Wind Turbine Cooling Panel Deflector Assembly for Safety and Bird Deterrence
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Solution Overview
Problem
Wind turbine cooling panels pose safety risks to service technicians and attract seabirds, leading to guano accumulation that reduces their effectiveness, with existing solutions like circumferential flanges being inefficient and costly.
Innovation Solution
A cooling panel assembly with deflector means at the top, inclined to soften collisions and prevent bird roosting, combined with bird obstacles like spikes to deter seabirds, which can be factory-mounted for cost-effectiveness and ease of installation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If cooling panels are mounted on the tower, then cooling effectiveness is improved, but safety risk to service technicians worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling panel assembly is segmented into distinct functional components: the cooling panel itself and separate deflector panels. This segmentation allows the deflector panels to be independently positioned above the cooling panels to provide safety shielding without interfering with the cooling function, thus resolving the contradiction between cooling effectiveness and safety risk.
Solution Approach 2:
Deflector panels are introduced as an intermediary element between service technicians and cooling panels. These deflector panels absorb impact forces and prevent direct contact with the rigid cooling panels, thereby maintaining cooling effectiveness while significantly reducing safety risks to technicians.
2Temperature
If cooling panels are mounted on the tower, then cooling function is improved, but bird roosting and guano accumulation worsens
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the assembly into cooling panels and deflector panels, the deflector panels create an overhead barrier that prevents birds from accessing the cooling panels for roosting, thereby eliminating the guano accumulation problem while preserving the cooling function.
Solution Approach 2:
The deflector panels, which could be seen as an additional structural element, actually serve a dual purpose: they provide safety shielding for technicians and simultaneously prevent bird roosting. This converts a potential structural complexity into a beneficial multi-functional solution.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If circumferential flange is used to shield cooling panels, then safety is improved, but material waste and construction work worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The shielding function is extracted from the entire circumferential flange and applied only where needed - specifically above the cooling panels. This localized approach provides necessary safety protection while eliminating material waste and unnecessary construction work on the rest of the tower circumference.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of applying a uniform circumferential flange around the entire tower, the deflector panels are locally positioned only above the cooling panels where safety shielding is actually needed. This local quality approach optimizes material usage and reduces construction work while maintaining safety effectiveness.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If circumferential flange is used for shielding, then safety is improved, but vertical transport restriction worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The shielding function is extracted from a continuous circumferential flange and implemented as discrete deflector panels only above cooling panels. This creates open vertical spaces between the panels, allowing unobstructed vertical transport of equipment and materials while maintaining safety protection where needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The continuous circumferential flange is segmented into discrete deflector panels positioned only above cooling panels. This segmentation creates gaps in the shielding structure that facilitate vertical transport operations without compromising safety protection for technicians working near cooling panels.
Data Source
Figure 1
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AI summary
The invention relates to a cooling panel assembly (2) for a wind turbine tower (1). It is arranged to be mounted on such a tower (1) on a section thereof as seen in the circumferential direction. The cooling panel assembly (2) includes at least one cooling panel (2a,2b). According to the invention, the cooling panel assembly (2) includes deflector means (6) mounted at the top of the at least one cooling panel (2a, 2b) such that the deflector means (6) shields the cooling panel assembly (2) from above. The deflector means (6) has substantially the same circumferential extension or more as the other parts of the cooling panel assembly (2). The invention also relates to a wind turbine tower (1) provided with at least one such cooling panel assembly (2).