Wind Turbine Lightning Protection via Flexible Circuit Board
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Wind turbines face challenges with lightning protection, as existing systems are prone to corrosion from moisture and ice, especially in offshore environments, and require a more flexible, durable, and rigid design to prevent lightning currents from flowing through internal components.
Innovation Solution
A lightning current transfer system for wind turbines that includes a first and second electrical contact arrangement with conducting means, where the first contact member is a discharge ring connected to a blade conductor arrangement, and the second contact member is supported at the hub or spinner, ensuring a reliable current path outside the hub and nacelle, with a stationary mounting of conducting means for enhanced rigidity and weatherproofing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the current transfer unit is mounted on the outside of the hub with a loosely arranged cable, then flexibility and ease of installation are improved, but mechanical strength and rigidity deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a flexible printed circuit board (FPC) as the conducting means instead of a loose cable. The FPC provides both flexibility for installation and mechanical strength through its rigid substrate structure. The FPC can be bent and shaped to fit the turbine geometry while maintaining electrical conductivity and structural integrity, resolving the contradiction between flexibility and mechanical strength.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the conducting means is loosely arranged between electrodes, then adaptability to movement is improved, but reliability and weather resistance deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The FPC serves as both the conducting means and a protected pathway for electrical signals. Its enclosed structure protects the conducting traces from moisture and ice, while its flexibility allows it to accommodate the relative movements between blade and hub. The FPC can be routed through protected pathways within the blade structure, maintaining reliability while adapting to movement.
Solution Approach 2:
The FPC acts as an intermediary between the stationary hub mounting and the rotating blade components. It provides a reliable electrical connection that can withstand the mechanical stresses and environmental conditions of offshore operation, mediating between the need for movement adaptability and the requirement for weather resistance.
3Device complexity
If the lightning current path leads through the hub and nacelle, then device complexity is reduced, but harmful effects increase due to corrosion risk
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the lightning current path from the internal hub and nacelle structures and routes it through the blade itself to ground points on the blade. This removes the harmful lightning currents from the sensitive internal components of the hub and nacelle, preventing corrosion and damage to bearings, generators, and electronic equipment while maintaining a relatively simple current path configuration.
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 system provides effective lightning protection, increasing flexibility, simplicity, operational safety, and durability, while preventing corrosion and ensuring reliable operation even in harsh offshore conditions.
Implementation Method 1
The slider is mounted to one end of an elastically deformable strip of electrically insulating material which is - at the other end - mounted to a mounting flange of the base support. This mounting flange projects towards the nacelle so that the deformable strip is bent to elastically bias the slider towards the nacelle slideway.
Data Source
AI summary
A lightning current transfer system for a wind turbine generator is provided, the wind turbine generator comprising a rotor including a hub, a blade bearing, a blade, and a spinner, and a nacelle, the blade being rotatable relative to the hub and the hub being rotatable relative to the nacelle. In order to effectively protect the wind turbine generator from damage caused by lightning, to increase flexibility of use, simplicity, rigidness, operational safety and durability of such a lightning current transfer system, especially for use in a wind turbine generator brought into offshore operation, the lightning current transfer system comprises a first electrical contact arrangement including first and second complementary contact members, the first contact member being supported at the blade and being in electrical connection with a blade conductor arrangement arranged on the blade, the second contact member being supported at the hub, the spinner or the blade bearing, wherein the first and the second contact members are arranged to be electrically connectable to each other, conducting means connected to the first electrical contact arrangement, a second electrical contact arrangement connected to the conducting means and including third and fourth complementary contact members, the third contact member being supported at the hub, the spinner or the blade bearing, the fourth contact member being supported at the nacelle, wherein the third and the fourth contact members are arranged to be electrically connectable to each other, the lightning current transfer system providing a current path for a lightning current from the blade to the nacelle, the current path including the first electric contact arrangement, the conducting means and the second electric contact arrangement, the first contact member being arranged in a predetermined distance from a blade root of the blade, said blade root being mounted to the hub by means of the blade bearing, and wherein the first contact member is formed as a discharge ring being connected to the blade conductor arrangement, the blade conductor arrangement being formed by a metal foil or a metal mesh extending over at least a part of a longitudinal extension of the blade, wherein the lightning current transfer system is disposed inside of the spinner and/or inside of the nacelle, and wherein the conducting means is mounted stationarily at a mounting member, the mounting member being supported at the spinner, the hub or the blade bearing or being formed by the spinner, the hub or the blade bearing. Moreover, a wind turbine generator comprising a lightning current transfer system of the aforementioned kind is provided.