JOINT SLEEVE FOR A ROTOR BLADE ASSEMBLY OF A WIND TURBINE
A joint sleeve for assembling together a first blade section and a second blade section of a rotor blade assembly is disclosed. The joint sleeve may include an outer surface and an inner surface defining a cavity. The cavity may be configured to receive a joint end of the first blade section and a joint end of the second blade section. The joint sleeve may also include a plurality of openings defined between the outer and inner surfaces. The openings may be configured to receive fasteners for securing the joint ends of the first and second blade sections within the cavity. Additionally, a profile of the outer surface may be configured to generally correspond to an aerodynamic profile of the first and second blade sections such that a substantially continuous aerodynamic profile is defined between the first and second blade sections when the joint ends are inserted within the cavity.
Latest General Electric Patents:
- HEAT EXCHANGER INCLUDING FURCATING UNIT CELLS
- SYSTEMS FOR FLUID SUPPLY CONTAINMENT WITHIN ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING APPARATUSES
- APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR RAPID CHARGING USING SHARED POWER ELECTRONICS
- RECOAT ASSEMBLIES INCLUDING POWDER CONTAINMENT MECHANISMS AND ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS INCLUDING SAME
- LIQUID AND POWDER MATERIAL HANDLING SYSTEMS WITHIN ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING AND METHODS FOR THEIR USE
The present subject matter relates generally to rotor blades of a wind turbine and, more particularly, to a joint sleeve for joining blade sections of a rotor blade assembly.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONWind power is considered one of the cleanest, most environmentally friendly energy sources presently available, and wind turbines have gained increased attention in this regard. A modern wind turbine typically includes a tower, generator, gearbox, nacelle, and one or more rotor blades. The rotor blades capture kinetic energy from wind using known foil principles and transmit the kinetic energy through rotational energy to turn a shaft coupling the rotor blades to a gearbox, or if a gearbox is not used, directly to the generator. The generator then converts the mechanical energy to electrical energy that may be deployed to a utility grid.
To ensure that wind power remains a viable energy source, efforts have been made to improve the overall performance of wind turbines by modifying the size, shape and configuration of wind turbine rotor blades. One such modification has been to alter the configuration of the tip of the rotor blade. In particular, blade tips may be specifically designed to enhance or improve various aspects of a rotor blade's performance. For example, certain blade tips may be designed to operate efficiently in specific wind classes. Additionally, blade tips may be configured to enhance specific operating conditions of the wind turbine, such as by being configured to lower torque or reduce noise.
Thus, given that different operating advantages may be provided to a wind turbine depending on the configuration of the blade tip, it would be advantageous to have an attachment device that allowed for the quick and efficient assembly and disassembly of blade tips on and from a rotor blade. However, known attachment devices are typically complex and are manually intensive to install. Additionally, such attachment devices make it difficult to accurately align the blade tip with the remainder of the rotor blade.
Accordingly, there is a need for a simple and efficient attachment device for joining two blade sections of a rotor blade assembly.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTIONAspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the following description, or may be obvious from the description, or may be learned through practice of the invention.
In one aspect, the present subject matter discloses a rotor blade assembly for a wind turbine. The rotor blade assembly generally includes a first blade section having a joint end and defining an aerodynamic profile and a second blade section having a joint end and defining an aerodynamic profile. The rotor blade assembly also includes a joint sleeve having an inner surface and an outer surface. The inner surface may generally define a cavity configured to receive the joint ends of the first and second blade sections. Additionally, the rotor blade assembly may include a plurality of fasteners configured to secure the joint ends of the first and second blade sections within the cavity. Further, a profile of the outer surface of the joint sleeve may generally correspond to the aerodynamic profiles of the first and second blade sections such that a substantially continuous aerodynamic profile is defined between the first and second blade sections when the joint ends are inserted within the cavity.
