Method for manufacturing and assembling multiple towers in a wind farm - Patents.com

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for manufacturing and assembling a plurality of towers (1) at a wind power plant (2), the towers (1) having a plurality of precast concrete segments (3) that are superimposed in height, the method comprising: a) establishing a centralized manufacturing location (6) at the wind power plant (2), and b) establishing a plurality of land routes (8) to a final position (5) of the towers (1). Advantageously, the method further comprises: c) prefabricating at least one segment (3) of the tower (1), d) positioning the prefabricated segment (2) in a vertical position on a land transportation system (9), e) transporting the segment (3) in a vertical position to a final position (5) of one of the towers (1) following one of the land routes (8), and f) assembling the segments (3) to form at least one part of a shaft (4) of the tower (1).

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for installing and assembling a tower, preferably a wind turbine tower. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method for manufacturing, transporting and assembling a hollow tower, preferably a hollow tower formed by precast concrete segments, which is particularly suitable for simplifying the operations for installing tower unit assemblies, for example in a wind power plant. The present invention also relates to one or more concrete towers manufactured and assembled using said method. [Background technology]

[0002] Over the past few decades, the nominal power of wind turbines has gradually increased due to an increase in rotor diameter, which has resulted in the need to use taller and more robust towers to support them. For example, between 1990 and 2020, the maximum power output of onshore wind turbines has tripled, now exceeding 6 MW, while rotor height and maximum rotating diameter have doubled since the beginning of this period.

[0003] This increase in stress on the towers supporting wind turbines, resulting from the increase in rotor size, means that towers manufactured with conventional techniques, mainly using welded steel elements, are gradually being replaced by other, more suitable tower concepts. In this respect, the use of concrete towers has increased in recent years, which is particularly advantageous for higher tower heights, generally exceeding 100 m. Concrete is cheaper, more durable and heavier than steel. It also allows tower shapes with larger cross-sectional diameters, which are necessary to withstand the loads of larger wind turbines.

[0004] Concrete towers can essentially be divided into two main types:

[0005] A) A tower made up of precast concrete elements transported to its final location

[0006] They are characterized by the fact that they are mostly composed of prefabricated segments, transported from a factory to an assembly platform where the tower installation process is carried out in its working position. An example of a manufacturing and installation technique for this type of tower is described in patent ES2371960B1. According to these techniques, the factory of the prefabricated elements that make up the tower can be located at some distance from the final position of each wind turbine. As concrete towers are heavy, the factory of the prefabricated elements may even be installed in the same area where the wind farm is located, in order to minimize its corresponding transport costs. The size and shape of the prefabricated elements are also regulated by the transport constraints, and mostly three types are used:

[0007] Reduced height rings or sections: these are annular segments whose height is less than their diameter or width and which mainly take the shape of a ring, as described in patent ES2659523T3. Because of manufacturing and logistics constraints, they are less than 4.0 m high, and the rings at the bottom of the tower are also usually divided into two C-shaped sections, since the diameter of the lower part of the tower (6.0 m or more) means that the entire section cannot be moved due to the excess width. In this way, for example, a 100 m tower may have about 30 rings, about half of which are manufactured in two C-shaped sections, which are then transported and attached to each other to form the rings at the final assembly position. Each of its upper smaller diameter rings can also be manufactured and transported as a single piece.

[0008] Tall sections: these are segments whose height is significantly greater than their diameter or width, and which are manufactured and transported horizontally. This is the most common case in steel towers, and can occur in some upper sections of concrete towers, but is the least common. They are characterized in that the tower segments are manufactured, transported and stored in a horizontal position, and when they are in their final position during the assembly process, the assembly crane places them upright and then places them in their final position on the tower. These are sections whose diameter usually does not exceed 4.5 m, depending on the general transport clearances and the stability of the vehicles that transport them, to be transported from the factory to their final position on the tower.

[0009] Panels or voussoirs: this type of segment is common in precast concrete towers. The elements that compose them can be elongated, flat or curved. They are the elements that are manufactured, stored and transported horizontally. On reaching their final position in the tower, they are placed upright and attached to each other to form the tower sections by means of vertical joints between the parts. This operation is called pre-assembly of the sections. The sections thus formed are then lifted to their final position on the tower. An example of this type of tower is the one described in ES2326010B2. In other cases, as described in ES2704624T3, the panels are placed upright and placed directly in their final position, without the aforementioned pre-assembly process.

