A wind turbine tower anti-vortex vibration device

Abstract

The application discloses a fan tower vortex-induced vibration prevention device in the field of tower cylinder anti-vibration devices, which comprises a tower cylinder body, a damping block, a rigging, a pulley set, a winding body and a bidirectional motor arranged in the tower cylinder body, one end of the rigging is connected with the damping block downward, the other end is wound on the winding body after passing through the pulley set upward, and the working shaft of the bidirectional motor is connected with the winding body; and the pulley set is arranged at the top of the tower cylinder body.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of wind turbine tower anti-vibration technology, specifically to a wind turbine tower anti-vortex-induced vibration device. Background Technology

[0002] Wind turbine towers are characterized by their extreme height and ability to withstand heavy wind loads, reaching heights of up to 100 meters or even 140 meters. When the turbine rotates, it converts some of the wind load into electrical energy. Simultaneously, due to the long-period, regular rotation of the blades, the tower does not experience significant vibration. However, when the grid load is sufficient or maintenance is required, wind power generation inevitably needs to be suspended for a certain period. During shutdown, the turbine does not rotate, and under the influence of wind load, the upper part of the tower exhibits significant vortex-induced vibration. The vibration mode is generally second-order resonance, meaning that the turbine itself does not vibrate significantly, but the tower itself sways noticeably. Due to the installation environment of wind power plants, vortex-induced vibration persists for most of the shutdown period, sometimes even resulting in noticeable tower swaying. This significantly impacts the fatigue life of the tower's materials, posing a risk of fatigue failure in severe cases, and in extreme situations, even leading to tower collapse, causing serious property damage and safety accidents.

[0003] In areas with high wind speeds, damping blocks are suspended on some high-rise buildings to increase damping and prevent resonance. However, the outer wall of wind turbine towers is smooth, lacking suitable protrusions for suspending damping blocks. Furthermore, the issue of damping blocks swaying too much and impacting the tower must be considered. Therefore, directly suspending damping blocks presents technical challenges when used for vibration prevention on wind turbine towers. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The present invention aims to provide a wind turbine tower anti-vortex-induced vibration device to prevent the tower from resonating, thereby avoiding the risks of tower fatigue failure and collapse.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides the following technical solution: a wind turbine tower anti-vortex-induced vibration device, comprising a tower body, a damping block, a rigging, a pulley block, a winding body, and a bidirectional motor, wherein one end of the rigging is connected downward to the damping block, and the other end is wound upward around the pulley block and onto the winding body, and the working shaft of the bidirectional motor is connected to the winding body; the pulley block is located at the top of the tower body.

[0006] The working principle of this invention is as follows: When the wind turbine is shut down, surplus power drives the working shaft of the bidirectional motor to rotate. The working shaft drives the winding body to rotate, thereby winding the rigging. The rigging lifts the damping block via a pulley system. The damping block stores some of the surplus energy in the form of gravitational potential energy, thus creating a peak-shaving effect. After the damping block is lifted, the vibration damping of the tower is increased, which can effectively prevent vortex-induced vibration resonance. When the wind turbine is restarted, when the grid power is weak, the bidirectional motor releases its brakes, and the damping block loses traction and falls automatically. The damping block drives the winding body to rotate, which in turn drives the working shaft of the bidirectional motor to generate electricity, converting the stored gravitational potential energy into electrical energy to supplement the grid power, thus creating a valley filling effect.

[0007] The beneficial effects of this invention are:

[0008] 1. The damping block is suspended to store some of the surplus energy in the form of gravitational potential energy, and released when the power grid is in deficit, thus forming a peak shaving and valley filling effect, saving electricity and promoting stable power supply from the power grid.

[0009] 2. When the machine is stopped, the damping block is in a suspended state, which increases the vibration damping of the tower body and effectively prevents resonance. This avoids the dangers of tower fatigue failure and collapse. In addition, the damping block is stably suspended by the rigging, and the swing amplitude of the damping block is very small, so there will be no problem of the swinging damping block hitting the tower.

[0010] Furthermore, the damping block includes a first metal plate and a second metal plate that stand upright. The first metal plate is positioned above the second metal plate, and the projections of the first and second metal plates on the plane are cross-shaped. Rigging is provided on both sides of the top of the first metal plate and on both sides of the top of the second metal plate. Each rigging is connected to a pulley group, and the four pulley groups are evenly distributed around the first and second metal plates.

