Hingeable Wind Turbine Tower Transitioning for Maintenance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional wind turbines, especially offshore designs, face challenges withstanding high wind gusts and maintaining optimal orientation due to gyroscopic effects, and require complex and costly maintenance procedures, particularly when anchored in soft ground or water, where traditional anchoring systems fail to provide sufficient stability and accessibility.
Innovation Solution
A transitioning wind turbine system with a hingeable tower that can switch between horizontal and vertical positions for easy maintenance and transportation, utilizing a lifting tower and anchoring system with outriggers and cables to stabilize the turbine, and vanes on spokes to manage gyroscopic effects without powered thrusters.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional fixed vertical tower design is used for offshore wind turbines, then the turbine can generate power continuously, but the turbine cannot withstand category 5 hurricane winds and poses risk of personal and property damage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies a dynamic tower design that can transition between vertical and horizontal positions. The tower is hinged at the base and can be lowered to a horizontal position during hurricanes to reduce wind load, then raised back to vertical for power generation. This dynamic adaptability allows the structure to respond to changing environmental conditions, resolving the contradiction between withstanding extreme winds and maintaining operational simplicity.
2Ease of repair
If a conventional fixed vertical tower is used, then the turbine structure is stable during operation, but maintenance of components located over 100 feet in the air is challenging and costly
Solution Approach 1:
The tower's ability to lower to a horizontal position provides dual benefits: during maintenance, components become easily accessible at ground level while the turbine remains stable during operation when vertical. This dynamic reconfiguration resolves the contradiction between maintenance accessibility and operational stability by allowing the structure to adapt to different operational states.
3Productivity
If offshore wind turbines are positioned closer to land to reduce transmission costs, then electricity can be delivered closer to demand centers, but the turbines are exposed to higher wind speeds and turbulence near the coast
Solution Approach 1:
The dynamic tower design allows the turbine to lower horizontally during high wind conditions, reducing exposure to turbulent coastal winds while maintaining the ability to generate power during calmer periods. This resolves the contradiction by enabling the turbine to operate closer to land (improving productivity) while having the capability to protect itself from harmful wind conditions through position changes.
4Stability of the object's composition
If traditional concrete foundations and anchor bolts are used to secure the tower, then the tower is firmly anchored, but the anchoring system is complex and difficult to install in soft ground or water
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complex anchoring system (concrete foundations and anchor bolts) and replaces it with a simplified hinge-based mechanism. The hinge allows the tower to pivot between vertical and horizontal positions without requiring traditional deep foundation anchoring. This resolves the contradiction by providing sufficient stability for the dynamic operation while dramatically simplifying installation in soft ground or water conditions.
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 system enhances wind turbine stability and maintenance accessibility, reduces damage from high winds, and simplifies maintenance by allowing components to be repaired in place, eliminating the need for costly concrete foundations and complex setup ships, while reducing power diversion for thrusters and lowering maintenance costs.
Implementation Method 1
a lifting tower having a pivot disposed at a proximal end of the lifting tower and having an upright position and a tilted position; a cable attached between the lifting tower and the wind turbine tower; and, wherein the lifting tower is configured to transition from the upright position to the tilted position as the wind turbine tower transitions between the horizontal position to the vertical position
Implementation Method 2
a lifting tower having a pivot disposed at a proximal end of the lifting tower and having an upright position and a tilted position
Implementation Method 3
a cable attached between the lifting tower and the wind turbine tower; and, wherein the lifting tower is configured to transition from the upright position to the tilted position as the wind turbine tower transitions between the horizontal position to the vertical position and a cable length between a lifting tower proximal end and the wind turbine tower is shortened
Data Source
AI summary
An anchoring and lifting system for a wind turbine tower having a tower base; a plurality of base anchors attached to the tower base; an anchor outrigger attached to and extending laterally outward from the tower base; at least one secondary anchor attached to the anchor outrigger; a lifting outrigger attached to a hinge wherein the hinge connects the tower base and a tower for moving the tower between a raised position and a lowered position; a static cable connected between a distal end of the lifting outrigger and a hub attached to the tower; and, a lifting cable attached between the distal end of the lifting outrigger and a winch, wherein the winch is carried by the tower base.