Hub Fitting Protrusion for Wind Turbine Oil Containment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wind energy generation systems face challenges in inhibiting oil leakage from gaps between the nacelle and tower, leading to environmental pollution and difficulty in oil recovery, especially in offshore installations.
Innovation Solution
The system incorporates a fitting protruding portion from the hub that fits into a corresponding opening in the nacelle, with a tip and inclined portion design to direct leaked oil back into the nacelle, and includes a cylindrical hub fitting member and nacelle fitting member to enhance sealing, and an oil receiving portion on the tower to guide oil into the system, preventing external leakage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a sealing member is provided to close a gap between nacelle cover and tower, then oil leakage is reduced, but oil can still flow out from the gap between nacelle and tower
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional sealing approach by placing the sealing member not at the gap between nacelle cover and tower, but at the gap between hub and nacelle. This reversal of sealing location prevents oil from reaching the nacelle-tower gap in the first place, effectively stopping oil outflow at its source rather than attempting to seal the downstream gap.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a receiving portion as an intermediary structure that intercepts oil leaking from the hub before it can reach the nacelle-tower gap. This receiving portion acts as a mediator that captures and contains the oil, preventing it from becoming a harmful outflow pollutant.
2Reliability
If oil leaks from devices in hub and nacelle, then oil pollution occurs and oil recovery becomes difficult, especially in offshore environments
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the harmful effect of oil leakage into a beneficial containment system. By designing the receiving portion to intercept and hold leaked oil, the system transforms what would be environmental pollution into a controlled, recoverable resource. The oil that would otherwise harm the environment is now captured and can be easily recovered, especially in offshore locations where recovery would otherwise be difficult.
Data Source
AI summary
A wind energy generation system includes a tower, a nacelle provided in an upper portion of the tower to be rotatable around a central axis of the tower, a hub provided in front of the nacelle to be rotatable around an axis orthogonal to the central axis, and one or more blades provided in the hub. The hub includes a hub body portion to which the blades are attached, and a fitting protruding portion that protrudes from a back surface side of the hub body portion. A fitting portion having an opening portion is provided in front of the nacelle, and the fitting protruding portion is fitted into the fitting portion from the opening portion. In the wind energy generation system, outflow of oil to the outside of the generation system can be inhibited.