MX2008008718A - A wind turbine tower, a wind turbine and a method for assembling a wind turbine tower - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a wind turbine tower (2) comprising at least two adjacent metal tower plates (7). The wind turbine tower (2) is characterized in that, the tower plates (7) are connected by one or more fish joints (16). The invention further relates to a wind turbine (1) and a method for assembling a wind turbine tower (2).

Description

WIND TURBINE TOWER, WIND TURBINE AND METHOD TO ASSEMBLE A WIND TURBINE TOWER FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a wind turbine tower, in accordance with the preamble of claim 1, to a wind turbine and to a method for assembling a wind turbine tower.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A wind turbine, such as those known in the art, includes a tapered tower and a gondola located at the top of the tower. A wind turbine rotor, having several blades, is connected to the nacelle by means of a low speed arrow, which extends outward from the nacelle brake as illustrated in figure 1. The wind turbine towers are formed, in general, by several round and tapered tower sections mounted one on top of the other. These tower sections are usually joined by means of screws passing through horizontal flanges arranged on the inside, which are welded to the top and bottom of each tower section. Each of the sections of the tower includes several rings tower welded together. Said tower rings are usually made from steel plates that are rolled or rolled to form a circular shape and then welded to form a closed 360 ° ring. The general idea behind this design is that the tower has to be relatively easy to assemble at the site where it is to be installed and that a round tower whose joints are not visible is more pleasing to the eye. However, in recent years, the development of mass-produced wind turbines has been directed towards the manufacture of increasingly large turbines, both in terms of size and power generated. This process demands better and more profitable manufacturing methods and components, this development has been particularly great in the field of wind turbine towers. The facilities in which these large and modern wind turbine towers are manufactured, as mentioned above, require buildings with a free height of 8 m, access to lifting equipment with capacity to lift 70 t and very expensive rolling equipment and specialized. On the other hand, the use of welding reduces the limit of fatigue of the towers and, in this way, their resistance, which makes it necessary to manufacture the towers, or at least some of their parts, with thicker plates than would otherwise be necessary. On the other hand, the size of the welded towers almost reaches, in some cases already has, the limit of what can be transported in most of the roads, since the diameter of the tower is limited to what It can pass under bridges, through tunnels, etc. In the European patent application EP 1 561 883 a way to solve these problems is presented. This application describes a wind turbine tower that is made of prefabricated metal parts arranged alternately. The metal parts are given the shape of long essentially rectangular plates, which are open on the side facing the inside of the tower. These parts are joined with screws through the internal part of the tower using their adjacent sides. In the inner part of the tower can be placed a large annular reinforcing ring in order to improve the rigidity of it. This design produces a tower of polygonal shape, in which the welding is eliminated or reduced in a very important way. However, the design of these metal parts is complicated and, therefore, their manufacturing process is difficult and expensive.

An object of the invention is to present a wind turbine tower that does not have the mentioned disadvantages. A special object of the invention is to present a profitable design that offers a simple process for manufacturing towers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention presents a tower for wind turbine that includes at least two adjacent metal plates. The wind turbine tower is characterized in that the plates of the tower are joined by means of one or more joints of fish plates. The advantage obtained when the tower is manufactured by joining tower plates with fishplate joints is that it allows to obtain a simple tower design in which all parts of the tower can be manufactured using low technology manufacturing resources. The union of the plates with fishplate joints also offers the possibility of joining the plates of the tower using means of mechanical connection, such as screws, bolts or rivets. This prevents the tower from having to be welded, especially in those areas of the world where salaries per hour are relatively low, it is economically advantageous to join the plates, for example, with screws, since although it is a labor that requires more time to join with welding, a screwed tower can be manufactured with thinner plates, thus reducing the cost of the tower material. On the other hand, when the tower plates are joined with fishplate seals, the advantage, compared to the use of welding, is that the fishplate joints allow the tower or its sections to be assembled at the assembly site or near it. This has the advantage that the design of the tower