METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING A WIND TURBINE BLADE COMPONENT WITH UNIFORM TEMPERATURE CURING

摘要

A molding apparatus for manufacturing a wind turbine blade component includes a main mold body (30) and a flexible bladder (38). The main mold body includes a shape defining surface (32) for receiving composite material forming the blade component and a heat reservoir (40) for heating the blade component during curing. The flexible bladder overlays and conforms to the shape of the blade component and is configured to receive heated liquid for heating the blade component during curing. One or both of the main mold body and the flexible bladder is divided into a plurality of zones (58, 66) that are independently controlled by a controller (70) to maintain a generally uniform temperature of the blade component at each zone.

主权项

1. A molding apparatus for manufacturing a wind turbine blade component having a component length, the molding apparatus comprising:
a main mold body including a shape defining surface configured to receive composite material forming the blade component, the main mold body being divided along the component length into a plurality of mold body zones, each mold body zone including a heat reservoir configured to heat the blade component at that mold body zone; a flexible bladder configured to overlay the blade component on the shape defining surface and conform to a shape of the blade component, the flexible bladder receiving a heated liquid for heating the blade component; and a controller operatively coupled to the main mold body for independently controlling the temperature of the blade component at each mold body zone.