[0011] Four rigging systems hoist the first and second metal plates from four directions. During vortex-induced vibration, this reduces the swaying amplitude of the first and second metal plates, decreases the inertial force on the rigging, and prevents significant torsion. Simultaneously, the lifting and lowering process of the first and second metal plates is smoother, with better predictability of their movement paths, facilitating more stable lifting and lowering positions. In summary, this results in higher safety.

[0012] Furthermore, the pulley block includes a first pulley, a second pulley, and a pulley frame. The first pulley is installed inside the pulley frame, and the tower body is fixedly provided with three fixed structures. The second pulley is installed on one fixed structure. The pulley frame is fixedly provided with a rotating shaft at both ends, and a bearing is provided on the rotating shaft. The bearing includes an inner ring and an outer ring. The inner ring is fixedly sleeved with the rotating shaft, and the outer ring is fixedly installed on the other two fixed structures respectively. The rigging passes around the first pulley and the second pulley and then connects to the winding body.

[0013] With this configuration, when the rigging swings axially along the first and second pulleys, the pulley frame is supported by bearings that allow for adaptive slight deflection. This ensures that the groove of the first pulley always faces the rigging, preventing jamming between the first and second pulleys, improving safety and smoothness of movement, and extending the rigging's lifespan. The bearings include an inner ring and an outer ring, with the inner ring fixedly connected to the shaft and the outer ring fixedly mounted on two other fixed structures.

[0014] Furthermore, the pulley frame has a through hole near the pivot of the second pulley, and the pulley frame is also rotatably connected to a third pulley. The bottom of the third pulley and the top of the second pulley are tangentially aligned with the through hole, and the bottom of the third pulley is in contact with the rigging.

[0015] The third pulley allows the rigging to pass through the deflection center of the pulley frame. When the pulley frame deflects, both the third and first pulleys deflect simultaneously, so neither of them will jam with the rigging. When the deflection of the rigging is transmitted to the through hole, it has been reduced to a small amount of torsion, thus avoiding jamming between the third and first pulleys.

[0016] Furthermore, the pulley frame has a through hole near the pivot of the second pulley, and an extension is provided at the bottom of the pulley frame. The first pulley is mounted on the extension, and the top of the first pulley and the top of the second pulley are tangentially aligned with the through hole.

[0017] When the pulley frame deflects, the top of the first pulley is the center of deflection, which directly reduces the swing of the rigging to a slight twist, thus avoiding jamming of the second pulley.

[0018] Furthermore, it also includes an electromagnetic damping coupling mechanism, which includes multiple bar magnets respectively disposed on both sides of the first metal plate and both sides of the second metal plate, wherein the bar magnets on both sides of the first metal plate or the second metal plate are paired up and opposite poles face each other.

[0019] When the eddy-induced vibration causes the damping blocks (i.e., the first metal plate and the second metal plate) to swing, the first metal plate and the second metal plate swing between the magnetic poles of any pair of bar magnets. The magnetic flux of the first metal plate and the second metal plate changes locally, and electromagnetic induction forms eddy currents, thereby consuming the kinetic energy of the first metal plate and the second metal plate, which facilitates the rapid elimination of vibration.

[0020] Furthermore, at least two pairs of bar magnets are provided on each side of the first metal plate and the second metal plate.

[0021] Multiple pairs of bar magnets form magnetic field regions. When either the first or second metal plate moves perpendicular to the magnetic field, an Ampere force is generated near each magnetic field region, thereby accelerating the consumption of the kinetic energy of the first and second metal plates.

[0022] Furthermore, it also includes a magnetic pole protection structure facing the first metal plate and the second metal plate, the distance between the magnetic pole protection structure and the first metal plate and the second metal plate is less than the distance between the bar magnet and the first metal plate and the second metal plate; the magnetic pole protection structure includes a shock absorber, the shock absorber and the bar magnet are fixedly installed side by side on the tower body, the side by side installation is either vertically parallel or at the same height.

[0023] When the first and second metal plates deflect toward a pair of bar magnets, sometimes the deflection amplitude is large and may collide with the bar magnets. Since the distance between the shock absorber and the first and second metal plates is smaller than the distance between the bar magnets and the first and second metal plates, the first or second metal plate contacts the shock absorber. The shock absorber absorbs the impact and prevents the first or second metal plate from colliding with the bar magnets. This prevents the bar magnets from being damaged by repeated collisions or large impact forces, which would affect the magnetic field concentration.

[0024] Secondly, there is a height difference between the installation location of the shock absorber and the pulley block. When vibration occurs, the reaction force of the Ampere force is transmitted to the tower. The transmission location is at a height difference from the traction force reaction force of the rigging on the tower, thereby indirectly transmitting the vibration force of the tower downward and improving the vibration isolation effect.

