Patent Grant
9446822
A wind turbine is a rotating machine which converts the kinetic energy from the wind into mechanical energy that is then converted to electricity. Wind turbines have been developed for land based installations as well as offshore installations. The land based wind turbines are fixed to the ground and located in windy areas. There are vertical axis wind turbines that have the main rotor shaft arranged vertically and horizontal axis wind turbines that have a horizontal rotor shaft that is pointed into the wind. Horizontal axis wind turbines generally have a tower and an electrical generator coupled to the top of the tower. The generator may be coupled directly or via a gearbox to the hub assembly and turbine blades.
Wind turbines have also been used for offshore applications. Single tower offshore systems are mounted into the sea bed and limited to shallow water depths up to 30 meters. If the turbine tower is mounted on a wider base, such as a lattice structure, this shallow depth requirement can be extended to 50 m. In deeper water, only floating systems are expected to be economically feasible. The drawback of shallow water systems is that the water is typically only shallow close to shore. Thus, wind turbines close to shore can block the shore view and create navigational obstructions and potential hazards for water vessels and aircraft.
Currently, there are a number of concepts for offshore floating wind turbine platforms being developed. Generally, these fall into three main categories: Spars; Tension Leg Platforms (TLP's); and semi-submersible/hybrid systems. Examples of floating wind turbine platforms include the Statoil Norsk-Hydro Hywind spar, (
With reference to
When comparing different types of offshore wind turbine structures, wave and wind induced motions are not the only elements of performance to consider. Economics play a significant role. It is therefore important to carefully study the fabrication, installation, commissioning/decommissioning costs and ease of access for maintenance methodologies. Semi-submersible concepts with a shallow draft and good stability in operational and transit conditions are significantly cheaper to tow out, install and commission/decommission than spars, due to their draft, and TLPs, due to their low stability before tendon connection.
Semi-submersible offshore floating wind turbine platforms that include at least three columns are described herein. In addition to at least three columns, the wind turbine platforms described herein include additional features that improve the performance of the wind turbine platform. In an embodiment represented in
The columns included in the platforms described herein can be coupled to each other with a tubular truss system that includes horizontal and vertical bracing beams. A horizontal water-entrapment plate is attached to the bottom portion of some or all of the columns. The wind turbine tower is subjected to considerable wind loads very high on the structure, and spacing between columns achieves stability. In an embodiment, as illustrated in
In another embodiment, illustrated in
A nacelle, which can house, for example, one or more of a pitch control system, gear box, yaw controller and generator, can be mounted on top of the tower and provides support to the hub and turbine blades that extend from the hub. The hub can include a mechanism that allows the pitch of the turbine blades to be adjusted so that the rotational speed of the turbine blades is constant over a normal wind speed range. The nacelle can be coupled to a yaw control system, which points the turbine blades directly into the wind for optimum efficiency. Wind turbine equipment, such as the gear box and electrical generator, that are typically positioned within the nacelle may reside there, or they may be positioned lower in the tower or on top of column. Direct drive turbines, which do not have a gear box, may also be used with the platforms described herein. The electrical power produced by the generator can be in a random frequency and amplitude due to the variable wind speed. The electrical power can be altered with a transformer, inverter and a rectifier to produce a uniform output voltage and current. These electrical components can be located in the nacelle, at the bottom of the tower or on another column. The electrical output from the wind turbine can be transmitted through an electrical cable that runs to the sea floor and a power station. Rather than running straight to the sea floor, a portion of the cable can be coupled to buoyancy mechanisms that elevate the portion of the cable. The cable may then have a curved path, which allows the floating wind turbine platform to move vertically or horizontally with the waves, current and tides without putting any significant additional tension on the cable.
In an embodiment, the floating wind turbine platform has a special configuration that is a high strength structure. The main beams mounted between the columns are equal in length and form substantially an equilateral triangle. Horizontal bracing cross beams are coupled between the adjacent main beams at approximately one third the length of the main beams. The horizontal bracing cross beams and main beams form additional equilateral triangles at the three corners of the triangle formed by the main beams. Vertical bracing beams are coupled between the mid sections of the columns and one third the length of the main beams. The triangles formed by the vertical bracing beams, columns and main beams are substantially right isosceles triangle. This configuration provides a strong structure that can support the required load forces while minimizing the amount of material to build the floating wind turbine platform.
In specific embodiments, a floating wind turbine platform as described herein can be designed to be fabricated and assembled entirely at quayside. For example, a crane can be used to assemble components of the floating wind turbine platform that can be completely constructed at the quayside assembly site. Additionally, where desired, the wind turbine components can be assembled and integrated with the platform and substructure at quayside. Once fully assembled, the ballast can be completely removed from the columns of the floating wind turbine platform so the structure can be floated out of a channel to the installation site. If additional buoyancy is needed to reduce the draft to get out of a channel, a buoyancy module can be attached to one or more of the columns to reduce the draft. Once the platform has reached deeper water, the buoyancy module can be removed and the columns can be partially filled with water ballast to stabilize the platform.
