A rotary tower assembly for a wind turbine and a wind turbine

Abstract

The present invention discloses a rotary tower assembly for a wind turbine and a wind turbine. The rotary tower assembly includes: a base; a tower body, the lower end of the tower body is rotatably connected to the base, and the nacelle of the wind turbine is fixedly connected to the upper end of the tower body appropriately. The cross-section of the tower body has two mutually orthogonal main axes, corresponding to two different bending stiffness directions respectively; a wind direction / anemometer is provided on the wind turbine to detect the flow direction and speed of the airflow, and the tower body rotates according to the measurement result of the anemometer so that its main plane faces the airflow at a predetermined angle. Thus, when the direction of the airflow changes, the main plane of the tower body with the maximum bending stiffness can always be kept coincident with the plane of the maximum bending moment applied to the tower. Therefore, the stiffness of other sides of the tower body can be appropriately reduced according to the actual use situation, so that the sizes of other sides of the tower body can be reduced, achieving the purpose of weight reduction.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of wind turbines, and specifically relates to a rotary tower assembly for a wind turbine and a wind turbine. Background Art

[0002] The tower of a traditional wind turbine is fixed on a stationary platform. The tower is rotatably connected to the nacelle, and the nacelle is rotatably connected to the hub. Since the tower is fixed and the nacelle and the impeller rotate with respect to the wind, due to the randomness of the air flow direction, the tower will bear the maximum possible loads in all directions. Therefore, the tower is usually made circular (the bending stiffness in all directions of a circular cross-section is the same), and the tower is the heaviest part of the wind turbine. This method has problems such as a heavy tower weight, high production difficulty, a complex structure at the connection between the nacelle and the tower, poor sealing of the nacelle, and difficult maintenance of the yaw system.

[0003] In view of this, the present invention is specifically proposed. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art and provide a rotary tower assembly for a wind turbine and a wind turbine. To solve the above technical problems, the basic concept of the technical solution adopted by the present invention is:

[0005] On the one hand, the present invention provides a rotary tower assembly for a wind turbine, including:

[0006] A base;

[0007] A tower body, the lower end of the tower body is rotatably connected to the base, and the nacelle of the wind turbine is fixedly connected to the upper end of the tower body. In the circumferential direction of the tower body, the tower body has at least one windward side, and the bending stiffness of the windward side is greater than that of the other sides of the tower body;

[0008] A detector, the detector is adapted to be arranged on the wind turbine, and the detector is used to detect the flow direction and speed of the air flow, and the tower body rotates according to the detection result of the detector so that the air flow flows towards the windward side.

[0009] In some embodiments of the present invention, the cross-section of the tower body is a non-circular structure.

[0010] In some embodiments of the present invention, the cross-section of the tower body is an ellipse.

[0011] In some embodiments of the present invention, the cross-section of the tower body is an I-shaped structure.

[0012] In some embodiments of the present invention, the included angle between the major axis direction of the cross-section of the tower body and the air flow direction is θ, and the calculation formula of θ is:

[0013]

[0014] Among them, Mtl is the lateral moment at the bottom of the tower body, Mtn is the normal moment at the bottom of the tower body, T is the rotational torque of the impeller, F is the air resistance, and H is the height of the hub of the impeller. θ is from -1° to 12°.

[0015] In some embodiments of the present invention, the cross-section of the tower body is rectangular. When the air flow flows towards the windward side, the long axis direction of the cross-section of the tower body is not parallel or coincident with the air flow direction, that is, there is an included angle between the long axis direction and the air flow direction.

[0016] In some embodiments of the present invention, the tower body includes a plurality of frames arranged at intervals and sheet metal wrapped outside the plurality of frames.

[0017] In some embodiments of the present invention, it further includes a slewing platform and a driving member arranged on the slewing platform. The lower end of the tower body is connected to the slewing platform, the slewing platform is rotatably connected to the base, and the driving member cooperates with the base to drive the slewing platform to rotate relative to the base.

[0018] In some embodiments of the present invention, the slewing platform and the base are connected by gear transmission.

[0019] In some embodiments of the present invention, the base is provided with the mating gear ring arranged around the slewing platform. The driving member is a driving motor, and the driving motor is provided with a driving gear, and the driving gear meshes with the mating gear ring.

[0020] On the other hand, the present invention provides a wind turbine, including:

[0021] A nacelle and an impeller, the impeller is rotatably connected to the nacelle through a hub;

[0022] A rotary tower assembly, the rotary tower assembly is the rotary tower assembly according to any one of the above of the present invention, and the nacelle is fixedly connected to the top of the tower body.

