General Electric Company

Lm Wind Power A/s

Jamie Thomas Livingston

Jan Willem Bakhuis

Andrew Billen

Sjef Van Breugel

Stephen Bertram Johnson

James Robert Tobin

Wendy Wen-Ling Lin

Alan Majors Walker

Howard Daniel Driver

Matthew G Gann

Aaron Alpheus Yarbrough

Christopher Daniel Caruso

Stefan Herr

Robert Michael Zirin

Shu Ching Quek

Kevin James Standish

Bowden Kirkpatrick

Nicholas Keane Althoff

Richard Hardison

Eric Lee Bell

Youdong Zhou

Grama Narasimhaprasad Praveen

Peggy Lynne Baehmann

Waseem Ibrahim Faidi

Kevin Wayne Kinzie

Andrew Mitchell Rodwell

Bruce Clark Busbey

Scott Gabell Riddell

Brandon Shane Gerber

Nilesh Tralshawala

Changting Wang

Amir Riahi

Shridhar Champaknath Nath

Biju Nanukuttan

Xu Chen

Donald Joseph Kasperski

Aparna Chakrapani Sheila-Vadde

Klaus Ulrich Koegler

Yaru Najem Mendez Hernandez

Roger Drobietz

Mandar Diwakar Godbole

Murray Fisher

Andrzej Michal May

Bensely Albert

Edward McBeth Stewart

Steven Haines Olson

Mohamad Sultan

Thomas B Jenkins

Dirk Jan Kootstra

Nicholas Joseph Tobergte

Theodosia Kourkoutsaki

Nicolas K Althoff

Arthur H E Burke

Sjef Breugel

The present disclosure is directed to a method for forming a wind turbine rotor blade. The method includes placing first and second prefabricated skin panels defining a portion of a root section of the wind turbine rotor blade, a pressure side of the wind turbine rotor blade, or a suction side of the wind turbine rotor blade in a mold. The first and second prefabricated skin panels partially overlap to define a connection region. A vacuum bag is placed over the mold. The connection region is infused with a resin.

Method for forming a rotor blade for a wind turbine

The present disclosure is directed to methods for manufacturing wind turbine rotor blades and components thereof. In one embodiment, the method includes forming an outer surface of a rotor blade panel from one or more fiber-reinforced outer skins. The method also includes printing and depositing at least one reinforcement structure onto an inner surface of the one or more fiber-reinforced outer skins to form the rotor blade panel, wherein the reinforcement structure bonds to the one or more fiber-reinforced outer skins as the reinforcement structure is being deposited.

Methods for manufacturing wind turbine rotor blades and components thereof

The present disclosure is directed to a method of manufacturing a rotor blade component of a wind turbine is disclosed. The method includes placing at least one first pultruded member into a curved rotor blade component mold. More specifically, the first pultruded member includes at least one design characteristic configured to allow the first pultruded member to sit substantially flush against an inner surface of the curved rotor blade component mold. The method also includes placing at least one second pultruded member atop the at least one first pultruded member and infusing the first and second pultruded members together to form the rotor blade component.

Methods of manufacturing rotor blade components for a wind turbine

The present disclosure is directed to methods for manufacturing wind turbine rotor blades and components thereof, e.g. using 3D printing. In one embodiment, the method includes forming a rotor blade structure having a first surface and an opposing, second surface, the first and second surfaces being substantially flat. Another step includes printing a leading edge segment of the rotor blade onto the first surface, wherein heat from the printing bonds the leading edge segment to the first surface. The method also includes rotating the rotor blade structure having the leading edge segment attached thereto. A further step includes printing a trailing edge segment of the rotor blade onto the second surface, wherein heat from the printing bonds the trailing edge segment to the second surface. Another step includes securing one or more fiber-reinforced outer skins to the leading and trailing edge segments so as to complete the rotor blade.

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 wind turbine blade shell component is made by providing a plurality of first pultrusion plates formed of a first fiber material, and a plurality of second pultrusion plates formed of a second fiber material. The first and second pultrusion plates are stacked in a hybrid pattern that includes a first section containing a plurality of the first and second pultrusion plates having a length shorter than an entire length of a spar cap for a wind turbine blade shell, and a core section having a continuous unbroken length of the second fiber material corresponding to an entire length of the spar cap. The stacked pattern is arranged on blade shell materials in a mold for the blade shell component and is bonded with the blade shell materials to form the blade shell component.

