Classifications

• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E04—BUILDING
  • E04H—BUILDINGS OR LIKE STRUCTURES FOR PARTICULAR PURPOSES; SWIMMING OR SPLASH BATHS OR POOLS; MASTS; FENCING; TENTS OR CANOPIES, IN GENERAL
  • E04H12/00—Towers; Masts or poles; Chimney stacks; Water-towers; Methods of erecting such structures
  • E04H12/34—Arrangements for erecting or lowering towers, masts, poles, chimney stacks, or the like
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E04—BUILDING
  • E04H—BUILDINGS OR LIKE STRUCTURES FOR PARTICULAR PURPOSES; SWIMMING OR SPLASH BATHS OR POOLS; MASTS; FENCING; TENTS OR CANOPIES, IN GENERAL
  • E04H12/00—Towers; Masts or poles; Chimney stacks; Water-towers; Methods of erecting such structures
  • E04H12/18—Towers; Masts or poles; Chimney stacks; Water-towers; Methods of erecting such structures movable or with movable sections, e.g. rotatable or telescopic
  • E04H12/187—Towers; Masts or poles; Chimney stacks; Water-towers; Methods of erecting such structures movable or with movable sections, e.g. rotatable or telescopic with hinged sections
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F03—MACHINES OR ENGINES FOR LIQUIDS; WIND, SPRING, OR WEIGHT MOTORS; PRODUCING MECHANICAL POWER OR A REACTIVE PROPULSIVE THRUST, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • F03D—WIND MOTORS
  • F03D13/00—Assembly, mounting or commissioning of wind motors; Arrangements specially adapted for transporting wind motor components
  • F03D13/10—Assembly of wind motors; Arrangements for erecting wind motors
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F05—INDEXING SCHEMES RELATING TO ENGINES OR PUMPS IN VARIOUS SUBCLASSES OF CLASSES F01-F04
  • F05B—INDEXING SCHEME RELATING TO WIND, SPRING, WEIGHT, INERTIA OR LIKE MOTORS, TO MACHINES OR ENGINES FOR LIQUIDS COVERED BY SUBCLASSES F03B, F03D AND F03G
  • F05B2240/00—Components
  • F05B2240/90—Mounting on supporting structures or systems
  • F05B2240/91—Mounting on supporting structures or systems on a stationary structure
  • F05B2240/915—Mounting on supporting structures or systems on a stationary structure which is vertically adjustable
  • F05B2240/9152—Mounting on supporting structures or systems on a stationary structure which is vertically adjustable by being hinged
  • F05B2240/91521—Mounting on supporting structures or systems on a stationary structure which is vertically adjustable by being hinged at ground level
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
  • Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
  • Y02E10/00—Energy generation through renewable energy sources
  • Y02E10/70—Wind energy
  • Y02E10/72—Wind turbines with rotation axis in wind direction
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
  • Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
  • Y02E10/00—Energy generation through renewable energy sources
  • Y02E10/70—Wind energy
  • Y02E10/728—Onshore wind turbines

Definitions

• Wind turbine with a folding mast and method of using such a wind turbine Wind turbine with a folding mast and method of using such a wind turbine.
• the present invention relates to wind turbines with a folding mast and methods of using such machines.
• the invention relates to a wind turbine comprising: a support mast extending between a lower end connected to the ground by a hinge and an upper end, said support mast being pivotally mounted about its articulation between a substantially vertical raised position and a substantially horizontal folded position, a rotatably mounted rotor at the upper end of the support mast, said rotor carrying a helix, at least a first ground-hinged mast, a mechanical link between said first mast and the mast support means, - at least one hoisting rope connecting said first hoisting mast to a fixed point linked to the ground, said hoisting rope having a certain free length between said fixed point and the first hoisting mast, and a first maneuvering device adapted to vary said free length of the lifting cable so as to selectively fold down and raise the mast upport between the raised position and the folded position.
• Document FR-A-2 823 784 describes a wind turbine of this type, comprising a single lifting mat mounted at right angles to the support mast.