[0023] After adopting the above technical solutions, the present invention has the following beneficial effects compared with the prior art.

[0024] In the present invention, by making the bending stiffness of the windward side of the tower body greater than that of the other sides of the tower body, and enabling the tower body to rotate relative to the base, when the direction of the airflow changes, the tower body is rotated so that the airflow can always flow towards the windward side of the tower body. Therefore, the stiffness of the other sides of the tower body can be appropriately reduced according to the actual use situation, so that the sizes of the other sides of the tower body can be reduced, achieving the purpose of weight reduction. And as the weight of the tower body decreases, the transportation difficulty of the tower body is reduced.

[0025] The following further describes in detail the specific embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings. Description of the Drawings

[0026] As part of this application, the accompanying drawings are used to provide a further understanding of the present invention. The schematic embodiments of the present invention and their descriptions are used to explain the present invention, but do not constitute an improper limitation of the present invention. Obviously, the accompanying drawings in the following description are only some embodiments. For those of ordinary skill in the art, without creative efforts, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings. In the drawings:

[0027] Figure 1 is a three-dimensional structural schematic diagram of a wind turbine according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 2 is a sectional view of a tower body with a rectangular cross-section according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 3 is a sectional view of a tower body with an I-shaped cross-section according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 4 is a sectional view of a tower body with an elliptical cross-section according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 5 is a sectional view of a tower body with an elliptical cross-section according to some other embodiments of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 6 is a sectional view of a tower body according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0033] Figure 7 is a three-dimensional structural schematic diagram of the cooperation state of a tower body, a slewing platform, a driving member and a base according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0034] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of the force analysis of a tower body according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0035] Figure 9 is a top view of a nacelle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0036] In the figure: 1, base; 11, mating gear ring; 2, tower body; 21, windward side; 22, frame; 23, sheet metal; 3, nacelle; 4, driving member; 41, driving gear; 5, slewing platform; 6, impeller; 7, hub.

[0037] It should be noted that these drawings and textual descriptions are not intended to limit the scope of the concept of the present invention in any way, but to illustrate the concept of the present invention to those skilled in the art by referring to specific embodiments. Detailed embodiments

[0038] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the following will clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. The following embodiments are used to illustrate the present invention but are not used to limit the scope of the present invention.

[0039] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that the orientation or positional relationships indicated by the terms "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "inner", "outer", etc. are based on the orientation or positional relationships shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation to the present invention.

[0040] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that unless otherwise clearly specified and defined, the terms "installed", "connected", and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0041] As Figures 1 to 7 shown, the present invention provides a rotary tower assembly for a wind turbine, including: a base 1; a tower body 2, the lower end of the tower body 2 is rotatably connected to the base 1, and the nacelle 3 of the wind turbine is fixedly connected to the upper end of the tower body 2. In the circumferential direction of the tower body 2, the tower body 2 has at least one windward side 21, and the bending stiffness of the windward side 21 is greater than the bending stiffness of the other sides of the tower body 2; a detecting member, the detecting member is disposed on the wind turbine, and the detecting member is used to detect the flow direction and velocity of the airflow, and the tower body 2 rotates according to the detection result of the detecting member so that the airflow flows toward the windward side 21.

[0042] It can be understood that by making the bending stiffness of the windward side 21 of the tower body 2 greater than that of the other sides of the tower body 2 and enabling the tower body 2 to rotate relative to the base 1, when the direction of the air flow changes, the tower body 2 is rotated so that the air flow can always flow towards the windward side 21 of the tower body 2. Therefore, the stiffness of the other sides of the tower body 2 can be appropriately reduced according to the actual use situation, so that the sizes of the other sides of the tower body 2 can be reduced, achieving the purpose of weight reduction. And as the weight of the tower body 2 decreases, the transportation difficulty of the tower body 2 is reduced.

[0043] Here, it needs to be explained that the windward side 21 can be a plane of the tower body 2 or a hypothetical plane with a certain angle between a plane of the tower body 2 and the direction of the air flow. As long as it is ensured that the windward side 21 is the side with greater bending stiffness on the tower body 2, there is no limitation on the windward side 21 here.

