Patent Application
20210317813
The present invention relates to a multirotor wind turbine comprising a tower extending in a vertical direction from a tower bottom to a tower top. The wind turbine further comprises a load carrying structure extending transverse to the vertical direction and arranged to carry at least two energy generating units, the load carrying structure being carried rotationally by the tower via a yaw arrangement.
Wind turbines normally comprise one or more energy generating units, each energy generating unit comprising a load carrying hub carrying one or more wind turbine blades. The wind acts on the wind turbine blades, thereby causing the load carrying hub to rotate. The rotational movements of the load carrying hub are transferred to a generator, either via a gear arrangement or directly, in the case that the wind turbine is of a so-called direct drive type. In the generator, electrical energy is generated, which may be supplied to a power grid.
Some wind turbines are provided with two or more energy generating units in order to increase the total power produced by the wind turbine, without having to provide the wind turbine with one very large, and therefore heavy, energy generating unit. Such wind turbines are sometimes referred to as ‘multirotor wind turbines’.
Traditional horizontal axis wind turbines sometimes utilise the roof of the energy generating unit as platform for hoisting spare parts to and from the energy generating unit. Sometimes, the roof is used also as a landing platform for a helicopter.
Since the major part of the assembly and service work on a wind turbine is carried out on the drive train and components thereof, the roof of the energy generating unit is a natural choice for establishing access to the wind turbine for helicopters or drones or for hoisting spare parts to and from the wind turbine.
Not least on off-shore installations, such a platform may provide easy and safe access to the energy generating unit. However, accessing an energy generating unit in this manner is highly dependent on favourable weather conditions.
In multirotor wind turbines the energy generating units may be carried by a load carrying structure which is, in turn, connected to a tower via a yaw bearing structure. In such wind turbines, a centre of gravity of the energy generating units is displaced with respect to a longitudinal, vertical axis defined by the tower. Due to the displacement, the roof of the energy generating units may become unsuitable as a platform for hoisting or landing purpose.
Accordingly, access to and from the energy generating units for personnel, spare parts and other equipment may advantageously be through the tower.
It is an object of embodiments of the invention to provide a multirotor wind turbine with improved access for spare parts and personnel through the tower.
It is a further object of embodiments of the invention to provide improved strength of a multirotor structure and to increase safety relative to access to and from the energy generating units.
The invention provides a multirotor wind turbine comprising:
Thus, the invention provides a multirotor wind turbine, i.e. a wind turbine comprising two or more energy generating units.
The multirotor wind turbine comprises a tower, a yaw arrangement and at least two energy generating units. The tower is formed by a tower wall extending between a tower bottom and a tower top. Accordingly, the tower is a substantially vertical structure, similar to a tower of a traditional single rotor wind turbine. The tower wall defines a boundary between an interior part of the tower and the outside of the tower.
The yaw arrangement is carried by the tower and comprises an outer wall being rotationally suspended about the tower. The outer wall may be a solid wall, or it may have a lattice structure or the like. In the present context the term ‘yaw arrangement’ should be interpreted to mean an arrangement which allows rotational movements of a structure relative to the tower of the wind turbine about a substantially vertical rotation axis. In the case of the multirotor wind turbine according to the invention, it is the outer wall which rotates relative to the tower.
Each of the energy generating units is carried by an arm extending from the outer wall. Accordingly, the arms, and thereby the energy generating units, are moved along with the outer wall when it performs yawing movements relative to the tower. Thus, the yawing movements direct the rotors of the energy generating units into the incoming wind.
In the present context the term ‘energy generating unit’ should be interpreted to mean a part of the wind turbine which actually transforms the energy of the wind into electrical energy. Each of the energy generating units thereby typically comprises a rotor, carrying a set of wind turbine blades, and a generator. The energy generating unit may further comprise a gear arrangement interconnecting the rotor and the generator. The generator, and possibly the gear arrangement, may be arranged inside a nacelle.
The arms may extend from the outer wall along substantially opposite directions, i.e. from opposing sides of the tower. The arms may extend along directions which are substantially perpendicular to the direction of the tower, or they may extend along directions forming an acute angle with the direction of the tower. The arms may be connected to the outer wall in such a manner that a line interconnecting the attachment positions of the two arms passes the tower. Alternatively, such an interconnecting line may intersect the tower.
The multirotor wind turbine further comprises a load management system for hoisting articles from the tower bottom to each energy generating unit via the yaw arrangement. Thus, articles, e.g. in the form of spare parts, tools, etc., can be transported from the tower bottom to a relevant energy generating unit inside the wind turbine, at least until it reaches the yaw arrangement. Thereby providing such articles to an energy generating unit is not dependent on weather conditions or the like, and the articles are provided in a safe manner. Furthermore, landing a helicopter directly on the energy generating unit is not required.
The articles being transported by means of the load management system thereby follow a transport path which goes through the yaw arrangement, i.e. through a part of the multirotor wind turbine where elements, such as walls, are potentially moving rotationally relative to each other.
