ES2710182T3 - Method of manufacturing a wind turbine tower structure - Google Patents

Abstract

A method of manufacturing a wind turbine tubular tower structure, comprising the steps of: providing a plurality of tubular tower structure subsections in a mobile wind turbine tower structure production center (200); wherein said step of providing the plurality of tubular tower structure subsections comprises manufacturing the tubular subsections at the mobile production center (200); and welding said plurality of tubular subsections (222a, 222b) to form said tubular wind turbine tower structure.

Description

DESCRIPTION

Method of manufacturing a wind turbine tower structure

Technical field

The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a tower structure for a wind turbine, and to a center for the production of wind turbine tower structures.

Background of the invention

Traditionally, in the construction of wind turbines, steel tower sections are produced in a factory, and each complete tower section is transported to the location where the wind turbine is to be deployed. A plurality of tower sections can then be assembled one above the other to form a wind turbine tower. A growing demand for wind turbines with greater capacity, for land and marine deployment sites, generates a need for wind turbine towers with greater structural strength than the towers that are currently in use.

For tubular wind turbine towers, said higher structural strength can be achieved by increasing the wall thickness and / or the diameter of the tower. This makes it difficult to transport the tower sections, especially for the tubular base sections of the wind turbine tower, since the tower sections tend to become very heavy, due to the increased wall thickness, or to have a diameter higher than the physical limit imposed by the infrastructure, for example, the space under a bridge or in a tunnel.

The problem of transport is addressed, for example, in WO 02/38952 A2, which discloses the welding of tower rings between themselves at the site of the tower.

In addition, in order to overcome the transportation problem, US 2006/0272244 discloses a method where the wider sections of a windmill can be divided along vertical lines, whereby the resulting cover segments can be extended. along with a suitable load weight for transport. Accordingly, US 2006/0272244 discloses a solution to the transport problem that seems very suitable, in particular in the event that a wind turbine or a few are deployed at a location. However, it would be convenient to have a more rational way of providing the towers, especially when a greater number of wind turbines will be deployed.

Summary of the invention

In view of the foregoing, an object of the invention is to solve or at least reduce at least one of the problems discussed above. In particular, one object is to provide a more rational way of providing the towers when a larger number of wind turbines is to be deployed.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a wind turbine tower structure, comprising the steps of: providing a plurality of subsections of tubular tower structure in a tower structures production center of mobile wind turbines; and welding the plurality of tubular subsections together to form the wind turbine tower structure.

It should be understood that the term "wind turbine tower structure", in the context of the present application, includes various tower structures that can be used to support the rotor and blades of a wind turbine, such as, an entire tower, a tubular support structure used to anchor the wind turbine (said tower structure is often referred to as "monopilar"), or a whole "one piece" wind turbine tower.

The present invention is based on the understanding that the deployment of wind turbines with large diameter tubular tower structures can be rationalized by providing a center for the manufacture of tower structures in a location that does not need more road transport to provide the structures of Towers to the deployment site, which may be a marine deployment site or a land deployment site.

By the present invention, rational production of the towers can be achieved while facilitating at least the road transport of material for the tower structures.

By welding the tubular subsections, the amount of labor required can be reduced, which allows a cost-effective manufacture of the tower structures, as compared to the on-site assembly according to the prior art.

In addition, the tubular subsections provided in the production center of mobile tower structures can advantageously be transported to the center vertically on a suitable vehicle, such as a road transport trailer.

By "vertically" it should be understood that the base of the tubular subsection is oriented towards the vehicle chassis when transport takes place.

For road transport in general, the size of the articles that can be transported is usually limited by the total height of the loaded vehicle (due to the tunnels, etc.). By transporting the tubular subsections vertically and selecting the height of the tubular subsections depending on the properties of the route from the factory to the mobile center, subsections of greater diameter can be transported than if the subsections had been transported horizontally.