[0044] It should be noted that the detection component can be a sensor or a wind direction / wind speed meter. The detection component can be arranged on the nacelle 3. Since the flow direction of the air flow is random, the detection component detects the flow direction of the air flow and transmits the detection result to the control system. After receiving the detection result, the control system controls the rotation of the tower body 2 so that the air flow flows towards the windward side 21 of the tower body 2, so that the windward side 21 with stronger bending stiffness of the tower body 2 can always bear the thrust of the air flow, ensuring the stability of the wind turbine.

[0045] It also needs to be noted that in traditional wind turbines, since the nacelle 3 and the tower body 2 are rotatably connected, the connection structure at the joint is relatively complex and the sealing performance is poor, affecting the service life of electrical components such as generators in the nacelle 3. In the rotary tower assembly of the present invention, by fixedly connecting the nacelle 3 to the upper end of the tower body 2, the connection structure between the nacelle 3 and the tower body 2 is made simpler, the sealing performance is better, and the service life of electrical components such as generators in the nacelle 3 is longer.

[0046] In some embodiments, the tower body 2 is a hollow structure, thereby further reducing the weight of the tower body 2. In some embodiments, the cross-sectional shape of the tower body 2 can be defined according to the actual use situation, as long as the bending stiffness of the windward side 21 of the tower body 2 is greater than that of the other sides of the tower body 2. There is no limitation on the cross-sectional shape of the tower body 2 here.

[0047] As Figures 2 to 6 shown, in some embodiments of the present invention, the cross-section of the tower body 2 is a non-circular structure. It can be understood that by making the cross-section of the tower body 2 a non-circular structure, the tower body 2 is prevented from being made into a circular or conical cylindrical structure, avoiding the need for the tower body 2 to be rolled on equipment such as a plate rolling machine and reducing the process complexity.

[0048] As shown Figures 4 to 5 in some embodiments of the present invention, the cross-section of the tower body 2 is oval. It can be understood that by setting the tower body 2 into an oval structure, when the bending stiffness of the windward side 21 of the oval tower body 2 is the same as that of the conventional circular tower body 2, the weight of the oval tower body 2 is less than that of the conventional circular tower body 2, so as to achieve the purpose of weight reduction. And as the weight of the tower body 2 decreases, the transportation difficulty of the tower body 2 is reduced.

[0049] As shown Figure 2 in some embodiments of the present invention, the cross-section of the tower body 2 is rectangular. It can be understood that by setting the tower body 2 into a rectangular structure, when the bending stiffness of the windward side 21 of the rectangular tower body 2 is the same as that of the conventional circular tower body 2, the weight of the rectangular tower body 2 is reduced by 30% compared with that of the conventional circular tower body 2, so as to achieve the purpose of weight reduction. And as the weight of the tower body 2 decreases, the transportation difficulty of the tower body 2 is reduced.

[0050] As shown Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 8 and Figure 9 shown, in some embodiments, taking the tower body 2 with a rectangular cross-section as an example, assuming that the impeller 6 rotates clockwise during operation, then the force on the bottom of the tower body 2 is as shown Figure 1 and Figure 8 shown. The torque on the bottom of the tower body 2 mainly comes from two parts:

[0051] Tower bottom lateral torque Mtl, generated by the rotation of the impeller 6, and its effect is to make the whole wind turbine swing to the right facing the impeller 6;

[0052] Tower bottom normal torque Mtn, generated by the thrust of the wind, and its effect is to make the wind turbine swing backward;

[0053] Furthermore, the resultant torque on the tower body 2 is Mt. There are two mutually orthogonal principal axes in the cross-section direction of the tower body 2, which are the y-axis and the Z-axis respectively. Among them, the Z-axis corresponds to a larger bending stiffness of the tower body 2. When the direction of the air flow changes, rotate the tower body 2 so that the Z-axis direction faces the air flow at a certain angle, and the tower body 2 at this angle is the windward side 21, so that the windward side 21 with a larger bending stiffness of the tower body 2 always coincides with the plane of the maximum bending moment applied to the tower body 2. That is to say, as shown Figure 8 and Figure 9 shown, the impeller 6 faces the air flow direction directly, and the tower body 2 faces the air flow direction obliquely.

[0054] Among them, the Z-axis faces the airflow at a certain angle θ, and the calculation formula for the angle θ is as follows:

[0055]

[0056] T, F, and H are design parameters related to the power of the wind turbine. Among them, T is the rotational torque of the impeller 6, F is the air resistance, and H is the height of the hub 7 of the impeller 6. According to in the range of (0, 0.2), the value range of θ is obtained as (0, 11°). Therefore, in actual use, θ can be preset at 5.5°, and then the installation angle between the nacelle 3 (the axis of the nacelle 3 is parallel to the wind direction) and the tower body 2 can be adjusted according to the actual load, and the adjustment range of the installation angle is set as [-1°, 12°].

