Wind Turbine Tower Door Frame Welding With 360-Degree Ring Opening
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional wind turbine tower door frames with arc shapes create stress concentration and increased thickness, leading to higher manufacturing and installation costs, as well as difficulties in welding and alignment.
Innovation Solution
A method for manufacturing a tower tube section with a door frame that is easier to weld and align, featuring a rectangular or trapezoidal shape, with notches in tubular sections forming a 360-degree ring to reduce stress concentration and facilitate re-rounding, allowing for improved precision and alignment during the welding process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If an arc-shaped door frame is used to strengthen the door opening, then the door frame provides structural support, but stress concentration increases and the tower tube section thickness increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies curvature by using an arc-shaped door frame that follows the cylindrical contour of the tower tube section. The door frame includes first and second arc-shaped portions that match the curvature of the tower, distributing stress more evenly compared to a straight rectangular frame. This curved design maintains structural strength while reducing stress concentration at sharp corners.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements local quality by providing local strengthening only at the door opening area where it is most needed, rather than increasing the thickness of the entire tower tube section. The door frame is specifically positioned at the door opening to provide localized support, allowing other areas of the tower to maintain their original thinner profile, thus reducing overall weight and manufacturing cost.
2Strength
If an arc-shaped door frame is used, then the door opening is strengthened, but the tower tube section thickness increases and manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements local quality by providing local strengthening only at the door opening area where it is most needed, rather than increasing the thickness of the entire tower tube section. The door frame is specifically positioned at the door opening to provide localized support, allowing other areas of the tower to maintain their original thinner profile, thus reducing overall weight and manufacturing cost.
3Ease of operation
If a conventional arc-shaped door frame is used, then the door opening is provided, but alignment and welding difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by providing positioning protrusions on the door frame that correspond to positioning grooves on the tower tube section. These features are pre-formed during manufacturing, enabling automatic alignment and positioning during installation. The positioning mechanism ensures correct placement before welding, significantly reducing alignment difficulty and improving welding quality compared to conventional door frames that require manual positioning.
4Strength
If the door frame is welded to the tower tube section, then the door opening is strengthened, but stress concentration at the welded seam increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies curvature by using an arc-shaped door frame that follows the cylindrical contour of the tower tube section. The door frame includes first and second arc-shaped portions that match the curvature of the tower, distributing stress more evenly compared to a straight rectangular frame. This curved design maintains structural strength while reducing stress concentration at sharp corners.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies preliminary action by providing positioning protrusions on the door frame that correspond to positioning grooves on the tower tube section. These features are pre-formed during manufacturing, enabling automatic alignment and positioning during installation. The positioning mechanism ensures correct placement before welding, significantly reducing alignment difficulty and improving welding quality compared to conventional door frames that require manual positioning.
Data Source
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AI summary
Provided are a method for manufacturing tower tube section, a tower tube section and a wind turbine generator system. The method includes: forming a first tubular section (10) and a second tubular section (20); joining the first tubular section (10) and the second tubular section (20); forming a first notch (11) on the first tubular section (10) and a second notch (21) on the second tubular section (20), where an opening (30) is formed by the first tubular section (10) and second tubular section (20), and a height of the first notch (11) is less than a height of the first tubular section (10), and a height of the second notch (21) is less than a height of the second tubular section (20); forming a door frame (40), where the door frame (40) is embedded in the opening (30) and is welded to the first tubular section (10) and the second tubular section (20), and a door opening (43) is provided to the door frame (40).