Protective layer application device and control method for the protective layer application device

Abstract

To improve the accuracy of construction work of a protective layer.SOLUTION: A protective layer construction device includes: a material injector 110 that injects an injection frame 112 including a construction material from an injection port 111; a movement mechanism that moves the material injector 110 along a predetermined scanning direction; a distance sensor 120 which is installed in the movement mechanism at a prescribed distance D from the material injector 110, is moved along the scanning direction, and measures a distance from a wing surface A in a non-contact manner; and a control unit that controls a distance H between the injection port 111 of the material injector 110 and the wing surface A on the basis of a measured distance H' acquired by the distance sensor 120. The prescribed distance D is determined on the basis of an injection angle θ of the injection frame 112 and a set distance between the injection port 111 and the wing surface A.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 11

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a protective layer construction device and a control method for the protective layer construction device.

Background Art

[0002] For example, in a wind turbine, as the wind turbine rotor rotates, the wind turbine blades collide with foreign substances in the air (such as raindrops and dust) and are eroded, resulting in erosion on the leading edge side of the wind turbine blades. In order to protect the wind turbine blades from this erosion, it is known to form an erosion-resistant protective layer on the leading edge of the wind turbine blades (see Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] When forming the leading edge protective layer of the wind turbine blade, it is conceivable to construct (form) the protective layer by spraying the construction material onto the wind turbine blade while moving the material injector along the scanning direction. Here, the material injector forms the protective layer by spraying the construction material onto the blade surface with a carrier gas. During the construction of the protective layer, in order to form the thickness of the protective layer uniformly, it is preferable to keep the distance between the injection port of the material injector and the blade surface constant. However, when trying to measure the vertical distance between the blade surface and the injection port with a distance sensor using a beam such as a laser beam, the beam irradiated from the distance sensor is diffused by the carrier gas sprayed from the material injector and fine particles of the construction material, resulting in a problem that the measurement accuracy of the distance sensor decreases. The decrease in the measurement accuracy of the distance sensor will lead to a decrease in the accuracy of the protective layer construction work.

[0005] This disclosure is made in view of these circumstances and aims to provide a protective layer application device and a control method for the protective layer application device that can improve the accuracy of protective layer application work. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A protective layer application apparatus according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a protective layer application apparatus for forming a protective layer on the blade surface of a wind turbine blade body made of FRP, comprising: a material injector that injects an injection frame containing application material from an injection nozzle; a moving mechanism that moves the material injector along a predetermined scanning direction; a distance sensor that is installed on the moving mechanism while maintaining a predetermined distance from the material injector, is moved along the scanning direction, and measures the distance from the blade surface non-contact; and a control unit that controls the distance between the injection nozzle of the material injector and the blade surface based on the measured distance acquired by the distance sensor, wherein the predetermined distance is determined based on the injection angle of the injection frame and a set distance between the injection nozzle and the blade surface.

[0007] A control method for a protective layer application apparatus according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a control method for a protective layer application apparatus that applies a protective layer to the surface of a wind turbine blade body made of FRP by injecting an injection frame containing application material from the nozzle of a material injector, comprising the steps of: moving the material injector along a predetermined scanning direction; moving a distance sensor along the scanning direction while maintaining a predetermined distance from the material injector to measure the distance from the blade surface non-contactively; and controlling the distance between the nozzle of the material injector and the blade surface according to the measured distance acquired by the distance sensor, wherein the predetermined distance is determined based on the injection angle of the injection frame and a set distance between the nozzle and the blade surface. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] The protective layer application apparatus and control method for the protective layer application apparatus described herein have the effect of improving the accuracy of the protective layer application work. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This is a schematic diagram showing a wind power generation device using wind turbine blades according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] This is a plan view showing a wind turbine blade according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 3] Figure 2 is a front view of a wind turbine blade. [Figure 4] Figures 2 and 3 show cross-sectional views of the wind turbine blades. [Figure 5] This is a front view showing the wind turbine blades installed when the protective layer is formed. [Figure 6] Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view at the support position. [Figure 7] This is a partially enlarged front view showing the extent of the protective layer formed at the tip of the wind turbine blade. [Figure 8] This is a partially enlarged front view showing the sequence of protective layer formation. [Figure 9] This is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view showing the formation direction of the protective layer in the wing thickness direction according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 10] This figure shows a schematic configuration of a protective layer application apparatus according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 11] This figure shows the relative positional relationship between a material injector and a distance sensor according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] An embodiment relating to this disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in Figure 1, the wind power generation device 1 includes a tower 3 erected on the installation surface B, a nacelle 6 installed at the upper end of the tower 3, and a rotor head 4 mounted on the nacelle 6 so as to be rotatable around a substantially horizontal axis.

