Hinged Wind Turbine Tower Segments for Transport
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Solution Overview
Problem
The increasing size of wind turbine towers for larger wind turbines poses challenges in transportation due to their physical dimensions, requiring prefabricated segments that may not fit easily together and necessitate complex handling and assembly, leading to increased construction costs and labor intensity.
Innovation Solution
The use of hinges between adjacent tower segments at their vertical edges allows for adjustable coupling and orientation, facilitating efficient transport, storage, and assembly by enabling segments of unequal sizes to be connected and rearranged into a compact form for easier handling and reassembly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If the wind turbine tower is made larger to generate more energy, then the energy generation capacity is improved, but the transportability of the tower deteriorates due to increased physical dimensions
Solution Approach 1:
The tower is divided into multiple prefabricated segments that can be transported separately and assembled at the installation site. Each segment is manufactured to manageable dimensions for road transport, yet when assembled together they form the required large-scale tower structure for high energy generation capacity.
2Length of moving object
If the tower is divided into prefabricated segments to improve transportability, then the transportability is improved, but the assembly complexity increases due to variations in manufacturing processes
Solution Approach 1:
Standardized coupling mechanisms are designed that can accommodate segments of varying dimensions while providing consistent connection functionality. The universal coupling system handles both alignment and connection tasks, reducing assembly complexity despite manufacturing variations between segments.
Solution Approach 2:
The coupling mechanism incorporates adjustable and movable components that can adapt to dimensional variations in segments. The dynamic adjustment capabilities allow the coupling system to compensate for manufacturing tolerances and align segments of different sizes during assembly.
3Shape
If the prefabricated segments are made of different physical dimensions to accommodate tower tapering, then the tower structural requirements are met, but the handling and transport complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Segments are designed with asymmetric dimensions to match the tapered geometry of the tower, with each segment's size and shape optimized for its specific position in the tower structure. This asymmetric design allows smaller segments at the top and larger segments at the base, meeting structural requirements while maintaining efficient handling characteristics for each segment size.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
This application relates to hinged tower segments and transport methods, and particularly to methods and apparatus for transporting and storing hinged segments of steel wind turbine towers. The wind turbine tower comprises a plurality of cylindrical vertical tower sections, which in the finished tower are mounted on top of one another. The vertical section of the tower has a longitudinal axis and comprises a plurality of wind turbine tower segments, the tower segments have vertical and horizontal edges and combine to form a complete vertical tower section by joining along their edges. Adjacent vertical tower sections are joined to each other along the horizontal edges of the wind turbine tower segments. Hinges are secured between tower segments and the tower segments rotated about the hinged axis to make them suitable for transport or storage. A method of assembling a tower section is discussed.