In addition, when all wind turbine tower structures have been completed for a particular site, the mobile production center can be moved to another location. The mobile production center thus provides a flexible manufacturing center that can be located where more manufacturing capacity is needed. This can be a very advantageous feature, since the location of wind turbines can often have political motivations and / or be subject to changes during the planning stage.

The tubular subsections can be cylindrical or tapered.

The step of providing the tubular subsections may comprise, for each tubular subsection, providing a steel plate; rolling the steel plate in a laminator to bend the steel plate in such a way that two ends of the steel plate are facing each other; and welding the two ends of the steel plate facing each other, thus forming the tubular subsection.

By manufacturing the tubular subsections in the mobile production center, any road transport of raw material to the mobile production center can be facilitated. In particular, road transport of steel sheets requires fewer vehicles and less complicated route planning than road transport of tubular subsections. In addition, higher tubular subsections can be formed, which can further rationalize the production of the base section (and of the other sections of the tower).

Also, the steel sheets can be selected to have a standard width, such as 3 meters, which means that they can be supplied practically by any supplier of steel sheets. By the present invention, the production of tower structures can be made independent of the presence of a permanent tower structure factory. This feature of the present embodiment of the invention can remarkably improve the availability and efficiency of the production of wind turbine tower structures, especially for deployment sites remote from a factory of permanent tower structures. In addition, the step of welding the plurality of tubular subsections may comprise the steps of: arranging an upper end of a first tubular subsection adjacent a base end of a second tubular subsection; and providing a circumferential weld seam between the first and second tubular subsections.

It may also be advantageous to introduce assemblies in the wind turbine tower structure before it is moved from the mobile production center to the deployment site, thereby reducing the work required at the deployment site. To facilitate the transport of finished wind turbine tower structures, the method according to the present invention may also comprise the step of arranging the tower structure on a part of the mobile production center that is accessible from outside the center to allow the transport of the tower structure to its deployment site.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a mobile production center for wind turbine tower structures comprising a first welding unit for welding a plurality of tubular subsections together to form a tubular wind turbine tower structure.

The first welding unit may advantageously comprise a supporting structure for supporting a first and a second tubular subsection such that an upper end of the first tubular subsection is oriented towards a base end of the second tubular subsection; and a welding arrangement for providing a circumferential weld seam that connects the upper end of the first tubular subsection and the base end of the second tubular subsection.

Additionally, the mobile tower production center may comprise: a laminator; a second set of welding units; and / or a post for surface treatment.

The mobile tower production center according to the present invention can be provided as a terrestrial center or as a floating center in view of the particular circumstances for a given assembly at a deployment site. For a deployment site for marine wind turbines or turbines In the case of land-based wind turbines near a suitable mooring site, a mobile floating wind turbine tower production center may be preferred, while a land mobile wind turbine tower production center may be the choice for a deployment site that is away from a suitable mooring site and / or near a permanent tower structure production center. A center of production of movable floating wind tower structures, which can advantageously be provided in the form of a barge or self-propelled vessel, can be especially suitable for handling all tower production (from the steel plate to the finished tower structure) to the inherent capacity of a floating center to be able to support the laminator, usually of great weight, necessary for said production flow.

On the one hand, a center for the production of land mobile wind turbine structures, which can advantageously include one or more trailers, can be deployed in an even greater number of locations, independently of the presence of a suitable mooring site.

According to an embodiment of the movable floating wind turbine tower production center mentioned above, it can advantageously comprise a cabin for the workers, so that the location of the center becomes practically independent of whether there is a ground center nearby or not. .

Other objects, features and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed disclosure, from the attached dependent claims and the drawings.

Brief description of the drawings

The foregoing, as well as additional objects, features and advantages of the present invention, will be better understood by the following illustrative and non-limiting description of preferred embodiments of the present invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein the same reference numbers will be used. for similar elements, where:

Figure 1 illustrates schematically an exemplary marine wind turbine location;

Figure 2 schematically illustrates an embodiment of a mobile floating tower turbine tower production center;

Figure 3 is a flow chart schematically illustrating an embodiment of the method according to the invention of manufacturing a wind turbine tower structure in the center of Figure 2;

Figure 4 illustrates schematically an embodiment of a center of production of structures of turbine towers of mobile land-based turbines; Y

Figure 5 is a flow chart schematically illustrating an embodiment of the method according to the invention of manufacturing a wind turbine tower structure in the center of Figure 4.