Sea anchors can be secured to the sea floor prior to towing the floating wind turbine platform to the installation site. When the floating wind turbine platform is moved into position, the mooring lines can be fastened to the columns and tightened to a predetermined tension. In an embodiment, the tower is mounted over one of the columns and the mooring lines are arranged in an asymmetric manner, with more of the mooring lines coupled to the column supporting the turbine tower than to the other columns. For example, if four mooring lines are used, two of these lines are connected to the column supporting the tower at an approximately 90-degree angle interval and one line is connected to each of the remaining columns. By way of another example, if six mooring lines are used, four mooring lines can be connected to the tower supporting column at approximately 60-degree angle intervals about a 180 degree range and each of the other columns is coupled to a single mooring line. The angles of the mooring lines can be configured to intersect at the tower column. If a symmetric floating wind turbine platform is used, the mooring lines can be coupled to the platform in a symmetrical manner. For example, a total of six mooring lines can be used with two mooring lines coupled to each of the columns.
The mooring lines can be conventional catenary-shaped lines composed of a combination of chain, wire ropes and drag-embedment anchors. Alternatively, the mooring lines can be composed of taut polyester sections, and also include clump weights, which are heavy masses suspended to sections of the mooring system. In an embodiment, the anchors are embedded into the sea floor and a section of chain is coupled to the anchors. Polyester line can be attached to the chain to provide some elasticity to the mooring line. Where used, the opposite end of the polyester line can be coupled to an additional length of chain that is attached to one or more tensioning mechanisms on each of the columns. Heavy clump weights can be attached to the chains that are connected to each of the columns to lower the angle of the chains to the columns, and the mooring lines can be tensioned by mechanisms coupled to each of the columns.
If the wind turbine and tower are mounted on one of the three columns, one column supports more weight and the hull is asymmetrically balanced when there is no wind. However, the wind force against the turbine blades and tower cause a moment against the tower that normally pushes the tower away from the center of the platform. This moment applies a downward force on the tower supporting column while reducing the downward force on the independent columns that do not support the tower.
When the wind turbine is installed, the wind turbine will spin and the generator will produce electricity. However, the wind speed and direction can change frequently. Therefore, in certain embodiments, a turbine utilized on a platform according to the present description can be provided with a wind direction system including a wind direction sensor and a yaw control system. In such an embodiment, the wind direction sensor will detect shifts in the wind direction and the yaw control system will rotate the nacelle (yaw) at the top of the tower to align the turbine blades with the wind direction. Even further, a turbine utilized on a platform according to the present description can be provided with a wind speed sensor that detects changes in the wind speed and is coupled to a turbine pitch control system that responds to changes in wind speed by inducing a change in the pitch of the turbine blades to optimize the output power or minimize the wind drag forces on the turbine blades. Examples of commercially available wind direction and speed sensors are available from Campbell Scientific Ltd., United Kingdom and NovaLynx Corp., USA.
As the wind speed increases against the tower and turbine blades, the wind force can cause the entire floating wind turbine platform to lean out of vertical alignment. In order to compensate for the wind forces (thrust), a wind turbine platform according to the present description is provided with an internal ballast system that utilizes water pumps to move water between each of the columns. In an embodiment, the internal ballast system includes one or more alignment sensors coupled to a controller that controls the water pumps of the ballast system. If an alignment sensor detects that the floating wind turbine platform is leaning towards one of the columns, the internal ballast system can pump water out of the low floating column and into the other columns to increase the buoyancy of the low column and reduce the buoyancy of the other columns. This water movement will raise the low floating corner of the platform so that the tower is returned to a vertical alignment. When the alignment sensor detects that the vertical alignment is re-established, the pumps can be stopped. Because it is only necessary to compensate for over-turning moment applied to the structure, in one embodiment of the internal ballast system, there is no need to pump additional water from the outside, and the internal ballast system can function in a closed loop.
Because operation of the internal ballast system requires pumping of a substantial amount of water, the response time for achieving a desired ballast adjustment may be as long as 15-30 minutes. In an embodiment, the alignment sensor can be two gyroscopes that can sense rotational movement about the X and Y axis in the horizontal plane. In perfect vertical alignment, the X and Y axis gyroscopes will not detect any rotation of the platform. However, if there is any tilting of the floating wind turbine platform, the X and/or Y axis gyroscopes can detect rotational movement. Such an alignment sensor can be coupled to a controller that responds to the misalignment by pumping water to the columns as necessary to correct the vertical alignment error. In an embodiment, the ballast system is a closed system that completely isolates the ballast water from the surrounding sea water. In such an embodiment, because the seawater cannot enter the columns, the columns cannot be flooded and the platform cannot capsize due to a malfunction of the ballast system.
