JP6038825B2 - Spur type floating structure and method of operating spar type floating structure - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a spar type floating body structure and a method for operating the spar type floating body structure.

  In recent years, interest in wind power generation has increased due to consideration of environmental issues. In this wind power generation, a so-called horizontal axis wind turbine is widely used. A horizontal axis wind turbine includes a rotor having a plurality of blades (blades) and a rotatable rotor, and a so-called nacelle that rotatably supports the rotation shaft of the rotor in a horizontal state, and the nacelle is a structure such as a tower. What is supported on the top of is generally known.

  As the types of wind turbines, there are an up-wind type wind turbine in which the rotor is disposed on the leeward side and a down-wind type wind turbine in which the rotor is disposed on the leeward side. In these windmills, in order to rotate the rotor efficiently, it is necessary to face the rotor in the wind direction.In the upwind type windmill, the nacelle is supported so as to freely rotate (turn) with respect to a structure such as a tower, Active yaw control with an active yaw mechanism that allows the nacelle to be rotated (turned) by the power of a drive motor or the like is exclusively employed. In this active yaw control, the nacelle is actively controlled to rotate with respect to the tower by the power of the active yaw mechanism so that the rotor of the upwind wind turbine faces the windward side.

  On the other hand, in a downwind type windmill, a free yaw is employed exclusively with a passive yaw mechanism interposed between the nacelle and a structure such as a tower so as to freely rotate (turn). This passive yaw mechanism (free yaw) is to turn the rotor of a downwind type windmill passively toward the leeward side by rotating like a weathercock by wind force.

  Recently, offshore wind power generation has attracted attention. There are two types of offshore wind power generation: a landing type and a floating type. The landing type has already been put into practical use as a type in which a windmill is fixed to a relatively shallow seabed. On the other hand, the floating type is a type that floats a windmill over the ocean at a relatively deep water depth, and because it can be installed in a sea area where the landing type is difficult to construct, it has attracted attention and is currently being researched and developed. .

  Patent Document 1 below discloses a wind power generation system in which a slender floating body structure (cylindrical tower) called a spar type is floated on the sea surface like a fishing float and is mounted on a windmill. Facilities are listed. And the nacelle (machine room) of the windmill is arranged in the upper part of the floating structure, which can be rotated in conjunction with the direction of the wind by a known technique, Since there is a description that the rotor (rotary blade) can be turned so that it is on the leeward side during normal operation, the downwind wind turbine is placed on the spar type floating structure via a passive yaw mechanism. It is thought that it is mounted so that it can rotate.

JP 2005-526213 A

  Here, on the spar type floating structure, whether the downwind type windmill is mounted as in Patent Literature 1 or the above-described upwind type windmill is determined by the customer's request, There is a need for a new spar-type floating structure that can easily cope with any wind turbine.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a spar-type floating structure and an operation method of the spar-type floating structure that can easily cope with any of the downwind type windmill and the upwind type windmill. is there.

  The spar type floating structure of the present invention is a spar type floating structure in which an upwind type windmill or a downwind type windmill can be mounted on the upper part, and the lower part can be moored on the bottom of the water through mooring means. And a passive yaw mechanism that is provided in the lower portion and rotatably connects the lower portion to the mooring means, and a restraining means that restrains the rotation of the rotating portion of the passive yaw mechanism.

  According to the spar type floating structure of the present invention, since the passive yaw mechanism is provided at the lower part of the spar type floating structure, when the downwind type windmill is mounted, the passive yaw mechanism is separately provided at the upper part of the spar type floating structure. The nacelle of the downwind type windmill may be mounted as it is without being provided. As a result, the freewind of the downwind type wind turbine by the passive yaw mechanism at the lower part of the spar type floating structure is possible, and it is possible to easily cope with the case where the downwind type windmill is mounted. On the other hand, when an upwind type windmill is mounted, the nacelle of the upwind type windmill is mounted on the upper part of the spar type floating structure via an active yaw mechanism as in the conventional case, and the spar type floating structure described above is mounted. The rotating part of the lower passive yaw mechanism may be restrained by restraining means so that the spar type floating structure cannot be rotated relative to the mooring means. As a result, the active yaw control of the upwind type windmill by the active yaw mechanism on the upper side of the spar type floating structure is possible, and it is possible to easily cope with the case where the upwind type windmill is mounted. In other words, it is possible to easily cope with the case where any of the downwind type windmill and the upwind type windmill is installed.

