Wind Turbine Rotor Blade Hub Profile With Thorn Trailing Edges
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Solution Overview
Problem
Large wind turbine rotor blades face challenges with high weight, complex transportation, and limited options for reducing weight while maintaining aerodynamic performance, particularly in the hub area where flow separation and turbulence issues arise due to blunt trailing edges.
Innovation Solution
Designing a rotor blade with a thickness profile in the hub area featuring a mandrel extension on the suction side and a second mandrel extension on the pressure side, which reduces profile depth and noise emission, and stabilizes vortex formation for improved lift and buoyancy behavior.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the rotor blade diameter is increased to ensure constant electricity production in light wind regions, then the aerodynamic performance and electricity production are improved, but the rotor blade weight increases and transportation becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different profile designs to different sections of the rotor blade. The hub area uses a thickness profile with mandrel extensions to reduce weight and improve flow conditions, while other areas maintain standard aerodynamic profiles. This local differentiation allows weight reduction in critical areas without compromising overall aerodynamic performance and electricity production capability.
2Device complexity
If a blunt trailing edge is used in the hub area, then the structural simplicity is improved, but flow separation and turbulence occur reducing lift values
Solution Approach 1:
The mandrel extensions act as intermediary structures that modify the flow field around the blunt trailing edge. By introducing these extensions, the patent creates controlled vortex formation that prevents harmful flow separation while maintaining the structural simplicity of a blunt trailing edge design. The mandrel extensions mediate between the simple geometry and the need for good aerodynamic performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the potentially harmful flow separation at the blunt trailing edge into beneficial controlled vortices through the mandrel extensions. The blunt trailing edge that would normally cause turbulence and lift loss is transformed into a vortex-generating structure that actually improves flow attachment and maintains lift values in the hub area.
3Ease of manufacture
If the profile depth is reduced for easier transportation, then the weight and transport complexity are improved, but the aerodynamic performance and lift values deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent compensates for reduced profile depth by adding mandrel extensions in the spanwise dimension (along the blade length). This dimensional transformation allows the blade to have reduced chord-wise depth for easier transportation while maintaining effective aerodynamic depth through the spanwise extensions, thereby preserving lift values and aerodynamic performance.
4Ease of manufacture
If a two-part rotor blade is realized to facilitate transport, then the transportation difficulty is reduced, but the stability is reduced due to the separation point
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the rotor blade into two separate parts at the hub area, allowing each section to be transported independently. This segmentation facilitates transportation of large blades by breaking them into manageable sections that can be assembled on-site, directly addressing the transportation difficulty while maintaining structural integrity through proper connection design.
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 solution achieves a reduction in rotor blade weight and noise emission while maintaining lift values, allowing for more efficient transportation and improved aerodynamic performance by stabilizing vortex formation and increasing effective profile depth.
Implementation Method 1
stabilizes vortex formation for improved lift and buoyancy behavior
Implementation Method 2
formation of a throat vortex in a throat between the first and second mandrel extensions
Implementation Method 3
flow separation at the trailing edge
Implementation Method 4
trailing edge turbulence
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~5
Figure 6
AI summary
The invention relates to a rotor blade (1) with a suction side and a pressure side for a wind turbine, having: a rotor blade root (4) of a hub area (I) for connecting the rotor blade (1) to a rotor hub and a rotor blade tip (5, 7) arranged on a side of a tip area (III) facing away from the rotor blade root (4). According to the invention, the rotor blade has a thickness profile at least partially in the hub area (I), said thickness profile having a thorn-shaped extension on its trailing edge, wherein the thickness profile has a first thorn-shaped extension on the trailing edge on the suction side at least partially in the hub area, and has a second thorn-shaped extension on the trailing edge on the pressure side, and the thickness profile has a flow stabilizer and/or a vortex generator on the suction and/or pressure side at least partially in the hub area.