[0011] The rotor head 4 has a plurality of (for example, three) wind turbine blades 5 radially attached around its axis of rotation. Thereby, the force of the wind hitting the wind turbine blades 5 from the direction of the axis of rotation of the rotor head 4 is changed into power to rotate the rotor head 4 around the axis of rotation. The obtained power is converted into electric power by a generator (not shown) and supplied to the outside.

[0012] As shown in FIG. 2, the wind turbine blade 5 includes a blade root portion 10 attached to the rotor head 4, a blade tip portion (tip portion) 12 located farthest from the rotor head 4, and an airfoil portion 14 extending between the blade root portion 10 and the blade tip portion 12. In FIG. 2, the blade length direction L1 is the horizontal direction.

[0013] The wind turbine blade 5 has a leading edge 16 and a trailing edge 18 from the blade root portion 10 to the blade tip portion 12. The outer shape of the wind turbine blade 5 is defined by a ventral surface 20 which is a pressure surface (positive pressure surface) and a dorsal surface 22 which is a negative pressure surface facing the ventral surface 20. The wind turbine blade 5 is formed of FRP (Fiber-Reinforced Plastic). As the FRP, carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP), glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP), or the like is used. The overall length of the wind turbine blade 5 from the blade root portion 10 to the blade tip portion 12 is on the order of 100 m, for example, 80 m or more and 150 m or less. Also, as the wind turbine blade 5 of the present embodiment, a wind turbine blade on the order of 200 m may be adopted.

[0014] As shown in FIG. 3, the wind turbine blade 5 is provided with a pre-bend PB bent in advance on the blade tip portion 12 side. The amount of bending of the pre-bend PB is determined in advance assuming the case where the wind turbine blade 5 receives wind pressure during operation. Therefore, the pre-bend PB is bent so that the ventral surface 20 receiving the wind pressure becomes concave and the dorsal surface 22 becomes convex.

[0015] As shown in FIG. 2, a protective layer 30 is formed in a predetermined region (front edge portion) including the leading edge 16 at the tip end portion 12 of the wind turbine blade 5 with respect to the wind turbine blade main body 5a. The protective layer 30 is formed by a protective layer construction device 100 that is moved by a moving mechanism 130 (see FIG. 10) described later. The formation range of the protective layer 30 is indicated by a thick line in FIG. 2. The formation range of the protective layer 30 in the blade length direction L1 is about 30% of the entire length of the wind turbine blade 5 from the blade root portion 10 to the tip end portion 12. For example, in the case of a 10- m-class wind turbine, it is 20 m to 40 m, preferably about 30 m, from the tip 12a of the tip end portion 12. The formation range of the protective layer 30 is not limited to this. For example, in a region where the peripheral speed exceeds 90 m / s, it is set to about 1 / 3 of the total length from the tip of the wind turbine blade 5. The protective layer 30 is composed of a material having excellent wear resistance, such as a cermet or a Co alloy such as a Co-based alloy. The protective layer 30 is formed, for example, by HVOF (High Velocity Oxy-Fuel).

[0016] FIG. 4 shows a cross section of the wind turbine blade 5. In the figure, the horizontal direction indicates the chord direction C1. When the total length of the wind turbine blade 5 is R, (a) is a cross section at the position of 0.9R, and (b) is a cross section at the position of 0.7R.

