Cable-Guided Buoyancy Transport for Wind Turbine Blades
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Solution Overview
Problem
Transporting elongated, bulky loads over long or mountainous, winding routes with unsuitable infrastructure is time-consuming and expensive, requiring cranes for unloading and often involving unsuitable infrastructure, especially for heavy loads like wind turbine blades.
Innovation Solution
A method and arrangement using a rope-guided buoyancy body with a support rope and crane knot, where the load is clamped in a rotatable and tiltable load handling unit connected to a carrying cable, allowing for remote-controlled winches to manage the load's position, enabling transportation and crane functions without unloading the goods, utilizing a three-dimensional crane node with guide rollers and remote-controlled winches for precise placement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If articulated lorries are used to transport elongated, bulky loads, then the goods can be transported over land routes, but the transport becomes very time-consuming and expensive, especially over long or winding routes with unsuitable infrastructure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the anti-weight principle by using a buoyancy body (balloon) to counteract the weight of the elongated load. The buoyant force generated by the balloon offsets the gravitational force on the load, enabling aerial transport that avoids the limitations of ground-based articulated lorries on unsuitable infrastructure, thereby significantly reducing transport time and improving efficiency
2Ease of operation
If cranes are used to unload transported goods, then the goods can be delivered to the destination, but additional equipment and time are required for the unloading process
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the universality principle by designing the buoyancy body system to perform multiple functions: it serves as both the transport vehicle and the crane mechanism. The buoyancy body can lift, transport, and precisely position the load using integrated lifting lines and pulleys, eliminating the need for separate unloading cranes and reducing overall equipment requirements
3Stability of the object's composition
If the load is clamped at the center of gravity in a rotatable and tiltable load handling unit, then the load remains stable during transport, but the system complexity increases with additional control mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the preliminary action principle by pre-positioning the load at its center of gravity in the load handling unit before transport begins. The load is initially clamped and centered at the gravitational center, which provides inherent stability during transport. The rotatable and tiltable mechanisms are only activated when needed for loading/unloading, reducing the perceived complexity during the main transport operation
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables efficient and remote-controlled transportation and crane operations for bulky loads over challenging terrain, keeping goods within the transport unit, suitable for transporting wind turbine blades, with the system being adaptable and flexible to navigate obstacles and wind conditions.
Implementation Method 1
rope-guided buoyancy body
Data Source
AI summary
Elongated, cumbersome goods are transported using articulated trucks and unloaded using a crane. A method and an apparatus for transporting and use as crane for elongated, cumbersome loads over wide distances even under unfavorable infrastructure is proposed comprising a cable-guided lifting member, wherein when changing the transport mode to the crane mode the transported goods remain in the transport unit and the process is remotely controllable from the ground. In the transport mode, the load (20), the center of gravity of which is held in a rotating and tilting load bearing unit (2) connected to the support cable (7, 12) is pulled by transport winch cables (4) fastened to the lower rotating catch (10) of the load bearing unit (2) of mobile controllable winches (14), wherein the crane winch cables (5) are raised by lifting cables (6) by remote control to the crane node (1) and secured with a lowered transport securing ring (9). In crane mode, the securing of the crane winch cables (5) is raised and the crane winch cables (5) are lowered from the crane node (1) to the controllable winches (14) and connected to the transport winch cables (4). By changing the free length of the individual transport winch cables (4) connected to the crane winch cables (5), the load (20) is brought to the required position. The method and the apparatus for transporting and use as crane for elongated, cumbersome loads using a cable-guided lifting member are particularly suited for transporting and installing wings for wind energy systems in rough and winding terrain.