In an embodiment, the turbine control system and the ballast system are coupled so the tower can be vertical but the ballast pump may still need to function until the turbine is in an optimal power production mode. In this case the turbine blade pitch is modified to reduce the thrust and keep the mast vertical. The blade pitch can then be slowly rotated back to its optimal angle as the ballast water is pumped from one column to the next.
The wind turbine platforms described herein can be used as a standalone platform or, alternatively, the platforms described herein can be positioned as part of a plurality of floating wind turbine platforms arranged in a wind farm. The electrical power from each of the wind turbines can be combined and transmitted through a single cable towards a power station which can be on land or on a separate floating platform. In one such embodiment, one of the platforms can be used for crew or maintenance quarters. This can provide a safe sheltered area where workers can be protected from severe ambient weather conditions.
If a floating wind turbine platform as described herein needs to be returned to docks for servicing or decommissioning, the platform can be disconnected from the mooring lines and power cable and towed to the quayside assembly site. In shallow water channels the fixed water ballast can be pumped out so the platform draft is reduced to its transit draft. If necessary, one or more buoyancy modules can be coupled to the columns if the transit draft needs to be further reduced.
Semi-submersible, floating wind turbine platforms are described herein. The platforms described herein can be used, for example, in offshore wind turbine installations. With reference to
The columns 102, 103 are interconnected with a truss structure composed of main beams 115, bracing beams 116 and cross beams 117. The main beams 115 are connected to the tops and bottoms of the columns 102, 103 and bracing beams 116 that are connected coupled between the main beams 115 and columns 102, 103. The cross beams are connected between the adjacent main beams 115. In an embodiment, the main beams 115 can be configured such that they intersect with the three columns 102, 103 and form an equilateral triangle. Similarly, the horizontal bracing beams 117 and main beams 115 can be configured to form additional equilateral triangles. In an embodiment, the vertical bracing beams 116 are coupled to the columns 102, 103 at approximately the middle of the height and coupled to the main beams 115 at points that are approximately one third the main beam length. The main beams 115, columns 102, 103 and vertical bracing beams 116 can form right isosceles triangles. In an embodiment, the main beams 115, vertical bracing beams 116 and horizontal bracing beams 117 are preferably hollow tubular structures of circular or rectangular cross sections. Alternatively, the main beams 115, vertical bracing beams 116 and horizontal bracing beams 117 can also be solid I, H or T beams. In other embodiments the three columns 102, 103, bracing beams 116 and horizontal bracing beams 117 can form any other types of geometric configurations suitable for achieving a platform exhibiting desired strength, weight, load bearing or other performance characteristics.
This design of a floating wind turbine platform as described herein provides an strong and efficient structure. The strength can be attributed to the tetrahedron structures formed at corners of the platform by the columns, main beams, vertical bracing beams and horizontal bracing beams. A load analysis of the structure shows that any deformation is most likely to occur in the middle sections of the main beams 115 between the adjacent tetrahedrons. While the geometry of the structure is very efficient, the strength of the structure can also be increased, for example, by increasing the outside diameter or wall thicknesses of the main beams 115, vertical bracing beams 116 and horizontal bracing beams 117. If the main beams 115, vertical bracing beams 116 and horizontal bracing beams 117 are tubular structures, the fatigue life of the structure can be substantially extended by increasing the wall thickness. For example, if the wall thickness of the tubes is double the nominal tube wall thickness, the fatigue life of the structure may be increased by approximately 10 to 20 times the fatigue life of the nominal tube wall thickness structure. Wall thickness may be increased in a short section near the intersections of main beams 115 with the vertical bracing beams 116 and the horizontal bracing beams 117.
In an embodiment, the diameter or width of the base of the turbine tower 111 approximates but is slightly smaller than the diameter or width of the column 102 upon which it is positioned. This uniformity maximizes the continuity of the structure and minimizes the stress concentrations in the critical areas of the platform 105 structure. The stress concentrations can be highest at the junction of the turbine tower 111 and column 102 upon which the turbine tower 111 is positioned, where bending moments are highest due to wind-induced moments and where the main beams 115 connect to the other stabilizing columns 103. In one embodiment, the diameter of the columns 102, 103 may be uniform to create a straight structure, such as a straight cylindrical structure, while the tower 111 can be larger at the base and taper to a smaller diameter or width at the top. The columns 102, 103 can be constructed by welding a number of uniform diameter tubular sections together while the tower 111 can be constructed by bolting and/or welding a series of tapered sections together. The columns 102, 103 and the tower 111 can be strengthened with internal structures such as plates, ribs and internal flanges.