[0017] In the cross section of (a) in FIG. 4, the chord length c is about 1 m. The blade thickness ratio t / c when the maximum thickness of the blade thickness is t is 18%. <00​​​​​​​​​​As shown in Figure 5, after the outer shape of the wind turbine blade body 5a of the wind turbine blade 5 is formed, the wind turbine blade 5 is installed in an orientation such that the blade length direction L1 is approximately horizontal and the leading edge 16 points downward (attitude setting step). That is, the wind turbine blade body 5a is installed vertically so that the chord direction C1 is approximately vertical. At this time, the wind turbine blade 5 is supported from below by a plurality of support bases 32 provided at predetermined intervals in the blade length direction L1 (support step).

[0020] Figure 5 shows that the leading edge 16 side of the wind turbine blade 5 is supported by multiple support bases 32. Each support base 32 is installed on the installation surface BS during construction (see Figure 6). The wind turbine blade 5 only needs to be supported with the leading edge 16 side facing downwards. For example, instead of supporting the wind turbine blade 5 from below with the support bases 32 described above, the wind turbine blade 5 may be supported by suspension members such as wires suspended from above, which hold and lift the downward-facing leading edge 16.

[0021] As shown in Figures 5 and 6, with the leading edge 16 facing downwards, a protective layer is formed on the leading edge 16 of the wind turbine blade 5 by the protective layer application device 100, which will be described later. The protective layer application device 100 accelerates the heated, melted, or softened application material in the form of droplets or particles using a conveying gas and sprays it onto the surface of the wind turbine blade body 5a.

[0022] Figure 7 shows the formation area FA where a protective layer 30 is formed on the blade tip portion 12 of the wind turbine blade 5. As shown in the figure, the protective layer 30 is formed in a predetermined area (leading edge portion) on the leading edge 16 side of the wind turbine blade 5.

[0023] As shown in Figure 8, during protective layer formation, the material injector 110 (see Figure 10) is moved back and forth in the wing length direction L1 (indicated as "DR1" in the figure) (first injection step). This results in the deposition of multiple protective layers. The target thickness of the protective layer is, for example, about 500 μm to 600 μm. The irradiation width of the material injector 110 on the wing surface is, for example, about 10 mm.

[0024] After the first injection step described above, the material injector 110 is moved a predetermined distance in the chord direction C1 (direction indicated as "DR2" in the figure) (chord position change step), and at this position, the material injector 110 is moved back and forth again in the wing length direction L1 (direction indicated as "DR1" in the figure) to perform injection. In this way, by repeatedly performing a series of scans consisting of reciprocating movement in the wing length direction L1 (first injection step) and movement by a predetermined amount in the chord direction C1 (chord position change step), a protective layer is laminated in the formation area FA. In the first injection process, the material injector 110 is scanned to reciprocate in the wing length direction L1 to form a protective layer. This is because the change in curvature of the wing surface is smaller in the wing length direction L1 compared to the chord direction C1. Figure 9 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view showing the direction of formation of the protective layer in the chord direction C1. As shown in Figure 9, the direction of position change in the chord position change process described above is, as indicated by the arrow in the figure, the direction from one wing surface (e.g., the ventral side 20 or the dorsal side 22) of the wind turbine blade 5 through the leading edge 16 to the other wing surface (e.g., the dorsal side 22 or the ventral side 20).

[0025] Next, the protective layer application apparatus 100 of this embodiment will be described. Figure 10 shows a schematic configuration of the protective layer application device 100 according to this embodiment. As described above, the protective layer application device 100 applies (applies) a protective layer to the leading edge area FA of the wind turbine blade body 5a, which is made of FRP, in the direction of the blade length. Hereinafter, the surface on the wind turbine blade body 5a on which the application material is sprayed will be referred to as the blade surface A (see Figure 11).

