WIND TURBINE BLADES AND VOLTAGE BALANCING SYSTEMS

Abstract

The present invention relates to a wind turbine blade comprising a load-bearing structure, a shell body, and a lightning protection system. The wind turbine blade extends longitudinally from a base end to a tip end. The load-bearing structure is made of a fiber-reinforced polymer material and comprises a plurality of stacked fiber layers. The stacked fiber layers include electrically conductive fibers, such as carbon fibers. The lightning protection system includes a lightning receiver arranged to be freely accessible in or on the shell body. The lightning protection system includes a lightning downlead, which is electrically connected to the lightning receiver and is also designed to be electrically connected to a grounding system.The wind turbine blade also includes a voltage balancing system, which provides a voltage balancing link between several electrically conductive fibers of the load-bearing structure and the lightning protection system. The voltage balancing system includes a dissipation element made of electrically conductive material. The dissipation element includes at least one cross connector arranged to extend transversely through the thickness of the stacked fiber layers and designed to allow for dissipation.