JP2011214422A - Wind turbine generator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a wind turbine generator capable of preventing a conductive member, which connects a nacelle and a tower to each other, from being tangled, and having excellent durability and maintenance performance.SOLUTION: This wind turbine generator 1 includes: the tower 10; and the nacelle 30 including a rotor 31 turnably provided in an upper end part of the power 10 to rotate with the wind and a generator 37 for converting the rotating drive force of the rotor 31 to the power. A housing part 50 having an installation surface 50a is provided in the nacelle 30, and the flexible conductive member 60 connected to the generator 37 in one end thereof and connected to a power feeding cable 12, which is located in the tower 10, in the other end thereof is disposed to be wound in the housing part 50.

Description

  The present invention relates to a wind turbine generator, and more particularly to a wind turbine generator characterized by a conductive member connecting a tower and a nacelle.

  Generally, a wind power generator has a structure including a tower installed on the ground or the sea, and a nacelle installed so as to be turnable at an upper end portion of the tower. A main shaft is rotatably installed in the nacelle via a bearing, and a plurality of blades (rotors) are provided on the main shaft by a hub.

  The nacelle contains a generator and a speed increaser. When a plurality of blades are rotated by wind, the rotational drive force is increased by the speed increaser, and the power transmission shaft is It is supposed to be communicated to the generator. In the generator, the rotational energy of the power transmission shaft is converted into electric energy, and the converted electric power is supplied to an electric system such as a transformer through a cable (conductive member) from the nacelle to the tower.

  The nacelle is installed so as to be capable of swiveling with respect to the tower so as to receive wind efficiently by the yaw mechanism based on a control signal from the wind direction / anemometer. For this reason, when the nacelle turns, the cable may be twisted between the fixing point of the outlet from the nacelle and the fixing point in the tower, and the cable may be damaged. In particular, when a configuration in which no step-up transformer is installed in the nacelle in order to reduce the weight of the nacelle, the current value increases, so it is necessary to use a thick cable or increase the number of cables. Note that the use of a large-diameter cable has a poor twisting property when the nacelle is swung. There is a possibility of rubbing or damage due to the load applied to a specific cable.

  In order to solve such a problem, for example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a wind power generator having a structure in which cables are not entangled even when a large number of cables are installed. In the wind power generator disclosed in this publicly known document, a cable wrapping body made of an elastic material extending in the axial direction is installed in a tower, and a plurality of cables are substantially arranged around the cable wrapping body. It is made to hang down at equal intervals, and when the nacelle turns, a plurality of cables are spirally wound around the cable winding body.

JP 2008-298051 A

  In the wind power generator disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above, a cable wrapping body made of an elastic material extending in the axial direction is disposed in the tower, and the cable is suspended at a predetermined interval around it. Since it is a structure, there are problems that the installation method of the cable winding body and the wiring structure are complicated, and that the maintainability such as inspection and maintenance work is poor. In particular, the cable winding body is made of an elastic material and is tightened by a large number of cables from the periphery thereof, so that the durability is inferior.

  In order to reduce the weight of the nacelle, it is necessary to increase the number of cables if no step-up transformer is installed in the nacelle. In such a case, the cables are easily entangled and the surface of the cable May be rubbed and the coating may be broken, or a specific cable may be pulled and cut. In this case, as described above, the cable winding body has a structure that extends in the axial direction within the tower, and thus maintenance cannot be easily performed.

  The present invention has been made by paying attention to the above-described problems, and provides a wind power generator that is excellent in durability and maintainability by preventing the conductive member connecting the nacelle and the tower from being entangled. With the goal.

  In order to achieve the above object, a wind turbine generator according to the present invention is installed in a tower, a rotor that is turnable at an upper end portion of the tower, and rotates by receiving wind and a rotational driving force of the rotor. A nacelle having a generator to be converted, and having a receiving portion having an installation surface in the nacelle, one end connected to the generator side in the receiving portion, and the other end in the tower A conductive member having flexibility connected to a power transmission cable installed on the cable is wound and disposed.

  In the wind power generator configured as described above, the nacelle is swiveled to a position where the rotor can receive and rotate the wind most efficiently. The generator installed in the nacelle converts the rotational drive of the rotor into electric power, and the converted electric power is passed through a flexible conductive member housed in a housing portion installed in the nacelle. Power is transmitted to the power transmission cable installed in the tower. Although the accommodating portion rotates integrally with the turning of the nacelle, the flexible conductive member provided in that portion is provided by winding, so that the nacelle turns. However, it only expands in the radial direction (decreases the number of windings) or shrinks (increases the number of windings) depending on the turning direction, and does not get entangled with each other. As a result, there is no need to install a structure such as a cable wrapping body extending in the vertical direction in the tower, which simplifies the structure and improves durability and maintainability. .

