A short-section flange segment for offshore wind turbine towers and its method

Abstract

This invention relates to a flange section for a short section of an offshore wind turbine tower and a manufacturing method thereof. The flange section includes a tower section, a connecting flange, a guide sleeve, and an adjusting column. The rear half of the guide sleeve is embedded inside the tower section, while the front half is located outside the tower section. The connecting flange is located outside the tower section and covers the guide sleeve. A welding bevel is provided between the connecting flange and the end face of the tower section, and the adjusting column is embedded within the welding bevel. The manufacturing method includes two steps: tower section pre-setting and welding. This invention can effectively meet the needs of producing flange sections for short sections of wind turbine towers with various structural types. On the one hand, it can effectively improve the structural strength of the welding surface of the short section of the wind turbine tower; on the other hand, it can effectively improve the weld quality and overcome the defect of reduced processing accuracy caused by material deformation during welding, thereby improving the quality of the produced flange sections for short sections of wind turbine towers.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the flange section of the short cylindrical section of offshore wind turbine tower and the method thereof, belonging to the field of wind power equipment and welding processing technology. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, the main method for manufacturing flanged cylindrical sections of steel discharge towers involves directly welding hollow cylindrical sections made from steel plates to connecting flanges using welding equipment. While this method meets production and usage requirements, it has been found that traditional flanged cylindrical sections are prone to deformation between the flange and the cylindrical section due to the high temperatures during welding. This results in relatively poor processing accuracy and quality stability, and is also prone to stress concentration, thus affecting the production quality of the flanged cylindrical sections of the power tower. Furthermore, the traditional flanged cylindrical sections of power towers have a simple weld structure, only welding between the cylindrical section and the flange end face. This leads to relatively poor mechanical strength at the weld location, making them less resistant to external impacts and torque. Summary of the Invention

[0003] To address the shortcomings of existing technologies, this invention provides a short-section flange segment for offshore wind turbine towers and its usage method, effectively overcoming the defect of reduced processing accuracy caused by material deformation during welding operations, thereby improving the quality of the production and preparation of short-section flange segments for wind turbine towers.

[0004] A short cylindrical flange section of an offshore wind turbine tower includes a cylindrical section, a connecting flange, a guide sleeve, adjusting columns, and a reinforcing keel disposed inside the guide sleeve. Both the cylindrical section and the guide sleeve are hollow columnar structures with a rectangular axial cross-section. The rear half of the guide sleeve is embedded inside the cylindrical section, and the front half is located outside the cylindrical section. The outer surface of the guide sleeve abuts against and slides against the inner surface of the cylindrical section. The connecting flange is located outside the cylindrical section, coaxially distributed with the cylindrical section, and covers the guide sleeve. The front end face of the connecting flange is flush with the front end face of the guide sleeve. A welding bevel with a width of not less than 3 mm is provided between the connecting flange and the end face of the cylindrical section. The adjusting columns are embedded in the welding bevel, and 2-4 adjusting columns are evenly distributed around the axis of the cylindrical section. The adjusting columns are parallel to the axis of the cylindrical section, and their two ends abut against the end face of the cylindrical section and the rear end face of the connecting flange, respectively.

[0005] Furthermore, the length of the guide sleeve embedded in the cylindrical section is no more than 30% of the length of the cylindrical section, and the guide sleeve and the cylindrical section are connected by at least three connecting mechanisms evenly distributed around the axis of the cylindrical section, and the axes of the connecting mechanisms are perpendicular to and intersect with the axis of the cylindrical section.

[0006] Furthermore, the connecting mechanism can be any one of bolts, rivets, or pins.

[0007] Furthermore, the connecting flange and guide sleeve are interconnected by at least two connecting keys, and the rear end face of the connecting flange is welded to the cylinder section.

[0008] Furthermore, the reinforced keel includes a load-bearing tray, guide columns, spring columns, a load-bearing spring, a pressure sensor, a gravity sensor, an elastic hinge, a guide groove, a slider, a load-bearing spring, and wiring terminals. The load-bearing tray is a circular groove structure with an "H"-shaped axial cross-section. The load-bearing tray and the guide sleeve are coaxially distributed. The upper and lower ends of the load-bearing tray are respectively hinged to at least three guide columns evenly distributed around its axis via elastic hinges. The front end faces of the guide columns are connected to and coaxially distributed with the spring columns, and the spring columns are further hinged to the slider via elastic hinges. The slider is guided by... The guide groove is slidably connected to the inner surface of the guide sleeve. The guide groove is distributed parallel to the axis of the guide sleeve. The sliders corresponding to the guide posts on the upper and lower ends of the bearing tray are located on the two ends of the guide groove, and the two sliders are connected to each other by a bearing spring. The bearing spring is embedded in the guide groove and distributed parallel to the axis of the guide groove. The gravity sensor is connected to the bearing tray and distributed coaxially. A pressure sensor is provided at the connection position between the guide post and the spring post and distributed coaxially with it. The pressure sensor and the gravity sensor are electrically connected to the terminal block, and the terminal block is embedded on the outer surface of the guide sleeve.

