Flexible Composite Piston Accumulator for Rotor Blade Bending
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Solution Overview
Problem
Piston accumulators made of solid steel materials fail to follow the changing bending curve of rotor blades in wind turbines due to deformations, leading to connection failures and rendering the balancing device unusable.
Innovation Solution
A piston accumulator with an accumulator housing constructed in a sandwich design using a thin steel tube and fibre windings, allowing for curvature under external forces and returning to the initial state upon force removal, ensuring a lightweight and flexible construction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If piston accumulators are made of solid steel materials, then strength and durability are improved, but adaptability to bending stresses and rotor blade deformations deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The piston accumulator housing is constructed as a composite structure consisting of a thin-walled steel tube reinforced with fiber windings (carbon fiber, glass fiber, or aramid fiber). This composite construction combines the high strength of steel with the flexibility and deformation capability of fiber materials, enabling the housing to follow rotor blade bending curves while maintaining structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The steel tube is designed with thin walls that allow the housing to flex and deform elastically under bending stresses. The thin-walled structure, when combined with fiber reinforcement, creates a shell that can adapt to changing rotor blade geometries during operation while returning to its initial state when the bending force is removed.
2Adaptability or versatility
If piston accumulators use thin steel tube with fibre windings, then adaptability to rotor blade deformations is improved, but weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The use of high-strength fiber materials (carbon fiber, glass fiber, aramid fiber) allows for a lightweight construction that provides both flexibility and structural strength. These fibers have high strength-to-weight ratios, enabling the housing to deform with rotor blades while minimizing added weight compared to solid steel construction.
Solution Approach 2:
The thin-walled steel tube design reduces material usage and weight while maintaining adequate strength through the composite reinforcement. The thin shell structure is sufficient to provide the necessary adaptability to bending stresses without requiring heavy solid steel construction.
3Reliability
If piston accumulators are designed to follow bending curves, then reliability under dynamic conditions is improved, but manufacturing precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The composite construction with fiber windings wrapped around a steel tube provides inherent flexibility and deformation capability that accommodates rotor blade bending curves. This design accepts and adapts to dynamic shape changes rather than resisting them, maintaining reliability under varying operational conditions without requiring extremely tight manufacturing tolerances.
Solution Approach 2:
The housing is designed as a dynamic structure that can change its shape in response to external bending forces during rotor operation. The thin-walled composite construction allows the accumulator to flex and deform elastically, following the changing bending curve of the rotor blade while returning to its initial configuration when the bending force is removed.
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 enables the piston accumulator to maintain functionality even under bending stresses, providing a lightweight and flexible design that follows rotor blade deformations without permanent deformation, enhancing the reliability of the balancing device.
Implementation Method 1
the accumulator housing (10) constructed in a sandwich design using a thin steel tube and fibre windings, allowing for curvature under external forces and returning to the initial state upon force removal
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosure relates to a piston accumulator comprising an accumulator housing and a separator piston which is longitudinally moveably arranged therein and separates two media chambers from one another within the accumulator housing, wherein the accumulator housing is elastically formed in a sandwich-type structure from individual, partially differing layers in such a way that, with the influence of at least one external force, it allows for a curvature as a whole, starting from a starting state, and it returns to the starting state with the removal of the respective force.