Wind Turbine Rotor Lock Pin Support for Easier Maintenance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing rotor lock systems for wind turbines are cumbersome and difficult to install, and they often require specific mounting locations, limiting their effectiveness in locking the rotor during maintenance of various components.
Innovation Solution
A rotor lock system featuring pin supports with rotatable lock pins and a turnbuckle mechanism that can be mounted on main bearing supports in the nacelle, allowing for easy installation and use, with cammed portions that engage with existing rotor lock apertures to prevent rotor rotation, regardless of the turbine component being replaced or repaired.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If existing lock mechanisms are mounted on the component to be replaced or repaired, then the rotor can be locked during maintenance, but the installation becomes cumbersome and difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a pin support as an intermediary structure that is mounted on the main bearing support instead of directly on the component to be maintained. This pin support serves as a mediator that enables rotor locking while being independent of the component being replaced, thereby simplifying installation and maintenance procedures
Solution Approach 2:
The locking mechanism is segmented into separate functional components: the pin support structure mounted on the main bearing support, the lock pins that engage with the rotor hub, and the turnbuckle for actuation. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently and simplifies installation and maintenance
2Reliability
If different lock mechanisms are used for different components, then each component can be effectively locked, but the system complexity increases and adaptability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The pin support mounted on the main bearing support serves as a universal mounting location that can lock the rotor regardless of which component (gearbox, generator, etc.) needs maintenance. This single universal system replaces the need for multiple component-specific lock mechanisms, thereby improving adaptability while maintaining reliability
3Ease of operation
If lock mechanisms are mounted on main bearing supports, then installation becomes easier and more universal, but the structural complexity of the locking system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the mounting structure (pin support on main bearing support) with the locking mechanism (lock pins and turnbuckle) into an integrated assembly. This merging reduces the number of separate components and simplifies installation, while the modular design keeps the overall structural complexity manageable
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system effectively immobilizes the rotor by applying forces in opposite directions through the cammed portions, ensuring secure locking without requiring specific mounting on the component to be replaced, thus facilitating easier and more efficient maintenance.
Implementation Method 1
exterior surfaces of the cammed portions engage with interior surfaces of the complementary apertures to apply forces in opposite directions at the interior surfaces of the apertures to immobilize the lock pins
Data Source
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AI summary
A lock for preventing rotation of a rotor of a wind turbine has a rotatable lock pin, a pin support supportable in a nacelle of the wind turbine and a mechanism for rotating the lock pin. The pin support has a hub-facing face proximate a rotor hub. The rotatable lock pin is rotatably mounted on the pin support. The lock pin has a cammed portion extending away from the hub-facing face toward the hub. The lock pin inserted into a complementary rotor lock aperture on the rotor hub when the pin support is supported in the nacelle. Rotation of the lock pin causes engagement of an exterior surface of the cammed portion with an interior surface of the rotor lock aperture to immobilize the lock pin against the interior surface to prevent relative motion between the lock pin and the aperture to prevent rotation of the rotor.