Reinforcement Web for Wind Turbine Rotor Blade Delamination
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Solution Overview
Problem
Wind turbine rotor blades face challenges in maintaining stability and preventing delamination under asymmetrical loads, leading to potential failure and high repair costs due to the asymmetrical stress on flanges caused by shear deformation.
Innovation Solution
A footbridge design with strategically arranged reinforcement fibers in a sandwich construction, where the first and second sections of fibers on the core form flanges that connect to the half-shells, providing additional reinforcement and distributing loads effectively to prevent delamination, and additional layers can be arranged to enhance the transition areas between the core and flanges.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If the bridge is produced in sandwich construction to reduce weight, then the weight is reduced, but the connection stability between the bridge and half-shells deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The bridge uses sandwich construction with a core material (foam or balsa wood) and outer cover layers (fiber composite material) to achieve high strength-to-weight ratio. This composite structure provides both the required mechanical strength for connection stability and the weight reduction benefit.
Solution Approach 2:
Reinforcement fibers are strategically positioned at the flange areas where connection to half-shells occurs. This local reinforcement ensures that the connection regions have enhanced strength and stability without requiring the entire bridge structure to be heavier.
2Strength
If additional reinforcement fibers are added to the flanges to prevent delamination, then the strength is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Reinforcement fibers are concentrated specifically in the flange regions where delamination risk is highest, rather than uniformly distributing reinforcement throughout the entire bridge. This targeted approach strengthens the critical connection areas while keeping the overall structure relatively simple.
Solution Approach 2:
The reinforcement fibers are divided into multiple sections: a first section in the rear area of the core and a second section extending to the profile edge. This segmentation allows the reinforcement to be strategically positioned at specific locations rather than creating a complex uniform reinforcement pattern.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the bridge extends further in the longitudinal direction to improve stiffening, then the stiffening effect is improved, but the weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The bridge is positioned and dimensioned to provide maximum stiffening effect at critical locations between the half-shells. The core extends over the height of the bridge to optimize the stiffening effect while minimizing unnecessary material in less critical regions.
Data Source
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AI summary
A web for stiffening a wind turbine rotor blade, the web comprising: • a first flange for connecting to a first half-shell of the wind turbine rotor blade, • a second flange for connecting to a second half-shell of the wind turbine rotor blade, • a core extending over a height of the web and comprising a first end face facing the first half-shell, a second end face facing the second half-shell, a front side face facing a leading edge of the wind turbine rotor blade, and a rear side face facing a trailing edge of the wind turbine rotor blade, and • a first layer of reinforcing fibers having a first section arranged at the rear side face of the core and a second section arranged at the first end face of the core and extending from there towards the leading edge of the profile.so that it forms a section of the first flange pointing towards the leading edge of the profile, wherein • a second layer of reinforcing fibers with a first section arranged on the front side face of the core and a second section arranged on the second end face of the core and extending from there towards the trailing edge of the profile, so that it forms a section of the second flange pointing towards the trailing edge of the profile.