Ultra-light, re-usable, extended-height meteorological tower apparatus and method

Abstract

A method and apparatus for erecting a lightweight, tall (60 to 80 meters or more) tower that may be temporary and re-usable as a mount for meteorological instruments is described including guys balancing lateral and transverse forces while maintaining the tower in tension. Forces on all guy lines maintain the tower stable from a substantially horizontal assembly position to a vertical operational position. A system of gin poles and pivots help maintain registration and alignment while pulling the assembled tower erect.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims the benefit of co-pending U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61 / 271,494, filed on Jul. 22, 2009, which is incorporated herein by reference.BACKGROUND[0002]1. The Field of the Invention[0003]This invention relates to steel construction, and more particularly to novel methods and apparatus for erecting very tall, lightweight, lattice-type towers.[0004]2. The Background Art[0005]With the advent of wind energy development, the classic real estate injunction that the principal criteria for value are “location, location, and location” is as true as ever. In order to locate wind turbines in locations having the highest velocities and the highest percentages of functional time periods in a day, engineers need information. Long before the commitment is made to build a wind farm, locations must be studied for their wind velocities and the percentage of each day and each month that wind is blowing at any or each given velocity.[0006]A...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0010]In certain embodiments of an apparatus and method in accordance with the invention, a system may be comprised of control implements to control installation of a tall, slender, temporary, re-useable, meteorological tower. At ground level, the system may include a base. Connected to the base, and pivotable with respect thereto is a tower or a mast assembly, which may be pivotably connected, in turn to a gin pole. A gin pole is a lifting mechanism to provide a pull point for lifting the tower upward. A mini-gin pole is connected to a gin pole to provide cable geometry necessary to prevent bending stress on the gin pole at initial lift and a pull point to lift the gin pole upward.

[0019]On the control side, it has been found most effective to carefully control the payout of the control-side guy cables to avoid column buckling due to compression and dynamic lateral or transverse loads. The tower is lifted in a fully-guyed configuration. Thus, effectively, a structure having a 130 foot diameter is being raised. The compression member (tower) forms the central axis. Meanwhile, 36 tension members (28 for a 60 meter tower) form the peripheral structures.

Problems solved by technology

Acquiring the information on wind histograms is a problem in and of itself.

However, such structures are only cost effective for production of energy.

During the investigative stage, construction of such towers is untenable.

Placing meteorological instrumentation high in the air becomes an erection problem.

Often, wind-harvesting areas are remote.

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