Modular Concrete Slabs for Portable Wind Tower Manufacturing
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing methods for manufacturing prefabricated concrete elements for wind turbine towers are inefficient in terms of time, material usage, and transportation costs due to the large size and weight of the modules, which require extensive infrastructure and resources for setup and dismantling, and often result in suboptimal use of concrete and increased transportation costs.
Innovation Solution
A portable facility with a modular concrete slab and separate areas for concreting and framework configuration, where the concrete modules are designed to withstand the weight of the elements, reducing the total concrete surface area and time required for setup and dismantling, and allowing for optimized concrete usage and reusability of materials.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a concrete slab is formed directly on the terrain without anchorage or foundations, then the facility can be easily installed and dismantled, but the concrete must cover the entire surface area to withstand all stresses, increasing material usage
Solution Approach 1:
The concrete slab is divided into modular elements that can be independently positioned and assembled. These modular concrete elements are placed only in specific areas where load-bearing support is required, rather than covering the entire facility surface area. This segmentation allows the facility to be easily installed and dismantled while optimizing concrete usage.
Solution Approach 2:
The concrete support elements are strategically positioned only in areas requiring load-bearing capacity, such as under moulds and heavy equipment. The concrete is not uniformly distributed across the entire terrain but is locally concentrated where needed to withstand specific stresses, reducing total material usage while maintaining structural integrity.
2Loss of time
If the facility is designed as a portable structure with modular components, then the setup and dismantling time is reduced, but the structural strength must be maintained to withstand the weight of concrete elements and equipment
Solution Approach 1:
The facility is divided into modular, transportable components including the concrete support elements, moulds, and equipment platforms. These segmented modules can be independently transported and assembled, significantly reducing setup and dismantling time while maintaining the required structural strength through proper modular design and connection mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The concrete support elements are pre-formed and prepared before the facility is assembled on-site. This preliminary preparation of concrete modules allows for faster on-site assembly while ensuring the structural strength is already embedded in the pre-cast elements, eliminating the need for time-consuming on-site concrete pouring and curing.
3Productivity
If larger modules are manufactured to minimize the number of joints, then the assembly time is reduced, but the weight and transportation costs increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The tower structure is divided into modular segments of optimal size for transport, avoiding excessive module weights. The modular concrete support elements and framework components are segmented into transportable units that can be efficiently assembled on-site, minimizing the number of joints while keeping individual module weights within reasonable transportation limits.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to a portable facility for the manufacture of prefabricated concrete elements for concrete towers, which enables a reduction in the time and material employed in the start-up of said facility which enables the execution of the manufacture of the prefabricated concrete elements for concrete towers and enables, at each area of the same, the optimisation of the use of the concrete necessary to withstand the stresses associated with the weight of the elements leaning on said areas, reducing the total surface area of the facility covered by the concrete and the time and resources necessary both for its start-up and its dismantling.