[0009] A method for manufacturing a short cylindrical flange section of an offshore wind turbine tower includes the following steps: S1, Cylindrical Section Pre-setting: First, place the cylindrical section to be welded on the welding equipment and ensure that the axis of the cylindrical section is parallel to the horizontal plane. Then, insert the guide sleeve into the cylindrical section and connect the connecting flange to the guide sleeve. Adjust the distance between the connecting flange and the end face of the cylindrical section to be welded so that a welding bevel is formed between the cylindrical section and the connecting flange. Finally, insert the adjusting column into the welding bevel and connect it to the cylindrical section and the connecting flange respectively to complete the equipment pre-setting. S2, Welding Operation: After completing step S1, drive the welding equipment to simultaneously weld the cylinder section, connecting flange, and guide sleeve at the welding bevel. During the welding operation, simultaneously drive the welding head of the welding equipment to rotate uniformly around the cylinder section axis until all welding is completed.

[0010] Furthermore, in step S2, during the welding operation, a gaseous constant-temperature cooling medium is simultaneously introduced into the cylinder section, and the gaseous constant-temperature cooling medium is introduced from the end of the cylinder section away from the welding operation surface and discharged from the welding operation surface end.

[0011] Furthermore, in step S2, when the welding head of the welding equipment is used to perform uniform rotational welding around the axis of the cylinder section during the welding operation, either the cylinder section and the connecting flange are stationary while the welding head of the welding equipment rotates around the axis of the cylinder section, or the welding head of the welding equipment is stationary while the cylinder section and the connecting flange rotate synchronously.

[0012] Furthermore, during the welding operation in step S2, one of the adjusting columns is used as the starting end for welding, and then welding is performed around the cylinder section at the welding bevel. During the welding operation, the adjusting column can be either embedded in the welding bevel for overall welding or separated from the welding bevel for welding.

[0013] Furthermore, during the welding operation in step S2, when the adjusting column is used to separate the welding operation from the welding groove, after starting the welding operation from the starting end, after completing at least 80% of the distance between two adjacent adjusting columns, the adjacent adjusting column along the welding operation direction is removed from the welding groove, and during the welding operation surface around the axis of the cylinder section, the adjusting column at the starting point is finally removed, and the weld is closed.

[0014] This invention can effectively meet the needs of manufacturing flange sections for short sections of wind turbine towers with various structural types. On the one hand, it can effectively improve the structural strength of the welding surface of the short section of wind turbine tower; on the other hand, it can effectively improve the quality of the weld seam and overcome the defect of reduced processing accuracy caused by material deformation during welding, thereby improving the quality of the manufacturing of flange sections for short sections of wind turbine towers. Attached Figure Description

[0015] The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments; Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the method flow of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0016] To facilitate the implementation of the technical means, creative features, objectives, and effects of this invention, the invention will be further described below in conjunction with specific embodiments.

[0017] like Figure 1As shown, a short cylindrical flange section of an offshore wind turbine tower includes a cylindrical section 1, a connecting flange 2, a guide sleeve 3, an adjusting column 4, and a reinforcing keel 8 disposed inside the guide sleeve. Both the cylindrical section 1 and the guide sleeve 3 are hollow columnar structures with a rectangular axial cross-section. The rear half of the guide sleeve 3 is embedded inside the cylindrical section 1, and the front half is located outside the cylindrical section 1. The outer surface of the guide sleeve 3 abuts against and slides against the inner surface of the cylindrical section 1. The connecting flange 2 is located outside the cylindrical section 1, coaxially distributed with the cylindrical section 1, and covers the guide sleeve 3. The front end face of the connecting flange 2 is flush with the front end face of the guide sleeve 3. A welding bevel 5 with a width of not less than 3 mm is provided between the connecting flange 2 and the end face of the cylindrical section 1. The adjusting column 4 is embedded in the welding bevel 5. Two to four adjusting columns 4 are evenly distributed around the axis of the cylindrical section 1, and the adjusting columns 4 are parallel to the axis of the cylindrical section 1. Their two ends abut against the end face of the cylindrical section 1 and the rear end face of the connecting flange 2, respectively.

