Method for preparing floating platform on water using retired wind turbine blades

Abstract

The present invention belongs to the technical field of reusing retired wind turbine blades and discloses a method for preparing a floating platform using retired wind turbine blades. Its main technical features include: separating the retired wind turbine blades to obtain the blade root, main beam, auxiliary beam, web, leading edge shell, and trailing edge shell; processing the blade root, main beam, auxiliary beam, web, leading edge shell, and trailing edge shell; forming the blade root, main beam, and auxiliary beam into strips, which are then used to form a frame; forming the leading edge shell and trailing edge shell into pontoons; and using the web and part of the trailing edge shell as platform panels. During processing, only the main beam and shell, the blade root and main beam, and the two main beams and web need to be separated; the trailing edge shell is separated along its bonding points, and the auxiliary beam and trailing edge shell are separated. This simple cutting process requires no crushing. The resulting floating platform maintains the corrosion resistance, high strength, and light weight characteristics of epoxy resin composite materials while conserving energy and resources and avoiding dust pollution.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of recycling retired wind turbine blades, and in particular relates to a method for preparing a floating platform on water using retired wind turbine blades. Background Art

[0002] Wind turbines convert wind energy into electricity through the rotation of turbine blades. Wind energy is clean, environmentally friendly, and inexhaustible, making it widely used in wind power generation. Wind turbine blades typically have a service life of 20-25 years. Retired wind turbine blades are non-recyclable and non-biodegradable. As wind turbine blades reach the end of their service life, the number of retired blades will increase rapidly, increasing pressure on environmental protection. Based on the cumulative installed capacity of 1,042 wind turbines in 2003 and annually projected installed capacity, the total number of retired wind turbine blades will reach 42,000 tons by 2025 and 780,000 tons by 2030. Following the peak of wind power generation's rapid development, a large number of wind turbine blades will inevitably be retired or replaced due to damage and aging. Wind turbine blades are made of thermosetting resin-based composite materials. The waste is insoluble under normal conditions and must be treated in an environmentally friendly and harmless manner. The current treatment methods are: first, incineration, which wastes resources, has poor economic efficiency, and pollutes the environment; second, mechanical grinding (crushing) will generate dust, pollute the environment, and has a small scope of application, making it impossible to form industrialization and wasting resources; third, chemical dissolution (solvent method) is in the laboratory stage and has high disposal costs. The recycling and reuse of thermosetting composite wind turbine blades has become a major key technical problem in the development of wind power.

[0003] To develop and utilize marine resources, offshore drilling, oil production, power generation, aquaculture, tourism, surveying, observation, navigation, construction, and other activities require the establishment of offshore floating platforms. Offshore and inland floating platforms consist of pontoons, frames, and platform panels. Because seawater is highly corrosive and impactful, typical offshore floating platforms utilize corrosion-resistant steel that has undergone corrosion treatment. However, these offshore floating platforms have the following drawbacks: First, they are expensive, especially for special steel that has undergone corrosion treatment, which increases the cost of offshore operations. Second, they require regular maintenance. To extend the service life of the offshore floating platforms, the steel surface must be maintained, which is difficult, time-consuming, and costly. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a method for preparing a floating platform on the water using retired wind turbine blades, which has a simple processing method, saves resources, is pollution-free to the environment, has low energy consumption, and the constructed floating platform has good corrosion resistance, high strength, long service life, and is maintenance-free.

[0005] To solve the above problems, the present invention uses retired wind turbine blades to prepare a floating platform on water. The technical solution adopted is:

[0006] The method comprises the following steps:

[0007] The first step is to separate the retired wind turbine blades to obtain the blade root, main beam, auxiliary beam, web, leading edge shell and trailing edge shell.

