Wind Turbine Hub Frame Manhole Access Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional wind turbines with direct drive configurations face challenges in maintenance due to reduced working space and complexity in handling components and personnel access, particularly with the low extension of the support tube, which complicates repairs and evacuation procedures.
Innovation Solution
A wind turbine design featuring a frame that extends forward into the hub with a manhole on its upper side, allowing for improved access and exit for personnel and equipment, combined with a transport system comprising rails and a trolley, facilitating the movement of large and heavy components and enabling safe conveyance of injured personnel.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the support tube extension height is reduced to simplify the direct drive structure, then the nacelle systems are simplified and reliability is increased, but the working space for maintenance personnel and equipment handling becomes substantially reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a vertical dimension by extending the frame upward into the hub with a manhole opening at the top, creating a new access pathway. This vertical extension allows personnel to enter the hub from above rather than through the limited side opening, effectively adding a new spatial dimension for maintenance access that resolves the working space constraint while preserving the simplified direct drive structure.
2Device complexity
If the support tube extension height is reduced, then the structure is simplified, but the complexity of handling components and personnel access increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the access and transport functions by providing separate pathways: the manhole opening at the top of the frame extension for personnel access, and the lateral opening for equipment handling. This segmentation allows each function to be optimized independently - personnel can access through the top while equipment is moved through the side, reducing the complexity of coordinating both functions through a single limited opening.
Solution Approach 2:
The frame extension acting as a bridge or intermediary structure between the nacelle and hub serves as a mediator. It provides a transitional space with multiple access points that facilitates the transfer of both personnel and equipment, reducing the direct complexity of accessing the hub interior while maintaining the simplified overall structure.
3Device complexity
If the manhole is positioned in the conventional location, then the structure remains simple, but the evacuation of injured personnel becomes complicated
Solution Approach 1:
By positioning the manhole at the top of the vertical frame extension rather than at the conventional side location, the patent creates a new vertical access dimension. This elevated position allows for easier evacuation of injured personnel as they can be lowered vertically through the top opening using hoisting means, avoiding the need to maneuver through confined horizontal spaces and making stretcher or担架 evacuation feasible.
4Ease of operation
If the frame is dimensioned to allow personnel movement, then the working space is improved, but the structural volume increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by providing personnel access and working space only in the specific region where it is most needed - the frame extension area between the nacelle and hub. The main hub and blade assembly retain their compact, optimized volumes. The frame extension acts as a localized access corridor that provides necessary working space without significantly increasing the overall volume of the critical rotating components.
Data Source
AI summary
Wind turbine comprising a hub carrying a plurality of blades, the hub being rotatably mounted on a frame, the frame extending forward into the hub, wherein the frame comprises a manhole arranged in an upper side of the portion of the frame extending forward into the hub and the frame being dimensioned such that an average-size adult human can move around through it at least up to the manhole.