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the tangle of the electrically-conductive member which connects between a nacelle and a tower is prevented, and the wind power generator excellent in durability and maintainability is obtained.

The figure which shows schematic structure of a wind power generator in this invention. The figure which shows the structure of the accommodating part installed in the nacelle of the wind power generator shown in FIG. 1 (the initial position of an electroconductive member is shown). The figure which shows the state which the accommodating part shown in FIG. 2 rotated 360 degrees in D1 direction. The figure which shows the state which the accommodating part shown in FIG. 2 rotated 360 degrees in D2 direction. The figure which shows the state which adhered the insulating member to the electrically-conductive member shown in FIGS. Sectional drawing along the AA line of FIG. The top view which shows the structure of the bundling member which bundles the electrically-conductive member which adhered the insulating member. (A) is sectional drawing which shows the 1st modification of the arrangement | positioning aspect of the accommodating part and electroconductive member shown in FIG. 6, (b) is a figure which shows a 2nd modification.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a wind turbine generator according to the present invention will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6.
The wind turbine generator 1 according to the present embodiment is installed on a foundation 5 embedded in the ground, and includes a tower 10 and a nacelle 30 installed at the upper end of the tower 10 so as to be capable of turning over 360 °. It has. In this case, the nacelle 30 may be installed so that it can turn over 360 ° or more with respect to the tower 10.

  The tower 10 is formed in a cylindrical shape, in which power generated by a generator installed in the nacelle 30 is supplied to a power system (for example, a transformer, a system protection device) installed outside the tower. Etc.) A power transmission cable 12 for transmitting power to 20 is installed. The power transmission cable 12 is installed in a suspended state in the tower, and the upper end side thereof is held by a cable holder (tower side fixing point) (not shown) installed in the tower.

  The cable holder is provided with a connector to which an end portion of a conductive member having flexibility disposed in a housing portion installed in the nacelle 30 described later is connected. The lower end side of the power transmission cable 12 is connected to the power system 20. The configuration of the power transmission cable 12 installed in the tower 10 is not limited to a specific one, and other than the ordinary single-phase power cable and the three-phase power cable, for example, described later. Such a flat conductive member may be used. Further, the method of laying the power transmission cable 12 in the tower 10 is not limited to a specific structure.

  Further, in the tower 10, in addition to the power transmission cable 12, for example, a power converter (inverter, converter), a yaw driving device that drives the nacelle 30 to turn, a control device that controls driving of the yaw driving device, etc. Etc. are installed.

  The nacelle 30 is provided with a rotor 31 that rotates in response to wind. The rotor 31 is provided with a plurality of blades 31c attached by a hub 31b at the tip of a main shaft 31a that is rotatably supported in the nacelle via a bearing or the like. By receiving it, the main shaft 31a is rotated. Further, in the nacelle 30, a speed increasing gear device 35 for increasing the rotational speed of the main shaft 31a and a generator 37 for converting rotational power increased by the speed increasing gear device 35 into electric power are installed. Further, the nacelle 30 is provided with a wind direction / anemometer, and information obtained therefrom is transmitted to the control device, and the nacelle is driven to turn to an optimum position via the yaw driving device.

  In the nacelle 30, an accommodating portion 50 having an installation surface 50a is installed. Hereinafter, the accommodating part 50 installed in the nacelle will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. In FIGS. 2 to 6, as shown in the configuration of the conductive member 60 disposed on the installation surface 50 a, the accommodation portion 50 has an upper surface opened, but this portion may be closed. good.

  The accommodating portion 50 is installed adjacent to the upper end position of the tower 10 described above. The shape of the accommodating portion 50 is not particularly limited, but the conductive member 60 having flexibility is wound and disposed in the accommodating portion as shown in the figure, so that the overall shape is cylindrical. It is preferable to configure. In addition, the housing part 50 is configured such that the installation surface 50a is in a direction along the turning direction of the nacelle (substantially horizontal) so that the conductive member 60 is stably placed. . In this case, since the accommodating part 50 is comprised by the cylindrical shape, the surrounding wall 50d is formed in the circumference | surroundings of the installation surface 50a, and the electrically-conductive member 60 does not fall at the time of operation | movement ( (See FIG. 4).

