Additive Wind Turbine Blade with Density Gradient
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional wind turbine blade manufacturing processes are labor-intensive and require large molds, leading to significant variation and defects, as well as an inability to optimize blade design due to constrained material distribution, resulting in excessive material usage and limited environmental degradation resistance.
Innovation Solution
The use of additive manufacturing to create wind turbine blades with varying density along their length, featuring a surface layer that resists environmental degradation and structural elements to enhance load-bearing capacity, allowing for optimized material distribution and reduced weight.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If conventional molding processes are used to manufacture wind turbine blades, then a strong shell structure is produced, but the process is labor-intensive, requires large molds, and results in significant variation and defects
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the manufacturing method from conventional molding to additive manufacturing, fundamentally altering the production parameters. This enables automated layer-by-layer construction without large molds, reducing labor intensity and manufacturing complexity while maintaining structural strength through controlled material deposition and curing processes
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical molding system with an additive manufacturing system that uses automated robotic arms for material placement and UV light sources for curing. This substitution eliminates the need for large physical molds and manual labor, significantly reducing manufacturing complexity and variation
2Strength
If conventional molding processes are used, then the shell provides structural strength, but material distribution is constrained leading to excessive material usage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by varying material density and composition at different locations within the blade structure. The additive manufacturing process enables precise control of material properties in specific regions, placing material only where structurally necessary rather than using uniform material distribution throughout the entire blade
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes material parameters locally during the additive manufacturing process, adjusting resin composition, fiber orientation, and layer density based on structural requirements at each location. This optimized material distribution reduces overall material usage while maintaining required strength characteristics
3Ease of manufacture
If uniform density structure is used in wind turbine blades, then manufacturing is simpler, but the blade cannot be optimized for varying load conditions along its length
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements local quality by creating non-uniform density distributions within the blade structure. Different regions of the blade have tailored material properties matching the local load conditions - higher density and reinforcement in high-stress areas, lower density in less critical regions. The additive manufacturing process enables this spatial variation while maintaining manufacturing feasibility through automated control
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces dynamic characteristics to the static blade structure by creating a density gradient that adapts to varying operational loads along the blade length. The additive manufacturing process allows continuous adjustment of material properties during construction, enabling the blade to dynamically respond to different loading conditions through its optimized internal structure
4Shape
If large molds are used for blade manufacturing, then the blade shell can be formed, but transportation and facility requirements become excessive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the large-scale mechanical molding system with an additive manufacturing system using robotic arms and UV curing sources. This substitution eliminates the need for massive molds and associated heavy-duty facilities, reducing device complexity and infrastructure requirements while still achieving precise blade shape formation through layer-by-layer construction
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from conventional 2D mold-based manufacturing to 3D additive manufacturing, building the blade structure in three dimensions through sequential layer deposition. This dimensional change eliminates the need for large molds that define the entire blade shape at once, replacing them with a systematic layer-by-layer construction approach that requires much smaller and simpler equipment
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 approach enables the production of wind turbine blades with improved structural strength, reduced weight, and enhanced resistance to environmental degradation, while allowing for quick design changes and on-site manufacturing, eliminating transportation challenges and mold-related inefficiencies.
Implementation Method 1
A UV light source may then be used to cure the photopolymerizable resin
Data Source
AI summary
A wind turbine blade includes a lengthwise portion that extends between a root region and a tip region of the wind turbine blade. The lengthwise portion includes a cross section in which a first region surrounds a second region. The densities of the first and second regions vary with the first density being greater than the second density. The lengthwise portion includes a surface layer that bounds the first region, forms an exterior surface, and is configured to resist environmental degradation. At least one structural element extends longitudinally through the first region and is configured to reinforce the blade during use of the wind turbine. The lengthwise portion of a wind turbine blade may be made through an additive manufacturing process by depositing a main body in a plurality of layers. Each layer may be deposited in a plane generally parallel to a longitudinal axis of the lengthwise portion.