Novel transition component for wind turbine

Abstract

The invention relates to a novel transition part for a wind turbine formed from a hollow cylindrical tubular section (1) having a plurality of connected rings (1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e), the upper part of the transition part being a tower flange (11), the upper third comprising platforms (7, 8) and ribs (12), and the bottom part being a radial platform (9) having a bracket. The transition part further comprises three support columns (2), each support column comprising a support connector (4) and a corner connector (5), and six radial columns (3), the radial columns (3) being horizontal tubes narrower than the support columns (2). The support connector (4) is a component connecting the tubular section (1) by means of a female thread joint into the blind hole and connecting the upper portion of the support joint (2) by means of a circular joint. The corner connector (5) is a component having three joints: a first joint connected to the bottom portion of the support joint (2), a second joint connected to the ground or a module completing the lower truss tower, and a third joint connected to two radial joints (3) extending horizontally to the tubular section (1). And all the joints are circular joints. The X-shaped radial connector (6) is a cast iron part having two joints: a joint connecting the tubular section (1) by means of a flat joint and a joint connecting the two radial columns (3) by means of a circular joint.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention describes a component for supporting a tubular tower and its corresponding wind turbine, which consists of a nacelle, hub, and blades. This component can be the base of the wind turbine, anchored to the ground via its corresponding foundation, or it can be a transition component to increase the height of the tower by means of truss modules inserted through its lower portion, forming a hybrid wind turbine with a tubular upper portion. Background Technology

[0002] Based on the prior art known and researched by the applicant, the following patents are particularly prominent:

[0003] Patent EP2944810A1 provides a connection for use in lattice towers. These are primarily bolted shear connections and correspond to corner posts of the tower with transverse elements.

[0004] Patent EP3369925A1 provides a connection between a column serving as an auxiliary leg and a central support column corresponding to a tubular tower of a wind turbine. This connection is presented by means of a closed curved structure 11 and a central crossbar 13, having a web 9 and a cap 10, wherein the cap of the column is fixed to the central support column.

[0005] Patent WO2021084143 provides a centrally frustoconical component 7 attached to an upper ring 8 and a lower ring 9. These rings are in turn attached to radial and horizontal crossbars, which are connected by cast connectors. Radial beams 11 are angled to better support loads.

[0006] The main difference between the novel transition section and the prior art lies in the materials, thus saving costs. To achieve this, the cast connectors used to connect all the components used in patent WO2021084143 are minimized, and the upper and lower rings and the quadrilateral horizontal beam are eliminated. The novel casting is very small and preferably made of iron.

[0007] All components are tubular to facilitate standardized manufacturing, eliminating the need to change the design of quadrilateral parts. Summary of the Invention

[0008] It is a transitional platform for 5-6MW wind turbines and can be expanded to a future 7MW platform with a height of 200 meters (HH).

[0009] The tubular section consists of multiple interconnected hollow segments and is cylindrical, which enhances its torsional performance. It features a reinforcing intervening member between two platforms, formed by a plate arranged perpendicular to the tubular section. The internal platform of the tubular section serves as a working plate, allowing the operator to easily bolt the remaining components constituting the transition section.

[0010] Thanks to the lean design of its tubular tower, which houses the nacelle and blades, the novel transition section is as low as possible to better support existing loads. Its leg spacing ratio is 18 meters, compared to a height of 10 meters.

[0011] In cases where the leg joint serves as the base of a wind turbine and is directly anchored to the ground via its corresponding foundation, the leg joint is level with the ground, rather than raised.

[0012] All connections are secured with bolts, and the threaded holes are secured with bolts from the inside. All circular connections are shear connections.

[0013] In summary, the following advantages are achieved:

[0014] - The tripod-like transition section, whose leg spacing is greater than its height, completely compensates for the overturning momentum caused by the small diameter of the tower (which supports the large vertical forces generated by the weight of the nacelle and blades).

[0015] Another advantage is that transporting the new transitional units requires half the number of vehicles. The number is reduced from eight trucks to four. All parts can be transported on regular trucks. Attached Figure Description

[0016] A brief description of a series of accompanying drawings is given below to better understand the invention, and specifically relates to embodiments of the invention presented as non-limiting examples thereof.

[0017] Figure 1 shows the elevation view. Figure 1a and floor plan Figure 1b .

[0018] Figure 2 The interior of the tubular section is shown.

[0019] Figure 3 The cross-section of the upper portion of the tubular section is shown.

[0020] Figure 4 The cross-section showing the connection between the section and the support column is shown.

[0021] Figure 5 Details of the upper part of the section are shown from the outside.