In another aspect, the present subject matter discloses a joint sleeve for assembling together a first blade section and a second blade section of a rotor blade assembly. The joint sleeve may include an outer surface and an inner surface defining a cavity. The cavity may have a root end configured to receive a joint end of the first blade section and a tip end configured to receive a joint end of the second blade section. The joint sleeve may also include a plurality of openings defined between the outer and inner surfaces. The openings may be configured to receive a plurality of fasteners for securing the joint ends of the first and second blade sections within the cavity. Additionally, a profile of the outer surface may be configured to generally correspond to an aerodynamic profile of the first and second blade sections such that a substantially continuous aerodynamic profile is defined between the first and second blade sections when the joint ends are inserted within the cavity.
In a further aspect, the present subject matter discloses a tip assembly for a rotor blade of a wind turbine. The tip assembly may generally include a joint sleeve having an inner surface defining a cavity and an outer surface defining an aerodynamic profile. The joint sleeve may also include a tip end and a root end. The tip assembly may also include a tip section extending between a joint end disposed within the cavity and a blade tip. The tip section may define an aerodynamic profile generally corresponding to the aerodynamic profile of the joint sleeve at the tip end. Additionally, tip assembly may include a plurality of fasteners configured to secure the joint end of the tip section within the cavity. Further, a portion of the cavity disposed at the root end of the joint sleeve may be configured to receive an end of a separate section of the rotor blade.
These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description and appended claims. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
A full and enabling disclosure of the present invention, including the best mode thereof, directed to one of ordinary skill in the art, is set forth in the specification, which makes reference to the appended figures, in which:
Reference now will be made in detail to embodiments of the invention, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the drawings. Each example is provided by way of explanation of the invention, not limitation of the invention. In fact, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. For instance, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used with another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers such modifications and variations as come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
In general, the present subject matter is directed to a joint sleeve for joining together blades sections of a rotor blade assembly. In particular, the joint sleeve may define a cavity configured to receive an end of each blade section. For example, the cavity may generally have a shape corresponding to the shape of the ends of the blade sections, such as by having a tapered, aerodynamic profile corresponding to the tapered, aerodynamic profiles of the blade section ends. Suitable fasteners may then be inserted around the periphery of the joint sleeve to secure the ends of the blade sections within the cavity.
The disclosed joint sleeve may generally provide for the quick and efficient assembly and disassembly of a rotor blade. As such, a blade section may be easily removed from and re-assembled onto the rotor blade for purposes of maintenance, repairs and/or for upgrading the performance of the rotor blade. For example, it may be preferable to vary the tip section of the rotor blade depending on the wind turbine operating conditions and/or the desired performance of the rotor blade assembly. Thus, by using the disclosed joint sleeve, tip sections having differing dimensions, configurations and/or aerodynamic features may be efficiently assembled onto the rotor blade and/or replaced as desired. For example, a straight tip section (e.g., a tip section extending in a substantially spanwise direction) may be replaced with a winglet-type tip section or vice versa. Similarly, a winglet having a particular configuration may be replaced with a winglet having a different configuration.
Referring now to the drawings,
Referring now to
As shown, the rotor blade assembly 100 includes a first blade section 104, a second blade section 106 and a joint sleeve 102 configured to join the blade sections 104, 106 together. In general, the rotor blade assembly 100 may be configured such that, when the first and second blade sections 104, 106 are attached within the joint sleeve 102, a complete rotor blade, defining a substantially aerodynamic profile, is formed. Thus, the complete rotor blade assembly 100 may generally include a blade root 108 (defined by the first blade section 104) configured to be mounted to the hub 18 (
In general, the first and second blade sections 104, 106 of the rotor blade assembly 100 may be configured similarly to any suitable blade section and/or blade segment known in the art. For example, each blade section 104, 106 may include a body shell 120 serving as the outer casing/covering of the blade section 104, 106 and one or more structural components (not shown) for providing stiffness and/or strength to the blade section 104, 106 (e.g., a shear web/spar cap assembly). Additionally, each blade section 104, 106 may generally define an aerodynamic profile. For instance, the body shells 120 of each blade section 104, 106 may be configured to define an airfoil shaped cross-section, such as a symmetrical or cambered airfoil shaped cross-section. Thus, as shown in
It should be appreciated that the body shells 120 may generally be formed from any suitable material. For instance, in one embodiment, each body shell 120 may be formed entirely from a laminate composite material, such as a carbon fiber-reinforced composite or a glass fiber-reinforced composite. Alternatively, one or more portions of each body shell 120 may be configured as a layered construction and may include a core material, formed from a lightweight material such as wood (e.g., balsa), foam (extruded polystyrene foam) or a combination of such materials, disposed between layers of laminate composite material.
