External Wind Turbine Blade Damping for Edge Vibration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current wind turbine blade dampening systems are ineffective, cumbersome to install, and often cannot be retrofitted or tuned without disassembling the blade, limiting their ability to absorb vibrations effectively.
Innovation Solution
A dampening system is externally attached to the load-bearing structure or outer surface of the wind turbine blade, allowing for longer dampeners that can be positioned and tuned to absorb various vibration types and frequencies, with optional active or passive dampeners and hydraulic actuators to enhance vibration cancellation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If dampening systems are placed within the blade structure, then the dampeners can be integrated into the blade design, but the internal structures limit the functioning of the dampener and prevent it from being made longer to increase dampening effect
Solution Approach 1:
The dampener is extracted from the internal blade structure and repositioned to attach externally to the load-bearing structure or outer surface of the shell. This extraction removes the constraint of internal structural limitations, allowing the dampener to be made longer without interfering with the blade's internal architecture, thereby increasing the dampening effect with the same or smaller mass.
2Adaptability or versatility
If dampening systems are integrated internally, then the blade structure can be compact, but the systems cannot be retrofitted or tuned without disassembling the blade
Solution Approach 1:
The dampener system is extracted from the internal blade structure and repositioned to attach externally to the load-bearing structure or outer surface of the shell. This extraction enables the dampening system to be retrofitted without disassembling the blade, significantly reducing installation complexity and improving adaptability for both new and existing blades.
Solution Approach 2:
The external attachment configuration allows the dampener to be dynamically adjustable and repositionable. The dampener can be tuned to different vibration types and frequencies by changing its position along the blade, providing adaptability without requiring blade disassembly, thus enhancing both retrofit capability and ease of maintenance.
3Weight of stationary object
If traditional dampening systems are used, then the blade structure remains simple, but the dampeners are cumbersome to install and heavy
Solution Approach 1:
The dampener is extracted from conventional internal mounting and repositioned externally, allowing for optimized mass distribution. This enables the use of smaller mass to achieve the same dampening effect, reducing the overall weight of the dampening system while simplifying installation through external attachment to the load-bearing structure or shell surface.
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 external attachment enables longer dampeners with improved vibration absorption, allowing for modular retrofitting and tuning, reducing stress on the blade and enhancing vibration cancellation with reduced weight and complexity.
Implementation Method 1
a dampener which is positioned with a component in a chordwise direction of the blade and adapted to absorb vibrational forces the wind turbine blade is subjected to
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A~4B
AI summary
A wind turbine blade extending in a longitudinal direction between a root end and a tip end and comprising a shell having an outer surface defining a pressure side and a suction side, a leading edge and a trailing edge, a chord having a chord length extending between the leading edge and the trailing edge and a load-bearing structure extending in the longitudinal direction, the wind turbine blade further comprises a dampening system comprising a blade dampening body attached exteriorly to the load-bearing structure or exteriorly to the outer surface of the shell, at least a first dampener located within the blade dampening body and positioned with a component in the chordwise direction of the blade and adapted to absorb vibrational forces the wind turbine blade is subjected to.