Protective layer forming apparatus and method of operating the protective layer forming apparatus

Abstract

To downsize a protective layer forming device as a whole.SOLUTION: A protective layer forming device 100 forms a protective layer, in a construction range at a tip part and at a front edge part in a blade-length direction of a windmill blade main body 5a formed from an FRP. The protective layer forming device 100 comprises: a booth 140 that surrounds a portion in the blade-length direction of the execution range of the windmill blade main body 5a; a spraying part, provided inside the booth 140, which sprays a construction material to the construction range to form a protective layer; a multi-joint robot that moves the spraying part relatively with respect to the booth 140 and moves the spraying part to a predetermined position where the spraying part sprays the construction material to the construction range of the windmill blade main body 5a; and a booth moving mechanism that moves the booth 140 in the blade-length direction of the windmill blade main body 5a.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

Technical Field

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[0001] The present disclosure relates to a protective layer forming apparatus and a method for operating the protective layer forming apparatus.

Background Art

[0002] As the windmill rotor rotates, the windmill 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 windmill blades. In order to protect the windmill blades from this erosion, it is known to form an erosion-resistant protective layer on the leading edge of the windmill 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 a protective layer on a windmill blade, dust (for example, powdery construction material) scatters. Therefore, in order to suppress the scattering of dust, it is conceivable to surround the windmill blade, which is the object of forming the protective layer, with a booth. However, there was a possibility of a problem that the entire protective layer forming apparatus would become larger when the windmill blade was surrounded by the booth.

[0005] In view of such circumstances, the present disclosure has been made, and an object thereof is to provide a protective layer forming apparatus and a method for operating the protective layer forming apparatus that can reduce the size of the entire protective layer forming apparatus.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the protective layer forming apparatus and the method for operating the protective layer forming apparatus of the present disclosure employ the following means. A protective layer forming apparatus according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a protective layer forming apparatus for forming a protective layer in a construction area at the tip and leading edge in the wing length direction of a wind turbine blade body made of FRP, comprising: a booth enclosing a part of the wing length direction of the construction area of ​​the wind turbine blade body; a spraying unit provided inside the booth for spraying construction material onto the construction area to form a protective layer; a spraying unit moving mechanism for moving the spraying unit relative to the booth and moving it to a predetermined position for performing thermal spraying on the construction area of ​​the wind turbine blade body; and a booth moving mechanism for moving the booth in the wing length direction of the wind turbine blade body.

[0007] A method for operating a protective layer forming apparatus according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a method for operating a protective layer forming apparatus that forms a protective layer on the tip and leading edge of a wind turbine blade body made of FRP in the direction of the blade length, wherein the protective layer forming apparatus comprises a booth that encloses a part of the wind turbine blade body in the direction of the blade length of the construction area, and a spraying unit provided inside the booth that sprays construction material onto the construction area to form a protective layer, and comprises a spraying unit moving step of moving the spraying unit relative to the booth and moving it to a predetermined position to perform thermal spraying on the wind turbine blade body in the direction of the blade length of the wind turbine blade. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to this disclosure, the entire protective layer forming apparatus can be miniaturized. [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. [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 area where the protective layer formed on the tip of the wind turbine blade was constructed. [Figure 8] This is a partially enlarged front view showing the sequence of protective layer formation. [Figure 9] This is a schematic perspective view showing the protective layer forming apparatus of this embodiment. [Figure 10] This is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view showing the protective layer forming apparatus of this embodiment and the direction of formation of the protective layer in the wing thickness direction. [Figure 11] This figure shows an opening provided in the booth of the protective layer forming apparatus of this embodiment. [Figure 12] This is a schematic perspective view showing the wind turbine blade and protective layer forming apparatus of this embodiment. [Figure 13] This is a block diagram showing the control configuration of the protective layer forming apparatus according to this embodiment. [Figure 14] This flowchart shows the control method for the protective layer forming apparatus of this embodiment. [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] Multiple (for example, three) wind turbine blades 5 are attached to the rotor head 4, arranged radially around its axis of rotation. This allows the force of the wind striking the wind turbine blades 5 from the direction of the rotor head 4's axis of rotation to be converted into power that rotates the rotor head 4 around its axis. This power is converted into electricity 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 a 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 opposing the ventral surface 20. The wind turbine blade 5 is formed of FRP (Fiber-Reinforced Plastic: fiber reinforced plastic). As the FRP, carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP), glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP), etc. are 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 that is bent in advance on the blade tip portion 12 side. The bending amount 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 such that the ventral surface 而 20 receiving wind pressure becomes concave and the dorsal surface 22 becomes convex.

