1. A lift generating apparatus for a wind turbine rotor blade comprising a first sidewall and an opposing second sidewall coupled together at a leading edge and at a trailing edge, said lift generating apparatus comprising:
at least one forward blade extension coupled to the rotor blade to define a first airflow channel between said forward blade extension and the rotor blade; and,
at least one aft blade extension coupled to the rotor blade to define a second airflow channel between said aft blade extension and the rotor blade.
2. A lift generating apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein said forward blade extension, said aft blade extension, and the rotor blade together form a substantial airfoil-shaped aerodynamic profile.
3. A lift generating apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein the first sidewall defines a suction surface, said forward blade extension extends along at least a portion of the suction surface.
4. A lift generating apparatus in accordance with claim 3, wherein the rotor blade has a cross-section and a centerline of the cross-section, said forward blade extension extends along the suction surface past the centerline and towards the leading edge.
5. A lift generating apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein the second sidewall defines a pressure surface, said aft blade extension extends along at least a portion of the pressure surface.
6. A lift generating apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein said first airflow channel comprises an outlet and has a cross-sectional width that is substantially constant from the leading edge to said outlet.
7. A lift generating apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein said second airflow channel comprises an inlet and has a cross-sectional width that is substantially constant from said inlet to the trailing edge.
8. A lift generating apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein at least one of said forward blade extension and said aft blade extension is movable with respect to the rotor blade.
9. A wind turbine, comprising:
a tower, a nacelle coupled to said tower, and a rotor rotatably coupled to said nacelle, said rotor comprising:
at least one blade comprising a first sidewall and an opposing second sidewall coupled together at a leading edge and at a trailing edge;
at least one forward blade extension coupled to said blade to define a first airflow channel between said forward blade extension and said blade; and,
at least one aft blade extension coupled to said blade to define a second airflow channel between said aft blade extension and said blade.
10. A wind turbine in accordance with claim 9, wherein said forward blade extension, said aft blade extension, and said blade together form a substantial airfoil-shaped aerodynamic profile.
11. A wind turbine in accordance with claim 9, wherein said first sidewall defines a suction surface, said forward blade extension extends along at least a portion of said suction surface.
12. A wind turbine in accordance with claim 11, wherein said blade has a cross-section and a centerline of the cross-section, said forward blade extension extends along said suction surface past the centerline towards said trailing edge.
13. A wind turbine in accordance with claim 9, wherein said second sidewall defines a pressure surface, said aft blade extension extends along at least a portion of said pressure surface.
14. A wind turbine in accordance with claim 9, wherein said first airflow channel comprises an outlet and has a cross-sectional width that is substantially constant from said leading edge to said outlet.
15. A wind turbine in accordance with claim 9, wherein said second airflow channel comprises an inlet and has a cross-sectional width that is substantially constant from said inlet to said trailing edge.
16. A wind turbine in accordance with claim 9, wherein at least one of said forward blade extension and said aft blade extension is movable with respect to said blade.
17. A method for assembling a wind turbine, said method comprising:
coupling at least one forward blade extension to at least one blade having a first sidewall and an opposing second sidewall coupled together at a leading edge and at a trailing edge, to define a first airflow channel between the forward blade extension and the blade;
coupling at least one aft blade extension to the blade to define a second airflow channel between the aft blade extension and the blade; and,
coupling the blade to the wind turbine.
18. A method in accordance with claim 17, wherein the blade has a suction surface and a pressure surface, said method further comprises extending the forward blade extension along at least a portion of the suction surface.
19. A method in accordance with claim 18, further comprising extending the aft blade extension along at least a portion of the pressure surface.
20. A method in accordance with claim 17, further comprising:
coupling the forward blade extension to the blade to define the first airflow channel having a substantially constant cross-sectional width; and,
coupling the aft blade extension to the blade to define the second airflow channel having a substantially constant cross-sectional width.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A method comprising:
providing a heat transfer pipe including a pipe end part;
providing a capillary tube having a tube end part with a diameter smaller than that of said pipe end part of said heat transfer pipe;
performing a flaring fabrication process on said pipe end part of said heat transfer pipe to form a cylindrical flared part, having pipe diameter larger than that of an initial pipe diameter of said pipe end part of said heat transfer pipe;
performing a flat crushing process that includes flatly crushing in a pipe latitudinal direction only a portion of said cylindrical flared part of said heat transfer pipe to form a pinched part disposed inwardly of a pipe end face of said cylindrical flared part, and a brazing filler material pooling part disposed between said pinched part and said pipe end face of said cylindrical flared part with said brazing filler material pooling part having an inner cross sectional area that is larger than that of said pinched part;
inserting said capillary tube into said pipe end part of said heat transfer pipe so that said tube end part of said capillary tube extends within said pinched part; and
performing a brazing process that brazes said capillary tube to said heat transfer pipe by flowing brazing filler material into said brazing filler material pooling part.