  Here, when the spar type is a long and slender cylindrical body, and the cylindrical body has a structure capable of accommodating the single tension leg constituting the mooring means, the single tension leg is provided in the spar type floating structure. In the accommodated state, it can be transported to the installation location, and transportation becomes easy.

  Further, as a method of operating the spar type floating structure, specifically, when an upwind type windmill is mounted or when a downwind type windmill is mounted and a passive yaw mechanism is provided, a restraining means Therefore, when the rotation of the rotating part of the passive yaw mechanism below the spar type floating structure is restricted and the downwind type wind turbine is mounted, there is an operation method in which the restriction means is not restricted.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it can respond easily when mounting any windmill of a downwind type windmill or an upwind type windmill.

It is a schematic block diagram which shows the downwind type wind power generator provided with the spar type | mold floating body structure which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the passive yaw mechanism and single tension leg of the lower part of the spar type | mold floating body structure in FIG. It is the III-III arrow line view of FIG. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the upwind type wind power generator provided with the spar type | mold floating body structure which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the active yaw mechanism in FIG. It is a VI-VI arrow line view of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the passive yaw mechanism and restraint means of the lower part of the spar type | mold floating body structure in FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the restraint means different from the restraint means in FIG. It is an IX-IX arrow line view of FIG.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a spar type floating body structure and a method for operating the spar type floating body structure according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant descriptions are omitted.

  1 and 4 are each a diagram showing a wind power generator provided with a spar type floating structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. First, the downwind type wind power generator shown in FIG. 1 will be described.

  The downwind-type wind power generator 100 is roughly composed of a downwind-type windmill 1, a spar-type floating structure 2 on which the downwind-type windmill 1 is mounted, mooring means 3 for mooring the spar-type floating structure 2 on the seabed, Is provided.

  The downwind wind turbine 1 rotatably supports a rotor 6 in which a plurality of blades (blades) 4 project radially from a hub 5 and a main shaft (horizontal shaft) 7 that is connected to the hub 5 and extends in a substantially horizontal direction. A nacelle 8.

  The blade 4 and the nacelle 8 are shaped to efficiently capture the wind by facing the leeward side with respect to the wind direction indicated by the arrow.

  The nacelle 8 accommodates therein a speed increasing device for increasing the rotation of the main shaft 7 and a generator for generating electric power by converting the rotation of the main shaft 7 to electricity, and transmits electric power generated by the generator. The nacelle 8 is mounted on the upper part of the spar type floating structure 2.

  The mooring means 3 for mooring the spar type floating body structure 2 to the seabed is of a so-called tension mooring system provided with a single tension leg 9. The single tension leg 9 is made of, for example, a steel pipe or wire, and one end thereof is connected to the lower part 10 of the spar type floating structure 2 and the other end is connected to the anchor 11. A universal joint 12 is interposed in the single tension leg 9 in the middle of the axial direction on both ends thereof.

  The universal joint 12 is a universal joint that can freely change the joining angle of two axes sandwiching the universal joint 12 (see FIG. 2). The spar type floating structure 2 is, for example, FIG. As shown in the figure, the single tension leg 9 can follow the spar type floating structure 2 when drifting variously on the ocean.

  Here, as the universal joint 12, for example, those using a cross shape or a sphere can be used, but from the viewpoint of durability, a cross shape (a biaxial separation type in which each axis is not arranged in the same plane) is used. It is preferable to employ (including).

  Further, although the gravity-type gravity anchor is used as the anchor 11 here, a suction anchor or the like that is pushed into the inside with a negative pressure and fixed to the seabed can also be used (see FIG. 4).

  A spar-type floating structure 2 on which the downwind type windmill 1 is mounted and moored on the sea floor by the mooring means 3 is an elongated cylindrical structure, and a nacelle 8 of the downwind type windmill 1 is fixed to the upper part thereof. As shown in FIG. 2, a passive yaw mechanism 13 is provided in the lower portion 10. In addition, as a spar type | mold floating body structure 2, cylindrical bodies, such as a square cylinder shape, can also be used.

