Methods for Joining Blade Components of Rotor Blades Using Printed Grid Structures

A joint area of a rotor blade of a wind turbine, the joint area comprising:

• a first blade component;
• a second blade component interfacing with the first blade component at a joint;
• at least one three-dimensional (3-D) grid structure positioned between the first and second blade components adjacent to the joint;
• and,
• an adhesive provided between the grid structure and the first and second blade components.

A method for securing a blade add-on component to a rotor blade, the method comprising:

• printing and depositing, via a computer numeric control (CNC) device, at least one three-dimensional (3-D) grid structure to form the blade add-on component;
• placing the blade add-on component onto or within the rotor blade;
• providing an adhesive to at least partially fill the grid structure;
• and,
• securing the blade add-on component to the rotor blade via the adhesive.