Detailed description of preferred embodiments

Figure 1 schematically illustrates a marine wind turbine site 100 comprising a plurality of wind turbines 102. Each wind turbine 102 comprises a rotor 104 provided with a set of paddles 106. The rotor is disposed above a wind turbine tower 107 over a foundation (not shown) fixed to the bottom of the sea. The foundation can be provided, for example, in the form of another tower structure (a so-called "monopilar"). As the wind blows, the blades 106 rotate the rotor 104. The rotor 104 drives a generator (arranged in a housing 108) thus generating energy. Figure 2 schematically illustrates a production center 200 of movable floating wind turbine tower structures, which in this case is a barge having an open storage cover 201 and a production cover 202 with manufacturing centers located under the cover Storage 201 open.

The manufacturing center in this case includes a rolling mill 204, welding units 206 for forming tubular subsections, welding units 208 for joining a plurality of tubular subsections to form a tubular tower structure (in the present case illustrated tubular tower sections with in order to assemble to form the finished tower at the deployment site), and a location for the treatment of the surface 210. In addition, a set of cranes 212 is provided for moving articles between the units. Although not explicitly illustrated in Figure 2, the production center 200 may also include arrangements for attaching connectors, such as tabs, to the tower sections to allow final assembly at the deployment site.

Usually, said connectors are welded to the tower sections in the same welding units 208 used to join the tubular subsections.

A cargo hatch 214 is provided in the cover 201, to allow moving a finished tower section from the production deck 202 to an area above the deck 201. The mobile floating production center also it can include a booth for workers 214.

While a new set of wind turbines is to be deployed at a marine wind turbine site (or a land site), the barge can be towed to a nearby port to allow local manufacture of at least the sections of the wind turbine tower not suitable for road transport.

In the following, an embodiment of the method according to the invention for manufacturing a wind turbine tower structure will be described with reference to Figure 2 and Figure 3.

First, in step 301, steel plates 216 are provided to the production center 200 of mobile floating towers, for example, by road transport. The steel plates are then loaded into the production center located under the cover.

In step 302, a steel plate 216 is provided to the laminator 204. The laminator 204 rolls up the steel plate 216 and produces a rolled steel plate 218 with a curvature of substantially 360 °.

The rolled steel plate 218 is then translated by one of the cranes 212 to a welding unit, where, in step 303, a longitudinal weld seam 220 is provided to form a tubular subsection.

The tubular subsection is then transferred to another welding unit by one of the cranes 212 where, in step 304, a plurality of tubular subsections are welded to form a tubular tower structure 224 in the following manner. This can be achieved by arranging a first 222a and a second 222b tubular subsection end to end. The support structure 226 is usually configured to allow the synchronous rotation of the first and second subsections. Accordingly, a circumferential weld seam can be provided by welding the first 222a and the second 222b tubular subsection.

Then additional tubular subsections can be added (one by one) and welded to the tubular subsection fixed for the last time until a complete tower structure is achieved. In this case, nine tubular subsections form a tower section. However, it is recognized that the number of tubular subsections forming a tower structure can vary depending on the type of tower structure and the properties of the wind turbine. Subsequently, the complete tubular tower structure 224 is moved to the post for the treatment of the surface 210, where, in step 305, it is painted to provide protection against corrosion. However, other types of surface treatment are also possible.

The entire tubular tower structure can then be moved to an area on the open storage deck 201 where, in step 306, any necessary assembly can be introduced into the tower section. This can typically include a stair section, work platform, lighting, and cable elements. This type of assemblies is usually called "internal".

Finally, in step 307, the tubular tower structure can be loaded onto a ship for transport to the marine wind turbine site.

