US 12,313,030 B2
Jointed wind turbine rotor blade with chord-wise extending pin bushings designed to minimize chord-wise gap
Jon Stuart Wright, Greenville, SC (US); Andrew Mitchell Rodwell, Greenville, SC (US); Scott Jacob Huth, Greenville, SC (US); Scott Iverson Shillig, Greenville, SC (US); Rohit Agarwal, Simpsonville, SC (US); and Ashley Simone Wilford, Greenville, SC (US)
Assigned to GE Infrastructure Technology LLC, Greenville, SC (US)
Appl. No. 17/435,238
Filed by General Electric Company, Schenectady, NY (US)
PCT Filed Feb. 27, 2020, PCT No. PCT/US2020/020097
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Aug. 31, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/180601, PCT Pub. Date Sep. 10, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2022/0178346 A1, Jun. 9, 2022
Int. Cl. F03D 1/06 (2006.01)
CPC F03D 1/0675 (2013.01) [F05B 2230/604 (2013.01); F05B 2240/301 (2013.01); F05B 2240/302 (2013.01); F05B 2240/31 (2013.01)] 17 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A rotor blade for a wind turbine, comprising:
a first blade segment and a second blade segment extending in opposite directions from a chord-wise joint, each of the first and second blade segments comprising at least one shell member defining an airfoil surface and an internal support structure, the first blade segment comprising a continuous beam structure extending lengthwise that structurally connects with the second blade segment via a receiving section, wherein the continuous beam structure forms a part of an outermost surface of a shear web of the rotor blade that contacts the at least one shell member of the first blade segment, wherein at least one chord-wise gap exists between an edge of the continuous beam structure and an edge of the receiving section, the continuous beam structure defining a first pin joint slot, the receiving section defining a second pin joint slot that aligns with the first pin joint slot;
a first bushing arranged in a first end of the first pin joint slot, the first bushing comprising a flange extending within the chord-wise gap and surrounding the first end of the first pin joint slot;
a second bushing arranged in a first end of the second pin joint slot, the second bushing comprising a flange extending within the chord-wise gap and surrounding the first end of the second pin joint slot, the second bushing being infused with the second pin joint slot;
at least one spacer component adjacent to one or more of the flanges of the first and second pin joint slots within the chord-wise gap, wherein the at least one spacer component comprises a multilayer wave disk spring; and,
at least one chord-wise extending pin positioned through the first and second bushings of the first and second pin joint slots so as to secure the first and second blade segments together.