[0015] As shown in Fig. 2, a protective layer 30 is formed on a predetermined region (leading 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 construction range of the protective layer 30 is indicated by a thick line in Fig. 2. The construction range of the protective layer 30 in the blade length direction L1 is from 20 m to 40 m, preferably about 30 m, from the tip 12a of the tip end portion 12. Note that the construction 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 a range of about one-third of the total length from the tip of the wind turbine blade 5. The protective layer 30 is made of a material having excellent wear resistance, such as cermet or Co alloy such as Co (cobalt) - 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 (code 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 (code length) c is about 1 m. The blade thickness ratio t / c, where t is the maximum thickness of the blade thickness, is 18%. In the cross - section of (b) in Fig. 4, the chord length c is about 2 m, and the blade thickness ratio t / c is 25%.

[0018] As shown by the thick line in Fig. 4, the protective layer 30 is formed from the ventral surface 20 to the dorsal surface 22 across the leading edge 16. The construction range of the protective layer 30 is determined in consideration of erosion of raindrops and the like on the wind turbine blade 5.

[0019] Next, the formation process of the above - mentioned protective layer 30 will be described. 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 6 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 provided on the installation surface BS during construction. 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 a suspension member such as a wire suspended from above, which holds and lifts the downward-facing leading edge 16.

[0021] As shown in Figures 5 and 6, with the leading edge 16 facing downwards, a protective layer 30 is formed on the leading edge 16 of the wind turbine blade 5 by a protective layer forming device 100, which will be described later. The protective layer forming device 100 accelerates the heated, melted, or softened construction 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 construction area FA in which 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 Figures 7 and 8, the spraying process (e.g., thermal spraying) used to form the protective layer 30 involves reciprocating the spraying unit 110 in the direction of the blade length L1 (the direction indicated by (1) in the figures) (first spraying step). This results in the layering of multiple protective layers. The thickness of the protective layer 30 is, for example, about 500 μm to 600 μm. The irradiation width of the spraying unit 110 on the blade surface is, for example, about 10 mm.

[0024] After the first spraying process described above, the position of the spraying unit 110 is changed so that spraying occurs at an adjacent position adjacent to the chord direction C1 (the direction shown as (2) in the figure) (chord position change process). Then, at this adjacent position, spraying is performed by reciprocating the spraying unit 110 in the chord direction C1 in the same way as in the first spraying process (second spraying process). In both the first and second spraying processes, the spraying unit 110 is scanned to reciprocate in the wing length direction L1 to form the protective layer 30. 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.

[0025] Figure 8 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view showing the protective layer forming apparatus 100 of this embodiment and the formation direction of the protective layer 30 in the chord direction C1. As shown in Figure 8, the direction of position change in the chord position changing process described above is the direction from one wing surface (e.g., the ventral side 20) of the wind turbine blade 5 through the leading edge 16 to the other wing surface (e.g., the dorsal side 22), as indicated by the arrows in the figure.