[0018] In this embodiment, the length of the guide sleeve 3 embedded in the cylindrical section 1 is no more than 30% of the length of the cylindrical section 1, and the guide sleeve 3 and the cylindrical section 1 are connected by at least three connecting mechanisms 6 evenly distributed around the axis of the cylindrical section, and the axis of the connecting mechanism 6 is perpendicular to and intersects the axis of the cylindrical section 1.

[0019] In a further optimized version, the connecting mechanism 6 can be any one of bolts, rivets, or pins.

[0020] Meanwhile, the connecting flange 2 and the guide sleeve 3 are connected to each other by at least two connecting keys 7, and the rear end face of the connecting flange 2 is welded to the cylinder section 1.

[0021] In a further optimized configuration, the guide sleeve 3 is provided with at least one spoke-shaped reinforcing keel 8 coaxially distributed with the guide sleeve 3.

[0022] Specifically, the reinforced keel 8 includes a support tray 81, guide posts 82, spring posts 83, a support spring 84, a pressure sensor 85, a gravity sensor 86, an elastic hinge 87, a guide groove 88, a slider 89, a support spring 80, and a terminal block 801. The support tray 81 is a circular groove structure with an "H"-shaped axial cross-section. The support tray 81 and the guide sleeve 3 are coaxially distributed. The upper and lower ends of the support tray 81 are respectively hinged to at least three guide posts 82 evenly distributed around its axis via elastic hinges 87. The front end face of the guide post 82 is connected to and coaxially distributed with the spring post 83. The spring post 83 is further hinged to the slider 89 via an elastic hinge 87. The slider 89 is connected to the guide... The guide groove 88 is slidably connected to the inner surface of the guide sleeve 3. The guide groove 88 is parallel to the axis of the guide sleeve 3. The sliders 89 corresponding to the guide posts 82 on the upper and lower ends of the bearing tray 81 are located on the two ends of the guide groove 88, and the two sliders 89 are connected to each other by a bearing spring 84. The bearing spring 84 is embedded in the guide groove 88 and is parallel to the axis of the guide groove 88. The gravity sensor 86 is connected to the bearing tray 81 and is coaxially distributed. A pressure sensor 85 is provided at the connection position between the guide post 82 and the spring post 83 and is coaxially distributed with it. The pressure sensor 85 and the gravity sensor 86 are both electrically connected to the terminal block 801, and the terminal block 801 is embedded in the outer surface of the guide sleeve 3.

[0023] When the guide sleeve tilts, the tilt direction and angle can be directly detected by a gravity sensor, thereby detecting the installation position of the guide sleeve. Simultaneously, it can detect the deformation of the guide sleeve structure. During guide sleeve deformation detection, when the guide sleeve undergoes structural deformation, while the support tray, guide posts, and spring posts support and position the guide sleeve, the spring posts elastically absorb the force generated by the deformation, reducing the impact and damage to the overall structure of the guide sleeve. Furthermore, when the spring posts undergo tensile or compressive deformation due to the guide sleeve deformation, the deformation force can be detected by a pressure sensor. Additionally, when the guide sleeve structure deforms, the elastic hinges can synchronously adjust the angle between the guide posts, spring posts, and the guide sleeve axis to adapt, preventing damage to the reinforced keel structure due to excessive deformation. Furthermore, by detecting the displacement of the guide posts and spring posts, the gravity sensor can detect the tilt amount and direction caused by the deformation displacement of the guide posts and spring posts, thereby further detecting the deformation position and deformation of the guide sleeve.

[0024] like Figure 2 As shown, a method for manufacturing a short-section flange segment of an offshore wind turbine tower includes the following steps: S1, Cylindrical Section Pre-setting: First, place the cylindrical section to be welded on the welding equipment and ensure that the axis of the cylindrical section is parallel to the horizontal plane. Then, insert the guide sleeve into the cylindrical section and connect the connecting flange to the guide sleeve. Adjust the distance between the connecting flange and the end face of the cylindrical section to be welded so that a welding bevel is formed between the cylindrical section and the connecting flange. Finally, insert the adjusting column into the welding bevel and connect it to the cylindrical section and the connecting flange respectively to complete the equipment pre-setting. S2, Welding Operation: After completing step S1, drive the welding equipment to simultaneously weld the cylinder section, connecting flange, and guide sleeve at the welding bevel. During the welding operation, simultaneously drive the welding head of the welding equipment to rotate uniformly around the cylinder section axis until all welding is completed.

