General Electric Company

Other

Peggy Lynn Baehmann

Nicholas Joseph Kray

Stefaan Guido Van Nieuwenhove

Shu Ching Quek

Scott Roger Finn

Robert Michael Zirin

Fulton Jose Lopez

Stephen Bertram Johnson

Chandra Sekher Yerramalli

James Robert Tobin

Daniel Jason Erno

Seyed Gholamali Saddoughi

Wendy Wen-Ling Lin

Waseem Ibrahim Faidi

Thomas Merzhaeuser

Anurag Gupta

Matthew Patrick Boespflug

Gregory Carl Gemeinhardt

Bowden Kirkpatrick

Thomas Miebach

Youdong Zhou

Grama Narasimhaprasad Praveen

Norman Arnold Turnquist

Stefan Herr

Steven Robert Hayashi

Todd Alan Anderson

Ian David Wilson

Richard Nils Dawson

Leonardo Cesar Kammer

Alan Majors Walker

Iacopo Giovannetti

Gary Randall Barnes

Eric Telfeyan

Shatil Sinha

Huageng Luo

Andrea Massini

Dong-Jin Shim

Peter James Fritz

Grover Andrew Bennett, Jr

Murray Fisher

Grover Andrew Bennett

Dmytro Floriyovych Opaits

Jaikumar Loganathan

Andrew McCalip

Don Conrad Johnson

Dmitry Opaits

Vasanth Kumar Balaramudu

Robert John Naumiec

Joel Primmer White

Mohammad Salah Attia

Gang Qian

Anindya Sengupta

Xianglei Chen

Dong Jin Shim

Ken Ivcar Salas

Haifeng Zhao

A method for manufacturing an outer skin of a rotor blade includes forming an outer skin layer of the outer skin from a first combination of at least one of one or more resins or fiber materials. The method also includes forming an inner skin layer of the outer skin from a second combination of at least one of one or more resins or fiber materials. More specifically, the first and second combinations are different. Further, the method includes arranging the outer and inner skin layers together in a stacked configuration. In addition, the method includes joining the outer and inner skin layers together to form the outer skin.

Methods for manufacturing an outer skin of a rotor blade

A blade member includes a leading edge, a trailing edge, and a blade body extending therebetween. The blade member also includes a dovetail, a transition region, and a transition relief. The dovetail includes a dovetail chord line extending between an axially forward face of the dovetail and an axially aft face of the dovetail. The dovetail chord line has a dovetail chord length. The transition region is formed between the blade body and the dovetail. The blade body and the transition region form a blade body transition chord line at the interface of the blade body and the transition region which has a blade body transition chord length. The transition relief includes a geometric relief in at least one of a forward and an aft end of the transition region and the dovetail. The dovetail chord length is less than the blade body transition chord length.

Apparatus for dovetail chord relief for marine propeller

A method for manufacturing a rotor blade panel of a wind turbine includes placing one or more fiber-reinforced outer skins into a mold of the rotor blade panel. The method also includes printing and depositing, via a computer numeric control (CNC) device, a plurality of rib members that form at least one three-dimensional (3-D) reinforcement grid structure onto an inner surface of the one or more fiber-reinforced outer skins. Further, the grid structure bonds to the one or more fiber-reinforced outer skins as the grid structure is deposited. Moreover, the method includes printing at least one additional feature into the grid structure.

Methods for manufacturing wind turbine rotor blade panels having printed grid structures

An apparatus and system for a marine propeller assembly are provided. An aft retention member that may be used with the marine propeller assembly includes a base, an opposing nose and a conic body extending therebetween along a centerline normal to the base. The aft retention member also includes at least one protuberance extending radially away from a surface of the conic body. The protuberance extends axially along a surface of the aft retention member from the base arcuately convergent to a predetermined point between the base and a tip of the nose.

Apparatus and system for propeller blade aft retention

An apparatus and system for a marine propeller assembly are provided. In one aspect, the marine propeller assembly includes a plurality of circumferentially-spaced blades that each include a dovetail having a radial inner surface. The marine propeller assembly also includes a hub including a plurality of circumferentially-spaced dovetail receiving portions configured to receive a corresponding dovetail of the plurality of blades. At least one gap is formed between the radial inner surface and at least a portion of the dovetail receiving portion.

Apparatus and system for marine propeller blade dovetail stress reduction

A propeller assembly is provided. The propeller assembly includes a central hub including a forward end, an aft end, and a hub body extending therebetween along an axis of rotation of the central hub. The propeller assembly further includes a first retention member including a first radial interference member, the first retention member coupled to the forward end of the central hub and a second retention member including a second radial interference member, the second retention member coupled to the aft end of the central hub. The propeller assembly also includes a fairing platform extending between the first retention member and the second retention member, wherein the fairing platform is retained by the first radial interference member and by the second radial interference member.

Method and system for improving flow characteristics in marine propellers

An aerodynamic dome component that is placed in front of a wind turbine hub includes an outer ring, a central axle disposed relative to the outer ring, a plurality of radially extending tensioning members and a skin-like covering. The plurality of radially extending tensioning members are coupled to the outer ring at a first end and to the central axle at a second end. The outer ring, the plurality of radially extending tensioning members and the central axle together form an underlying dome support structure. The skin-like covering is configured to envelop at least a portion of the underlying dome support structure to form at least a portion of the aerodynamic dome component and define a front dome portion. The skin-like covering enveloping at least a portion of the underlying dome support structure may further define a rear dome portion, wherein the rear dome portion is configured downwind from the front dome portion.

