Windmill Blade Leading Edge Protector Porous Mesh Fixation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Windmill blades face challenges in achieving both good lightning resistance and erosion resistance due to the difficulty in ensuring a strong connection between conductive leading edge protectors made of different materials, particularly when exposed to moisture.
Innovation Solution
A windmill blade design incorporating a conductive plate and mesh member with holes in the skin, allowing the adhesive or skin to enter these holes for fixation, providing a robust attachment and enhancing both lightning and erosion resistance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a leading edge protector made of conductive material is attached to a blade skin made of reinforced fiber plastic using adhesive, then lightning resistance performance is improved, but attachment strength decreases due to difficulty in ensuring connection between different materials and adhesive strength decline when exposed to moisture
Solution Approach 1:
The conductive mesh member is designed with a porous structure containing multiple holes that allow the adhesive to penetrate and bond with the blade skin. This porous structure increases the effective bonding area and creates mechanical interlocking between the adhesive and skin, thereby significantly improving attachment strength while maintaining the conductive properties needed for lightning resistance.
Solution Approach 2:
The leading edge protector combines a conductive plate with a conductive mesh member having porous structure, creating a composite structure that integrates both the protective function and the bonding function. The mesh member's holes allow adhesive penetration, creating a composite bonding system that overcomes the attachment strength issues of traditional adhesive bonding between dissimilar materials.
2Device complexity
If a leading edge protector is attached to a blade skin using adhesive, then the blade structure is simplified, but the adhesive strength declines when exposed to moisture such as raindrops
Solution Approach 1:
The porous mesh member structure allows the adhesive to penetrate through the holes and bond with the blade skin, creating mechanical interlocking. This design maintains structural simplicity while the porous structure itself provides moisture resistance and maintains adhesive bonding strength in moist environments by preventing adhesive degradation.
Solution Approach 2:
The porous mesh member acts as an intermediary between the conductive plate and the blade skin. It provides both the conductive pathway and the structural interface for adhesive bonding, mediating the connection between dissimilar materials and protecting the adhesive from moisture degradation through its porous structure.
Data Source
AI summary
A windmill blade includes a blade main body and a leading edge protector. The leading edge protector includes a conductive plate covering a leading edge, and a conductive mesh member connected to the conductive plate along a blade chord direction of the windmill blade. The conductive mesh member is provided with a plurality of holes. A skin or an adhesive at least partially enters the plurality of holes, so that the leading edge protector is fixed to the skin.