[0057] As Figure 3 shown, in some embodiments of the present invention, the cross-section of the tower body 2 is an I-shaped structure. Thus, the I-shaped tower body 2 can be directly welded using steel plates, reducing the production difficulty and improving the production efficiency. And when the flexural rigidity of the windward side 21 of the I-shaped tower body 2 is the same as that of the traditional circular tower body 2, the weight of the I-shaped tower body 2 is reduced by 70% compared with the traditional circular tower body 2, thereby achieving the purpose of weight reduction. And as the weight of the tower body 2 decreases, the transportation difficulty of the tower body 2 is reduced.

[0058] As Figure 6 shown, in some embodiments of the present invention, the tower body 2 includes a plurality of frames 22 arranged at intervals and a sheet metal 23 wrapped outside the plurality of frames 22. Thus, while ensuring the structural strength and stability of the tower body 2, the production difficulty is reduced and the production efficiency is improved.

[0059] In some embodiments, the number of frames 22 can be four, and the sheet metal 23 is wrapped outside the four frames 22, so that the cross-section of the tower body 2 is generally a rectangular structure, improving the stability of the tower body 2.

[0060] It should be noted that when the cross-section of the tower body 2 is an elliptical, rectangular or I-shaped structure, the tower body 2 has two opposite windward sides 21. Thus, when the direction of the airflow reverses, even if the tower body 2 does not rotate, the airflow can be made to flow towards the windward side 21, thereby reducing the number of rotations of the tower body 2 and improving the stability.

[0061] As Figure 1 and Figure 7As shown, in some embodiments of the present invention, it further includes a slewing platform 5 and a driving member 4 disposed on the slewing platform 5. The lower end of the tower body 2 is connected to the slewing platform 5, and the slewing platform 5 is rotatably connected to the base 1. The driving member 4 cooperates with the base 1 to drive the slewing platform 5 to rotate relative to the base 1.

[0062] It can be understood that the control system can be disposed within the slewing platform 5. The control system can be electrically connected to the driving member 4. The detection member transmits the detection result to the control system, and the control system controls the operating state of the driving member 4, thereby driving the slewing platform 5 to rotate on the base 1. The slewing platform 5 rotates to drive the tower body 2 to rotate, making the rotation of the tower body 2 more reliable.

[0063] As Figure 1 and Figure 7 As shown, in some embodiments of the present invention, the slewing platform 5 and the base 1 are connected by gear transmission. Thus, the transmission cooperation between the slewing platform 5 and the base 1 is more reliable. In some embodiments, the transmission structure between the slewing platform 5 and the base 1 can also adopt worm and worm gear transmission or other transmission forms, as long as the slewing platform 5 can achieve low-speed rotation with large torque. The form of the transmission structure is not limited herein.

[0064] As Figure 1 and Figure 7 As shown, in some embodiments of the present invention, the base 1 is provided with a mating gear ring 11 disposed around the slewing platform 5. The driving member 4 is a driving motor, and the driving motor is provided with a driving gear 41. The driving gear 41 meshes with the mating gear ring 11. It can be understood that the driving gear 41 is installed on the motor shaft of the driving motor. By controlling the forward and reverse rotation of the driving motor, the rotation of the driving gear 41 is controlled. Since the driving gear 41 meshes with the mating gear ring 11, when the driving gear 41 rotates, the slewing platform 5 can be driven to rotate relative to the base 1, making the rotation of the tower body 2 more reliable.

[0065] In some embodiments, there can be multiple driving motors. The multiple driving motors are arranged at intervals along the circumferential direction of the slewing platform 5, thereby ensuring the stability of the rotation of the slewing platform 5. In this embodiment, there are two driving motors.

[0066] The nacelle of the wind turbine of the present invention is fixedly connected to the upper end of the tower body. The cross-section of the tower body has two mutually orthogonal main axes, corresponding to two different flexural stiffness directions respectively; a wind direction / anemometer is provided on the wind turbine to detect the flow direction and speed of the air flow, and the tower body rotates according to the measurement result of the anemometer so that its main plane faces the air flow at a predetermined angle. Thus, when the direction of the air flow changes, the main plane of the tower body with the maximum flexural stiffness can always be kept coincident with the plane of the maximum bending moment applied to the tower, so that the stiffness of other sides of the tower body can be appropriately reduced according to the actual use situation, and thus the sizes of other sides of the tower body can be reduced to achieve the purpose of weight reduction.

