Wind Turbine Rotor Blade Root Inserts
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Solution Overview
Problem
Wind turbine rotor blades made from composite materials lack structural integrity for secure fixing to a hub, leading to potential failure due to stress concentration at insert locations, which can result in catastrophic failure from manufacturing defects or material flaws.
Innovation Solution
Embedding inserts of varying lengths within the rotor blade root portion to distribute stress and prevent cumulative loading at specific axial locations, thereby enhancing the connection robustness between the rotor blade and hub.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If inserts of uniform length are embedded in the rotor blade root portion, then the connection between rotor blade and hub is achieved, but stress concentration occurs at the tip of each insert leading to potential catastrophic failure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by varying the length of individual inserts embedded in the rotor blade root portion. Instead of using uniform length inserts, each insert has a specific length tailored to its position, creating local variations in stress distribution. This ensures that stress concentrations occur at different axial locations for different inserts, preventing cumulative stress at any single location and thereby eliminating the risk of catastrophic failure from stress concentration.
2Stress or pressure
If longer inserts are used to distribute stress over a broader region, then stress distribution improves, but the complexity of the manufacturing process increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by modifying the length parameter of inserts based on their axial position in the rotor blade root portion. The insert length is varied systematically according to a predetermined pattern or calculation, allowing stress distribution to be optimized while maintaining manufacturing feasibility. This parameter variation approach enables improved stress distribution without requiring complex manufacturing processes, as the length variation can be incorporated into standard insert production.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
A wind turbine rotor blade is provided, the rotor blade comprising a root portion and a tip portion extending therefrom. The root portion comprises a plurality of inserts embedded therein, each insert being configured to receive respective connecting means for connecting the wind turbine rotor blade to a wind turbine hub. The inserts are of at least two different lengths such that they extend into the rotor blade by different distances.