would no longer be limited to using only that which, when transported, could pass under bridges, etc. It would be difficult and potentially very dangerous for the environment if the tower were welded at the assembly site. First of all, the welding process demands a relatively controlled atmosphere so that it can be carried out in an adequate and reliable way, conditions that can be difficult to achieve in assembly sites that are often very far away. Secondly, after joining with solder, the welded joint has to be ground and painted, which also has to be done in a controlled environment to obtain a result satisfactory. Both grinding and painting are manufacturing processes that constitute a threat to the environment in the event that they are not carried out in a controlled environment. On the other hand, fabricating the tower plates with steel has the advantage that steel is a strong, fully tested and relatively inexpensive material, which is entirely suitable for making large towers for wind turbine. Additionally, in any part of the world it is possible to find mechanical workshops that machine (cut, drill, rectify and bend) relatively large steel plates, which provides the possibility of manufacturing tower plates relatively close to the assembly site, without matter how far the assembly site is. The reason for the above is, furthermore, that in manufacturing the tower, or sections thereof, from a certain number of plates, it is possible to manufacture the plates in a manufacturing facility whose free height is less than the total diameter of the tower. tower and that the plates are smaller and lighter than a section or complete ring of the tower, which in this way facilitates its handling during manufacturing. It should be emphasized that with the term "fishnet board" reference is made to a board that joins or connects tower plates through one or more stress transfer rods, plates, plates, connections or similar, which indirectly connect the tower plates. The term "fishplate seal" does not include joints in which the tower plates are directly joined together, for example, by overlapping the plates and joining them with screws in the overlap region. On the other hand, it should be emphasized that the term "fishnet joint" is not limited to being understood only as those types of joints in which a stress transfer rod is placed on the inner surface of the joint between the plates, a plate, an fishplate, a connection or the like, and on the outer surface of the same board is placed another rod of stress transfer, fish plate, connection or the like. A "fishnet joint" can also be a stress transfer rod, plate, fishplate, connection or the like, placed only on the inner surface or only on the outer surface of the joint, to join the tower plates. In one aspect of the invention, the fishplate joint (s) includes one or more fishplates that are only in contact with the inner surfaces of the at least two adjacent metal plates of the tower and / or one or more fishplates that are only in Contact 52-519 with the outer surfaces of the at least two adjacent metal plates of the tower. The use of fish plates is a simple and profitable way to form a board of fish plates and to place these fish plates, whether on the external surface or on the internal surface, or placing an fish plate on both sides of the tower surface, has the advantage that the assembly process is simplified and that the transfer of loads through A fishnet joint formed by fish plates is made in a uniform distribution, which makes the strength of the tower relatively easy to calculate. The above has the advantage that when calculating the strength of the tower is relatively easy, it also reduces the cost of modifying the size of the tower, thus increasing the flexibility of the tower design. On the other hand, the assembly of the tower with fish plates, allows the individual plates of the tower to be replaced, for example, when a tower plate is damaged when being hoisted towards the nacelle. In one aspect of the invention, the plate or plates rests solely on the inner surface of the at least two adjacent metal plates of the tower. The placement of the fish plates in the inner part of the tower has the advantage that, when "Hide" the fish plates, the tower is more attractive to look at. Additionally, when the fish plates are placed inside the tower, they are more protected against rain, snow, seawater and the like. In one aspect of the invention, the plate (s) are attached to the at least two adjacent metal plates of the tower by bolt screws. Joining in a wind turbine tower a load transmitting joint by means of welding is a rather complicated procedure, which has to be carried out by certified welders and, possibly, afterwards it has to be examined with X-rays, with ultrasound or with another non-destructive analysis method to ensure the quality of the union. The person who is going to place the screws in a bolted load transmitting joint of a wind turbine tower only needs to receive a very basic training to perform this task in a satisfactory manner, in addition, the control procedure is much simpler and requires much simpler team. Additionally, the joint could also be made with screws or rivets, however, screws are usually more expensive than bolt screws and the installation of traditional rivets often consumes too much time.