[0026] Next, the protective layer forming apparatus 100 of this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 9 to 14. As shown in Figures 9 and 10, the protective layer forming apparatus 100 is a device that forms a protective layer 30 in the tip and leading edge area (FA) of the wind turbine blade body 5a, which is made of FRP, in the blade length direction L1. Figure 13 is a block diagram showing the control configuration of the protective layer forming apparatus 100 of this embodiment. As shown in Figure 9, the protective layer forming apparatus 100 moves along a pair of rails 200 and is equipped with a booth 140 that encloses a part of the wind turbine blade body 5a. Also, as shown in Figure 10, the protective layer forming apparatus 100 is equipped with a spraying section 110 located inside the booth 140, a booth moving mechanism 120, a multi-joint robot (spraying section moving mechanism) 130, and a control unit 150.

[0027] The spraying unit 110 is located inside the booth 140. The spraying unit 110 is a device that sprays the application material onto the application area FA using a conveying gas to form a protective layer. In Figure 10, the spraying unit 110 is spraying the application material toward the application target point P1.

[0028] The booth relocation mechanism 120 is a mechanism that moves the booth 140, which houses the spraying section 110 and the articulated robot 130, in the direction L1 of the blade length of the wind turbine blade body 5a (see Figure 9, etc.). The booth relocation mechanism 120 moves in the direction L1 of the blade length along the rail 200 installed on the installation surface BS during construction. The position of the booth relocation mechanism 120 in the direction L1 of the blade length is controlled by the control unit 150.

[0029] The booth movement mechanism 120 includes a plurality of wheels 121 that engage with the rail 200, a wheel adjustment unit (not shown) that adjusts the rotational speed and direction of the wheels 121, and a drive source (not shown) that rotates the wheels 121. The wheels 121 are fixed to the underside of the bottom surface 143 of the booth 140. The adjustment unit is controlled by the control unit 150. The control unit 150 adjusts the travel distance, direction of travel, and speed of travel of the booth 140 in the wing length direction L1 by controlling the wheel adjustment unit.

[0030] The articulated robot 130 is attached to the booth 140 and is a mechanism for moving the spraying unit 110 to any position in three-dimensional space. Specifically, the articulated robot 130 moves the spraying unit 110 by adjusting the angles of its arms 131, 132, and 133. As shown in Figure 10, the articulated robot 130 adjusts the position of the spraying unit 110 in the blade thickness direction T1 of the wind turbine blade body 5a and the orientation of the spraying unit 110 so that the construction direction of the spraying unit 110 (the direction in which the spraying unit 110 sprays the construction material) faces the construction range FA of the wind turbine blade body 5a.

[0031] As shown in Figures 9 and 12, Booth 140 encloses a portion of the wind turbine blade body 5a in the blade length direction L1. As shown in Figure 9, Booth 140 partitions a construction space S1 inside. The construction space S1 is substantially sealed.

[0032] Booth 140 integrally comprises a ceiling portion 141 defining the area above the construction space S1, four side wall portions 142 defining the sides of the construction space S1, and a bottom portion 143 defining the area below the construction space S1. Booth 140 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape. The length L1 in the wing direction of Booth 140 is, for example, approximately 5m.

[0033] The ceiling portion 141 is a rectangular plate-shaped member to which the upper ends of each side wall portion 142 are connected. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 10, the bottom portion 143 of the booth 140 is a rectangular plate-shaped member to which the lower ends of each side wall portion 142 are connected. The articulated robot 130 is fixed to the upper surface of the bottom portion 143. In addition, a control unit 150 is provided on the upper surface of the bottom portion 143 of the booth 140.

[0034] As shown in Figure 11, of the four side wall portions 142, two side wall portions 142A that demarcate the wing length direction L1 each have an opening 144 through which the wind turbine blade body 5a is inserted. The opening 144 is provided with a closing portion 145 that closes the opening 144. The closing portion 145 allows the wind turbine blade body 5a to be inserted and closes as much as possible the gap formed between the wind turbine blade body 5a and the edge of the opening 144. The closing portion 145 may, for example, have a plurality of rubber members 145a extending in the chord direction C1, as shown in Figure 12, and the plurality of rubber members 145a may be suspended so as to be aligned without gaps along the wing thickness direction T1. Furthermore, the closing portion 145 may have a projection that extends from the edge of the opening 144 toward the center, similar to the shutter of a camera, and the projection may close off all but the center of the opening 144.

