Strain isolated attachment for one-piece wind turbine rotor hub

Abstract

A wind turbine rotor hub attachment that extends inside a one-piece two-bladed wind turbine rotor hub, and secures to its shear web(s). This isolates the attachment from the high strains on the hub exterior, and allows balanced loads to flow across the hub, so that only unbalanced air loads and torque, plus net rotor loads such as thrust and weight, are passed across from the rotor to the wind turbine main shaft. This solves the excess motion problem of central teeter hinges, is mechanically simpler, and reduces overall weight and cost compared to the conventional practice of using individual blades bolted to a separate central hub. A method for connecting a one-piece two bladed wind turbine rotor to a main shaft using a strain isolating attachment to the rotor hub shear web(s) is included.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.