Wind Blade Transport Trailer Linkage for Stable Vertical Tilting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current vehicles for transporting elongated loads like wind turbine blades face stability issues due to the elevation of the center of gravity when the blade is tilted, limiting obstacle avoidance and increasing transport costs, as they require excessive ballast and complex maneuvering, and are considered exceptional transport even when unladen due to high unloaded heights.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle design featuring a semi-trailer with a lowered intermediate load deck and a four-bar linkage mechanism for the attachment and support assembly, allowing the wind turbine blade to be tilted to a near-vertical position without increasing the center of gravity, using a hydraulic jack and kinematic systems to maintain stability and reduce height, enabling efficient obstacle clearance and increased load capacity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the wind turbine blade is tilted to avoid obstacles, then obstacle avoidance capability is improved, but vehicle stability deteriorates due to center of gravity elevation
Solution Approach 1:
The support assembly is designed to tilt the blade about a horizontal transverse axis, changing the orientation dimension while maintaining the center of gravity position. This allows obstacle avoidance through angular adjustment without vertical displacement of the center of gravity, resolving the contradiction between adaptability and stability.
2Stability of the object's composition
If ballast masses are increased to ensure stability at higher blade angles, then vehicle stability is improved, but transportable load capacity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The support assembly maintains the center of gravity at a constant vertical position (equipotential) during blade tilting operations. By keeping the center of gravity elevation unchanged, no additional ballast is required to compensate for gravitational potential energy changes, thus preserving load capacity while maintaining stability.
3Ease of operation
If the attachment and support assembly is elevated to accommodate the blade, then blade support capability is improved, but vehicle height increases causing exceptional transport requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The support assembly incorporates a movable, telescopic structure that dynamically adjusts its height. During blade loading, the assembly extends to provide adequate support clearance; during transport, it retracts to minimize overall vehicle height, avoiding exceptional transport requirements while maintaining blade support capability.
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 vehicle achieves enhanced stability and reduced height during transport, allowing for increased load capacity and cost-effective operations by maintaining the center of gravity lower than traditional solutions, ensuring stability without excessive ballast and avoiding exceptional transport regulations when unladen.
Implementation Method 1
a linear hydraulic actuator configured to exert a pushing force on the head
Implementation Method 2
A vehicle design featuring a semi-trailer with a lowered intermediate load deck and a four-bar linkage mechanism for the attachment and support assembly
Data Source
AI summary
A goods vehicle has a chassis with at least one load deck, a plurality of steerable carriages underneath the load deck and an attachment and support assembly for the load, to be transported, supported by the chassis; the attachment and support assembly being provided with an attachment head for the load to be transported, a multiple-bar kinematic system for coupling the support head to the chassis and an actuator for moving the support head with respect to the chassis with a roto-translational motion; the support head being coupled to the kinematic system by means of a hinge having a movable hinge axis.