A wind turbine blade with a fairing

A method of assembling a wind turbine blade (10) extending along a longitudinal axis (L) from a root (16) to a tip (14), the wind turbine blade (10) comprising a root region (30) and an airfoil region (34) with the tip (14), the wind turbine blade (10) comprising a chord line extending between a leading edge (18) and a trailing edge (20), the wind turbine blade (10) comprising an aerodynamic exterior blade surface (22) including a pressure side and a suction side, the method comprising the steps of:

• providing a prefabricated structural blade body (40) comprising:
• a first exterior body surface (41) defining part of the pressure side,
• a second exterior body surface (44) defining part of the suction side,
• a first attachment surface (42) located adjacent to the first exterior body surface (41), and
• a second attachment surface (45) located adjacent to the second exterior body surface (44);
• separately providing a prefabricated fairing (50) extending along the longitudinal axis (L), the fairing (50) extends along a fairing profile (51) terminating at a first fairing lip (52) of the fairing (50) and at a second fairing lip (53) of the fairing (50), the fairing (50) comprising:
• an exterior fairing surface (54) positioned exteriorly relative to the fairing profile (51),
• an interior fairing surface (55) positioned interiorly relative to the fairing profile (51), and
• one or more fibre-reinforced layers (56) extending from the first fairing lip (52) to the second fairing lip (53) and along the longitudinal axis (L),
• wherein the fairing (50) has a first fairing state (501) and a second fairing state (502), wherein the fairing lips (52, 53) are forced toward each other in the second fairing state (502) relative to the first fairing state (501);
• while the fairing (50) is in the first fairing state (501), arranging the fairing (50) so that the interior fairing surface (55) faces the attachment surfaces of the blade body (40) and gaps are present respectively between the first attachment surface (42) of the blade body (40) and the first fairing lip (52) of the fairing (50) and between the second attachment surface (45) of the blade body (40) and the second fairing lip (53) of the fairing (50);
• applying a compression force (FC) onto the fairing lips (52, 53), e.g. onto the exterior fairing surface (54) at the fairing lips (52, 53), to deform the one or more fibre-reinforced layers (56) of the fairing (50) from the first fairing state (501) to the second fairing state (502) so that the first fairing lip (52) and the first attachment surface (42) are brought into contact with a first adhesive (43) and so that the second fairing lip (53) and the second attachment surface (45) are brought into contact with a second adhesive (46);
• and
• while maintaining the compression force (FC), curing the first and second adhesives (43, 46) to fix the fairing (50) in its second fairing state (502) to the blade body (40) so that the exterior fairing surface (54) defines a part of the exterior blade surface (22) arranged flush with the first exterior body surface (41) and the second exterior body surface (44) and so that the exterior fairing surface (54) defines either the leading edge (18) of the wind turbine blade (10) or the trailing edge (20) of the wind turbine blade (10).