade add-on component comprising one of a leading edge extension, a trailing edge extension, a blade root enhancement, a stall strip, a flap, a low-load bump, a winglet, a vortex generator, a fairing, or an airflow modifying element, the rotor blade add-on component shaped to attach to at least one of the pressure side or the suction side of the rotor blade.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein forming the first sheet of thermoplastic material to the first half of the thermoforming mold and the second sheet of thermoplastic material to the second half of the thermoforming mold further comprises at least one of vacuum-forming or pressure-forming.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first and second sheets of thermoplastic material comprises at least one of a thermoplastic olefin, an acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) thermoplastic, or a fiber-reinforced plastic.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising inserting a filler material within the rotor blade add-on component.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the filler material comprises a low-density foam.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein the one or more support members may include at least one of a laminate composite material, a metal material, a polymer material, or a wood material.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising placing one or more support members into the thermoforming mold before placing the first and second sheets of thermoplastic material within the mold.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein compressing the first and second halves of the thermoforming mold so as to join at least a portion of the first and second sheets of thermoplastic material together further comprises plastic welding the first sheet to the second sheet.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein compressing the first and second halves of the thermoforming mold so as to join at least a portion of the first and second sheets of thermoplastic material together further comprises sealing the first and second sheets of thermoplastic material so as to form an impermeable interior compartment.

10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising forming one or more continuous locating features on the rotor blade add-on component via the thermoforming mold, the one or more locating features corresponding to one or more structures on the rotor blade, wherein the locating features assist in aligning the rotor blade add-on component on the rotor blade.

11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising attaching the rotor blade add-on component to the rotor blade via a strain-isolating bond layer, the bond layer disposed between the rotor blade add-on component and the rotor blade, wherein the bond layer comprises at least one of an epoxy, a polyurethane, a methacrylate, and an acrylic.

12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising cutting extra material from the rotor blade add-on component.

13. A method of manufacturing a rotor blade add-on component for a rotor blade of a wind turbine, the rotor blade having a pressure side and a suction side extending between a leading edge and a trailing edge between a blade root and a blade tip, the method comprising:
heating a first sheet of thermoplastic material and a second sheet of thermoplastic material to a forming temperature;
placing one or more support members within a thermoforming mold;
placing a first sheet of thermoplastic material within a first half of the thermoforming mold and a second sheet of thermoplastic material in an opposite, second half of the thermoforming mold;
forming the first sheet of thermoplastic material to the first half of the thermoforming mold and the second sheet of thermoplastic material to the second half of the thermoforming mold;
compressing the first and second halves of the thermoforming mold so as to join at least a portion of the first and second sheets together and form the rotor blade add-on component, wherein the support members are molded into the rotor blade add-on component; and,
releasing the rotor blade add-on component from the thermoforming mold, the rotor blade add-on component comprising one of a leading edge extension, a trailing edge extension; a blade root enhancement, a stall strip, a flap, a low-load bump; a winglet, a vortex generator, a fairing, or an airflow modifying element, the rotor blade add-on component shaped to attach to at least one of the pressure side or the suction side of the rotor blade.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the first and second sheets of thermoplastic material comprise at least one of a thermoplastic olefin, an acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) thermoplastic, or a fiber-reinforced plastic.

15. The method of claim 13 , further comprising inserting a low-density foam material within the rotor blade add-on component.

16. The method of claim 13 , wherein the one or more support members may include at least one of a laminate composite material, a metal material, a polymer material, or a wood material.

17. The method of claim 13 , further comprising forming one or more continuous locating features on the rotor blade add-on component via the thermoforming mold, the one or more locating features corresponding to one or more structures on the rotor blade, wherein the locating features assist in aligning the rotor blade add-on component on the rotor blade.

18. The method of claim 13 , further comprising cutting extra material from the rotor blade add-on component.

Assignees

• Gen Electric

Inventors

• Booth Michael Christopher
• Riddell Scott Gabell
• Tobin James Robert
• Gobeli William Max

Classifications

• B29L2031/085

  Wind turbine blades · CPC title

• B29D99/0025 Primary

  Producing blades or the like, e.g. blades for turbines, propellers, or wings · CPC title

• Y02E10/721

  Cross-Sectional Technologies · mapped topic

• B29D99/0028

  hollow blades · CPC title

• B29K2025/08

  Copolymers of styrene, e.g. AS or SAN, i.e. acrylonitrile styrene (B29K2055/02 takes precedence) · CPC title