General Electric Company

David Patrick Cripps

Andrew Mitchell Rodwell

Alan Majors Walker

Afroz Akhtar

James Paul Davidson

Nicholas Michael Seruntine

Revathy Murugappan

Miguel Cabrera Lange

A method for manufacturing a rotor blade root assembly includes placing outer skin layer(s) onto a blade mold and arranging a root plate with a plurality of through holes adjacent to an end face of the blade mold. The method also includes placing a plurality of root inserts atop the outer skin layer(s) and abutting against the root plate, with each of the root inserts defining a fastener hole. The method also includes inserting a root fastener into each of the aligned through holes and longitudinal fastener holes. Moreover, the method includes placing inner skin layer(s) atop the root inserts. Further, the root plate may include at least one fluid hole configured therethrough to provide a non-gas tight root plate. Alternatively, at least one seal may be arranged between the root plate and the blade mold that forms a non-gas tight connection with either or both of the root plate or the blade mold during a vacuum infusion process. Thus, the method includes securing the outer skin layer(s), the root inserts, the inner skin layer(s), and the root fasteners together to form the root assembly via the vacuum infusion process.

Method for manufacturing a wind turbine rotor blade root assembly

A rotor blade assembly for a wind turbine includes a pressure side and a suction side extending between a leading edge and a trailing edge. A generally cylindrical blade root section has a flush root end configured to attach the rotor blade assembly to a hub. A plurality of span-wise extending root inserts are disposed around and molded into the cylindrical blade root section, with each root insert having an end face and defining an internally threaded bore configured for receipt of a bolt member for attaching the rotor blade assembly to the hub. A metallic flange is disposed at an end of one of the root inserts. The metallic flange is flush with the end faces of adjacent root inserts such that the metallic flange and end faces of the root inserts lie in a common flush plane of the root end.

Wind turbine rotor blade root insert with integrated flange member

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Sandown, United Kingdom

David Patrick Cripps