Twistable Nacelle Cable Guide Loop Segmentation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
In wind energy installations with horizontal rotor axes, the existing cable transmission systems face issues with wear due to excessive twisting and shortening, particularly in high-performance setups, leading to potential damage from cable rubbing and increased maintenance needs.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a loop guide system with rotationally fixed and loose guide rings, where the twisted area is separated from the curved area, allowing only the twisted area to be shortened during nacelle swiveling, thereby reducing wear by isolating the curved area from twisting loads and using it solely for length compensation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If cables are guided in a hanging loop from the tower into the nacelle to allow twisting, then the nacelle can rotate through multiple revolutions, but the individual cables rub against one another causing excessive wear
Solution Approach 1:
The cable loop is segmented into distinct functional areas: a curved untwisted area and an extended twisted area. The lower guide ring acts as a separation element that prevents twisting from propagating into the curved area, isolating the twisting action to only the extended area where cables have clearance to move without rubbing against each other.
Solution Approach 2:
Different areas of the cable loop are given different functional properties. The curved area maintains a fixed configuration for structural stability, while the extended area is designed to accommodate twisting motion. The lower guide ring creates this local differentiation by serving as a boundary that stops the propagation of twist into the curved section.
2Reliability
If star-shaped spacers with guides are provided to fix cables in relative position, then cable wear is reduced, but the device becomes complex and requires large physical space
Solution Approach 1:
The complex intermediate guides and spacers are removed from the system. Instead, a simple lower guide ring is used that allows the cable loop to form naturally with the desired characteristics. The loop guide structure replaces the need for multiple intermediate guiding elements, simplifying the overall device while maintaining cable protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The cable loop itself serves the function of guiding and protecting the cables, rather than requiring external complex guide structures. The loop's geometry, shaped by the guide rings, naturally provides the necessary cable separation and twisting accommodation without additional active control or complex mechanisms.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the curved area of the loop is used for both twisting and length compensation, then the loop can accommodate nacelle rotation, but the curved area is subject to double loading causing high wear
Solution Approach 1:
The loop is divided into two distinct functional zones by the lower guide ring: the curved untwisted area that handles only length compensation and structural support, and the extended twisted area that accommodates rotation. This segmentation prevents the curved area from being subjected to both twisting and shortening loads simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The lower guide ring acts as an intermediary element that mediates between the twisting motion and the loop structure. It serves as a boundary that allows the extended area to twist while preventing this twisting from propagating into the curved area, thereby protecting the curved section from double loading.
Data Source
AI summary
A wind energy installation includes a tower and a nacelle arranged at the top of the tower such that it can swivel in the azimuth direction. The installation also includes a plurality of cables which are guided via a loop from the tower into the nacelle, the cables being held at a distance from one another in the loop by means of rotationally fixed and loose holders. The holders each have receptacles for attachment of the cables with a predetermined circumferential separation. The holders include a lower rotationally fixed guide ring and an aligning upper loose guide ring. A loop guide is formed such that the loop is subdivided by means of the rotationally fixed lower guide ring into a curved untwisted area and an extended twisted area.