Transport device and transport method for wind turbine tower

Abstract

To provide a transport device and a transport method for a wind turbine tower capable of safely transporting a large wind turbine tower and the like.SOLUTION: A transport device for a wind turbine tower for loading and transporting a wind turbine tower in a horizontal position, comprises: a multi-axle carriage; and a support device provided on the multi-axle carriage, and including a pair of locking members that lock the wind turbine tower from both sides by abutting their curved contact surfaces along a circumferential direction of a lower lateral surface of the wind turbine tower, a pair of support bases that support the locking members so that an angle of the locking members can be changed, and a movement mechanism that moves the pair of support bases in directions of moving them closer to and away from each other.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] FIELD OF THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention relates to a transporting device and a transporting method for a wind turbine tower. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, carbon neutrality has been a goal as a measure against global warming, and in the field of power generation, wind power generation facilities using wind turbines that generate electricity using wind power, a renewable energy source, are being constructed.

[0003] Furthermore, in wind power generation facilities that use wind turbines, there is a trend toward larger turbines in order to increase the amount of electricity generated, with turbine towers reaching heights of up to 100 meters (with turbine blades having a diameter of 120 meters). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2022-185749 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, as wind turbines become larger, it becomes necessary to transport large structures such as towers to the construction site, which necessitates the use of larger transport equipment. While multi-axle trucks equipped with many wheels are used as such transport equipment, transporting large wind turbine towers using conventional multi-axle trucks can be difficult due to the gradients and curves of mountain roads, and accidents such as the wind turbine tower falling can be anticipated.

[0006] The present invention has been made in response to the above-mentioned conventional circumstances, and has as its object to provide a wind turbine tower transport device and transport method that can safely transport large wind turbine towers and the like. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The wind turbine tower transport device of one embodiment is a wind turbine tower transport device for loading and transporting a wind turbine tower in a lying position, and is characterized by comprising: a multi-axle bogie; a pair of locking members that lock from both sides by abutting curved abutment surfaces along the circumferential direction of the lower side of the wind turbine tower; a pair of support bases that support the locking members respectively so that the angle of the locking members can be changed; and a movement mechanism that moves the pair of support bases in directions that bring them closer together and apart, and a support device provided on the multi-axle bogie.

[0008] A method for transporting a wind turbine tower according to an embodiment is a method for transporting a wind turbine tower in which the wind turbine tower is loaded and transported in a lying position, and is characterized in that the method transports the wind turbine tower using a transport device for a wind turbine tower that includes a multi-axle trolley, a pair of locking members that lock the wind turbine tower from both sides by abutting their curved abutment surfaces along the circumferential direction of the lower side of the wind turbine tower, a pair of support bases that support the locking members respectively so that the angles of the locking members can be changed, and a movement mechanism that moves the pair of support bases in directions that bring them closer to and away from each other, and a support device provided on the multi-axle trolley. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a transporting device and a transporting method for a wind turbine tower that can safely transport a large wind turbine tower or the like. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating the configuration of a transport device for a wind turbine tower according to an embodiment. FIG. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating a side configuration of the wind turbine tower transport device of FIG. 1. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a main part of the wind turbine tower transport device shown in FIG. 1; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Hereinafter, a transport device and a transport method for a wind turbine tower according to an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0012] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, a wind turbine tower transport device 100 includes a multi-axle carriage 110 and a support device 120 provided on the multi-axle carriage 110. This wind turbine tower transport device 100 is used to load and transport a wind turbine tower 200 in a lying position.

[0013] The wind turbine tower 200 is divided into multiple pieces in the height direction, which are loaded onto a wind turbine tower transport device 100, transported, and then joined together at the construction site to form a tower that is, for example, 100 meters or more in height. The diameter of the wind turbine tower 200 increases as the height increases, and is also not constant, as it is larger at the bottom and smaller at the top depending on the height position.

[0014] The multi-axle bogie 110 comprises a bogie main body 111 for mounting the wind turbine tower 200, and a number of wheels 112 provided on the bogie main body 111. The multi-axle bogie 110 is also provided with a driving mechanism for travel (not shown) so that it can travel on its own, and its traveling state is controlled by a controller (not shown).