  The conductive member 60 disposed in the housing portion 50 may be any material having flexibility, and for example, a material having excellent flexibility such as a braided conductor knitted in a mesh shape may be used. Although it is possible, it is preferable to use a thin plate-like conductor because it is wound in advance in the housing portion and varies in the radial direction as the nacelle 30 turns. That is, by arranging such a thin plate-like conductor so as to wind a vortex perpendicular to the installation surface 50a, the inner and outer sides in the radial direction can be arranged even if the winding is arranged a plurality of times. The thin plate-like conductors adjacent to each other do not get entangled with each other during operation. Specifically, for a thin plate-like conductor, for example, one having a thickness of about 0.5 to 1.0 mm and a width of about 10 to 20 cm can be used (in this embodiment, the conductor is a nacelle). A three-phase structure that can be directly connected from the generator 37 is used so as not to install a step-up transformer inside, and is wound three times at an initial position as will be described later. )

  The conductive member 60 described above has one end connected to the generator 37 and the other end connected to the power transmission cable 12 installed in the tower 10. In the present embodiment, the conductive member 60 wound in the housing portion 50 has a generator 37 side connector 37A (a nacelle side fixing point) whose one end is installed radially outward of the housing portion 50. And the other end is connected to a connector 12A (tower side fixed point) on the power transmission cable 12 side disposed at the winding center position. In this case, the connector 12 </ b> A is held by a cable holder (not shown) installed in the tower, and protrudes from an opening 50 b formed at the center position of the mounting surface 50 a of the housing portion 50. For this reason, one end of the conductive member 60 rotates with the turning of the nacelle 30 while being connected to the connector 37A, and the other end is connected and fixed to the connector 12A at the winding center portion. Yes.

  Next, the operation of the flexible conductive member 60 disposed in the accommodating portion 50 will be described. As described above, the conductive member 60 is configured as a thin plate conductor, and FIG. 2 is a reference position of the nacelle 30. In the present embodiment, when the nacelle 30 is at the reference position, the conductive member 60 on the installation surface 50a of the accommodating portion 50 is wound three times with a slight gap in the radial direction as a whole. Set its length.

  When the accommodating part 50 rotates 360 ° in the D1 direction from the reference position shown in FIG. 2 (the nacelle rotates 360 ° in the D1 direction), the conductive member 60 becomes a state of being wound as a whole on the installation surface in the radial direction. The diameter is reduced to a state as shown in FIG. At this time, the number of turns of the conductive member 60 is increased to 4 turns. On the other hand, when the accommodating part 50 rotates 360 degrees in the D2 direction from the reference position shown in FIG. 2 (the nacelle rotates 360 degrees in the D2 direction), the conductive member 60 is unwound as a whole on the installation surface. As a result, the diameter is expanded in the radial direction, as shown in FIG. At this time, the number of turns of the conductive member 60 is reduced to 2 turns.

  According to the above configuration, when the nacelle 30 turns, the connection cable disposed between the nacelle and the tower is twisted between the nacelle-side fixing point and the tower-side fixing point as in the prior art. There is nothing, and there is no tangling or breakage of the connection cable. That is, since the flexible conductive member 60 disposed in the accommodating portion 50 that rotates integrally with the turning of the nacelle 30 is provided in a wound state, the nacelle turns. However, it only expands in the radial direction (decreases the number of windings) or shrinks (increases the number of windings), and does not get entangled with each other, thus preventing breakage and the like, and improving durability.

  In addition, since the conductive member 60 is improved in durability as described above, the maintenance work is reduced, and the cylindrical housing portion 50 is installed in the nacelle 30, so that there is no gap between the nacelle and the tower. The structure of the connecting cable portion for transmitting power is simplified, and the maintenance work can be easily performed as compared with the above-described conventional technology. Furthermore, since the conductive member 60 is placed on the installation surface 50a, the conductive member 60 does not fall downward, and a stable operation can be obtained and the installation space can be reduced.

  In the configuration shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the conductive member 60 is shown as a thin plate-like conductor. However, in actuality, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the surface is like an insulating tube. The insulating coating 65 is covered. In this case, as shown in FIG. 6, the insulating coating 65 generates sliding resistance with the installation surface 50 a (50 c) of the housing portion 50 due to the rotation of the housing portion 50 accompanying the turning of the nacelle. The housing part or the installation surface is preferably made of a material having a small friction coefficient or is subjected to a surface treatment so as to reduce the friction coefficient.