[0025] Furthermore, an omnidirectional wheel is connected to one end of the shock absorber near the first and second metal plates. The surface of the omnidirectional wheel is made of elastic material. When the omnidirectional wheel is impacted, it recoils backward to avoid rigid collisions, improve service life, facilitate cushioning, and reduce impact force.

[0026] Furthermore, the top of the tower body is also provided with a pulley mounting platform, and a protrusion is provided below the pulley mounting platform for installing bearings.

[0027] Existing tower bodies are generally composed of multiple sections, each with inward-turned flanges at both ends. These flanges are connected by bolts, similar to flanges. Therefore, the structural interference of these flanges must be considered during the design process. This design avoids concentrated stress on the tower body wall and facilitates control over the arrangement of rigging and pulley systems, preventing structural interference. Attached Figure Description

[0028] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a wind turbine tower anti-vortex-induced vibration device according to the present invention;

[0029] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the damping block structure;

[0030] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the first improved method of pulley system;

[0031] Figure 4This is a schematic diagram of the second improved method of the pulley system;

[0032] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the magnetic pole protection structure;

[0033] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the electromagnetic damping coupling mechanism. Detailed Implementation

[0034] The following detailed description illustrates the specific implementation method:

[0035] The reference numerals in the accompanying drawings include: tower body 1, damping block 2, rigging 3, pulley block 4, winding body 5, bidirectional motor 6, electromagnetic damping coupling mechanism 7, pulley mounting platform 8, first metal plate 201, second metal plate 202, first pulley 401, second pulley 402, pulley frame 403, bearing 404, through hole 405, third pulley 406, bar magnet 701, omnidirectional wheel 702, shock absorber 703, and protrusion 801.

[0036] In the following statements, directional terms such as "left," "right," "up," and "down" are based on the directions shown in the diagram. In practice, if the corresponding structures are changed in the same direction based on the direction while maintaining their relative positions, it will not affect the implementation of the plan.

[0037] Example 1: Anti-vortex-induced vibration device for wind turbine towers, such as Figure 1 As shown, the tower body 1 includes a damping block 2, a rigging 3, four pulley blocks 4, a winding body 5, and a bidirectional motor 6. The bidirectional motor 6 is fixedly connected to the bottom of the tower body 1, the winding body 5 is fixedly sleeved to the working shaft of the bidirectional motor 6, a pulley mounting platform 8 is fixedly provided on the top of the tower body 1, and an extension 801 is fixedly provided on the bottom of the pulley mounting platform 8.

[0038] like Figure 2 As shown, the damping block 2 includes a vertical first metal plate 201 and a second metal plate 202. The first metal plate 201 is located above the second metal plate 202. The projection of the first metal plate 201 and the second metal plate 202 on the plane is a cross shape. Rigging 3 is fixedly provided on both sides of the top of the first metal plate 201 and the top of the second metal plate 202 respectively. Each rigging 3 is connected to a pulley group 4. The four pulley groups 4 are evenly distributed around the first metal plate 201 and the second metal plate 202.

[0039] like Figure 3The pulley block 4 includes a first pulley 401, a second pulley 402, a pulley frame 403, and a third pulley 406. The first pulley 401 and the third pulley 406 are rotatably connected in the pulley frame 403. The tower body 1 is fixedly provided with a fixing structure. The fixing structure means that it can be directly connected to the tower body 1, or it can be connected with the support of a structure such as a pad. In this embodiment 1, a pad is used, that is, the pad is fixed to the tower body 1.

[0040] The second pulley 402 is rotatably connected to the pad block; the pulley frame 403 is fixedly provided with a rotating shaft at both ends, and a bearing 404 is provided on the rotating shaft. The bearing 404 includes an inner ring and an outer ring. The inner ring is fixedly sleeved with the rotating shaft, and the outer ring is fixedly installed on the protrusion 801. The pulley frame 403 is provided with a through hole 405 near the rotating shaft of the second pulley 402. The bottom of the third pulley 406 and the top of the second pulley 402 are tangentially aligned with the through hole 405. The bottom of the third pulley 406 is in contact with the rigging 3. The rigging 3 passes around the first pulley 401 and the second pulley 402, and is then fixedly connected to the winding body 5.

