DK201470031A1 - A transportation unit for a wind turbine tower section - Google Patents
A transportation unit for a wind turbine tower section Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- DK201470031A1 DK201470031A1 DK201470031A DKPA201470031A DK201470031A1 DK 201470031 A1 DK201470031 A1 DK 201470031A1 DK 201470031 A DK201470031 A DK 201470031A DK PA201470031 A DKPA201470031 A DK PA201470031A DK 201470031 A1 DK201470031 A1 DK 201470031A1
- Authority
- DK
- Denmark
- Prior art keywords
- wind turbine
- turbine tower
- tower section
- transportation unit
- receiving element
- Prior art date
Links
Classifications
-
- 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
Landscapes
- Wind Motors (AREA)
Abstract
The invention relates to a transportation unit (1) for a wind turbine tower section (2), wherein said unit (1) comprises a movable platform (3), which includes a wheelset system, and a receiving element (5) for accommodating a terminal portion of the wind turbine tower section (2), the receiving element (5) having a receiving portion (6) shaped to match the shape of said terminal portion of the wind turbine tower section (2), wherein the receiving element (5) is designed such that forces generated by and/or exerted on the wind turbine tower section (2) are transferred from the wind turbine tower section (2) through the unit (1) to the wheelset system for absorbing said forces without damaging the wind turbine tower section (1).
Description
A transportation unit for a wind turbine tower section Field of the invention
The invention relates to a transportation unit for a wind turbine tower section. Background of the invention
In the road transportation business, so-called world adaptor trailers are used for transporting wind turbine tower sections. Typically, world adaptor trailers have long axles, which occupy a large space in front and at the rear of the wind turbine tower section when the latter is loaded on board of a ship. This space is “dead space” for shipping companies, as it represents a waste of potential income, since fewer wind turbine tower sections can be loaded on the ship.
Hence, there is a need in the technical field of transportation units of overcoming the aforementioned drawbacks of the state-of-the-art solutions.
Aspects of the invention
The first aspect of the invention is to provide an improvement to the state-of-the-art. The second aspect of the invention is to solve the abovementioned drawbacks of the prior art, i.e., that of providing a compact transportation unit that permits to load as many wind turbine tower sections as possible on board of a ship.
Description of the invention
The abovementioned aspects of the invention are achieved by a transportation unit as described in the preamble of claim 1, wherein said unit comprises a movable platform, which includes a wheelset system, and a receiving element having a receiving portion shaped to match a terminal portion of the wind turbine tower section, the receiving element comprises a base side and two lateral faces, wherein, when said wind turbine tower section is curved, each lateral face extends outwardly from the base side to a top edge of the receiving portion in such w?ay that said receiving portion is shaped to match the curved shape of said terminal portion of the wind turbine tower section, wherein the receiving element is designed such that forces generated by and/or exerted on the wind turbine tower section are transferred from the wind turbine tower section through the base side and two lateral faces to the wheelset system for absorbing said forces without damaging the wind turbine tower section.
The invention has the advantage of providing a solution that permits avoiding the use of world adaptor trailers on-board ships thanks to a short and stable transportation unit that enables all dynamic forces exerted on the wind turbine tower section during loading, sea transport and unloading to be transferred to it while, at the same time, being able to support the load. In fact, a completely even distribution of pressure is to be achieved, as otherwise the wind turbine tower section could be damaged by imposing too much pressure on a single point. Consequently, each wind turbine tower type (e.g., cylindrical, conical, hexagonal, etc.) may require its own bespoke transportation unit. A world adaptor trailer is attached at both ends of the wind turbine tower section for transporting the wind turbine tower section on roads and to access the harbour area. Within the harbour area, one end of the wind turbine tower section is detached from the rear world adaptor trailer and the terminal portion of that end loaded on the transportation unit of the invention. Note that contrarily to a world adaptor trailer that attaches to the base of a wind turbine tower section, the transportation unit accommodates a terminal portion of a lateral face of the wind turbine tower section. The front world adaptor trailer has a hydraulic cylinder, which can lift/lower the wind turbine tower section. Thus, the rear end of the wind turbine tower section, previously attached to the rear world adaptor trailer, is lifted, the transportation unit is positioned underneath it and the rear end of the wind turbine tower section is then sunk in the transportation unit. The rear world adaptor trailer is then removed and the wind turbine tower section is driven inside the ship. Once in the ship, the front world adaptor trailer is removed and the front end of the wind turbine tower section is blocked off (e.g., it is attached to a static device or laid on a support element). Wedges may be placed on the wheels of the transportation unit to prevent it from rolling during navigation.