[0010] The main advantage of prefabricated towers is their efficient manufacturing and high assembly speed, the disadvantage is their high transportation and assembly costs: the weight and size of concrete towers necessitates their division into a significant number of elements, making them significantly more expensive to manufacture, transport and assemble.

[0011] B) Tower with manufactured elements in final position

[0012] Since concrete is an easily transportable material, the towers are also designed and constructed to be manufactured in the final location. Thus, it is not the elements of the tower that are transported, but the means of manufacture and the materials used (mainly concrete and rebar). Within this category, there are two main types of towers:

[0013] In-situ towers: these are towers that are manufactured by lifting or sliding at the location of the wind turbine itself, such as the towers described in ES2614861T3.

[0014] Towers manufactured in final position: these are towers whose elements are manufactured on an assembly platform close to the final position of the tower and are then placed in the final position of the wind turbine using a crane, such as the towers described in patent EP 3212863 B1. Compared to towers manufactured entirely on site, towers manufactured in premises have the advantage that several tower sections can be manufactured simultaneously, since they are manufactured at ground level and not at height, but have the disadvantage that they require a final assembly stage of the tower. Compared to towers made from prefabricated elements and transported to the final position, they have the advantage of saving in transportation and reducing the number of elements, thereby facilitating the assembly of a single tower. However, in the construction of a wind power plant, they require the transport of manufacturing tools to the position of each tower of the plant, which is not efficient in terms of time and causes the loss of the advantages of the efficiency of more industrial manufacturing processes.

[0015] Compared to concrete towers made from prefabricated and transported elements, the in-house manufactured tower variant eliminates the overall transportation and some or all of the assembly of tower segments. In addition, towers are usually simpler to construct because there are fewer segments to attach together. However, their manufacture is more time consuming, more complex, involving the dismantling, removal and installation of complex tooling for each unit, and generally requires manufacturing operations at some height and the high cost of concrete to be transported to the final location of each tower.

[0016] Finally, it should be noted that there are also many composite or hybrid towers, where both types are mixed in the same tower. Towers whose lower part is made from concrete and whose upper part is steel tube are very common, but there are also towers whose lower part can be manufactured on-site and whose upper part is made from precast concrete. More or less, hybrid towers solve some of the problems of each type of tower, but on the other hand they must coexist with the problems and means of each type of tower used. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0017] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method for manufacturing and assembling a concrete tower based on a number of pre-assembled segments of the tower (preferably as a series of segments or similar modules), which is more efficient than alternative methods of the prior art. Preferably, the invention is applicable to concrete towers with frusto-conical sections, which are commonly used to withstand high moments at the base of the tower. However, said object can also be applied to other types of section shapes, such as cylindrical, polygonal, etc. Likewise, although repeated reference is made in this document to wind turbine towers, the invention can also be used, without limitation, for other types of towers based on precast concrete elements or parts thereof. [Means for solving the problem]

[0018] To overcome the technical problems described in the previous paragraphs, the present invention proposes a novel method for manufacturing and assembling concrete towers, which is essentially based on optimizing the operations for the preassembly, transportation and assembly of the segments that make up the tower, improving the time and reducing the total number of operations compared to known solutions.

[0019] More specifically, a first object of the invention relates to a method for manufacturing and assembling a number of towers in a wind power plant, each of said towers comprising a number of precast concrete segments superimposed in height forming the shaft of the tower, each tower taking its final position in the wind power plant after assembly. The method preferably comprises carrying out the following steps, in any order: a) establishing a centralized manufacturing location at a wind power plant, said centralized manufacturing location comprising means for prefabricating the tower segments, b) establishing a plurality of land routes from said centralized manufacturing location to the final location of said tower;

[0020] Advantageously according to the invention, the method further comprises carrying out the following steps: c) vertically prefabricating at least one segment of the tower, the height of said segment being greater than 5.0 m; d) positioning the prefabricated segments from step c) in a substantially vertical position on a ground transportation system; e) transporting the segments positioned in a substantially vertical position in step d) on a ground transportation system from the centralized manufacturing location to a final location in one of the towers following one of the ground routes, the ground route being free of vertical clearances, such as those imposed by bridges, tunnels, and / or power lines; f) assembling the segments transported in step e) to a final location of one of the towers to form at least a portion of the shaft of the tower; g) Repeating steps c) to f) for multiple towers in the wind farm.

