Wind Turbine Blade Pile Structure for Shoreline Wave Attenuation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Decommissioned wind turbine blades pose a waste management challenge due to their non-recyclable materials and limited lifetime, while coastal areas face erosion issues that require effective protection solutions.
Innovation Solution
Constructing a wave attenuation structure using decommissioned wind turbine blades, which are installed vertically along shorelines to reduce wave energy and erosion, allowing for adaptive installation angles and gaps to accommodate marine fauna and minimize environmental impact.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of substance
If decommissioned wind turbine blades are disposed of as waste, then waste management burden is reduced, but environmental pollution increases due to non-recyclable composite materials
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the harmful waste problem of decommissioned wind turbine blades into a beneficial coastal protection structure. The composite blades that cannot be recycled are repurposed as wave attenuation structures, transforming environmental pollution into a functional solution that protects coastlines while managing waste.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the functional parameter of the wind turbine blades from energy generation to wave attenuation. By altering the application context and installation configuration (vertical orientation in coastal environments), the blades serve a completely different purpose, resolving the waste management and pollution contradiction.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If traditional coastal protection structures are built, then shoreline erosion is reduced, but environmental impact on marine fauna and natural processes increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a porous or gap-filled design in the wave attenuation structure, allowing water and marine fauna to pass through rather than creating a solid barrier. This maintains coastal protection functionality while preserving natural marine processes and fauna access, resolving the contradiction between erosion protection and environmental impact.
Solution Approach 2:
The structure is designed with varying local properties - solid blade sections for wave attenuation and gap sections for fauna passage - allowing different parts of the same structure to serve different functions, simultaneously protecting the shoreline and maintaining ecological balance.
3Loss of substance
If wind turbine blades are recycled through traditional methods, then material recovery is achieved, but the large volume of composite materials difficult to recycle remains a problem
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables the wind turbine blades to serve themselves by finding a second life in coastal protection applications. Rather than requiring complex recycling processes for the composite materials, the blades are directly repurposed in their existing form, eliminating the need for difficult recycling operations while achieving material utilization.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If a dense barrier structure is installed to maximize wave attenuation, then wave energy reduction is improved, but access for marine fauna and water exchange is blocked
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the wave attenuation structure into discrete blade units with gaps between them, rather than creating a continuous solid barrier. This segmentation allows the structure to attenuate wave energy effectively while maintaining passages for marine fauna and water exchange, resolving the contradiction between wave protection and ecological access.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The structure effectively reduces wave heights and erosion, provides a second life for non-recyclable blades, and maintains ecological balance by allowing marine fauna access and minimizing disruption to natural processes.
Implementation Method 1
a wave attenuation structure is a system of components that reduces the wave energy transmitted across the structure
Implementation Method 2
By installing an array of decommissioned wind turbine blade segments, wave heights can be reduced on the shoreside of the structure
Data Source
Figure 1~2
AI summary
The invention describes a wave attenuation structure constructed of decommissioned wind turbine blades. This is a structure intended for installation along soft shorelines threatened by wave erosion. A formation of piles can reduce wave energies, and is a simple structure to install securely in soft deep sediments. Due to the high degree of permeability, a formation of piles can also ensure that erosion can be reduced whilst minimizing the impact on nature. Utilizing decommissioned wind turbine blades for this purpose allows for a second life for the large number of otherwise difficult to recycle fiberglass composite blades.