As a consequence, the world adaptor trailers are avoided on-board the ship and only the cargo itself (i.e,, approximately that of the wind turbine tower section itself) occupies space inside the ship, which is what the client of a shipping company should pay the space for. The space inside the ship is therefore optimized and as many wind tur bine tower sections as possible are loadable on-board (in fact, wind turbine tower sections may be accommodated as close to each other as possible, right in front and behind each other, without leaving unused storage space), which makes it a very cost-effective solution with a much larger income for shipping companies. Additionally, the transportation unit enables a roll-on/roll-off solution, as the wind turbine tower sections can be loaded/unloaded to/from ships without using cranes, thus reducing the costs for shipping companies in the harbour area. Also, the world adaptor trailers can be reused immediately instead of been used to support the wind turbine tower sections on-board the ship, which obviously implies a large money saving for shipping companies.
Advantageously, the platform has a width less than or equal to a diameter of a base of the wind turbine tower section and the receiving element is shaped so as to have a maximum width less than or equal to the diameter of the base of the wind turbine tower section. As a consequence, the transportation unit does not take any additional lateral space. A wind turbine tower is typically composed of a plurality of sections. A section may have a cylindrical shape (i.e,, the area at the front side of the section is the same as the area at the rear side of the section) or a truncated conical shape (i.e., the area of the section decreases from the front end of the section to the rear end of the section). The area at the front end of the base section of a conical wind turbine tower is the same as the area of a section of a cylindrical wind turbine tower.
Advantageously, the receiving element further comprises a base side and two lateral faces, wherein, when said wind turbine tower section is a cylinder, each lateral face extends outwardly from the base side to a top edge of the receiving portion. This has the advantage of providing a transportation unit wherein the design of the receiving element is optimized for carrying a cylindrical wind turbine tower section.
Advantageously, the receiving portion is arched with a radius equal to the radius calculated from the centre of the wind turbine tower section to the outer surface of the wind turbine tower section, wherein the receiving portion extends flat from one side edge to another side edge of the receiving portion, This has the advantage of providing a transportation unit wherein the shape of the receiving portion is optimized for accommodating the terminal portion of a cylindrical wind turbine tower section.
In an embodiment of the invention, each lateral face extends inwardly from the base side to a top edge of the receiving portion when said wind turbine tower section is a truncated cone with a first and a second radii calculated from the centre of the wind turbine tower section to the outer surface of the wind turbine tower section. This embodiment has the advantage of providing a transportation unit wherein the design of the receiving element is optimized for carrying a conical wind turbine tower section.
In an embodiment of the invention, the receiving portion is arched with a radius at one side edge equal to the first radius and with a radius at another side edge equal to the second radius, wherein the receiving portion extends downwardly from the one side edge to the other side edge. This embodiment has the advantage of providing a transportation unit wherein the shape of the receiving portion is optimized for accommodating the terminal portion of a conical wind turbine tower section.
Advantageously, the terminal portion of the wind turbine tower section may he accommodated into the transportation unit as follows: a reach stacker lifts the terminal portion of the wind turbine tower section thanks to a j-hook, the transportation unit (whose receiving element may be pre-assembled or integral with the platform) is positioned underneath the terminal portion of the wind turbine tower section and the reach stacker lowers the terminal portion of the wind turbine tower section.
