Innovations for Improving Lift Performance in Wind Turbines

Wind turbine blade attachments to improve aerodynamics and power generation. The attachments are flow-guiding devices like spoilers or Gurney flaps. The devices are attached to the blade surface with flexible housings filled with adhesive. This allows bonding without grinding or complex prep steps. The attachments are also positioned in triangles to distribute loads, curved to accommodate blade bending, and reinforced with ribs for stiffness.

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A lifting device for wind turbine blades during installation that automatically stabilizes the blade orientation in windy conditions. The device uses sensors on the lifting yoke to measure blade position and rotation. A controller analyzes the sensor data and commands a pitching device on the yoke to rotate the blade if it starts moving too much due to wind forces.

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Wind turbine blade design to improve aerodynamics and energy production. The design includes attaching flow-modifying devices like spoilers or Gurney flaps to the surface of the blade. The devices are attached with flexible housings filled with adhesive to bond them to the blade surface. This allows the devices to modify airflow and increase lift without compromising blade structural integrity.

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A flexible trailing edge extender for wind turbine blades that improves aerodynamic performance without adding weight and cost. The extender is a flexible aeroshell piece that can be attached to the trailing edge of a wind turbine blade section. The extender piece has slits cut into it that allow it to bend and flex. This configuration allows the extender to withstand operational stresses and strains better than a rigid extender.

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A wind turbine rotor blade with improved aerodynamics to increase lift and reduce drag, noise, and vibration. The blade has an airfoil shape with a flat-back trailing edge extension that attaches to the suction side surface. This extension modifies the flow around the blade to improve its performance. The trailing edge extension is flush with the airfoil surface and can be adjustable using an actuator.

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A wind power generation system with increased efficiency. It has a clutch to disconnect the generator when wind speed is low to prevent rotor stalling. A brake is used to stop the rotor when wind speed is too high. An anemometer, speed detector, and control device manage these actions. The rotor blades are designed with tilted parts to increase lift using the Coanda effect.

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A rotor blade for a wind turbine that reduces lift and load in emergency situations through a fail-safe aerodynamic device. The blade includes an aerodynamic device mounted on the blade surface that protrudes when not pressurized but collapses when pressurized. A control system adjusts the pressure to activate the device. The protruding device configuration reduces lift compared to the collapsed configuration. This fail-safe design prevents loss of control from causing lift increases in emergencies.

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A wind turbine system with multiple rotors that mitigates dynamic loads using individual pitch control of each rotor blade. This allows optimizing blade pitching to counteract gravity forces and reduce dynamic loads. The pitch adjustment system can receive lift commands from a control system that calculates the required blade pitching to generate lift opposite to gravity on each rotor module. This balances the forces and reduces vibration. The control system can use load estimates to optimize blade pitching and reduce loads further.

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Arrangement of vortex generators on a wind turbine blade that improves aerodynamic performance over the state of the art. The vortex generators are arranged in pairs with specific ratios.

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Wind turbine blades with pneumatic aerodynamic control to improve efficiency and simplify design. The blades have slots on the suction side through which pressurized air can be blown to adjust lift, drag, and moments. This allows control of blade forces and performance without mechanical pitch adjustment. The blades also have slots to induce flow separation and braking when needed. The pneumatic control provides load, power, and safety regulation from low to high wind speeds. The blowing slots can be supplied with air from internal cavities using centrifugal pumping.

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Transport frames for wind turbine blades that enable efficient lifting of stacked frames containing blades. The frames have corner posts with locking mechanisms that engage locating fingers on the frame shoulders. A lifting yoke aligns with and engages the fingers to securely lift the frame. This allows lifting stacks of frames by just connecting to the top frame. The yoke provides a lifting connection that is secure enough for all frames in a stack.

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Wind turbine blade with a trailing edge flap to increase lift without significantly increasing drag. The flap has two sections with an angled orientation. The first section extends from the trailing edge with an obtuse angle between its upstream surface and a plane parallel to the blade chord. The second section extends from the first section and together they form a concave profile.

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Using drones to generate renewable energy from high altitude winds and deep sea currents. The method involves deploying specialized drones that morph their shape to maximize lift and tethering them to ground-based generators. As the drones ascend at an angle into the wind or water flow, the tension in the tether powers the generator to produce electricity. The drones can be remotely controlled and equipped with systems like radar to avoid collisions.

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A device for lifting and handling wind turbine blades without damaging the aerodynamic surfaces. The lifting device has a chassis with connection points for attaching to cranes. It also has adjustable features like pivoting arms, tracks with weights, and load cells to balance the weight of the blade being lifted. This allows precise control of the lifting point and center of gravity to prevent imbalance and blade damage during installation. The device can be adjusted while suspended from the crane using hydraulic actuators, power packs, and remote controls.

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Heating assembly for wind turbine blades to remove ice build-up during freezing conditions and improve performance. A heat reservoir inside the blade cavity is connected to a heat source and has vents to release hot air onto the blade surface. The hot air heats the blade to melt ice and prevent re-freezing. Hot air is directed at the leading edge where ice accumulates, and also at the trailing edge to prevent migrating ice from re-forming.

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Using drones and drone technologies to harness high-altitude wind energy to generate renewable energy by converting the kinetic energy of wind into useful mechanical energy through tethered hybrid aerial vehicles. The drones are remotely navigated vehicles that morph their shape to maximize lift from winds at high altitudes. The lifting force powers onboard generators to produce electricity as the drones move vertically upwards along tethers.

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