Modular Blade Cradle with Reversible Interfaces
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Solution Overview
Problem
Wind turbine blades are prone to transport damage due to their lightweight construction, and existing blade cradles are often tailored to specific blade types, requiring multiple cradles and increasing work and costs, with complex handling and transport processes.
Innovation Solution
A modular blade cradle design featuring a primary support frame and secondary support frames with reversible connection interfaces, allowing adaptation to different blade types and simplifying handling and transport by enabling easy connection and disconnection, reducing the cradle's size for transport, and using materials like textile fixation means to prevent damage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If blade cradles are tailored to specific wind turbine blade types, then the support and protection function is improved, but the number of different cradle types increases, leading to higher work and material input as well as higher costs
Solution Approach 1:
The blade cradle is designed with universal connection interfaces that can accommodate different blade types through interchangeable adapter elements. The primary support frame and secondary support frames are equipped with standardized connection interfaces that allow various adapter elements to be attached, enabling a single cradle structure to support multiple blade types rather than requiring separate cradles for each blade type.
Solution Approach 2:
The blade cradle is divided into modular components including a primary support frame, multiple secondary support frames, and interchangeable adapter elements. This segmentation allows the adapter elements to be easily swapped between different blade types while reusing the main cradle structure, reducing the need to manufacture entirely different cradles for each blade type.
2Reliability
If complex connections and protruding structures are used in blade cradles, then the support function is improved, but the handling work and transport costs increase due to the overall protruding structure and complex connections
Solution Approach 1:
The blade cradle is segmented into a primary support frame and detachable secondary support frames with adapter elements. This segmentation allows the secondary support frames to be easily detached during transport, reducing the overall size and simplifying handling. The modular design enables quick assembly and disassembly operations without requiring complex connection procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The connection interfaces between the primary support frame, secondary support frames, and adapter elements are designed to be dynamically adjustable and easily detachable. This allows the cradle configuration to be quickly changed or reduced for transport purposes, improving ease of operation and reducing transport costs while maintaining adequate support function during blade transport.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple different blade cradles are provided for different wind turbine blade types, then the adaptability to different blade types is improved, but the work and material input as well as costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
A single blade cradle design with universal connection interfaces can accommodate multiple different blade types through the use of interchangeable adapter elements. This eliminates the need to manufacture and maintain multiple different cradle structures, significantly reducing material input and associated costs while maintaining full adaptability to different blade types.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of discarding or storing multiple different cradle types, the invention allows the adapter elements to be detached and swapped between different blade types. The main cradle structure is recovered and reused for each new blade type, minimizing waste and reducing the total quantity of materials required across the fleet of blade cradles.
Data Source
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AI summary
Blade cradle (10) for a wind turbine blade (11) comprising a primary support frame (12) for receiving at least a section of the wind turbine blade (11) and at least one secondary support frame (13) for receiving at least one fixation means (14) for fixing the wind turbine blade (11) to the blade cradle (10), wherein the primary support frame (12) extends between a leading-edge end (15) and a trailing-edge end (16), wherein the primary support frame (12) comprises at least one first type connection interface (17) at the leading-edge end (15) and/or the trailing-edge end, wherein via the first type connection interface (17), the secondary support frame (13) is reversibly connectable to the primary support frame (12) in an operating position (I).