Because the columns 102, 103 only provide buoyancy and stability for the floating wind turbine platform, only minimal deck space 119 is required between the tops of the columns 103. Narrow gangways can be placed on top of the upper main beams 115, connecting each of the columns 102, 103. Additional areas on the platform 105 may be used to support secondary structures, such as auxiliary solar cells or support of wave energy converters, and to provide access around the wind turbine tower 111. In one embodiment, the decks 119 are positioned on top of one or more stabilizing columns 102, 103, and the stabilizing column and decks 119 are configured such that the highest expected wave crests will not reach or damage the deck equipment or the turbine blades 101. Stairs and a boat docking structure can be attached to any of the columns 102, 103. The platform 105 can be secured to the sea floor by mooring lines 131-141 attached to the bottoms of the columns 102, 103.
The turbine blades 101 are long in length and narrow in width having a very high aspect ratio. The turbine blades 101 are connected at their base to a hub, a motor and actuators can change the pitch of the blades 101. The pitch of the blades 101 can be set to optimize the electrical power output of the generator. This can be accomplished by adjusting the pitch of the blades to maintain a constant speed of rotation over a range of wind speeds. At lower wind speeds, the pitch of the turbine blades is lower so that they can maintain a maximum rotational speed. In contrast, at higher wind speeds the pitch is increased to prevent the rotation from exceeding the optimum rate of rotation. In order to sense the true wind speed, the wind turbine can include a wind anemometer that detects the wind speed and a controller can adjust the pitch of the turbine blades 101 to the proper pitch angle based upon the detected wind speed. Commercial turbine blade pitch control systems are available from LTi REEnergy, Germany and Bosch Rexroth, Germany.
Accurately aligning the turbine blades 101 in an orientation perpendicular to the wind direction leads to generation of maximum electrical power. To facilitate such positioning, the wind turbine may include a wind direction system that includes, for example, a wind direction sensor that detects any misalignment and a yaw control system. Commercial inclination sensors are available from Pepper+Fuches, Germany and MicroStrain, Inc. USA. If an angular offset is detected by the wind direction sensor, the controller can actuate a yaw motor that rotates the nacelle, hub and turbine blades 101. In an embodiment, the turbine blades 101 and hub are coupled to a gear box that increases the rotational speed of the turbine blades 101 to a speed suitable for generating electricity. The gearbox increases the rotational speed of a drive shaft that is coupled to a generator which produces electricity. In another embodiment, a direct drive turbine is used. There is no gearbox and the drive shaft is coupled directly to the generator, which may reside in the nacelle or in the tower.
The electrical output generally increases with wind speed. However, a minimum wind velocity of about 3 meters per second is typically required to cause the turbine blades to rotate. For a typical wind turbine generator, power output will continue to increase with increases in wind speed up to about 12 meters per second, and in a wind range of wind speeds 6-12 meters per second, the turbine blades are pitched to optimize the electrical energy production. At wind speeds higher than 12 meters per second, the turbine blades of a typical wind turbine generator are adjusted to control the lift force and let the turbine rotate at its optimum speed, hence maintaining the maximum power output. A 5 megawatt turbine generator may reach a maximum power output at a wind speed of about 12 meters per second. At higher wind speeds between about 12 to 25 meters per second, the generator will produce 5 megawatts of electrical energy, but the turbine blades are rotated at a higher pitch angle to reduce the wind force loads on the turbine blades and maintain the optimal speed of rotation. At wind speeds greater than about 25 meters per second, the wind turbine system may be shut down and parked. The turbine blades are adjusted to minimize the wind forces and may also be locked down until the wind speed drops to prevent overspeed and damage to the wind turbine.
While the floating wind turbine platform has, thus far, been illustrated in an asymmetric tower placement, in other embodiments the tower is located symmetrically between the columns. With reference to
The wind turbine platforms described herein include one or more horizontal water-entrapment plates 107 attached to the bases of each of one or more of the platform columns. The one or more water-entrapment plates 107 are positioned such that they are submerged. With reference to
The shape and dimensions of the water-entrapment plate 107 are such that they cause a substantial increase of the platform added-mass in heave and added-moment of inertia in roll and pitch. Since the platform draft is relatively shallow, typically 100 feet or less, wave-exciting forces on the water-entrapment plate cannot be neglected. Hydrodynamic calculations should be conducted to determine the response of the platform, taking into account the increase in added-mass and wave exciting forces. Commercial diffraction-radiation software, such as WAMIT, may be used to compute floating platform responses. In a hypothetical example, a 15,000 tons displacement platform carrying over 7,000 tons payload was considered for these response computations. Without water-entrapment plates, the platform's natural period is around 12 seconds, which corresponds to a frequency band with considerable amount of energy during big storms. The resulting resonant response yields unacceptable platform motion, resulting in damage to the platform structure. By adding the one or more water-entrapment plates, which, in one embodiment, extend radially outward by about 20 to 30 feet from a column base, the platform's heave natural period can be significantly extended to 20 seconds, which results in acceptable motion response.
