locking flange

Abstract

The application provides a locking flange, and relates to the technical field of wind power generation. The locking flange comprises a flange sleeve, a through hole is formed in the center of the flange sleeve, a plurality of groups of clamping claws are arranged on the inner side wall of the flange sleeve, each group of clamping claws comprises an upper clamping claw and a lower clamping claw, an upper clamping groove is formed between the upper clamping claw and the inner side wall of the flange sleeve, and a lower clamping groove is formed between the lower clamping claw and the inner side wall of the flange sleeve; a flange body can be embedded into the through hole of the flange sleeve, and a hanging ear corresponding to the clamping claw is arranged along the circumference of the flange body, and each hanging ear can be simultaneously embedded into the corresponding upper clamping groove and lower clamping groove. The locking flange comprises the flange body and the flange sleeve, the flange body is clamped into the upper clamping groove and the lower clamping groove of the clamping claw on the flange sleeve through the hanging ear, so that the flange body and the flange sleeve are locked, the overturning moment generated by the tower drum is shared by the flange sleeve, the problem that the connection strength of the connecting flange between the tower drum sections is affected due to the excessively large overturning moment of the tower drum in the prior art, and the problem that the connection between the tower drum sections is not firm are solved.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the field of wind power generation, in particular to a locking flange for connecting wind turbine tower sections. BACKGROUND

[0002] The wind turbine tower section is an important load-bearing component in the wind turbine, and the performance of the tower section directly affects the stability and reliability of the wind turbine. With the advent of the era of parity, larger megawatt wind turbines will inevitably be the mainstream trend, and larger megawatt wind turbines mean that the bending moment generated by the tower section during operation is larger. However, the transportation requirements of the wind power site are limited in height and length, so the tower section needs to be segmented for transportation. After segmentation, the tower section needs to be connected by a flange. The larger bending moment of the tower section will affect the connection strength of the connecting flange between the two tower sections. The flange is often a design bottleneck, and there is a problem that the diameter is limited and cannot install enough bolts. Therefore, a new type of flange is needed to solve the above problems. SUMMARY

[0003] The purpose of the embodiment of the present application is to provide a locking flange to solve the problem that the connection strength of the connecting flange between the tower sections is affected by the excessive overturning moment of the tower section, and the diameter of the flange cannot be increased, resulting in insecure connection between the tower sections.

[0004] In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present application provides a locking flange, which comprises:

[0005] A circular flange sleeve having a through hole in the center, a plurality of sets of clamping claws are arranged on the inner side wall of the flange sleeve in a ring shape at equal intervals, each set of clamping claws comprises upper and lower clamping claws arranged in layers, an upper clamping groove is formed between the upper clamping claw and the inner side wall of the flange sleeve, and a lower clamping groove is formed between the lower clamping claw and the inner side wall of the flange sleeve;

[0006] A flange body capable of being embedded in the through hole of the flange sleeve, a hanging ear corresponding to each clamping claw is arranged on the circumference of the flange body, and each hanging ear can be simultaneously embedded into the corresponding upper and lower clamping grooves.

[0007] Specifically, the flange sleeve is formed by assembling a pair of semicircular sleeve pieces; a plurality of sets of clamping claws are arranged on the inner side wall of each sleeve piece in a ring shape at equal intervals.

[0008] Specifically, the locking flange further comprises: a plurality of transverse bolts, a screw hole is formed on each hanging ear in the radial direction of the flange body, and a through hole corresponding to the screw hole is formed in the radial direction of the flange sleeve; the transverse bolt is screwed into the corresponding screw hole through the corresponding through hole.

[0009] Specifically, the flange body is composed of a pair of flange butt joints;

[0010] Each flange comprises a ring-shaped flange base plate and a ring-shaped flange neck; the flange neck is vertically coaxially arranged on the flange base plate, separating the flange base plate into an inner flange base plate and an outer flange base plate; a plurality of protruding ear piers are uniformly distributed on the outer flange base plate along the circumference of the flange neck, each ear pier and the corresponding flange neck form a containing groove, and two flanges are fixed by abutting the flange base plates of the corresponding flanges; in the case of abutting and fixing of two flanges, the two flanges are spliced by the ear piers to form a hanging ear.