In one aspect of the invention, the shape of the fish plate (s) is essentially rectangular and its length, width and thickness is practically constant. Giving the fishplates a simple rectangular design has the advantage that it is possible to reduce manufacturing costs and that the load transfer capacity of simple rectangular plates having cross sections of constant thickness can be calculated in a simple manner. What makes it easier to calculate the dimensions of the fishplates and the tower, which again makes this design flexible and profitable. It should be emphasized that what is meant by the expression "constant length, width and thickness" is that the length, width and thickness of each of the individual fish plates is practically constant. The expression does not mean that all the plates of a tower are limited to having the same length, width and thickness. In one aspect of the invention, the fish plate (s) have a thickness (T) of between 1 and 50 mm, preferably between 3 and 30 mm and, most preferably, between 5 and 10 mm. If the fish plates are very thin, they will not be able to transfer the necessary load and, if they are very thick, their Manufacturing will be very expensive and will be very heavy. Therefore, the present thickness ranges provide a useful relationship between the functionality and the cost of the fish plates. In one aspect of the invention, the at least two adjacent metal plates for tower include a first vertical region or essentially vertical and a second vertical region or essentially vertical, where the first side region of a first tower plate of the at least two adjacent metal tower plates are attached to the second region of the other tower plate of the at least two adjacent metal tower plates. The advantage of joining the tower plates to their side regions is that, with respect to the direction of loading, it provides an advantageous place to join the tower plates using mechanical connection means, such as, for example, bolts. , screws or rivets. On the other hand, when manufacturing the tower or sections of the tower with several tower plates joined vertically, it is possible to transport the tower in the form of individual plates, which are assembled at or near the assembly site. In this way, it is possible to design towers that have better capabilities 52-519 of load transfer, such as, for example, a tower that at the base has a diameter of, for example, 10 meters. It should be emphasized that the term "vertical" refers to the vertical direction in a raised wind turbine tower, in which the tower will be located during the normal use of a wind turbine. In one aspect of the invention, the tower includes at least two complete 360 ° tower sections, the at least two tower sections include at least two horizontally adjacent tower metal plates. Building a wind turbine tower from its foundations or horizontally assembling the tower in its entirety and then raising the entire tower is a difficult process, particularly when the size of the towers increases day by day. Therefore, it is advantageous that the tower is subdivided into sections, since, in this way, it is possible to assemble a manageable portion of the tower and place it on top of the at least one other section using, for example, a crane mobile that has a reasonable lifting capacity. It should be emphasized that the term "horizontally" refers to the address 52-519 horizontal in a raised wind turbine tower, in which the tower would be located during the normal use of a wind turbine. In one aspect of the invention, the plates of a tower section have essentially the same shape. By making all the tower plates of a specific section of the tower essentially the same shape, it has the advantage that it simplifies the manufacturing and assembly processes. In one aspect of the invention, the plates of a section of the tower are aligned vertically. The vertical alignment of all the plates of a specific section of the tower has the advantage that the vertical ends of the tower plates are aligned, which allows for a simple union between sections of the tower. On the other hand, the alignment of the tower plates also provides a more symmetrical tower, which is, at the same time, easier to assemble and more pleasing to the eye. In one aspect of the invention, the at least two sections of the tower include between 1 and 50, preferably between 2 and 30, and most preferably, 52-519 between 3 and 10, for example, 4, 6 or 8 horizontally adjacent tower plates. The cost of manufacturing and assembly increases with increasing number of plates in a tower ring, because more plates have to be handled and more joints have to be made. However, if the number of plates is very small, the plates have to be so wide that they become very expensive, besides that their handling is also difficult. The present intervals in the number of the plates offer, therefore, a profitable relationship with regard to the cost of manufacture and assembly. In one aspect of the invention, at least two of the at least two complete 360 ° sections of the tower include a dissimilar number of tower plates. When the sections of the tower include different number of plates, it has the advantage that it offers a tower design in which the number of vertical joints is reduced, which allows the assembly of the tower to be faster and more efficient. In one aspect of the invention, the tower of the wind turbine tapers upwards. By making the tower wider in the lower part than in the upper one, you have the advantage that you get a profitable tower design in which 52-519 Regarding the transfer of charges. It should be emphasized that with the term "upward" reference is made to the upward vertical direction in a raised wind turbine tower, in which the tower would be located during the normal use of a wind turbine. In one aspect of the invention, the tower of the wind turbine has a polygonal shape. When the tower is polygonal shaped, the use of complicated and expensive lamination equipment is avoided, since the tower can be manufactured with straight and flat plates or the plates can be shaped by making several vertical or essentially vertical folds. In this way, the process of forming the tower plates is not restricted to plants that have very specialized rolling mills, but the plates