General Electric Company

Lm Wind Power A/s

Bensely Albert

Amir Riahi

Stephen Bertram Johnson

Nicholas Keane Althoff

Daniel Alan Hynum

Jamie Thomas Livingston

A method for manufacturing a rotor blade component of a rotor blade includes feeding a flat sheet of material into a thermoforming system, wherein the material comprises at least one of a thermoplastic or thermoset material. The method also includes heating the flat sheet of material via the thermoforming system. Further, the method includes shaping the heated flat sheet of material via at least one roller of the thermoforming system into a desired curved shape. Moreover, the method includes dispensing the shaped sheet of material from the thermoforming system. In addition, the method includes cooling the shaped sheet of material to form the rotor blade component.

Methods for manufacturing wind turbine rotor blade components

The present disclosure is directed to a method for manufacturing a rotor blade component, such as shear web, of a rotor blade of a wind turbine. The method includes forming, via 3-D printing, an internal lattice structure of the rotor blade component. More specifically, the internal lattice structure includes a plurality of open cells. In addition, the method includes covering at least a portion of the internal lattice structure with an outer skin layer to form the rotor blade component.

Shear webs for wind turbine rotor blades and methods for manufacturing same

The present disclosure is directed to a method for forming a fiber-reinforced polymer component. The method includes impregnating a first fiber tow with a polymerizable liquid contained within a reservoir to form a first impregnated fiber tow. The method also includes positioning the first impregnated fiber tow within a build region of the reservoir. The build region has a shape and size corresponding to a cross-sectional shape of the fiber-reinforced polymer component. Furthermore, the method includes irradiating the build region of the reservoir to form a polymerized solid from the polymerizable liquid within the build region. The polymerized solid encases a portion of the first fiber tow to form at least a portion of the fiber-reinforced polymer component.

Method for forming fiber-reinforced polymer components

Wind turbine rotor blade components including pultruded rods and methods of manufacturing the same are disclosed. More specifically, the rotor blade component includes a plurality of pultruded rods housed within an enclosed primary outer casing. The enclosed primary outer casing includes a hollow interior, a root end, and an opposing tip. As such, each of the plurality of pultruded rods is received within the enclosed primary outer casing and secured therein via a first resin material. Further, an arrangement of the plurality of pultruded rods within the primary outer casing and a relationship of a maximum dimension of each of the plurality of pultruded rods and a maximum dimension of the enclosed primary outer casing are configured to maximize flexibility of the rotor blade component.

Wind turbine rotor blade components formed using pultruded rods

A method for manufacturing a root section of a wind turbine blade includes assembling a mold having an inner cylinder segment, an outer cylinder segment, and a bottom flange, wherein a radial space is defined between the inner and outer cylinders. Root hub connectors are attached circumferentially around the bottom flange so that the root hub connectors extend axially into the radial space. A first cartridge of pultruded rods is loaded into the space, wherein the first cartridge includes a plurality of first pultruded rods arranged adjacent to the inner cylinder segment. The space is sealed, for example with a lid or top flange, and the space is evacuated. A resin is infused into the space so that the resin migrates through the radial space between the pultruded rods, and is then cured. The root section is then removed from the mold. A wind turbine blade root section formed by the method is encompassed by the invention.

Method for manufacturing a wind turbine rotor blade root section with pultruded rods and associated wind turbine blade

The present disclosure is directed to a method of manufacturing a rotor blade for a wind turbine. The method includes providing a blade mold of the rotor blade. Another step includes placing an outer skin layer in the blade mold. The method also includes placing one or more structural inserts in the blade mold atop the outer skin layer as a function of a load of the rotor blade. Further, each of the structural inserts includes a plurality of cells arranged in a predetermined pattern. Further, the cells have varying cell sizes. The method also includes placing an inner skin layer atop the one or more structural inserts and securing the outer skin layer, the one or more structural inserts, and the inner skin layer together to form the rotor blade.

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Greenville, SC, United States of America

Bensely Albert