Additionally, the first and second blade sections 104, 106 may each include a joint end 130, 131 terminating within the joint sleeve 102. Thus, in the illustrated embodiment, the first blade section 104 may generally extend from the blade root 108 of the rotor blade assembly 100 to its joint end 130 within the joint sleeve 102. Similarly, the second blade section 102 may generally extend from its joint end 131 within joint sleeve 102 to the blade tip 110 of the rotor blade assembly 100. Further, as will be described in greater detail below with reference to
Moreover, as shown in
It should be appreciated that, in embodiments in which the second blade section 106 is configured as an outboard or tip section of the rotor blade assembly 100, the second blade section 106 may generally define a relatively short length 132. For example, in several embodiments, the second blade section 106 may define a length 132 which is less than 10 meters (m) long, such as less than 5 m long or less than 3 m long and all other subranges therebetween. However, in alternative embodiments, the second blade section 106 need not be configured as a tip section of the rotor blade assembly 100 and, thus, may generally define any suitable length 132, such as a length greater than or equal to 10 m. In such embodiments, it should be appreciated that the joint sleeve 102 may generally be disposed at any suitable location along the span 112 of the rotor blade assembly 100, such as by being located at a more inboard position closer to the blade root 108.
Still referring to
It should be appreciated that the joint ends 130, 131 of the blade sections 104, 106 may generally be attached within the cavity 136 of the joint sleeve 102 using any suitable means. For example, in one embodiment, the joint ends 130, 131 may be bonded within the joint sleeve 102 using any suitable adhesive. In another embodiment, a plurality of fasteners 142 may be utilized to secure the joint ends 130, 131 within the joint sleeve 102. For example, as shown in
It should also be appreciated that the fasteners 142 described herein may generally comprise any suitable fasteners known in the art. For example, in several embodiments, the fasteners 142 may be configured as threaded fasteners, such as threaded bolts, screws and other suitable threaded fastening devices. In other embodiments, the fasteners may comprise other suitable fastening and/or attachment devices, such as pins, clips, brackets, rods, rivets, bonded fasteners and the like.
The disclosed joint sleeve 102 may also define a substantially aerodynamic profile. For example, as shown in
It should be appreciated that, in several embodiments, an additional surface feature may be applied to or positioned over the seams formed at the interfaces of the blade sections 104, 106 and the ends 138, 140 of the joint sleeve 102 to ensure that a substantially smooth aerodynamic surface is achieved. For example, in a particular embodiment, several plies of a laminate composite material may be applied around the outer perimeter of the rotor blade assembly 100 at the joint seams, such as by using a wet lay-up process, to provide a substantially flush aerodynamic surface between the blade sections 104, 106 and the joint sleeve 102.
It should also be appreciated that the joint sleeve 102 may generally be formed from any suitable material. For example, in one embodiment, the joint sleeve 102 may be formed from a metal, such as aluminum, steel and the like. In other embodiments, the joint sleeve 102 may be formed from a laminate composite material, such as various fiber-reinforced composites, or any other suitable non-metallic material.
