Wind Turbine Blade Sealing Device Vacuum Interface
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sealing solutions for wind turbine blades fail to create a reliable, air and watertight interface between the habitat/tent and the blade, particularly under adverse weather conditions, and struggle to accommodate the diverse shapes and curvatures of the blade, leading to inefficiencies in maintenance and repair processes.
Innovation Solution
A flexible, impermeable sealing device with suction channels and a bendable support band that adapts to the blade's shape, creating a uniform vacuum interface and strong contact pressure, while using add-on stoppers to manage gaps and deformations, ensuring a continuous seal around the blade's cross-section.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If a rigid sealing cross section is used to prevent collapse under vacuum forces, then structural stability is improved, but the ability to contour curved blade shapes is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing device uses a flexible membrane structure that can conform to the curved surface of the blade while maintaining sealing integrity. The membrane is supported by a framework that provides structural stability without requiring the sealing cross-section itself to be rigid, allowing adaptation to various blade curvatures while preventing collapse under vacuum forces.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing device incorporates curved and contoured elements that match the aerodynamic shape of the blade. The sealing cross-section is designed with curved geometries that can adapt to the blade's airfoil shape, allowing the rigid framework to follow the blade's curvature while maintaining structural integrity under vacuum loading.
2Ease of manufacture
If discrete suction cups are used to create sealing pressure areas, then ease of manufacture is improved, but water ingress between suction cups occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple discrete suction cups into a continuous sealing membrane structure. Instead of relying on separate suction cups that leave gaps, the membrane is continuously attached to the blade surface, creating an unbroken sealing barrier that prevents water ingress while maintaining ease of installation through the suction attachment mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible membrane acts as an intermediary element between the suction cups and the blade surface. It distributes the suction force continuously across the sealing area and fills any gaps that might exist between discrete attachment points, ensuring water-tight sealing while maintaining the simplicity of suction-based attachment.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If a sealed environment is created for blade maintenance, then protection from adverse weather is improved, but operator accessibility to the blade is restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing device creates a nested enclosed space around the blade section being maintained. The habitat or tent structure is positioned around the blade, with the sealing device forming an inner barrier that encloses the work area. This nested configuration protects operators from weather while allowing access to the blade through controlled openings in the sealing barrier.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing device is divided into multiple segments or sections that can be independently positioned and sealed. This segmentation allows operators to access different portions of the blade by working with individual sealing sections, maintaining protection from adverse weather while providing necessary accessibility for maintenance tasks.
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 solution allows for effective sealing in all weather conditions, maintaining a controlled environment for maintenance and repair, with the ability to adapt to various blade shapes and withstand significant loads, preventing water ingress and ensuring efficient airflow.
Implementation Method 1
a suction system in communication with said longitudinal suction cavity for creating a vacuum in said longitudinal cavity to fix the sealing device to the blade
Implementation Method 2
a bendable support band for attaching along a length of a flexible roof or floor membrane
Data Source
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AI summary
Sealing device for attaching and sealing against a wind turbine blade to perform maintenance, repair or inspection on said blade in an enclosed environment of a blade suspended platform, comprising: a bendable support band for attaching along a length of a flexible roof or floor membrane for covering said enclosed environment; two flexible longitudinal sealing elements attached along a length of the support band for sealing against a surface of the wind turbine blade and for defining a longitudinal suction cavity between the support band, said longitudinal sealing elements and the blade.