Wind Turbine Hub Segmentation for Handling
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Solution Overview
Problem
The increasing size and weight of wind turbine hubs make handling during transport, installation, and maintenance cumbersome, requiring improved solutions for easier handling and reduced crane dependency.
Innovation Solution
A self-supporting hub with a projecting part and connection point that allows for the use of hoisting arrangements and devices, facilitating handling and installation, and enabling the hub to carry up to half its weight, along with a frame structure for ergonomic working and reduced crane needs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If the hub size increases to accommodate larger wind turbines, then the power generation capacity increases, but the handling difficulty increases due to increased weight
Solution Approach 1:
The hub is divided into two main segments: a stationary hub body and a movable spinner module. The spinner module can be detached from the hub body, allowing the heavy hub components to be handled separately. This segmentation enables lighter individual components to be transported and installed more easily while maintaining the overall functionality of the complete hub assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The spinner module is designed with movable and adjustable components, including rotatable elements and adjustable positioning mechanisms. This dynamic design allows the spinner to be easily assembled and disassembled on-site, reducing the need for heavy lifting equipment during installation and maintenance operations.
2Strength
If the hub weight increases with larger size, then the structural strength increases, but the crane dependency increases for lifting and installation
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the hub into the hub body and spinner module, each component can be optimized for strength independently while reducing the weight that needs to be lifted as a single unit. The hub body maintains sufficient structural strength for supporting the turbine, while the spinner module can be handled with lighter equipment.
Solution Approach 2:
The spinner module is pre-assembled with its components before being transported to the installation site. This preliminary assembly reduces on-site construction time and complexity, requiring fewer crane operations during final installation since the pre-assembled module can be installed as a unit rather than assembling heavy components on-site.
3Power
If the hub size increases, then the blade capacity increases, but the maintenance accessibility decreases due to limited space
Solution Approach 1:
The spinner module serves as a detachable maintenance platform that provides accessible working space for servicing the hub and blade root areas. When detached, it allows maintenance personnel to access critical components more easily than working from within the confined hub interior, thereby improving maintenance accessibility despite the large hub size.
Solution Approach 2:
The spinner module acts as an intermediary platform between the maintenance personnel and the hub components. It provides a stable working platform with tool storage and personnel access, mediating the interaction between workers and the difficult-to-reach areas of the large hub structure.
4Stability of the object's composition
If the hub is designed as a single integrated structure, then the structural integrity is maintained, but the assembly and disassembly complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The hub is segmented into the hub body and spinner module that can be manufactured separately and assembled on-site. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized and pre-tested independently, reducing assembly complexity while maintaining the structural integrity of the complete hub through properly designed connection interfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The connection between the hub body and spinner module is designed to be dynamic and adjustable, allowing for easy assembly and disassembly. The connection system incorporates movable elements and adjustment mechanisms that simplify the joining process while ensuring stable and secure connection when assembled, thereby reducing assembly complexity without compromising structural integrity.
Data Source
Figure 1
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AI summary
The present invention relates to a hub for a wind turbine comprising a first end facing a nacelle of the wind turbine and a second end facing a direction opposite the nacelle. The hub comprises at least one opening between the first and second end, which opening is adapted for receiving a wind turbine blade, and the hub is adapted to rotate in relation to the nacelle by means of the wind turbine blade. A self-supporting front structure is connected to the second end of the hub, the front structure extending from the second end of the hub and away from the nacelle and being arranged to support a spinner module, the spinner module being adapted to house the front structure and hub. The front structure comprises a projecting part, which is part of the self-supporting structure and can extend from the front structure and away from the nacelle and comprises a connection point.