Concrete Wind Turbine Tower Sectioning for Controlled Dismantling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for dismantling wind turbine towers, particularly concrete towers, are labor-intensive, costly, and environmentally harmful due to the use of explosives and require extensive safety measures, with scattered fragments posing risks and disposal challenges.
Innovation Solution
A controlled dismantling method involving a platform that allows for sequential sectioning of the tower from top to bottom, using a lifting device and saws to create separation lines, with boreholes for secure attachment and a self-climbing platform for efficient drilling and cutting, minimizing the need for cranes and reducing environmental impact.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If explosives or demolition equipment are used to dismantle the tower, then the dismantling process is fast and effective, but it requires extensive safety distances, creates scattered fragments, and increases disposal costs
Solution Approach 1:
The tower is divided into multiple sections that are dismantled sequentially from top to bottom. Each section is separated at predetermined locations using saws mounted on the platform, allowing controlled removal without creating scattered fragments throughout the entire site.
Solution Approach 2:
A dismantling platform is introduced as an intermediary device that provides a stable working base at height. This platform supports the saws and allows workers to perform precise cutting operations on each tower section, enabling controlled dismantling without needing to demolish the entire structure at once.
2Loss of time
If explosives are used for dismantling, then the tower is quickly demolished, but excavation of drop zones is required and labor-intensive fragment removal is needed
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the tower into manageable sections and removing them one by one, the method eliminates the need to handle scattered fragments from a complete demolition. Each section is cut and lowered in a controlled manner, significantly reducing the labor required for fragment removal and site clearance.
Solution Approach 2:
The method replaces the explosive mechanical system with a controlled cutting system using saws mounted on the platform. This substitution allows for precise, controlled separation of tower sections without the uncontrolled fragmentation that occurs with explosives, reducing subsequent labor requirements.
3Strength
If a traditional crane is used to remove tower sections, then heavy sections can be lifted, but the crane requires large open areas and extensive safety measures
Solution Approach 1:
The dismantling platform is suspended from the crane, creating a nested configuration where the platform operates within the crane's suspension system. This allows the crane to function as a mobile support that can work in tighter spaces, as the platform can be positioned close to the tower structure without requiring large ground clearance zones.
Solution Approach 2:
The platform is positioned in the vertical dimension suspended from the crane, rather than requiring horizontal ground space. This vertical positioning allows dismantling operations to occur close to the tower structure without needing extensive horizontal safety zones, as the work platform is elevated and can operate in the space between the ground and the tower top.
4Loss of substance
If the tower is dismantled in controlled sections using a platform, then fragment scattering is prevented and resource conservation is enabled, but the process requires drilling boreholes and using saws which adds process steps
Solution Approach 1:
The platform serves multiple functions: it provides a stable working base for operators, supports the saws for cutting, and can be repositioned to different heights on the tower. This multi-functionality consolidates several required equipment items into a single integrated system, making the additional process steps manageable despite the increased operational capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The platform is designed to be self-supported through boreholes drilled into the tower structure at each working level. This self-anchoring mechanism allows the platform to stabilize itself without requiring additional external support structures, simplifying the overall system despite the added drilling step.
Data Source
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AI summary
In a method for dismantling a tower (1) of a wind turbine made of a concrete material, the invention proposes a controlled dismantling process in which, in several steps, a respective uppermost section of the tower (1), designated as the upper part (11), is separated from the rest of the tower (1) and lowered in a controlled manner. The separated components of the wind turbine are then either transported away or dismantled into larger or smaller components and subsequently transported away. Furthermore, the invention proposes an annular platform (6) by means of which the respective separation lines (5) are created from the outside in order to separate the respective upper part (11) from the rest of the tower (1).