Single-arm flat-head type tower crane counterweight system special for wind power

Abstract

The invention discloses a single-arm flat head type tower crane counterweight system special for wind power, and belongs to the technical field of wind power engineering hoisting equipment.The system comprises a fixed counterweight unit, a movable counterweight unit, a sensing detection unit and an intelligent control unit, and the fixed counterweight unit is arranged on the side, close to a tower body, of a balance arm; the movable balance weight unit carries a fixed balance weight through a rail type balance weight trolley, a container type temporary balance weight structure is adopted, and field materials are used as balance weight media. The sensing detection unit is used for acquiring hoisting weight, amplitude, wind speed and torque data in real time; the intelligent control unit dynamically calculates the optimal counterweight configuration based on sensor data, and controls the counterweight trolley to move and the temporary counterweight to ascend and descend. Through the combination of the fixed counterweight and the movable counterweight and real-time closed-loop control, adaptive adjustment of the counterweight according to working conditions is achieved; the problems of torque unbalance, large structural load, high cost and the like caused by a traditional fixed balance weight are solved, and the hoisting safety and economical efficiency are remarkably improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a counterweight system for a single-arm flat-top tower crane specifically designed for wind power, belonging to the technical field of wind power hoisting equipment. Background Technology

[0002] When hoisting large components, wind turbine tower cranes often rely on fixed concrete counterweights for balance. Traditional counterweights are typically around 200 tons of concrete blocks, whose weight is completely non-adjustable and can only accommodate a single load condition. This design has several drawbacks: transporting the counterweight requires multiple heavy vehicles, resulting in high costs; loading and unloading rely on auxiliary cranes, leading to long installation and commissioning times; the large windward area limits operating wind speeds (usually ≤8m / s); both cost and wear are high; it cannot cope with sudden load changes during hoisting, easily leading to tower moment imbalance and fatigue damage; and the concrete counterweight itself is expensive to manufacture and prone to cracking and damage. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The purpose of this invention is to overcome the problems of torque imbalance, large structural load and high cost caused by the non-adjustable fixed counterweight in the prior art, and to provide a counterweight system for wind power-specific single-arm flat-top tower cranes. Through the combination of movable fixed counterweight and temporary counterweight, real-time sensing detection and intelligent control, the counterweight can be adaptively adjusted according to the working conditions.

[0004] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is: a counterweight system for a single-arm flat-top tower crane specifically for wind power, comprising a slewing tower crane, and further comprising: The fixed counterweight unit is located on the rail-mounted counterweight trolley on the side of the tower crane's counterweight boom; The movable counterweight unit includes a track-type counterweight trolley, a fixed-length wire rope hook, and a temporary counterweight. The counterweight trolley moves along the balance arm track and carries the fixed counterweight unit and the temporary counterweight. The sensing and detection unit includes a suspended object weighing sensor, a variable amplitude length measuring sensor, a suspended object infrared centering sensor, a counterweight weighing sensor, a temporary counterweight infrared centering sensor, a temporary counterweight weighing sensor, a torque measuring sensor, and a wind speed and direction sensor. The intelligent control unit receives sensor data, calculates the counterweight requirement, and outputs control commands to the drive mechanism of the counterweight trolley and the lifting mechanism of the temporary counterweight.

[0005] Furthermore, the temporary counterweight is a container-type structure, internally encapsulating on-site sand or soil, with a double-acting hydraulic cylinder and hydraulic pump station at the top, and a temporary counterweight weighing sensor at the bottom.

[0006] Furthermore, the lifting mechanism of the temporary counterweight is a double-acting hydraulic cylinder. One end of the double-acting hydraulic cylinder is fixed to the upper side of the temporary counterweight, and the other end is connected to a fixed-length wire rope hook. The temporary counterweight is connected to the fixed-length wire rope hook by the lifting of the double-acting hydraulic cylinder, and the lifting height is controlled within the range of 0.5-1.0 meters above the ground to reduce wind resistance. Since the length of the fixed-length wire rope hook cannot directly reach the temporary counterweight, the double-acting hydraulic cylinder fixed to the temporary counterweight needs to be raised to connect with the fixed-length wire rope hook, and then the double-acting hydraulic cylinder is lowered to pull up the temporary counterweight, thereby realizing the lifting of the temporary counterweight during operation.

