Patent Application
20160377049
The subject matter disclosed herein relates to wind turbine rotor blades and, more specifically, structural support members with different weight fiber reinforcing layers.
Wind power is considered one of the cleanest, most environmentally friendly energy sources presently available, and wind turbines have gained increased attention in this regard. A modern wind turbine typically includes a tower, generator, gearbox, nacelle, and one or more rotor blades connected to a hub either directly or through a pitch bearing. The rotor blades capture kinetic energy of wind using known airfoil principles. The rotor blades transmit the kinetic energy in the form of rotational energy so as to turn a shaft coupling the rotor blades to a gearbox, or if a gearbox is not used, directly to the generator. The generator then converts the mechanical energy to electrical energy that may be deployed to a utility grid.
Rotor blades in general are increasing in size, in order to become capable of capturing increased kinetic energy. However, the weight of the rotor blade may become a factor as its size continues to increase. Moreover, these components must be connected to the rotor blade in a secure and sustainable manner. However, structural support members comprising fiber reinforcing layers and used to support these components may experience additional resin infusion considerations.
Accordingly, alternative wind turbine rotor blades with structural support members having different areal weight fiber reinforcing layers would be welcome in the art.
In one embodiment, a structural support member for a wind turbine rotor blade is disclosed. The structural support member includes a plurality of fiber reinforcing layers positioned on top of one another, wherein a plurality of intermediate fiber reinforcing layers are disposed between a top fiber reinforcing layer and a bottom fiber reinforcing layer, and wherein at least one of said fiber reinforcing layers comprises a first areal weight, and wherein at least one of said fiber reinforcing layers comprises a second areal weight different than the first areal weight. The structural support member further includes a resin infused throughout the plurality of fiber reinforcing layers.
In another embodiment, a wind turbine rotor blade is disclosed. The wind turbine rotor blade includes a spar cap disposed within the rotor blade that extends for at least a portion of a rotor blade span length, the spar cap comprising a plurality of fiber reinforcing layers positioned on top of one another, wherein a plurality of intermediate fiber reinforcing layers are disposed between a top fiber reinforcing layer and a bottom fiber reinforcing layer, and wherein at least one of said fiber reinforcing layers comprises a first areal weight, and wherein at least one of said fiber reinforcing layers comprises a second areal weight different than the first areal weight, and, a resin infused throughout the plurality of fiber reinforcing layers. The wind turbine rotor blade further includes an airfoil structure at least partially supported by the spar cap.
In yet another embodiment, a method for manufacturing a structural support member is disclosed. The method includes positioning a plurality of fiber reinforcing layers on top of one another, wherein a plurality of intermediate fiber reinforcing layers are disposed between a top fiber reinforcing layer and a bottom fiber reinforcing layer, and wherein at least one of said fiber reinforcing layers comprises a first areal weight, and wherein at least one of said fiber reinforcing layers comprises a second areal weight different than the first areal weight. The method further includes infusing a resin throughout the plurality of fiber reinforcing layers.
These and additional features provided by the embodiments discussed herein will be more fully understood in view of the following detailed description, in conjunction with the drawings.
The embodiments set forth in the drawings are illustrative and exemplary in nature and not intended to limit the inventions defined by the claims. The following detailed description of the illustrative embodiments can be understood when read in conjunction with the following drawings, where like structure is indicated with like reference numerals and in which:
One or more specific embodiments of the present invention will be described below. In an effort to provide a concise description of these embodiments, all features of an actual implementation may not be described in the specification. It should be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developers' specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints, which may vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it should be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure.
When introducing elements of various embodiments of the present invention, the articles “a,” “an,” “the,” and “said” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements.
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The rotor blade 16 may define any suitable aerodynamic profile. Thus, in some embodiments, the rotor blade 16 may define an airfoil shaped cross-section. For example, the rotor blade 16 may also be aeroelastically tailored. Aeroelastic tailoring of the rotor blade 16 may entail bending the blade 16 in generally a chordwise direction x and/or in a generally spanwise direction z. As illustrated, the chordwise direction x generally corresponds to a direction parallel to the chord 34 defined between the leading edge 28 and the trailing edge 30 of the rotor blade 16. Additionally, the spanwise direction z generally corresponds to a direction parallel to the span 32 of the rotor blade 16. In some embodiments, aeroelastic tailoring of the rotor blade 16 may additionally or alternatively comprise twisting the rotor blade 16, such as by twisting the rotor blade 16 in generally the chordwise direction x and/or the spanwise direction z.