Advantageously, said receiving element comprises two identical sections. Advantageously, each section is adapted to be fastened to the platform at opposite sides of the base side of the receiving element. This has the advantage of enabling an alternative solution for accommodating the terminal portion of the wind turbine tower section into the transportation unit. In fact, if a reach stacker is not available, one section of the receiving element is taken in from one side of the wind turbine tower section and the other section of the receiving element is taken in from the other side of the wind turbine tower section.
Advantageously, a method for loading a wind turbine tower section, which is attached at one end to a first transportation unit (e.g., a first world adaptor trailer) and at the other end to a second transportation unit (e.g,, a second world adaptor trailer), onboard a ship by means of the transportation unit of the invention comprises the following steps: detaching the one end of the wind turbine tower section from the second transportation unit; - lifting the wind turbine tower section by the first transportation unit; - providing a third transportation unit according to any of the embodiments described above; and - lowering the wind turbine tower section by the first transportation unit by accommodating a terminal portion of the wind turbine tower section in the third transportation unit.
Advantageously, said method further comprises: - providing a third transportation unit comprising two identical sections; - fastening the first section of the receiving element to the platform; - placing the third transportation unit under the lifted wind turbine tower section; and - fastening the second section of the receiving element to the platform before lowering the wind turbine tower section.
Hereafter, the invention will be described in connection with drawings illustrating nonlimiting examples of a transportation unit.
Brief description of the drawings FIG.l: Perspective view of a transportation unit for a conical wind turbine tower section, FIG.2: Zoom of a lateral view of a conical wind turbine tower section accommodated in the transportation unit, FIG.3: Loading a conical wind turbine tower section on a transportation unit with two identical sections.
Preferred embodiments of the invention FIG.l shows a transportation unit 1 for a conical wfind turbine tower section 2 (ref. FIG.3). The transportation unit 1 comprises a movable platform 3, which includes a wheelset system, and a receiving element 5 for accommodating a terminal portion of the wind turbine tower section 2 (ref. FIG.2).
The platform 3 is shortened with respect to a conventional world adaptor trailer. The wheelset system comprises two wheelsets 4',4", each wheelset 424" including a full floating axle and a set of wheels (e.g., four solid tyres). Each wheelset 4',4" can turn and tilt (e.g,, 8-10 degrees), so that when the transportation unit 1 drives on a ramp of a ship the impact is absorbed by the wheelset system. Also, differently to roll trailers, which are normally used for handling cargoes in harbour areas, on ships, etc., the two wheelsets 424" of the transportation unit 1 are placed more apart from each other, thus ensuring a better weight spread due to the diameter of the wind turbine tower section 2.
Note that the platform 3 may be larger than the receiving element 5 because of the wheelset system. Indeed, the receiving element 5 may not be as large as the platform 3, as it may be unnecessary design-wise and it would also imply the usage of more raw materials (e.g., steel), which would increase the production costs.
The receiving element 5 has a receiving portion 6 shaped to match the shape of the terminal portion of the wind turbine tower section 2. The receiving element 5 further comprises a base side 7 and two lateral faces 8,9 (lateral face 9 is not shown in FIG.l). As shown in FIG.l and FIG.3, when the wind turbine tower section 2 is a truncated cone with a first and a second radii 11,15 calculated from the centre C of the wind turbine tower section 2 to the outer surface 12 of the wind turbine tower section 2, each lateral face 8,9 extends inwardly from the base side 7 to a top edge 10 of the receiving portion 6. The receiving portion 6 is arched with a radius II at one side edge 13 equal to the first radius 11 and with a radius 15 at another side edge 14 equal to the second radius 15, wherein the receiving portion 6 extends downwardly from the one side edge 13 to the other side edge 14. FIG,2 shows a conical wind turbine tower section 2 accommodated in the transportation unit 1. A world adaptor trailer (not shown in FIG,2) may be attached to the other end of the wind turbine tower section 2 to drive the cargo together with the transportation unit 1 on-board a ship, FIG. 3 shows a transportation unit 1, wherein the receiving element 5 comprises two identical sections 16,17. The arrows illustrate the various steps for loading the wind turbine tower section 2 in the transportation unit 1.