[0011] Specifically, the locking flange further comprises a plurality of vertical bolts; the inner flange base plate of each flange is uniformly provided with a plurality of bolt holes along the circumference, and the vertical bolts are screwed into the corresponding bolt holes on the inner flange base plate to abut and fix a pair of flanges.

[0012] Specifically, in the case that each hanging ear is embedded into the corresponding upper and lower clamping grooves, the upper and lower clamping jaws can be embedded into the corresponding containing grooves and tightly fit the groove walls of the containing grooves.

[0013] Specifically, the flange base plate, the flange neck and the plurality of ear piers are integrally formed.

[0014] Specifically, the protrusion height of the flange neck on the corresponding flange base plate is greater than the protrusion height of the ear piers on the corresponding flange base plate.

[0015] Specifically, the flange is made of forging.

[0016] Specifically, the sleeve piece and the plurality of clamping jaws are integrally formed.

[0017] The locking flange provided by the present application uniformly distributes a plurality of clamping jaws on the hole wall of the through hole of the flange sleeve along the circumference, each clamping jaw comprises a layered upper clamping jaw and a lower clamping jaw, an upper clamping groove is formed between the upper clamping jaw and the hole wall of the through hole, and a lower clamping groove is formed between the lower clamping jaw and the hole wall of the through hole; in the case that the flange body is embedded into the through hole of the flange sleeve, the plurality of hanging ears arranged circumferentially can be simultaneously embedded into the upper clamping groove and the lower clamping groove of a corresponding set of clamping jaws on the flange sleeve, thereby completing the assembly of the locking flange; the detachable structure of the locking flange can transport the flange sleeve and the flange body to the application site separately before assembling the locking flange, and finally complete the assembly of the locking flange on site; the flange body is sleeved with the flange sleeve, and the flange sleeve can share the overturning moment generated by the tower drum, thereby reducing the influence of the overturning moment generated by the tower drum on the flange body, ensuring the connection strength of the two tower drum sections at both ends of the flange body, and solving the problem that the connection strength of the connection flange between the tower drum sections is affected due to the excessive overturning moment of the tower drum in the prior art, thereby causing the connection between the tower drum sections to be not firm.

[0018] Other features and advantages of the embodiments of the present application will be described in detail in the following specific implementation part. Attached Figure Description

[0019] The accompanying drawings are provided to further illustrate embodiments of the present invention and form part of the specification. They are used together with the following detailed description to explain the embodiments of the present invention, but do not constitute a limitation thereof. In the drawings:

[0020] Figure 1 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the locking flange provided by the present invention;

[0021] Figure 2 This is a top view of the locking flange provided by the present invention;

[0022] Figure 3 yes Figure 2 Sectional view along axis AA;

[0023] Figure 4 This is an exploded structural diagram of the flange body in the locking flange provided by the present invention;

[0024] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the flange in the locking flange provided by the present invention;

[0025] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the flange sleeve in the locking flange provided by the present invention.

[0026] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures

[0027] 1-Flange sleeve; 2-Flange body; 3-Vertical bolt; 4-Horizontal bolt; 11-Upper jaw; 12-Lower jaw; 13-Sleeve; 6-Hanging lug; 21-Flange; 211-Flange base plate; 212-Flange neck; 213-Inner flange base plate; 214-Outer flange base plate; 61-Ear block; 111-Radial extension; 112-Axial extension. Detailed Implementation

[0028] The specific embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are for illustration and explanation only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

[0029] Figure 1 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the locking flange; Figure 2 This is a top view of the locking flange; Figure 3 yes Figure 2 Sectional view along axis AA; Figure 4 This is an exploded structural diagram of the flange body in the locking flange; Figure 5 This is a structural diagram of the flange in the locking flange; Figure 6 This is a structural diagram of the flange sleeve in the locking flange.

