JP2021124100A - Wind power generation facility - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a structure that can restrain lightning from striking a wind power generation facility.SOLUTION: Lightning strike restraining means 7 is provided at a tip of a body of a blade 6 constituting a wind turbine 2. The lightning strike restraining means comprises a first electrode 9 fitted to the tip of the body of the blade in an electric insulation state, and formed of a good conductor, a second electrode 10 opposed to the first electrode in an electric insulation state, and formed of a good conductor, and a connection member 11 interposed between the first electrode and the second electrode, connecting them at a predetermined interval, and formed of an electric insulator, and a ground wire 8 grounded to the ground is electrically connected to the second electrode.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to a wind power generation facility, and more particularly to a wind power generation facility that suppresses a lightning strike on a wind turbine constituting the wind power generation facility and suppresses damage thereof.

Generally, wind power generation energy is known as one of renewable energies.
The wind power generation equipment that generates this wind power generation energy includes a high column, a nacelle mounted on the top of the column and equipped with a generator, and a large number of blades mounted on the nacelle to rotate the generator. It is equipped with a windmill consisting of.

In this wind power generation facility, the blades are rotated by the wind, and the rotation of these blades drives the generator to generate electricity.

In such a wind power generation facility, in order to efficiently receive the wind, the support column is raised and the installation position of the blade is raised.
Further, in order to increase the amount of power generation, the blade is also lengthened and enlarged.

By the way, lightning strikes are likely to occur in wind power generation facilities installed so as to extend to high places in this way.
Then, when a lightning strike occurs on the blade, the blade and nacelle are damaged by the lightning strike, and power generation cannot be performed. In addition, when the blade is damaged and a part of the blade is dropped, there is a case where not only the nacelle but also the support column is damaged.

Conventionally, for example, a countermeasure technique as shown in Patent Document 1 has been proposed for such a defect.

In this technique, a metal lightning receiving portion is provided at the tip of the blade, a grounding wire is electrically connected to the power receiving portion, and the grounding wire is embedded in the ground through the inside of the blade.

Then, when a lightning strike to the wind power generation facility occurs, the lightning strike is guided to the lightning receiving portion and received, and the lightning strike is sent from the lightning receiving portion to the ground via the grounding wire. It is designed to prevent lightning strikes from passing through the blade or nacelle to prevent damage to the blade or nacelle.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2012-246812

By the way, in the above-mentioned conventional technology, the following problems to be improved still remain.

That is, when the rotation of the blade is stopped, the lightning receiving portion is in a fixed position.
When a lightning strike occurs toward the blade in this state, the lightning strike can be guided to the lightning receiving portion at a fixed position to receive the lightning strike, and the lightning strike can be discharged to the ground through the ground wire.

However, when the blade is rotating, it is assumed that the lightning strike toward the blade cannot be guided to the lightning receiving portion because the linear velocity of the tip thereof, that is, the moving speed of the lightning receiving portion is high. Will be done.

If the lightning strike toward the blade cannot be guided to the lightning receiving portion in this way, the lightning strike occurs at a portion of the blade other than the lightning receiving portion, and the lightning strike passes through the blade itself. , Is released to the ground via the nacelle and stanchions.

Then, it is assumed that the blade and nacelle and the blade and the nacelle are damaged by the lightning strike passing through the support column.

Such a problem is based on the idea of guiding a lightning strike to a place other than the protected body such as an important facility or equipment, thereby protecting the protected body from the lightning strike caused by the lightning strike. It is due to being.

Therefore, the present invention solves the problem of providing a wind power generation facility capable of suppressing lightning strikes on the blades and nacelles, based on the idea of suppressing lightning strikes in the vicinity of the protected body to protect them. It should be an issue.

The present invention is a wind power generation facility that generates electricity by a wind turbine that is rotated by receiving wind and transmits the generated electric power in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and is a main body of a blade that constitutes the wind turbine. A lightning suppression means is provided at the tip portion, and the lightning suppression means is attached to the tip portion of the main body of the blade in an electrically insulated state and formed by a good conductor, and the first electrode is electrically insulated. A connecting member made of an electrical insulator that is interposed between the second electrode and the first electrode and the second electrode, which are confronted with each other and formed by a good conductor, and connects them at predetermined intervals. And, and the second electrode is electrically connected to a ground wire grounded to the ground.