[0007] Furthermore, the intelligent control unit incorporates a torque balance algorithm to calculate the product of the weight of the suspended object and the lifting width in real time, and compares it with the resultant torque of the fixed counterweight unit and the temporary counterweight to dynamically adjust the position of the counterweight trolley and the resultant torque of the temporary counterweight.

[0008] Furthermore, the intelligent control unit has a response time of ≤0.3 seconds, a monitoring frequency of ≥50 milliseconds / time, and supports stable operation under wind speed conditions of ≤15m / s.

[0009] Furthermore, the infrared centering sensor for the suspended object and the infrared centering sensor for the temporary counterweight are used for centering the center of gravity of the suspended object and positioning the temporary counterweight, respectively, to prevent tilting. The temporary counterweight is lifted to the marked position by a ground crane according to the position calibrated by the infrared centering sensor for the suspended object and the infrared centering sensor for the temporary counterweight, so as to realize the ground movement of the temporary counterweight during operation.

[0010] Furthermore, the counterweight trolley can move longitudinally by ±10 meters on the balance arm track to cover various torque conditions.

[0011] Furthermore, the system also includes an AP communication module to enable wireless transmission of sensor data and control commands, as well as remote monitoring.

[0012] Furthermore, the material of the temporary counterweight comes from the soil excavated from the wind turbine tower foundation or the sand and gravel on site, and is placed in a container after being packaged in ton bags.

[0013] Furthermore, under sudden loads or gusts of wind, the system adjusts the position and weight of the counterweight in real time through an intelligent control unit to control the tower tilt within ±0.03°.

[0014] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of this invention are as follows: This invention effectively prevents tower cranes from tipping over and breaking by real-time torque monitoring and automatic balancing, thus improving safety; it uses on-site materials (such as tower foundation soil and gravel) as counterweight medium, which greatly reduces the cost of counterweight manufacturing, transportation and maintenance, resulting in significant economic benefits; and it uses soil excavated from the wind power tower foundation, which reduces resource waste and conforms to the concept of green construction. Attached Figure Description

[0015] The present invention will now be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0016] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the present invention.

[0017] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the process of the present invention.

[0018] In the diagram: 1 is the fixed counterweight unit, 2 is the temporary counterweight, 3 is the double-acting hydraulic cylinder, 4 is the hydraulic pump station, 6 is the counterweight trolley, 7 is the fixed-length wire rope hook, 9 is the load weighing sensor, 10 is the variable amplitude length measuring sensor, 11 is the load infrared centering sensor, 12 is the counterweight weighing sensor, 14 is the temporary counterweight infrared centering sensor, 16 is the torque measuring sensor, 17 is the wind speed and direction sensor, 18 is the intelligent control unit, 19 is the AP communication module, and 20 is the temporary counterweight weighing sensor. Detailed Implementation

[0019] The present invention will be further described below with reference to specific embodiments.

[0020] like Figure 1 , Figure 2 As shown, this invention innovatively integrates the following units based on the traditional tower crane structure: Fixed counterweight unit 1: It is installed on the rail-type counterweight trolley on the side of the counterweight boom of the tower crane and moves synchronously with the counterweight trolley.

[0021] Movable counterweight unit: Track-mounted counterweight trolley 6: Installed on the slide rail of the balance arm, driven by the balancing motor, it can move longitudinally ±10 meters on the balance arm track. The trolley is equipped with a counterweight weighing sensor 12.

[0022] Temporary counterweight 2: Utilizing a containerized structure, it internally encapsulates the excavated soil or on-site sand and gravel from the wind turbine tower foundation (encapsulated in ton bags). The top is equipped with a double-acting hydraulic cylinder 3 and a hydraulic pump station 4, while the bottom features a temporary counterweight weighing sensor 20. The temporary counterweight 2 is connected to a fixed-length steel wire rope hook 7 via the lifting and lowering of the double-acting hydraulic cylinder 3. The lifting height is controlled within the range of 0.5-1.0 meters above the ground to reduce wind resistance.