Referring now to
For example, as shown in
Alternatively, as shown in
In general, the tapered or stepped profiles defined at the joint ends 130, 131 of the blade sections 104, 106 may be formed using any suitable means. For example, in one embodiment, the tapered or stepped profiles may be a molded feature of the blade shells 120, such as by creating a mold having a tapered/stepped profile defined therein or by placing a mold insert defining the tapered/stepped profile within the mold as the blade shells 120 are being formed. In another embodiment, the tapered or stepped profile may be machined into the blade shells 120 after the shells 120 have been formed, such as by using any suitable machining process and/or any suitable machining equipment. Additionally, it should be appreciated that the corresponding profile of the joint sleeve 102 may generally be formed using any suitable means. For example, in one embodiment, the joint sleeve 102 may be molded or otherwise formed to include the corresponding profile. In another embodiment, the corresponding profile may be machined into the joint sleeve 102 using any suitable machining process and/or any suitable machining equipment.
In a further embodiment of the present subject matter, one of the tapered or stepped profiles of the blade shells 120 or the corresponding profile of the joint sleeve 102 may be initially formed and/or machined and then scanned to permit the exact geometry of such profile(s) to be known. For example, in one embodiment, a metrology or other 3-D scan may be performed on the tapered profiles of the joint ends 130, 131 of each blade section 104, 106. In such an embodiment, the tapered width 162 of the joint sleeve 102 may then be formed and/or machined based on the scan to ensure that the tapered width 162 corresponds the tapered profiles of the blade sections 104, 106.
Referring still to
It should be appreciated that the size, shape and/or configuration of the recessed features 170 of the openings 144 may generally vary depending on the size, shape and/or configuration of the fasteners 142 being used to attach the joint ends 130, 131 of the blade sections 104, 106 within the joint sleeve 102. For example, as shown in
Referring still to
In several embodiments of the present subject matter, the disclosed rotor blade assembly 100 may also include a divider 184 configured to separate the joint end 130 of the first blade section 104 from the joint end 131 of the second blade section 106 within the joint sleeve 102. The divider 131 may also serve as a stop for locating or positioning the joint ends 130, 131 of the blade sections 104, 106 within the joint sleeve 102. For example, in one embodiment, the divider 184 may be positioned within the joint sleeve 102 such that, when the joint ends 130, 131 of the blade sections 104, 106 are inserted fully within the joint sleeve 102 and contact the divider 184, the threaded members 174 disposed within or mounted to the blade shells 120 may generally be aligned with the openings 144 defined in the joint sleeve 102.
It should be appreciated that the divider 184 may generally have any suitable configuration that permits the divider 184 to function as described herein. For instance, as shown in
Referring now to
In general, the tip section 206 may extend from the joint end 231 to a blade tip 210 and may have any suitable tip configuration known in the art. For example, in one embodiment, the tip section 206 may be configured as a straight tip section, such as by being configured similar to the second blade section 106 described above with reference to
It should be appreciated that the disclosed tip assembly 200 may generally be configured as a replaceable tip for a rotor blade. Thus, the tip assembly 200 may be configured to be attached to any suitable inboard blade segment or section of a rotor blade. For example, the portion of the cavity 136 (
This written description uses examples to disclose the invention, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they include structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal languages of the claims.
Claims
1. A rotor blade assembly for a wind turbine, the rotor blade assembly comprising:
- a first blade section including a joint end and defining an aerodynamic profile;
- a second blade section including a joint end and defining an aerodynamic profile;
- a joint sleeve having an inner surface and an outer surface, the inner surface defining a cavity configured to receive the joint ends of the first and second blade sections; and,
- a plurality of fasteners configured to secure the joint ends of the first and second blade sections within the cavity,
- wherein a profile of the outer surface of the joint sleeve generally corresponds to the aerodynamic profiles of the first and second blade sections such that a substantially continuous aerodynamic profile is defined between the first and second blade sections when the joint ends are inserted within the cavity.
2. The rotor blade assembly of claim 1, wherein the second blade section is configured as a tip section of the rotor blade assembly.