[0025] In this embodiment, during the welding operation, a gaseous constant-temperature cooling medium is simultaneously introduced into the cylinder section, and the gaseous constant-temperature cooling medium is introduced from the end of the cylinder section away from the welding operation surface and discharged from the welding operation surface end.

[0026] It should be noted that in step S2, when the welding head of the welding equipment is rotated at a constant speed around the axis of the cylinder section during the welding operation, either the cylinder section and the connecting flange are stationary while the welding head of the welding equipment rotates around the axis of the cylinder section, or the welding head of the welding equipment is stationary while the cylinder section and the connecting flange rotate synchronously.

[0027] Meanwhile, during the welding operation in step S2, one of the adjusting columns is used as the starting end for welding, and then welding is carried out around the cylinder section at the welding bevel. During the welding operation, the adjusting column can be either embedded in the welding bevel for overall welding or separated from the welding bevel for welding.

[0028] Specifically, during the welding operation in step S2, when the adjusting column is used to separate the welding operation from the welding groove, after starting the welding operation from the starting end, after completing at least 80% of the distance between two adjacent adjusting columns, the adjacent adjusting column along the welding operation direction is removed from the welding groove. During the welding operation on the welding surface around the axis of the cylinder section, the adjusting column at the starting point is finally removed, and the weld is closed.

[0029] During welding operations, the present invention effectively enhances the structural strength of the cylinder section and improves its resistance to pressure and torque by using the guide sleeve and the reinforcing keel located inside the guide sleeve. At the same time, while retaining the traditional welding working surface between the cylinder section and the connecting flange end face, an additional welding working surface is added between the cylinder section, the connecting flange and the guide sleeve, thereby effectively improving the structural strength of the weld.

[0030] Meanwhile, by setting adjustment columns, the accuracy of the assembly and positioning of the cylinder section and connecting flange can be effectively improved. During welding operations, it can effectively prevent defects such as poor workpiece processing quality caused by high-temperature deformation of metal materials. Furthermore, when the adjustment columns remain in the welding groove after welding is completed, they can also help improve the weld strength of the cylinder section and connecting flange at the weld.

[0031] This invention can effectively meet the needs of manufacturing flange sections for short sections of wind turbine towers with various structural types. On the one hand, it can effectively improve the structural strength of the welding surface of the short section of wind turbine tower; on the other hand, it can effectively improve the quality of the weld seam and overcome the defect of reduced processing accuracy caused by material deformation during welding, thereby improving the quality of the manufacturing of flange sections for short sections of wind turbine towers.

[0032] The foregoing has shown and described the basic principles, main features, and advantages of the present invention. Those skilled in the art should understand that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. The embodiments and descriptions in the specification are merely illustrative of the principles of the invention. Various changes and modifications can be made to the invention without departing from its spirit and scope, and all such changes and modifications fall within the scope of the present invention as claimed. The scope of protection of this invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A flange section for a short cylindrical section of an offshore wind turbine tower, characterized in that: The aforementioned short cylindrical flange section of the offshore wind turbine tower includes a cylindrical section, a connecting flange, a guide sleeve, adjusting columns, and a reinforcing keel set inside the guide sleeve. Both the cylindrical section and the guide sleeve are hollow columnar structures with a rectangular axial cross-section. The rear half of the guide sleeve is embedded inside the cylindrical section, and the front half is located outside the cylindrical section. The outer surface of the guide sleeve abuts against and slides against the inner surface of the cylindrical section. The connecting flange is located outside the cylindrical section, coaxially distributed with the cylindrical section, and covers the guide sleeve. The front end face of the connecting flange is flush with the front end face of the guide sleeve. A welding bevel with a width of not less than 3 mm is provided between the connecting flange and the end face of the cylindrical section. The adjusting columns are embedded in the welding bevel, and 2-4 adjusting columns are evenly distributed around the axis of the cylindrical section. The adjusting columns are parallel to the axis of the cylindrical section, and their two ends abut against the end face of the cylindrical section and the rear end face of the connecting flange, respectively. The reinforced keel includes a load-bearing tray, guide columns, spring columns, pressure sensors, gravity sensors, elastic hinges, guide grooves, sliders, load-bearing springs, and terminals. The load-bearing tray is a circular groove structure with an "H"-shaped axial cross-section. The load-bearing tray and guide sleeve are coaxially distributed. The upper and lower ends of the load-bearing tray are respectively hinged to at least three guide columns evenly distributed around its axis via elastic hinges. The front ends of the guide columns are connected to and coaxially distributed with the spring columns, and the spring columns are further hinged to the slider via elastic hinges. The slider is connected to the guide sleeve via the guide groove. The inner surfaces of the sleeve are slidably connected. The guide groove is distributed parallel to the axis of the guide sleeve. The sliders corresponding to the guide posts on the upper and lower ends of the bearing tray are located on the two ends of the guide groove, and the two sliders are connected to each other by a bearing spring. The bearing spring is embedded in the guide groove and distributed parallel to the axis of the guide groove. The gravity sensor is connected to the bearing tray and distributed coaxially. A pressure sensor is provided at the connection position between the guide post and the spring post and distributed coaxially with it. The pressure sensor and the gravity sensor are electrically connected to the wiring terminal, and the wiring terminal is embedded on the outer surface of the guide sleeve.