Wind turbine dome and method of assembly

A propeller assembly that includes a hub having an outer radial surface and a plurality of wedge retaining members removably coupled to the hub. The plurality of wedge retaining members are spaced circumferentially about the outer radial surface such that a dovetail slot is defined between adjacent wedge retaining members. The assembly also includes at least one propeller blade including a root portion having a dovetail profile. The root portion is coupled to the hub and positioned within the dovetail slot. The plurality of wedge retaining members are configured to restrict radial movement of the root portion within the dovetail slot.

Propeller assembly and method of assembling

A deployable aerodynamic component configured to be mounted to a wind turbine. The wind turbine includes at least one rotor blade. The deployable aerodynamic component configured to be positioned in front of an inner portion of the at least one rotor blade, and is structurally configured to cover a substantial portion of the inner portion of the at least one rotor blade in a wind direction during deployment of the deployable aerodynamic component and to allow the passage therethrough of an incoming wind when non-deployed. Further described is a wind turbine including the above-described deployable aerodynamic component and method for aerodynamic performance enhancement of an existing wind turbine, wherein the method includes mounting the above-described deployable aerodynamic component to a wind turbine.

Apparatus and method for aerodynamic performance enhancement of a wind turbine

A composite article including composite component mounted on a spar including a shank extending heightwise from below component base up into composite component. Tab at an upper end of shank substantially or fully embedded in the composite component and at least one ply surface pattern of the composite component contacting and generally conforming to at least one spar surface pattern on the tab. Spar surface pattern may include spaced apart spar surface protrusions with spar surface spaces therebetween and spar surface protrusions extending outwardly from spar and disposed between tows in ply surface pattern. Tows may be layed up in spar surface spaces. Spar surface pattern may include continuous or segmented spaced spar surface protrusions and spar surface spaces therebetween with tows in ply surface pattern disposed in spar surface spaces. The composite article may be a composite blade or vane including a composite airfoil.

Attachment of composite article

A rotary machine includes a machine stator and a machine rotor rotatable relative to the machine stator and having a metal shaft portion, a composite impeller portion, and at least a first metal ring portion securing the composite impeller portion to the metal shaft portion, the metal ring portion having a first interface with the composite impeller portion and a second interface with the metal shaft portion.

Rotary machine including a machine rotor with a composite impeller portion and a metal shaft portion

A composite article including composite component extending heightwise from a component base to a component tip and lengthwise between spaced apart component first and second edges. Component plies having widthwise spaced apart ply first and second sides and ply edges therebetween. Component mounted on a spar which includes a shank extending heightwise into the composite component, tab at upper end of shank and substantially or fully embedded in the composite component, and tab tip. Ply edges of at least a first portion of the plies directly or indirectly contacting or pressing against the tab. Ply edges of at least a second portion of the plies may directly or indirectly contact or press against the tab tip. Ply edges of first portion may press against one or more indented or recessed surfaces in the tab. The composite article may be a composite blade or vane including a composite airfoil.

A propeller assembly includes a central hub including a first forward-facing end, a second aft-facing end, a hub body extending therebetween, and a plurality of channels spaced circumferentially around the central hub. The propeller assembly further includes blade wedges configured to be inserted into and to retain blades within the channels of the central hub. Each blade includes a blade dovetail including a dovetail face configured to engage a respective channel sidewall and/or a respective wedge sidewall. The dovetail face includes a bearing portion that engages the respective channel sidewall and/or the respective wedge sidewall and a clearance portion that is spaced from the respective channel sidewall and/or the respective wedge sidewall by a clearance gap during a first loading of the propeller assembly and that engages the respective channel sidewall or wedge sidewall during a second loading, the second loading greater than the first loading.

System for composite marine propellers

A fluid turbine blade and method of fabrication are provided. The fluid turbine blade includes a centrally disposed longitudinal spar having a substantially circumferential cross section. The fluid turbine blade also includes at least one chord stiffener coupled to the longitudinal spar. The fluid turbine blade further includes a torsionally compliant segmented skin coupled to the at least one chord stiffener. The centrally disposed longitudinal spar and the torsionally compliant segmented skin are functionally decoupled to relieve the torsionally compliant segmented skin of one or more of a flapwise load condition, an edgewise load condition and a torsional load condition.

Fluid turbine blade with torsionally compliant skin and method of providing the same

A wind blade is provided. The wind blade includes a body having an aerodynamic contour extended between a blade root and a blade tip. The wind blade also includes an extension tip sleeve arranged over the blade tip. The extension tip sleeve further includes a first portion having an extension blade and one or more structural ribs arranged on a pressure side of the wind blade. The extension tip sleeve also includes a second portion having a support structure located on a suction side of the wind blade. Furthermore, the wind blade includes a fairing having an airfoil shape for covering the one or more structural ribs, and the support structure of the extension tip sleeve.

Extension tip sleeve for wind turbine blade

Growing community of inventors

Glenville, NY, United States of America

Peggy Lynn Baehmann