[0030] As shown in Figures 1-6 The present application provides a locking flange, which comprises:

[0031] A circular flange sleeve 1 with a through hole in the center, a plurality of sets of clamping claws are arranged equidistantly on the inner side wall of the flange sleeve 1, each set of clamping claws comprises a layered upper clamping claw 11 and a lower clamping claw 12, an upper clamping groove is formed between the upper clamping claw 11 and the inner side wall of the flange sleeve 1, and a lower clamping groove is formed between the lower clamping claw 12 and the inner side wall of the flange sleeve 1;

[0032] A flange body 2 capable of being embedded in the through hole of the flange sleeve 1, a hanging ear 6 corresponding to each clamping claw is arranged along the circumference of the flange body 2, and each hanging ear 6 can be simultaneously embedded into the corresponding upper clamping groove and lower clamping groove.

[0033] The present application provides a locking flange, as shown in Figure 1 The flange sleeve 1 has a circular through hole, and the clamping claws are uniformly distributed on the hole wall along the circumference of the through hole, each clamping claw is composed of an upper clamping claw 11 and a lower clamping claw 12 arranged in layers along the axial direction of the through hole of the flange sleeve 1, the upper clamping claw 11 and the lower clamping claw 12 are the same in structure, shape and size, as shown in Figure 6 The upper clamping claw 11 and the lower clamping claw 12 each have a radial extension 111 extending radially from the hole wall toward the center of the through hole and an axial extension 112 extending axially at the end of the radial extension 111 toward the through hole, the axial extension 112 of the upper clamping claw 11 and the axial extension 112 of the lower clamping claw 12 are oppositely arranged, an upper clamping groove is formed between the radial extension 111 and the axial extension 112 of the upper clamping claw 11 and the hole wall, and a lower clamping groove is formed between the radial extension 111 and the axial extension 112 of the lower clamping claw 12 and the hole wall, the flange body 2 is hollow cylindrical, a plurality of hanging ears 6 are arranged along the circumference of the flange body 2, and the plurality of hanging ears 6 are arranged at intervals, in the process of assembling the flange body 2 and the flange sleeve 1, the flange body 2 is embedded into the flange sleeve 1, after the hanging ears 6 on the flange body 2 pass into the designated position in the flange sleeve 1 from between the two sets of clamping claws, the flange body 2 is rotated to make the hanging ears 6 on the flange body 2 simultaneously embedded into the corresponding upper clamping groove and lower clamping groove, and the locking flange is formed by assembling the flange body 2 and the flange sleeve 1, thus, in the later use process, the flange sleeve 1 can share the overturning moment generated by the tower drum, thereby reducing the influence of the overturning moment generated by the tower drum on the flange body 2, ensuring the connection strength of the tower drum sections connected at both ends of the flange body 2, avoiding the problem of unstable connection between adjacent tower drum sections, and facilitating the transportation of the locking flange by disassembling the flange sleeve 1 and the flange body 2 for transportation to the designated site for assembly, thus sharing the overturning moment generated by the tower drum in the later application through the flange sleeve 1, solving the problem of unstable connection between the tower drum sections caused by the excessive overturning moment of the tower drum in the prior art, thereby affecting the connection strength of the connecting flange between the tower drum sections.

[0034] In order to facilitate the on-site assembly of the flange sleeve 1 and the flange body 2, the flange sleeve 1 is formed by assembling a pair of semicircular sleeve pieces 13; a plurality of sets of clamping claws are arranged in a ring shape at equal intervals on the inner side wall of each sleeve piece 13. In this way, the flange sleeve 1 is divided into two parts, which not only facilitates the transportation of the flange sleeve 1, but more importantly facilitates the assembly of the flange sleeve 1 and the flange body 2 by the staff. The sleeve pieces 13 arranged in two parts also facilitate the clamping of the lug 6 on the flange body 2 into the upper and lower clamping grooves of the flange sleeve 1.

