Wind Turbine Rotor Blade Preform Layer Manufacturing
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge in wind turbine rotor blade manufacturing lies in balancing blade length, weight, strength, and manufacturing costs, as larger blades require more material and labor, leading to increased costs without proportional increases in energy output, and existing composite fabrication processes suffer from inefficiencies such as fiber waviness, resin infusion issues, and material shrinkage, which affect aerodynamic performance and structural integrity.
Innovation Solution
The use of preform layers configured in a continuous web with tapered end zones allows for efficient storage, cutting, and dispensing of material, featuring elongate strength rods with unidirectional fibers in a solidified matrix, and a mechanism with a grinding and cutting device to shape and separate these layers, along with a programmable controller for precise operation, facilitating the construction of composite beams with improved aerodynamics and reduced material usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If rotor blade length is increased to capture more wind power and increase energy output, then energy production increases, but blade weight increases exponentially by a factor of 2.5 to 3, causing manufacturing costs to become disproportionally high
Solution Approach 1:
The blade is divided into multiple preform layers with strength rods arranged in specific patterns. Each layer can be manufactured and positioned independently, allowing optimization of material distribution to reduce weight while maintaining structural integrity for larger blade sizes.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses composite structures with strength rods embedded in preform layers, combining different materials to achieve high strength-to-weight ratio. This allows the blade to be lighter for its size, mitigating the exponential weight increase typically associated with larger blades.
2Ease of manufacture
If traditional composite fabrication processes are used for rotor blade manufacturing, then blades can be constructed, but inefficiencies such as fiber waviness, resin infusion issues, and material shrinkage occur, affecting aerodynamic performance and structural integrity
Solution Approach 1:
Strength rods are pre-positioned in preform layers before final blade assembly. This preliminary arrangement ensures precise fiber alignment and eliminates waviness issues that occur during traditional composite fabrication, while the preformed structure facilitates easier manufacturing.
Solution Approach 2:
The preform layers act as an intermediary structure between the strength rods and the final blade composite. This intermediate form allows for controlled resin infusion and eliminates shrinkage issues by providing a stable framework that maintains structural integrity throughout manufacturing.
3Strength
If more material is used to increase blade strength for larger blades, then structural integrity improves, but manufacturing costs increase without proportional increases in energy output
Solution Approach 1:
Strength rods are strategically positioned in preform layers at specific locations within the blade structure where strength is most needed. This localized reinforcement provides necessary structural integrity while minimizing overall material consumption, avoiding the need to uniformly increase material throughout the entire blade.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the structural parameters by introducing discrete strength rods with specific orientations and positions in the preform layers. This allows optimization of material distribution to achieve required strength with reduced total material quantity compared to traditional homogeneous composite structures.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus is disclosed for storing, tapering, cutting and dispensing preform layers of material includes a device for storing coiled lengths of the preform layers of material and a device for receiving coiled lengths of the preform layers of material. The device includes a grinding device to grind portions of the preform layers of material and a cutter to cut the grinded portions of material. A programmable controller is configured to control the operations of at least one of the device and mechanism.