Wind Turbine Rotor Blade Hoisting Yoke Guide Device
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Solution Overview
Problem
The placement of large wind turbine rotor blades is hindered by wind loads, causing unpredictable movements and making assembly difficult or impossible in strong winds, as existing methods rely on cranes that struggle to maintain precision and stability.
Innovation Solution
A device with a hoisting means featuring a rotatable boom, an elongate hoisting yoke, and a guide device that limits movement transversely to the lifting plane, allowing for precise positioning and displacement of rotor blades using multiple hoisting cables and displacement mechanisms, enabling assembly in windy conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a traditional crane is used to lift rotor blades, then the assembly can be performed with simple equipment, but wind loads cause unpredictable movements and make assembly difficult or impossible in strong winds
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary support structure (platform or barge with support legs) that acts as a mediator between the crane and the rotor blade. This intermediary provides a stable base that is less susceptible to wind loads, thereby improving assembly reliability while maintaining the use of relatively simple crane equipment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from traditional ground-based or fixed-platform cranes to mobile platforms (barges or jack-up vessels) that operate in a different dimensional context - on water or with adjustable support legs. This dimensional change allows the system to bypass wind load issues affecting traditional fixed installations.
2Manufacturing precision
If rotor blades are suspended from a single hoisting cable, then the equipment is simpler, but precise positioning in the longitudinal direction cannot be achieved without causing undesirable displacements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the hoisting system by using multiple hoisting cables (at least two) instead of a single cable. This segmentation allows independent control of each cable, enabling precise positioning in the longitudinal direction while distributing loads to avoid undesirable displacements and forces on the guide device.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a dynamic hoisting system where the position of the hoisting cables can be adjusted along the boom. This dynamic adjustment capability allows the system to optimize cable positions for different rotor blade lengths and weights, achieving precise positioning while adapting to varying operational conditions.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the guide device is fixed on the boom, then the structure is simpler, but it cannot adapt to different rotor blade lengths and positioning requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the guide device dynamic by enabling it to move along the boom rather than being fixed. This dynamic positioning capability allows the guide device to adapt to different rotor blade lengths and positioning requirements, providing versatility while maintaining a relatively simple structural design.
Data Source
AI summary
A device for placing a rotor blade of a wind turbine. The device includes a hoisting means on a surface of which a boom rotatable around a substantially vertical rotation axis is provided with at least one hoisting cable. The at least one hoisting cable includes an attaching means, to which a rotor blade for placing can be attached via an elongate hoisting yoke, the hoisting yoke extending in a longitudinal direction of the rotor blade. The boom includes a guide device to limit movement of the hoisting yoke in a direction running transversely of the lifting plane. The device or hoisting yoke further includes a displacer for displacing the hoisting yoke or parts of the hoisting yoke in the longitudinal direction of the rotor blade. A method which makes use of the invented device.