General Electric Company

Lm Wind Power A/s

Richard Hardison

Aaron Alpheus Yarbrough

Christopher Daniel Caruso

Jamie Thomas Livingston

James Robert Tobin

Glen Peter Koste

Wendy Wen-Ling Lin

Scott Gabell Riddell

Amir Riahi

Joseph Lawrence Chacon

Biju Nanukuttan

Peter James Fritz

Yaru Najem Mendez Hernandez

Steven Haines Olson

Matthew G Gann

Eric Michael Shain

Yaru Mendez Hernandez

Jignesh Patel

Theodosia Kourkoutsaki

Gerald Curtin

The present disclosure is directed to a rotor blade assembly for a wind turbine. The rotor blade assembly includes a rotor blade having a body shell with a pressure side, a suction side, a leading edge, and a trailing edge each extending between a root portion and a tip portion. Further, the rotor blade assembly includes a protection system configured to protect the rotor blade from ice accumulation or a lightning strike. The protection system includes at least one organic conductive element configured within the rotor blade. The protection system also includes a conductor source electrically or thermally coupled to the organic conductive element. Thus, the conductor source is configured to heat the organic conductive element so as to prevent ice from accumulating on the rotor blade or to provide a conductive path for the lightning strike.

Organic conductive elements for deicing and lightning protection of a wind turbine rotor blade

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

A spar cap for a rotor blade of a wind turbine is disclosed. The rotor blade includes a blade root and a blade tip, leading and trailing edges, pressure and suction sides, and at least one spar cap configured on an internal surface of either or both the pressure or suction sides. The spar cap includes one or more layers of a first material and a second conductive material contacting at least one of the layers of the first material. Further, the conductive material is different than the first material. Thus, the conductive material is configured with the first material so as to create an equipotential spar cap.

Spar cap for a wind turbine rotor blade

The present disclosure is directed to a lightning protection system for a wind turbine rotor blade. The lightning protection system includes a lightning conductive circuit having at least one electrical conductor and at least one semiconductor. The semiconductor is configured for placement at a blade root of the rotor blade. Further, the electrical conductor is configured to electrically couple a blade tip of the rotor blade to a ground conductor. In addition, the electrical conductor is configured to electrically couple the semiconductor between one or more spar caps located on either or both of the pressure or suction sides at the blade root and the ground conductor.

Lightning protection system for wind turbine rotor blades

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 wind turbine rotor blade includes a plurality of lightning receptors configured along either or both of the pressure side or suction side of the blade. At least one looped lightning conductive circuit is provided, with the lightning receptors configured in communication with a respective lightning conductive circuit. The lightning conductive circuit has terminal ends that extend through the root for connection of each terminal end with a grounding system within the wind turbine. The looped lightning conductive circuit provides a redundant path to each lightning receptor for conducting a lightning strike to ground.

Wind turbine rotor blades with enhanced lightning protection system

A lightning detection system and method for detecting a lightning strike are provided. The system includes a lightning detector in a structure susceptible to a lightning strike. The lightning detector includes a data logger configured to log data indicative of a time of occurrence of the lightning strike. The system further includes memory to store data collected from a wide-area lightning detection network. The stored data includes at least one characteristic of the lightning strike. A processor may be configured to process data from the data logger relative to data collected from the wide-area lightning detection network to determine correlated data indicative of a lightning strike affecting the structure. In the event correlated data is determined, the processor may be configured to assign the characteristic of the lightning strike to the structure.

System and method for detecting lightning strikes likely to affect a condition of a structure

A rotor blade for a wind turbine is provided. The rotor blade includes a rotor blade body, at least one receptor adapted to be a location for lightning impact, and at least one down conductor connected to the receptor and located within the rotor blade body. The down conductor includes a first conductor connected to the receptor and a ground connection of the wind turbine, and a second insulated conductor connected to the receptor and a non-grounded location of the wind turbine. A path is formed from the ground connection of the first conductor to the non-grounded location of the second insulated conductor. This path facilitates a continuity test used to evaluate a condition of the lightning protection system.

Growing community of inventors

Greenville, SC, United States of America

Richard Hardison