[0008] Step 1: Separate the blade's main beam from the shell

[0009] Using a main beam cutting device to cut along both sides of the two main beams, the arc-shaped leading edge shell and the trailing edge shell are separated from the main beams, thereby obtaining the arc-shaped leading edge shell, the trailing edge shell and the two main beams with blade roots;

[0010] Step 2: Separate the blade root and main beam

[0011] Use a blade root cutting device to cut the blade root from the main beam to obtain a cylindrical blade root and two main beams connected by a web;

[0012] Step (3): Separate the two main beams from the web

[0013] Use a main beam and web separation device to separate the two main beams from the webs to obtain two independent main beams and two independent webs;

[0014] Step 4: Separate the trailing edge shell along its bonding point

[0015] The bonding portion of the trailing edge shell is separated by a separation device to form two trailing edge shells with auxiliary beams;

[0016] Step 5: Separate the auxiliary beam from the trailing edge shell

[0017] Using an auxiliary beam separation device to cut the auxiliary beam from the trailing edge shell, to obtain the auxiliary beam and the trailing edge shell;

[0018] The second step is to process the leading edge shell, trailing edge shell, blade root, main beam, auxiliary beam and web.

[0019] Step 1: Processing of the leading edge shell

[0020] According to the needs, the arc-shaped leading edge shell is cut into small sections, and two cut leading edge shell sections are connected to form an ellipse. The joints are bonded by hand paste process with epoxy resin and glass fiber cloth to form an elliptical cylinder with two ends open.

[0021] Step 2: Trailing edge shell processing

[0022] According to the needs, part of the trailing edge shell is cut into elliptical or circular blocking plates, and the other part of the trailing edge shell is cut into plates for rectangular pontoons;

[0023] Step 1: Cut the rear edge shell into an elliptical or circular blocking plate

[0024] According to the cross-sectional size of the elliptical cylinder, a sealing plate with the same shape as the cross-sectional shape of the elliptical cylinder is cut from the trailing edge shell; two sealing plates are placed at both ends of the elliptical cylinder, and the joints are bonded by hand using epoxy resin and glass fiber cloth to form an elliptical closed first buoy;

[0025] Step 2: Cut part of the trailing edge shell into a rectangular pontoon plate and prepare the second pontoon

[0026] Cut part of the trailing edge shell into panels for the rectangular pontoon, then use six rectangular panels to surround the second pontoon, and glue the joints together using a hand-paste process with epoxy resin and fiberglass cloth to form a square, closed second pontoon;

[0027] Step 3: Make the blade roots into floats or cut them into strips

[0028] After removing the bolts from the cut blade root, the two ends are sealed with circular sealing plates cut from the trailing edge shell. The joints are then bonded by hand using epoxy resin and fiberglass cloth to form a circular third buoy. Alternatively, the cylindrical blade root can be cut into strips of blade root profiles along the axial direction of the blade root using a cutting tool.

[0029] Step 4: Processing of the main beam

[0030] According to the needs, the main beam can be used as a whole, or cut into strip-shaped main beam profiles;

[0031] Step 5: Processing of auxiliary beams

[0032] Cut the auxiliary beam into strip-shaped auxiliary beam profiles as needed;

[0033] Step 3: Build the floating platform framework

[0034] The floating platform frame is constructed using the main beam or the main beam strips cut from the main beam as the long boards, and the blade root profiles and auxiliary beam profiles as the short boards;

[0035] Step 4: Build a floating platform

[0036] The web is laid flat on the floating platform frame to serve as a platform panel, and the first pontoon, the second pontoon and the third pontoon are fixed to the platform frame below the platform panel.

[0037] As a further improvement of the present invention:

[0038] The main beam profiles, blade root profiles and auxiliary beam profiles for constructing the floating platform frame are connected by mortise and tenon structure or epoxy resin adhesive bonding process;

[0039] Use part of the trailing edge shell as a floating platform panel;

[0040] The fiberglass plates and core materials from the scraps generated during the processing are separated. The fiberglass plates are separated into recycled glass fibers and a small amount of powder through a recycling device, and then molded resin is added to make molding materials. Using steel molds, they are processed through high temperature and high pressure into a variety of composite molded products, or added with cement to make cement components. The core materials are recycled and used as sound insulation and thermal insulation materials.

[0041] The method for preparing a floating platform on water using retired wind turbine blades provided by the present invention has the following advantages compared with the prior art:

[0042] First, the first step is to separate the retired wind turbine blades to obtain the blade root, main beam, auxiliary beam, web, leading edge shell and trailing edge shell.