Therefore, the one or more water-entrapment plates 107 provided in a platform as described herein can provide a substantial increase in vertical added-mass, while minimizing the increase in wave exciting force, resulting in a beneficial reduction of platform motion. Such a stabilizing effect is especially beneficial for small platforms for which suitable performance cannot be obtained merely by adjusting column size and spacing. The positioning of the one or more water-entrapment plates 107, such as the radial distance of a plate from the center of a given column 102, 103, and the configuration of the one or more water-entrapment plates 107, such as the total plate area, can be adjusted to achieve, for example, a desired increase in the vertical added-mass and a reduction or minimization of the increase in wave exciting force.
Due to its size, a water-entrapment plate 107 attracts large hydrodynamic loading including added-mass and wave radiation effects, wave exciting forces and viscous effects due to shedding of vortices from the edges of the plate 107. The plate 107 must be supported by additional structural members in order to withstand extreme wave loading as well as fatigue damage due to the large number of wave cycles it is subjected to. In an embodiment, radial stiffeners 179 extend from the columns 103 toward the plate's outer edges to support the plate 107. Main beams 115 connected to the columns 103 also provide structural support to the water-entrapment plate 107, as well as rigidity to the overall structure. Additional plate 107 strengthening components can include, for example, girders 181 supported by radial stiffeners 179, stringers 177 between the girders 181 and water-entrapment plate bracings 121 mounted between a column 102 and the stiffeners 179. These structural members support the panels forming the water-entrapment plate 107. The entrapment plates described herein can be formed of any suitable material, such as steel.
In order to properly dimension the water-entrapment plate stiffeners, the various hydrodynamic effects taking place on the plate must be properly accounted for. These consist of the following: inertia of the fluid surrounding the water-entrapment plate causing a force opposing the acceleration of the platform, particularly in the vertical direction; radiated waves generated by the platform as it moves resulting in energy being removed from the platform; incident waves interact with the platform hull causing forces; and viscous effects, predominantly due to the shedding of vortices from the plate edges also resulting in transfer of energy from the platform to the water. All forces, except the viscous forces, can be modeled based on the diffraction-radiation theory which neglects the fluid viscosity, and require numerical solution of the Laplace equation. Viscous effects are determined from an empirical model developed with small-scale laboratory experiment results. The hydrodynamic forces can be converted to a pressure field on the platform's submerged portion, including the water-entrapment plate, and a structural finite-element model can then be run to determine stresses in all structural members including stiffeners and plating. Finite-element models require discretization of the hull into small elements on which the beam and/or plate theory can be applied. A numerical solution can be obtained providing stress levels on the hull. Proper sizing of the hull, including the water-entrapment plate can then be confirmed. Additional information about the water-entrapment plates is disclosed by U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,086,809 and 7,281,881 which are both hereby incorporated in their entirety by reference.
With reference to
With reference to
With reference to
In yet another embodiment, illustrated in
The chains 405 may pass through the columns 102, 103 to tensioning devices 407 which allow the mooring line tensions to be individually adjusted. The tensioning devices 407 can be, for example, chain jacks, windlasses, winches or other tensioning devices that are mounted at the top of, along or inside columns 102, 103. In order to prevent damage from chafing, fairleads or bending shoes 406 can be positioned at the bases of the columns 102, 103 that allow the passage of the mooring lines through the water-entrapment plates 107. After the tension has been properly set, the mooring lines can be locked.
The wind turbine is typically designed to operate over a normal range of wind speeds and directions. The wind blowing against the turbine blades 101 and tower 111 will create a drag force that will tend to cause the floating wind turbine platform 105 to lean away from the wind direction. If the wind is coming from between columns 102 onto column 103, in the direction as shown in
Therefore, a wind turbine platform as described herein can include an internal active ballast system. An example of such a system is described and illustrated with reference to
The controller can also adjust the water volumes in the columns 103 that do not support the turbine tower 111 to adjust the side-to-side angle of the wind turbine. In an embodiment, the columns have sensors 225 that detect the volume of water, represented in
In an embodiment, the active ballast system can be a closed loop system configured to prevent the possible flooding and sinking of the floating wind turbine platform 105 by completely isolating the water in the ballast system from the surrounding seawater. The active ballast system moves the contained water between the columns 102, 103 by electrical water pumps 221 that cause the water to flow through the main beams 115 mounted between each of the columns 102, 103. In such an embodiment, the surrounding sea water is never allowed into the active ballast system. The water in the active ballast system may be fresh water added at quayside before towing, or using a supply boat, to mitigate corrosion problems and other seawater related issues.
