General Electric Company

General Electric Renovables Espana, S.l.

Andreas Herrig

Benoit Philippe Petitjean

Thomas Merzhaeuser

Klaus Ulrich Koegler

Roger Drobietz

Saskia Gerarda Honhoff

Drew Adam Wetzel

Benjamin Patrick Hallissy

Ariane Frere

Kevin Wayne Kinzie

Christian Aloysius Carroll

Jonathan Glenn Luedke

Erik Mele

Carsten Michael Schneider

Norman Arnold Turnquist

Stefan Herr

Christof Martin Sihler

Wendy Wen-Ling Lin

Vittorio Michelassi

Vidyashankar Ramasastry Buravalla

Anurag Gupta

Biju Nanukuttan

Marc Canal Vila

Shivaram Ac

Samuel Davoust

Christian Aalburg

Thierry Pascal Maeder

Fabio Carastro

Sujan Kumar Pal

Murray Fisher

Stefan Kern

Jordy Hertel Nilsson Van Kalken

Sara Simonne Louisa Delport

Seongkyu Lee

Jonathon Paul Baker

Guannan Wang

Santiago Tomas Monpol

Dominic Alexander Von Terzi

Nathaniel David Varano

Brent David Michalowski

Kenton Travis Shonhor

Farzad Taghaddosi

Sarah Delport

Nathan Charles Schneider

Marc Canal

Biju Nanukuttan, Jr

Albert Fisas Camanes

Sara Delport

Benoit Philippe Armand Petitjean

An apparatus for mitigating vortex-shedding vibrations or stall-induced vibrations on one or more rotor blades of a wind turbine during standstill includes at least one positioning element located between a blade tip section and a blade root section thereof. The positioning element is adapted for wrapping around at least a portion of the rotor blade. The apparatus also includes at least one airflow modifying element coupled to the positioning element and defining a height relative to a surface of the rotor blade. Additionally, the apparatus includes at least one securing element operably coupled to the positioning element for temporarily securing the airflow modifying element to the rotor blade.

System and method for mitigating vortex-shedding vibrations or stall-induced vibrations on rotor blade of a wind turbine during standstill

A rotor blade assembly of a wind turbine includes a rotor blade having an aerodynamic body with an inboard region and an outboard region. The inboard and outboard regions define a pressure side, a suction side, a leading edge, and a trailing edge. The inboard region includes a blade root, whereas the outboard region includes a blade tip. The rotor blade also defines a chord and a span. Further, the inboard region includes a transitional region of the rotor blade that includes a maximum chord. Moreover, a unitless first derivative of the chord with respect to the span of the rotor blade in the transitional region ranges from about &#x2212;0.10 to about 0.10 from the maximum chord over about 15% of the span of the rotor blade. In addition, the unitless first derivative of the chord with respect to the span a slope of a change in the chord in is greater than about &#x2212;0.03 at an inflection point of the chord in the outboard region.

Wind turbine rotor blade assembly for reduced noise

The present disclosure relates to methods and systems for measuring deflection of blades of a wind turbine. Examples include a light emitting and collection device mounted to the nacelle and configured to emit light in a direction within a substantially vertical plane. Examples include a method for operating a wind turbine including emitting light above a hub, receiving the light when reflected by a blade of the wind turbine, and, if the level of blade deflection is above a threshold, reducing blade loading of the blade before the blade reaches a vertically downward position. Examples include a method for monitoring deflection of a rotor blade of a wind turbine comprising emitting a light sheet, collecting reflections of the emitted light, and determining deflection of the rotor blade by determining a time during which the blade reflects the emitted light sheet.

Devices and methods for determining deflection of rotor blades of a wind turbine

A rotor blade assembly for a wind turbine is presented. The rotor blade assembly includes a rotor blade having a surface, where the surface of the rotor blade includes an inclined groove. The rotor blade assembly further includes at least one add-on element mounted on the surface of the rotor blade via a bonding interface downstream of the inclined groove such that particulate matter in an airflow upstream of the at least one add-on element is deflected away from the bonding interface between the surface of the rotor blade and the at least one add-on element. The wind turbine having the rotor blade assembly is also presented.

Rotor blade assembly and a wind turbine having the rotor blade assembly

A nacelle assembly for a wind turbine is connected to a wind turbine tower through a yaw system and includes a front region coupled to a rotor having a rotor hub and at least one rotor blade. The nacelle assembly includes a nacelle having a cover structure to house wind turbine components and an add-on wind flow deflector system that is coupled to an outside of the cover structure. The wind flow deflector system guides wind flowing to the nacelle for reducing a drag of the nacelle when a wind direction is misaligned with respect to the longitudinal wind direction in a yaw system failure event.

Nacelle assembly for a wind turbine

A wind turbine blade includes a first blade segment and a second blade segment extending in opposite directions from a chord-wise joint. The first blade segment includes a beam structure extending lengthways that structurally connects with the second blade segment at a receiving section, wherein the beam structure forms a portion of an internal support structure and includes a shear web connected with a suction side spar cap and a pressure side spar cap. The present technology also includes a joint rod located at a first end of the beam structure for connecting with the receiving section of the second blade segment to form a coupling joint about a joint axis. The coupling joint is coupled to an adjustable elastic support. The receiving section may further include a torque coupling positioned offset from the joint axis, such that a bending motion of the beam structure automatically induces a twist motion. A method of assembling the wind turbine blade is additionally disclosed.