  The passive yaw mechanism 13 is a connecting portion called a swivel that can freely rotate with respect to each other. The lower yaw 10 of the spar type floating structure 2 is rotatably connected to the single tension leg 9.

  Here, the passive yaw mechanism 13 includes a tension leg receiving base 14 that is located in the lower part 10 and connected to the single tension leg 9, and metal bearings 15 and 16 that are fixed on the bottom of the lower part 10 and receive the tension leg receiving base 14. .

  The tension leg pedestal 14 is configured as a truncated cone-shaped cylinder, and has an annular flat plate-shaped metal portion 17 at the bottom of the truncated cone-shaped cylinder. The metal portion 17 is configured to be wide in the radial direction. Then, the single tension leg 9 penetrates the top plate 18 of the tension leg cradle 14, and the head 19 at the upper end of the single tension leg 9 rotates on the top plate 18 between the tension leg cradle 14 and the single tension leg 9. Is placed in a restrained state.

  The metal bearing 15 receives the bottom surface of the metal portion 17 of the tension leg receiving base 14 in the thrust direction, and is configured in an annular flat plate shape corresponding to the shape of the metal portion 17. Instead of the metal bearing 15, for example, a thrust rolling bearing or the like can be used.

  The metal bearing 16 receives the outer peripheral surface of the metal portion 17 of the tension leg receiving base 14 in the radial direction, and is configured in a cylindrical shape so as to surround the metal portion 17 and the metal bearing 15.

  These metal bearings 15 and 16 constitute the rotating unit 20 of the passive yaw mechanism 13. The metal bearings 15 and 16 are preferably oilless.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 1, in the state where the spar type floating structure 2 floats on the sea surface, buoyancy (an arrow pointing upward in FIG. 2) acts on the spar type floating structure 2, so that the single tension leg 9 A tension (an arrow pointing downward in FIG. 2) acts on the spar type floating body structure 2 in a state of being almost upright like a fishing float, and the single tension leg 9 ( It is rotatably connected to the tension leg cradle 14).

  In addition, it is preferable that a liquid ballast or a solid ballast material for maintaining the stability of the wind turbine is accommodated inside the spar type floating structure 2.

  Here, in this embodiment, the restraint means 21 which can restrain rotation of the rotation part 20 as needed is attached.

  As shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 7, the restraining means 21 includes a projecting portion 22 that projects outward from the outer peripheral surface of the tension leg receiving base 14, and a projecting portion 22 that stands on the bottom of the lower portion 10. A cylindrical portion 23 arranged so as to surround, an overhang portion 24 projecting inward from the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 23, and a lock pin 25 (see FIG. 7) passed through the overhang portions 22 and 24. Prepare.

  The overhang portion 22 is a collar portion that is fixed to the outer peripheral surface on the lower side of the tension leg cradle 14 and projects into an annular flat plate shape. A plurality of pin holes 26 are provided in the projecting portion 22 at regular intervals along the circumferential direction.

  The cylindrical portion 23 is disposed so as to surround the metal bearing 16 and extends upward from the metal bearing 16.

  The projecting portion 24 is a flat member whose base end is fixed to the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 23 and whose distal end projects toward the axial center of the cylindrical portion 23. Pieces are arranged. The overhang portion 24 has a pin hole 27 having a tip portion located above the overhang portion 22 and having the same shape as the pin hole 26. And each overhang | projection part 24 is arrange | positioned so that each pin hole 27 may overlap with each pin hole 26 of the overhang | projection part 22 in an up-down direction. The overhang portion 24 may be provided below the overhang portion 22.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the lock pin 25 has a shape in which the head portion 28 is expanded in diameter with respect to the shaft portion 29, and the shaft portion 29 passes from above to the pin holes 26 and 27 of the overhang portions 22 and 24. Then, by placing the head portion 28 on the overhanging portion 24, the overhanging portions 22 and 24 are constrained in the rotation direction, and the rotating portion 20 becomes non-rotatable.