[0035] The flange body 2 is formed by butt jointing a pair of flanges 21; each flange 21 includes a ring-shaped flange bottom plate 211 and a ring-shaped flange neck 212; the flange neck 212 is arranged vertically and coaxially on the flange bottom plate 211, which divides the flange bottom plate 211 into an inner flange bottom plate 213 and an outer flange bottom plate 214; a plurality of protruding ear piers 61 are uniformly distributed on the outer flange bottom plate 214 along the circumference of the flange neck 212, each ear pier 61 and the corresponding flange neck 212 form a receiving groove, and the two flanges 21 are butt jointed and fixed by the corresponding flange bottom plates 211; in the case of butt jointing and fixing of the two flanges 21, the two flanges 21 are butt jointed and formed into a lug 6 by the ear piers 61. In order to avoid the difficulty of transportation caused by the large size of the flange body 2, the flange body 2 is formed by butt jointing two flanges 21, as shown in Figure 4 the two flanges 21 are butt jointed to form the flange body 2 by the flange bottom plates 211, a plurality of ear piers 61 are arranged on the outer flange bottom plate 214 of each flange 21 along the circumference, the protruding direction of each ear pier 61 on the outer flange bottom plate 214 is consistent with the protruding direction of the flange neck 212 on the flange bottom plate 211, and the corresponding ear piers 61 on the two flanges 21 are butt jointed to form the lug 6 after the two flanges 21 are butt jointed and fixed. In order to facilitate the subsequent assembly of the locking flange, the protruding height of the flange neck 212 on the corresponding flange bottom plate 211 is greater than the protruding height of the ear pier 61 on the corresponding flange bottom plate 211, and the higher the protruding height of the flange neck 212, the more conducive to the connection of the tower drum section in the later stage, so that the connection of the tower drum section is more firm.

[0036] In the transportation process, usually two flanges 21 of the flange body 2 are fixed with corresponding tower drum sections respectively, then the flanges 21 are transported to the designated location together with the tower drum sections, after the flanges 21 and the tower drum sections are transported to the designated location, the two adjacent corresponding flanges 21 are butted and fixed, then the hanging lug 6 formed on the flange body 2 is clamped into the upper clamping groove and the lower clamping groove on the sleeve piece 13 of the flange sleeve 1, so that the connection of the two flanges of the flange body 2 is further reinforced by the flange sleeve 1, the assembly of the flange sleeve 1 and the flange body 2 is completed, and the overturning moment is generated in the later running process of the tower drum, which will directly act on the connection of the two flanges 21 of the flange body 2 in the case of no installation of the flange sleeve 1, and the two flanges 21 are also prone to loosening and deformation due to the action of the overturning moment, which leads to the connection of the two adjacent tower drum sections not being firm, and the flange sleeve 1 better shares the overturning moment generated by the tower drum, so that the later running of the tower drum is safer and more reliable.

[0037] After the multiple hanging lugs 6 on the flange body 2 are clamped into the corresponding upper clamping grooves and lower clamping grooves, in order to better fix the two flanges 21, the locking flange further comprises: multiple vertical bolts 3; the inner flange bottom plate 213 of each flange 21 is uniformly distributed with multiple bolt holes in the circumferential direction, and the vertical bolt 3 is screwed into the corresponding bolt hole on the inner flange bottom plate 213 to butt and fix a pair of flanges 21. The bolt hole is arranged on the inner flange bottom plate 213 of the flange 21, and the vertical bolt 3 is screwed into the corresponding bolt hole on the inner flange bottom plate 213 of the two flanges 21 to further reinforce the connection of the two flanges 21, and after the later tower drum installation is completed, the flanges 21 connecting the tower drum sections are also in the air, so the maintenance is particularly difficult, in order to facilitate the maintenance of the staff, the bolt hole is arranged on the inner flange bottom plate 213 to facilitate the staff to enter the tower drum for maintenance in the tower drum.

[0038] In order to ensure the firmness of the assembly of the flange sleeve 1 and the flange body 2, in the case that each hanging lug 6 is clamped into the corresponding upper clamping groove and lower clamping groove, the upper clamping jaw 11 and the lower clamping jaw 12 can be clamped into the corresponding accommodating groove and tightly fit with the groove wall of the accommodating groove. As shown in Figure 3 The axial extension part 112 of the upper clamping jaw 11 is clamped into the corresponding accommodating groove, and at the same time, the axial extension part 112 of the lower clamping jaw 12 is clamped into the corresponding accommodating groove, so that there is no gap between the clamping jaw of the flange sleeve 1 and the flange neck part 212 of the corresponding flange 21 in the flange body 2, and the assembly of the flange sleeve 1 and the flange body 2 is more firm.