• This wind turbine has the particular disadvantage that the lifting mast is in a substantially vertical position when the support mast is folded, thus creating a visual and sound pollution.
• a wind turbine of the type in question is characterized in that the first lift mast is mounted to pivot freely relative to the ground independently of the support mast and is adapted to fall substantially horizontally when said support mat is itself folded down, said mechanical connection being deformable (it can be a flexible connection, one or more rods or telescopic beams, etc.), and in that said wind turbine further comprises folding means adapted to move the support mast from the raised position to the folded position.
• the first lifting mast is adapted to be folded down substantially along the support mast when said support mast is itself folded; the first lift mast is adapted to fall back substantially 180 degrees from the support mast when said support mast is itself folded down; said mechanical connection between the first lift mast and the support mast is a flexible link (cable, chain, etc., comprising one or more strands);
• the wind turbine comprises at least a second lifting mast hinged to the ground and said mechanical link comprises a first deformable link between the first lifting mast and the second lifting mast, and a second deformable link between the second lifting mast and the mast of support (one or more additional washing masts, also articulated on the ground, can be provided between the first and second lifting masts, in which case the first deformable link comprises several parts connecting this or these intermediate lifting rods (s) together and the first and second lifting masts); the machine also
• each lifting mast when in the retracted position, is folded substantially horizontally in the same position as when the support mast is in the folded position;
• the rotor is rotatably mounted on a nacelle about a substantially horizontal axis of rotation, said nacelle being pivotally mounted about a substantially vertical axis at the upper end of the support mast, said mechanical link being connected to a point of rotation; fixed attachment of the support mast and disposed at the height of the propeller, and the pivoting of the nacelle being limited so that the propeller does not interfere with said mechanical connection;
• the folding means comprise at least one jack adapted to angularly move the support mast from its raised position to an inclined intermediate position where said support mast tends to fall under its own weight by pivoting about its articulation (this or these cylinder (s) can thus control the angular displacements of the support mast in the vicinity of its raised position, in the direction of folding and / or in the direction of the raising) (these provisions could if necessary be used independently of any other provision described in this patent application); the folding means comprise a traction cable controlled by a winch, to pull the support mast, to its folded position (these provisions could if necessary be used independently of any other provision described in this patent application); the wind turbine comprises at least one support device on which the propeller bears when the support mast is in the folded position.
• the subject of the invention is also a method of using a wind turbine as defined above, in which process the support mast is folded down after a period of use when said support mast is in raised position.
• one or more of the following provisions may also be used: the or each lifting mast is folded substantially horizontally when said support mast is in the folded and retracted position when said support mast is in the raised position where each lifting mast is folded substantially along the support mast when said support mast is itself folded down; the or each lift mast is folded substantially 180 degrees from the support mast when said support mast is folded down; the or each lifting mast is retracted along the support mast when said support mast is in the raised position; when the support mast is in the raised position, the or each lifting mast is retracted substantially horizontally and is then in the same position as when the support mast is in the folded position.
• FIG. 4 is an elevational view of the wind turbine of FIG. 1, being folded, and
• FIG. 5 is an elevational view of the wind turbine of FIG. 1, with its support mast and its lifting masts folded.
• the invention relates to a wind turbine comprising: a support mast 1 extending between a lower end connected to the self and an upper end, a nacelle 2 pivotally mounted to the upper end of the support pole 1 around a vertical axis Z1, the nacelle 2 containing in particular an alternator, a rotor 3 rotatably mounted about a substantially horizontal axis R and carried by the nacelle 2, the rotor 3 carrying a helix 4 has several pale adapted to operate the alternator contained in the nacelle 2.
• the support mast 1 can extend over a height of about 100 m and weigh about fifty tons, while the assembly consisting of the nacelle 2, the rotor and the propeller 4 can also weigh about fifty tons.
• the diameter of the support mast 1, at its base, can be of the order of 3 to 4 m.
• the lower end of the support mast 1 is connected by a hinge 5 to a base 6 attached to the self, so that the support mast 1 can pivot about a horizontal axis Y1, in a perpendicular pivot plane X, Z this axis Yl.