[0035] As shown in Figure 12, the ceiling 141 of the booth 140 is equipped with a sensor 146 that detects multiple reference marks (detection targets) M provided on the wind turbine blade body 5a. The sensor 146 transmits the detection results to the control unit 150. The reference mark M is provided at the tip of the wind turbine blade body 5a. Multiple reference marks M are provided (for example, two) at predetermined intervals in the blade thickness direction T1 (the depth direction of the paper in Figure 12). Note that the position and number of reference marks M are not limited to the above description. For example, the reference mark M may be provided at the base end of the wind turbine blade body 5a. Also, the number of reference marks M may be one or more.

[0036] A camera (not shown) is installed inside booth 140 to capture images of the irradiation status of the spraying unit 110. The camera transmits the captured images to the control unit 150. Furthermore, a dust collection device (not shown) is installed inside booth 140 to capture dust floating in the construction space S1.

[0037] As shown in Figure 13, the control unit 150 is a device that controls the spraying unit 110, the booth movement mechanism 120, and the articulated robot 130.

[0038] The control unit 150 (Controller) 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. A series of processes for realizing various functions are stored in secondary memory in the form of a program, for example. The CPU reads this program into main memory and performs information processing and calculations to realize the various functions. The program may be pre-installed in secondary memory, 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, and semiconductor memory.

[0039] The control unit 150 includes a spraying unit control unit (first control unit) 151 that controls the articulated robot 130 so that the relative position of the spraying unit 110 with respect to the wind turbine blade body 5a is at a predetermined position, based on the positions of a plurality of reference marks M detected by the sensor 146, and a booth control unit (second control unit) 152 that controls the booth moving mechanism 120 so that the relative position of the booth 140 with respect to the wind turbine blade body 5a is at a predetermined position, based on the positions of a plurality of reference marks M detected by the sensor 146.

[0040] The spraying unit control unit 151 determines the position and orientation of the wind turbine blade body 5a based on the positions of multiple reference marks M detected by the sensor 146. In doing so, the spraying unit control unit 151 may refer to data such as the shape of the wind turbine blade body 5a that is stored in advance in a memory unit or the like. Based on the position and orientation of the wind turbine blade body 5a, the spraying unit control unit 151 controls the articulated robot 130 so that the relative position of the spraying unit 110 to the wind turbine blade body 5a becomes a predetermined position. The predetermined position is a position in which spraying (e.g., thermal spraying) can be suitably performed on the wind turbine blade body 5a by the spraying unit 110, and may be, for example, a position facing the target spraying area (the area to which the spraying unit 110 will spray).

[0041] The booth control unit 152 determines the position and orientation of the wind turbine blade body 5a based on the positions of multiple reference marks M detected by the sensor 146. In doing so, the booth control unit 152 may refer to data such as the shape of the wind turbine blade body 5a that is stored in advance in a memory unit or the like. Based on the position and orientation of the wind turbine blade body 5a, the booth control unit 152 controls the booth movement mechanism 120 so that the relative position of the booth 140 to the wind turbine blade body 5a becomes a predetermined position. The predetermined position may be, for example, a position where the target spraying area is inside the booth 140.

[0042] Hereinafter, an example of the processing performed by the protective layer forming apparatus 100, which is carried out by the control unit 150, will be described with reference to Figure 14. Figure 14 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing performed by the protective layer forming apparatus 100 in this embodiment. Each process in Figure 14 is executed by the control unit 150 reading a program stored in the storage unit (not shown).

[0043] In step S101, the control unit 150 determines the position and attitude of the wind turbine blade body 5a based on the positions of multiple reference marks M detected by the sensor 146.

