Floating Wind Turbine Articulation for Low Air Draft Transport
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing floating wind turbines face challenges in accessing ports due to air draft restrictions and require costly and complex control systems to manage heel angles, leading to increased costs and complexity, while also affecting power production and turbine alignment.
Innovation Solution
A downwind, teetered, or fixed-hub floating wind turbine design with passive tilt angles and a mechanism to articulate the turbine horizontally for transport and vertically for operation, utilizing a four-bar linkage and buoyant assemblies to optimize tilt and teeter angles without active control systems, reducing loading and enhancing power production.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If active control systems are used to manage heel angles, then turbine alignment and power production are improved, but device complexity and costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The floating wind turbine platform utilizes passive buoyancy and gravity forces to automatically maintain optimal heel angles and rotor alignment without requiring active control systems. The platform's inherent stability characteristics enable it to self-regulate its orientation relative to wind forces, eliminating the need for complex active control mechanisms while maintaining reliable turbine alignment.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention removes active control systems from the floating wind turbine platform, retaining only the essential passive structural elements. By extracting the complex active control functionality, the design achieves simpler device complexity while maintaining sufficient reliability through the inherent passive stability of the floating platform structure.
2Productivity
If floating wind turbines are designed for operational configuration, then power production is improved, but air draft increases restricting port access
Solution Approach 1:
The floating wind turbine platform is designed to dynamically reconfigure between operational and transport configurations. During operation, the platform assumes a vertical configuration optimized for power production with the rotor facing the wind. During transport, it can be reconfigured to a horizontal configuration that reduces air draft, enabling access to ports with draft restrictions while maintaining high power production capability when deployed.
Solution Approach 2:
The platform structure is segmented into modular components that can be reconfigured between operational and transport states. This segmentation enables the transition between vertical operational configuration for maximum power production and horizontal transport configuration for reduced air draft, facilitating port access without compromising productivity.
3Reliability
If complex control systems are implemented, then heel angle management is improved, but manufacturing costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The platform uses passive buoyancy and gravitational forces to automatically manage heel angles, eliminating the need for expensive active control systems. The inherent stability characteristics of the floating platform provide reliable heel angle management through simple passive structural design, significantly reducing manufacturing costs while maintaining reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces expensive, complex active control systems with simple, passive structural elements that provide sufficient heel angle management functionality. These passive structural components are much cheaper to manufacture and install, achieving the same reliability at a fraction of the cost.
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
This design allows access to ports with reduced air draft, minimizes structural loading, and improves power output by maintaining rotor alignment, while enabling efficient packing of wind turbines in arrays and reducing the need for complex control systems.
Implementation Method 1
utilizing a four-bar linkage and buoyant assemblies to optimize tilt and teeter angles
Data Source
AI summary
A system that comprises a hull assembly that includes a plurality of outer columns including a first outer column, a second outer column and a third outer column, the plurality of outer columns surrounding and spaced about a central axis Y.