Wind Turbine Cable Spacer with Chimney Cooling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fastening systems for energy-carrying lines in wind turbines, such as power cables, face challenges in maintaining orderly spatial relationships and efficient heat dissipation, which affects operational safety and grid security, particularly when cables are routed vertically.
Innovation Solution
A fastening system featuring a spacer device with a three-winged cross-sectional shape and contact webs that holds energy-carrying lines at predetermined distances, equipped with a heat-dissipating device and a holding device for secure fixation, allowing for improved cooling through a chimney effect and reduced material usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If cables are routed in unordered bundles (cable harnesses), then installation is simple, but safety is compromised and spatial relationships are not maintained
Solution Approach 1:
The cable bundle is segmented into individual cable positions using a star-shaped support structure with multiple holding bodies. Each holding body independently secures a specific cable, maintaining ordered spatial relationships while simplifying installation compared to complex bundling systems.
2Temperature
If cables are routed vertically in towers, then space is optimized, but heat dissipation becomes problematic affecting thermal load capacity
Solution Approach 1:
The spacer body introduces a radial dimension for heat dissipation by creating horizontal air flow channels around vertically routed cables. This dimensional addition allows heat to dissipate in multiple directions (radially outward and vertically), improving thermal management without compromising the vertical space-efficient routing.
3Loss of substance
If standard cable spacing is used, then installation is straightforward, but material usage increases and cooling efficiency is suboptimal
Solution Approach 1:
The spacer body enables optimization of cable spacing parameters by providing adjustable radial positioning. This allows cables to be positioned at optimal distances for heat dissipation and mechanical stability, reducing the need for oversized cable cross-sections and minimizing material usage while maintaining ease of installation through the standardized spacer design.
4Stability of the object's composition
If complex fastening systems are used to maintain cable order, then spatial relationships are maintained, but structural effort and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The spacer body merges multiple functions into a single component: it provides mechanical spacing between cables, maintains radial positioning, enables heat dissipation through integrated air channels, and facilitates installation through the holding device. This consolidation reduces the overall structural complexity compared to separate components for each function.
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 system ensures secure and efficient routing of power cables with enhanced cooling, enabling smaller cable cross-sections and reduced material usage while maintaining operational safety and grid security by optimizing cable spacing and heat dissipation.
Implementation Method 1
If the lines are routed vertically, such as in the tower of a wind turbine, a kind of chimney effect of the respective air flow leads to a high throughput of cooling air from the environment with a correspondingly high heat dissipation
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
Spacer device with at least one spacer body (15) which holds energy-carrying lines (13), in particular power cables, at predetermined distances from each other by means of support struts (25), and with at least one holding device (21; 49) for fixing the respective spacer body (15) to one of the said lines (13).