Bracing Arrangement for Large Horizontal-Axis Wind-Turbine

摘要

Tension bracing members 4 e.g. cables or solid ties or rods are attached to blades 2 via collars 3 which may be fitted to the outer blade surface or to a central blade spine or spar. The collar may comprise a bearing to preserve the blade pitch adjustment or may be rigidly attached to a fixed spar about which an aerofoil surface may rotate for pitch adjustment. There may be minor blades 5 between main blades to adjust the brace element angle in plane or the braces may pass directly between main blades and there may be an up-wind pylon (7,fig.5) to provide an axial bracing component. The turbine may have a conventional generator shaft output or be an integral conversion wind turbine, ICWT, with blade mounted masses that move as the rotor turns for internal energy conversion. Mitigates the oscillatory component of in-plane blade loads due to gravity and the steady out of plane loads tending to bend the blades downwind.