Wind Turbine Blade Lifting Assembly with Root Support
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Solution Overview
Problem
The assembly and disassembly of wind turbine blades, particularly with increasing blade sizes, are costly and inefficient due to the need for high-capacity cranes, which pose risks of damaging the blades and incur significant operational expenses.
Innovation Solution
A blade lifting assembly that includes a gripper for gripping the blade's central region, a root support device mounted to the blade's root section, and connecting members to transmit axial loads, allowing for vertical movement and rotation of the blade using a crane, enabling safe and efficient mounting or unmounting by reducing the need for high gripping forces and crane height.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If high-capacity cranes are used to lift larger blades, then blade size increases, but operational costs and mounting time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The lifting system is divided into multiple independent components: a gripper for central blade gripping, a root support device for root section support, and connecting members. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function efficiently, reducing overall mounting time and cost while enabling handling of larger blades
Solution Approach 2:
The root support device acts as an intermediary between the blade root and the lifting system, distributing loads and enabling controlled lifting without requiring excessively high crane capacity. This intermediary component facilitates efficient mounting of larger blades by reducing the direct lifting burden on the crane
2Length of moving object
If high-capacity cranes are used to lift larger blades, then blade size increases, but operational expenses increase
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the lifting system into specialized components (gripper, root support device, connecting members), the system optimizes force distribution and reduces the lifting capacity requirements of the crane, thereby reducing operational expenses while enabling larger blade installation
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the lifting parameters by introducing a root support device that distributes axial loads, allowing the use of cranes with lower lifting capacity and reducing operational expenses while maintaining the ability to handle larger blades
3Force
If high gripping forces are applied to lift blades, then lifting capacity increases, but risk of blade damage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The lifting function is segmented between the gripper (handling central region) and the root support device (handling root section). This segmentation distributes the gripping and supporting forces, reducing the concentrated gripping forces that could damage the blade while maintaining sufficient lifting capacity
Solution Approach 2:
The root support device serves as an intermediary that supports the blade root section, distributing the lifting loads and reducing the gripping forces required at the blade center. This intermediary support mechanism reduces blade damage risk while maintaining adequate lifting capacity
4Manufacturing precision
If blades are mounted at higher positions, then mounting accuracy improves, but mounting time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The blade rotation device enables dynamic adjustment of blade orientation during the mounting process. This dynamic positioning capability allows the blade to be rotated to the correct orientation at lower heights, achieving mounting accuracy without requiring elevated positioning that would increase mounting time
Data Source
AI summary
A blade lifting assembly (50) for mounting a blade (22) to or unmounting a blade (22) from a rotor hub (20) of a wind turbine (10), including a gripper (52) configured for gripping a central region (54) of the blade (22), the gripper (52) including a blade rotation device (56) configured for rotating the blade (22) about a rotational axis perpendicular to a longitudinal blade axis (76) of the blade (22); a root support device (70) configured to be mounted to a root section (71) of the blade (22); and connecting members (74) connecting the root support device (70) to the gripper (52), the connecting members (74) being configured for transmitting an axial load (82) of the blade (22) from the root support device (70) to the gripper (52).