  Here, in the downwind type wind power generator 100 shown in FIG. 1, as shown in FIG. 2, the restraining means 21 is not restrained, that is, the lock pin 25 is set in the pin holes 26 and 27. Since there is no (not inserted), the rotary unit 20 of the passive yaw mechanism 13 is rotatable with respect to the single tension leg 9 (tension leg receiving base 14).

  Therefore, according to the downwind type wind power generator 100 shown in FIG. 1, the downwind type windmill 1 and the spar type floating structure 2 are passive yaw mechanisms 13 so that the rotor 6 passively faces the leeward side according to the wind direction. Thus, it can be rotated (turned) with respect to the single tension leg 9 to exhibit its function as a downwind type wind power generator.

  Next, the upwind type wind power generator shown in FIG. 4 will be described.

  The up-wind type wind power generator 200 generally includes an up-wind type wind turbine 31, a spar-type floating structure 2 similar to the above in which the up-wind type wind turbine 31 is mounted via an active yaw mechanism 33, mooring means 3, Is provided.

  In the rotor 36 of the upwind wind turbine 31, the blade 34 and the nacelle 8 having a shape capable of efficiently capturing the wind by facing the windward side with respect to the wind direction indicated by the arrow are used.

  The active yaw mechanism 33 supports the nacelle 8 to be rotatable (turnable) with respect to the upper part of the spar type floating structure 2 and enables the nacelle 8 to be rotated (turned) by power (not shown) such as a drive motor. Here, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a plurality of (four here) metal shafts 40 provided below the nacelle 8 and projecting downward, and the spar type floating structure 2 An annular metal bearing 41 is provided on the upper portion so as to surround the plurality of metal shafts 40.

  The metal shafts 40 are spaced apart at equal intervals along the inner peripheral surface of the annular metal bearing 41, and are disposed so that the outer peripheral surface of the metal shaft 40 contacts the inner peripheral surface of the metal bearing 41. Thereby, the nacelle 8 is supported rotatably with respect to the upper part of the spar type floating structure 2.

  Here, in the lower part 10 of the spar type floating structure 2, as shown in FIG. 7, the restraint means 21 restrains, that is, the lock pin 25 is set in the pin holes 26, 27. The rotation unit 20 of the passive yaw mechanism 13 is restricted in rotation and cannot rotate with respect to the single tension leg 9 (tension leg receiving base 14), and the spar type floating structure 2 and the single tension leg 9 are integrated.

  Therefore, according to the upwind wind turbine generator 200 shown in FIG. 4, the upwind wind turbine 31 is actively spurted by the power of the active yaw mechanism 33 so that the rotor 36 of the upwind wind turbine 31 faces the windward side. The active yaw control that rotates (turns) on the floating structure 2 can be performed, and the function as an upwind wind power generator can be exhibited.

  Thus, according to the spar type floating structure 2 of the present embodiment, since the passive yaw mechanism 13 is provided in the lower part 10 of the spar type floating structure 2, when the downwind type windmill 1 is mounted, the spar type The nacelle 8 of the downwind type windmill 1 may be mounted as it is without providing a separate passive yaw mechanism at the upper part of the floating structure 2, and thereby the downwind type windmill by the passive yaw mechanism 13 at the lower part 10 of the spar type floating structure 2. 1 free yaw is possible, and it can be easily handled when the downwind wind turbine 1 is mounted. On the other hand, when the upwind type windmill 31 is mounted, the nacelle 8 of the upwind type windmill 31 is mounted on the upper part of the spar type floating structure 2 via the active yaw mechanism 33 as in the conventional case, and the spar described above. The rotating part 20 of the passive yaw mechanism 13 at the lower part 10 of the floating structure 2 may be restrained by the restraining means 21 so that the rotation of the spar floating structure 2 with respect to the mooring means 3 is disabled. The active yaw control of the upwind type windmill 31 by the active yaw mechanism 33 on the upper side of 2 is possible, and it is possible to easily cope with the case where the upwind type windmill 31 is mounted. That is, it is possible to easily cope with the case where any one of the downwind type windmill 1 and the upwind type windmill 31 is mounted.

  Further, according to the spar type floating body structure 2 of the present embodiment, since the spar type is an elongated cylindrical body, the cylindrical body has a space capable of accommodating the single tension leg 9 constituting the mooring means 3. In the state where the single tension leg 9 is accommodated in the spar type floating structure 2, it can be transported to the installation location. For this reason, transportation is easy.

