Segmented Balsa Wood Composite for Wind Turbine Blade Curvature
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Solution Overview
Problem
Modern wind turbine blades require stronger sandwich core materials to accommodate curved geometries while maintaining lightweight properties, as existing materials are prone to breaking and inefficiencies in manufacturing processes.
Innovation Solution
A composite material comprising rigid and flexible elements, where flexible elements are placed between rigid elements to connect them, allowing for flexibility without hollow spaces, using balsa wood or metal for rigidity and thermoplastic materials for ductility, connected via adhesive or hot plate welding, to create a flexible and adaptable panel.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If balsa wood panels are made flexible by applying glass fiber mesh and glue, then the panels can adapt to curved surfaces, but hollow spaces and breaking issues occur during bending and manufacturing
Solution Approach 1:
The balsa wood panel is segmented into a grid of individual cells by cutting grooves and removing material between them. This segmentation allows each cell to independently deform and rotate, enabling the panel to conform to curved surfaces while maintaining structural integrity and avoiding hollow spaces during bending.
Solution Approach 2:
The physical parameters of the balsa wood panel are changed by creating a cellular structure with specific groove dimensions and cell sizes. This transformation from a solid panel to a cellular structure fundamentally changes its mechanical properties, allowing it to be flexible and adaptable while maintaining strength.
2Strength
If thick rigid elements are used in the composite material, then strength and rigidity are improved, but hollow spaces appear when bent on curved surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
Thick rigid elements are segmented into cellular structures with internal voids and grooves. This segmentation allows the thick elements to maintain their strength while the internal structure enables them to deform without creating hollow spaces when bent, as the material can compress and rotate within the cellular framework.
Solution Approach 2:
The rigid elements are designed with porous cellular structures containing internal voids and channels. This porosity allows the material to deform, compress, and rotate during bending without creating external hollow spaces, while the cellular structure maintains the overall strength and rigidity of the element.
3Stability of the object's composition
If additional filling material is applied to fill hollow spaces in composite material, then structural completeness is improved, but manufacturing complexity and time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cellular structure is pre-designed and pre-formed during the manufacturing of the rigid elements themselves, with grooves and internal voids created as integral parts of the manufacturing process. This preliminary action eliminates the need for subsequent filling operations, as the structure is complete and adaptable from the start.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of adding filling material to complete the structure, the approach extracts and removes material to create the cellular structure with grooves and internal voids. This taking out approach creates the necessary adaptability and completeness without requiring additional filling steps, thereby improving manufacturing efficiency.
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 composite material effectively adapts to curved surfaces without breaking, increases rigidity, reduces the need for additional filling materials, and enhances manufacturing efficiency by avoiding hollow spaces and improving structural integrity.
Implementation Method 1
The flexible element is connected to two rigid elements, in particular by means of an adhesive
Implementation Method 2
connected via adhesive or hot plate welding
Data Source
Figure 1~2
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AI summary
A composite material (9) for a wind turbine blade (5), the composite material (9) comprising a plurality of rigid elements (11) and plurality of flexible elements (12), wherein each flexible element (12) is arranged between two rigid elements (11) and is connected thereto such that the rigid elements (11) are flexibly connected to each other by means of the flexible elements (12). The flexibility of the composite material (9) can be achieved by using the interspaces between the rigid elements (11). Therefore, when the composite material (9) is placed on a curved surface (17), hollow spaces between the rigid elements (11) may be reduced or avoided.