Shear Web Insert Alignment and Bonding in Wind Turbine Blades
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for connecting and repairing shear web inserts in wind turbine rotor blades are inefficient, time-consuming, and often result in sub-optimal joints due to misalignments and difficulties in aligning shear clips and shear web inserts with neighboring surfaces.
Innovation Solution
A method involving dry-fitting a shear web insert to establish a perimeter gap at an angled perimeter interface, followed by injecting a bonding paste into the gap to secure the insert, using pre-fabricated clips and positioning devices to ensure proper alignment and installation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If thermoset-based joining techniques such as bonding paste application or hand lay-ups are used to attach shear clips to shear web inserts and spar caps, then the rotor blade structure can be assembled, but the process becomes difficult and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The shear clips are pre-positioned and pre-aligned with the shear web insert and spar cap surfaces before the bonding paste is applied. This preliminary positioning ensures proper alignment is achieved before the adhesive sets, eliminating the need for time-consuming adjustments during the bonding process and reducing overall joining time.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the traditional mechanical alignment and manual application methods with a system that uses pre-configured positioning fixtures and automated or semi-automated paste application. This substitution of mechanical manual operations with more precise, controlled systems reduces both difficulty and time required for joining.
2Ease of manufacture
If traditional bonding paste application methods are used, then shear clips can be attached, but misalignments occur outside of manufacturing tolerances resulting in sub-optimal joints
Solution Approach 1:
Positioning fixtures or alignment tools are introduced as intermediary elements between the shear clips, shear web insert, and spar caps. These intermediaries ensure precise alignment and positioning during the bonding process, eliminating misalignments that would otherwise occur with direct manual assembly and ensuring joints meet manufacturing tolerances.
Solution Approach 2:
The alignment and positioning of shear clips relative to the shear web insert and spar cap surfaces are performed in advance before bonding. This preliminary action ensures that all components are precisely aligned within manufacturing tolerances before the bonding paste is applied, preventing misalignments and achieving optimal joint quality.
3Strength
If shear clips and shear web inserts are connected using conventional methods, then the structural reinforcement is achieved, but the process is difficult and results in sub-optimal joints due to misalignment
Solution Approach 1:
The joining process is segmented into distinct phases: pre-positioning and alignment of shear clips, application of bonding paste, and curing. By dividing the complex joining operation into manageable segments with specific objectives, the process becomes less difficult to execute while maintaining structural integrity and alignment precision.
Solution Approach 2:
All alignment and positioning actions are performed preliminarily before the bonding paste is applied. This ensures that the complex task of achieving precise alignment is completed in a controlled manner before the bonding process begins, simplifying the overall procedure while ensuring optimal joint quality and structural reinforcement.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method and device for connecting and repairing a shear web includes the method steps of dry-fitting a shear web insert in a rotor blade assembly to establish a perimeter gap at an angled perimeter interface between the shear web insert and the rotor blade assembly, the angled perimeter interface positioned between the shear web insert and at least one adjacent surface of a first shear web, a second shear web, a first side of the rotor blade assembly, and a second side of the rotor blade assembly, and then injecting a bonding paste into the perimeter gap. The rotor blade assembly can include a connecting device having at least one prefabricated clip.