[0022] Figure 6 Details of the corner connector are shown.

[0023] Figure 7 shows details of the radial connector as seen from the top 7a and bottom 7b.

[0024] Figure 8 This is a perspective view of a part of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0025] As shown in Figure 1, the transition section is formed in the following manner:

[0026] - A hollow cylindrical tubular segment (1) formed by multiple connected rings (1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e).

[0027] - Three support columns (2), each support column having a support connector (4) and a corner connector (5).

[0028] - Six radial columns (3), which are horizontal tubes that are narrower than the support columns (2).

[0029] - The support connector (4) is a cast component that uses a rectangular connector to connect the top of the tubular section (1) and a circular connector to connect the top of the support column (2).

[0030] - The corner connector (5) is a cast component with three connections: one connects to the bottom of the support column (2), another connects to the floor or to the module that completes the lower truss tower, and the third connects to the two radial columns (3) that extend horizontally to the tubular section (1). All connections are circular.

[0031] - The X-shaped radial connector (6) is a cast part with two connecting parts: one is connected to the tubular section (1) via a flat connecting part, and the other is connected to the two radial columns (3) via a circular connecting part.

[0032] Figure 2The hollow interior of the cylindrical element forming the tubular section (1) is shown. Ring (1a) is the upper ring and is connected to the tower flange (11). Ring (1b) is the thicker ring with three quadrilateral connection areas (13); two annular platforms (7, 8): one for the upper support (7) and one for the lower support (8); and several intermediary member plates (12). The intermediary member plates (12) are plates arranged perpendicular to the annular platforms (7, 8), such that each connection area (13) has two annular platforms (7, 8) and two intermediary member plates (12), and the connection holes for bolts are located around the edges. Rings (1c, 1d) are intermediate rings of constant thickness and are the tallest in the assembly. Ring (1e) is the lower ring and has a radial platform (9) with a large-diameter central hole and three sections with surrounding through holes (10), reinforced by several supports (not shown). All platforms (7, 8, and 9) are ring-shaped, meaning they have internal openings to allow tension cables, elevators, and wind turbine maintenance ladders to pass through.

[0033] Figure 3 A cross-section of the tower flange (11) mounted on top of the tubular section (1) is shown. The thicker ring (1b) has thicker walls to accommodate all the holes into which fixing screws are inserted. Adjacent to each of the quadrilateral connecting areas (13) are two rows of holes (14) above the upper support platform (7) and one row of holes below it. The lower support platform (8) has holes (15) adjacent to each of the quadrilateral connecting areas (13) only on its upper portion. The intermediary member (12) between the platforms (7, 8) also has holes (16) on its side adjacent to the aforementioned quadrilateral areas (13).

[0034] Figure 4 The connection between the cast portion of the support connector (4) and the support column (2) at one end and the upper portion of the tubular section (1) at the other end is shown. All connections are secured with bolts. At the end of the support column (2), there is a circular flange-to-flange connection, and at the end of the tubular section (1), these pass through the upper hole (14), side hole (16), and lower hole (15). All holes are blind holes to prevent corrosion. For a good connection, the upper end of the support connector (4) has a concave rectangular shape to connect to the wall of the tubular section (1). The intervening member (12) and the platform (7, 8) on the inside reinforce the connection.

[0035] like Figure 5As shown, the support connector (4) is secured from the inside by a row of protrusions in the casting (14'), which correspond to the upper hole (14) and are added to keep the bolts blind and allow for a thinner area. The remaining hardware is secured from the inside of the tubular section (1) using platforms (7, 8), allowing the operator to move and screw in the fixing elements corresponding to the side blind holes (16) and the bottom blind holes (15). The support connector (4) is connected at the bottom to the top of the support post (2) with a round joint (17).

[0036] Figure 6 The corner connector (5) is shown. All its ends have a flat, rounded shape to complete the flange-to-flange bolted connection. At the top end, it connects to the bottom of the support column (2) via a round joint (18). Beyond the top end, it forms an elbow, and two smaller-diameter flat, rounded connecting parts (19) extend radially from its sides, axially connecting to the corresponding horizontal column (3). The lower end of the corner connector (5) has a round joint (20) that can be assembled into the foundation to form the base of a wind turbine, or it can be assembled with a truss module inserted below the transition section. Two conical ends (21) extend from the sides of the corner connector (5) and connect to the horizontal column (3) via narrow rounded connecting parts (19). These ends (21) are completely integrated with the corner connector (5) and are part of the same casting.

