Rotor blade root assembly for a wind turbine
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorsChristopher Daniel Caruso, Aaron A. Yarbrough, Daniel Alan Hynum, James Robert Tobin
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Abstract
The present disclosure is directed to a root assembly for a rotor blade of a wind turbine and methods of manufacturing same. The root assembly includes a blade root section having an inner sidewall surface and an outer sidewall surface separated by a radial gap, a plurality of root inserts spaced circumferentially within the radial gap, and a plurality of spacers configured between one or more of the root inserts. Further, each of the root inserts includes at least one bushing surrounded by a pre-cured or pre-consolidated composite material. In addition, the spacers are constructed of a pre-cured or pre-consolidated composite material.
Claims9
A method of manufacturing a root assembly for a rotor blade of a wind turbine, the method comprising:
- placing an outer layer of thermoplastic material into a shell mold of a blade root section of the rotor blade to form an outer sidewall surface of the root assembly;
- placing a plurality of root inserts atop the outer layer, wherein each of the root inserts includes at least one metal bushing surrounded by a thermoplastic material;
- placing an inner layer of thermoplastic material into a shell mold atop the root inserts to form an inner sidewall surface of the root assembly;
- heating the metal bushings of the root inserts such that the surrounding thermoplastic material is heated;
- and
- welding the heated thermoplastic material of the root inserts to the inner and outer layers.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.