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EP-4194683-B1 - WIND TURBINE BLADES, WIND TURBINE BLADE ASSEMBLIES AND RELATED METHODS

EP4194683B1EP 4194683 B1EP4194683 B1EP 4194683B1EP-4194683-B1

Inventors

  • SCHOLTE-WASSINK, HARTMUT
  • STARKE, ANDREAS
  • BAKHUIS, WILLEM

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20211209

Claims (8)

  1. A wind turbine blade (22), extending in a longitudinal direction (LD) between a root end (201) and a tip end (202) and comprising a shell (210) having an outer surface (211) defining a pressure surface and a suction surface, a leading edge (203) and a trailing edge (204), and the wind turbine blade (22) further comprising a load-bearing structure (206) extending in the longitudinal direction (LD), wherein the wind turbine blade (22) is configured to receive a peripheral device (250a, 250b, 250c) at a portion of the outer surface (211) of the blade (22), and wherein the wind turbine blade (22) is configured to magnetically couple to the peripheral device (250), and further comprising a first element (205a, 205b, 205c) configured to magnetically couple to a second element (251a, 251b, 251c) of the peripheral device (250a, 250b, 250c), wherein one of the first and second elements (205a, 205b, 205c, 251a, 251b, 251c) is a magnet, and the other of the first and second element (205a, 205b, 205c, 251a, 251b, 251c) is a magnet or a ferromagnetic element, and characterized in that , the first element (205a, 205b, 205c) is laminated into the shell (210) or is coupled to an inner side (212) of the shell (210), or the first element (205a, 205b, 205c) is a mesh integrated in the shell (210) by resin infusion or the first element (205a, 205b, 205c) is a ferromagnetic powder included in a foam material of the shell (210).
  2. The wind turbine blade (22) according to claim 1, wherein the magnet is an electromagnet or a permanent magnet.
  3. The wind turbine blade (22) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first element (205a, 205b, 205c) is electrically coupled to earth through a down conductor.
  4. The wind turbine blade (22) according to any of claims 1 - 3, further comprising a positioning system to selectively position the first element (205a, 205b, 205c) inside the wind turbine blade (22).
  5. The wind turbine blade (22) according to claim 4, wherein the positioning system comprises extension lines (207).
  6. The wind turbine blade (22) according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the positioning system comprises guides extending along the longitudinal direction (LD) over which the first element (205a, 205b, 205c) is configured to be displaced.
  7. The wind turbine blade (22) according to any of claims 4 - 6, wherein the positioning system comprises a biasing system (208) configured to promote contact between the first element (205a, 205b, 205c) and an inner surface (212) of the shell (210).
  8. A wind turbine blade assembly comprising the wind turbine blade (22) according to any of claims 1 - 7, and one or more peripheral devices (250) magnetically coupled to the wind turbine blade (22).

Description

FIELD The present disclosure relates to wind turbine blades, wind turbine blade assemblies and methods for providing the same. BACKGROUND Modern wind turbines are commonly used to supply electricity into the electrical grid. Wind turbines of this kind generally comprise a tower and a rotor arranged on the tower. The rotor, which typically comprises a hub and a plurality of blades, is set into rotation under the influence of the wind on the blades. Said rotation generates a torque that is normally transmitted through a rotor shaft to a generator, either directly ("directly driven") or through the use of a gearbox. This way, the generator produces electricity which can be supplied to the electrical grid. In order to extract more energy from the wind, the size of the rotor diameter is increased by increasing the dimensions of the wind turbine blades. The larger size of the blades introduces higher physical loads to the blade, including vibrations. The vibrations can occur during static and dynamic states. If a vibration frequency coincides with or is close to a resonance frequency of the wind turbines components, the oscillations may cause severe damage, like structural cracks. Different kinds of damping systems may be used to mitigate wind induced vibrations in the blade. These damping systems are generally located within and/or on the blade to absorb vibrations and alleviate related structural stresses in the blade. Passive tuned mass dampers are one solution than can be applied for this purpose. Further, to enhance wind energy extraction and to control flow around the blade, aerodynamic devices may be coupled to the blade. These may promote flow attachment, resulting in an increase difference in pressure between the pressure side and the suction side of the blade. Furthermore, aerodynamic devices configured to reduce vortex shedding may be added to blades temporarily, thereby mitigating vortex induced vibrations. Dampers, aerodynamic devices and other peripheral devices are generally coupled to the wind turbine blade through the shell, so that a portion of these devices (i.e. a portion of the device or a fastening element) may protrude into the shell. In some cases, a section of the shell may be removed so that the device does not perforate the same. Further, these known devices can be directly connected to a load bearing structure of the blade. In other cases, peripheral devices may be directly connected to the shell of the blade through fasteners and adhesives, or to the load bearing structure of the blade through the shell. In some additional cases, the peripheral devices may wrap a section of the blade, substantially covering both sides of the blade, i.e. the pressure side and the suction side. EP2520919 discloses a device for measuring fluid pressure and mentions magnetic coupling. EP3803105A1, KR101566525B1 and EP2360374A1 are further relevant examples of prior art. The installation of known dampers, aerodynamic devices and other peripheral devices may result in a complex task and may require additional tools to secure them in place. Also, the outer surface of the blades can suffer damage in the mounting process. Further, before coupling these devices to the blade, the devices have to be precisely aligned with the dedicated blade region, and in some cases installation requires shell components to be removed and stored for later use. The present disclosure provides examples of systems and methods that at least partially overcome some of the drawbacks of existing wind turbine blades and wind turbine blade assemblies. SUMMARY In a first aspect according to independent claim 1, a wind turbine blade is disclosed. The wind turbine blade extends in a longitudinal direction between a root end and a tip end and comprises a load-bearing structure extending in the longitudinal direction and a shell having an outer surface. Thus, the shell defines a pressure surface, a suction surface, a leading edge and a trailing edge. Further, the wind turbine blade is configured to receive a peripheral device at a portion of the outer surface of the blade, and is configured to magnetically couple to the peripheral device. According to this first aspect, the wind turbine blade allows coupling peripheral devices in a fast and reliable manner, without the need of tools or additional components such as fasteners, adhesive or others. This results in a considerable reduction in assembly time as compared to known wind turbine blades for which the coupling of peripheral components may require additional equipment. Further, the alignment of the peripheral device with the wind turbine blade may be simplified due to the presence of a magnetic field, which may be tuned to magnetically couple specific regions to each other. Besides, the disclosed wind turbine blade allows coupling and uncoupling peripheral devices without affecting the integrity of the wind turbine blade and without removing wind turbine blade components such as shell por