Here, when observing the phenomenon of lightning strikes in detail, in the case of a general lightning strike (summer lightning strike) that occurs in summer, when the thundercloud matures, the step triader approaches the earth while selecting a place where the atmosphere is easily discharged from the thundercloud.
When the step tresser reaches a certain distance from the ground, an upward streamer (pick-up discharge) of a weak current extends from the ground or a building (lightning rod), a tree, etc. toward the step tresser.
When this streamer and step triader are combined, a large current (feedback current) flows between the thundercloud and the earth through the path. This is a lightning strike phenomenon.

In the present invention, the above-mentioned upward streamer is less likely to occur due to the blade having the above configuration.
That is, the blade has the first electrode and the second electrode arranged in an electrically insulated state, and only the second electrode is grounded.

Therefore, for example, when a thundercloud with a negative charge distributed on the cloud base approaches, the opposite charge (positive charge) is distributed on the surface of the earth and is attracted to the negative charge on the cloud base, so that the second electrode becomes a positive charge. It becomes charged.

Then, the first electrode arranged via the insulator becomes negatively charged by the action of the capacitor.
By this action, the occurrence of an upward streamer in the blade and its surroundings is less likely to occur, and the occurrence of a lightning strike is suppressed.

It is expected that such a lightning strike suppression effect will extend not only to the wind turbine but also to the power distribution facility attached to the wind turbine.

Then, a discharge means for concentrating the electric charges charged in each of the first electrode and the second electrode can be provided.

When the amount of electric charge charged on the thundercloud is unexpectedly large and it is difficult to suppress the lightning strike due to the electric charge charged on the first electrode, this discharging means guides the lightning strike to the first electrode and the same. Energy is released to the ground via the second electrode and the ground wire via the discharge means.
Therefore, it is possible to effectively guide the lightning strike to the ground and suppress the damage to the wind turbine.

The lightning strike suppressing means forms each of the first electrode and the second electrode in a substantially hemispherical shell shape, forms the connecting member in an annular shape, and forms the connecting member at each end in the central axis direction of the connecting portion. It can be configured by press-fitting and fixing the open edge of one electrode and the second electrode.

The discharge means can be formed by protrusions formed in the central portion of the inner surface of the first electrode and the central portion of the inner surface of the second electrode, and facing each other at predetermined intervals.

With such a configuration, the distance between them can be easily adjusted by adjusting the height of each protrusion.
Therefore, when a situation in which a lightning strike is unavoidable occurs, it is possible to easily adjust the function of releasing the lightning strike to the ground.

Further, the lightning suppression means forms the first electrode in a substantially spherical shell shape, forms the second electrode in a spherical shape similar to the first electrode, and places the second electrode in the first electrode. The second electrode is fixedly supported by a support rod arranged so as to penetrate the first electrode, and the second electrode is fixedly supported by the penetrating portion of the first electrode of the support rod. It can also be configured by interposing a spacer that connects the two in an electrically insulated state.
With such a configuration, the surface area of the first electrode can be increased and the amount of electric charge charged on the first electrode can be increased.

At least a part of the lightning strike suppressing means, particularly the first electrode, the second electrode, and the connecting member may be formed in a flat shape corresponding to the cross-sectional shape of the main body of the blade.

According to the wind power generation equipment of the present invention, the insulated first and second electrodes provided on the blades of the wind turbine can suppress the occurrence of streamers around the wind power generation equipment and suppress the occurrence of lightning strikes. can.

It is a front view which shows the wind power generation facility to which Embodiment 1 of this invention was applied. It is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the main part of the blade of the wind turbine to which Embodiment 1 of this invention is applied. The first embodiment of the present invention is shown, and is a cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III of FIG. It is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the main part of the blade of the wind turbine to which Embodiment 2 of this invention is applied. FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of the present invention, which is a sectional view taken along line VV of FIG. It is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the main part of the blade of the wind turbine to which Embodiment 3 of this invention is applied.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 indicates a wind power generation facility to which the first embodiment of the present invention is applied. The wind power generation facility 1 includes a wind turbine 2 for wind power generation erected on the ground A, a power distribution facility 3 for supplying and distributing the electric energy generated by the wind turbine 2, and a transmission line 4. ..