[0026] As shown in Figure 10, the protective layer application device 100 includes a material injector 110, a distance sensor 120, a moving mechanism 130, an articulated robot 140, and a control unit 150. Figure 11 shows the relative positional relationship between the material injector 110 and the distance sensor 120 according to this embodiment. As shown in Figure 11, the material injector 110 injects the construction material from the nozzle 111. The construction material injected from the nozzle 111 forms an injection frame 112 centered on the reference axis X1, forming a protective layer over a predetermined area of ​​the blade surface A. The injection frame 112 is a combustion flame of an oxidizer containing oxygen and fuel. The material injector 110 injects the construction material while being moved along the scanning direction by a moving mechanism 130, which will be described later. The scanning direction in this embodiment is as described with reference to, for example, Figures 8 and 9.

[0027] The distance sensor 120 measures distance by, for example, irradiating the blade surface A of the wind turbine blade body 5a with laser light (beam) and receiving the reflected light reflected from the surface. Note that the distance sensor 120 is not limited to this example. For example, the distance sensor 120 can be any known sensor, such as a sensor that measures distance using ultrasound. The distance sensor 120 is installed on the moving mechanism 130 while maintaining a predetermined distance D from the material sprayer 110. Here, "installed" includes not only cases where it is directly installed, but also cases where it is installed indirectly via other members (e.g., a multi-joint robot 140, etc.), as will be described later. The distance sensor 120 is moved along the scanning direction and measures the distance from the blade surface A non-contactually. Specifically, the distance sensor 120 measures the distance to the blade surface A prior to (before) the spraying of the construction material by the material sprayer 110. Here, it is not a matter of whether or not a protective layer has already been formed on the blade surface A. In other words, in the case of the first scan, the blade surface A is the surface of the wind turbine blade body 5a, and in the case of a subsequent scan (for example, the nth scan), it means the surface of the protective layer formed on the wind turbine blade body 5a by the previous scan (n-1 scans).

[0028] The measured distance H' acquired by the distance sensor 120 is stored in the storage unit 154, described later, in association with its measurement location. Here, the measurement location is, for example, two-dimensional coordinate information within the formation range FA. That is, the storage unit 154 stores distance information that associates the measured distance H' acquired by the distance sensor 120 with the coordinate position information within the formation range FA.

[0029] In this embodiment, the material injector 110 and the distance sensor 120 are moved by a moving mechanism 130 and an articulated robot 140, which will be described later, while maintaining a predetermined distance D from each other. For example, the material injector 110 and the distance sensor 120 are attached to the end arm of the articulated robot 140, connected by a connecting member (not shown). The distance sensor 120 is positioned in front of the material injector 110 in the scanning direction during protective layer formation. That is, the distance sensor 120 measures the distance from the blade surface A at a position that is a distance D in front of the material injector 110 in the scanning direction. Details regarding distance D will be described later.

[0030] The moving mechanism 130 is a mechanism that moves the material injector 110 along the scanning direction, for example, as shown in Figure 7. The moving mechanism 130 moves along the rail 200 installed on the installation surface BS during construction, for example, in the wing length direction L1. The position of the moving mechanism 130 in the wing length direction L1 is controlled by the control unit 150.

[0031] As shown in Figure 7, the articulated robot 140 is attached to the moving mechanism 130 and is a mechanism that moves the material injector 110 and distance sensor 120 to any position in three-dimensional space. The articulated robot 140 adjusts, for example, the injection angle of the material injector 110, in other words, the inclination of the reference axis X1 in Figure 11, the position of the material injector 110 and distance sensor 120 in the wing thickness direction, and the distance between the nozzle 111 and the wing surface A.

[0032] The control unit 150 controls the entire protective layer application device 100. The control unit 150 is a computer and includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit: processor), main memory, secondary storage (memory), etc. Furthermore, the control unit 150 may also include a communication unit for sending and receiving information with other devices. Main memory consists of writable memory such as cache memory and RAM (Random Access Memory), and is used as a work area for reading CPU executable programs and writing processing data by executable programs. Secondary storage devices are non-transitory computer-readable storage media. Examples of secondary storage devices include magnetic disks, magneto-optical disks, CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs, and semiconductor memory.