[0021] Preferably in the method of the invention, step e) comprises a step of storing in an area comprised between the production site and a final position in the tower, the segments being stored in said storage area in a substantially vertical position until they are transported to said final position.

[0022] With regard to towers manufactured in situ, the objective of the method of the invention coincides with the simplicity of design achieved by reducing the number of segments forming the tower (since they have a height greater than 6.0 m), but it differs from the latter in that said reduction is not achieved on the basis of manufacturing in situ, to eliminate limitations in transportation and to be able to make taller and wider tower sections, but by keeping the manufacture of the sections in the factory, having the advantageous features of centralized manufacturing, namely, working in a controlled environment and at low height, direct supply of concrete from an adjacent concrete plant, and having more robust and industrialized means, considering that they do not have to be dismantled and transported to a new site with the construction of each tower.

[0023] With respect to precast concrete towers, the method of the present invention has the great advantage of significantly reducing the number of segments that are manufactured, transported and assembled to form the tower, while maintaining the ease of manufacture that is typical of towers manufactured vertically due to the absence of vertical joints. In this regard, there are towers (almost all steel towers, some concrete tower sections) with segments that are over 6.0 m in height (steel tower sections usually range from 8.0 m to 25.0 m). However, these towers are characterized by always having a method for manufacturing, storing and transporting the segments horizontally, with steps that are very different from those of current methods.

[0024] In a preferred embodiment of the method of the invention, the land transport system comprises a modular trailer type vehicle, a self-propelled modular transporter (SPMT) and / or a self-propelled transporter (SPT). The method for manufacturing and assembling the subject of the invention can therefore synergistically combine two main features, namely the use of a modular trailer / SPT / SPMT type transport system for transport and handling of the segments in a novel way with respect to the conventional use in the field of concrete towers, and the manufacturing in a factory supplying elements for all the towers of said wind farm, close to or at said wind farm. By combining both features, a method can be defined based on a reduction in the number of segments of very high towers, whose manufacturing, storage and transport are carried out in the vertical, realizing a significant saving in tower construction time. Similarly, the novel use of the specific features of the land routes in wind farms compared to the conventional road network and the ability of modular trailers / SPT / SPMT to exploit these features gives rise to new tower designs and new construction processes, which are improved and free of the limitations of the currently used prefabricated tower designs.

[0025] In another preferred embodiment of the method of the invention, the land route does not cross any bridges and / or tunnels, and optionally under power lines. This makes the step of transporting the segments easier to carry out. In contrast to the method of the invention, methods based on a manufacturing site of the segments far from the wind farm present greater difficulties when encountering these height restrictions, which necessarily impose a level corresponding to the height of the prefabricated segments.

[0026] In another preferred embodiment of the method of the invention, step c) and / or the step of storing in the area comprised between the manufacturing site and the final position of the tower are carried out on a raised support arranged so that the land transport system can be positioned under the raised support, and step d) is carried out without using a crane or overhead crane type lifting means, thereby simplifying and making cheaper the steps of pre-manufacturing and positioning of the segments before transportation. This is realized as a result of the use of a transport system with the ability to adjust the height of the loading surface.

[0027] In another preferred embodiment of the method of the present invention, the raised support referred to in said embodiment comprises a height-adjustable surface configured such that step d) can be performed without the need for a crane or other loading and unloading methods by adjusting said surface until the prefabricated segments are positioned on said ground transport system. Said adjustment can be performed in different embodiments by hydraulic, pneumatic or mechanical means, without being limited thereto.

[0028] In another preferred embodiment of the method of the invention, the weight and height of the tower segments are defined in such a way that all segments can be lifted into their final position by the same crane, without the need to change their configuration.

[0029] In another preferred embodiment of the method of the invention, step f) further comprises a step of stressing the segments assembled on the shaft of the tower, which ensures that the final manufactured tower is more resistant and robust to the stresses and loads to which it is subjected.