Since the arms are connected to the outer wall, it is possible to gain access between an interior part of the tower and the energy generating units being carried by the arms, via the yaw arrangement and using the load management system, regardless of the yaw position of the yaw arrangement, i.e. independent of the angular position of the outer wall relative to the tower.
The path through the yaw arrangement may further form part of an escape path for personnel operating at or near the energy generating units being carried by the arms. Thereby personnel may escape via the tower, and thereby in a safe manner.
The multirotor wind turbine may comprise a yaw space formed between the tower and the outer wall. The yaw space may be accessible for the load management system for hoisting the articles from the tower bottom to each of the energy generating units such that the articles pass through the yaw space.
The multirotor wind turbine according to the invention may further be a multirotor wind turbine, wherein:
and wherein the load management system is configured to hoist articles from the tower bottom to each energy generating unit through the internal tower space, the passage and the internal arm space.
According to this embodiment, the articles are transported all the way from the tower bottom to the energy generating units without leaving the interior of the multirotor wind turbine.
A yaw space is formed between the tower and the rotationally suspended outer wall. The yaw space is closed in the sense that it spans the entire circumference of the tower angularly, and it is delimited by the tower wall and the outer wall, respectively. The walls of the yaw space are therefore movable relative to each other. However, it is preferably possible to access the yaw space, e.g. from an interior part of the tower via a passage in the tower wall.
Since the multirotor wind turbine, according to this embodiment, forms a passage connecting the internal spaces of the tower and the arms, the wind turbine allows access for personnel and equipment, such as spare parts and/or tools, to and from the energy generating units via the internal arm and tower structures. Particularly in relation to off-shore installations, this provides increased safety and efficiency and facilitates operation independent of rough weather conditions, etc.
The yaw arrangement may advantageously be serviced from the yaw space.
The load management system may form a first transport section extending in a vertical direction in the internal tower space between the tower bottom and an intersection platform, a second transport section extending in a transverse direction along the intersection platform through the yaw space, and a third transport section extending in the internal arm space.
According to this embodiment, the load management system is divided into at least three portions, i.e. the first transport section, the second transport section and the third transport section. Each of the transport sections defines a separate direction of movement, and each of the transport sections is associated with a specific part of the multirotor wind turbine. However, the transport sections communicate with each other in the sense that they in cooperation define the entire transport path from the tower bottom to the energy generating units, and in the sense that articles being transported by means of the load management system can be transferred between the transport sections to allow the articles to be transported along the entire transport path from the tower bottom to a relevant energy generating unit.
Furthermore, the transport sections are arranged in parts of the multirotor wind turbine which perform rotational movements relative to each other. Accordingly, dividing the load management system into sections in the manner described above allows a substantially continuous transport path to be obtained across parts which rotate relative to each other.
The first, the second and the third transport sections may be separate sections each forming an entrance point and an exit point such that the entry point of the first transport section can be accessed at the tower bottom, the exit point of the first transport section can be accessed at the entry of the second transport section, the exit point of the second transport section can be accessed at the entry of the third transport section and the exit of the third transport section can be accessed from one of the energy generating units.
According to this embodiment, the entry points and the exit points of the transport sections are positioned relative to each other in such a manner that an article being transported by means of the load management system can readily be transferred from one transport section to the next, thereby forming a substantially continuous transport path between the tower bottom and the energy generating unit. The transfer of the articles may be performed in an automatic manner, or it may be performed manually, e.g. by an operator manually decoupling an article from one transport section and coupling it to the next transport section.
Each transport section may comprise individual control. According to this embodiment, the operation of each transport section is controlled individually, i.e. independent of the operation of any of the other transport sections. For instance, each transport section may be turned on or off individually, and/or the speed of each transport section may be controlled individually, or the transport direction may be selected individually.
Thereby a given transport section may be turned on only while an article is actually being transported along that transport section. Furthermore, a transport speed may be selected which is in accordance with the article being transported, e.g. taking the weight of the article and/or delicacy of the article into account. Finally, this will allow one article to be transported along one transport section simultaneously with another article being transported along another transport section, possibly at a different speed. And one transport section may be stopped in order to connect or disconnect an article to/from that transport section without stopping the transport of another article along another transport section. Thereby an efficient load management system with high transport capacity is provided.
At least one of the first, the second and the third transport section may comprise a rail structure with a motorised trolley. According to this embodiment, the articles are moved along the rail structure and in a motorised manner. Thereby the manual handling required in order to move the articles is minimised. The rail structure may be arranged at an elevated position, e.g. on a ceiling or the like, in which case the articles may be transported along the rail structure in a suspended manner. As an alternative, the rail structure may be arranged on a wall or a floor.
The multirotor wind turbine may further comprise a sensor system configured to determine a position of articles being hoisted from the tower bottom to the energy generating units. Thereby the movement of a given article along the transport path can be monitored. This may be performed in a continuous manner, where the exact position of a given article at any given time is obtained. As an alternative, the sensor system may merely detect when a given articles passes a given check point along the transport path.
