Interconnected Wind Turbine Blades for Load-Sharing Pitch Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
As wind turbine blades increase in size, the loads on them also increase, requiring further reinforcement which in turn increases weight and load, creating a vicious cycle.
Innovation Solution
A pitch controlled wind turbine design with independently movable blade connecting members and a connector system that transfers loads between blade portions, allowing for simpler construction and reduced disruption, while maintaining structural integrity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If wind turbine blade size is increased to produce more energy, then energy production is improved, but blade weight and structural loads increase requiring further reinforcement
Solution Approach 1:
The blade system is segmented into individual blades that are interconnected through connecting members. This segmentation allows the load to be distributed across multiple blades rather than each blade bearing the full load independently, enabling larger blade sizes without proportional weight increases for reinforcement.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple blades are merged into a coordinated system through the connecting members that link them together. This merging allows the blades to share loads collectively, where the failure or loading of one blade can be compensated by the other blades in the system, reducing the need for excessive individual blade reinforcement.
2Strength
If blade reinforcement is added to handle increased loads, then structural strength is improved, but blade weight increases further increasing loads
Solution Approach 1:
The structural reinforcement is segmented from the individual blade to the system level. Instead of reinforcing each blade independently to handle full loads, the connecting members create a segmented load path that distributes forces across multiple blades, reducing the reinforcement needed in each individual blade.
Solution Approach 2:
The connecting members act as intermediaries that transfer and distribute loads between blades. These intermediaries reduce the direct load burden on each blade, allowing for lighter blade construction while maintaining overall system strength through the interconnected structure.
3Productivity
If blade size is increased, then energy production is improved, but structural loads increase requiring further reinforcement
Solution Approach 1:
The load bearing function is segmented from individual blades to the collective blade system. The connecting members create a segmented force distribution network where structural loads are divided and shared across multiple blades, allowing larger blade sizes for higher energy production without proportional increases in individual blade loads.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple blades are merged into a load-sharing system where the total structural loads are distributed across the combined blade assembly. This merging effect allows larger individual blades to generate more energy while the collective system handles the structural loads through load distribution to other blades.
Data Source
AI summary
A first aspect of the invention provides a pitch controlled wind turbine comprising a tower, a nacelle mounted on the tower, a hub mounted rotatably on the nacelle, and at least three wind turbine blades, wherein each wind turbine blade extends between a root end connected to the hub via a pitch mechanism, and a tip end, the wind turbine further comprising at least three blade connecting members, each blade comprising a first connection point and a second connection point, wherein each blade connecting member extends from a first connection point on one wind turbine blade towards a second connection point on a neighbouring wind turbine blade, where each connection point on a given wind turbine blade is arranged at a distance from the root end and at a distance from the tip end of the wind turbine blade and adjacent a leading edge of the wind turbine blade, and wherein each connecting member is independently moveable in two orthogonal directions at the respective first and second connection points to which it attaches.