Wind Turbine Rotor Blade Servicing Sling System
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Solution Overview
Problem
The high cost and logistical challenges of using large cranes for installing and servicing wind turbine rotor blades make wind power less economically competitive with other energy sources.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that allows for the servicing of wind turbine rotor blades without the need for large cranes, utilizing a rotor blade sling with straps and support cables to position and lower blades from a 6 o'clock position, enabling their installation and removal using smaller, more affordable equipment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If large cranes are used to install and service rotor blades, then the rotor blade installation and removal can be accomplished, but the costs become extremely expensive and logistically challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The rotor blade removal process is segmented into multiple steps: first removing the rotor blade from the hub, then lowering it using a combination of the rotor blade itself (positioned at 6 o'clock), support straps, and rigid bars. This segmentation eliminates the need for a single large crane to perform the entire operation, replacing it with smaller, more manageable equipment components that can be assembled and deployed independently.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces intermediary components including support straps that couple to the rotor blade, rigid bars that extend from the hub, and a rotor blade sling system. These intermediaries transfer the load and control the lowering process without requiring a large crane, effectively mediating between the rotor blade and the ground/support structure.
2Productivity
If large cranes are transported to wind turbine sites, then rotor blade installation is possible, but transportation and operation costs account for a significant portion of overall costs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs temporary, disposable-like components such as support straps, rigid bars, and rotor blade slings that are used specifically for the installation or removal operation and then can be removed or reused. These components are much cheaper than transporting and operating a large crane, and they serve their purpose efficiently without the high ongoing costs of crane rental and operation.
3Ease of operation
If the rotor blade is lowered to the ground, then service operations can be performed, but traditional methods require expensive crane equipment
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using a crane to lift and lower the rotor blade vertically, the patent inverts the approach by using the rotor blade's own position (at 6 o'clock) and support structures (rigid bars extending from the hub, support straps) to achieve the lowering. This inverted methodology eliminates the need for traditional crane-based vertical lifting equipment.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for enabling servicing of a rotor of a wind turbine has a rotor blade sling with at least one strap configured to be placed over the top of a rotor blade in a ten o'clock position or a two o'clock position. One or more rigid bars extend from the hub and out away from the hub, and the one or more rigid bars are coupled to the at least one strap. One or more support straps are coupled to the at least one strap, and the one or more support straps are configured to couple and support a rotor blade in a six o'clock position.