DUAL PURPOSE SLAT-SPOILER FOR WIND TURBINE BLADE

摘要

An aerodynamic slat (30) mounted over a forward suction side (40) of a wind turbine blade (22) and a mechanism (51A-F) that closes or reduces a gap (31) between slat and blade. The slat may pivot to reduce the gap, or the gap may be reduced by a device such as an extendable gate (58), or butterfly plate (59), or damper plate (60). Control logic (64) activates an actuator (70) of the mechanism to close or reduce the gap when wind conditions meet or exceed a predetermined criterion such as a rated wind condition. This reduces wind loading on the blade by separating airflow (53) over the suction side of the blade downstream of the slat. The blades can then maintain a higher angle of attack during rated wind conditions than in the prior art, allowing them to stall in gusts sooner to limit peak aerodynamic loads.