General Electric Company

Bowden Kirkpatrick

Mark Ernest Vermilyea

Shu Ching Quek

Youdong Zhou

Grama Narasimhaprasad Praveen

Wendy Wen-Ling Lin

Robert Michael Zirin

Ming Xie

Jamie Thomas Livingston

Peggy Lynn Baehmann

Stefaan Guido Van Nieuwenhove

Mitchell Harold Boyer

Elliott Keller Schulte

David Louis Callahan

Jason Michael Seabrease

Peggy Lynne Baehmann

Benjamin Ferrell

Derrick Wayne Lamm

Melissa Ann Marie Bramell

Nicholas Joseph Kray

Hua Xia

Glen Peter Koste

Renato Guida

Todd Alan Anderson

Philip Alexander Shoemaker

Sachin Narahari Dekate

Haiyan Sun

Peter Michael Finnigan

Dongming Dominic Gao

Paul Jeffrey Gillespie

Yosang Yoon

Sunilkumar Onkarnath Soni

Gang Qian

Xianglei Chen

Benjamin Wayne Ferrell

Alexander Joseph Vallee, Jr

Mosharraf Hossain

Terrence Paul Vernes

Alexander Joseph Vallee

Po-Ching Yeh

Jr Alexander Joseph Vallee

A method is provided for forming a composite article to have a primary composite structure and an integral secondary composite structure that extends out of a plane defined by the primary composite structure. The method includes laying-up first plies to construct the primary composite structure. The first plies contain continuous reinforcement material and extend from a first zone that will define the primary composite structure into a second zone that will define the secondary composite structure. During laying-up of the first plies, additional plies are interleaved with the first plies within the second zone but not the first zone. The additional plies originate within a build-up zone between the first and second zones and extend therefrom into the second zone. After interleaving the plies, the build-up zone is deformed to orient the second zone and form the secondary composite structure that extends out of the plane defined by the continuous reinforcement material of the first plies.

Composite article and methods therefor

A method of manufacturing a flanged composite component is provided. The method includes coupling a composite structure to s first composite material. The method includes coupling a second composite material to the composite structure and placing a first expansion device within the composite structure. A forming element is coupled to at least one of the first composite material, the composite structure, and the second composite material against the mold. The method includes coupling a pressure element to the forming element to define a space among the mold, the forming element, and the pressure element. The method includes expanding the first expansion device to impart a force to the second composite material to move the second composite material away from the composite structure and into the space to facilitate forming a first flange.

Apparatus for manufacturing a flanged composite component and methods of manufacturing the same

A hybrid metal and composite spool includes metal rings on an outer diameter of a composite spool shell. Metal rings may include features such as annular or axial dovetail slots. Adhesive layers may be between the metal rings and composite shell which may be connected by a shrink bonded joint. The metal rings may include a single seal tooth ring with an annular radially extending seal tooth. A method for fabricating the spool may include fabricating one or more metal rings with the features therein, positioning the metal rings in place on an outer surface of an uncured composite spool shell of the spool before curing the shell, and curing the shell with the one or more metal rings positioned in place. Alternatively, rings may be heated to a temperature at least sufficient to slide rings over a cured composite shell, and allowed to cool and shrink onto shell.

Hybrid metal and composite spool for rotating machinery

An apparatus for forming a flange on a component is provided. The apparatus comprises a mold disposed for placement of the component thereon, a forming element configured to hold the component on the mold to facilitate formation of the flange, and a pressure element configured to cooperate with the mold to define a space therebetween. The apparatus further comprises a bladder disposed in the space and configured to impart a forming force to a portion of the component to form the flange on the component when the bladder is inflated. A method for forming a flange on a component is also presented.