[0030] In another preferred embodiment of the method of the invention, step f) further comprises making a horizontal joint in one or more segments to be assembled to the tower shaft, said joint making it possible to provide the tower shaft with structural resistance and integrity in a simple and scalable manner.

[0031] In another preferred embodiment of the method of the invention, step c) comprises using a modular production form or mould for prefabricating the segments, whereby the same form or mould can produce at least two different segments by adding, removing or modifying some parts of said form or mould.

[0032] In another preferred embodiment of the method of the invention, the segments have a tubular, cylindrical, frustoconical, prismatic, frustopyramidal and / or polygonal section, which allows the step of pre-manufacturing said segments to be carried out in a simplified manner compared to sections with more complex shapes, without compromising the robustness of the tower shaft obtained with such sections.

[0033] In another preferred embodiment of the method of the present invention, all segments of one and the same tower are prefabricated during step c) with a height of more than 6.0 m. This allows building very tall towers in a time-efficient manner with a significantly reduced number of segments with respect to known alternatives of the prior art.

[0034] In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the segment having a larger diameter is manufactured into two C-shaped halves that are joined together to form the tower segment in-house.

[0035] A second object of the invention relates to a tower manufactured and assembled by the method of the invention according to any of the embodiments described herein, preferably said tower comprising a nacelle and / or one or more wind turbine blades.

[0036] Within the context of the present invention, the term "substantially" is understood to mean identical or within a variation range of ±10%.

[0037] Within the scope of the present invention, the term "definitive location" is understood to mean the location where each tower is erected in its working or operational position in the wind farm, which is then formed by the location of the wind turbine and the corresponding assembly platform.

[0038] Within the meaning of the present invention, the term "position of the wind turbine" is the location where the tower and its base are placed in their final position, with both vertical axes substantially coinciding.

[0039] Within the scope of the present invention, the term "assembly platform" is taken to mean an area located around or immediately adjacent to the wind turbine location where the cranes are positioned to assemble the tower and the elements that make up the tower.

[0040] Within the scope of the present invention, the term "wind power plant" is taken to mean an area housing a group of towers in their final position and assembly platform, as well as one or more routes with transport land routes and external access to said plant. Secondarily, the term "wind power plant" is considered to be applicable, without limitation, to any power plant or area housing a group of towers manufactured by the method of the present invention, whether wind turbines or other types of turbines.

[0041] Within the scope of the present invention, the term "tower segment" is taken to mean a prefabricable and vertically stackable section forming the shaft of the tower.

[0042] The segments preferably have a generally cylindrical shape sharing a vertical axis substantially coinciding with the shaft of the tower, its base and the positioning centre of the wind turbine. The segments are preferably attached to each other by horizontal joints. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0043] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 shows a plan view of a wind farm configured to carry out the method of the present invention according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of the step of transporting tower segments in the method of the invention according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, where the very tall segment is in a substantially vertical position and is transported to its final location in the tower by a modular trailer type transport system.

[0044] (Reference numbers used in drawings) TIFF2024541637000002.tif52133 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0045] As explained in the previous paragraphs and as shown in the preferred embodiment shown in figures 1-2, a first object of the invention relates to a method for manufacturing and assembling a concrete tower (1), in particular indicated for constructing a tower (1) in a wind power plant (2) with a number of wind turbines, said tower (1) being formed by a number of prefabricated segments (3). The method is based on a synergistic combination of steps of manufacturing a segment (3), then transporting and assembling it as part of the shaft (4) of the tower (1), said assembly being carried out in its final position (5) of the tower (1), resulting in a significantly reduced number and transport of manufactured segments (3) compared to known methods and in a simplified manufacturing and assembly.

[0046] As mentioned in the previous section, the method of the present invention is based on two main assumptions: i) Selecting manufacturing locations that allow the route from the factory to each assembly location to be free of vertical clearance obstacles such as bridges, tunnels or power lines. This includes selecting a location for on-site manufacturing close to the wind farm (2) (or generally the final location (5) of the tower (1)) with a centralized manufacturing location (6) equipped with means (7) for prefabricating the segments (3) of the tower (1). ii) manufacturing, storing and transporting very tall segments (3) (preferably more than 6 m) of the tower (1) in a substantially vertical position, through different land transport routes (8), as a result of the use of a land transport system (9) suitable for transporting segments (3) of this type in a substantially vertical position, said transport system (9) being preferably of the modular trailer, SPT and / or SPMT type.