[0023] Sensing and detection unit: The load-bearing weight sensor 9 detects the weight of the load in real time. The variable amplitude length measuring sensor 10 detects the hanging width (working amplitude). The infrared centering sensor 11 for the suspended object and the infrared centering sensor 14 for the temporary counterweight are used for centering the center of gravity of the suspended object and positioning the temporary counterweight, respectively, to prevent tilting. Torque measurement sensor 16 monitors the tower body torque; Wind speed and direction sensor 17: monitors ambient wind speed and direction.

[0024] Intelligent Control Unit 18: This is the core processor, receiving data from all sensors. Through a built-in torque balance algorithm (which calculates the product of the load weight and the lifting width in real time and compares it with the combined torque of the fixed and temporary counterweights), it dynamically calculates and outputs control commands to the drive mechanism of the counterweight trolley and the lifting mechanism of the temporary counterweight. Its response time is ≤0.3 seconds, and its monitoring frequency is ≥50 milliseconds / time.

[0025] AP Communication Module 19: Enables wireless transmission of data and commands and remote monitoring.

[0026] Working principle: Initialization and calibration: After the system starts, the intelligent control unit 18 performs torque zero-position calibration and calibrates the position through the suspended object infrared centering sensor 11 and the temporary counterweight infrared centering sensor 14.

[0027] Data Acquisition and Processing: During hoisting operations, each sensor collects data in real time and sends it to the intelligent control unit 18 via the AP communication module 19.

[0028] Intelligent decision-making and control: The intelligent control unit 18 dynamically calculates the required counterweight configuration (including the weight requirement of temporary counterweights and the optimal position of the counterweight trolley) based on data such as the load, amplitude, and wind speed.

[0029] The double-acting hydraulic cylinder 3 controls the action of the temporary counterweight 2 to enable the temporary counterweight to be attached or detached, and controls the precise movement of the counterweight trolley 6 on the track.

[0030] For example, when the moment of the boom is greater than that of the counterweight boom, the counterweight trolley moves away from the center of rotation; conversely, it moves closer to the center of rotation to balance the moments on both sides.

[0031] Safety and fault tolerance: The system is equipped with front and rear limit calibrations, triggering deceleration and stopping before the counterweight trolley reaches its limit position. Under sudden loads or gusts of wind (wind speed ≤15m / s), the system can respond quickly, controlling the tower tilt within ±0.03°. Furthermore, the design allows for the use of detachable counterweights in situations such as sudden load loss.

[0032] Example 1: 3MW tower hoisting under high wind speed Operating conditions: The working environment has a wind speed of 13 m / s (continuous) and gusts of 15 m / s (intermittent). The work involves hoisting a 3MW wind turbine tower (lifting weight 60t). The work site is on soft soil foundation (with low bearing capacity, so the foundation load fluctuation needs to be strictly controlled).

[0033] step: 1. Parameter input and counterweight preparation; The operator manually inputs the tower lifting weight of 60t into the intelligent control unit. The intelligent control unit combines the real-time wind speed data of 13m / s transmitted by the wind speed and direction sensor and calculates the initial required weight of the temporary counterweight as 55t through the torque balance algorithm. On-site, the soil around the tower base is sealed in ton bags (locally sourced materials) to quickly complete the preparation of the 55t temporary counterweight.

[0034] 2. Centering and preliminary balancing of the suspended load; The hoisting trolley moves along the boom track to directly above the tower. The infrared centering sensor scans the tower structure, guiding the hook to precisely align with the center of gravity of the tower. The operator then completes the hoisting point setup. Simultaneously, the intelligent control unit receives the hoisting amplitude data from the amplitude measuring sensor (on the hoisting trolley side) and drives the counterweight trolley to move synchronously along the balance arm track, initially balancing the torque on the hoisting side and preventing torque imbalance before the hoisting rope is pre-tensioned.

[0035] 3. Temporary counterweight positioning and installation; The counterweight trolley carrying the fixed counterweight moves to the preset area of ​​the counterweight arm. The infrared centering sensor of the temporary counterweight scans the ground to locate the precise position where the temporary counterweight needs to be placed. The auxiliary crane is called to lift the 55t temporary counterweight (encapsulated in a ton bag) to the positioning point. The hook under the counterweight trolley is attached to the lifting point of the hydraulic cylinder at the top of the temporary counterweight to complete the temporary counterweight installation.