Wind turbine blade with hybrid spar cap and associated method for making

A wind turbine blade component is made by providing a plurality of first pultrusion plates formed of a first pultrusion fiber material, and a plurality of second pultrusion plates formed of a second pultrusion fiber material. The first and second pultrusion plates have a length corresponding to an entire length of a spar cap for a wind turbine blade shell. The first and second pultrusion plates are stacked in a hybrid pattern that contains both first and second pultrusion plates, and the stack is arranged on blade shell material in a mold for the blade shell. The stacked hybrid pattern of first and second pultrusion plates is bonded with the blade shell materials to form an integral blade shell and bonded spar cap component.

The present disclosure is directed to tip extensions for wind turbine rotor blades and methods of installing same. The method includes removing a removable blade tip of a lightning protection system from the rotor blade so as to expose a down conductor of the lightning protection system. The method also includes securing a conductive extension to the down conductor. Moreover, the method includes sliding the first end of the tip extension over the conductive extension so as to overlap the rotor blade at the tip end. In addition, the method includes securing the removable blade tip to the conductive extension at the second end of the tip extension. Further, the method includes securing the tip extension to the rotor blade.

Tip extensions for wind turbine rotor blades and methods of installing same

The present disclosure is directed to a system and method for reducing electrical arcs caused by lightning strikes in a rotor blade of a wind turbine. The rotor blade includes a lightning protection system with at least one lightning receptor connected to at least one conductor and a conduit assembly. The conduit assembly has one or more conduit members configured to route the conductor of the lightning protection system from a first blade location to a second blade location so as to maximize a distance between the conductor and one or more conductive rotor blade components.

Conduit assembly for a lightning protection cable of a wind turbine rotor blade

A rotor blade assembly for a wind turbine includes a rotor blade having a pressure side member, a suction side member, a leading edge, and a trailing edge extending between a tip and a root. An electrically conductive band extends longitudinally on either or both of the pressure side member and suction side member along the trailing edge. A plurality of electrically conductive noise reduction features extend from the trailing edge and are configured as individual lightning strike receptors. The noise reduction features are configured in conductive communication with the conductive band.

Integrated lightning receptor system and trailing edge noise reducer for a wind turbine rotor blade

A system for containing or transporting wind turbine components is provided. The system includes at least one container for receiving at least a portion of the wind turbine components, and the wind turbine components are arranged within the container in a nested configuration.

System for containing and/or transporting wind turbine components

The invention provides a drive coil and measurement probe comprising the drive coil. The measurement probes can be used, for example, in in-situ, non-destructive testing methods, also provided herein.

Drive coil, measurement probe comprising the drive coil and methods utilizing the measurement probe

A rotor blade assembly for a wind turbine is disclosed. The rotor blade assembly includes a rotor blade having surfaces defining a pressure side, a suction side, a leading edge, and a trailing edge extending between a tip and a root. The rotor blade further includes a noise reducer configured on a surface of the rotor blade, the noise reducer comprising a plurality of serrations, each of the plurality of serrations defining a centerline. The centerline of each of the plurality of serrations defines a individual tailored angle dependent on at least one of span-wise location, local chord, width, length, bend angle, and thickness.

Noise reducer for rotor blade in wind turbine

A method of manufacturing a wind turbine rotor blade includes, in one embodiment, the steps of providing a core, and applying at least one reinforcing skin to the core to form a blade subassembly. Each reinforcing skin is formed from a mat of reinforcing fibers. The method also includes applying a micro-porous membrane over the at least one reinforcing skin, applying a vacuum film over the micro-porous membrane, introducing a polymeric resin to the core, infusing the resin through the core and through the at least one reinforcing skin by applying a vacuum to the blade assembly, and curing the resin to form the rotor blade.

Methods of making wind turbine rotor blades

An integrated shipping and alignment fixture for shipping and aligning a jointed multi-section wind turbine blade is provided. The fixture includes a first shipping fixture supporting a first end of a section of the multi-section wind turbine blade; a second shipping fixture supporting a second end of a section of the multi-section wind turbine blade; supports on the the first shipping fixture and the second shipping fixture for retaining one end of the section of the wind turbine blade; an aligning device for aligning a detached section of the multi-section wind turbine blade with a retained section of the wind turbine blade; and a clamping device for clamping a detached section with a retained section.

Integrated shipping fixture and assembly method for jointed wind turbine blades

Growing community of inventors

Simpsonville, SC, United States of America

Jamie Thomas Livingston