WO2013036158A1

WO2013036158A1 - A method for on-site wind turbine blade finalization

Info

Publication number: WO2013036158A1
Application number: PCT/RU2011/000691
Authority: WO
Inventors: Artem Vladimirovich OZHIGIN; Sergey Pavlovich Sobolev
Original assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
Priority date: 2011-09-09
Filing date: 2011-09-09
Publication date: 2013-03-14

Abstract

The main idea of the invention is basically the decomposition of wind turbine blades into an elastic capsule (1A, IB) and a filling compound (3) and its separated transportation to installation site by usual transportation means without any additional measures and efforts.

Description

A method for on-site wind turbine blade finalization

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing wind turbine blades using a mould and a resin transfer moulding process. More specifically the invention relates to turbine blades being transported in half -finished state and finalized at the installation site.

BACKGROUND ART

Wind turbine blades are often made of fibre-reinforced polymer and are usually manufactured as shell parts in moulds, where the top side and the bottom side of the blade profile are manufactured separately by arranging glass fibre mats in each of the two mould parts and injecting a liquid resin, which subsequently is cured. Afterwards, the two halves are glued together. The shell parts for the wind turbine blade are typically manufactured as fibre composite structures by means of vacuum assisted resin transfer moulding, where liquid polymer, also called resin, is filled into a mould cavity, in which fibre reinforcement material priorly has been inserted, and where a vacuum is generated in the mould cavity, hereby drawing in the polymer.

Blades of modern high-power horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWT) exceed 40 meters in length. Huge dimensions cause serious difficulties in their transportation to the

installation site. Currently such wind turbine blades are mostly transported in finished state. This requires

utilization of heavy trucks specialized for excessive sized cargo transportation and special precaution measures for transportation safety assurance as road blocking. Heavy machinery also inflicts serious damage to roads.

A modular turbine blade consisting of at least two structural components is known from the publication US 2009/0148300 Al . This method however requires at least one conductive bond for joining the first and second structural components and is generally quite complex and time-consuming. Mechanical strength respectively stability is also a crucial point here.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The main idea of the invention is basically the decomposition of wind turbine blades into an elastic capsule and a filling compound and its separated transportation to installation site by usual transportation means without any additional measures and efforts.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OP PREFERRED EMBODIMENT (s)

Various aspects of this invention will now be described with reference to the following figure.

The figure depicts a schematic cross-section of turbine blade comprising an elastic capsule having an inner shell 1A

forming a hollow space 2 within the blade and an outer shell IB for the outline of the turbine blade, a filling compound 3 between both shells, a filling inlet 4, an optional outlet 5 for outgoing air and spacers 6 for connecting and fixing both shells 1A and IB of the capsule in its relative position. Optionally the hollow space 2 can be inflated via an

additional inlet 7.

The Capsule 1A, IB is designed to make up required blade form when filled by a liquid compound applied under pressure. The material of the capsule has to be elastic enough for being stored and transported in a compacted or folded state on one hand and strong enough to withstand compound pressure and provide shape forming during solidification.

The flexible capsule 1A, IB is a mould for casting the turbine blade but it is not removed when the cast is ready in fact it remains there as a outer layer of the turbine blade . Optionally the capsule can be additionally equipped with glass- or carbon- fiber-reinforcement at the installation site before the compound 2 is filled or pressed into the mould.

The Filling compound, e. g. a polymer as main constituent, is transported separately in liquid condition and solidificated in chemical or physical way after being fed into the capsule. While the invention has been disclosed in connection with preferred embodiments shown and described in detail, their modifications and improvements thereon will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the spirit and scope of the present invention should be limited only by the following claims.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A method for on-site wind turbine finalization comprising: transporting an empty compacted or folded flexible capsule (1A, IB) and a liquid filling compound (3) to a installation site, wherein the capsule is designed to make up a required blade form when filled by a liquid compound applied under pressure;

filling the flexible capsule with the liquid filling compound and

solidifing the filling compound in chemical or physical way after being fed into the capsule.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said filling is done vacuum assisted via an outlet (5) for the outgoing air.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, further comprising:

inflating a hollow space (2) formed by an inner shell (1A) of said capsule via an additional inlet (7) before said filling.

4. The method of claim 1, 2 or 3 , further comprising:

reinforcing said capsule with glass- or carbon-fiber at the installation site before said filling.

5. The method of claim 1, 2, 3 or , wherein said capsule has spacers (6) for connecting and fixing an inner shell (1A) and an outer shell (IB) of the capsule in its relative position.

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