Aero-elastically tailored wind blade tip joint

A method to reduce noise and vibration between separate blade segments of a jointed wind turbine rotor blade includes determining an actual offset at a chord-wise joint line between the shell members of the first and second blade segments at a load condition on the jointed wind turbine rotor blade, wherein the offset is any one or combination of a flap-wise offset, a twist-wise offset, or a yawl-wise offset. The method defines a modified configuration of the joint structure at a no-load condition on the wind turbine rotor blade that compensates at least partially for the actual offset at the load condition, and the first and second blade segments are connected with the modified configuration of the joint structure.

Method to reduce noise and vibration in a jointed wind turbine blade, and associated wind turbine blade

The present disclosure is directed to a blade sleeve for a blade tip of a rotor blade of a wind turbine. The blade sleeve includes a rapid-prototyped body having a pressure side, a suction side, a first open span-wise end, a closed leading edge, and a trailing edge. Further, the body is slidable onto the blade tip of the rotor blade. In addition, the blade sleeve includes at least one additional rapid-prototyped feature integral with the body.

Blade sleeve for a wind turbine rotor blade and attachment methods thereof

A jointed wind turbine rotor blade includes a first blade segment and a second blade segment extending in opposite directions from a chord-wise joint line. Each of the blade segments includes a pressure side shell member and a suction side shell member. A sealing tape is applied over the shell members so as to bridge across the chord-wise joint line. The sealing tape includes side edges that are aligned parallel with airflow over the shell members at the chord-wise joint line at a defined load and operational condition on the jointed wind turbine blade.

Jointed wind turbine blade with noise reduction tape

A rotor blade assembly for a wind turbine includes a rotor blade having surfaces defining a pressure side, a suction side, a leading edge, and a trailing edge extending between a blade tip and a blade root. The rotor blade assembly also includes at least one noise reducer adjacent to the trailing edge. The noise reducer(s) includes at least one serration extending beyond the trailing edge in a chord-wise direction of the rotor blade. The serration(s) also includes a suction side surface and a pressure side surface. The suction side surface defines a first radius of curvature in the chord-wise direction and the pressure side surface defines a second radius of curvature in the chord-wise direction. Further, the first radius of curvature may be larger than the second radius of curvature such that the suction side surface is flatter than the pressure side surface or vice versa.

Noise reducer for a wind turbine rotor blade having a cambered serration

A wind turbine includes at least one blade having a pressure side, a suction side, a leading edge, and a trailing edge that define an airfoil-shaped profile. The suction side and/or the pressure side has a morphable region. The wind turbine also includes a control system configured to activate the morphable region to alter the airfoil-shaped profile and reduce negative lift generated by the blade when the blade is oriented at a negative lift angle.

Wind turbine and method of operating the same

A wind turbine blade includes a first blade segment and a second blade segment extending in opposite directions from a chord-wise joint. Each of the blade segments having a pressure side shell member, a suction side shell member. The blade further including a coupling component extending spanwise and structurally connecting the first blade segment and the second blade segment. A thermal actuation component is coupled to the coupling component and passively actuated in response to a change in thermal conditions so as to provide for aeroelastic tailoring and pitch control to the wind turbine blade.

System for wind turbine blade actuation

Vortex generators for wind turbine rotor blades having noise-reducing features are mounted within a laminar flow region on either the pressure side or the suction side of the rotor blade and have a base portion with at least one airflow modifying element extending therefrom. The base portion has a leading edge and a trailing edge extending in a first direction. Further, the base portion includes one or more edge features formed within either or both of the leading or trailing edges. Moreover, the edge features are non-parallel with respect to the first direction so as to reduce laminar boundary layer instability noise.

Vortex generators for wind turbine rotor blades having noise-reducing features

A wind turbine includes a hub configured to rotate about an axis at a first rotation speed and at least one blade coupled to the hub. The wind turbine also includes a sensor assembly configured to detect at least one characteristic of wind flowing through the wind turbine. The sensor assembly is mounted to the hub. The sensor assembly includes a laser device configured to emit a laser beam and at least one optical element configured to direct the laser beam. The sensor assembly also includes a non-motorized mechanism configured to rotate the at least one optical element at a second rotation speed when the hub rotates at the first rotation speed. The second rotation speed is greater than the first rotation speed.

Wind turbine including sensor assembly and method of operating such

A wind turbine blade assembly includes a rotor blade having exterior surfaces defining a pressure side, a suction side, a leading edge and a trailing edge, each extending between a blade tip and a root. The rotor blade additionally defining a span and a chord. The blade assembly further includes a plurality of micro boundary layer energizers positioned on a surface of the pressure side of the rotor blade. The plurality of micro boundary layer energizers extending one of above or below a neutral plane of the rotor blade. The micro boundary layer energizers are shaped and positioned chordwise to delay separation of a boundary layer at a low angle of attack. A wind turbine including the blade assembly is additionally disclosed.

Wind turbine blade with noise reducing micro boundary layer energizers

Growing community of inventors

Rheine, Germany

Andreas Herrig