  Alternatively, the insulating coating 65 is formed on the installation surface 50a (50c) of the accommodating portion 50 by forming a guide portion that guides the movement of the conductive member 60 when the accommodating portion 50 rotates as the nacelle rotates. It is possible to effectively prevent damage and the like. Such a guide part may be formed based on a trajectory of the conductive member 60 (insulating coating) moving with the rotation of the accommodating part 50. For example, as shown in FIGS. Since the portion near the connector 37A of the conductive member 60 moves in the circumferential direction due to the rotation of the housing portion 50 on the radially outer side of the connector 60 (connecting region of the connector 37A), the circumferential direction A guide groove 50g extending along the line is formed. Note that a binding member 68 described in detail below or a guide roller 70 may be positioned in the guide groove 50g.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the conductive member has a thin plate shape and has a three-phase structure, and each conductive member is covered with the insulating coating 65. Therefore, as shown in FIG. A member 68 is preferably provided. Such a binding member 68 may be disposed at a predetermined interval along the axial direction with respect to the conductive member to be wound, and each conductive member 60 also moves as the accommodating portion 50 rotates. Therefore, it is preferable that the binding member 68 is movable in the axial direction with respect to the insulating coating 65 to ensure a movable range, as indicated by an arrow in FIG. That is, by providing such a movable binding member 68, it is possible to prevent the conductive members from getting tangled or in contact with each other and rubbed.

  Further, according to the position where the binding member 68 as described above is disposed, for example, as shown in FIG. 8A, guidance is provided along the moving direction of the conductive member 60 on the upper and lower installation surfaces 50a and 50c. Portions (guide grooves) 51a and 51b may be formed. In this case, the shape of the guide grooves 51a and 51b can be formed according to the movement locus of the binding member 68. For example, the radially outer side of the conductive member 60 to be wound extends in the radial direction. What is necessary is just to set it as a shape which follows the circumferential direction about the radial direction inner side of the electrically conductive member 60 made into the shape which comes out. The shape of the guide grooves 51a and 51b can be appropriately changed depending on the length, the number of turns, the diameter, etc. of the conductive member 60 at the initial position, and the shape of the conductive member 60 (bundling member 68). What is necessary is just to make it an optimal shape according to a motion. Further, by forming the guide groove in this way, it is possible to prevent the conductive member from being in contact with each other and being worn even if the conductive member has a three-phase structure as in the present embodiment.

  In addition, a guide roller 70 that slides with respect to the installation surface of the accommodating portion 50 may be provided on the insulating coating 65 of the conductive member 60 or the binding member 68 described above. FIG. 8B shows an example in which the guide roller 70 is provided on the bundling member 68. With this configuration, the insulating coating 65 does not slide frictionally with the installation surface. It becomes possible to prevent damage and the like more reliably.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to above-described embodiment, It can change variously. For example, the accommodating part 50 may be installed at any position in the nacelle 30, but the winding center position of the conductive member 60 (position of the connector 12 </ b> A) is the turning center area of the nacelle 30 with respect to the tower 10. It is preferable to arrange so that. If the connector 12A is installed at such a position, the connector 12A is fixed at the winding center regardless of the turning operation of the nacelle 30, so that the arrangement mode of the conductive member 60 is the most efficient and simple. It becomes possible to set it as a simple structure.

  Further, the size and shape of the accommodating portion 50, and the state and length of the slack at the initial position of the conductive member 60 disposed on the installation surface, and the number of windings can be variously modified and changed. Thus, it becomes possible to set an appropriate rotation angle (number of rotations) at which the nacelle 30 turns in the same direction. For example, the number of windings at the initial position of the conductive member 60 may have a certain degree of play so that a large tension does not act when rotating in both directions.

  Further, as described above, since the conductive member 60 is not entangled, the conductive member 60 can have a multi-layer structure. Therefore, it is not necessary to install a step-up transformer in the nacelle 30. It is possible to reduce the equipment cost by eliminating the need to increase the size of the tower 10 or to improve the strength of the tower 10. Of course, a step-up transformer may be installed in the nacelle.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Wind power generator 10 Tower 12 Power transmission cable 30 Nacelle 31 Rotor 37 Generator 50 Housing | casing part 60 Conductive member

Claims (6)

Tower and
A nacelle that is rotatably installed at an upper end portion of the tower and includes a rotor that rotates by receiving wind and a generator that converts the rotational driving force of the rotor into electric power;
In the wind power generator having
Installing an accommodating portion having an installation surface in the nacelle;
Wind power, characterized in that a flexible conductive member having one end connected to the generator side and the other end connected to a power transmission cable installed in the tower is wound in the housing portion. Power generation device.   One end of the conductive member is connected to a generator-side connector arranged radially outward, and the other end is connected to a tower-side connector arranged at a winding center position. The wind power generator according to claim 1.   The wind power generator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a winding center of the conductive member is disposed in a turning center region of the nacelle with respect to the tower.   The guide surface for guiding the movement of the conductive member when the accommodating portion rotates as the nacelle rotates is formed on the installation surface of the accommodating portion. The wind power generator according to claim 1.   The wind power generator according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the conductive member is provided with a guide roller that slides with respect to an installation surface of the housing portion.   The wind power generator according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the conductive member is formed of a thin plate-like conductor.

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