can be bent into much simpler and more common bending machines, like those that can be found anywhere. of the world. This allows the towers to be built near the site where they will be erected, even though these areas are often quite far away and, in this way, the need to transport the towers over great distances is avoided. In one aspect of the invention, at least the two tower plates include between 1 and 15, preferably 2 or 7 vertical or essentially vertical folds. Manufacturing costs increase with increasing number of bends, but when considering the distribution of loads, the optimal design of the tower is round, that is, since the tower has to transfer the moment of the wind loads coming from all directions. The present intervals in the number of folds offer, therefore, an advantageous relationship between the cost of manufacturing and profitable qualities of load transfer. In one aspect of the invention, the at least two tower plates have a width in the lower part that is greater than the width of the upper part. When the tower plates are wider in. the bottom part that in the above, has the advantage that they offer a simple way to make the tower is wider in the lower part than in the upper part, which provides an advantageous design of the tower in what Regarding the transfer of charges. In one aspect of the invention, the at least two tower plates have a longitudinal extension of 52-519 between 1 and 50 m, preferably, between 3 and 30 m and, most preferably, between 7 and 15 m. If the length of the tower plates becomes too large, it becomes difficult to handle and transport and it is difficult to find manufacturing equipment, such as bending machines, laser or torch cutting machines and others that can handle long plates. . If the length of the plates is very short, the number of plates increases, thus increasing the number of horizontal joints, which will then increase the time needed to assemble a tower. The present length ranges therefore provide an advantageous relationship between what is possible and economically advantageous to manufacture and handle and the assembly time of the towers. It should be emphasized that the term "longitudinal extension" refers to the direction in which the tower plates are longer, that is, the vertical or essentially vertical direction of the tower plates, when they are installed in a tower of wind turbine lifted. In one aspect of the invention, each of the at least two tower plates has a constant thickness. Make the tower plates have a 52-519 Constant thickness has the advantage that it reduces material costs and allows using a simple manufacturing process. It must be emphasized that the foregoing does not limit the fact that all the plates have the same thickness. It is very feasible to obtain advantages by making the plates on the bottom of the tower thicker than the plates on the top of the tower, since the plates on the bottom of the tower have to transfer a load much greater than the plates on the top of the tower. In one aspect of the invention, the at least two tower plates have a thickness of between 1 and 50 mm, preferably between 3 and 30 mm and, more preferably, between 9 and 20 mm. If the thickness of the plates becomes very thick, the manufacturing process becomes more difficult, as well as increasing the cost of the material. If the thickness of the plates becomes very thin, the diameter of the tower would have to increase correspondingly to be able to transfer the same load, which would make the tower disadvantageously wide and increase the number of vertical joints and, thus, the Assembly time. Therefore, the present intervals of thicknesses provide an advantageous relationship between manufacturing and material costs and an advantageous tower design, especially in terms of assembly time. In one aspect of the invention, the largest width of the at least two tower plates is between 0.5 and 20 m, preferably between 1 and 10 m and, most preferably, between 1.5 and 5 m. If the tower plates become too wide, their handling and transport becomes difficult and it becomes increasingly difficult to find rolling mills capable of making wide plates. If the width of the plates is very small, the number of plates increases to form a tower, thus increasing the number of vertical joints, which will then increase the time needed to assemble a tower. The present width intervals therefore provide an advantageous relationship between what is possible and economically advantageous to manufacture and handle and the assembly time of the towers. The invention further relates to a wind turbine having a wind turbine tower according to any one of claims 1 to 20. Additionally, the invention relates to a method to assemble a wind turbine tower. The method comprises the steps of: forming at least two sections of the tower by joining at least two adjacent metal tower plates using one or more fishnet joints; of the at least two tower sections, mounting a first tower section on at least one other tower section of the at least two sections of the tower and joining the first section of the tower with the other section of the tower. It is advantageous to manufacture tower sections with at least two adjacent tower plates joined by fishplate seals, since when the tower can be divided vertically, it is possible to transport with relative ease the individual plates of the tower, for example, in standard ISO containers, up to the assembly site and then assemble the sections of the tower at the site of the tower. assembly using, for example, mechanical joining means, such as screws, bolts or rivets. On the other hand, the position of a vertical fishplate joint in a section of the tower does not depend on the position of the vertical fishplate joints in other sections of the tower. Hence, the number of Tower plates do not have to be the same in all sections of the tower. This has the advantage that if the diameter of the tower is gradually reduced upwards (as in almost all wind turbine towers) and it is economically profitable to use tower plates of a certain maximum width, such as 2.4 meters , the number of plates in the sections of the tower can be reduced in the whole tower, thus reducing the number of vertical joints in the tower. When it is possible to reduce the number of vertical joints, the number of, for example, bolted joints can be correspondingly reduced, thus significantly reducing the time to assemble the tower. In one aspect of the invention, the first section of the tower and the other section of the tower are joined by means of one or more fishnet joints. In the same way, when joining the sections of the tower together with fishplate joints, all or almost all welding can be avoided, either inside or outside, which makes it possible to reduce the consumption of tower materials. In one aspect of the invention, the at least two sections of the tower have been given the shape of complete 360 ° rings. 