[0047] These two features allow for novel tower designs and significantly optimized manufacturing, storage, transportation, and assembly processes to produce prefabricated towers.

[0048] As now shown in figure 1, the method proposed by the invention relates to the manufacture and assembly of several towers (1) in a wind power plant (2). Preferably, each of said towers (1) comprises several precast concrete segments (3) superimposed in height that form the shaft (4) of the tower (1). Within the wind power plant (2), each tower (1) occupies a final position (5) that, after assembly, corresponds to the working or operational position of a wind turbine.

[0049] More specifically, the method of the present invention comprises carrying out the following steps a) to b) in a non-limiting order:

[0050] a) establishing a centralized manufacturing location (6) at or near the wind farm (2) with no vertical clearance obstacles in the path to each location, said centralized manufacturing location (6) equipped with means (7) for prefabricating the segments (3) of the tower (1);

[0051] The location of the manufacturing site (6) of the wind power plant (2) preferably makes it possible to guarantee the free height and width characteristics of the public road network by limiting the movement of the wind power plant (2) on roads that are narrower, flatter and, for the most part, free of cables, bridges and other obstacles that limit the vertical and horizontal clearances to less than 5.0-6.0 m, as exists in most wind power plants (2), mainly due to the size and weight of the components of the turbine (formed by the nacelle and the blades) and the cranes for the assembly of the turbine, which impose corresponding limitations on the clearances of the plant and on the road surface quality.

[0052] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, there are a number of vertical formworks at the manufacturing site (6), preferably at a trestle that serves as the lower formwork for each segment (3). Said formworks thus allow the prefabrication of the segments (3) of the tower (1) in an easy and scalable way. In a preferred embodiment, there is a first stage of prefabrication, during which an inner mould is placed on each trestle, then a quantity of rebar is placed in the mould in order to pour the concrete for the part that will then be closed with an outer mould to form the segment (3). After curing of the part, the outer and inner moulds are removed and the part is taken to a storage / placement area at the manufacturing site (6).

[0053] b) Establishing multiple land routes (8) from the centralized manufacturing location (6) to the final location (5) of the tower (1).

[0054] As mentioned before, the land route (8) corresponds to a path, road or route that connects the centralized manufacturing location (6) with the different final locations (5) of the towers (1) at the wind farm (2), followed by a transport system (9) for transporting the segments (3). Preferably, said land route (8) does not pass under any bridges, tunnels and / or power lines. Similarly, the height of the segments (3) may be conditioned by virtual limitations of the transport height, but relevant limitations (e.g. high voltage lines limiting the passage height to less than 6.0 m) therefore cause the manufacturing location (6) to be first installed in the area of ​​the wind farm (2) on one side of said line and then transported to the other side of said line, if there are sufficient numbers of wind turbine towers (1) on both sides to offset the cost of transporting the same from the manufacturing location (6). Alternatively, the manufacturing site (6) can also be located in the area of ​​the wind farm (2) with the largest number of wind turbines and two tower (1) models can be defined, one with fewer segments (3) but greater height, and one with more segments (3) but less height, so that they can be transported without hindrance to the other side of the wind farm (2).

[0055] Advantageously, the method of the invention further comprises carrying out the following steps c) to g).

[0056] c) prefabricating at least one segment (3) of the tower (1) in a substantially vertical position, said segment (3) having a height greater than 6.0 m. The prefabricated segments (3) are preferably cylindrical (or approximately cylindrical or prismatic, or even slightly frustoconical or frustopyramidal) elements constituting the tower (1) or a section thereof, and are simple to manufacture, similar to those used in the ring towers (1), but may be significantly taller and have a larger diameter. In a preferred embodiment, the segments (3) at the bottom of the tower object of the invention have a height of more than 6.0 m, and the segments corresponding to the upper part of the tower have a height of up to 12.0 m, compared to the height of the rings of the precast concrete towers (1) of the prior art, which is about 3-4 m. The tower (1) thus reduces the number of segments (3) to be manufactured, transported, lifted, placed and levelled, and also the number of horizontal joints to be formed, and as a result the cost reduction for each tower (1) is considerable. Moreover, in terms of diameter, it is possible to preferably make tower segments (3) up to a maximum diameter of 6.0 m, whereas conventional ring towers do not use ring parts with diameters of more than 4.0 m, by producing half-rings that are subsequently attached to each other to form a complete ring in the tower's final position in the wind farm (2) for larger widths. This means that the method for manufacturing and assembling this tower reduces the number of elements to be manufactured, transported and assembled to less than one third of those for current ring towers on the market.