[0044] In step S102, the control unit 150 controls the booth moving mechanism 120 to move the protective layer forming device 100 to the starting position in the blade length direction L1, based on the position and orientation of the wind turbine blade body 5a determined in step S101 (booth moving process). The starting position is, for example, the position of the end of the construction area FA on the blade root side in the blade length direction L1 when forming the protective layer 30 from the blade root side 10 toward the blade tip side 12 (position shown in Figure 7).

[0045] In step S103, the control unit 150 controls the articulated robot 130 to adjust the position and orientation of the spraying unit 110 based on the position and orientation of the wind turbine blade body 5a determined in step S101 (spraying unit movement step). The control unit 150 controls the spraying unit 110 to be positioned at a desired location in the blade thickness direction T1 and the chord direction C1 by adjusting the angles of the arms 131, 132, and 133 shown in Figure 10. When construction begins, the control unit 150 controls the articulated robot 130 to position the spraying unit 110 at position P0, which is the starting position in the formation direction.

[0046] Furthermore, the control unit 150 adjusts the orientation of the sprayed portion 110 on the wind turbine blade body 5a so that the construction direction of the sprayed portion 110 faces the construction range FA of the wind turbine blade body 5a.

[0047] In step S104, the control unit 150 controls the booth movement mechanism 120 to move the spraying unit 110 in the wing length direction L1. In step S105, the control unit 150 operates the spraying unit 110 and sprays the heated, melted, or softened construction material onto the surface of the wind turbine blade body 5a in the form of droplets or particles using a conveying gas.

[0048] The spraying in step S105 is performed simultaneously with the movement of the spraying unit 110 in step S104. That is, in steps S104 and S105, the spraying unit 110 is moved in the direction L1 of the blade length of the wind turbine blade body 5a, and the protective layer 30 is formed by the spraying unit 110.

[0049] In step S106, the control unit 150 determines whether the spraying unit 110 has reached the end position of movement in the wing length direction L1. If YES, the process proceeds to step S107; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S103. In step S107, the control unit 150 controls the booth movement mechanism 120 to stop the movement of the spraying unit 110 in the wing length direction L1, since the spraying unit 110 has reached the end position of movement in the wing length direction L1, and terminates the processing of this flowchart.

[0050] According to this embodiment, the following effects and advantages are achieved. In this embodiment, the system includes a booth 140 that encloses a portion of the construction area FA of the wind turbine blade body 5a in the blade length direction L1, and a spraying unit 110 provided inside the booth 140 that sprays construction material onto the construction area FA to form a protective layer. This allows spraying (e.g., thermal spraying) to be performed on the construction area FA of the wind turbine blade body 5a inside the booth 140. Since the spraying is performed inside the booth 140, dust (e.g., powdered thermal spray material) that is scattered during spraying can be contained within the booth 140. Therefore, the diffusion of dust can be suppressed.

[0051] Furthermore, in this embodiment, a booth 140 is provided that encloses a portion of the construction area FA of the wind turbine blade body 5a in the blade length direction L1. This makes it possible to reduce the size of the booth 140 compared to the case where a booth 140 encloses the entire wind turbine blade body 5a. Therefore, the entire protective layer forming apparatus 100 can be made smaller.

[0052] Furthermore, this embodiment includes a booth relocation mechanism 120 that moves the booth 140 in the blade length direction L1 of the wind turbine blade body 5a. This allows spraying to be performed over the entire area in the blade length direction L1 of the construction area FA of the wind turbine blade body 5a by moving the booth 140. While it is possible to move the wind turbine blade body 5a to perform spraying over the entire area L1 in the blade length direction of the construction area FA of the wind turbine blade body 5a, moving a large wind turbine blade body 5a would require a large and complex moving device. This could complicate the spraying work. On the other hand, in this embodiment, since the booth 140 is moved, precise spraying can be performed without moving the wind turbine blade body 5a.

