Wind turbine blade construction
OwnerRobert J. Bassoinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A strong, lightweight blade provided for use on wind turbines utilizes an interior reinforcing strut which extends part-way out the blade and consists of telescoped steel pipes welded to one another and mounted at their root ends to a steel cuff. A carbon graphite spar slips over the telescoped tubes and inside the cuff and extends radially outwardly substantially to the end of the blade. A rigid skin which is airfoil-shaped in all of its cross-sections attaches to the spar and spans from the root of the spar to the distal tip of the blade, defining the wind-driven surfaces of the blade.
Claims11
A blade for the rotor of a wind turbine or the like having a root end mounted on the rotor and extending generally radially outwardly from the rotor out to a distal end, said blade comprising:
- (a) a cuff at the root end of the blade for mounting on the rotor, and having a generally cylindrical, radially outwardly directed collar;
- (b) a generally cylindrical reinforcing strut mounted generally coaxially to said collar, and extending radially outwardly from said rotor throughout a portion of the length of said blade;
- (c) a hollow spar coaxially mounted around said strut and extending substantially the full length of said blade;
- (d) an elongated, rigid aerodynamic skin defining the exterior, wind-encountering surfaces of said blade, and being mounted over and bonded to said strut and defining the distal end of said blade;
- (e) said reinforcing strut being of decreasing diameter toward the distal end of said blade;
- and,
- (f) said reinforcing strut comprising a plurality of telescoping tubes of graduated length with the larger diameter tubes being longer than the smaller diameter tubes.
A blade for the rotor of a wind turbine or the like having a root end mounted on the rotor and extending generally radially outwardly from the rotor out to a distal end, said blade comprising:
- (a) a cuff at the root end of the blade for mounting on the rotor, and having a generally cylindrical, radially outwardly directed collar;
- (b) a generally cylindrical reinforcing strut mounted generally coaxially to said collar, and extending radially outwardly from said rotor throughout a portion of the length of said blade;
- (c) a hollow spar coaxially mounted around said strut and extending substantially the full length of said blade;
- (d) an elongated, rigid aerodynamic skin defining the exterior, wind-encountering surfaces of said blade, and being mounted over and bonded to said strut and defining the distal end of said blade;
- (e) said spar having a root end which is cylindrical and engages around said reinforcing strut and inside the cylindrical collar of said cuff.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.