The wind turbine 2 includes a support column 5, a nacelle (not shown) provided at the upper end of the support column 5, and a plurality of blades 6 mounted on the nacelle, and each of the tips of the blades 6 has a plurality of blades 6. A lightning strike suppression means 7 is provided.

Further, a ground wire 8 is installed inside the support column 5, one end of which is electrically connected to the lightning strike suppressing means 7, and the other end of which is buried in the ground A to be grounded.

Each of the blades 6 is connected to a generator (not shown) mounted inside the nacelle, and the blades 6 are rotated in response to the wind to drive the generator to generate electricity. Is supposed to be done.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the lightning strike suppressing means 7 includes a substantially hemispherical shell-shaped first electrode 9 and second electrode 10, and a peripheral edge portion of the first electrode 9 and a peripheral edge portion of the second electrode 10. A connecting member 11 interposed between them and connecting them in an insulated state at predetermined intervals, and a support member 12 attached to the second electrode 10 are provided. The connecting member 11 is formed of an electric insulator, is connected to the peripheral edge portion of the first electrode 9 and the peripheral edge portion of the second electrode 10, and is connected at a predetermined interval. As the connecting means, a fitting structure is used as shown in the illustrated example, and an adhesive is used to increase the bonding area to increase the bonding strength. Further, a screwing or screwing structure may be added to further increase the bonding strength.

On the other hand, at the center of the inner surface of the first electrode 9 and the second electrode 10, protrusions 9a and 10a facing each other at a predetermined distance L are integrally projected in a state where both electrodes 9 and 10 are connected. ing. The tips of the protrusions 9a and 10a are formed in a hemispherical shape.

In the present embodiment, the discharge means is configured by the protrusions 9a and 10a, and when the amount of electric charge generated by the thundercloud rises above the permissible value, the lightning strike is guided to the first electrode 9 and the protrusions 9a and 10a are guided. A lightning strike (large current) is discharged to the ground A via the ground wire 8 by discharging the electric charge between the lightning strike and the lightning strike (large current).

Further, the support member 12 is composed of a support rod 13 screwed to the second electrode 10 from the lower surface side thereof, and a fixing means 14 for fixing the support rod 13 and the second electrode 10.

The support rod 13 is embedded in the main body of the blade 6 formed of a non-conductor so as to be integrated, and the ground wire 8 is electrically connected to the support rod 13.

In the present embodiment configured in this way, as shown in FIG. 1, when a thundercloud in which a negative charge is distributed on the cloud base approaches, the opposite charge (plus charge) is distributed on the surface of the earth A. This electric charge collects positive charges on the second electrode 10 via the ground wire 8.

On the other hand, the first electrode 9 arranged via the insulator is negatively charged by the action of the capacitor.
Due to this action, the occurrence of an upward streamer in the blade 6 and its surroundings is unlikely to occur, and as a result, the occurrence of a lightning strike is suppressed.

The action of suppressing the generation of such an upward streamer is maintained even when the blade 6 is rotating.
Therefore, regardless of whether the blade 6 is stopped or rotating, the blade 6 and other constituent members of the wind turbine 2, or various facilities attached to the wind turbine 2 are provided. Lightning strikes can be suppressed.

As a result, the soundness of the blade 6 and, by extension, the soundness of the wind power generation facility 1 can be significantly improved.

4 and 5 show Embodiment 2 of the present invention.
In the second embodiment, the lightning suppression means 20 is modified, the first electrode 21 is formed in a substantially spherical shell shape, and the second electrode 22 is formed in a spherical shape similar to the first electrode 21. The second electrode 22 is arranged in the first electrode 21 at a uniform interval over the entire circumference, and the second electrode 22 is fixedly supported by a support rod 23 arranged so as to penetrate the first electrode 21. A spacer 24 for connecting the support rod 23 through the first electrode 21 in an electrically insulated state is interposed. In the illustrated example, the first electrode 21 is formed by dividing it into a hemisphere and integrating it into a spherical shell shape by welding stopper so that the second electrode 22 can be accommodated inside the first electrode 21.