[0033] The control unit 150 includes a movement control unit 151 that controls the two-dimensional movement of the material injector 110 within the formation range FA, an injection angle control unit 152 that adjusts the injection angle of the material injector 110, an injection position control unit 153 that controls the position of the material injector 110 (injection nozzle 111) in the direction of the reference axis X1, and a storage unit 154 that stores the data necessary for these controls.

[0034] The series of processes for realizing the functions of each part of the control unit 150 are stored in secondary storage in the form of a program, for example. The CPU reads this program into main memory and performs information processing and calculations to realize various functions. The program may be pre-installed in secondary storage, provided stored on a computer-readable storage medium, or distributed via wired or wireless communication. Computer-readable storage media include magnetic disks, magneto-optical disks, CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs, semiconductor memory, etc.

[0035] The movement control unit 151 provides control commands to the articulated robot 140 and the movement mechanism 130 to move the material injector 110 and the distance sensor 120 along a preset scanning path within the forming range FA.

[0036] The injection angle control unit 152 controls the inclination (injection angle) of the material injector 110 so that the injection direction of the material injector 110 (i.e., the direction of the reference axis X1) coincides with the normal direction of the wing surface A, based on, for example, the curvature information of the formation range FA stored in the memory unit 154. The injection angle control unit 152 controls the inclination of the material injector 110 by, for example, calculating the inclination angle based on the curvature information of the formation range FA and providing a control command to the articulated robot 140 according to the calculated inclination angle.

[0037] The injection position control unit 153 controls the distance between the injection nozzle 111 and the wing surface A based on the measured distance H' measured by the distance sensor 120. Specifically, the injection position control unit 153 obtains the measured distance H' corresponding to the current position of the material injector 110 (two-dimensional coordinate position in the formation range FA) from the distance information stored in the memory unit 154, and controls the position of the injection nozzle 111 on the reference axis X1 based on the obtained measured distance H' so that the distance between the injection nozzle 111 and the wing surface A becomes a predetermined set distance Href. In this way, by controlling the distance between the injection nozzle 111 and the wing surface A to be constant at a predetermined set distance Href, it becomes possible to form a protective layer of uniform thickness in the formation range FA. Furthermore, taking a margin into account, the position of the nozzle 111 may be controlled so that the distance between the nozzle 111 and the wing surface A is within an acceptable range (Href-α≦H'≦Href+α) obtained by adding a predetermined margin (±α, for example, a few percent) to the set distance Href.

[0038] For example, the injection position control unit 153 determines whether the measured distance H' obtained from the memory unit 154 is within an acceptable range (Href-α≦H'≦Href+α). If it is within an acceptable range, it does not adjust the position of the material injector 110 in the direction of the reference axis X1. If it exceeds the acceptable range, it adjusts the position of the material injector 110 in the direction of the reference axis X1 based on the error between the measured distance H' and the set distance Href, in a direction that reduces the error, or more specifically, so that the error becomes zero.

[0039] Next, we will describe the distance D between the material injector 110 and the distance sensor 120. The distance D between the distance sensor 120 and the material injector 110 is determined based on the injection angle θ of the injection frame 112 and the set distance Href between the nozzle 111 and the blade surface A. Here, the injection angle θ is the center angle of the longitudinal cross-section of the injection frame 112 ejected from the nozzle 111 of the material injector 110, as shown in Figure 11. For example, the range of the injection frame 112 ejected from the nozzle 111 can be calculated using the injection angle θ and the set distance Href. The distance D is set so that the laser beam emitted from the distance sensor 120 does not overlap with this injection frame 112.

[0040] By setting the distance D in this way, it is possible to suppress the influence of the jet frame 112 on the laser light (beam) emitted from the distance sensor 120. This makes it possible to improve the measurement accuracy of the distance sensor 120.

