Wind Turbine Cooler With Pivotable Cooling Panels
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional wind turbine coolers face challenges in increasing cooling capacity without enlarging their physical size, which is restricted by regulations and design limitations, and also face high manufacturing and transportation costs due to their size and complexity.
Innovation Solution
A cooler design featuring a non-planar heat exchanger arrangement with pivotable cooling panels that can be configured to increase surface area for heat transfer while allowing for a collapsed configuration for reduced transport and assembly complexity, including V-shaped, zig-zag, or trapezoidal patterns, and pivotable coupling via hinges for adjustable positioning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If the cooler top is made larger to increase cooling capacity, then the cooling capacity is improved, but the weight and structural complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cooler top is divided into multiple modular cooling panels that can be independently arranged and configured. Each panel contains cooling channels and can be selectively positioned to achieve the required cooling capacity without necessarily increasing the overall structure size, thereby managing weight more effectively.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling panels are arranged in a three-dimensional configuration rather than a simple planar expansion. By stacking panels vertically and arranging them in multiple layers, the cooling surface area is increased without proportionally increasing the horizontal footprint and overall weight of the cooler top structure.
2Power
If the cooler top is made larger to increase cooling capacity, then the cooling capacity is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cooler top is segmented into standardized modular panels that can be independently manufactured, tested, and assembled. This modularity simplifies the overall device complexity by breaking down a large complex system into smaller, manageable units with standardized interfaces and connection methods.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling panels are designed as universal modules that can be configured for different cooling requirements. The same basic panel design can serve multiple functions and be arranged in various configurations to meet different cooling capacities, reducing the need for custom-designed complex structures.
3Power
If the cooler top size is increased to provide greater cooling capacity, then the cooling capacity is improved, but the transportation and assembly costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cooler top is divided into separable modular panels that can be transported independently or in small groups. This segmentation allows each panel to fit within standard transportation containers and simplifies assembly at the installation site, reducing transportation costs and assembly complexity compared to moving and installing a single large assembled unit.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling panels incorporate movable and adjustable components that allow for flexible assembly and configuration. The panels can be easily positioned, connected, and adjusted on-site, transforming a static complex assembly process into a dynamic, adaptable installation procedure that reduces labor costs and assembly time.
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
This design enhances heat transfer efficiency and reduces the physical size during transport and assembly, simplifying logistics and reducing costs by allowing for a more compact configuration, thereby improving the cooling capacity without increasing the cooler's dimensions.
Implementation Method 1
a heat exchanger coupled to the support frame and configured to cool the working fluid by the passage of air through the heat exchanger
Implementation Method 2
external air flowing past the wind turbine cools the working fluid flowing through the cooling panels
Data Source
AI summary
A wind turbine (10) includes a tower (12), a nacelle (14) coupled to the tower (12) and housing one or more heat generating components (18, 20), a rotor (16) having a least one wind turbine blade (24), and a cooler (38) mounted to the nacelle (14) and configured to cool the one or more heat generating components (18, 20) in the nacelle (14) by circulating a working fluid. The cooler (38) includes a support frame (46) coupled to the nacelle (14) and a heat exchanger (48) coupled to the support frame (46) and configured to cool the working fluid. The heat exchanger (48) includes at least two cooling panels (58) in non-planar relation with each other. The at least two cooling panels (50) may also be pivotably coupled to each other. A method of assembling a cooler (38) is also disclosed.