• the support mast 1 is thus movable between the substantially vertical raised position, visible in Figure 1, and a substantially horizontal folded position, visible in Figure 5.
• the folding of the support mast 1 is made possible by the presence of at least one first lifting mast 7, clearly visible in Figure 1, whose lower end is hinged to the ground about a horizontal axis of parallel rotation Y2 to the axis Yl, and whose upper end is connected to: an attachment point 8 secured to the support mast 1 by a deformable mechanical connection 9, and at a fixing point 10 connected to the ground by at least one cable lifting 11.
• the first hoist mast 7 may for example be in the form of a braced goat, comprising two main uprights which are separated at the lower end of the hoist mast and which meet at the upper end of the hoist mast.
• the height of the first lifting pole 7 may be a few tens of meters, for example between 25 and 60 m.
• the fixed point 10 may comprise, for example, a pulley 12 connected to the self, the upper end of the first lifting mast 7 itself comprising a similar pulley 13 and the lifting cable 11 then preferably comprising several strands wound around the pulleys 12, 13.
• the hoisting rope 11 is extended by a strand 14 wound on a winch 15 which constitutes a first operating device adapted to vary the free length of the cable 11 between said fixed point 10 and the hoist mast 7 , so as to selectively fold down and raise the support mast 1.
• the wind turbine further comprises a second lifting mast 16 similar to the first lifting mast 7, which is interposed between the first lifting mast 7 and the support mast 1.
• the lower end of the second lifting mast 16 is hinged to the ground so as to be pivotable about a horizontal axis Y3 parallel to the aforementioned axes Y1, Y2, while the upper end of the second lifting mast 16 and secured to the deformable mechanical connection 9 mentioned above.
• Said deformable mechanical link 9 here comprises a first deformable mechanical link 17 which connects the upper ends of the first and second lifting masts 7, 16 and a second deformable mechanical link 18 which connects the upper end of the second lifting mast 16 to the point of fixing 8 above mentioned on the support mast 1.
• the first and second deformable mechanical links 17, 18 are constituted by flexible cables or bundles of cables, but said mechanical connections could also be constituted by chains, beams or telescopic rods, or others.
• additional lifting arms could possibly be interposed between the first and second lifting arm, the lower ends of these additional lifting arms then being hinged to the ground about pivot axes parallel to the axes Y2, Y3 and the upper ends of these additional lifting arms being secured with different points of length of the first deformable mechanical link 17.
• the pivot axes Y2, Y3 are arranged behind the support mat 1 relative to the direction of folding of said support mast and these axes are separated from one another.
• the axes Y2, Y3 could, if appropriate, be confused or even coincide with the axis Y1.
• one and / or the other of the axes Y2, Y3 could, if appropriate, be placed in front of the support mast 1 in the direction of folding of said support mast, the lifting mast (s) being then designed to able to pivot freely on either side of the support mast 1 with their upper end located behind the support mast 1 in the direction of folding of said support mast.
• the wind turbine also comprises at least one second maneuvering device, in this case two operating devices Vl, V2 consisting of two jacks adapted to push the lifting masts 7, 16, forward to beyond their vertical position, so that said lifting masts 7, 16 can retract by coming to rest along the support mast 1 when said support mast is in position raised and that the wind turbine is in use, as shown in Figure 3.
• two operating devices Vl, V2 consisting of two jacks adapted to push the lifting masts 7, 16, forward to beyond their vertical position, so that said lifting masts 7, 16 can retract by coming to rest along the support mast 1 when said support mast is in position raised and that the wind turbine is in use, as shown in Figure 3.
• the support mast 1 further comprises an internal jack V3 which is mounted for example on the base 6 and which is adapted to push under a bearing surface 19 secured to the lower end of the support pole 1 (FIG. 3). to move angularly The support mast between its raised position and an inclined intermediate position where said support mast tends to fall under its own weight by pivoting about its articulation 5.