[0041] In the protective layer application apparatus 100 having such a configuration, the control unit 150 controls the moving mechanism 130 and the articulated robot 140 so that the material injector 110 and the distance sensor 120 are moved along a predetermined scanning path while maintaining a constant distance D. Furthermore, the articulated robot 140 is controlled by the control unit 150 so that the tilt of the material injector 110 is controlled so that the reference axis X1 of the material injector 110 coincides with the normal direction of the wing surface A.

[0042] While the material injector 110 is moving, an injection flame 112 is ejected from the nozzle 111 of the material injector 110, forming a protective layer on the wing surface A. During this protective layer formation period, a distance sensor 120 measures the distance in front of the material injector 110, and the position of the nozzle 111 in the direction of the reference axis X1 is controlled based on this measured distance H'. This makes it possible to form a uniform protective layer on the wing surface A.

[0043] As described above, the protective layer application device 100 and the control method for the protective layer application device of this embodiment provide the following effects. In other words, the protective layer application apparatus 100 of this embodiment includes a material injector 110 that injects an injection frame 112 containing the application material from an injection nozzle 111, a moving mechanism 130 that moves the material injector 110 along a predetermined scanning direction, a distance sensor 120 that is installed on the moving mechanism 130 while maintaining a predetermined distance D from the material injector 110 and is moved along the scanning direction, and measures the distance from the wing surface A non-contact, and a control unit 150 that controls the distance H between the injection nozzle 111 of the material injector 110 and the wing surface A based on the measured distance H' acquired by the distance sensor 120. In this case, the predetermined distance D is determined based on the injection angle θ of the injection frame 112 and the set distance Href between the injection nozzle 111 and the wing surface A. This makes it possible to suppress the influence of fine particles of the conveying gas and construction material sprayed from the material injector 110 on the distance measurement of the distance sensor 120. As a result, it is possible to improve the measurement accuracy of the distance sensor 120, thereby improving the accuracy of the protective layer construction work.

[0044] [Other embodiments] In the protective layer application apparatus 100 of this embodiment, the distance sensor 120 was positioned in front of the material injector 110 in the scanning direction, but the arrangement of the distance sensor 120 relative to the material injector 110 is not limited to this example. That is, the distance sensor 120 only needs to have a distance D between it and the material injector 110 and be capable of measuring the distance to the blade surface in the scanning direction. For example, the material injector 110 and the distance sensor 120 may be arranged side by side in a direction perpendicular to the scanning direction when forming the protective layer. With such an arrangement, the distance measurement is performed on the scanning path adjacent to the scanning path that the material injector 110 is currently moving along, in other words, on the scanning path where the material injector 110 will next form the protective layer. In the case of such an arrangement, during the period when distance measurement is being performed on the first scanning path, the material injector 110 will move outside the formation range FA, and therefore the injection of application material by the material injector 110 will be stopped.

[0045] Furthermore, in the protective layer application apparatus 100 of this embodiment, distance information relating the measured distance H' measured by the distance sensor 120 and the coordinate information on the wing surface A is stored in the storage unit 154, and the position of the material injector 110 on the reference axis is controlled using this distance information, but the control method is not limited to this. For example, the injection position control unit 153 may estimate the distance H of the coordinate position on the wing surface A of the material injector 110 from the wing surface A using the positional relationship between the distance sensor 120 and the material injector 110 and the measured distance H' acquired by the distance sensor 120. Then, the injection position control unit 153 may control the distance between the injection nozzle 111 of the material injector 110 and the wing surface A based on the estimated distance H.

[0046] Although the present disclosure has been described above using various embodiments, the technical scope of this disclosure is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments. Various modifications or improvements can be made to the above embodiments without departing from the spirit of the invention, and such modified or improved forms are also included in the technical scope of this disclosure.

[0047] The protective layer application apparatus and the control method for the protective layer application apparatus described in each embodiment above can be understood, for example, as follows.