With such a configuration, the surface area of the first electrode 21 can be increased, and the amount of electric charge charged on the first electrode 21 can be increased.
As a result, it is possible to enhance the lightning strike suppression effect when the amount of negative charge generated in the thundercloud increases.

FIG. 6 shows Embodiment 3 of the present invention.
In the third embodiment, the first electrode 31 of the lightning strike suppressing means 30 has a shape close to the original shape of the tip of the blade 6.
Reference numeral 32 indicates a second electrode, and reference numeral 33 indicates a connecting member. Other configurations are the same as those of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

With such a configuration, the lightning strike suppressing means 30 can be mounted while minimizing the shape change of the blade 6.
Further, the surface area of the first electrode 31 can be increased to increase the amount of negative charge.

It should be noted that the various shapes and the like of each component shown in each of the above-described embodiments are examples and can be variously changed based on design requirements and the like.
For example, as the support member 12, a pipe-shaped member, an elliptical cross-section, or the like may be used. Further, as a specific contour shape of the lightning strike suppressing means 7, the flatness may be higher than that of the illustrated example, or the flat shape may be spherical or close to a spherical shape.

From the viewpoint of improving the wind dynamic performance of the blade, it is desirable to form the blade in a flat shape close to the cross-sectional shape of the main body of the blade or a flat shape similar to the cross-sectional shape of the main body of the blade.
On the other hand, from the viewpoint of improving the lightning strike suppression effect, it is desirable to have a three-dimensional shape capable of forming a large surface area of the first electrode of the lightning strike suppression means.

1 Wind power generation equipment 2 Wind turbine 3 Power distribution facility 4 Transmission line 5 Strut 6 Blade 7 Lightning suppression means 8 Grounding wire 9 1st electrode 9a Projection 10a Projection 10 2nd electrode 11 Connecting member 12 Supporting member 13 Supporting rod 14 Fixing means 20 Lightning strike Suppressing means 21 1st electrode 22 2nd electrode 23 Supporting rod 24 Spacer 30 Lightning suppressing means 31 1st electrode 32 2nd electrode 33 Connecting member A Ground

Claims (6)

It is a wind power generation facility that generates electricity with a windmill that is rotated by receiving the wind and also transmits the generated power.
A lightning suppression means is provided at the tip of the main body of the blade constituting the windmill, and the lightning suppression means is attached to the tip of the main body of the blade in an electrically insulated state with a first electrode formed by a good conductor. , The first electrode is opposed to the first electrode in an electrically insulated state and is formed by a good conductor, and is interposed between the first electrode and the second electrode, and these are placed at a predetermined interval. It is equipped with a connecting member made of an electrical insulator to be connected.
A wind power generation facility characterized in that a ground wire grounded to the ground is electrically connected to the second electrode. The wind power generation facility according to claim 1, wherein a discharge means for concentrating the electric charges charged in each of the first electrode and the second electrode is provided. Each of the first electrode and the second electrode is formed in a substantially hemispherical shell shape, the connecting member is formed in an annular shape, and the first electrode and the second electrode are formed at the respective ends in the central axis direction of the connecting portion. The wind power generation facility according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the open end edge of the electrode is press-fitted and fixed. The wind power according to claim 3, wherein the discharging means is formed in each of the central portion of the inner surface of the first electrode and the central portion of the inner surface of the second electrode, and is composed of protrusions facing each other at predetermined intervals. Power generation equipment. The first electrode is formed in a substantially spherical shell shape, the second electrode is formed in a spherical shape similar to the first electrode, and the second electrode has a uniform spacing in the first electrode over the entire circumference. The second electrode is placed and supported, and the second electrode is fixedly supported by a support rod arranged so as to penetrate the first electrode, and these are connected to the penetrating portion of the first electrode of the support rod in an electrically insulated state. The wind power generation facility according to claim 1, wherein a spacer is interposed. The wind power generation facility according to claim 1, wherein at least a part of the lightning strike suppressing means is formed in a flat shape corresponding to the cross-sectional shape of the main body of the blade.

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