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Specifically, the plurality of fiber reinforcing layers 70 can comprise a plurality of intermediate fiber reinforcing layers 76 disposed between a top fiber reinforcing layer 74 and a bottom fiber reinforcing layer 78. Moreover, the plurality of fiber reinforcing layers 70 can comprise a plurality of different areal weights (i.e., mass per unit area for the individual fiber reinforcing layers 70), wherein at least one of said fiber reinforcing layers comprises a first areal weight and wherein at least one of said fiber reinforcing layers comprises a second areal weight different than the first areal weight. Fiber reinforcing layers 70 comprising greater areal weights may provide additional strength and/or rigidity to the overall structural support member 60. However, fiber reinforcing layers 70 comprising lower areal weights may facilitate a faster resin infusion process by providing a less dense passage for resin flow and/or may provide greater flexibility to the structural support member 60. Overall, by incorporating different fiber reinforcing layers 70 comprising different areal weights, at least various combinations of strength and resin infusibility may be realized in structural support members 60 for wind turbine rotor blades 16. In some embodiments, the entire length of the structural support member 60 may comprise fiber reinforcing layers 70 comprising different areal weights. In other embodiments, only one or more portions of the structural support member 60 may comprise fiber reinforcing layers 70 of different areal weights whereas other portions of the structural support member 60 may comprise fiber reinforcing layers 70 of the same areal weight.
For example, at least a first fiber reinforcing layer 71 may comprise a first areal weight and at least a second fiber reinforcing layer 72 may comprise a second areal weight different than the first areal weight. In even some embodiments, the plurality of fiber reinforcing layers 70 may comprise even more different areal weights such as at least a third fiber reinforcing layer 73 comprising a third different areal weight or even additional fiber reinforcing layers 70 comprising additional different areal weights. The specific areal weights of the respective fiber reinforcing layers 70, the ratios of the areal weights, and other parameters may be varied so long as the structural support member 60 comprises at least a first fiber reinforcing layer 71 having a first areal weight and at least a second fiber reinforcing layer 72 having a second areal weight different than the first areal weight.
In some embodiments, from about 10 percent to about 90 percent of the plurality of fiber reinforcing layers 70 may comprise the first areal weight. Likewise, from about 90 percent to about 10 percent of the plurality of fiber reinforcing layers 70 may comprise the second areal weight. In some embodiments, from about 25 percent to about 75 percent of the plurality of fiber reinforcing layers 70 may comprise the first areal weight. Likewise, from about 75 percent to about 25 percent of the plurality of fiber reinforcing layers 70 may comprise the second areal weight. In some embodiments, from about 40 percent to about 60 percent of the plurality of fiber reinforcing layers 70 may comprise the first areal weight. Likewise, from about 60 percent to about 40 percent of the plurality of fiber reinforcing layers 70 may comprise the second areal weight.
In some embodiments, the first areal weight may comprise at least about 1800 g/m2. In some embodiments, the second areal weight may comprise at least about 1000 g/m2. However, in some embodiments, the first areal weight and/or the second areal weight may comprise even greater or lesser areal weights. For example, one or more of the plurality of fiber reinforcing layers 70 may comprise at least about 2400 g/m2. In even some embodiments, one or more of the plurality of fiber reinforcing layers 70 may comprise at least about 3200 g/m2. Moreover, while specific weights and ratios have been disclosed herein, it should be appreciated that these are exemplary only and non-limiting embodiments. For example, in even some embodiments, the structural support member 60 may comprise one or more fiber reinforcing layers 70 having a third different areal weight or any greater number of different areal weights.
