EP-4739491-A1 - METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING A WIND TURBINE BLADE OR WIND TURBINE BLADE SECTION AND FILLER MATERIAL APPLICATION APPARATUS

EP4739491A1EP 4739491 A1EP4739491 A1EP 4739491A1EP-4739491-A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a wind turbine blade, comprising the steps a) Manufacturing a raw wind turbine blade (1), wherein the raw wind turbine blade (1) comprises at least one groove (2) running at least with a directional component along a spanwise direction (S); b) Providing a filler material application apparatus (4) - comprising a filler application head (41) with at least one dispenser nozzle (416) adapted to dispense a hardenable filler material (3), - and comprising at least one filler material source (49) comprising the hardenable filler material in a flowable state, - wherein the filler application head (41) is moveable at least along the spanwise direction (S); c) Positioning the filler application head (41) of the filler material application apparatus (4) over a section of the groove (2); d) Effecting a flow of hardenable filler material (3) from the filler material source (49) to the at least one dispenser nozzle (416); e) Moving the filler application head (41) in the spanwise direction (S) along an extension of groove (2), thereby filling the groove (2) with the hardenable filler material (3) that is subsequently hardened so that at least one filled groove (21) is provided. The method according to the invention allows for an automation of currently manually executed filler material application steps and thus both increases production speed and lowers costs for wind turbine blades.

Inventors

Dircks, Stefan
HASSERIIS, Simon Rokohl
Justesen, Per Mørup
Magnussen, Jeppe Kærgaard
Mortensen, Morten
ØSTERGAARD, Rasmus

Assignees

Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy A/S

Dates

Publication Date: 20260513
Application Date: 20240812

Claims (15)