[0048] A protective layer application apparatus (100) according to a first aspect of the present disclosure is a protective layer application apparatus (100) for forming a protective layer on the blade surface (A) of a wind turbine blade body (5a) made of FRP, comprising: a material injector (110) that injects an injection frame (112) containing application material from an injection nozzle (111); a moving mechanism (130) that moves the material injector in a predetermined scanning direction; a distance sensor (120) installed on the moving mechanism while maintaining a predetermined distance (D) from the material injector, and which is moved along the scanning direction and measures the distance (H') from the blade surface non-contact; and a control unit (150) that controls the distance (H) between the injection nozzle of the material injector and the blade surface based on the measured distance acquired by the distance sensor, wherein the predetermined distance is determined based on the injection angle (θ) of the injection frame and a set distance (Href) between the injection nozzle and the blade surface.

[0049] According to the protective layer application apparatus of the first aspect of this disclosure, the distance between the material injector and the distance sensor is determined based on the injection angle of the injection frame and the set distance between the injection nozzle and the blade surface. This makes it possible to suppress the influence of fine particles of the conveying gas and application material injected from the material injector 110 on the distance measurement of the distance sensor. As a result, it is possible to improve the measurement accuracy of the distance sensor and improve the accuracy of the protective layer application work.

[0050] In the protective layer application apparatus according to a second aspect of the present disclosure, in the first aspect, the distance sensor is a distance sensor that measures distance by irradiating a beam onto the wing surface and receiving the beam reflected from the wing surface, wherein the predetermined distance is set to a distance at which the irradiated beam does not overlap with the jet frame.

[0051] According to the protective layer application apparatus of the second aspect of this disclosure, the distance between the material injector and the distance sensor is set to a distance at which the beam emitted from the distance sensor does not overlap with the injection flame. This makes it possible to avoid or suppress the diffusion of the beam emitted from the distance sensor by the injection flame, in other words, by fine particles of the conveying gas or application material. This makes it possible to improve the measurement accuracy of the distance sensor and improve the accuracy of the protective film application work.

[0052] In the protective layer application apparatus according to the third aspect of this disclosure, in the first or second aspect, the distance sensor is positioned in front of the scanning direction of the material injector when forming the protective layer.

[0053] According to the protective layer application apparatus of the third aspect of this disclosure, the distance sensor measures the distance from the wing surface at a position predetermined distance forward of the material injector when forming the protective layer.

[0054] In the protective layer application apparatus according to the fourth aspect of this disclosure, in the first or second aspect, the material injector and the distance sensor are arranged in a direction perpendicular to the scanning direction when forming the protective layer.

[0055] According to the protective layer application apparatus of the fourth aspect of this disclosure, the distance from the blade surface is measured in a scanning path adjacent to the scanning path in which the material injector is currently moving, in other words, in the scanning path in which the material injector 110 will next form the protective layer.

[0056] A protective layer application apparatus according to a fifth aspect of the present disclosure includes, in any of the first to fourth aspects, a storage unit (154) that stores in association the coordinate position on the wing surface with the measured distance acquired by the distance sensor, and the control unit acquires the measured distance corresponding to the coordinate position on the wing surface of the material injector from the storage unit, and controls the distance between the nozzle of the material injector and the wing surface based on the acquired measured distance.

[0057] According to the protective layer application apparatus of the fifth aspect of this disclosure, the distance between the nozzle of the material injector and the blade surface is controlled based on the measured distance stored in the memory unit. This reduces the processing load compared to sequentially estimating the position of the material injector from the blade surface using the measured distance acquired by the distance sensor.

[0058] In the protective layer application apparatus according to the sixth aspect of this disclosure, in any of the first to fourth aspects, the control unit estimates the distance from the wing surface to the coordinate position of the wing surface of the material injector using the positional relationship between the distance sensor and the material injector and the measured distance acquired by the distance sensor, and controls the distance between the nozzle of the material injector and the wing surface based on the estimated distance.

[0059] According to the protective layer application apparatus of the sixth aspect of this disclosure, the position of the material injector from the wing surface is sequentially estimated using the measured distance acquired by the distance sensor. This makes it possible to reduce the storage capacity of the storage unit compared to a case where the measured distance acquired by the distance sensor is temporarily stored and the distance between the material injector and the wing surface is controlled using the stored measured distance.

