Wind Turbine Blade Shear Web Discrete Spring Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing shear web designs for wind turbine blades suffer from suboptimal adhesive compression and adhesive voids due to ineffective resilient members and difficulties in ensuring central insertion of the panel into the slot, leading to inconsistent bond lines and reduced bonding efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A shear web design featuring discrete spring features along the panel's edge, which compress to ensure optimal adhesive compression and alignment, eliminating the need for foam and preventing adhesive voids, while allowing for easy assembly and improved bonding through a push-fit mechanism.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If a strip of foam is used as a resilient member in the slot base, then compression force is provided during mould closure, but adhesive voids are created and bonding is prevented at the slot base
Solution Approach 1:
The resilient member is segmented into a plurality of discrete spring features spaced at intervals along the panel's longitudinal edge, rather than using a continuous strip of foam. This segmentation allows adhesive to flow between and around the discrete spring features, eliminating adhesive voids while maintaining compression force during mould closure.
Solution Approach 2:
The spring features are configured with specific local geometries including compression surfaces facing the slot base and lateral surfaces facing the sidewalls. This local quality differentiation allows the spring features to provide compression force where needed while creating pathways for adhesive flow in other areas, resolving the conflict between compression and bonding.
2Manufacturing precision
If the panel is not inserted centrally into the slot, then alignment errors occur, but inspection of insertion position is not possible after mould closure
Solution Approach 1:
The spring features are pre-configured with lateral surfaces that engage the sidewalls during insertion. This preliminary action of lateral engagement guides and centers the panel in the slot during the assembly process, ensuring proper alignment before the adhesive sets and the mould closes, making subsequent inspection unnecessary.
Solution Approach 2:
The spring features provide self-aligning functionality through their lateral surfaces that automatically center the panel in the slot during insertion. This self-service alignment mechanism eliminates the need for external alignment tools or post-assembly inspection, as the structure itself ensures proper positioning.
3Reliability
If discrete spring features are spaced at intervals along the panel edge, then adhesive flow is enabled between spring features, but the number of spring features increases device complexity
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of providing continuous resilient support along the entire panel edge, discrete spring features are provided at selected intervals. This partial action approach is sufficient to provide the necessary compression force while creating adequate pathways for adhesive flow, achieving reliable bonding without the complexity of a continuous resilient member or excessively dense spacing.
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 discrete spring features effectively compress adhesive between the web head and blade shell, ensuring consistent bond lines and minimizing adhesive voids, resulting in enhanced bonding efficiency and reduced production costs.
Implementation Method 1
a plurality of discrete spring features attached to the longitudinal edge of the panel, the spring features being mutually spaced apart at intervals along the length of the longitudinal edge and configured to compress against a base of the slot
Implementation Method 2
the spring features being mutually spaced apart at intervals along the length of the longitudinal edge and configured to compress against a base of the slot
Data Source
AI summary
A shear web for a wind turbine blade is described. The shear web comprises a panel and a web head. A longitudinal edge of the panel is received within a slot defined in the web head. A plurality of discrete spring features are attached to the longitudinal edge of the panel. The spring features are mutually spaced apart at intervals along the length of the longitudinal edge. The spring features compress against a base of the slot when the longitudinal edge region of the panel is inserted into the slot.