Preassembled Wind Turbine Tower Section with Integrated Electronics
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Solution Overview
Problem
The increasing size and weight of wind power plant components make transportation cumbersome and expensive, requiring extensive assembly and highly trained personnel at installation sites.
Innovation Solution
Preassembling electronic subsystems onto a tower section at a preassembly site, which includes support structures for mechanical stability, allowing for simplified transportation and reduced on-site installation efforts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If components are transported as individual units from fabrication site to installation site, then assembly flexibility is maintained, but transportation cost and complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple individual components (tower section, electronic subsystem, support structures) into a single preassembled unit. This merging reduces transportation complexity by treating multiple items as one integrated module, while the modular design maintains assembly flexibility for final installation.
Solution Approach 2:
The electronic subsystem is preassembled onto the tower section at the fabrication site before transportation. This preliminary action reduces the workload and complexity at the installation site, while allowing flexible final assembly when needed.
2Productivity
If tower section is preassembled with electronic subsystem, then transportation efficiency improves, but protection of electronic components during transport becomes critical
Solution Approach 1:
The electronic subsystem is nested within or attached to the tower section structure itself. The tower section acts as a protective enclosure or mounting structure that shields the electronic components during transportation, eliminating the need for separate protective packaging.
Solution Approach 2:
The support structures are designed in advance to provide mechanical protection and secure mounting of the electronic subsystem to the tower section. This beforehand cushioning ensures components are protected from transport vibrations and shocks.
3Ease of operation
If bulky components are transported individually, then on-site assembly is simplified, but transportation cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The electronic subsystem is preassembled onto the tower section before transportation. This preliminary assembly reduces the number of separate components that need to be handled and assembled on-site, simplifying installation while consolidating transportation into fewer trips.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple components (tower section, electronic subsystem, support structures) are merged into a single preassembled unit for transportation. This reduces transportation costs by consolidating multiple trips into one, while the modular nature maintains ease of final assembly.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a preassembled tower section of a wind power plant and a method of transporting a tower section of a wind power plant, the method comprising the steps providing the tower section at a preassembly site, preassembling at least one electronic subsystem of the wind power plant onto the tower section, transporting the preassembled tower section from the preassembly site to an installation site. In effect transport thereof is considerably simplified and a higher degree of modular design and preassembly is achieved.