Joint interface for wind turbine rotor blade components
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorsAndrew Mitchell Rodwell, Thomas Merzhaeuser, Scott Jacob Huth
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A rotor blade component for a wind turbine includes a first structural component, such as a spar cap, formed from a plurality of stacked pultruded members. A second structural component, such as a shear web, is fixed to the first structural component at a joint interface. One or more webs form the joint interface, wherein each of the webs has a first section bonded between at least two of the pultruded members in the first structural component and a second section extending across the joint interface and bonded onto or into the second structural component.
Claims13
A rotor blade component for a wind turbine, the rotor blade component comprising:
- a first structural component comprising a plurality of stacked pultruded members;
- a second structural component fixed to a bottom surface of the first structural component at a joint interface;
- and
- at least one web at the joint interface, the web comprising a first section and a second section;
- the first section of the web extending along and bonded to a top outer surface of the first structural component that is opposite from the bottom surface of the first structural component and the second section of the web extending across the joint interface and bonded to a first side of the second structural component;
- a second web having a first section extending along and bonded to a bottom outer surface of the first structural component and a second section extending across the joint interface and bonded to a second side of the second structural component that is opposite to the first side;
- and
- a plurality of additional webs each having a first section and a second section, wherein the first section of at least one of the plurality of additional webs is bonded between at least two of the pultruded members in the first structural component with the second section extending across the joint interface and bonded onto or into the second structural component.
A method for fixing a first structural component to a second structural component at a joint interface within a wind turbine rotor blade with a plurality of webs, wherein the first structural component is formed from a plurality of stacked pultruded members and the second structural component is fixed to a bottom surface of the first structural component, the method comprising:
- bonding a first section of a first one of the plurality of webs onto a top outer surface of the first structural component that is opposite to the bottom surface of the first structural component and bonding the second section across the joint interface and onto an outer surface of the second structural component;
- bonding a first section of a second one of the plurality of webs along the bottom surface of the first structural component and bonding a second section across the joint interface and onto an inner surface of the second structural component that is opposite to the outer surface;
- and
- bonding a plurality of additional webs each having a first section and a second section, wherein the first section of at least one of the plurality of additional webs is bonded between at least two of the pultruded members in the first structural component with the second section extending across the joint interface and bonded onto or into the outer surface or the inner surface of the second structural component.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.