In an embodiment, the alignment sensor 127 includes gyroscopes mounted along the X axis and Y axis. The gyroscopes output a signal that represents the angular rate of rotation which can be in units of degrees per second. An integration of the angular rate of rotation will produce an angular position. Thus, the gyroscopes in the alignment sensor 127 can be used to measure variation in the alignment of the platform and tower. The X axis gyroscope is in the horizontal plane and can be aligned with center line of the floating wind turbine platform. The Y axis accelerometer is also in the horizontal plane but perpendicular to the X axis gyroscope. The trim angle θ is the angle to the structure about the Y axis and the list angle φ is the angle of the structure about the X axis. When the structure is perfectly aligned, the X and Y axis gyroscope will not detect any acceleration. However, if the structure leans in any direction, the X axis gyroscope will detect trim rotation and the Y axis gyroscope will detect list rotation. Based upon this information, the angle of rotation can be calculated using known mathematical equations.
With reference to
In
The active ballasting system will also adjust the water in the columns 102, 103 when the wind has shifted. With reference to
The floating wind turbine platforms described herein have different modes of operation based upon the ambient conditions. The platform can be permanently moored using an anchoring system made of a chain jack, chain and wire sections, and an anchor. In such an embodiment, the floating wind turbine platform will not be moved or disconnected from the moorings in case of extreme weather conditions. The main purpose of the floating wind turbine platform is to generate electricity, therefore it can be designed to maximize the amount of time the turbine is operational.
Since existing turbines stop operating at 25 m/s wind speed, it is desirable for the wave-induced motions typical of higher wind speeds not to interfere with this operational limit. That is, with reference to
Generally, there are three separate turbine blade regimes for the wind turbine delineated by the wind speed. In the first regime at wind speeds lower than 12 meters per second, the blades are optimized to maximize electricity production. In the second regime at wind speeds between 12 and 25 meters per second, the blades are actively rotated (pitched) to reduce the loading on the blades and maintain a constant optimal rotational velocity. In the third regime at wind speeds over 25 meters per second, the whole wind turbine is locked down, in a “survival” mode. In the lock down conditions, the turbine blades may be completely stopped and the blade angle is feathered to a minimal drag condition relative to the wind. Because the wind velocity and direction can change very quickly, the third regime may occur very quickly. Thus, the wind turbine must be able to quickly and accurately detect and respond to wind variations.
In addition to high wind shut down procedures, other conditions may trigger an emergency shutdown (ESD) which is intended to preserve the floating wind turbine platform and minimize the loss of equipment. Since the platform is normally unmanned, both automated and remote shut down procedures must be in place. Various system failure or error conditions will trigger the ESD. For example, a failure of the active ballast system can be detected by either a large mean list and or trim angles that do not diminish and/or abnormal power requirement of the pumps. Another system failure can be caused by a water leak in a column. This failure can be detected by a list or trim of the platform towards the leaking column, which cannot be compensated by the functioning active ballast system. The system should also be shut down if the turbine blades are subjected to stresses above a threshold level. This failure can be detected by strain gauges mounted on the blades. Another failure is the inability of the nacelle to rotate the turbine blades into the wind. This can be noted by a discrepancy between the measured wind direction and the nacelle heading. The system can also be shut down when there are power failures or a loss of communication between the floating wind turbine platform and the remote operator.
The wind turbine platforms described herein are designed to be economically fabricated, installed and commissioned/decommissioned. For example, in order to minimize construction costs, the structure can be designed to minimize welding at the assembly yard by providing large pre-assembled cylindrical sections of the columns, which can efficiently by fabricated in a workshop using automatic welding machines. The fabrication can be completed in the vicinity of a waterway that is deep enough to allow for the floating wind turbine platform to be towed. The tower, nacelle and turbine can be installed at quayside at a facility having a large crane. By installing all components at quayside, there is less cost and less risk of damage compared to placing the tower and turbine onto a floating platform in open water.
With reference to
With reference to
The transit route from the fabrication site to the installation site should be as short as possible. Thus, the location of the fabrication site can be project specific. This is especially important when a large offshore wind farm comprising multiple floating wind turbine units is being constructed and each hull has to be towed a long distance to the wind farm site. The selection of a suitable installation vessel is also fundamental to the wind farm project economics. The vessel used to tow the wind turbine should also be able to perform mooring installation and maintenance operations.
The quayside assembly has many advantages over systems that require assembly at the installation site. More specifically, fixed offshore wind foundations that are attached directly to sea floor require the turbine structure to be installed and maintained at the offshore installation site, which can be difficult and costly. Because it is very costly to disassemble, substantially all repairs must be done at the offshore installation site. In contrast, the floating platform configuration only requires deploying and connecting the mooring lines to the platform 105. In the case of an unexpected failure of the wind turbine, the installation sequence can be reversed, and the platform 105 towed back to a port for repairs.