2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein
said flaring fabrication process includes forming an auxiliary flared part having a pipe diameter larger than that of said cylindrical flared part on a pipe end face side of said cylindrical flared part.
3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein
said cylindrical flared part formed in said flaring fabrication process has a length of at least 5 mm and less than 10 mm in a pipe longitudinal direction, and
said pinched part formed in said flat crushing process has a length of in the pipe longitudinal direction of at least 0.4 times and less than 0.6 times that of said cylindrical flared part in the pipe longitudinal direction.
4. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein
said cylindrical flared part formed in said flaring fabrication process has a length of at least 5 mm and less than 10 mm in a pipe longitudinal direction, and
said pinched part formed in said flat crushing process has a length of in the pipe longitudinal direction of at least 0.4 times and less than 0.6 times the length of said cylindrical flared part in the pipe longitudinal direction.
5. A flat crushing jig comprising:
a pin member including a first columnar part configured and arranged to be disposed in a pipe longitudinal direction within a cylindrical flared part of a heat transfer pipe and has a diameter greater than or substantially equal to a tube end part of a capillary tube to be inserted into said heat transfer pipe, and a second columnar part disposed on a pipe end face of said first columnar part and having a diameter larger than that of said first columnar part; and
a pair of grabbing members configured and arranged to be moved inwardly towards opposite sides of said second columnar part and further being configured to flatly crush said cylindrical flared part in a pipe latitudinal direction to form a pinched part along only a part of said cylindrical flared part that corresponds to said first columnar part of said pin member.
6. A connection structure comprising:
a heat transfer pipe including a pipe end part with a cylindrical flared part having a brazing filler material pooling part adjacent a pipe end face of the cylindrical flared part and a pinched part disposed on an opposite side of said brazing filler material pooling part from the pipe end face of the cylindrical flared part; and
a capillary tube having a tube end part with a diameter smaller than that of said pipe end part of said heat transfer pipe, said capillary tube being disposed within the pinched part of said heat transfer pipe; and
a brazing filler material disposed within the brazing filler material pooling part that secures said capillary tube to said heat transfer pipe,
said pinched part and said brazing filler material pooling part being formed by flatly crushing in a pipe latitudinal direction only a portion of said cylindrical flared part that is spaced from said pipe end face.
7. The connection structure as recited in claim 6, wherein
said heat transfer pipe further includes an auxiliary flared part that encloses a perimeter of said brazing filler material pooling part, said auxiliary flared part being formed on a pipe end face side of said brazing filler material pooling part.
8. The connection structure as recited in claim 6, wherein
said cylindrical flared part has a length in a pipe longitudinal direction of at least 5 mm and less than 10 mm, and
said pinched part has a length in the pipe longitudinal direction of at least 0.4 times and less than 0.6 times the length of said cylindrical flared part in the pipe longitudinal direction.
9. A heat exchanger having a plurality of said connection structures as recited in claim 6, and further comprising:
a plurality of plate fins arranged in parallel at a prescribed interval, with a plurality of said heat transfer pipes passing through said plurality of plate fins in a plate thickness direction.
10. The connection structure as recited in claim 7, wherein
said cylindrical flared part has a length in a pipe longitudinal direction of at least 5 mm and less than 10 mm, and
said pinched part has a length in the pipe longitudinal direction of at least 0.4 times and less than 0.6 times the length of said cylindrical flared part in the pipe longitudinal direction.
11. The heat exchanger as recited in claim 9, wherein
each of the heat transfer pipes includes an auxiliary flared part that encloses a perimeter of said brazing filler material pooling part, the auxiliary flared part being formed on a pipe end face side of said brazing filler material pooling part.
12. The heat exchanger as recited in claim 9, wherein
said cylindrical flared part has a length in a pipe longitudinal direction of at least 5 mm and less than 10 mm, and
said pinched part has a length in the pipe longitudinal direction of at least 0.4 times and less than 0.6 times the length of said cylindrical flared part in the pipe longitudinal direction.
13. The heat exchanger as recited in claim 11, wherein
said cylindrical flared part has a length in a pipe longitudinal direction of at least 5 mm and less than 10 mm, and
said pinched part has a length in the pipe longitudinal direction of at least 0.4 times and less than 0.6 times the length of said cylindrical flared part in the pipe longitudinal direction.