The plurality of fiber reinforcing layers 70 comprising two or more different areal weights may thereby comprise a variety of different configurations (e.g., layering orders). For example, is illustrated in
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The structural support member 60 comprising the plurality of fiber reinforcing layers 70 can further comprise a plurality of other features or configurations. For example, in some embodiments, the alignment of the fibers in the fiber reinforcing layers may be controlled. Specifically, in some embodiments, some or all of the plurality of fiber reinforcing layers 70 can comprise unidirectional fiber reinforcing layers 70. Unidirectional fiber reinforcing layers 70 comprise fiber reinforcing layers where all or substantially all of the fibers are oriented in a common direction. In even some of these embodiments, the unidirectional fiber reinforcing layers 70 may be substantially oriented in a common direction. For example, the unidirectional fiber reinforcing layers 70 may be oriented in the spanwise direction z of the rotor blade 16.
In even some embodiments, the structural support member 60 may be tailored with respect to the position along the rotor blade span length 32. For example, the amount of fiber reinforcing layers 70 comprising the first areal weight and the amount of fiber reinforcing layers 70 comprising the second areal weight may change along the rotor blade span length 32. In some of these embodiments, the first areal weight may be greater than the second areal weight and a higher proportion of fiber reinforcing layers 70 comprise the first areal weight proximate the root 20 of the wind turbine rotor blade 16 than proximate the tip 22 of the wind turbine rotor blade 16. Such embodiments may allow for greater strength towards the root 20 of the wind turbine rotor blade 16 while potentially reducing material or production costs at other portions of the wind turbine rotor blade 16. In even some embodiments, the highest proportion of fiber reinforcing layers 70 comprising the greater areal weight may be disposed at or around the position along the wind turbine rotor blade 16 comprising the max chord length (i.e., greatest length in the chordwise direction x). For example, if the first areal weight is greater than the second areal weight, the structural support member 60 (e.g., spar cap 62) may comprise a higher proportion of fiber reinforcing layers comprising the first areal weight proximate a max chord length of the wind turbine rotor blade than a position distal the max chord length of the wind turbine rotor blade.
The plurality of fiber reinforcing layers 70 may thereby be disposed in a plurality of different configurations incorporating fiber reinforcing layers 70 of at least two different areal weights. In some embodiments, one or more of these fiber reinforcing layers 70 may comprise fiber glass. In such embodiments, the structural support member 60 can comprise at least one shear web 61 connected to at least one spar cap 62. For example, the structural support member 60 may comprise two spar caps 62 connected by a shear web 61 such as in an I-beam configuration, or may comprise two spar caps 62 connected by two shear webs 61 such as in a box-configuration. The shear web 61 and the spar cap 62 may extend for any length of the rotor blade 16 span length 32 from the root 20 to the tip 22. In some embodiments, one or more of these fiber reinforcing layers 70 may comprise carbon fiber. In such embodiments, the structural support member 60 may comprise a single spar body (i.e., without separate spar cap and shear web elements) that comprises the carbon fiber material, such as in a box configuration. While embodiments comprising the single spar body have been presented herein, it should be appreciated that other embodiments may also be provided for structural support members 60 comprising carbon fiber such as comprising an upper spar cap, a lower spar cap and/or additional elements not already described herein.
Moreover, one or more resins may be infused throughout the fiber reinforcing layers 70 and subsequently cured. For example, in some embodiments, incumbent resins may be utilized as the fiber reinforcing layers 70 comprising the lower weight may also facilitate faster resin infusion such that there is little to no premature of curing of the incumbent resin as may occur if only heavier fiber reinforcing layers 70 were utilized. In some embodiments, steerable resins may additionally or alternatively be utilized to further control curing by requiring a change in temperature before curing occurs.
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While the invention has been described in detail in connection with only a limited number of embodiments, it should be readily understood that the invention is not limited to such disclosed embodiments. Rather, the invention can be modified to incorporate any number of variations, alterations, substitutions or equivalent arrangements not heretofore described, but which are commensurate with the spirit and scope of the invention. Additionally, while various embodiments of the invention have been described, it is to be understood that aspects of the invention may include only some of the described embodiments. Accordingly, the invention is not to be seen as limited by the foregoing description, but is only limited by the scope of the appended claims.