3. The rotor blade assembly of claim 2, wherein the tip section defines a winglet.
4. The rotor blade assembly of claim 1, wherein a tapered profile is defined at the joint ends of the first and second blade sections, the joint sleeve defining a tapered width generally corresponding to the tapered profile.
5. The rotor blade assembly of claim 1, wherein a stepped profile is defined at the joint ends of the first and second blade sections.
6. The rotor blade assembly of claim 1, wherein the plurality of fasteners comprises a plurality of threaded fasteners.
7. The rotor blade assembly of claim 6, further comprising a plurality of threaded members disposed at the joint ends of the first and second blade sections, the plurality of threaded members being configured to receive the plurality of threaded fasteners.
8. The rotor blade assembly of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of openings defined between the inner and outer surfaces of the joint sleeve, each of the plurality of openings defining a recessed feature configured to recess the plurality of fasteners within the joint sleeve.
9. The rotor blade assembly of claim 1, further comprising a divider configured to separate the joint ends of the first and second blade sections within the cavity.
10. A joint sleeve for assembling together a first blade section and a second blade section of a rotor blade assembly, the sleeve comprising:
- an outer surface;
- an inner surface defining a cavity, the cavity having a root end configured to receive a joint end of the first blade section and a tip end configured to receive a joint end of the second blade section; and,
- a plurality of openings defined between the outer and inner surfaces, the plurality of openings being configured to receive a plurality of fasteners for securing the joint ends of the first and second blade sections within the cavity,
- wherein a profile of the outer surface is configured to generally correspond to an aerodynamic profile of the first and second blade sections such that a substantially continuous aerodynamic profile is defined between the first and second blade sections when the joint ends are inserted within the cavity.
11. The joint sleeve of claim 10, wherein a tapered width is defined between the outer and inner surfaces.
12. The joint sleeve of claim 10, wherein each of the plurality of openings defines a recessed feature between the outer and inner surfaces.
13. The joint sleeve of claim 10, further comprising a divider configured to separate the joint ends of the first and second blade sections within the cavity.
14. The joint sleeve of claim 10, wherein the divider extends substantially perpendicularly from the inner surface.
15. The joint sleeve of claim 10, wherein an aerodynamic profile of the root end generally corresponds to the aerodynamic profile of the first blade section and an aerodynamic profile of the tip end generally corresponds to the aerodynamic profile of the second blade section.
16. A tip assembly for a rotor blade of a wind turbine, the tip assembly comprising:
- a joint sleeve including an inner surface defining a cavity and an outer surface defining an aerodynamic profile, the joint sleeve further including a tip end and a root end,
- a tip section extending between a joint end and a blade tip and defining an aerodynamic profile generally corresponding to the aerodynamic profile of the joint sleeve at the tip end, the joint end of the tip section being disposed within the cavity; and,
- a plurality of fasteners configured to secure the joint end of the tip section within the cavity,
- wherein a portion of the cavity disposed at the root end of the joint sleeve is configured to receive an end of a separate section of the rotor blade.
17. The tip assembly of claim 16, wherein the tip section defines a winglet.
18. The tip assembly of claim 16, wherein a tapered profile is defined at the joint end of the tip section, the joint sleeve defining a tapered width generally corresponding to the tapered profile.
19. The tip assembly of claim 16, further comprising a plurality of openings defined along the tip end of the joint sleeve and configured to receive the plurality of fasteners, each of the plurality of openings defining a recessed feature configured to recess the plurality of fasteners within the joint sleeve.
20. The tip assembly of claim 16, further comprising a plurality of openings defined along the root end of the joint sleeve, the plurality of openings being configured to receive a plurality of fasteners for securing the end of the separate section of the rotor blade within the cavity.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 8, 2010
Publication Date: Oct 6, 2011
Applicant: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY (Schenectady, NY)
Inventor: Eric Lee Bell (Greenville, SC)
Application Number: 12/963,159
International Classification: F04D 29/18 (20060101);