Rotor Blade Design Parameter Determination via Optimization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wind turbines, especially older models, often lack detailed information about rotor blade design, making it difficult to create accurate simulation models for analysis and maintenance, particularly for determining complex or destructive parameters.
Innovation Solution
A method that uses non-destructive measurements and optimization processes to determine rotor blade design parameters by varying easily measurable quality parameters, such as infusion material, fiber volume content, and outer dimensions, to achieve predefined target parameters like modal properties, using established optimization algorithms and software packages like OpenMDAO or PyOpt.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If non-destructive measurement methods are used to determine rotor blade parameters, then the rotor blade remains intact and can continue operating, but the measurement precision and detail of internal parameters are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces simulation models as an intermediary between non-destructive measurements and design parameters. The process uses measured data (quality parameters) as input to simulation models, which then calculate the design parameters that cannot be directly measured. This mediator approach enables indirect determination of internal parameters without physical contact or destruction of the rotor blade.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces direct mechanical measurement methods with a computational approach using simulation models. Instead of physically measuring difficult-to-access parameters, the system uses numerical simulations that take easily measurable parameters as input and compute the desired design parameters through mathematical models, substituting mechanical measurement with computational analysis.
2Measurement precision
If complex measurement and destruction methods are used to determine difficult parameters, then measurement precision improves, but the rotor blade is damaged and operational continuity is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The simulation model acts as an intermediary that computes design parameters from measurable quality parameters without requiring physical destruction. The model bridges the gap between easily obtainable measurement data and the difficult-to-measure design parameters, eliminating the need for destructive sampling while maintaining measurement precision through mathematical relationships.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a virtual copy or digital twin of the rotor blade through simulation models. This virtual model replicates the physical blade's behavior and properties, allowing detailed parameter determination on the digital copy without affecting the actual physical blade. The simulation model serves as a copy that can be analyzed exhaustively without consequences to the original.
3Manufacturing precision
If detailed information about rotor blade design is obtained through reverse engineering, then simulation model quality improves, but the complexity and cost of the process increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential and easily measurable parameters (quality parameters) from the rotor blade that are sufficient to drive the simulation models. Instead of attempting to determine all design parameters through complex reverse engineering, the method selectively measures key external parameters and uses simulations to derive the remaining information, reducing overall process complexity while maintaining model accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The simulation model serves as a virtual replica that captures the essential behavior of the rotor blade without requiring complete physical dissection or exhaustive reverse engineering. By creating this digital copy, the system achieves high simulation accuracy while avoiding the complexity of determining every physical parameter through direct measurement or destruction.
4Productivity
If fragmentary information from manufacturing documents is used, then the process is simple and fast, but the simulation model quality and reliability decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The simulation model acts as an intermediary that enhances the value of fragmentary information from manufacturing documents. By using these documents to obtain quality parameters and then processing them through simulation models, the system converts limited available data into comprehensive design parameter sets, maintaining both speed and accuracy through the computational mediation step.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary measurements and data collection of easily obtainable parameters before running simulation models. This preliminary action captures all available information from the physical blade and documents, which then serves as high-quality input for the simulation process, ensuring that the subsequent computational step has the best possible data foundation for accurate results.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a method for determining design parameters (41) of a rotor blade (3, 4, 5) of a machine interacting with a fluid, in particular of a wind turbine, in which quality parameters (39) of the rotor blade are determined non-destructively, in particular by way of measurements, in which target parameters of the rotor blade (40) are determined, and in which the determined target parameters are predefined in an optimization process (33), wherein the design parameters are varied in the optimization process in such a way that the target parameters are achieved, taking the determined quality parameters into consideration. In this way, it is possible to determine the parameters of a present rotor blade which can be non-destructively determined, so as to determine the parameters that cannot be determined non-destructively, or that are difficult to determine, by way of a computer model.