[0057] In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the heights of the different segments (3) are adapted based on the target weight of each segment (3), so that the same crane configuration allows for quick assembly of all segments (sections). This means that the lower segments (3) of the tower (1) with a larger diameter will be lower than the upper segments (3) with a smaller diameter and with less weight per linear metre of height.

[0058] d) Positioning the segment (3) prefabricated in step c) in a substantially vertical position on the ground transportation system (9).

[0059] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the ground transport system (9) comprises modular trailers, SPTs and / or SPMTs. SPMTs and modular trailers are generally more expensive and usually slower (especially SPMTs) than conventional trucks or small and simple modular vehicles that are commonly used to transport prefabricated tower elements according to known methods. This theoretical drawback is much offset by the small number of segments (3) to be transported and the short distance between the manufacturing site (6) and the final position (5) characteristic of the tower (1). The use of SPTs / SPMTs furthermore makes it possible to guarantee lateral stability when transporting such elongated segments (3) in a vertical position, compared to transporting prefabricated segments (3) from known methods and vaults with a similar height that are transported and stored in a horizontal position.

[0060] In another preferred embodiment of the invention, step c) and / or step d) are performed on a raised support configured such that a land transportation system (9) can be positioned below the raised support, and step d) is performed without the use of a crane or overhead crane type lifting means.More preferably, the land transportation system (9) and / or the raised support have a height-adjustable surface configured such that step d) can be performed by adjusting said surface until positioning the prefabricated segment (3) on said land transportation system (9).

[0061] Thus, once each segment (3) is prefabricated in a substantially vertical position, it is removed from its mould to a storage area by introducing a transport system assembly (9) positioned under a raised location (e.g. a cradle), then the height of the transport system (9) is increased to raise the prefabricated segment (3) over the legs of the cradle and transport it in a substantially vertical position to its final position (5) on the tower (1), where the segment (3) is again placed on the cradle in a reverse operation without crane and tipping operations, and the entire logistics of the segments (3) is carried out in a substantially vertical position from the time they are manufactured until they are transported close to the tower (1) where they are assembled in the shaft (4).

[0062] In another preferred embodiment of the invention, a continuous horizontal waiting position of the segments (3) is ensured, so that the final stage of hardening the parts forming the segments (3), even if not fully hardened, does not generate undesirable deformations caused by leaving said parts on separate support elements rather than on a continuous support element, thereby reducing the use time of each formwork. In this case, there can be only one crane operation, which is to place the segments (3) on a horizontal surface (e.g. a polished concrete slab) for final hardening, and after the required hardening time (e.g. 72 hours), the segments (3) are again placed, using the same crane, on a transport system (9) that takes them to their final position (5) in the tower. In this embodiment, there can also be a support for unloading the segments (3) without the need for a crane, simply using the transport system (9) to which they are transported.

[0063] e) transporting the segments (3) positioned in a substantially vertical position on a ground transportation system (9) in step d) from the centralized manufacturing location (6) following a ground route (8) to a tower storage area (10) or to a final location (5) in one of the towers (1).

[0064] Optionally, step e) may comprise storing or preserving the segments (3) thus transported in a storage area (10) or in a substantially vertical position close to the final position (5) until transport to said final position (5) or until assembly thereof, as respectively described in step f) below.

[0065] f) Assembling the segments (3) transported in step e) to their final position (5) in one tower (1) to form at least one part of the shaft (4) of said tower (1).

[0066] g) Repeat steps c) to f) for multiple towers (1) in the wind farm (2).