[0043] A main beam cutting device is used to cut along both sides of the two main beams to separate the arcuate leading edge shell and the trailing edge shell from the main beams, thereby obtaining an arcuate leading edge shell, a trailing edge shell, and two main beams with blade roots; a blade root cutting device is used to cut the blade root from the main beam to obtain a cylindrical blade root and two main beams connected by a web; a main beam and web separating device is used to separate the two main beams from the web to obtain two independent main beams and two independent webs; a separating device is used to separate the bonding portion of the trailing edge shell to form two trailing edge shells with auxiliary beams; an auxiliary beam separating device is used to cut the auxiliary beam from the trailing edge shell to obtain the auxiliary beam and the trailing edge shell;

[0044] The second step is to process the blade root, main beam, auxiliary beam, web, leading edge shell and trailing edge shell.

[0045] According to the needs, the arc-shaped leading edge shell is cut into small sections, and the two cut leading edge shell sections are butt-jointed into an ellipse, and the joints are bonded by hand paste process with epoxy resin and glass fiber cloth to form an elliptical cylinder with open ends; according to the cross-sectional size of the elliptical cylinder, a sealing plate with the same shape as the cross-sectional shape of the elliptical cylinder is cut from the trailing edge shell; the two sealing plates are placed at both ends of the elliptical cylinder, and the joints are bonded by hand paste process with epoxy resin and glass fiber cloth to form an elliptical closed first buoy; part of the trailing edge shell is cut into plates for rectangular buoys, and then six rectangular plates are placed around the buoy to form a closed first buoy. For the second pontoon, the joints are bonded by hand using epoxy resin and fiberglass cloth to form a square, closed second pontoon. For the cut blade root, after removing the bolts, both ends are sealed with circular blocking plates cut from the trailing edge shell, and the joints are bonded by hand using epoxy resin and fiberglass cloth to form a circular third pontoon. Alternatively, a cutting tool is used to cut the cylindrical blade root into strip-shaped blade root profiles along the axial direction of the blade root. As needed, the main beam can be used as a whole, or the main beam can be cut into strip-shaped main beam profiles. As needed, the auxiliary beam can be cut into strip-shaped auxiliary beam profiles.

[0046] Step 3: Build the floating platform framework

[0047] The floating platform frame is constructed using the main beam or the main beam strips cut from the main beam as the long boards, and the blade root profiles and auxiliary beam profiles as the short boards;

[0048] Step 4: Build a floating platform

[0049] Laying the web flat on the floating platform frame as a platform panel, and fixing the first pontoon, the second pontoon and the third pontoon on the platform frame below the platform panel;

[0050] During processing, it is only necessary to separate the main beam from the shell, the blade root from the main beam, the two main beams from the web, and the trailing edge shell along its bonding point, and the auxiliary beam from the trailing edge shell. Only simple cutting is required without crushing, which saves electricity, avoids dust pollution, saves labor costs, reduces labor intensity, and reduces processing costs. In addition, fiberglass has strong corrosion resistance and can effectively resist seawater corrosion, making it easy to promote. Wind turbine blades are made of epoxy resin materials with high yield strength and tensile strength. During the platform preparation process, the blades are simply divided and then processed into recycled products using a hand-layup process with epoxy resin and glass fiber cloth. The floating platform on the water maintains the original advantages of wind turbine blades, such as high mechanical properties, good corrosion resistance, and long service life.

[0051] Secondly, the main beam profiles, blade root profiles and auxiliary beam profiles used to build the floating platform frame are connected by mortise and tenon structures or epoxy resin adhesive bonding technology, which makes the connection more secure and has strong corrosion resistance.

