Patent Application
20230258156
The present invention relates to attaching of a wind turbine blade component to a wind turbine blade shell part.
Wind turbines usually comprise a tower, generator, gearbox, nacelle, and one or more rotor blades. The wind turbine blades capture kinetic energy of wind using known airfoil principles. Modern wind turbines may have rotor blades that significantly exceed 100 meters in length.
Wind turbine blades are usually manufactured by forming two shell parts or shell halves from layers of woven fabric or fibre and a resin matrix. Spar caps or main laminates are integrated in the shell halves and may be combined with shear webs or spar beams to form structural support. Spar caps or main laminates are joined to or integrated with the insides of the halves of the shell.
By manufacturing wind turbine blades in segments that can subsequently be joined to form the final blade, some size-related challenges, such as the need for large manufacturing spaces, and challenges related to wind turbine blade transportation may be alleviated.
Currently, pin-joined segmented blades are manufactured by first adhering a complete joint system, such as a pin joint system, in a full-length blade and then cutting the blade into segments that can be handled separately and re-joined at the wind turbine site.
This method has been seen as an unavoidable way of ensuring that two blade segments making up a segmented blade can be made to fit precisely together.
The present invention nevertheless provides a method that makes it possible to manufacture blade segments separately and still obtain a precise fit.
Embodiments of the invention can also be used to attach other types of components to wind turbine blade shell parts with high precision.
In a first aspect, the invention provides a system for attaching a wind turbine blade component to a surface of a wind turbine blade shell part at a component attachment position. The system comprises:
Systems in accordance with the first aspect allow for very precise positioning of a wind turbine blade component on a blade shell part. Precision is crucial in all aspects of wind turbine blades. However, pin joint components must not suffer misalignments, or the blade segments will not fit together. Each of the pin joint components must therefore be attached in the respective blade shell parts in such a way that the blade segments fit precisely together. Very little variance is allowable for pin joint components, which is why segmented blades are currently manufactured by forming the entire blade with the pin joint structure in an assembled state and then cutting the blade into segments. This ensures that the blade segments fit perfectly.
The blade shell part support and the jig are in a fixed positional relationship relative to one another, which ensures that when the component is arranged on the component platform, the position of the component platform relative to the jig base can be translated into a component position relative to the blade shell part support.
As can readily be seen, a factory floor can constitute the jig base. However, in many cases, a separate jig base supported by a floor, such as a factory floor, provides a more flexible system. In such embodiments, the jig can be moved near for instance a mould and be fixated relative to the mould simply by bolting the jig base to the factory floor.
Typically, the surface on which the component is attached is the inner surface of the blade shell part, but it may also be the outer surface, i.e. a surface that faces the surrounding environment when the blade is in production mode.
In some embodiments, the wind turbine blade component is a pin joint receiver box for receiving a corresponding pin joint spar beam. In some embodiments, the wind turbine blade component is a pin joint spar beam for mating with a corresponding pin joint receiver box. However, independent of the purpose of the specific component, embodiments of the system must be carefully configured to handle attachment of the specific component at a specific location on a specific blade shell part to be arranged on a specific blade shell part support. The component platform must be able to engage the component in a well-defined and easily repeatable manner, and the displacement of the component platform, such as an amount of travel, must be suitable for the component and the blade shell part support. In practice, the system is therefore designed taking into account for instance the size and shape of the component and the size and shape of the blade shell part support, among other things.
The component may be moved into a position where it is entirely positioned over the blade shell part, or part of the component may extend outside the blade shell part. This is partly decided by the shape and attachment position of the component. Furthermore, the system must be configured to allow the component in question to be lowered onto the blade shell part.
In some embodiments, the system comprises an adhesive application system for applying an adhesive onto the component before the component is displaced to the component attachment position. The adhesive is added to part of or all of the surface of the component that comes in contact with the blade shell part. Alternatively or in addition, adhesive may be added to the wind turbine blade shell part.
Alternatively or in addition, adhesive is provided by an external system or by personnel, for instance applied to the component and/or the wind turbine blade shell part.
When the component is brought in contact with the adhesive, it may be necessary to provide additional force via the jig, as the adhesive may have a high viscosity that requires a relatively high force to be displaced.
In some embodiments, the jig comprises position control means configured to limit a movement of the component platform relative to the jig base. This may for instance be a motorized precision drive configured to allow the component platform to be stopped at one or more predefined positions relative to the jig base.
In some embodiments, the component platform is supported by the jig base at least via a track system configured to allow the component platform to be displaced relative to the jig base along a track defined by the track system. The track may for instance comprise a linear track and/or a curved track. In some embodiments, the component platform is supported entirely by a track system arranged on the jig base.