[0067] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, steps c) to e) are carried out on supports with a free height of about 1.5 m. This, combined with the use of a transport system (9) of the modular trailer / SPT / SPMT type, further makes it possible to eliminate or greatly reduce the use of cranes, overhead cranes and other means of lifting and moving loads. Despite the fact that the elements to be manufactured (segments (3) of the tower (1)) are significantly larger and heavier than the characteristic elements of other prefabricated towers, the use of cranes to remove the parts from the mould or formwork in which they are manufactured, to transport and lower them to their storage or internal assembly position, and also to load them for transport and lower them to their final position (5) of the tower (1) is eliminated. In this way, by manufacturing the segments (3) and positioning them on supports with a height of, for example, 1.5 m, the transport system (9) itself can be used for loading and unloading the segments (3). The use of small supports for storing prefabricated elements is known in the sector, but supports designed for their loading and unloading without a crane are not used.

[0068] Thus, the method for manufacturing and assembling of the present invention can be used to build a complete concrete tower (1) formed by segments (3) having a height of over 6.0 m, or can also be used to make parts of a composite or hybrid tower (1) where one section of the tower (1) is made using the method and other parts are made using other materials, designs, or processes. For example, the upper part of the tower (1) can be formed by one or more conventional metal sections, and the lower part below can be manufactured using the designs and processes described herein.

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing and assembling a plurality of towers (1) in a wind power plant (2), each of said towers (1) having a plurality of precast concrete segments (3) superimposed in height to form a tower shaft (4), each tower (1) occupying its final position (5) in the wind power plant (2) after assembly, The method comprises the following steps: a) establishing a centralized manufacturing location (6), said centralized manufacturing location (6) comprising means (7) for prefabricating the segments (3) of said tower (1); b) establishing a plurality of land routes (8) from said centralized manufacturing location (6) to the final location (5) of said tower (1); in any order, The method further comprises the steps of: c) prefabricating at least one segment (3) of the tower (1) in a substantially vertical position, said segment (3) having a height greater than 6.0 m; d) positioning the prefabricated segments (3) of step c) in a substantially vertical position on a land transportation system (9); e) transporting the segments (3) positioned in a substantially vertical position on the land transportation system (9) in step d) from the centralized manufacturing location (6) to a final position (5) of one of the towers (1) following one of the land routes (8), the land route (8) being free of any vertical clearance obstacles in the form of bridges or tunnels; f) assembling the segments (3) transported in step e) to their final position (5) on one of said towers (1), forming at least one part of the shaft (4) of said tower (1); g) repeating steps c) to f) for a plurality of towers (1) in said wind power plant (2); a method comprising:

2. Step e) comprises storing the segments (3) in an area (10) comprised between the production location (6) and the final position (5) of the tower (1), the segments (3) being stored in the storage area (10) in a substantially vertical position until they are transported to the final position (5); The method of claim 1.

3. The land transportation system (9) comprises a modular trailer, a self-propelled transporter and / or a self-propelled modular transporter; The method according to claim 1 or claim 2.

4. Steps c) and / or d) are performed on raised supports, the raised supports being configured such that the land transport system (9) can be positioned below the raised supports, and step d) is performed without the use of a crane or overhead crane type lifting means. The method of claim 1.

5. the land transportation system (9) and / or the raised support have a height-adjustable surface configured to allow step d) to be performed by adjusting the surface until the prefabricated segment (3) is positioned on the land transportation system (9). The method of claim 4.

6. Step f) further comprises applying stress to the segments (3) assembled to the shaft (4) of the tower (1); The method of claim 1.

7. Step f) further comprises making horizontal joints in one or more segments (3) assembled on the shaft (4) of said tower (1); The method of claim 1.

8. Step c) comprises using a modular manufacturing form or mould for prefabricating said segments (3), whereby the same form or mould can produce at least two different segments (3) by adding, removing or modifying parts of said form or mould; The method of claim 1.

9. The segments (3) have a tubular, cylindrical, truncated conical, prismatic, truncated pyramidal and / or polygonal section; The method of claim 1.

10. All segments (3) of the same tower (1) are prefabricated with a height greater than 5 m during step c), The method of claim 1.

11. A tower (1) assembled according to the method of claim 1.

12. a nacelle and / or one or more wind turbine blades; A tower (1) according to claim 11.

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