Wind Turbine Blade Electro-Thermal Heating Element with Tapering Width
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electro-thermal heating elements for wind turbine blades lack uniformity in heat flux distribution, often resulting in hot spots and inefficient ice removal due to constant width resistive materials.
Innovation Solution
The use of electrically resistive sheet material with varying widths and strategically placed electrically conductive strips creates a line of equipotential, ensuring a tailored and variable heat flux across the blade, preventing hot spots and enhancing uniform heating.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If constant width resistive material is used in the heating element, then the manufacturing is simpler, but the heat flux distribution becomes non-uniform with hot spots developing
Solution Approach 1:
The sheet material is designed with varying width along its length, creating different resistance characteristics in different zones. This local variation in geometry allows the heating element to produce non-uniform heat flux distribution tailored to specific requirements, such as higher heating near the blade tip where ice accumulation is more problematic.
Solution Approach 2:
Electrically conductive strips are embedded within the resistive sheet material at specific positions. These strips create equipotential lines that redistribute the electrical potential across the width of the sheet, preventing current concentration at edges and eliminating hot spots that would otherwise develop in constant width configurations.
2Manufacturing precision
If varying width sheet material is used to create tailored heat flux, then the heat distribution uniformity improves, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The width parameter of the sheet material is varied along its length to achieve different resistance values in different zones. This geometric parameter change allows control over the heat flux distribution without requiring complex material compositions or additional active heating components.
Solution Approach 2:
The heating element combines resistive sheet material with embedded electrically conductive strips to create a composite structure. This composite design integrates both the varying width geometry and the equipotential strips into a single manufacturable component that achieves uniform heat flux distribution.
3Reliability
If electrically conductive strips are added to create equipotential lines, then hot spots are prevented, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Electrically conductive strips are embedded within the resistive sheet material at specific positions. These strips create equipotential lines that redistribute the electrical potential across the width of the sheet, preventing current concentration at edges and eliminating hot spots that would otherwise develop in constant width configurations.
Solution Approach 2:
The conductive strips are integrated within the sheet material structure rather than being separate external components. This merging of the strip and sheet material into a single integrated heating element reduces overall device complexity while maintaining the hot spot prevention function.
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 configuration provides a uniform heating effect, increasing heat flux where needed, such as near the blade tip, and effectively prevents ice accumulation by ensuring consistent heat distribution along the blade.
Implementation Method 1
electrically resistive sheet material; two active busbars for supplying electrical power to the electrically conductive resistive material
Implementation Method 2
an electrically conductive strip which extends across a width of the element, wherein the sheet material has a first part on a first side of the strip and a second part on a second side of the strip, the strip is in electrical contact with the first and second parts of the sheet material
Data Source
AI summary
A wind turbine blade comprising an electro-thermal heating element with a tapering width. The electro-thermal heating element comprises: electrically resistive sheet material; a first electrode which is in electrical contact with the sheet material and positioned at a first end of the element; and a second electrode which is in electrical contact with the sheet material and positioned at a second end of the sheet material. An electrically conductive strip extends across a width of the element. The sheet material has a first part on a first side of the strip and a second part on a second side of the strip. The strip is in electrical contact with the first and second parts of the sheet material. The first part of the sheet material has a first width, and the second part of the sheet material has a second width which is different to the first width.