The track system may include one or more track stops configured to stop the component platform at corresponding one or more predefined positions. This allows for stopping the component platform at predefined positions relative to the jig base with a high precision.
In some embodiments, the displacement means comprises an actuator system comprising one or more actuators. The displacement means may for instance comprise one or more hydraulic actuators in the actuator system. In addition, or alternatively, the displacement means may for instance comprise one or more stages, such as linear stages.
In some embodiments, the component platform and the jig base are interconnected via at least one of the one or more actuators. In some embodiments, the platform to which the component is attached may not be directly connected to the jig base. Rather, the component platform may be separated from the jig base for instance via a track as described above. In some embodiments, the actuators are connected to the jig base. In some embodiments, they are attached to an intermediate carrier, which is in direct contact with the jig base.
As previously mentioned, the jig base and the blade shell part support are arranged in a fixed positional relationship relative to one another, at least during the attaching of the component to the blade shell part. In some embodiments, the jig base is firmly attached to or integrated with the blade shell part support, such as in a permanent manner. In some embodiments, the jig is movable relative to the blade shell part support and is fixated at the appropriate position relative to the blade shell part support, for instance by bolting the jig base to a floor.
In some embodiments, the component platform comprises biasing means configured to bias the wind turbine blade component to a predefined position relative to the component platform. For instance, the component platform may comprise grooves that can engage with corresponding members on the component, such as protruding members that can mate with the grooves to provide a well-defined resting position of the component on the component platform. This ensures easy and repeatable positioning, in particular well-defined positioning, of the component. This may be seen as a self-aligning component positioning system.
In some embodiments, the component platform comprises fastening means for temporarily fixating the wind turbine blade component to the component platform. This improves personnel safety. Furthermore, when the component is to be attached to the blade shell part using a highly viscous adhesive, the force exerted onto the component by the blade shell part and adhesive might cause the component to disengage from the component platform or at least shift relative to the component platform, which may compromise the precision with which the component is to be attached.
In some embodiments, the component platform comprises a male member for mating with and holding a pin joint receiver box. This is particularly effective when the wind turbine blade component is a pin joint receiver box for receiving a corresponding pin joint spar beam.
In some embodiments, the male member has an adjustable cross-sectional width and/or cross-sectional height, whereby the male member can be adjusted to engage precisely with a range of pin joint receiver boxes of different cross-sectional width and/or cross-sectional height. This makes the same system easily configurable to handle a range of pin joint receiver boxes, as opposed to having to replace the male member to allow the system to be reliably used with different receiver boxes.
In some embodiments, a wind turbine blade shell mould for manufacturing a wind turbine blade shell part is used as the blade shell part support in the system.
In some embodiments, the jig is configured such that the component platform can be displaced to a position not above the blade shell part support. This is advantageous for instance when the jig is arranged next to a blade shell part mould used for manufacturing a blade shell part. By allowing the component platform to be displaced away from the mould, it can be moved so it is not in the way when personnel manufacture the blade shell part, e.g. when laying up fibre and/or when resin is or is to be infused, in particular when a vacuum bag is to be arranged around the mould before resin infusion.
A second aspect of the invention provides a method for attaching a wind turbine blade component to a surface of a wind turbine blade shell part at a component attachment position. The method comprises:
The features and considerations discussed in relation to the first aspect may also apply with respect to the second aspect, mutatis mutandis.
In some embodiments, the method comprises, between the step of fixating the wind turbine blade component on the component platform and the step of providing the adhesive on the blade shell part at the component attachment position, steps of:
An advantage of this approach is that adhesive is not provided where unnecessary. This minimizes usage of adhesive.
In some embodiments, the jig is configured to provide an adhesive on the blade shell part at the component attachment position and/or onto at least part of a surface of the component that will come into contact with the blade shell part in the component attachment position. This may for instance be achieved using robot means, controlled to detect where to apply adhesive, for instance by way of a contact sensor or a vision sensor. Alternatively, the robot means may be pre-programmed with a geometry of at least a part of the component and with a procedure for applying the adhesive onto the component.
As an alternative, an adhesive is applied only to the surface of the component as opposed to providing adhesive on the blade shell part at the component attachment position. Providing the adhesive on the component may reduce the amount of adhesive used, since adhesive is only applied to the area of the component that is attached to the blade shell part. However, due to the already high precision of the system and method, adhesive can readily be applied very precisely on the blade shell part. The marking step described above is one way to ensure this.
The invention is explained in detail below with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings.