[0052] Third, part of the trailing edge shell can be used as the platform panel according to the needs of the platform style;

[0053] Fourthly, the FRP plates and core materials in the scraps generated during the processing are separated. The FRP plates are separated into recycled FRP fibers and a small amount of powder through a recycling device, and then molded with molding resin to make molding materials. Using steel molds, they are processed into a variety of composite molded products through high temperature and high pressure, or added with cement to make cement components. The core materials are recycled and used as sound insulation and thermal insulation materials. During the entire processing process, all retired wind turbine blades are fully utilized without generating waste. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0054] Figure 1 This is a schematic structural diagram of a retired wind turbine blade according to the present invention;

[0055] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the partial dissection of a retired wind turbine blade;

[0056] Figure 3 It is a structural diagram of the longitudinal section of the blade. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0057] The method for preparing a floating platform on water using retired wind turbine blades of the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0058] like Figure 1 、 Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, the structure schematic diagram of the retired wind turbine blade used in the present invention, the retired wind turbine blade includes a blade root 1 and a blade 2, the blade 2 includes two opposite main beams 3, a web 4 is arranged between the two main beams 3, an arc-shaped leading edge shell 5 is provided on the front side close to the main beam, and an arc-shaped trailing edge shell 6 is provided on the rear side close to the main beam, and an auxiliary beam 7 is provided at the junction of the two trailing edge shells.

[0059] The method for preparing a floating platform on water using retired wind turbine blades comprises the following steps:

[0060] The first step is to separate the retired wind turbine blades to obtain the blade root, main beam, auxiliary beam, web, leading edge shell and trailing edge shell.

[0061] Step 1: Separate the blade's main beam from the shell

[0062] A main beam cutting device is used to cut along both sides of the two main beams to separate the arc-shaped leading edge shell and the trailing edge shell from the main beam, thereby obtaining an arc-shaped leading edge shell, a trailing edge shell, and two main beams with blade roots. The main beam cutting device may adopt the patent number 201920826917.5, the patent name of which is: Wind turbine blade main beam and shell separation device, or the patent number 202320579257.1, the patent name of which is: Retired wind turbine blade main beam and shell cutting and separation device. Of course, other cutting devices may also be used to separate the main beam and shell.

[0063] Step 2: Separate the blade root and main beam

[0064] The blade root is cut from the main beam using a blade root cutting device to obtain a cylindrical blade root and two main beams connected by a web; the blade root cutting device may use the device with patent number: 202120301481.5, patent name: Wind turbine blade root cutting and separation device, or other cutting devices may be used;

[0065] Step (3): Separate the two main beams from the web

[0066] The two main beams and webs are separated by a main beam and web separation device to obtain two independent main beams and two independent webs. The main beam and web separation device can use the device with patent number: 201920826923.0, patent name: Wind turbine blade main beam and web separation device, or other cutting devices can be used.

[0067] Step 4: Separate the trailing edge shell along its bonding point

[0068] Using a separation device to separate the bonding portion of the trailing edge shell to form two trailing edge shells with auxiliary beams;

[0069] Step 5: Separate the auxiliary beam from the trailing edge shell

[0070] The auxiliary beam is cut from the trailing edge shell by an auxiliary beam separation device to obtain the auxiliary beam and the trailing edge shell; the auxiliary beam separation device can use the device with patent number: 201920826885.9, patent name: Wind turbine blade auxiliary beam separation device, or other separation devices can be used;

[0071] Step 1: Processing of the leading edge shell

[0072] According to the needs, the arc-shaped leading edge shell is cut into small sections, and two cut leading edge shell sections are connected to form an ellipse. The joints are bonded by hand paste process with epoxy resin and glass fiber cloth to form an elliptical cylinder with two ends open.

[0073] Step 2: Trailing edge shell processing

[0074] According to the needs, part of the trailing edge shell is cut into elliptical or circular blocking plates, and the other part of the trailing edge shell is cut into plates for rectangular pontoons;

[0075] Step 1: Cut the rear edge shell into an elliptical or circular blocking plate

[0076] According to the cross-sectional size of the elliptical cylinder, a sealing plate with the same shape as the cross-sectional shape of the elliptical cylinder is cut from the trailing edge shell; two sealing plates are placed at both ends of the elliptical cylinder, and the joints are bonded by hand using epoxy resin and glass fiber cloth to form an elliptical closed first buoy;