The sensor system may comprise at least one sensor arranged at the tower, at the yaw arrangement and/or at the arms carrying the energy generating units. For instance, sensors may be arranged in the internal tower space, in the yaw space and/or in the internal arm space. According to this embodiment, the presence of an article at the position of a given sensor can be detected as the article passes the sensor.
The sensor may be of a kind which is capable of reading a machine readable code, such as a barcode, a QR code, an RFID tag, etc. In this case the articles being transported may be provided with a suitable machine readable code, and the machine readable code may further comprise information related to the article being transported, such as the kind of article, the destination of the article, etc. Such a machine readable code may be read as the article passes the sensor, i.e. without stopping the article.
The multirotor wind turbine may further comprise a warning system configured to provide an alert in the energy generating units when articles are being hoisted towards the energy generating units, or to provide an alert at the tower bottom when articles are being lowered towards the tower bottom.
According to this embodiment, personnel being present at an energy generating unit or at the tower bottom is warned when an article is approaching. This improves the safety of the system.
In a second aspect, the invention provides a method for hoisting articles from a tower bottom to an energy generating unit of a multirotor wind turbine of the kind described above. According to this method, the articles are hoisted via the yaw arrangement, e.g. through the tower wall and/or through the outer wall, and e.g. through the yaw space formed between the tower wall and the outer wall.
The invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings in which
The load carrying structures 3 are connected to the tower 2 via two separate yaw arrangements 6, thereby allowing the lower set of arms 3a to perform yawing movements relative to the tower 2 independently of yawing movements of the upper set of arms 3b relative to the tower.
In traditional single rotor wind turbines, a nacelle carrying the single rotor of the wind turbine is normally connected directly to the top of the tower. Thereby the nacelle and the rotor can readily be accessed via the interior of the tower.
However, in the multirotor wind turbine 1 of
Two arms 3, one of which is shown, are attached to the outer wall part 7 and extend in a direction away from the yaw arrangement 6 and the tower 2. The arms 3 are hollow, and the interior of each arm 3 can be accessed from the space 8 formed between the tower 2 and the outer wall part 7 via a passage 10. Thus, an energy generating unit mounted on an arm 3, essentially as illustrated in
The outer wall part 7 is connected to the tower 2 by means of a first bearing 11 and a second bearing 12. Thereby the outer wall part 7 can rotate relative to the tower 2 in order to orientate rotors of the energy generating units mounted on the arms 3 in accordance with the incoming wind. Accordingly, the access path described above extends across parts which are capable of performing rotational movements relative to each other.
The first bearing 11 interconnects a lower part of the outer wall part 7 and the tower 2, and the second bearing 12 interconnects an upper part of the outer wall part 7 and the tower 2. Thereby the extremities of the outer wall part 7 are each supported against the tower 2 by means of a bearing 11, 12, thereby stabilising the structure. The first bearing 11 is configured to handle axial loads as well as radial loads, whereas the second bearing 12 is configured to handle radial loads, but not axial loads. Thereby the axial loads are handled by the bearing 11 on which the outer wall part 7 rests, and the position where the highest axial loads are expected.
A platform 13 is arranged in the interior of the tower 2 at a vertical level corresponding to the position of the yaw arrangement 6. At the platform 13, equipment as well as personnel can be received and intermediately stored. For instance, equipment may be hoisted to the platform 13 from a lower interior part of the tower 2, using a hoisting arrangement 14. Once received at the platform 13, the equipment can be moved into the space 8 defined between the tower 2 and the outer wall 7, via opening 9. From there, the equipment can be moved into the interior of a relevant arm 3, via opening 10, and be moved inside the arm 3 to a relevant energy generating unit. Equipment may also be moved in the opposite direction from an energy generating unit to the lower interior part of the tower 2, via the platform 13.
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The transport containers 15 are in the form of closed containers with a hard outer surface. Thereby the equipment being transported by means of the transport containers 15 is protected during transport.
The transport containers 15 are provided with eyelets 21 for connecting the transport containers 15 to a transport system, e.g. via hooks, pulleys, etc. Accordingly, the eyelets 21 provide a standardized interface between equipment being transported and the transport system.
The transport containers 15 may be made from a material which allows them to float, even if equipment is accommodated therein. This will allow the transport containers 15 to be dragged behind a seagoing vessel in a self-floating manner, thereby reducing the requirements with regard to storage space on the seagoing vessel.
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Accordingly, the transport container 15 is entering a lower interior part of the tower 2. It can be seen that the transport container 15 has been connected to the wire 28 via the eyelet 21.
A protective surface 29 is arranged on the floor, allowing the transport container 15 to slide along the floor without causing damage thereto.
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| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PA 2018 70749 | Nov 2018 | DK | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/DK2019/050348 | 11/13/2019 | WO | 00 |