[0060] A control method for a protective layer application apparatus according to a seventh aspect of the present disclosure is a control method for a protective layer application apparatus (100) that applies a spray frame (112) containing application material from a nozzle (111) of a material injector (110) to form a protective layer on the blade surface (A) of a wind turbine blade body (5a) made of FRP, comprising the steps of: moving the material injector in a predetermined scanning direction; moving a distance sensor (120) along the scanning direction while maintaining a predetermined distance (D) from the material injector to measure the distance from the blade surface non-contactively; and controlling the distance (H) between the nozzle of the material injector and the blade surface according to the measured distance (H') acquired by the distance sensor, wherein the predetermined distance is determined based on the spray angle (θ) of the spray frame and a set distance (Href) between the nozzle and the blade surface. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0061] 1: Wind power generation equipment 3: Tower 4: Rotor head 5: Windmill blade 5a: Wind turbine blade body 6: Nasser 10: Wing root 12: Wing tip 12a: Tip 14:Airfoil section 16: Leading edge 18 : Trailing edge 20: Ventral aspect 22: Dorsal side 30:Protective layer 32: Support stand 100: Protective layer application equipment 110: Material injector 111: Nozzle 112: Injection Flame 120: Distance sensor 130: Movement mechanism 140: Multi-joint robot 150: Control Unit 151: Movement Control Unit 152: Injection Angle Control Unit 153: Injection position control unit 154: Storage section 200: Rail

Claims

1. A protective layer application device for forming a protective layer on the blade surface of a wind turbine blade body made of FRP, A material sprayer that sprays a spray frame containing construction material from a nozzle, A moving mechanism for moving the material injector along a predetermined scanning direction, A distance sensor is installed on the moving mechanism while maintaining a predetermined distance from the material injector, and is moved along the scanning direction, and measures the distance from the wing surface in a non-contact manner. A control unit controls the distance between the nozzle of the material injector and the blade surface based on the measured distance acquired by the distance sensor. Equipped with, A protective layer application device in which the predetermined distance is determined based on the injection angle of the injection frame and the set distance between the injection nozzle and the blade surface.

2. The distance sensor measures distance by irradiating a beam onto the wing surface and receiving the beam reflected from the wing surface. The protective layer application apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined distance is set to a distance at which the irradiated beam does not overlap with the injection frame.

3. The protective layer application apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the distance sensor is positioned in front of the scanning direction of the material injector when forming the protective layer.

4. The protective layer application apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the material injector and the distance sensor are arranged in a direction perpendicular to the scanning direction when forming the protective layer.

5. The system includes a storage unit that stores the coordinate position on the wing surface and the measured distance acquired by the distance sensor in association with each other. The protective layer application apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit obtains a measured distance from the storage unit that corresponds to the coordinate position on the blade surface of the material injector, and controls the distance between the nozzle of the material injector and the blade surface based on the obtained measured distance.

6. The protective layer application apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit estimates the distance from the wing surface to the coordinate position of the wing surface of the material injector using the positional relationship between the distance sensor and the material injector and the measured distance acquired by the distance sensor, and controls the distance between the nozzle of the material injector and the wing surface based on the estimated distance.

7. A control method for a protective layer application apparatus that injects a spray frame containing application material from the nozzle of a material injector to form a protective layer on the blade surface of a wind turbine blade body made of FRP, The process of moving the material injector along a predetermined scanning direction, The process involves moving a distance sensor along the scanning direction while maintaining a predetermined distance from the material injector, and measuring the distance from the wing surface in a non-contact manner. A step of controlling the distance between the nozzle of the material injector and the blade surface according to the measured distance obtained by the distance sensor. It has, A control method for a protective layer application apparatus, wherein the predetermined distance is determined based on the injection angle of the injection frame and the set distance between the injection nozzle and the blade surface.

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