[0077] Step 2: Cut part of the trailing edge shell into a rectangular pontoon plate and prepare the second pontoon

[0078] Cut part of the trailing edge shell into panels for the rectangular pontoon, then use six rectangular panels to surround the second pontoon, and glue the joints together using a hand-paste process with epoxy resin and fiberglass cloth to form a square, closed second pontoon;

[0079] Step 3: Make the blade roots into floats or cut them into strips

[0080] After removing the bolts from the cut blade root, the two ends are sealed with circular sealing plates cut from the trailing edge shell. The joints are then bonded by hand using epoxy resin and fiberglass cloth to form a circular third buoy. Alternatively, the cylindrical blade root can be cut into strips of blade root profiles along the axial direction of the blade root using a cutting tool.

[0081] Step 4: Processing of the main beam

[0082] According to the needs, the main beam can be used as a whole, or cut into strip-shaped main beam profiles;

[0083] Step 5: Processing of auxiliary beams

[0084] Cut the auxiliary beam into strip-shaped auxiliary beam profiles as needed;

[0085] Step 3: Build the floating platform framework

[0086] The floating platform frame is constructed using the main beam or the main beam strips cut from the main beam as the long boards, and the blade root profiles and auxiliary beam profiles as the short boards;

[0087] Step 4: Build a floating platform

[0088] The web is laid flat on the floating platform frame to serve as a platform panel, and the first pontoon, the second pontoon and the third pontoon are fixed to the platform frame below the platform panel.

[0089] During processing, only the main beam 3 and shell 2, the blade root 1 and main beam 3, and the two main beams 3 and web 4 need to be separated. The trailing edge shell 6 is separated along its bonding point, and the auxiliary beam 7 is separated from the trailing edge shell. Simple cutting is performed without crushing, saving resources and energy, avoiding dust pollution, saving labor costs, reducing labor intensity, and lowering processing costs. Furthermore, FRP has strong corrosion resistance and can effectively resist seawater corrosion, making it easier to promote. Wind turbine blades are composed of epoxy resin composite materials with high yield strength and tensile strength, balsa wood, and plastic foam, of which the shell and web account for 90%. The shell and web are sandwich panels composed of two layers of epoxy resin composite sheets, balsa wood, and foam. Due to their low specific gravity, the overall weight of the platform is low. During the platform preparation process, the wind turbine blades are simply divided and then processed into a floating platform on the water using a hand-layup process with epoxy resin and glass fiber cloth. No other complex recycling processes are required. The original advantages of the wind turbine blades, such as high strength, corrosion resistance and light weight, are retained, while saving manpower, electricity, energy and other resources.

[0090] The water floating platform can be used as a floating platform on water surfaces such as ponds, small and medium-sized lakes, reservoirs, impoundments, seas, and water areas formed by mining subsidence areas.

[0091] The main beam profiles, blade root profiles and auxiliary beam profiles used to build the floating platform frame are connected through mortise and tenon structures or epoxy resin adhesive bonding technology, which makes the connection more secure and has strong corrosion resistance.

[0092] Part of the trailing edge shell is used as the platform panel. Part of the trailing edge shell can be used as the platform panel according to the needs of the platform style.

[0093] The fiberglass plates and core materials in the scraps generated during the processing are separated. The fiberglass plates are separated into recycled fiberglass fibers and a small amount of powder through a recycling device, and then molded resin is added to make molding materials. Using steel molds, they are processed into various composite molded products through high temperature and high pressure, or cement is added to make cement components. The core materials are recycled and used as sound insulation and thermal insulation materials. During the entire processing process, all retired wind turbine blades are fully utilized and no waste is generated.