1. Method for manufacturing a wind turbine blade or wind turbine blade section, comprising the steps a) Manufacturing a raw wind turbine blade (1) or raw wind turbine blade section by lamination of one or multiple layers of fiber material, wherein the raw wind turbine blade (1) or raw wind turbine blade section comprises at least one groove (2) running at least with a directional component along a spanwise direction (S) ; b) Providing a filler material application apparatus (4) - comprising a filler application head (41) with at least one dispenser nozzle (416) adapted to dispense a hardenable filler material (3) , - and comprising at least one filler material source (49) comprising the hardenable filler material in a flowable state, wherein the filler material source (49) is coupled to the dispenser nozzle (416) of the filler application head (41) through at least one fluid line (50) , - wherein the filler application head (41) is moveable at least along the spanwise direction (S) ; c) Positioning the filler application head (41) of the filler material application apparatus (4) over a section of the groove ( 2 ) ; d) Effecting a flow of hardenable filler material (3) from the filler material source (49) to the at least one dispenser nozzle (416) of the filler application head (41) of the filler material application apparatus (4) ; e) Moving the filler application head (41) at least with a directional component in the spanwise direction (S) along an extension of the at least one groove (2) , thereby filling the groove (2) with the hardenable filler material (3) that is subsequently hardened so that at least one filled groove (21) is provided.
2. Method according to claim 1, wherein the filler application head (41) of the filler material application apparatus (4) comprises at least one spatula (411) , wherein step e) comprises smoothening a surface of the hardenable filler material (3) after it has been filled to the groove (2) with the at least one spatula (411) as the filler application head (41) is moved along the spanwise direction (S) .
3. Method according to claim 2, wherein a shape of the spatula (411) of the filler application head (41) is adaptable at least with respect to a plane running perpendicular to the spanwise direction (S) , wherein step e) comprises adapting the shape of the spatula (411) so that it corresponds with a shape of a cross-section of an airfoil geometry of the wind turbine blade or wind turbine blade section at a given spanwise position.
4. Method according to any of the claims 1 - 3, wherein the filler application head (41) of the filler material application apparatus (4) is moveable in a height direction (H) with respect to an intended state of use of the filler material application apparatus (4) and wherein step e) comprises continuously adjusting a height position (H) of the filler application head (41) as the filler application head (41) is moved along the spanwise direction (S) to correspond with a local height position of the groove (2) .
5. Method according to any of the claims 1 to 4, wherein the raw wind turbine blade (1) or raw wind turbine blade section is fixed by a fixture in a predefined height over the ground (G) so that the spanwise direction (S) runs essentially parallel to the ground (G) , wherein in particular a suction side (14) and/or pressure side (13) of the raw wind turbine blade (1) or raw wind turbine blade section are located sidewards .
6. Method according to claim 5, wherein steps c) to e) are executed at a pressure side (13) and/or a suction side (14) of the raw wind turbine blade (1) or raw wind turbine blade section and/or wherein the filler material application apparatus (4) is located sideways adjacent to the raw wind turbine blade (1) or raw wind turbine blade section.
7. Method according to any of the claims 3 - 6, wherein the filler application head (41) of the filler material application apparatus (4) comprises multiple actuators (413a-g) arranged spaced apart, in particular along a circumferential direction of the raw wind turbine blade (1) or raw wind turbine blade section, wherein the actuators (413a-g) are each adapted to locally apply a force on the spatula (411) and wherein the actuators (413a-g) are used in step e) to adapt the shape of the spatula (411) .
8. Method according to claim 7, wherein the filler material application apparatus (4) comprises at least one processing means adapted to at least individually control the actuators (413a-g) and/or the height position (H) of the filler application head (41) .
9. Method according to claim 8, comprising step ee) applying an optical marking (46) on an outer surface of the raw wind turbine blade (1) or raw wind turbine blade section in at least one region laterally neighboring the groove (2) , wherein the filler material application apparatus (4) , in particular the filler application head (41) of the filler material application apparatus (4) , comprises - at least one optical sensor adapted to detect the optical marking, - wherein said optical sensor is operably coupled to the processing means, wherein in step e) data from the optical sensor is processed by the processing means to adapt the shape of the spatula (411) by individually controlling the multiple actuators (413a-g) to ensure that as little as possible of the hardenable filler material protrudes from the groove (2) and/or to adjust a height position (H) of the filler application head (41) .
10. Method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the filler material application apparatus (4) , in particular the filler application head (41) of the filler material application apparatus (4) , comprises at least one camera and/or at least one distance sensor, wherein the at least one camera and/or at least one distance sensor are operably coupled to the processing means and wherein in step e) data from the at least one camera and/or at least one distance sensor is processed by the processing means to adapt the shape of the spatula (411) by individually controlling the multiple actuators (413a-g) to ensure that as little as possible of the hardenable filler material protrudes from the groove (2) and/or to adjust a height position (H) of the filler application head (41) .
11. Method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the filler material application apparatus (4) comprises a processing means operably coupled with at least one data source, wherein the data source comprises data describing a three-dimensional shape of an outer surface of the wind turbine blade or wind turbine blade section, wherein in step e) the filler application head (41) is moved along the spanwise direction (S) under continuous adaption of the height position (H) of the filler application head (41) and/or under continuous adaption of the shape of the spatula (411) of the filler application head (41) based on said data.
12. Filler material application apparatus (4) for applying a hardenable filler material (3) into an at least one groove (2) running at least with a directional component along a spanwise direction (S) of a raw wind turbine blade (1) or raw wind turbine blade section, in particular for use in a method according to any of the preceding claims, the filler material application apparatus (4) comprising: - a filler application head (41) with at least one dispenser nozzle (416) adapted to dispense a hardenable filler material (3) , - and at least one filler material source (49) comprising the hardenable filler material (3) in a flowable state, wherein the filler material source (49) is coupled to the dispenser nozzle (416) of the filler application head (41) through at least one fluid line (50) , - wherein the filler application head (41) is moveable at least along the spanwise direction (S) of the raw wind turbine blade (1) or raw wind turbine blade section.
13. Filler material application apparatus (4) according to claim 12, wherein the filler application head (41) of the filler material application apparatus (4) comprises at least one spatula (411) , adapted to smoothen a surface of the hardenable filler material (3) after it has been filled to the groove (2) , wherein in particular a shape of the spatula (411) is adaptable at least with respect to a plane running perpendicular to the spanwise direction (S) of the raw wind turbine blade (1) or raw wind turbine blade section with respect to an intended use of the filler material application apparatus (4) so that the shape of the spatula (411) is adaptable to correspond with a shape of a cross-section of an airfoil geometry of the wind turbine blade or wind turbine blade section at a given spanwise position.
14. Filler material application apparatus (4) according to claim 12 or 13, - wherein the filler application head (41) is mounted to an apparatus base (42) that is moveable on the ground (G) , wherein in particular the apparatus base (42) comprises a drive system and wheels (43) that allow movement of the apparatus base (42) in the spanwise direction (S) of the raw wind turbine blade (1) or raw wind turbine blade section or - wherein the filler application head (41) is mounted at a crane or gantry system (60) above the raw wind turbine blade (1) or raw wind turbine blade section in an intended state of use of the filler material application apparatus (4) , wherein the crane or gantry system (60) allows movement of the filler application head (41) in the spanwise direction (S) of the raw wind turbine blade (1) or raw wind turbine blade section.
15. Filler material application apparatus (4) according to any of the claims 12 - 14, wherein the filler application head (41) comprises one or multiple wheels (48) that allow for a rolling movement of the filler application head (41) on an outer surface of the raw wind turbine blade (1) or raw wind turbine blade section, wherein in particular at least two wheels (48) are arranged at the filler application head (41) spaced along a circumferential direction of the raw wind turbine blade (1) or raw wind turbine blade section with respect to an intended state of use of the filler material application apparatus (4) , and wherein in particular the at least one dispenser nozzle (416) is arranged between the two wheels (48) .