[0067] As Figures 1 to 7 shown, the present invention also provides a wind turbine, including: a nacelle 3 and an impeller 6, the impeller 6 is rotatably connected to the nacelle 3 through a hub 7; a rotary tower assembly, the rotary tower assembly is the rotary tower assembly according to any one of the above of the present invention, and the nacelle 3 is fixedly connected to the top of the tower body 2. In this embodiment, the wind turbine can be a horizontal axis wind turbine.

[0068] For the wind turbine according to the embodiment of the present invention, by making the flexural stiffness of the windward side 21 of the tower body 2 greater than that of the other sides of the tower body 2 and enabling the tower body 2 to rotate relative to the base 1, when the direction of the air flow changes, the tower body 2 is rotated so that the air flow can always flow towards the windward side 21 of the tower body 2. Therefore, the stiffness of other sides of the tower body 2 can be appropriately reduced according to the actual use situation, and thus the sizes of other sides of the tower body 2 can be reduced to achieve the purpose of weight reduction, and as the weight of the tower body 2 decreases, the transportation difficulty of the tower body 2 is reduced.

[0069] The above are only the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and do not impose any form of limitation on the present invention. Although the present invention has been disclosed above with the preferred embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Any person skilled in the art of this patent, without departing from the scope of the technical solution of the present invention, can make some changes or modifications to the above-mentioned technical content as equivalent embodiments of equivalent changes. However, any simple modification, equivalent change and modification made to the above embodiments based on the technical essence of the present invention without departing from the content of the technical solution of the present invention still fall within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A rotary tower component for a wind turbine, characterized in that, Comprising: A base (1); A tower body (2), the lower end of the tower body (2) is rotatably connected to the base (1), and the nacelle (3) of the wind turbine is adapted to be fixedly connected to the upper end of the tower body (2); in the circumferential direction of the tower body (2), the tower body (2) has at least one windward side (21), and the flexural rigidity of the windward side (21) is greater than that of the remaining sides of the tower body (2); A detector, the detector is adapted to be arranged on the wind turbine, and the detector is used to detect the flow direction and speed of the air flow, and the tower body (2) rotates according to the detection result of the detector so that the air flow flows towards the windward side (21); The cross-section of the tower body (2) is rectangular or I-shaped, the impeller (6) faces the air flow direction directly, the tower body (2) faces the air flow direction obliquely, the axis of the nacelle (3) is parallel to the wind direction, the included angle between the long axis direction of the cross-section of the tower body (2) and the air flow direction is θ, and the value range of θ is (0, 11°), and the adjustment range of the installation angle between the nacelle (3) and the tower body (2) is [-1°, 12°]. The calculation formula of θ is: ； Wherein, Mtl is the lateral moment at the bottom of the tower body (2), Mtn is the normal moment at the bottom of the tower body (2), T is the rotational torque of the impeller (6), F is the air resistance, and H is the height of the hub (7) of the impeller (6).

2. The rotary tower assembly for a wind turbine according to claim 1, characterized in that, The tower body (2) includes a plurality of frames (22) arranged at intervals and a sheet metal (23) wrapped outside the plurality of frames (22).

3. The rotary tower assembly for a wind turbine according to claim 1, wherein It further includes a slewing platform (5) and a driving member (4) arranged on the slewing platform (5). The lower end of the tower body (2) is connected to the slewing platform (5), the slewing platform (5) is rotatably connected to the base (1), and the driving member (4) cooperates with the base (1) to drive the slewing platform (5) to rotate relative to the base (1).

4. The rotary tower assembly for a wind turbine according to claim 3, characterized in that, The slewing platform (5) and the base (1) are connected by gear transmission. A mating gear ring (11) surrounding the slewing platform (5) is provided on the base (1). The driving member (4) is a driving motor, and a driving gear (41) is provided on the driving motor. The driving gear (41) meshes with the mating gear ring (11).

5. A wind turbine, characterized in that, Comprising: A nacelle (3) and an impeller (6), the impeller (6) is rotatably connected to the nacelle (3) through a hub (7); A rotary tower assembly, the rotary tower assembly is the rotary tower assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 4, and the nacelle (3) is fixedly connected to the top of the tower body (2).

Images