Floating Offshore Wind Turbine Tower Pivoting to Reduce Wake Effects
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Solution Overview
Problem
Offshore wind power generation facilities face performance degradation and structural safety issues due to the influence of wakes between adjacent blades, leading to increased fatigue loads and turbulence.
Innovation Solution
A floating type offshore wind power generation facility with horizontally rotatable wind power units and a driving unit that adjusts blade angles and tower positions to avoid wakes, utilizing a power transmission member and rotary motor to pivot and position units, and an auxiliary driving unit for horizontal movement along an offshore structure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If wind power generation units are installed adjacent to one another, then productivity increases, but wake influence increases causing performance deterioration and structural safety issues
Solution Approach 1:
The wind power generation unit is designed with a tower that can pivot horizontally around a vertical axis, allowing dynamic adjustment of the unit's orientation. The driving unit includes a rotary motor connected to the tower through a power transmission mechanism, enabling the tower to rotate and change its azimuth angle. This dynamic positioning capability allows the system to adapt to varying wind conditions and avoid wake interference from adjacent units, thereby maintaining structural safety while preserving productivity.
2Productivity
If wind power generation units are installed adjacent to one another, then productivity increases, but wake influence increases causing performance deterioration
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs a drivable tower that can horizontally pivot to adjust the azimuth angle of the wind power generation unit. By rotating the tower using the rotary motor and power transmission mechanism, the unit can dynamically reposition itself to minimize exposure to wake effects from adjacent units, thereby reducing performance deterioration while maintaining overall productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the spatial parameter of the wind power generation unit by adjusting the tower's azimuth angle. This parameter change allows the unit to optimize its orientation relative to wind flow and adjacent units, reducing wake interference and improving power generation efficiency without sacrificing productivity.
3Productivity
If wind power generation units are installed adjacent to one another, then productivity increases, but turbulence intensity and fatigue loads increase
Solution Approach 1:
The pivotable tower design allows the wind power generation unit to dynamically adjust its orientation, enabling it to avoid high-turbulence wake regions from adjacent units. This dynamic repositioning reduces the fatigue loads on the tower and blades by minimizing exposure to turbulent flow, while the system maintains productivity through optimized positioning.
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
Minimizes wake influence, preventing performance deterioration and structural safety issues, while ensuring installation space for equipment by reducing turbulence intensity and fatigue loads.
Implementation Method 1
a rotary motor which has a driving shaft that is horizontally connected to the lower end of the wind power generation unit and transmits rotational force
Implementation Method 2
converts rotational kinetic energy of blades caused by sea wind into electrical energy
Implementation Method 3
The power transmission member may include: a driven gear which is installed at the lower end of the wind power generation unit so as to be horizontally rotatable; and a driving gear which is coupled to a driving shaft of the drive motor so as to be horizontally rotatable, and engaged with the driven gear so as to rotate the driven gear
Data Source
AI summary
A floating type offshore wind power generation facility includes: a wind power generation unit which is installed to be horizontally rotatable about a vertical rotation center while being placed in an inclined state on an offshore structure or installed to be rotatable in two directions about a horizontal rotation center of the offshore structure, and converts rotational kinetic energy of blades caused by sea wind into electrical energy; and a driving unit which is connected to a lower end of the wind power generation unit in a state in which the driving unit is installed on the offshore structure, and changes a pivoting angle or a rotating angle of the wind power generation unit by generating driving power.