[0036] 4. Synchronous pre-tensioning and lifting balance; The intelligent control unit issues commands to synchronously control the winch on the load side to pre-tighten the tower hoisting rope and the hydraulic pump station on the temporary counterweight side to drive the cylinder to pre-tighten the temporary counterweight hoisting rope. During the process, the load weighing sensor, the temporary counterweight weighing sensor, and the torque measurement sensor transmit data in real time. The intelligent control unit dynamically adjusts the tension of the winch and the cylinder based on the data to ensure that the load and the temporary counterweight are lifted synchronously and slowly, and that torque balance is always maintained. When the tower is completely off the ground and the temporary counterweight is lifted to a height of 0.8m off the ground, the temporary counterweight weighing sensor calibrates the actual weight of the temporary counterweight to be 54.8t. The intelligent control unit automatically corrects the torque calculation parameters to further optimize the balance accuracy.

[0037] 5. Normal lifting operation; After the torque balance is stable, the intelligent control unit controls the winch to lift the tower at a preset speed and start the normal hoisting operation. During this period, each sensor continuously transmits data to the control unit to monitor the torque status in real time.

[0038] 6. Gust response and tilt control; When the wind speed and direction sensor detects a gust of 14.5 m / s, the data is transmitted to the intelligent control unit within 0.1 seconds. The control unit, combined with the torque fluctuation data fed back by the torque measurement sensor, drives the counterweight trolley to make a slight adjustment to its position (moving forward 0.5 m) along the balance arm track within 0.3 seconds. This quickly compensates for the additional torque of the gust, reducing the tower tilt from the initial 0.12° to 0.04°, thus preventing excessive tilting of the tower in soft soil and the resulting local settlement.

[0039] 7. Synchronous balance during amplitude variation; According to the installation requirements, the lifting trolley needs to be adjusted along the boom track to change the luffing position (increasing the lifting width by 1.2m); the luffing length measuring sensor provides real-time feedback on the changes in the lifting width, and the intelligent control unit synchronously calculates the required torque compensation, driving the counterweight trolley to move in the same direction along the balance arm track (moving backward by 0.8m), ensuring that the torque is always balanced during the luffing process, and no additional load is applied to the tower and foundation.

[0040] 8. Tower placement and counterweight removal; The tower is moved above the installation position and begins to be slowly lowered. As the tower comes into contact with the foundation, the load on the boom gradually decreases. The intelligent control unit captures the torque change through the torque measurement sensor, first controlling the hydraulic cylinder to drive the temporary counterweight to slowly lower to the ground. After the temporary counterweight has completely landed, the counterweight hook is removed, and then the counterweight trolley is driven to move forward synchronously along the balance arm track to continuously balance the remaining torque on the boom side.

[0041] 9. Finishing work and stress relief; After the tower is installed and fixed, the intelligent control unit controls the winch on the side of the load to slowly loosen the hoisting rope and release the accumulated stress on the rope. After the hoisting rope is completely unloaded, the operator removes the hook of the load. During the process, the load trolley and the counterweight trolley move synchronously along their respective tracks under the control of the intelligent control unit, always maintaining the torque balance of the whole machine and avoiding structural swaying caused by a sudden reduction in load on one side.

[0042] 9. Full-process stability monitoring; The operation encountered four gusts of wind (maximum wind speed 14.8 m / s) throughout the process. The intelligent control unit completed the torque adjustment within 0.5 seconds each time, the tower tilt angle remained ≤0.06°, and no abnormal settlement occurred in the soft soil foundation. The 3MW tower hoisting was successfully completed.

[0043] Example 2: 2MW blade hoisting (without temporary counterweight) Operating conditions: The wind speed in the working environment is 8 m / s (continuous, without gusts), and the 2MW wind turbine blade is being hoisted (the load is 30t, the blade has a large windward area, and the wind load has a significant impact on the torque). No temporary counterweight is required (it only relies on the fixed counterweight and the dynamic adjustment of the counterweight trolley).

[0044] step: 1. Parameter input and balancing strategy determination; The operator manually inputs the blade load of 30t into the intelligent control unit, and the wind speed and direction sensor transmits wind speed data of 8m / s in real time. The intelligent control unit combines the blade windward area parameters (preset in the system) to calculate the additional torque of the wind load and determines that there is no need to use temporary counterweights. Torque balance can be achieved simply by adjusting the position of the fixed counterweight and the counterweight trolley.

