Joining method for wind turbine blade shells
AssigneeLm Wp Patent Holding A/S
InventorJesper Hasselbalch Garm
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method of manufacturing a wind turbine blade is described, the blade being formed from at least a pair of blade shells being joined together. For at least a portion of the wind turbine blade, the blade shells are joined by an overlamination applied between the edges of the blade shells, thereby substantially reducing or eliminating the need for a structural adhesive to join the blade shells, particularly in the area of the leading edge of the blade or the root region of the blade trailing edge. The overlamination can be formed from the same material as the blade shells themselves, thereby minimising the possibility of structural faults or cracks due to differences in materials or stiffness levels at the interface between the blade shells.
Claims19
A method of manufacturing at least a portion of a wind turbine blade, wherein the method comprises the steps of:
- providing a pressure side blade shell part having a first edge;
- providing a suction side blade shell part having a second edge, wherein the first and second edges extend along a spanwise direction of the wind turbine blade;
- and
- joining said pressure side blade shell part to said suction side blade shell part along at least a portion of said first edge and said second edge to form a joined leading edge of a closed blade shell, wherein said joining consists of providing an overlamination extending between said first edge and said second edge, such that said joining is performed without a structural adhesive, and wherein said overlamination is applied to external surfaces of said first edge and said second edge, said first and second edges of said pressure side and suction side blade shell parts, respectively, being joined to one another solely by the overlamination along at least a common portion thereof, the closed blade shell comprising the pressure side and suction side blade shell parts, the first edge of the pressure side blade shell part and the second edge of the suction side blade shell part abutting each other at an interface.
A wind turbine blade comprising:
- a pressure side blade shell part;
- and
- a suction side blade shell part,
- wherein for at least a portion of a boundary between said pressure side and suction side blade shell parts, said pressure side and suction side blade shell parts are joined by an overlamination to form a joined leading edge of a closed blade shell, without the use of a structural adhesive, wherein joining of the pressure side and suction side blade shell parts consists of the overlamination, and wherein said overlamination is applied to external surfaces of said pressure side and suction side blade shell parts, said pressure side and suction side blade shell parts being joined to one another solely by the overlamination along at least a common portion thereof, the closed blade shell comprising the pressure side and suction side blade shell parts, the pressure side blade shell part and the suction side blade shell part abutting each other at an interface.
A method of manufacturing at least a portion of a wind turbine blade, wherein the method comprises the steps of:
- providing a pressure side blade shell part having a first edge;
- providing a suction side blade shell part having a second edge, wherein the first and second edges extend along a spanwise direction of the wind turbine blade;
- and
- joining said pressure side blade shell part to said suction side blade shell part along at least a portion of said first edge and said second edge to form a joined leading edge of a closed blade shell, wherein the joining consists of providing an overlamination extending between said first edge and said second edge, such that said joining is performed without a structural adhesive, and wherein said overlamination is applied to external surfaces of said first edge and said second edge, said first and second edges of said pressure side and suction side blade shell parts, respectively, being joined to one another solely by the overlamination along at least a common portion thereof, the closed blade shell consisting of the pressure side and suction side blade shell parts and the overlamination.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.