Lightning system for wind turbine blades with optimized means for injecting lightning currents in conductive components of their shells
View Patent ↗The invention provides a lightning protection system for wind turbine blades with optimized injection means of lightning currents in conductive components of their shells. The injection means comprise a current receptor element ( 27; 47; 67 ) connected to the input cable of lightning currents and arranged over an area of a shell close to an electrically conductive component ( 22; 42; 62 ) and a current injection element ( 28; 48; 68; 69, 69 ′) arranged over the electrically conductive component ( 22; 42; 62 ) and connected to the current receptor element ( 27; 47; 67 ) by at least two distribution cables ( 31, 32; 51, 52, 53; 71, 72, 73, 74 ).
1. A lightning protection system of a wind turbine blade, whose shells include at least one electrically conductive component embedded into the shell, comprising injection means of lightning currents in said electrically conductive component upon receipt through an input cable connected directly or indirectly with one or more lightning receptors of the blade, wherein said injection means of lightning currents comprise:
a current receptor element connected to said input cable and arranged over an area of the shells close to the electrically conductive component; and
a current injection element arranged over the electrically conductive component and connected to the current receptor element by at least two distribution cables,
wherein the electrically conductive component is a metal mesh and the injection means comprise said current receptor element and two current injection elements that are connected by four distribution cables and are configured to achieve a distribution of currents in said distribution cables that prevents areas with a high current density in the current injection elements.
2. The lightning protection system according to claim 1 , wherein said input cable is a cable derived from a down conductor disposed within the wind turbine blade for carrying lightning currents to ground.
3. The lightning protection system according to claim 1 , wherein said input cable is connected directly to a blade lightning receptor.
4. The lightning protection system according to claim 1 , wherein the distance between the current receptor element and the current injection elements is less than 5 m.
5. The lightning protection system according to claim 1 , wherein the current receptor element and the current injection elements are metal plates.