Wind blade spar cap and method of making

Abstract

A wind blade spar cap formed of an integral, unitary 3-D woven material having constant thickness and variable controlled weight due to tapered width from the root to tip of the wind blade.

Description

STATEMENT AS TO RIGHTS TO INVENTIONS MADE UNDER FEDERALLY-SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT [0001] The invention was made in part with Federal funds from the Department of Energy.FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention is directed to wind blades, and more particularly, to wind blade design and manufacturing methods. BACKGROUND OF THE PRIOR ART [0003] The United States Department of Energy has set aggressive goals for increasing the use of wind power in the country. In order to achieve these goals, the Cost Of Energy (COE) must come down for wind power because it is not cost-competitive with other energy sources at this time. Currently, one of the most promising opportunities for significantly reduced COE is through the coordinated development of superior low-cost materials using reliable, high-volume component manufacturing techniques for components used in wind power applications. Rotors, usually consisting of two or three blades attached to a hub, represent the highes...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0015] The ability to make thicker/heavier fabrics with a controlled and uniform fiber architecture results in some inherent advantages for 3-D woven fabrics, including thicker fabrics for providing fewer required layers and less labor, faster resin infusion due to higher permeability for faster composite processing times, and low or no fiber crimp for higher in-plane properties (e.g. tension and compression), sufficient amounts of Z direction fibers providing for higher transverse shear strength and total suppression of delamination. Many of these advantages resulting from Z-direction fiber have been studied at the laboratory scale for years, as evidenced by the over 170 references cited in a review article. These advantages are realized in commercially available materials produced by 3TEX, Inc. of Cary, N.C. USA, which manufactures carbon and glass 3-D woven materials for applications in the marine and other industries.

[0016] The present invention applies these advantages with intelligent hybridization of carbon and glass for novel applications in wind blade spar cap design and construction, and methods therefore, which have not been taught or suggested in the prior art. Thus, prior to the present invention, there has remained a need in

Problems solved by technology

In order to achieve these goals, the Cost Of Energy (COE) must come down for wind power because it is not cost-competitive with other energy sources at this time.

While carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) have superior properties, such as about

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