[0053] Furthermore, in this embodiment, there is a spraying unit control unit 151 that controls the articulated robot 130 so that the relative position of the spraying unit 110 with respect to the wind turbine blade body 5a is at a predetermined position, based on the position of the reference mark M detected by the sensor 146. This allows the spraying unit 110 to be moved based on the reference mark M provided on the wind turbine blade body 5a where the spraying is actually performed. Therefore, the spraying unit 110 can be moved more accurately. Thus, the quality of the wind turbine blade body 5a can be improved.

[0054] In particular, when the wind turbine blade body 5a, which is the object to be sprayed, is large, it becomes difficult to accurately fix the wind turbine blade body 5a in the required position. In such cases, it is difficult to accurately move the spraying section 110 to the desired position, making it difficult to spray under precise conditions such as changing the thickness of the layer depending on the position. On the other hand, in this embodiment, the position and orientation of the fixed wind turbine blade body 5a are determined, and the spraying section 110 moves based on this determination, so even if the wind turbine blade body 5a is large, the spraying section 110 can be moved accurately. In addition, when fixing the wind turbine blade body 5a to the spraying position, it is sufficient to fix it roughly, thus simplifying the fixing work of the wind turbine blade body 5a.

[0055] Furthermore, in this embodiment, there is a booth control unit 152 that controls the booth moving mechanism 120 so that the relative position of the booth 140 with respect to the wind turbine blade body 5a is at a predetermined position, based on the position of the reference mark M detected by the sensor 146. This allows the booth 140 to be moved based on the reference mark M provided on the wind turbine blade body 5a where the actual spraying takes place. Therefore, the booth 140 can be moved more accurately. Thus, the quality of the wind turbine blade body 5a can be improved.

[0056] Furthermore, when the spraying unit 110 performs spraying, dust (for example, powdered construction material) is scattered. The scattered dust then floats around inside the booth 140. In this embodiment, a dust collector is provided to collect dust inside the booth 140. This makes it possible to collect dust floating inside the booth 140. Furthermore, in this embodiment, as described above, the booth 140 can be miniaturized, thus reducing the space in which the dust collector collects dust. Therefore, dust can be collected more effectively. Also, by miniaturizing the booth 140, even a dust collector with low dust collection capacity can sufficiently collect dust, thus allowing the dust collector to be miniaturized. Therefore, the entire protective layer forming apparatus 100 can be miniaturized.

[0057] This disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above, and can be modified as appropriate without departing from its essence. In the above embodiment, an example was described in which the spraying unit 110 is fixed to the booth 140, but this disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the spraying unit 110 and the booth 140 may not be fixed and may move independently. In this case, a detection unit is provided to detect the relative position between the spraying unit 110 and the booth 140, and the spraying unit 110 is moved as follows. First, a sensor installed in the booth 140 detects the relative position between the wind turbine blade body 5a and the booth 140. Next, the detection result is corrected based on the detection result from the detection unit (relative position between the spraying unit 110 and the booth 140) to derive the relative position between the wind turbine blade body 5a and the spraying unit 110. Based on the derived relative position between the wind turbine blade body 5a and the spraying unit 110, the articulated robot 130 moves the spraying unit 110 to a predetermined position.

[0058] Furthermore, although the above embodiment describes a case in which the booth moving mechanism 120 moves along the rail 200, this disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the booth moving mechanism 120 may be automatically guided by magnetic tape or magnetic markers installed on the installation surface BS during construction, similar to an automated guided vehicle (AGV).

