Presentations

Abstract

Transport and handling can impose unseen loads on wind turbine rotor blades that cause early-life damage. During road, sea, or air moves, blades are supported at tip and root frames or lifted with a yoke, where dynamic events (abrupt lowering/lifting) and quasi-static effects (frame twist, pad misalignment, belt preloads) concentrate loads at local contact areas. These loads, especially at the tip support, are often not determined under realistic boundary conditions and may be impermissible, leading to damage initiation at the support point or within the shear web. This work evaluates practical test methods to quantify these loads and validate transport-frame design assumptions. We map contact pressure between tip frame and blade surface using pressure-sensitive foils under controlled tightening sequences, pad materials, and alignment conditions. We then reproduce the shear-web damage mechanism observed in the field by combining belt tightening and intentional frame twist, first in a representative subcomponent and then in a full-scale transport-frame twist test reflecting torsion events during cornering and lane changes. The results provide calibrated pressure distributions and verified damage modes that can be used to refine frame design, define acceptable tightening and twist limits, and supply realistic load inputs for blade structural models. The approach supports more reliable transport and fewer handling-related failures.