Modular Segmented Hub for Wind Turbine Load Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Larger wind turbines face increased dynamic loading due to heavier components, leading to challenges in stability and transportability, as the hub size and weight increase to accommodate higher loads, necessitating improved load-bearing capacities and easier handling during construction.
Innovation Solution
A modular rotor blade hub composed of multiple segments that abut each other, allowing for easier assembly and transportation, with faces extending from the outer periphery to the central region, enhancing stability and load-bearing capabilities while reducing overall weight and complexity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the hub size and weight are increased to accommodate higher loads from larger wind turbines, then the load-bearing capacity and stability are improved, but the transportability and handling during construction deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The hub is divided into multiple segments that can be transported and assembled separately. Each segment is a portion of the complete hub structure, allowing the hub to be manufactured in smaller, more manageable pieces that are easier to transport and handle during construction, while still achieving the required load-bearing capacity when assembled.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the hub size is increased to accommodate higher loads, then the stability and load-bearing capacities are improved, but the ease of handling during construction deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the hub into multiple smaller components, each segment is easier to handle, move, and position during construction. The segments can be assembled on-site to form the complete hub structure, maintaining stability while improving handling ease compared to transporting and installing a single large hub.
3Strength
If the hub size is increased to accommodate higher loads, then the load-bearing capacity is improved, but the transportability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The hub is manufactured as multiple segments that can be transported separately using standard transportation infrastructure. This segmentation enables better transportability by avoiding the need to move a single large, heavy hub, while the segments are designed to assemble into a structure with the required load-bearing capacity.
4Strength
If the hub size is increased to accommodate higher loads, then the load-bearing capacity is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The hub is divided into standardized segments that follow a modular design pattern. This segmentation reduces complexity by allowing the same basic segment design to be used multiple times, simplifying manufacturing processes and assembly procedures compared to creating a custom-designed large hub from scratch.
Data Source
AI summary
A modular rotor blade hub for a wind turbine rotor includes a plurality of segments, wherein at least one segment includes at least one face abutting against at least one face of at least one adjacent segment, and wherein at least one of said faces extends from an outer periphery of the hub to a central region of the hub. Further, methods for mounting a wind turbine including a modular hub are provided.