Self-Supporting Wind Turbine Structure for Offshore Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing methods for assembling offshore wind turbines are time-consuming and prone to equipment damage, especially in severe weather conditions, due to the need to hoist equipment from vessels to transition pieces or foundation piles.
Innovation Solution
A self-supporting support structure that can be constructed and equipped onshore, featuring multiple floors with adjustable dimensions to fit within a hollow peripheral body, allowing for safe and efficient transportation and assembly by reducing the surface area for fitting and providing airtight seals to prevent corrosion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If equipment is hoisted from vessels to transition pieces or foundation piles during offshore assembly, then the wind turbine can be installed, but the process becomes time-consuming and equipment is susceptible to damage
Solution Approach 1:
The support structure is pre-assembled with all equipment installed onshore in a controlled environment before being transported offshore as a complete unit. This preliminary assembly eliminates the need for time-consuming and risky hoisting operations during offshore installation, while ensuring equipment safety through protected transport and placement as an integrated structure
2Productivity
If equipment is hoisted from vessels to transition pieces or foundation piles, then the wind turbine can be installed, but the equipment becomes susceptible to damage especially in severe weather
Solution Approach 1:
The support structure integrates multiple components including floors, upright supports, and equipment into a single unified structure that is assembled onshore and installed offshore as one complete unit. This merging eliminates the need for separate hoisting operations of individual equipment pieces, thereby improving installation efficiency while protecting equipment integrity through unified transport and placement
3Adaptability or versatility
If the support structure includes multiple floors with fixed dimensions, then it can accommodate wind turbine equipment, but it cannot adapt to different internal dimensions of peripheral bodies
Solution Approach 1:
The floors of the support structure are designed with adjustable dimensions that can be modified to match different internal dimensions of peripheral bodies. This dynamic adjustability allows the same basic structure to adapt to various installation requirements without changing the fundamental design, maintaining simplicity while providing versatility
4Area of stationary object
If the floor surface area is reduced for fitting purposes, then the structure can be accommodated in the peripheral body, but the structural stability may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The upright supports extend vertically between floors to provide structural stability, compensating for the reduced floor surface area. By adding vertical support elements, the structure maintains its load-bearing capacity and structural integrity even with smaller floor dimensions that fit within the peripheral body constraints
Data Source
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AI summary
Described is a self-supporting support structure for wind turbine equipment. The support structure can be accommodated in a hollow transition piece for connecting a tower of an offshore wind turbine to a foundation pile, or in a foundation pile itself. The support structure comprises two or more floors placed vertically above each other and supported by upright supports. At least one floor connects substantially fittingly to an internal peripheral wall of the transition piece or the foundation pile, and said floor is provided with means for reducing its surface area, for instance foldable edge parts. Also described is a method for assembling at least a part of an offshore wind turbine, wherein the self-supporting support structure is applied.