Classifications

• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E02—HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING; FOUNDATIONS; SOIL SHIFTING
  • E02D—FOUNDATIONS; EXCAVATIONS; EMBANKMENTS; UNDERGROUND OR UNDERWATER STRUCTURES
  • E02D27/00—Foundations as substructures
  • E02D27/32—Foundations for special purposes
  • E02D27/52—Submerged foundations, i.e. submerged in open water
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E02—HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING; FOUNDATIONS; SOIL SHIFTING
  • E02B—HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING
  • E02B17/00—Artificial islands mounted on piles or like supports, e.g. platforms on raisable legs or offshore constructions; Construction methods therefor
  • E02B17/02—Artificial islands mounted on piles or like supports, e.g. platforms on raisable legs or offshore constructions; Construction methods therefor placed by lowering the supporting construction to the bottom, e.g. with subsequent fixing thereto
  • E02B17/027—Artificial islands mounted on piles or like supports, e.g. platforms on raisable legs or offshore constructions; Construction methods therefor placed by lowering the supporting construction to the bottom, e.g. with subsequent fixing thereto steel structures
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E02—HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING; FOUNDATIONS; SOIL SHIFTING
  • E02B—HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING
  • E02B17/00—Artificial islands mounted on piles or like supports, e.g. platforms on raisable legs or offshore constructions; Construction methods therefor
  • E02B17/0004—Nodal points
• • 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
  • F03D13/20—Arrangements for mounting or supporting wind motors; Masts or towers for wind motors
  • F03D13/25—Arrangements for mounting or supporting wind motors; Masts or towers for wind motors specially adapted for offshore installation
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E02—HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING; FOUNDATIONS; SOIL SHIFTING
  • E02B—HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING
  • E02B17/00—Artificial islands mounted on piles or like supports, e.g. platforms on raisable legs or offshore constructions; Construction methods therefor
  • E02B2017/0056—Platforms with supporting legs
  • E02B2017/006—Platforms with supporting legs with lattice style supporting legs
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E02—HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING; FOUNDATIONS; SOIL SHIFTING
  • E02B—HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING
  • E02B17/00—Artificial islands mounted on piles or like supports, e.g. platforms on raisable legs or offshore constructions; Construction methods therefor
  • E02B2017/0056—Platforms with supporting legs
  • E02B2017/0069—Gravity structures
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E02—HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING; FOUNDATIONS; SOIL SHIFTING
  • E02B—HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING
  • E02B17/00—Artificial islands mounted on piles or like supports, e.g. platforms on raisable legs or offshore constructions; Construction methods therefor
  • E02B2017/0091—Offshore structures for wind turbines
• • 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
  • E04H2012/006—Structures with truss-like sections combined with tubular-like sections
• • 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
  • F05B2230/00—Manufacture
  • F05B2230/60—Assembly methods
• • 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
  • F05B2240/912—Mounting on supporting structures or systems on a stationary structure on a tower
  • F05B2240/9121—Mounting on supporting structures or systems on a stationary structure on a tower on a lattice tower
• • 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
  • F05B2240/95—Mounting on supporting structures or systems offshore
• • 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
  • Y02E10/727—Offshore wind turbines
• • 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
  • Y02P—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS
  • Y02P70/00—Climate change mitigation technologies in the production process for final industrial or consumer products
  • Y02P70/50—Manufacturing or production processes characterised by the final manufactured product