[0059] Furthermore, although the above embodiment describes an example in which spraying is performed with the wind turbine blade body 5a installed vertically so that the chord direction C1 of the wind turbine blade body 5a is oriented substantially vertically, this disclosure is not limited to this. For example, spraying may be performed with the wind turbine blade body 5a installed horizontally so that the chord direction C1 of the wind turbine blade body 5a is oriented substantially horizontally. In this case, the rail 200 may be inclined with respect to the horizontal plane so as to conform to the amount of bending of the pre-bend PB (see Figure 3) of the wind turbine blade body 5a. That is, as shown in Figure 3, when the wind turbine blade body 5a is installed horizontally so that the tip of the pre-bend PB (see Figure 3) is located above the base, the rail 200 may also be inclined so that its tip is located above.

[0060] The protective layer forming apparatus and the operating method of the protective layer forming apparatus described above can be understood, for example, as follows. Furthermore, a protective layer forming apparatus according to a first aspect of the present disclosure is a protective layer forming (100) for forming a protective layer in a construction area (FA) at the tip and leading edge in the wing length direction of a wind turbine blade body (5a) made of FRP, comprising: a booth (140) enclosing a part of the construction area of ​​the wind turbine blade body in the wing length direction; a spraying unit (110) provided inside the booth for spraying construction material onto the construction area to form a protective layer; a spraying unit moving mechanism (130) for moving the spraying unit relative to the booth and to a predetermined position for spraying onto the construction area of ​​the wind turbine blade body; and a booth moving mechanism (120) for moving the booth in the wing length direction of the wind turbine blade body.

[0061] The above configuration includes a booth that encloses a portion of the wind turbine blade body's construction area in the direction of the blade length, and a spraying unit located inside the booth that sprays the construction material onto the construction area to form a protective layer. This allows spraying to be performed on the wind turbine blade body's construction area from inside the booth. Since spraying is performed inside the booth, dust (e.g., powdered construction material) that is scattered during spraying can be contained within the booth. Therefore, the diffusion of dust can be suppressed. Furthermore, the above configuration includes a booth that encloses a portion of the wind turbine blade body in the direction of the blade length. This allows for a smaller booth compared to a case where a booth encloses the entire wind turbine blade body. Consequently, the entire protective layer forming apparatus can be made smaller. Furthermore, the above configuration includes a booth relocation mechanism that moves the booth in the direction of the blade length of the wind turbine blade body. This allows spraying to be performed over the entire area in the direction of the blade length of the wind turbine blade body by moving the booth.

[0062] Furthermore, the protective layer forming apparatus according to a second aspect of the present disclosure comprises, in the first aspect, a sensor (146) provided in the booth for detecting the position of a detection target (M) provided on the wind turbine blade body, and a first control unit (151) that controls the spraying part moving mechanism so that the relative position of the spraying part with respect to the wind turbine blade body becomes a predetermined position based on the position of the detection target detected by the sensor.

[0063] The above configuration includes a first control unit that controls the spraying unit movement mechanism so that the relative position of the spraying unit to the wind turbine blade body is at a predetermined position, based on the position of the detection target detected by the sensor. This allows the spraying unit to be moved based on the detection target provided on the wind turbine blade body where the spraying actually takes place. Therefore, the spraying unit can be moved more accurately. Thus, the quality of the wind turbine blade body can be improved.

[0064] Furthermore, the protective layer forming apparatus according to the third aspect of the present disclosure comprises, in the first or second aspect, a sensor (146) provided in the booth for detecting the position of a detection target (M) provided on the wind turbine blade body, and a second control unit (152) for controlling the booth moving mechanism so that the relative position of the booth with respect to the wind turbine blade body becomes a predetermined position based on the position of the detection target detected by the sensor.

[0065] The above configuration includes a second control unit that controls the booth movement mechanism so that the relative position of the booth to the wind turbine blade body is at a predetermined position, based on the position of the detected object detected by the sensor. This allows the booth to be moved based on the detected object located on the wind turbine blade body where the actual spraying takes place. Therefore, the booth can be moved more accurately. Thus, the quality of the wind turbine blade body can be improved.

[0066] Furthermore, the protective layer forming apparatus according to the fourth aspect of this disclosure includes a dust collector for collecting dust in the booth, in any of the first to third aspects described above.

