US 12,404,839 B2
Wind turbine blade and wind turbine with a down conductor spar cap
Michael Nauheimer, Aalborg (DK); and Sri Markandeya Rajesh Ponnada, Boucherville (CA)
Assigned to SIEMENS GAMESA RENEWABLE ENERGY A/S, Brande (DK)
Appl. No. 17/922,391
Filed by Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy A/S, Brande (DK)
PCT Filed May 3, 2021, PCT No. PCT/EP2021/061585
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Oct. 31, 2022,
PCT Pub. No. WO2021/228606, PCT Pub. Date Nov. 18, 2021.
Claims priority of application No. 202031020283 (IN), filed on May 14, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2023/0349364 A1, Nov. 2, 2023
Int. Cl. F03D 80/30 (2016.01); F03D 1/06 (2006.01)
CPC F03D 80/30 (2016.05) [F03D 1/0675 (2013.01); F03D 1/0679 (2023.08); F03D 1/0681 (2023.08); F03D 80/301 (2023.08); F05B 2280/2006 (2013.01); F05B 2280/6003 (2013.01)] 16 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A wind turbine blade for a wind turbine, the wind turbine blade comprising:
a tip portion;
a root portion;
a shell;
a spar comprising two spar caps connected to one another by at least one spar web of the spar and extending in a longitudinal direction of the wind turbine blade, wherein, at least one of the two spar caps is configured as a main down conductor of a lightning protection system of the wind turbine blade, the at least one main down conductor comprising an electrically conductive fiber-reinforced plastic being electroconductively connected to at least one electrical interface of the lightning protection system, wherein the at least one electrical interface comprises a first electrical interface at the tip portion and a second electrical interface at the root portion;
wherein the two spar caps are connected by a first equipotential bond connection and a second equipotential bond connection;
wherein a first metallic conductor connection connects the first electrical interface to the first equipotential bond connection, and a second metallic conductor connection connects the second equipotential bond connection to the second electrical interface at the root portion;
wherein the first equipotential bond connection and the second equipotential bond connection connect the two spar caps without contacting a metal down conductor arranged between the two spar caps along a thickness direction.