[0039] In order to ensure the structural strength of each flange 21, the flange bottom plate 211, the flange neck part 212 and the multiple ear piers 61 are integrally formed. The flange 21 is made of forging.

[0040] The hanging ears 6 on the flange body 2 are embedded into the corresponding upper clamping groove and lower clamping groove on the flange sleeve 1, and the flange sleeve 1 can fix the flange body 2 and share the overturning moment generated by the subsequent tower drum. In order to further reinforce the connection between the flange body 2 and the flange sleeve 1 and avoid the relative rotation between the flange body 2 and the flange sleeve 1, the locking flange further comprises a plurality of transverse bolts 4, a screw hole is formed on each hanging ear 6 along the radial direction of the flange body 2, a plurality of through holes corresponding to the screw holes are formed in the radial direction of the flange sleeve 1, and the transverse bolts 4 are screwed into the corresponding screw holes through the corresponding through holes. The transverse bolts 4 further fix the connection between each flange 21 in the flange body 2 and the flange sleeve 1, avoid relative rotation between the flange body 2 and the flange sleeve 1, and further share the overturning moment generated by the subsequent tower drum. In this way, under the joint action of the flange sleeve 1 and the plurality of transverse bolts 4, the flanges 21 in the flange body 2 are less affected by the overturning moment generated by the tower drum, the risk of unstable connection between the tower drum segments is reduced, and the design bottleneck of the existing intermediate flange of the tower drum is broken.

[0041] In one embodiment, in order to better determine the load that can be borne by the locking flange corresponding to the tower drum, the structural bearing capacity when the transverse bolt 4, the vertical bolt 3 and the flange 21 yield at the same time is calculated when designing the locking flange.

[0042]

[0043] Wherein, a = the distance from the vertical bolt axis to the flange inner diameter;

[0044] b ′ B = the distance from the vertical bolt axis to the flange neck centerline;

[0045] c = the distance from the transverse bolt axis to the intersection line of the two flanges;

[0046] F t,R = the vertical bolt bearing capacity;

[0047] F v = the transverse bolt bearing capacity

[0048] M pl,3 = the bending moment borne by the intersection position of the flange neck and the flange bottom plate.

[0049] The calculated structural bearing capacity is compared with the known cross-sectional load of the plurality of transverse bolts 4, so as to determine whether the designed locking flange can bear the maximum load demand and whether the number and size of the transverse bolts 4 in the locking flange need to be adjusted, thereby providing favorable data support for the design of the locking flange and ensuring that the designed locking flange can safely and effectively connect the tower drum segments in subsequent applications.

[0050] In one embodiment, the flange sleeve 1 is made of steel plate. A plate rolling machine can be used to roll the steel plate into a rough blank for the sleeve 13, and then excess blank material is cut off from the rough blank to form claws. In this way, each sleeve 13 of the flange sleeve 1 is integrally formed with multiple sets of claws, resulting in a flange sleeve 1 with better strength.

[0051] The locking flange provided by this invention has multiple claws evenly distributed circumferentially on the through-hole wall of the flange sleeve. Each claw includes an upper claw and a lower claw arranged in layers. An upper groove is formed between the upper claw and the through-hole wall, and a lower groove is formed between the lower claw and the through-hole wall. When the flange body is embedded in the through-hole of the flange sleeve, its multiple circumferentially arranged lugs can simultaneously be embedded into the upper and lower grooves of the corresponding set of claws on the flange sleeve, thereby completing the assembly of the locking flange. This detachable installation structure of the locking flange allows for separate installation of the flange body before assembly. The flange sleeve and flange body are transported to the application site, and the locking flange is finally assembled on-site. This avoids the problem of the locking flange being too large and difficult to transport. The flange sleeve is placed on the outside of the flange body. The flange sleeve can share the overturning moment generated by the tower, thereby reducing the impact of the overturning moment generated by the tower on the flange body. This ensures the connection strength of the two tower sections at both ends of the flange body. This solves the problem in the existing technology where the connection strength of the connecting flange between tower sections is affected by the excessive overturning moment of the tower, resulting in an unstable connection between tower sections.