  In the upwind type wind power generator 200, as described above, the active yaw control is normally performed by the active yaw mechanism 33. However, in the case of a storm, the active wind control is canceled and the upwind type wind power generator 200 is set to free yaw. It can also be applied to.

  8 is a cross-sectional view showing another restraining means different from the restraining means in FIG. 7, and FIG. 9 is a view taken along the arrow IX-IX in FIG.

  The restraining means 51 used here is a disc brake, and includes an actuator 55 disposed between the overhanging portions 22 and 24 in addition to the overhanging portion 22, the cylindrical portion 23, and the overhanging portion 24 described above. The actuator 55 is, for example, an air cylinder or an oil cylinder, and the bottom surface of the cylinder tube 56 is fixed to the lower surface of the overhanging portion 24 and the piston rod head portion 57 faces the upper surface of the overhanging portion 22. Is done.

  Here, the lock pin 25 is not used, and accordingly, the overhang portions 22 and 24 are not provided with pin holes.

  According to the constraining means 51 configured as described above, when the downwind wind turbine 1 is mounted, the piston rod of the actuator 55 is retracted, and the head 57 is separated from the upper surface of the overhanging portion 22 to rotate. The part 20 is rotatable. On the other hand, when the upwind wind turbine 31 is mounted, the piston rod is protruded and the head portion 57 is brought into pressure contact with the upper surface of the overhanging portion 22 so that the rotating portion 20 cannot be rotated.

  Even with such a restraining means 51, the same effect as the restraining means 21 can be obtained.

  The present invention has been specifically described above based on the embodiment. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the above embodiment, the downwind type windmill 1 is replaced with a spar type floating structure. 2, the nacelle 8 of the downwind type windmill 1 is fixedly mounted on the upper part of the spar type floating structure 2, but the nacelle 8 of the downwind type windmill 1 is installed as shown in FIG. 4. Can be mounted on the upper part of the spar type floating structure 2 via the active yaw mechanism 33. In this case, the active yaw mechanism 33 is prevented from operating, and the inactive operation is prevented from rotating (turning) the nacelle 8 of the downwind wind turbine 1 with respect to the spar type floating structure 2. There is a need to. Further, when the downwind type wind turbine 1 is mounted, when a known passive yaw mechanism (a mechanism for rotatably supporting the nacelle 8 with respect to the spar type floating structure 2) is provided, the restraining means 21 and 51 can What is necessary is just to restrain rotation of the rotation part 20 of the passive yaw mechanism 13 of the lower part of the type | mold floating body structure 2, and to set it as the free yaw by a well-known passive yaw mechanism.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the ocean is object, it can also make a lake and a river object.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Downwind type windmill, 2 ... Spar type floating body structure, 3 ... Mooring means, 9 ... Single tension leg, 10 ... Lower part, 11 ... Anchor, 12 ... Universal joint, 13 ... Passive yaw mechanism, 20 ... Rotating part, 21 , 51 ... Restraint means, 31 ... Upwind type windmill, 33 ... Active yaw mechanism.

Claims (3)

It is a spar type floating structure in which both an upwind type windmill and a downwind type windmill can be mounted at the upper part, and the lower part can be moored at the bottom of the water via mooring means,
A passive yaw mechanism that is provided at the lower portion and rotatably connects the lower portion to the mooring means;
A spar-type floating structure comprising: a restraining means capable of restraining the rotation of the rotating portion of the passive yaw mechanism. As a spur type, it presents an elongated cylindrical body
The spar type floating structure according to claim 1, wherein the cylindrical body is a space that can accommodate a single tension leg constituting the mooring means. A method for operating a spar type floating structure according to claim 1 or 2,
In the case where the upwind type windmill is mounted, or in the case where the downwind type windmill is mounted, when having another passive yaw mechanism that rotatably supports the nacelle with respect to the spar type floating structure , Restraining the rotation of the rotating part of the passive yaw mechanism below the spar type floating structure by the restraining means,
When the downwind type windmill is mounted, the restraint means does not restrain the spar-type floating structure operating method.

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