If the entire wind turbine tower is assembled on site from tower sections, the upper sections can be manufactured in a conventional factory because the smaller size and the smaller weight of said sections can allow conventional road transport. However, it is recognized that the upper sections can also be manufactured in the mobile floating production center.

It should also be noted that a complete tower can be manufactured in the mobile floating production center 200 and transported to the deployment site in one piece. This method can be especially advantageous for a marine deployment site.

After having described an exemplary embodiment of a mobile floating wind turbine tower production center and a suitable manufacturing method for said center with reference to Figures 2 and 3, an exemplary embodiment of a production center will be described below. of mobile terrestrial eolic turbine towers structures and, therefore, a suitable manufacturing method will be described with reference to Figures 4 and 5.

Figure 4 schematically illustrates a production center 400 of mobile land-based wind turbine tower structures comprising a work platform 401, formed in this case by two trailers 402a-b which have been transported to a location near the deployment site of wind turbines and arranged end-to-end as illustrated in Figure 4. As will be understood by the person skilled in the art, the work platform 401 can be formed by trailers arranged with a different signature than that illustrated in Figure 4, and / or using other specialized material that has been transported to the location.

On the work platform 401, a welding unit 403 and support structures 404a-b are provided for joining a plurality of tubular subsections 405 (only one of them has been indicated here with a reference number) to form a tower structure tubular 406 (in the case currently illustrated, tubular tower sections for the purpose of assembling to form a complete tower at the deployment site), and a station for surface treatment 407. In addition, a crane 408 is provided to displace articles from a vehicle 409 used to transport the tubular subsections 404 to the production location and the work platform 401. The same crane 408, or another crane (not shown in Figure 4) can be used to move a tower structure 405 from the work platform 401 to the post for the treatment of the surface 407.

Although not explicitly illustrated in Figure 4, the production center 400 may also include arrangements for attaching connectors, such as tabs, to the tower sections to allow final assembly at the deployment site.

Usually, said connectors are welded to the tower sections in the same welding unit 403 used to join the tubular subsections 404.

As illustrated schematically in Figure 4, the tubular subsections 404 of large diameter have been transported to the place of the production center vertically on the chassis of the trailer 409. By the present invention, the height and length of the vehicle can be adapted to the The route (s) available between the factory where the 404 tubular subsections are manufactured and the deployment site (more precisely, the location of the mobile production center 400). The combination of this type of transport and the rational welding allowed by the mobile production center 400, allows a more rational manufacture of tower structures for tower structures of large diameter wind turbines. That the disposition of the mobile production center according to the present embodiment of the invention makes this type of transport possible from an economic point of view is an important and inventive perception on the part of the current inventor.

In the following, an embodiment of the method according to the invention of manufacturing a wind turbine tower structure will be described with reference to Figure 4 and Figure 5.

First, in step 501, tubular subsections 404 are provided to the production center 400 of vertically movable towers on a trailer 409. The tubular subsections 405 are moved to the work platform 401 by the crane 408.

In step 502, a plurality of tubular subsections 405 are welded to form a tubular tower structure 406. This can be achieved by arranging two end-to-end tubular subsections and then joining the subsections with a circumferential weld seam. For this purpose, the support structures 404a-b can be configured to allow the synchronous rotation of the two subsections to be joined.

Then additional tubular subsections can be added (one by one) and welded to the tubular subsection fixed for the last time until a complete tower structure is achieved. In this case, fourteen tubular subsections 405 form a tower section 406. However, it is recognized that the number of tubular subsections forming a tower structure can vary depending on the type of tower structure and the properties of the wind turbine.

Subsequently, the complete tubular tower structure 406 is moved to the post for the treatment of the surface 407, where, in step 503, it is painted to provide protection against corrosion. However, other types of surface treatment are also possible. Alternatively, the tubular subsections 405 may be partially pre-coated and receive only a final "touch-up" at the mobile terrestrial production center 400.

Finally, in step 504, any necessary assembly in the tower section can be introduced. This can typically include a stair section, work platform, lighting, and cable elements. These types of assemblies are often called "internal".