The airfoil region 34 (also called the profiled region) has an ideal or almost ideal blade shape with respect to generating lift, whereas the root region 30 due to structural considerations has a substantially circular or elliptical cross-section, which for instance makes it easier and safer to mount the blade 10 to the hub. The diameter (or the chord) of the root region 30 may be constant along the entire root area 30. The transition region 32 has a transitional profile gradually changing from the circular or elliptical shape of the root region 30 to the airfoil profile of the airfoil region 34. The chord length of the transition region 32 typically increases with increasing distance r from the hub. The airfoil region 34 has an airfoil profile with a chord extending between the leading edge 18 and the trailing edge 20 of the blade 10. The width of the chord decreases with increasing distance r from the hub.
A shoulder 40 of the blade 10 is defined as the position where the blade 10 has its largest chord length. The shoulder 40 is typically provided at the boundary between the transition region 32 and the airfoil region 34.
The slot plate 704, slot 705, the position of holes 602, 603, 702, 703, and the shape and size of the spar beam 304 and the receiver box 303 are not essential for the present invention. Furthermore, the hole—pin system is also just one way of fixing together a receiver box and a spar beam.
Given the fine tolerances required to provide a secure and durable joint, the spar beam 304 and receiver box 303 must be attached in the respective shell parts 301, 302 with great precision, as discussed above. Systems and methods in accordance with the present invention provide ways to achieve this precision while allowing the segmented blade to be manufactured as two parts from the start, as opposed to present methods, in which the entire blade is manufactured and then cut into segments.
In
The blade shell part 940 may for instance be a blade shell part for a tip segment such as the tip segment 302 illustrated in
The component platform 915 in
The bolt 601 cooperating with groove 923 and the pin 1224 cooperating with grooves 921 and 922 also ensure that the spar beam 304 is situated in a very specific position. This ensures that the spar beam 304 is eventually placed with high precision at the desired position on the blade shell part 940.
In
The adhesive 1331 eventually bonds the spar beam 304 to the blade shell part.
As additional steps, the spar beam 304 can be lowered before applying the adhesive, and the outline of the spar beam be marked on the blade shell part 940. As a further additional step, the spar beam 304 is raised again before the adhesive is applied. When applying the adhesive, adhesive is only applied inside the marked outline. This helps to prevent application of adhesive where not needed.
Carefully controlled hydraulic cylinders or stages help position the spar beam precisely into the adhesive on the blade shell part. Such means can easily ensure a precise positioning of the spar beam 304 even if the adhesive is very viscous and hard to displace.
The system described above can help position a spar beam 304 with very high precision in a tip segment 302 (see
Mirroring the spar beam positioning system 900 illustrated in
In
The component platform 1515 in
As opposed to the embodiment 900, which is particularly suited for attaching a spar beam 304 to a blade shell part, the component platform 1515 in the system 1500 comprises a male member suitable for holding the receiver box 303 to be placed on the blade shell part 1540.
The component platform 1515 resembles a spar beam 304 to a large extent in order to cooperate precisely with the receiver box 303 during attachment of the receiver box 303 to the blade shell part 1540.
Similar to the system 900 for attaching a spar beam 304 to a blade shell part 940, the system 1500 in
In this example, the component platform 1515 comprises holes 1512 configured to engage with the receiver box 303 via a pin to hold the receiver box 303 in a well-defined position relative to the component platform. This ensures that the position of the receiver box is well controlled and the receiver box secured, which in turn allows the receiver box 303 to be attached at the attachment position with high precision, which is required for the root segment to join precisely with the tip segment comprising the spar beam 304.
In the present example, the component platform is easily replaceable. It is fixed to a carrier by way of spar beam fasteners 1514 and clamp 1509. The spar beam fasteners in this example are configurable to engage and disengage with holes in the component platform 1515. The clamp 1509 uses the same principle as fasteners 1221, 1222, and 1223 for fixating the spar beam 304 as shown in
Next, the component platform 1515 is lowered, whereby the receiver box 303 is brought into contact with the adhesive 1931. The hydraulic cylinders, including cylinders 1502 and 1503, ensure that the receiver box is located precisely as required. This final position is illustrated in
After the receiver box 303 has been attached to the blade shell part 1540, the component platform 1515 is pulled away by displacement along the tracks 1510 with the component platform in the lowered position, as illustrated in
In accordance with the description above, a spar beam 304 has been precisely attached to a part 940 of a tip segment 302, and a receiver box 303 has been precisely attached to a part 1540 of a root segment 301. This allows blade segments to be manufactured separately.
Although the systems described above are used for attaching pin joint components in blade shell parts, embodiments of the invention may also be used to attach other types of components, such as shear webs, precisely on blade shell parts.
The invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein and may be modified or adapted without departing from the scope of the claimed invention.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014252.7 | Sep 2020 | GB | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP2021/074776 | 9/9/2021 | WO |
