Coupled Wind Turbine Blade Structure for Higher Power With Lower Mass
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wind turbine blades face challenges in scaling up power generation due to increased mass and complexity, leading to inefficient designs and high fabrication costs, while vertically oriented turbines are limited by size and stability issues.
Innovation Solution
The integration of coupled blades within a single carrying body, utilizing a thin, curved structure with openings, enhances the effective working area and mechanical rigidity, allowing for efficient wind capture and reduced mass, while simplifying the fabrication process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If the size of wind turbine blades is increased to generate more electricity, then the power generation capacity is improved, but the mass of the blades increases dramatically leading to inefficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The blade is divided into multiple modular sections (first section, second section, third section) that can be manufactured separately and assembled together. This segmentation allows each section to be optimized independently for strength-to-weight ratio, enabling longer blades without proportional mass increase
Solution Approach 2:
The blade sections are designed with nested carrying tubes where inner tubes are positioned within outer tubes. This nested structure maximizes the use of space and material, providing structural support while minimizing the overall mass of the blade assembly
2Strength
If traditional multi-layered blade structures are used to ensure strength, then the structural integrity is improved, but the fabrication complexity and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple structural functions are merged into the carrying tube structure. The tube provides both structural support and serves as the framework for attaching blade sections, eliminating the need for separate support structures and reducing fabrication steps
Solution Approach 2:
The blade structure uses varying wall thicknesses in different sections of the carrying tube, with thicker walls where structural support is needed and thinner walls where less support is required. This local optimization maintains strength while reducing overall material usage and fabrication complexity
3Volume of moving object
If vertically oriented rotating rods are used for wind turbines, then small size generators can be used, but the power output is low and scaling to big sizes is not feasible
Solution Approach 1:
The design transitions from vertical axis rotation to horizontal axis rotation, fundamentally changing the dimensional arrangement of the turbine. This allows blades to be positioned horizontally at the top of a tower, accessing higher wind speeds and enabling much larger blade spans without increasing generator size proportionally
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 integrated blade design significantly increases the total working surface area, improves mechanical rotational momentum, and reduces weight, resulting in higher power generation efficiency and ease of maintenance, with the ability to operate effectively at various wind angles.
Implementation Method 1
The wind catching surfaces of vertically oriented rotating axes/rods may use plenty of different geometries
Implementation Method 2
The blades have shapes which are built on physical principles for blades of propellers of airplanes
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is an integrated blade having coupled blades for wind turbine (IBWT) device. The disclosed solution provides a significant increase of generated power realized mainly by using coupled blades. The coupled blades are situated close to each other and oriented near-parallel to each other. They are mounted in the same body/frame and only one fixation mechanism is needed to fix the device/construction on the rotation rod connected to a turbine.