[0045] 2. The suspended load is precisely aligned; The lifting trolley moves along the boom track to directly above the blade storage rack. The infrared centering sensor scans the blade root and tip structure to accurately locate the blade's center of gravity (the risk of blade center of gravity deviation is high, requiring high-precision centering). The hook is then guided to slowly descend and a dedicated lifting point for the blade is attached to ensure that the lifting rope remains perpendicular to the blade axis, preventing the blade from swaying after lifting.

[0046] 3. Pre-tightening and initial balancing of the hoisting ropes; The intelligent control unit controls the winch on the load side to slowly tighten the hoisting rope. During the pre-tightening process, the load weighing sensor monitors the tension of the hoisting rope in real time to ensure that the tension is applied evenly to the blade lifting point. At the same time, the amplitude measuring sensor (load trolley side) feeds back the current lifting amplitude data. The intelligent control unit drives the counterweight trolley to move backward along the balance arm track to the initial balancing position, so that the initial torque error fed back by the torque measuring sensor is ≤2%.

[0047] 4. Synchronous lifting and torque monitoring; After the hoisting rope is pre-tensioned, the intelligent control unit controls the winch to slowly lift the blades. At the same time, the position of the counterweight trolley is monitored in real time through the amplitude-changing length measuring sensor (counterweight trolley side). Based on the dynamic data of the load weight measuring sensor and the torque measuring sensor, the backward movement speed of the counterweight trolley is finely adjusted. When the blades are completely off the ground (1.2m off the ground), the intelligent control unit calculates the current torque balance state to ensure that the error between the load-side torque (blade weight × lifting width) and the balance-side torque (fixed counterweight weight × counterweight width) is ≤1.5%.

[0048] 5. Normal lifting and wind load compensation; Once the blades enter the normal lifting phase, the wind speed and direction sensors continuously monitor the wind speed at 8 m / s, and the intelligent control unit calculates the additional torque generated by the wind load on the blades in real time. When the wind load causes a slight fluctuation in the torque (the torque measurement sensor captures a torque change of ±3%), the control unit drives the counterweight trolley to make a small position adjustment of ±0.3m along the balance arm track to quickly compensate for the additional torque and prevent the blades from swaying significantly.

[0049] 6. Dynamic balance during amplitude variation; According to the installation requirements, the lifting trolley needs to adjust the luffing along the boom track towards the tower (the lifting width is reduced by 2m); the luffing length measuring sensor provides real-time feedback on the change in lifting width, and the intelligent control unit synchronously calculates the required adjustment of the counterweight on the balance side, driving the counterweight trolley to move forward synchronously by 2.5m along the balance arm track to ensure that the torque balance is uninterrupted during the luffing process and that the blades always maintain a stable posture.

[0050] 7. Blade placement and load adjustment; The blade moves above the hub docking position and begins to slowly lower itself. As the blade gradually docks with the hub, the load on the boom gradually decreases. The intelligent control unit captures the torque decay trend in real time through the torque measurement sensor and drives the counterweight trolley to move forward synchronously along the balance arm track to continuously balance the remaining torque on the boom side and prevent the boom from tilting upward due to the sudden decrease in load.

[0051] 8. Finishing work and maintaining balance; After the blade is docked and fixed to the hub, the intelligent control unit controls the winch on the load side to slowly loosen the hoisting rope and release the contact stress between the hoisting rope and the blade hoisting point. After the hoisting rope is completely unloaded, the operator removes the hook from the blade hoisting point. During the process, the load trolley moves slowly towards the tower along the boom track, and the counterweight trolley moves synchronously towards the tower along the balance arm track, always maintaining the torque balance of the whole machine and preventing structural swaying.

[0052] 9. Full-process stability verification; Throughout the operation, the wind speed remained stable at 8 m / s, the blades did not exhibit significant swaying, the torque balance error fed back by the torque measurement sensor was consistently ≤2%, and the tower tilt angle was ≤0.03°. The 2MW blade hoisting (without temporary counterweight) was successfully completed, verifying the reliability of the system's torque balance under the condition of no temporary counterweight.