[0037] like Figure 7a and Figure 7b As shown, at the last ring (1e) (i.e., the lower ring) of the tubular section (1), the radial column (3) is connected to the base of the tubular section (1) by means of a radial connector (6) in the form of an X-shaped casting. The radial connector (6) has two flat round ends (19') and a flat V-shaped joint (22). The two flat round ends (19') are used to connect to the radial column (3), which is the same as the opposite ends (19). The flat V-shaped joint (22) is used to connect to the radial platform (9), which has three segments of a surrounding through hole (10) corresponding to the hole (10') of the flat joint (22), which is shear resistant.

[0038] Figure 8A perspective view of the transition section is shown, the base of which forms an equilateral triangle with sides greater than the height of the tubular section (1), facilitating load absorption. The tubular section (1) is cylindrical, its base at ground level, and its support column (2) is bolted to the front third of the tubular section (1). A radial joint (3) extends horizontally and is anchored to the base of the tubular section (1) by means of a radial connector (6) (specifically a flat V-shaped joint (22) with three surrounding through-hole sections (10)). The upper portion of the tubular section (1) is free; two platforms (7,8) are arranged at the upper third, and a platform (9) is arranged at the base. All platforms are parallel to each other and parallel to the ground.

Claims

1. A transition section for a wind turbine, the transition section supporting a tubular tower, the top of which is fitted with corresponding nacelles, hubs, and blades, and the transition section having a tripod shape, characterized in that, The transition portion has a relationship where the distance between the legs is greater than the height of the component itself, and includes: - A tubular section (1), which is a hollow cylinder formed by multiple connected rings (1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e), has a tower flange (11) in its upper part, an annular platform (7, 8) in the first third, and a radial base platform (9) in its lower part. - Three support columns (2), each support column having a support connector (4) and a corner connector (5), - Six radial columns (3), which are formed by horizontally arranged tubes and are narrower than the support columns (2), wherein: - The support connector (4) is a component that connects the upper third of the tubular section (1) with a concave rectangular joint that is fixed from the inside to the blind hole with bolts and the upper part of the support connector (2) with a circular joint (17). - The corner connector (5) is a cast component with three circular joints: one connects to the lower portion of the support column (2), another connects to the ground or the module that completes the lower truss tower, and the third is a narrow connector (19) that connects to two radial columns (3) that extend horizontally to the radial connector (6), which is attached to the tubular section (1), and in which - The X-shaped radial connector (6) is a component with two joints: one joint is connected to the base of the tubular section (1), and the other joint is connected to the two radial posts (3).

2. The transition portion according to the preceding claim, characterized in that, The upper ring (1a) is connected to the tower flange (11), and the thickest ring (1b) has: three quadrilateral connection areas (13), two annular platforms (7, 8): one annular platform (7) for upper support and the other annular platform (8) for lower support, each window has two plates arranged perpendicular to the platform to form an intermediary member (12), the rings (1c, 1d) are intermediate rings with constant thickness and higher height than the other rings, and the lower ring (1e) has an annular radial platform (9) at its base, the radial platform having three sections reinforced by multiple supports with through holes (10).

3. The transition portion according to claim 1, characterized in that, The support connector (4) has a concave rectangular shape to connect the wall of the tubular section (1), and the connection is reinforced by an intermediary member (12) and a platform (7, 8) on the inner side. The connection is achieved by a threaded connection with blind holes on the inner side corresponding to the lateral through holes (16) and the lower through holes (15) and a row of protrusions (14') corresponding to the upper hole (14). The row of protrusions is added so that this area has a small thickness and is a blind connection.

4. The transition section according to claim 1, characterized in that, The upper end of the corner connector (5) is connected to the lower part of the support connector (2) via a circular connector (18), forming an elbow behind the upper end. Two flat circular connecting parts (19) of smaller diameter extend radially from its side. The flat circular connecting parts (19) are connected to the corresponding horizontal connector (3) in a shear manner. The lower end of the corner connector (5) has a circular connector (20) to be assembled to the foundation or truss module. Two conical ends (21) extend from the side of the corner connector (5). The conical ends are connected to the horizontal connector (3) via the circular connecting parts (19).

5. The transition portion according to claim 1, characterized in that, The radial joint (3) is connected to the lower ring (1e) by means of an X-shaped cast component, namely the radial connector (6), which has two flat round ends (19′) for connecting to the radial joint (3) and a flat V-shaped joint (22) with a through hole (10′) for connecting to the radial platform (9).

6. The transition portion according to claim 1, characterized in that, All platforms (7, 8, and 9) have internal openings to allow the passage of wind turbine tension cables, elevators, and maintenance ladders.

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