The floating wind turbine platform also simplifies the offshore commissioning phase. The mooring system needs to be pre-laid and ready to be connected when the floating wind turbine platform is towed to the site. The wind turbine can be moored by an anchor-handling vessel. The mooring procedures can include recovering the messenger lines attached to the mooring lines from the platform and pulling in the chain section of the mooring line. The connection of the chain to the wire section of the line can be done above the water. The tensioning of the mooring lines can be done from the platform with chain jacks. Since the turbine is already installed, the procedure involved to start up the wind turbine is also much simpler and less expensive than a wind turbine that requires assembly on site.
Because the floating wind turbine platform is a dynamically moving structure, it is important to minimize the load forces applied to the power cables connecting the electrical generators to the power station. Once the floating wind turbine platform is properly moored, the prior-installed shore power cable can be connected to the floating wind turbine platform. With reference to
In an embodiment, a plurality of floating wind turbines platforms can be arranged in an array. With reference to
In order to minimize the electrical power cables used by the floating wind turbine platforms 105, a first cable 341 couples the floating wind turbine platforms 105 in the first row 329, a second cable 343 couples the floating wind turbine platforms 105 in the second row 331 and a third cable 345 couples the floating wind turbine platforms 105 in the third row. The three cables 341, 343, 345 are then connected to a fourth cable 347 that transfers all of the electrical power to a power station 351, which distributes the electrical power as necessary. In an embodiment, one of the platforms 349 can be used as a power distribution unit and provide for crew and maintenance quarters. This can provide a safe sheltered area where workers can live temporarily and be protected from severe ambient weather conditions.
In another embodiment, individual cables from each turbine are coupled to a junction box on the seabed. There can be a certain number of connections per junction box. Larger cables from all the connection boxes are coupled to a main hub, which is connected to shore using a single power line. Redundant cables in case of failure can be added to the power grid infrastructure.
In certain, specific embodiments, a difference between the wind turbine platforms described herein and those known in the art is the asymmetric configuration of the turbine tower that is mounted directly over one of the columns. This configuration keeps the majority of the wind turbine mass at the outer edges of the structure rather at the center of the structure. For example, the “Force Technology WindSea” floating wind turbine structure illustrated in
A single tower mounted over one of the columns in the wind turbine platforms described herein leads to asymmetric loading of the platform, as the dominant force contribution, which in most conditions will come from the wind turbine, is applied to the corresponding column, as opposed to near the center of mass of the platform. An asymmetric mooring system can be used with these asymmetrically loaded platforms, wherein the number of mooring lines connected to the column with the tower is substantially larger than the number of lines connected to the other columns.
As wind turbine technology improves, the size of the wind turbine has increased. In one embodiment, a wind turbine platform as described herein is intended to support a 400 foot diameter wind turbine rotor that drives a 5 mega watt electrical generator. The estimated component weights for this wind turbine are listed below in Table 1.
The estimated sizes of the components of a wind turbine platform supporting a 5 mega watt electrical generator are listed below in Table 2. In other embodiments, the weights and sizes of the floating wind turbine platform components can be substantially different than the values listed in Tables 1 and 2.
It will be understood that the inventive system has been described with reference to particular embodiments; however additions, deletions and changes could be made to these embodiments without departing from the scope of the inventive system. For example, the same processes described can also be applied to other devices. Although the systems that have been described include various components, it is well understood that these components and the described configuration can be modified and rearranged in various other configurations.