Definitions

• the present invention concerns a wind turbine foundation for variable water depth.
• the invention is related to a foundation for offshore wind turbines fixed to the sea bottom and extending above the water surface wherein the foundation supports a vertical tubular tower having a wind turbine provided on the top.
• the first offshore wind parks are located on shallow water with foundation similar to the one onshore. It is inter alia utilized concrete foundations standing stabile by means of weight (gravity) and a single central pile is utilized which is driven sufficiently down in the bottom in order to provide sufficient stability and stiffness for the support of the wind turbine.
• the solution also results in low wave forces due to its open structure with slender structure element.
• the combination of high stiffness and small wave forces is favourable since it results in small wave induced motions in the construction and thereby minimizes the transfer of dynamic forces from waves to tower and turbine.
• the jacket concept technically is a favourable solution for establishing the foundation of wind turbines in the sea.
• the largest challenge with regard to wind turbines in larger water depths is the costs.
• the costs of establishing the foundation due to size, complexity and including installation work will be larger than onshore and increasing with increasing water depths.
• the offshore industry has experienced that construction and installation of a single platform foundation is extremely expensive due to all engineering, planning, administration and use of offshore installation equipment etc. is related to only one single installation.
• One object of the present invention therefore is to develop a wind turbine foundation which is standardized for variable water depths and with technical favourable solutions and with the lowest possible cost. This means that the best solutions will be a compromise between technology and economics. The most important cost elements are fabrication of the foundation onshore and costs related to transport and installation. These costs will also be related to the possibility to improve the effectivity of fabrication and installation when large scale wind turbines for wind parks are produced.
• wind turbine foundation can be adapted to different water depths by changing the height of the tower while other main dimensions and structural solutions are kept unchanged.
• the wind turbine foundation is further in a large degree also standardized independent of water depth such that both detail projecting and administration are simple in addition to that especially developed fabrication equipment and the technical solution can be utilized on as many units as possible.
• a further object is that wind turbine foundation shall include good stiffness characteristics and at the same time well suited for effective and in a large degree automized fabrication.
• a wind turbine foundation for variable water depth comprising a bottom foundation, a frame work tower provided on the bottom foundation wherein the frame work tower includes at least three parallel tubular legs and a frame work system of struts with strut nodes and leg nodes provided between and connected to the legs, and a transition structure provided on the upper area of the framework tower, characterized in that the framework tower consists of at least one standardized framework tower element wherein the centre distance between the at least three parallel tubular legs is constant, the diameter of the legs is constant and the strut nodes and leg nodes having standardized shapes.
• Preferred embodiments of the wind turbine foundation are further defined in the claims 2 to 7.
• the object of the present invention is further achieved by a method of constructing a wind turbine foundation for variable water depth, comprising a bottom foundation, a framework tower of struts having struts node and leg nodes and a transition structure, characterized in that the framework tower is provided on the bottom foundation and the transition structure is provided on the upper area of the frame work tower, as the framework tower is provided as in at least a standardized framework tower element wherein the centre distance between the at least three parallel tubular legs is kept constant, the diameter of the struts is kept constant and the strut nodes and the leg nodes are provided as standardized shapes.
• a preferred embodiment of the method is further defined in claim 8.
• Figure 1 depicts an embodiment of a wind turbine foundation having a gravity based bottom foundation
• Figure 2 depicts a second embodiment of a wind turbine foundation having a bottom foundation including piles
• Figure 3 depicts a node to connect struts of the framework system
• Figures 4a and 4b depict a node for connecting struts to the tubular legs of the framework tower;
• Figure 5 depicts a further embodiment of the wind turbine foundation wherein the framework tower consists of two standardized framework tower elements.
• a wind turbine foundation 1 supporting a vertical tubular tower with at wind turbine which is provided in its upper tower.
• the wind turbine foundation 1 comprises a bottom foundation 5, a framework tower 10 provided on the bottom foundation 5 and a transition structure 25 provided on the upper area of the framework tower.
• Figure 1 depicts a first embodiment of the bottom foundation 5 in the form of a gravity based foundation 6, preferably of concrete, and possibly with additional ballast in form of gravel or rock.
• Figure 2 depicts a second embodiment of the bottom foundation 5 where piles 7 are utilized in order to ensure an anchoring in the sea bed.
• the bottom foundation 5 can be provided with deep cylindrical steel foundations in each of the corners and which is further driven partly down with the weight (specific gravity) of the installation and in addition the use of vacuum in order to achieve sufficient penetration into the sea bed. It should be mentioned that the choice of bottom foundation 5 will depend on the given bot- torn conditions and other conditions which may have a cost consequence.
• the framework tower 10 comprises three parallel tubular legs 12 having equal centre distance between adjoining legs.
• the three parallel tubular legs 12 have constant diameter from bottom to top.
• a framework system 15 of strut 16 is provided between and connected to the legs 12. All the struts 16 of the framework system have equal diameter.
• the struts 16 are provided in a X-system. This result in that a standardized type of node of equal dimension both in the crossing between the struts 16 and for the connection of the struts to the legs 12, strut node 20 and leg node 21, respectively is utilized.
• figure 3a and figure 4b are made to figure 3, figure 4a and figure 4b.
• the strut node 21 connecting the struts 16 to the legs 12 is then a so called K-node which constitutes a half of the X-node between the struts 16.
• K-node which constitutes a half of the X-node between the struts 16.
• a wind turbine foundation 1 is shown wherein the framework tower 10 consists of a first and second standardized framework tower element 13, 14, respectively.
• the second framework tower element 14 is provided on the top of the first framework tower element 13.
• Level 11 shows the connection area between the first standardized framework tower element 13 and the second standardized framework tower 14.
• a transition structure 25 is shown provided on the upper area of the framework tower. It is further assumed that the frame leg distance and the leg diameter are used for variable water depths such that the transition structure 25 between the framework tower and the legs 12, which is the most structural complicated part, can be standardized for one type of wind turbines independent of the water depth.
• the struts 16 and the strut nodes 20 and the leg nodes 21 will then also have the same dimension for different water levels.
• the angle of the struts with regard to the horizontal plane shall preferably be 45 degrees, but with variance which is necessary in order to adapt a complete number of strut systems between the bottom level and the top level.
• the present invention deals with a wind turbine foundation which is standardized for variable water depth in that it can be constructed in the height by adding new levels of standardized framework tower elements.
• the result is a very rational and cost efficient mass production.
• this solution is standardized with regard to turbine size and type, but the water depths can be varied with small effect on the structural solutions. This standardizing combined with mass production results in very high cost efficiency and flexibility in connection with future large scaled wind park developments.

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

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (2)

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Family Applications (1)

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Citations (6)

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• 2009
  • 2009-06-16 NO NO20092311A patent/NO330475B1/no unknown
• 2010
  • 2010-06-16 WO PCT/NO2010/000233 patent/WO2010147481A1/en active Application Filing
  • 2010-06-16 EP EP10789786.0A patent/EP2443342A4/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2010-06-16 CN CN2010800268922A patent/CN102803720A/zh active Pending
  • 2010-06-16 KR KR1020127000582A patent/KR20120034723A/ko not_active Application Discontinuation

Patent Citations (6)

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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