Wind Turbine Spar Cap Manufacturing with Insert Members
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The manufacturing of large fibre-reinforced spar caps for wind turbine blades faces challenges such as maintaining required tolerances, avoiding damage during demoulding, and ensuring even resin impregnation to prevent dry regions and air pockets.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a spar cap mould with guide members, where pultruded fibre plates are stacked and insert members are placed next to the lateral surfaces. A vacuum foil is applied, and resin is infused and cured to form a fibre-reinforced spar cap, which is then demoulded and optionally trimmed to remove dry regions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If pultruded fibrous strips are used for spar cap formation, then continuous production and flexibility in length are improved, but manufacturing precision and tolerance control deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The spar cap is divided into multiple pultruded fibrous strips of standard lengths that are assembled together to form the complete structure. This segmentation allows continuous production of standardized components while enabling precise control over the assembly tolerances through controlled joining processes.
2Ease of manufacture
If known spar cap moulding methods are used, then spar cap formation is achieved, but damage to pultruded elements during demoulding occurs
Solution Approach 1:
A releasing agent is applied to the mould surface before the pultruded fibrous strips are placed in the mould. This preliminary action creates a non-sticking surface that prevents damage to the pultruded elements during demoulding while still allowing proper formation of the spar cap structure.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple different types of materials are used for spar cap formation, then structural optimization is improved, but resin flow front matching deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
A releasing agent is applied to the mould surface before the pultruded fibrous strips are placed in the mould. This intermediary substance enables the use of multiple different materials with varying permeabilities while ensuring uniform resin distribution by preventing premature bonding to the mould, thus allowing proper resin flow front matching across different material types.
4Ease of operation
If gap formation occurs between spar cap layup and mould, then material placement flexibility is improved, but resin pooling and geometry control deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The releasing agent is applied beforehand to create a controlled interface between the pultruded strips and the mould. This preliminary action allows for easy material placement and adjustment flexibility while simultaneously preventing uncontrolled gap formation that would lead to resin pooling and geometry deviations.
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
This method effectively minimizes cracks and holes around the edges of the spar cap, ensures even resin distribution, and reduces the need for repairs, leading to a more efficient and structurally sound spar cap manufacturing process.
Implementation Method 1
placing a vacuum foil over the stacked arrangement and the first insert member and the optional second insert member
Implementation Method 2
infusing resin into the stacked arrangement and the first insert member and the optional second insert member
Implementation Method 3
curing the resin to join the stacked arrangement and the first insert member and the optional second insert member to form the fibre-reinforced spar cap
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a fibre-reinforced spar cap (45) for a wind turbine blade. A plurality of pultruded fibre plates (70) is arranged in a spar cap mould (62) to form a stacked arrangement (69) of pultruded fibre plates (70). An insert member (86) is arranged next to a lateral surface (67) of the stacked arrangement (69), wherein the first insert member (86) comprises a connecting surface (87), and wherein the first insert member (86) is arranged such that its connecting surface abuts against the first lateral surface (67) of the stacked arrangement (69). Resin is infused into the stacked arrangement (69) and the insert member (86) to form the fibre-reinforced spar cap (45) or a preform thereof, which can be trimmed to the required size.