[0067] The above configuration includes a dust collector that captures dust particles inside the booth. This allows for the capture of dust particles floating around inside the booth. Furthermore, with the above configuration, the booth can be made smaller as described above, thus reducing the space in which the dust collector collects dust. Therefore, dust can be collected more effectively. Also, by making the booth smaller, even a dust collector with low dust collection capacity can sufficiently collect dust, so the dust collector can be made smaller. Therefore, the entire protective layer forming apparatus can be made smaller.

[0068] Furthermore, a method for operating a protective layer forming apparatus according to a first aspect of the present disclosure is a method for operating a protective layer forming apparatus (100) that forms a protective layer on a construction area (FA) at the tip and leading edge in the wing length direction of a wind turbine blade body (5a) made of FRP, wherein the protective layer forming apparatus comprises a booth (140) that encloses a part of the construction area of ​​the wind turbine blade body in the wing length direction, and a spraying unit (110) provided inside the booth that sprays construction material onto the construction area to form a protective layer, and comprises a spraying unit moving step of moving the spraying unit relative to the booth and moving it to a predetermined position for spraying onto the construction area of ​​the wind turbine blade body, and a booth moving step of moving the booth in the wing length direction of the wind turbine blade body. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0069] 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 forming device 110: Spray application section 120: Booth relocation mechanism 121 :Wheel 130: Articulated robot (spraying section movement mechanism) 131: Arm 132: Arm 133: Arm 140: Booth 141: Ceiling 142: Side wall section 142A: Side wall part 143: Bottom part 144 :Aperture 145: Closed part 145a: Components 146: Sensor 150: Control Unit 151: Spraying Unit Control Section 152: Booth Control Unit 200: Rail B: Installation surface BS: Installation surface during construction C1: Chord direction FA: Scope of work L1: Wing span direction M: Standard mark PB: Prevent S1: Construction space T1: Blade thickness direction

Claims

1. A protective layer forming apparatus for forming a protective layer in the tip portion and leading edge portion of a wind turbine blade body made of FRP, in the direction of the blade length, A booth enclosing a portion of the wind turbine blade body in the direction of the blade length within the construction area, A spraying section is provided inside the aforementioned booth, which sprays the construction material onto the construction area to form a protective layer, A spraying unit moving mechanism moves the spraying unit relative to the booth and moves it to a predetermined position on the wind turbine blade body where spraying is performed within the construction area. A protective layer forming apparatus comprising a booth moving mechanism for moving the booth in the direction of the blade length of the wind turbine blade body.

2. A sensor is provided in the aforementioned booth and is installed on the wind turbine blade body to detect the position of the object to be detected, The protective layer forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a first control unit that controls the spraying portion moving mechanism so that the relative position of the spraying portion with respect to the wind turbine blade body becomes a predetermined position based on the position of the detected object detected by the sensor.

3. A sensor is provided in the aforementioned booth and is installed on the wind turbine blade body to detect the position of the object to be detected, The protective layer forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a second control unit that controls the booth moving mechanism so that the relative position of the booth with respect to the wind turbine blade body is at a predetermined position based on the position of the object to be detected detected by the sensor.

4. The protective layer forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a dust collection device for collecting dust inside the booth.

5. A method for operating a protective layer forming apparatus that forms a protective layer in the tip portion and leading edge portion of the wind turbine blade body formed of FRP in the direction of the blade length, The protective layer forming apparatus comprises a booth that encloses a portion of the wind turbine blade body in the direction of the blade length of the construction area, and a spraying unit provided inside the booth that sprays construction material onto the construction area to form a protective layer. A spraying unit movement step involves moving the spraying unit relative to the booth and moving it to a predetermined position on the wind turbine blade body to perform spraying within the construction area, A method for operating a protective layer forming apparatus, comprising a booth movement step of moving the booth in the direction of the blade length of the wind turbine blade body.

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