Segmented Wind Turbine Blade Modular Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wind turbine blades are heavy, costly to produce and transport, and require significant resources for assembly and maintenance due to their large, integral design, which limits their installation locations and increases replacement costs when damaged.
Innovation Solution
The design features segmented wind turbine blades with laterally spaced fiber tubes, internal frames, and covering subassemblies that cooperate to form a smooth surface, allowing for modular assembly and attachment using mating elements and fasteners, reducing weight and transportation costs while enabling site-specific assembly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the entire blade is formed in one piece using manual fibreglass composite fabrication, then the blade achieves sufficient strength to withstand stresses, but the manufacturing cost increases and quality control issues arise
Solution Approach 1:
The blade is divided into multiple modular sections that can be manufactured separately using automated processes, then assembled together. This segmentation reduces manufacturing complexity and improves quality control while maintaining structural integrity through designed connection points between sections.
2Strength
If the entire blade is formed in one piece, then the blade achieves sufficient strength, but transportation difficulty increases when the turbine site is remote
Solution Approach 1:
The blade is divided into multiple modular sections that can be transported separately to remote sites using standard transportation infrastructure, then assembled on-site. This eliminates the need for specialized heavy-lift transportation while maintaining blade strength through engineered connections.
3Strength
If a single-piece blade design is used, then the blade achieves sufficient strength, but replacement cost increases when the blade is damaged
Solution Approach 1:
The blade is divided into modular sections with standardized connections. When damage occurs, only the affected section needs to be replaced rather than the entire blade, significantly reducing replacement costs and downtime. The modular design allows for easy swapping of damaged segments.
4Strength
If manual fibreglass composite fabrication is used, then the blade achieves sufficient strength, but assembly expense increases
Solution Approach 1:
The blade is pre-assembled into modular sections using automated fabrication processes, then transported and quickly assembled on-site using standardized connection mechanisms. This reduces on-site assembly time and expense while maintaining structural strength through engineered joints.
Data Source
AI summary
A wind turbine blade including a number of segments attached together end-to-end in a predetermined arrangement so that the respective covering subassemblies of the segments cooperate to form a substantially smooth surface of the wind turbine blade. Each segment includes a number of fiber tubes extending along preselected lengths of the segment respectively, the fiber tubes being laterally spaced apart from each other respectively to define gaps therebetween. The segment also includes a covering subassembly at least partially supported by the fiber tubes and at least partially defining an internal cavity.