This patent application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/218,805, filed on Mar. 18, 2014 now U.S. Pat. No. 9,139,266, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/925,442, filed Jun. 24, 2013, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,692,401, on Apr. 8, 2014, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/988,121, filed Oct. 15, 2010, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,471,396, on Jun. 25, 2013, which is a national stage application of PCT Patent Application No. PCT/US2009/039692, filed Apr. 6, 2009, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/125,241, titled “Column-Stabilized Offshore Platform With Water-Entrapment Plates And Asymmetric Mooring System For Support Of Offshore Wind Turbines” filed Apr. 23, 2008, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3835800 | Lloyd, III et al. | Sep 1974 | A |
| 4166426 | Lloyd, III | Sep 1979 | A |
| 4167147 | Bergman | Sep 1979 | A |
| 4538939 | Johnson | Sep 1985 | A |
| 4648848 | Busch | Mar 1987 | A |
| 4781023 | Gordon | Nov 1988 | A |
| 6558215 | Boatman | May 2003 | B1 |
| 7086809 | Busso | Aug 2006 | B2 |
| 7156037 | Borgen | Jan 2007 | B2 |
| 7242107 | Dempster | Jul 2007 | B1 |
| 7281881 | Cermelli et al. | Oct 2007 | B1 |
| 7531910 | Flottemesch | May 2009 | B2 |
| 8053916 | Edwards et al. | Nov 2011 | B2 |
| 8129852 | Edwards et al. | Mar 2012 | B2 |
| 8729723 | Boureau et al. | May 2014 | B2 |
| 9139266 | Roddier | Sep 2015 | B2 |
| 20030159638 | Lay et al. | Aug 2003 | A1 |
| 20040141812 | Busso | Jul 2004 | A1 |
| 20060165493 | Nim | Jul 2006 | A1 |
| 20070240624 | Collee et al. | Oct 2007 | A1 |
| 20080014025 | They | Jan 2008 | A1 |
| 20080038067 | Sharapov | Feb 2008 | A1 |
| 20100140944 | Gardiner et al. | Jun 2010 | A1 |
| 20110074155 | Scholte-Wassink | Mar 2011 | A1 |
| 20110140426 | Garcia Lopez et al. | Jun 2011 | A1 |
| 20110148115 | Roznitsky et al. | Jun 2011 | A1 |
| 20120073487 | Pantaleon et al. | Mar 2012 | A1 |
| 20120269628 | Liu | Oct 2012 | A1 |
| 20120294681 | Wong | Nov 2012 | A1 |
| 20130099496 | Solheim | Apr 2013 | A1 |
| 20140193259 | Borgen | Jul 2014 | A1 |
| 20140246232 | Wyatt | Sep 2014 | A1 |
| 20150147174 | Couchman et al. | May 2015 | A1 |
| 20150275850 | Numajiri | Oct 2015 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 996764 | Sep 1976 | CA |
| 9620906 | Mar 1998 | DE |
| 19802574 | Mar 1999 | DE |
| 20001864 | Apr 2000 | DE |
| 19955586 | Jun 2001 | DE |
| 20020232 | Jan 2002 | DE |
| 202014004373 | Jun 2014 | DE |
| 1363019 | Nov 2003 | EP |
| 2143629 | Jan 2010 | EP |
| 2074018 | May 2010 | EP |
| 1988039500 | Feb 1988 | JP |
| 1991235789 | Oct 1991 | JP |
| 1992197887 | Jul 1992 | JP |
| 1994158571 | Jun 1994 | JP |
| 2000203487 | Jul 2000 | JP |
| 2001180584 | Jul 2001 | JP |
| 2003343447 | Dec 2003 | JP |
| 2008013101 | Jan 2004 | JP |
| 2004175137 | Jun 2004 | JP |
| 2004176626 | Jun 2004 | JP |
| 2004218436 | Aug 2004 | JP |
| 2004251139 | Sep 2004 | JP |
| 2004526609 | Sep 2004 | JP |
| 2005504205 | Feb 2005 | JP |
| 2005069025 | Mar 2005 | JP |
| 2005271673 | Oct 2005 | JP |
| 2006274816 | Oct 2006 | JP |
| 2007002721 | Jan 2007 | JP |
| 2007263077 | Oct 2007 | JP |
| 2008095512 | Apr 2008 | JP |
| 2010064649 | Mar 2010 | JP |
| 2010115978 | May 2010 | JP |
| 2010234980 | Oct 2010 | JP |
| 2009213487 | Dec 2011 | JP |
| 2012045981 | Mar 2012 | JP |
| 2012107584 | Jun 2012 | JP |
| 2002188557 | Jul 2012 | JP |
| 2014061848 | Apr 2014 | JP |
| 2014111924 | Jun 2014 | JP |
| 2014218186 | Nov 2014 | JP |
| 2014218958 | Nov 2014 | JP |
| 2015006884 | Jan 2015 | JP |
| 8505174 | Nov 1985 | WO |
| 0134977 | May 2001 | WO |
| 0228702 | Apr 2002 | WO |
| 02087959 | Nov 2002 | WO |
| 2007071647 | Jun 2007 | WO |
| 2011138824 | Nov 2011 | WO |
| 2011147482 | Dec 2011 | WO |
| 2012059381 | May 2012 | WO |
| 2013156759 | Oct 2013 | WO |
| 2005075822 | Aug 2015 | WO |
| Entry |
|---|
| Supplementary European Search Report, European Application No. 09734886 completed Jan. 23, 2013, pp. 1-4. |
| European Search Report for Appln. No. 14152768.9 dated Mar. 27, 2014. |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20150367918 A1 | Dec 2015 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61125241 | Apr 2008 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 14218805 | Mar 2014 | US |
| Child | 14841673 | US | |
| Parent | 13925442 | Jun 2013 | US |
| Child | 14218805 | US | |
| Parent | 12988121 | US | |
| Child | 13925442 | US |