[0053] This invention achieves efficient, safe, and economical operation of wind turbine installation through a combined counterweight design and intelligent closed-loop control, and has strong promotional value.

[0054] The above embodiments have been described in detail, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. Within the scope of knowledge possessed by those skilled in the art, various changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

Claims

1. A counterweight system for a single-arm flat-top tower crane specifically designed for wind power, comprising a slewing tower crane, characterized in that, Also includes: A fixed counterweight unit (1) is installed on a rail-type counterweight trolley (6) on the side of the counterweight boom of the tower crane; The movable counterweight unit includes a track-type counterweight trolley (6), a fixed-length wire rope hook (7), and a temporary counterweight (2). The counterweight trolley (6) moves along the balance arm track and carries the fixed counterweight unit (1) and the temporary counterweight (2). The sensing and detection unit includes a suspended object weighing sensor (9), a variable amplitude length measuring sensor (10), a suspended object infrared centering sensor (11), a counterweight weighing sensor (12), a temporary counterweight infrared centering sensor (14), a temporary counterweight weighing sensor (20), a torque measuring sensor (16), and a wind speed and direction sensor (17). The intelligent control unit (18) receives sensor data and calculates the counterweight requirement, and outputs control commands to the drive mechanism of the counterweight trolley (6) and the lifting mechanism of the temporary counterweight (2).

2. The counterweight system for a wind power-specific single-arm flat-top tower crane according to claim 1, characterized in that, The temporary counterweight (2) is a container-type structure, which is filled with on-site sand or soil. It is equipped with a double-acting hydraulic cylinder (3) and a hydraulic pump station (4) at the top, and the temporary counterweight weighing sensor (20) is installed at the bottom.

3. The counterweight system for a wind power-specific single-arm flat-top tower crane according to claim 2, characterized in that, The temporary counterweight (2) is connected to the fixed-length wire rope hook (7) by the lifting and lowering of the double-acting hydraulic cylinder (3), and the lifting height is controlled within the range of 0.5-1.0 meters above the ground to reduce wind resistance.

4. The counterweight system for a wind power-specific single-arm flat-top tower crane according to claim 1, characterized in that, The intelligent control unit (18) has a built-in torque balance algorithm to calculate the product of the weight of the suspended object and the lifting width in real time, and compare it with the resultant torque of the fixed counterweight unit (1) and the temporary counterweight (2) to dynamically adjust the position of the counterweight trolley (6) and the resultant torque of the temporary counterweight (2).

5. A counterweight system for a wind power-specific single-arm flat-top tower crane according to claim 4, characterized in that, The intelligent control unit (18) has a response time of ≤0.3 seconds, a monitoring frequency of ≥50 milliseconds / time, and supports stable operation under wind speed ≤15m / s conditions.

6. The counterweight system for a wind power-specific single-arm flat-top tower crane according to claim 1, characterized in that, The infrared centering sensor (11) for the suspended object and the infrared centering sensor (14) for the temporary counterweight are used for centering the center of gravity of the suspended object and positioning the temporary counterweight (2) to prevent tilting. The temporary counterweight (2) is lifted to the position marked by the infrared centering sensor (11) for the suspended object and the infrared centering sensor (14) for the temporary counterweight by a ground crane.

7. The counterweight system for a wind power-specific single-arm flat-top tower crane according to claim 1, characterized in that, The counterweight trolley (6) can move longitudinally by ±10 meters on the balance arm track to cover a variety of torque conditions.

8. The counterweight system for a wind power-specific single-arm flat-top tower crane according to claim 1, characterized in that, The system also includes an AP communication module (19) to realize wireless transmission of sensor data and control commands and remote monitoring.

9. A counterweight system for a wind power-specific single-arm flat-top tower crane according to claim 1, characterized in that, The material of the temporary counterweight (2) comes from the soil excavated from the wind turbine tower foundation or the sand and gravel on site, and is placed in a container after being packaged in a ton bag.

10. A counterweight system for a wind power-specific single-arm flat-top tower crane according to claim 1, characterized in that, Under sudden load or gust of wind, the system adjusts the position and weight of the counterweight in real time through the intelligent control unit (18) to control the tower tilt within ±0.03°.

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