[0041] When the wind turbine is shut down, the surplus power is used to drive the working shaft of the bidirectional motor 6 to rotate. The working shaft drives the winding body 5 to rotate, thereby the winding body 5 winds up the rigging 3. The rigging 3 lifts the first metal plate 201 and the second metal plate 202 through the first pulley 401 and the second pulley 402. The first metal plate 201 and the second metal plate 202 store part of the surplus energy in the form of gravitational potential energy, forming a peak-shaving effect.

[0042] After the first metal plate 201 and the second metal plate 202 are lifted, the vibration damping of the tower is increased, which can effectively prevent the resonance phenomenon caused by vortex-induced vibration. When the wind turbine is restarted, when the power grid is weak, the bidirectional motor 6 releases its brake, and the first metal plate 201 and the second metal plate 202 lose traction and fall automatically. The damping block 2 drives the winding body 5 to rotate, which in turn drives the working shaft of the bidirectional motor 6 to generate electricity, converting the stored gravitational potential energy into electrical energy to supplement the power grid and form a valley filling effect.

[0043] Secondly, when the rigging 3 swings axially along the first pulley 401 and the second pulley 402, since the pulley frame 403 is fixedly provided with a rotating shaft at both ends, and the bearing 404 includes an inner ring and an outer ring, with the inner ring fixedly sleeved with the rotating shaft and the outer ring fixedly installed on the protrusion 801, the pulley frame 403 can have an adaptive slight deflection under the support of the bearing 404, so that the groove of the first pulley 401 is always facing the rigging 3, avoiding jamming of the first pulley 401 and the second pulley 402, improving safety and smoothness of movement, and increasing the service life of the rigging 3.

[0044] When the pulley frame 403 deflects, the portion of the rigging 3 between the first pulley 401 and the second pulley 402 still swings. The third pulley 406 causes the rigging 3 to pass through the deflection center of the pulley frame 403. When the pulley frame 403 deflects, the third pulley 406 and the first pulley 401 deflect simultaneously. Therefore, neither of them will jam with the rigging 3. When the deflection of the rigging 3 is transmitted to the through hole 405, it has been reduced to a slight twist, thus avoiding jamming of the second pulley 402.

[0045] like Figure 6 As shown, it also includes an electromagnetic damping coupling mechanism 7, which includes four bar magnets 701 respectively disposed on both sides of the first metal plate 201 and both sides of the second metal plate 202. The bar magnets 701 on both sides of the first metal plate 201 or the second metal plate 202 are paired up and opposite poles are opposite to each other (that is, the first metal plate 201 has two pairs of bar magnets 701 and the second metal plate 202 has two pairs of bar magnets 701).

[0046] When the eddy-induced vibration causes the damping block 2 (i.e. the first metal plate 201 and the second metal plate 202) to swing, the first metal plate 201 and the second metal plate 202 swing between the magnetic poles of any pair of bar magnets 701. The first metal plate 201 and the second metal plate 202 locally generate changes in magnetic flux, and electromagnetic induction forms eddy currents, thereby consuming the kinetic energy of the first metal plate 201 and the second metal plate 202, which facilitates the rapid elimination of vibration.

[0047] Four pairs of bar magnets 701 form magnetic field regions. When either the first metal plate 201 or the second metal plate 202 moves perpendicular to the magnetic field, an Ampere force is generated near each magnetic field region, thereby accelerating the consumption of the kinetic energy of the first metal plate 201 and the second metal plate 202.

[0048] Preferably, the magnetic poles of the bar magnet 701 are circular or rectangular.

[0049] It also includes magnetic pole protection structures, such as Figure 5 As shown, the magnetic pole protection structure includes a magnetic pole protection structure facing the first metal plate 201 and the second metal plate 202. The distance between the magnetic pole protection structure and the first metal plate 201 and the second metal plate 202 is less than the distance between the bar magnet 701 and the first metal plate 201 and the second metal plate 202. The magnetic pole protection structure includes a shock absorber 703. The shock absorber 703 and the bar magnet 701 are fixedly installed side by side on the tower body 1. They are installed side by side in an up-down arrangement. One end of the shock absorber 703 near the first metal plate 201 and the second metal plate 202 is connected to an omnidirectional wheel 702.

[0050] When the first metal plate 201 and the second metal plate 202 deflect towards a pair of bar magnets 701, the deflection amplitude may be large and may collide with the bar magnets 701. Since the distance between the shock absorber 703 and the first metal plate 201 and the second metal plate 202 is smaller than the distance between the bar magnets 701 and the first metal plate 201 and the second metal plate 202, the first metal plate 201 or the second metal plate 202 contacts the shock absorber 703. The shock absorber 703 absorbs the impact and prevents the first metal plate 201 or the second metal plate 202 from colliding with the bar magnets 701. This also prevents the bar magnets 701 from being damaged by repeated collisions or when the impact force is large, thus affecting the magnetic field concentration.