• an internal jack V3 which is mounted for example on the base 6 and which is adapted to push under a bearing surface 19 secured to the lower end of the support pole 1 (FIG. 3). to move angularly The support mast between its raised position and an inclined intermediate position where said support mast tends to fall under its own weight by pivoting about its articulation 5.
• the wind turbine further comprises a traction cable 20, one end of which is connected to an attachment point 21 integral with the support mast 1 and the other end of which is wound on a winch 22.
• the traction cable 20, when it is tensioned by the winch 22, also makes it possible to cause the folding of the support mast 1, including when the wind turbine is subjected to a strong wind opposing the folding of the support mast 1.
• the traction cable 20 may possibly be retracted when the wind turbine is in operation.
• the traction cable 20 can be fixed to the support mast 20 in a removable manner, and be hooked and unhooked by means of a pole adapted to bring the upper end of the traction cable to its attachment point. on the support mast.
• the above-mentioned attachment point 21 is disposed below the lower level of the propeller 4.
• the above-mentioned attachment point 8, on the other hand, may, if necessary, be situated above the lower level of the propeller 4, in which case the pivoting of the nacelle 2 is limited so that the propeller 4 does not interfere with the mechanical links 17, 18, and the lifting masts 7, 16.
• control station 23 located near the wind turbine or remote.
• the control station 23 may comprise, for example, a microcomputer 24 or the like, provided with usual interfaces such as a screen 25, a keyboard 26 and the like, and controlling for example an automaton 27 (A) which it itself controls the motor Ml of the winch 15, the motor M2 of the winch 22 and the cylinders Vl, V2, V3.
• automaton 27 A
• the control station 23 can also receive information from different sensors (not shown) and also control the generation of electricity by the alternator included in the nacelle 2.
• the device that has just been described operates as follows.
• the cables 17, 18 may optionally be left free, as shown in Figure 3, but said cables 17, 18, could if necessary be then wound on auxiliary winches
• the lifting masts I 1 16 are all first reset in the position shown in Figure 1, by retracting the cylinders Vl, V2 and operating the winch 15 so as to tension the hoisting rope 11.
• the internal jack V3 of the support mat 1 is actuated so as to start to pivot the support mast 1 forwards, at the same time as the winch 15 progressively unrolls the lifting cable. 11.
• the winch 22 can also be actuated so as to tension the traction cable 20.
• the support mast 1 is sufficiently inclined forwards, it tends to pivot around the articulation S under the effect of its own weight, and is retained solely by the lifting cable 11 and the deformable mechanical connection 9 .
• the winch 15 progressively pulls the hoisting rope 11 until the support mast 1 arrives in the folded position, substantially horizontally, as shown in FIG. 5.
• the propeller 4 previously oriented by means of the nacelle 2 so as to be in a plane containing a Y axis perpendicular to the aforementioned X, Z plane, may end up in support of a shape 24 dug in the ground, and the Support mast 1 may for example rest on a cradle 25 provided for this purpose.
• the form 24 may be constituted by one or more solid concrete (s) buried (s) or not, and / or comprise support rollers for the blades of the propeller.
• the shape 24 could simply consist of support pads for the blades and / or the hub of the propeller 4.
• the lifting posts 7, 16 could, if necessary, be folded to the ground towards the rear (that is to say opposite the support mast 1) when the support mast is in the raised position.
• the second mechanical link 18 could be designed to be easily removable and removable at the attachment point 8 on the support mast, and the cylinders Vl, V2 could be replaced by pivoting cylinders for controlling the folding of the lifting masts 7, 16 rearwardly to the horizontal (Such pivoting cylinders may also be used in all embodiments of the invention).

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Architecture (AREA)
• Civil Engineering (AREA)
• Structural Engineering (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Sustainable Development (AREA)
• Sustainable Energy (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Wind Motors (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

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• 2007
  • 2007-02-12 FR FR0700974A patent/FR2912450B1/fr not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 2008
  • 2008-02-11 WO PCT/FR2008/050203 patent/WO2008099129A2/fr not_active Ceased
  • 2008-02-11 EP EP08762056A patent/EP2126346A2/de not_active Withdrawn

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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