Wind Turbine Blade Reinforcement via External Screw Mounting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wind turbine blades face challenges in easily mounting reinforcing elements, particularly in retrofitting, due to accessibility issues and the need for secure attachment to maintain structural integrity.
Innovation Solution
The solution involves elongated reinforcing members with conical heads and through holes that allow for secure screw connection between the suction and pressure sides of the blade, enabling easy retro-fitting from outside the aerodynamic profile, providing resistance against both compression and tension forces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If reinforcing elements are mounted from inside the aerodynamic profile, then secure attachment is achieved, but accessibility and ease of mounting deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional mounting approach by allowing reinforcing members to be installed from the outside of the aerodynamic profile rather than from inside. The members extend through the shell thickness with heads on both sides, enabling external installation while maintaining secure attachment through screw connections that fasten the members to the internal structure.
2Strength
If reinforcing members are made elongated to span the shell thickness, then structural strength is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The reinforcing members are segmented into distinct functional parts: a rod portion for spanning the shell thickness and providing structural strength, and head portions at each end for simplified attachment. This segmentation allows the complex function of both strengthening and easy mounting to be achieved through modular design.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs conical heads with threaded portions that change in cross-section along their length, transitioning from a larger base diameter to a smaller threaded section. This parameter change enables the heads to fit through openings in the shell while providing secure screw connections to the reinforcing rod, simplifying the overall attachment process.
Data Source
AI summary
A wind turbine blade, comprising: a shell with an aerodynamic profile with at least one reinforcing rod having a largest cross section between the first and the second end of the rod and extending in the internal space with its longitudinal direction between the suction side and the pressure side. The shell has a first through hole having a smallest cross section being larger than the largest cross section of the rod. The rod has a first head having a cross section larger than the smallest cross section of the first through hole and is attached to the outer surface of the shell and where the second end of the rod is attached to a second through hole in the shell by a screw having a second head resting against the outer surface of the shell, and a shank extending through the second through hole in the shell.