[0051] Secondly, there is a height difference between the installation position of the shock absorber 703 and the pulley block 4. When vibration occurs, the reaction force of the Ampere force is transmitted to the tower. The transmission position is at a height difference from the traction force reaction force of the rigging 3 on the tower, thereby indirectly transmitting the vibration force of the tower downward and improving the vibration damping effect.

[0052] Example 2: The difference between Example 2 and Example 1 is that...

[0053] like Figure 4 The pulley frame 403 has a through hole 405 near the pivot of the second pulley 402. The bottom of the pulley frame 403 is fixedly provided with an extension. The first pulley 401 is installed on the extension. The top of the first pulley 401 and the top of the second pulley 402 are tangentially opposite to the through hole 405.

[0054] When the pulley frame 403 deflects, the top of the first pulley 401 is the deflection center, which directly reduces the swing of the rigging 3 into a slight twist, thus avoiding the jamming of the second pulley 402.

[0055] For those skilled in the art, numerous modifications and improvements can be made without departing from the structure of this invention, and these should also be considered within the scope of protection of this invention. These modifications and improvements will not affect the effectiveness of the invention or the practicality of the patent. The scope of protection claimed in this application shall be determined by the content of its claims, and the specific embodiments described in the specification can be used to interpret the content of the claims.

Claims

1. A device for preventing vortex-induced vibration of a wind turbine tower, comprising a tower body, characterized in that: The tower body contains a damping block, rigging, pulley block, winding body, and bidirectional motor. One end of the rigging is connected downward to the damping block, and the other end is wound upward around the pulley block and onto the winding body. The working shaft of the bidirectional motor is connected to the winding body. The pulley block is located at the top of the tower body. The damping block includes a first metal plate and a second metal plate that stand upright. The first metal plate is positioned above the second metal plate, and the projections of the first and second metal plates on the plane are cross-shaped. Rigging is provided on both sides of the top of the first metal plate and on both sides of the top of the second metal plate. Each rigging is connected to a pulley block, and the four pulley blocks are evenly distributed around the first and second metal plates. The pulley block includes a first pulley, a second pulley, and a pulley frame. The first pulley is installed inside the pulley frame. The tower body is fixedly provided with three fixed structures. The second pulley is installed on one fixed structure. The pulley frame is fixedly provided with a rotating shaft at both ends. The rotating shaft is provided with a bearing. The bearing includes an inner ring and an outer ring. The inner ring is fixedly sleeved with the rotating shaft. The outer ring is fixedly installed on the other two fixed structures. The rigging passes around the first pulley and the second pulley and then connects to the winding body. The pulley frame has a through hole near the pivot of the second pulley, and the pulley frame is also rotatably connected to a third pulley. The bottom of the third pulley and the top of the second pulley are tangentially aligned with the through hole, and the bottom of the third pulley is in contact with the rigging. The pulley frame has a through hole near the pivot of the second pulley, and an extension is provided at the bottom of the pulley frame. The first pulley is mounted on the extension, and the top of the first pulley and the top of the second pulley are tangentially opposite the through hole. It also includes an electromagnetic damping coupling mechanism, which includes multiple bar magnets respectively disposed on both sides of the first metal plate and the second metal plate. The bar magnets on both sides of the first metal plate or the second metal plate are paired up and opposite poles face each other.

2. The wind turbine tower anti-vortex-induced vibration device according to claim 1, characterized in that: At least two pairs of bar magnets are provided on each side of the first metal plate and the second metal plate.

3. The anti-vortex-induced vibration device for wind turbine towers according to claim 2, characterized in that: It also includes a magnetic pole protection structure facing the first metal plate and the second metal plate. The distance between the magnetic pole protection structure and the first metal plate and the second metal plate is less than the distance between the bar magnet and the first metal plate and the second metal plate. The magnetic pole protection structure includes a shock absorber. The shock absorber and the bar magnet are fixedly installed side by side on the tower body. The side by side installation means that they are installed vertically or at the same height.

4. The wind turbine tower anti-vortex-induced vibration device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The shock absorber is connected to an omnidirectional wheel at one end near the first and second metal plates.

5. The wind turbine tower anti-vortex-induced vibration device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The top of the tower body is also provided with a pulley mounting platform, and a protrusion is provided below the pulley mounting platform for installing bearings.

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