Note that e.g. fabric may be placed between the receiving portion 6 and the terminal portion of the wind turbine tower section 2, before the latter is accommodated thereon. This helps protecting the terminal portion of the wind turbine tower section 2 and increasing the friction between the latter and the receiving portion 6, enabling an even more firm clamping of the terminal portion of the wind turbine tower section 2 in the receiving element 6,
Claims (3)
1. A transportation unit (I) for a wind turbine tower section (2), characterized in that said unit (1) comprises a movable platform (3), which includes a wheelset system, and a receiving element (5) having a receiving portion 6 shaped to match a terminal portion of the wind turbine tower section (2), the receiving element (5) comprises a base side (7) and two lateral faces (8,9), wherein, when said wind turbine tower section (1) is curved, each lateral face (8,9) extends outwardly from the base side (7) to a top edge (10) of the receiving portion (6) in such way that said receiving portion (6) is shaped to match the curved shape of said terminal portion of the wind turbine tower section (2), wherein the receiving element (5) is designed such that forces generated by and/or exerted on the wind turbine tower section (2) are transferred from the wind turbine tower section (2) through the base side (7) and two lateral faces (8,9) to the wheelset system for absorbing said forces without damaging the wind turbine tower section (1).
2. A transportation unit (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that each lateral face (8,9) extends inwardly from the base side (7) to a top edge (10) of the receiving portion (6) when said wind turbine tower section (2) is a truncated cone with a first and a second radii (ri,r2) calculated from the centre (C) of the wind turbine tower section (2) to the outer surface (12) of the wind turbine tower section (2).
3. A transportation unit (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that the receiving portion (6) is arched with a radius (r?) at one side edge (13) equal to the second radius (r2) and with a radius in · at another side edge (14) equal to the first radius (r.), wherein the receiving portion (6) extends downwardly from the one side edge (13) to the other side edge (14).
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| DK201470031A DK201470031A1 (en) | 2014-01-22 | 2014-01-22 | A transportation unit for a wind turbine tower section |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| DK201470031 | 2014-01-22 | ||
| DK201470031A DK201470031A1 (en) | 2014-01-22 | 2014-01-22 | A transportation unit for a wind turbine tower section |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| DK201470031A1 true DK201470031A1 (en) | 2015-08-03 |
Family
ID=53723704
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| DK201470031A DK201470031A1 (en) | 2014-01-22 | 2014-01-22 | A transportation unit for a wind turbine tower section |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| DK (1) | DK201470031A1 (en) |
Citations (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US7628418B1 (en) * | 2006-01-17 | 2009-12-08 | Holmes & Holmes, Ltd. | Low profile dolly trailer for hauling large cylindrical objects |
| DE202012009278U1 (en) * | 2012-09-27 | 2012-11-12 | Siemens Aktiengesellschaft | Transport device for a component of a wind turbine and transport system |
| US8529174B1 (en) * | 2009-08-11 | 2013-09-10 | Transportation Technology Services, Inc. | Large tower railroad transportation system and method |
-
2014
- 2014-01-22 DK DK201470031A patent/DK201470031A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
Patent Citations (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US7628418B1 (en) * | 2006-01-17 | 2009-12-08 | Holmes & Holmes, Ltd. | Low profile dolly trailer for hauling large cylindrical objects |
| US8529174B1 (en) * | 2009-08-11 | 2013-09-10 | Transportation Technology Services, Inc. | Large tower railroad transportation system and method |
| DE202012009278U1 (en) * | 2012-09-27 | 2012-11-12 | Siemens Aktiengesellschaft | Transport device for a component of a wind turbine and transport system |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| PHB | Application deemed withdrawn due to non-payment or other reasons |
Effective date: 20190122 |