2. The flange section of a short cylindrical section of an offshore wind turbine tower according to claim 1, characterized in that: The guide sleeve is embedded in the cylindrical section for a length not exceeding 30% of the length of the cylindrical section. The guide sleeve and the cylindrical section are connected by at least three connecting mechanisms evenly distributed around the axis of the cylindrical section. The axes of the connecting mechanisms are perpendicular to and intersect with the axis of the cylindrical section.

3. The flange section of a short cylindrical section of an offshore wind turbine tower according to claim 2, characterized in that: The connecting mechanism can be any one of bolts, rivets, or pins.

4. The flange section of a short cylindrical section of an offshore wind turbine tower according to claim 1, characterized in that: The connecting flange and guide sleeve are interconnected by at least two connecting keys, and the rear end face of the connecting flange is welded to the cylinder section.

5. The method for manufacturing a short cylindrical flange section of an offshore wind turbine tower according to claim 1, characterized in that: Includes the following steps: S1, Cylindrical Section Pre-setting: First, place the cylindrical section to be welded on the welding equipment and ensure that the axis of the cylindrical section is parallel to the horizontal plane. Then, insert the guide sleeve into the cylindrical section and connect the connecting flange to the guide sleeve. Adjust the distance between the connecting flange and the end face of the cylindrical section to be welded so that a welding bevel is formed between the cylindrical section and the connecting flange. Finally, insert the adjusting column into the welding bevel and connect it to the cylindrical section and the connecting flange respectively to complete the equipment pre-setting. S2, Welding Operation: After completing step S1, drive the welding equipment to simultaneously weld the cylinder section, connecting flange, and guide sleeve at the welding bevel. During the welding operation, simultaneously drive the welding head of the welding equipment to rotate uniformly around the cylinder section axis until all welding is completed.

6. The method for manufacturing a short cylindrical flange section of an offshore wind turbine tower according to claim 5, characterized in that: In step S2, during the welding operation, a gaseous constant-temperature cooling medium is simultaneously introduced into the cylinder section, and the gaseous constant-temperature cooling medium is introduced from the end of the cylinder section away from the welding operation surface and discharged from the end of the welding operation surface.

7. The method for manufacturing a short cylindrical flange section of an offshore wind turbine tower according to claim 5, characterized in that: In step S2, when the welding head of the welding equipment is rotating at a constant speed around the axis of the cylinder section during the welding operation, either the cylinder section and the connecting flange are stationary while the welding head of the welding equipment rotates around the axis of the cylinder section, or the welding head of the welding equipment is stationary while the cylinder section and the connecting flange rotate synchronously.

8. A method for manufacturing a short cylindrical flange section of an offshore wind turbine tower according to claim 5 or 7, characterized in that: During the welding operation in step S2, one of the adjusting columns is used as the starting end for welding, and then welding is carried out around the cylinder section at the welding bevel. During the welding operation, the adjusting column can be either embedded in the welding bevel for overall welding or separated from the welding bevel for welding.

9. A method for manufacturing a short cylindrical flange section of an offshore wind turbine tower according to claim 8, characterized in that: When performing the welding operation in step S2, if the adjusting column is used to separate the welding operation from the welding groove, after starting the welding operation from the starting end, after completing at least 80% of the distance between two adjacent adjusting columns, the adjacent adjusting column along the welding operation direction is removed from the welding groove, and during the welding operation surface around the axis of the cylinder section, the adjusting column at the starting point is finally removed, and the weld is closed.

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