[0052] The optional embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the specific details in the above embodiments. Within the scope of the technical concept of the embodiments of the present invention, various simple modifications can be made to the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, and these simple modifications all fall within the protection scope of the embodiments of the present invention.

[0053] It should also be noted that the various specific technical features described in the above embodiments can be combined in any suitable manner without contradiction. To avoid unnecessary repetition, the embodiments of the present invention will not describe the various possible combinations separately.

[0054] Furthermore, various different implementations of the present invention can be combined arbitrarily, as long as they do not violate the spirit of the present invention, they should also be regarded as the content disclosed in the present invention.

Claims

1. A locking flange, characterized in that, The locking flange includes: A circular flange sleeve (1) has a through hole in the center. Multiple sets of claws are arranged in a ring at equal intervals on the inner wall of the flange sleeve (1). Each set of claws includes an upper claw (11) and a lower claw (12) arranged in layers. An upper groove is formed between the upper claw (11) and the inner wall of the flange sleeve (1), and a lower groove is formed between the lower claw (12) and the inner wall of the flange sleeve (1). The flange sleeve (1) is formed by assembling a pair of semi-circular sleeve parts (13). Multiple sets of claws are arranged in a ring at equal intervals on the inner wall of each sleeve part (13). The flange body (2) can be inserted into the through hole of the flange sleeve (1). Along the circumference of the flange body (2), there are lugs (6) corresponding to the claws. Each lug (6) can be inserted into the corresponding upper and lower slots at the same time. The flange body (2) is composed of a pair of flanges (21) connected and fixed. Each flange (21) includes an annular flange base plate (211) and an annular flange neck (212); the flange neck (212) is vertically coaxially disposed on the flange base plate (211), dividing the flange base plate (211) into an inner flange base plate (213) and an outer flange base plate (214); a plurality of protruding lugs (61) are evenly distributed on the outer flange base plate (214) along the circumference of the flange neck (212), and each lug (61) forms a receiving groove with the corresponding flange neck (212), and two flanges (21) are fixed by connecting and fixing through the corresponding flange base plates (211); when the two flanges (21) are fixed by connecting and fixing, the two flanges (21) are spliced ​​together by the lugs (61) to form a hanging lug (6). Multiple transverse bolts (4) are provided with threaded holes on each lug (6) along the radial direction of the flange body (2). Through holes corresponding to the threaded holes are provided in the radial direction of the flange sleeve (1). Process through holes corresponding to the threaded holes are provided in the flange neck (212) of the flange (21) along the radial direction of the flange body (2). The transverse bolts (4) pass through the process through holes and the corresponding through holes in sequence from one side of the inner wall of the flange (21) and are screwed into the corresponding threaded holes. Multiple vertical bolts (3); the inner flange base plate (213) of each flange (21) has multiple bolt holes evenly distributed in the circumferential direction, and the vertical bolts (3) are screwed into the corresponding bolt holes on the inner flange base plate (213) to fix a pair of flanges (21). When each hook (6) is embedded in the corresponding upper and lower slots, the upper claw (11) and lower claw (12) can be embedded in the corresponding receiving slot and fit tightly against the slot wall.

2. The locking flange according to claim 1, characterized in that, The flange base plate (211), the flange neck (212), and the plurality of lugs (61) are integrally formed.

3. The locking flange according to claim 1, characterized in that, The protrusion height of the flange neck (212) on the corresponding flange base plate (211) is greater than the protrusion height of the lug (61) on the corresponding flange base plate (211).

4. The locking flange according to claim 1, characterized in that, The flange (21) is made by forging.

5. The locking flange according to claim 1, characterized in that, The sleeve (13) is integrally formed with multiple sets of jaws.

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