If the entire wind turbine tower is assembled on site from tower sections, the upper sections can be manufactured in a conventional factory because the smaller size and the smaller weight of said sections can allow conventional road transport. However, it is recognized that the upper sections can also be manufactured in the mobile terrestrial production center 400.

The invention has been described above primarily with reference to some embodiments. However, as will be readily understood by one skilled in the art, other embodiments than those previously disclosed within the scope of the invention, as defined in the appended claims, are likewise possible.

For example, although described in the form of a barge in the present detailed description, the center of production of movable floating wind turbine tower structures can also be a self-propelled vessel. In addition, completed tower structures can be moved from the floating production center to the deployment site, or to a temporary storage center, which can be found on land or at sea. Various production stages, such as the introduction of the internal assemblies in the tower structures can be performed in said temporary storage center. Additionally, the steps described in relation to Figure 3 can be performed using a suitable mobile land production center, while the steps described in relation to Figure 5 can be performed using a suitable mobile floating production center.

Claims (15)

A method of manufacturing a wind turbine tubular tower structure, comprising the steps of: providing a plurality of subsections of tubular tower structure in a production center (200) of mobile wind turbine tower structures; wherein said step of providing the plurality of subsections of tubular tower structure comprises manufacturing the tubular subsections in the mobile production center (200); Y welding said plurality of tubular subsections (222a, 222b) to form said wind turbine tubular tower structure. The method according to claim 1, wherein said step of welding the plurality of tubular subsections comprises the steps of: arranging an upper end of a first tubular subsection adjacent a base end of a second tubular subsection; Y providing a circumferential weld seam between said first and second tubular subsections. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising the step of: treat the surface of the tower structure. 4. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising the step of: introduce mounts in the tower structure. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said step of providing the tubular subsections comprises, for each tubular subsection: provide a steel plate; winding said steel plate in a laminator to bend the steel plate in such a manner that two ends of said steel plate are facing each other; Y welding the two ends of the steel plate facing each other, thus forming said tubular subsection. 6. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said mobile production center is a center of mobile floating production. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising the step of: arranging the tubular tower structure on a part of the mobile production center that is accessible from outside the center to allow transportation of the structure of the tower. tubular tower to its deployment site. 8. A production center (200) of mobile wind turbine tower structures comprising: a first welding unit (208) for welding a plurality of tubular subsections to form a wind turbine tower structure, and a laminator (204) and a second welding unit (206) to form the tubular subsections. 9. The mobile wind turbine towers structure production center according to claim 8, wherein said first welding unit comprises: a supporting structure for supporting a first and a second tubular subsection such that an upper end of said first tubular subsection faces a base end of said second tubular subsection; Y a welding arrangement for providing a circumferential weld seam connecting said upper end of the first tubular subsection and said base end of the second tubular subsection. 10. The center for the production of mobile wind turbine tower structures according to claim 8 or 9, wherein: the laminator is for winding a steel plate in order to bend the steel plate in such a way that two ends of said steel plate are facing each other; Y the second welding unit is for welding the two ends of the facing steel plate, thus forming a tubular subsection. The mobile wind turbine towers structure production center according to any one of claims 8 to 10, further comprising: a post for the treatment of the surface of said tower structure. The center for the production of mobile wind turbine tower structures according to any one of claims 8 to 11, further comprising an arrangement for transferring tower structures for transferring a finished tower structure to a location accessible from a exterior of the center of production of mobile wind turbine tower structures to allow the transport of the tower structure from the center of production of structures of mobile wind turbine towers to a deployment site. 13. The center for the production of mobile wind turbine tower structures according to any one of claims 8 to 12, which is a center for the production of movable turbine wind turbine tower structures. 14. The mobile wind turbine tower construction center according to claim 13, wherein said transfer arrangement comprises a crane for lifting said finished tower structure from a production cover to an open storage cover. 15. The center for the production of mobile wind turbine tower structures according to any one of claims 8 to 12, which is a center for the production of turbine structures for mobile land-based wind turbines.