Multirotor Wind Turbine Escape Route Integration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Multirotor wind turbines lack effective escape routes for personnel in emergency situations, such as fires or explosions, due to their design, which can hinder safe evacuation.
Innovation Solution
A multirotor wind turbine design featuring a load-carrying structure that forms part of the escape route, with escape openings and passage structures allowing personnel to exit safely through the nacelle and along secondary structures, potentially to a safety platform or the ground, incorporating features like trolley structures and fire-bulkheads for enhanced safety.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional hatch escape passages are used in multirotor wind turbines, then personnel can evacuate from the nacelle, but the escape route is not robust enough and may collapse or be damaged in emergency situations
Solution Approach 1:
The escape route is merged with the load carrying structure by forming at least a first section of the escape route from the load carrying structure. This integration allows the escape route to utilize the structural strength and rigidity of the load carrying structure, which is designed to support the energy generating units. The merging ensures that the escape route inherits the high strength and stability of the load carrying structure, making it resistant to collapse or damage during emergencies.
Solution Approach 2:
The load carrying structure is designed to serve multiple functions: it carries the energy generating units and simultaneously forms part of the escape route. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate escape structures and ensures that the same robust structure used for load-bearing also provides a safe evacuation path. The dual-purpose design optimizes structural efficiency while ensuring escape route reliability.
2Reliability
If the escape route extends through the load carrying structure, then safety is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The escape route is merged with the load carrying structure, which reduces the need for separate, dedicated escape structures. By integrating the escape function into the existing load carrying structure, the overall system complexity is minimized while maintaining high safety standards. The load carrying structure's inherent design already provides the necessary strength and stability, so no additional complex escape-specific structures are required.
Solution Approach 2:
The load carrying structure serves dual purposes: supporting energy generating units and providing an escape route. This multi-functionality reduces device complexity by eliminating redundant structures. The same structural elements that carry loads also guide and protect evacuating personnel, streamlining the overall system design without compromising safety.
3Ease of operation
If escape openings are provided in the nacelle, then personnel can access the escape route, but the nacelle structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
Escape openings are extracted as separate access points from the nacelle structure, allowing personnel to exit the nacelle and enter the escape route. These openings are strategically positioned to provide direct access to the escape route while minimizing disruption to the nacelle's primary structural function. The openings are simple apertures that can be integrated into the existing nacelle design without requiring complex modifications.
Solution Approach 2:
The escape system is segmented into distinct components: escape openings in the nacelle, passage structures, and the load carrying structure forming the escape route. This segmentation allows each component to be designed and optimized independently. The escape openings are simple access points that can be added to the nacelle without fundamentally altering its structure, thereby maintaining ease of operation while controlling complexity.
Data Source
Figure 1
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Figure 5
AI summary
A multirotor wind turbine (1) comprising a vertical tower and at least two energy generating units (5), a load carrying structure (9, 10) extending transverse to the vertical direction and carrying the at least two energy generating units (5); and at least one escape route extending between a start and an exit. To provide a safe escape route, the load carrying structure forms at least a first section of the escape route from the start to an intermediate location, and the wind turbine comprises an escape opening in the nacelle, the escape opening leading from an interior space of a nacelle of the energy generating unit to a passage structure and the passage structure extending from the escape opening to the start of the escape route.