Apparatus for forming flanges on components

An apparatus and methods for manufacturing a flanged component from a composite lay-up are provided. The apparatus includes a support structure coupled to the composite lay-up and a mold ring coupled to the support structure. The mold ring includes a ring guide surface and a radial contact surface that is configured to couple to the composite lay-up. The apparatus further includes a mold plate coupled to the mold ring. The mold plate includes a recessed surface and a plate guide surface, where the recessed surface is configured to couple to the composite lay-up and the plate guide surface is configured to couple to the ring guide surface. The apparatus also includes an autoclave that applies pressure to the mold ring and the mold plate to move the plate guide surface along the ring guide surface to apply pressure to the composite lay-up.

Apparatus for manufacturing a flanged component and methods of manufacturing the same

A system is provided for monitoring a relative displacement of a pair of end-winding components. The system includes a structure mounted to the end-winding components at an angle with respect to the end-winding components for monitoring the relative displacement. The system further includes an optical fiber with a first portion including a fiber Bragg grating mounted to a surface of the structure to experience a strain resulting from a strain of the structure due to the relative displacement. The optical fiber includes a second portion internally routed through in the structure to the first portion mounted to the surface. The structure is configured so that the strain produced by the structure limits a magnitude of the strain of the fiber Bragg grating within a predetermined range over a span of the relative displacement of the end-winding components.

System for monitoring a relative displacement of components

A method includes joining an integral bulkhead and a blade shell to form a blade and separating the blade into two blade segments at a location including the integral bulkhead such that each blade segment comprises a portion of the integral bulkhead and a portion of the blade shell.

Turbine blade fabrication

A multi segment wind turbine blade comprises at least two blade segments. A first blade segment comprises an outer skin, a bulkhead, and first alignment brackets removably coupled to the outer skin of the first blade segment. A first portion of a flange of the bulkhead is bonded to the first blade segment and a second portion of the flange of the bulkhead projects out from the first blade segment. A second blade segment comprises an outer skin and second alignment brackets removably coupled to the outer skin of the first blade segment. The first and second alignment brackets are alignable upon the outer side of the second blade segment being inserted over the second portion of the flange of the bulkhead.

Method for assembling a multi-segment wind turbine blade

A method is described for making a composite laminate formed by curing a stacked structure comprising at least two layers of strips of fibrous material impregnated with resin, wherein the strips in adjacent layers have different directional orientations. An apparatus is provided for simultaneously separating a band of fibrous material impregnated with resin into strips and depositing the strips between adjacent pin rows of a pinmat to form the stacked structure.

Method of manufacture of composite laminates, an assembly therefor, and related articles

An application and infusion system for applying a resin to one or more fiber tows and for infusing the fiber tows with the resin, wherein each of the fiber tows is moving at a respective fiber speed. The application and infusion system includes a deposition and infusion system comprising one or more nozzles configured to deposit the resin on a respective one of the fiber tows. The system further includes a controller configured to control a flow rate of the resin through each of the nozzles relative to the fiber speed of the respective ones of the fiber tows. Other aspects of the application and infusion system are also provided.

Resin application and infusion system

A turbine blade includes at least two blade segments. Each blade segment includes first and second shells joined together, a base region, at least one joint region including a mating face. Each of the first and second shells includes an outer skin, a base spar cap attached to an inner surface of the outer skin in the base region, a joint spar cap attached to the inner surface of the outer skin in the joint region and adjacent to at least a portion of the base spar cap. The joint spar cap includes holes in the mating face of the joint region. The turbine blade further includes fasteners within the holes for securing the at least two blade segments together.

Turbine blade and method of fabricating the same

A multi-segment wind turbine blade comprises at least two blade segments. A first spar cap segment is attached to a first blade segment and a second spar cap segment is attached to a second blade segment. The first and second spar cap segments are configured to form a scarf joint. First and second spar cap brackets are attached in locations of the first and second spar cap segments, respectively, selected to facilitate alignment of the first and second spar cap segments at the scarf joint. At a field site, the first and second spar cap segments are bonded after fastening the first and second spar cap brackets.

Multi-segment wind turbine blade and method for assembling the same

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Bennington, VT, United States of America

Bowden Kirkpatrick