Description

Description Method for manufacturing a wind turbine blade or wind turbine blade section and filler material application apparatus The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a wind turbine blade or wind turbine blade section and to a filler material application apparatus for applying a hardenable filler material into an at least one groove running at least with a directional component along a spanwise direction of a raw wind turbine blade or raw wind turbine blade section . Wind turbine blade s , e specially for off shore use , with the evolvement of technology continuously increase in size . Regarding the main dimensions current blade s can reach a root diameter of approximately 4m, a blade length of well over 100m while typical chord lengths can reach up to 7m or even more . Typically, wind turbine blades are manufactured by lamination of multiple layers of fiber material in a mold having the shape of a negative impres sion of the outer blade geometry . Although the dimensions of the blade s are literally tremendous the production of wind turbine blade s still includes many steps that require manual labor . A maj or portion of the manual labor is represented by the application of filler material in order to restore an ideal airfoil geometry of the blade after it has been removed from the mold in a raw or so called "green" state . One approach including a transversal fiber material layup i s the IntegralBlade® technology that i s des cribed in detail in EP 1 310 351 Al which plays an important role as it avoids glue j oints at the leading edge and/or trailing edge of the blade that are both di sadvantageous from an aerodynamic perspective and a mechanical stiffnes s perspective . Rather , the entire blade is produced as a single piece with continuous fiber plies at the leading and the trailing edge. A typical fiber material layup in a mold includes one or multiple air extraction means that are adapted to extract excess air from the mold before and/or during resin infusion of the fiber material layup. The air extraction means do not become part of the final blade structure but are an auxiliary production tool. Typical air extraction means include semi- permeable membranes, i.e. membranes that allow gases, in particular air, to pass and block the passage of liquids, in particular resin. The permeable membranes are connected to a vacuum source located externally of the mold so that excess air from the mold can be extracted therefrom. Sometimes such air extraction means are also referred to as "filters". The air extraction means are typically placed in the mold with an extension along a spanwise or longitudinal direction so that the raw wind turbine blade after removing it from the mold has grooves at its outer surface running along the spanwise or longitudinal direction at the positions where the air extraction means have been placed in the mold. These grooves have to be filled with a hardenable filler material to restore the intended airfoil geometry of the final wind turbine blade which, as of today, still requires manual labor. After the application of the filler material to the grooves the filler material is typically smoothened with a spatula so that as little filler material as possible protrudes from the grooves which, as of today, is done by manual labor as well. After application, smoothening and hardening of the filler material excess filler material, e.g. residual filler material protruding beyond the intended airfoil geometry and/or laterally outwardly from the groove, is ground off in a subsequent production step to restore the ideal airfoil geometry of the blade. But the manual application of f iller material is not only disadvantageous from a productivity perspective . As the application of filler material is mainly done in an overhead position the execution as a manual labor step means an enormous phys ical strain for the involved workers . Additionally, the substance s used as a f iller material may be ha zardous to the health of workers . As most j urisdictions impose various limitations with regards to labor safety ( e . g . ergonomics specifications , lifting weights for overhead work , threshold concentrations of potentially hazardous substances in the air ) on employers the retention of the manual labor steps implie s a barrier for both the dimensions of the blades that can be produced and for any potential productivity gains . Additionally, as said grooves are typically located in either convex or concave curved cros s- sections of the blade , it is not easy for workers doing the application of filler material manually to maintain the intended airfoil geometry of the blade without compromi sing it . However , a near target shape of the airfoil geometry is of utmost importance as deviations therefrom can lead to performance los ses of the blade , e . g . in the form of increased drag and/or reduced lift . Therefore it is one obj ect of the present invention to provide