[0015] As shown in FIG. 3, the support device 120 includes a pair of locking members 121 that lock from both sides by abutting their curved abutment surfaces along the circumferential direction of the lower side surface of the wind turbine tower 200, a pair of support bases 122 that support the locking members 121 respectively so that the angle of the locking members 121 can be changed, and a movement mechanism 124 that moves the pair of support bases 122 in directions that bring them closer together and apart.

[0016] The locking member 121 is locked to the support base 122 via a rotation shaft 123, and is rotatable around the rotation shaft 123 as shown by the arrow in the figure. This allows the locking member 121 to reliably contact the lower side surface of the wind turbine tower 200 and support the wind turbine tower 200. In this embodiment, the locking member 121 is designed to be easily rotated with a light force so that an operator can manually change its angle. This allows the curved surface of the locking member 121 to reliably and easily abut against the lower side surface of wind turbine towers 200 of different diameters.

[0017] The moving mechanism 124 includes a moving platform 125 provided below the support base 122 and a base 126 provided below the moving platform 125, and a drive mechanism 127 such as a worm gear enables the moving platform 125 to move left and right on the base 126 in the direction of the arrow in Figure 3. In this way, the moving mechanism 124 can move the pair of moving platforms 125, which are arranged to face each other, in directions toward and away from each other, thereby making it possible to accommodate wind turbine towers 200 of different diameters.

[0018] As shown in Fig. 2, a plurality of support devices 120 (two in the example shown in Fig. 2) configured as described above are provided along the longitudinal direction (axial direction) of the wind turbine tower 200. The number of support devices 120 is not limited to two and can be changed as appropriate depending on factors such as the length of the wind turbine tower 200 to be transported. For example, the number of support devices 120 may be one, or three or more.

[0019] 1, the bogie body 111 of the multi-axle bogie 110 is provided with a plurality of supports 130 that support the load of the wind turbine tower 200, and the underside of the wind turbine tower 200 is supported by these supports 130. It is preferable to provide an elastically deformable cushioning material or the like on the supports 130 so that the underside of the side surface of the arc-shaped wind turbine tower 200 can be stably supported.

[0020] The wind turbine tower transport device 100 according to this embodiment, configured as described above, can easily accommodate and reliably support wind turbine towers 200 of different diameters. This significantly reduces the effort and time required to transport the wind turbine tower 200. Furthermore, the locking members 121 of the support device 120 can reliably lock various types of wind turbine towers 200, significantly reducing the possibility of accidents such as the wind turbine tower 200 falling due to the influence of slopes when transporting the tower on mountain roads or external forces such as gusts of wind.

[0021] Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described above, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be embodied in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, modifications, and combinations can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included within the scope and spirit of the invention, and are also included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents as defined in the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0022] 100...Transportation device for wind turbine tower, 110...Multi-axle bogie, 111...Boggie main body, 112...Wheels, 120...Support device, 121...Latching member, 122...Support base, 123...Rotating shaft, 124...Moving mechanism, 125...Moving platform, 126...Base, 130...Support material, 200...Wind turbine tower.

Claims

1. A wind turbine tower transport device for loading and transporting a wind turbine tower in a lying state, A multi-axle truck, a pair of locking members that lock from both sides by abutting curved contact surfaces along the circumferential direction of the lower side surface of the wind turbine tower, a pair of support bases that support the locking members respectively so that the angles of the locking members can be changed, and a movement mechanism that moves the pair of support bases in directions to move closer to and apart from each other, the support device being provided on the multi-axle bogie; A transport device for a wind turbine tower, comprising:

2. A plurality of the support devices are provided on the multi-axle bogie at intervals in the longitudinal direction of the wind turbine tower.

2. The transport device for a wind turbine tower according to claim 1.

3. The moving mechanism moves the support base by a worm gear.

3. The transport device for a wind turbine tower according to claim 1 or 2.

4. A method for transporting a wind turbine tower in which the wind turbine tower is loaded and transported in a lying state, comprising the steps of: A multi-axle truck, a pair of locking members that lock from both sides by abutting curved contact surfaces along the circumferential direction of the lower side surface of the wind turbine tower, a pair of support bases that support the locking members respectively so that the angles of the locking members can be changed, and a movement mechanism that moves the pair of support bases in directions to move closer to and apart from each other, the support device being provided on the multi-axle bogie; The wind turbine tower is transported by a transport device equipped with A method for transporting a wind turbine tower.

Images