[0094] The protection scope of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. As long as the method has the same or similar structure as the method of preparing a floating platform on water using retired wind turbine blades of the present invention, it falls within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for preparing a floating platform using retired wind turbine blades, characterized in that: The method comprises the following steps: The first step is to separate the retired wind turbine blades to obtain the blade root, main beam, auxiliary beam, web, leading edge shell and trailing edge shell. Step 1: Separate the blade's main beam from the shell Using a main beam cutting device to cut along both sides of the two main beams, the arc-shaped leading edge shell and the trailing edge shell are separated from the main beams, thereby obtaining the arc-shaped leading edge shell, the trailing edge shell and the two main beams with blade roots; Step 2: Separate the blade root and main beam Use a blade root cutting device to cut the blade root from the main beam to obtain a cylindrical blade root and two main beams connected by a web; Step (3): Separate the two main beams from the web Use a main beam and web separation device to separate the two main beams from the webs to obtain two independent main beams and two independent webs; Step 4: Separate the trailing edge shell along its bonding point The bonding portion of the trailing edge shell is separated by a separation device to form two trailing edge shells with auxiliary beams; Step 5: Separate the auxiliary beam from the trailing edge shell Using an auxiliary beam separation device to cut the auxiliary beam from the trailing edge shell, to obtain the auxiliary beam and the trailing edge shell; The second step is to process the leading edge shell, trailing edge shell, blade root, main beam, auxiliary beam and web. Step 1: Processing of the leading edge shell According to the needs, the arc-shaped leading edge shell is cut into small sections, and two cut leading edge shell sections are connected to form an ellipse. The joints are bonded by hand paste process with epoxy resin and glass fiber cloth to form an elliptical cylinder with two ends open. Step 2: Trailing edge shell processing According to the needs, part of the trailing edge shell is cut into elliptical or circular blocking plates, and the other part of the trailing edge shell is cut into plates for rectangular pontoons; Step 1: Cut the rear edge shell into an elliptical or circular blocking plate According to the cross-sectional size of the elliptical cylinder, a sealing plate with the same shape as the cross-sectional shape of the elliptical cylinder is cut from the trailing edge shell; two sealing plates are placed at both ends of the elliptical cylinder, and the joints are bonded by hand using epoxy resin and glass fiber cloth to form an elliptical closed first buoy; Step 2: Cut part of the trailing edge shell into a rectangular pontoon plate and prepare the second pontoon Cut part of the trailing edge shell into panels for the rectangular pontoon, then use six rectangular panels to surround the second pontoon, and glue the joints together using a hand-paste process with epoxy resin and fiberglass cloth to form a square, closed second pontoon; Step 3: Make the blade roots into floats or cut them into strips After removing the bolts from the cut blade root, the two ends are sealed with circular sealing plates cut from the trailing edge shell. The joints are then bonded by hand using epoxy resin and fiberglass cloth to form a circular third buoy. Alternatively, the cylindrical blade root can be cut into strips of blade root profiles along the axial direction of the blade root using a cutting tool. Step 4: Processing of the main beam According to the needs, the main beam can be used as a whole, or cut into strip-shaped main beam profiles; Step 5: Processing of auxiliary beams Cut the auxiliary beam into strip-shaped auxiliary beam profiles as needed; Step 3: Build the floating platform framework The floating platform frame is constructed using the main beam or the main beam strips cut from the main beam as the long boards, and the blade root profiles and auxiliary beam profiles as the short boards; Step 4: Build a floating platform The web is laid flat on the floating platform frame to serve as a platform panel, and the first pontoon, the second pontoon and the third pontoon are fixed to the platform frame below the platform panel.

2. The method for preparing a floating platform on water using retired wind turbine blades according to claim 1, characterized in that: The main beam profiles, blade root profiles and auxiliary beam profiles for constructing the floating platform frame are connected by mortise and tenon structures or epoxy resin adhesive bonding technology.

3. The method for preparing a floating platform on water using retired wind turbine blades according to claim 1, characterized in that: Part of the trailing edge shell is used as a floating platform panel.

4. The method for preparing a floating platform on water using retired wind turbine blades according to claim 1, characterized in that: The fiberglass plates and core materials from the scraps generated during the processing are separated. The fiberglass plates are separated into recycled glass fibers and a small amount of powder through a recycling device, and then molded resin is added to make molding materials. Using steel molds, they are processed through high temperature and high pressure into a variety of composite molded products, or added with cement to make cement components. The core materials are recycled and used as sound insulation and thermal insulation materials.

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