Conceptual Designs of the Structure of Inflatable Blades for Enabling Larger Turbines
Over the last couple of decades, increasingly larger rotor diameters have enabled significant reductions in the levelized cost of energy for wind through higher energy capture and improved capacity factors. But for onshore turbines, this has been met with manufacturing and transportation challenges. To enable larger onshore rotors, an innovative inflatable blade concept is investigated that employs both traditional and onsite manufacturing. The design architecture consists primarily of an inflatable aerodynamic shell attached to a factory-manufactured primary structure. Multiple architectures, cross-sectional topologies, and material combinations for the primary structure are investigated, as well as multiple skin materials. Structural cross-sectional characteristics are compared to a traditional blade, and inflatability and cost evaluations are presented. Results show that a box-beam architecture using only composite materials yields significant mass reduction with mature technologies/processes and modest cost decrease compared to traditional blade construction. This low-TRL study demonstrates the inflatable blade concept's techno-economic potential.
- Research Organization:
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Wind Energy Technologies Office (EE-4W)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC36-08GO28308
- OSTI ID:
- 1769825
- Report Number(s):
- NREL/CP-5000-78609; MainId:32526; UUID:4422a7bb-408a-4625-9c89-e918fbd718d5; MainAdminID:19776
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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