AOC 15 user manual Blade Installation

6.0 Tower and Wind Turbine Generator Installation 41

6.4Blade Installation

This procedure should be carried out by a minimum of three technicians. Each blade weighs 135 kg (300 lbs) and can be lifted by a crew of three or four or using equipment such as a back hoe or a boom truck fitted with nylon slings or ropes. Metal slings or chains should never be used to move a blade.

CAUTION

NICKS OR GOUGES IN THE BLADE SURFACE CAN

AFFECT THE PERFORMANCE AND THE EXPECTED LIFE

OF THE BLADE SIGNIFICANTLY. TAKE EVERY

PRECAUTION TO PROTECT THE BLADE SURFACE

DURING HANDLING AND INSTALLATION.

The first two blades should be installed with the machine still set on the ground. The yaw lock should be engaged, to restrict the turbine from rotating about the yaw axis. See Figure 6-4 for the yaw locking position. The parking brake is released by pulling on the manual release, after which the hub can be rotated so that a blade can be mounted with its tip or tip brake supported above the ground (see Figure 6-1). The blade should rest on a piece of packing foam to prevent surface damage. A drift pin or bolt placed in a blade bolt hole on the hub will help align the blade with the hub.

WARNING

BLADE WASHERS SHOULD LIE FLAT AGAINST THE HUB COUNTERBORE. FAILURE TO INSTALL WASHERS PROPERLY CAN RESULT IN LOOSENING AND FAILURE OF FASTENERS. THIS MAY RESULT IN BLADE DETACHING, SEVERELY DAMAGING THE MACHINE AND CAUSING SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH.

The red protective plugs should be removed from the blade inserts in the root end. The blade should be slid onto the hub, with the concave (upwind) side of the blade towards the machine. The tip brake wire, which exits the trailing edge of the blade near the root, must not be damaged. It is helpful to tape this down to the blade during assembly.

Note: The concave ('bottom' of the airfoil) MUST face the machine. Only the blade bolt washers supplied with the wind turbine should be used. These washers are oval shaped and designed for the blade mounting. The washer must be oriented in the correct position for the required pitch, as the washers are not symmetric. It is extremely important that the washers are seated entirely in the hub slot counter bores and rest flat on the bottom of these counter bores. If the washers are even slightly misaligned, the bolts and washers should be reassembled.

NOTICE: Use of the material contained in this document is subject to the warning on page Iv and the disclaimer on page v of this document.

DOC012R02 AOC 15/50 User Manual Nov 2001