52-519 By forming the sections of the tower as complete 360 ° rings, it has the advantage that, in this way, the strength and rigidity of the towers is increased, in particular, because the tower has to withstand the wind loads coming from the tower. from all directions. It should be emphasized that the expression "complete 360 ° rings" does not limit the tower sections to any specific shape, such as circular. The sections of the tower could also have, in horizontal cross section, the triangular, square, rectangular, elliptical, polygonal or some other shape. The expression "complete 360o rings" only means that it is a closed form. In one aspect of the invention, the one or more fishnet joints were made by having one or more fish plates rest solely on the inner surfaces of the at least two adjacent metal tower plates and / or were made by having one or more Fish plates rest only on the outer surfaces of the at least two adjacent metal plates of the tower. In one aspect of the invention, the plate or plates rests solely on the inner surface of the at least two adjacent metal plates of the tower. 52-519 In one aspect of the invention, the plate (s) are attached to the at least two adjacent metal plates of the tower using bolts. In one aspect of the invention, the shape of the fish plate (s) is essentially rectangular and its length, width and thickness is practically constant. In one aspect of the invention, the at least two adjacent metal plates for tower include a first vertical region or essentially vertical and a second vertical region or essentially vertical, where the first side region of a first tower plate of the at least two adjacent metal tower plates are attached to the second region of the other tower plate of the at least two adjacent metal tower plates. In one aspect of the invention, the plates of a tower section have essentially the same shape. In one aspect of the invention, the plates of a section of the tower are aligned vertically. In one aspect of the invention, the at least two tower plates have between 1 and 15, preferably 2 or 7, vertical or essentially vertical folds. 52-519 In one aspect of the invention, assembly is performed at or near the assembly site, where the wind turbine tower will be erected. The assembly of the tower on the site or very close to the site where the tower will be erected has the advantage that it avoids transporting those parts of the tower that are difficult to manage over great distances. On the other hand, assembling the tower on site or very close to the mounting site is possible due to the fact that a bolted load transmitting joint can be made with full correction, even under relatively rudimentary conditions, while a transmitting joint of welded load requires having a controlled environment to be carried out with all conflabilidad.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES The invention will be described below with reference to the figures, in which: Figure 1 illustrates a large and modern wind turbine, as those known in the art, viewed from the front. Figure 2 illustrates a section of a wind turbine tower, according to the invention, seen from above.

Figure 3 illustrates a wind turbine tower according to the invention, seen from the front. Figure 4 illustrates a tower plate, viewed from the rear, that is, from the inside of a wind turbine tower. Figure 5 illustrates the same tower plate illustrated in Figure 4, viewed from above. Figure 6 illustrates the cross-section of an embodiment of a fishplate joint between two tower plates, viewed from above. Figure 7 illustrates the cross-section of an embodiment of a fishnet joint between two tower plates of different thickness, seen from above. Figure 8 illustrates a part of the interior of a wind turbine tower that includes riser joints, viewed from the rear. Figure 9 illustrates a part of a vertical cross section through a horizontal plate joint on the top of a wind turbine tower, viewed from the front.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Figure 1 illustrates a wind turbine 1, such as those known in the art, including a tapered tower 2 that is subdivided into several sections 6 of tower. In the upper part of the tower 2 a gondola 3 of wind turbine is located. The rotor 4 of the wind turbine, which has several wind turbine blades 5, is attached to the nacelle 3 by means of the low speed arrow extending outwards from the front part of the nacelle 3. Figure 2 illustrates a section 6 of a wind turbine tower 2, according to the invention, seen from above. In this embodiment of the invention, section 6 of the tower includes eight tower plates placed side by side. In another embodiment of the invention, the section 6 of the tower could include a different number of tower plates 7, such as two, four, six or ten. None of the plates 7 or parts of the plates 7 overlap with other plates 7 or with parts of other plates 7. The adjacent tower plates 7 generate several vertical or essentially vertical joints 18 which are joined by means of joints of fish plates 16, which, by means of plates 8 attached to the internal surfaces 9 of the adjacent plates 7 join the latter. In another embodiment of the invention, the plates 8 could also be placed on the outer surface 10 of the tower plates 7, alternatively, on the surface internal 9 and on the outer surface 10, the plates 7 could be provided with fish plates 8 both on the inner surface 9 and on the outer surface 10 or the fish plates 8 could be placed in some other way, as long as a certain fish plate 8 always is attached to the same side of the surface 9 or 10 of the two plates 7 joining. In this embodiment of the invention, the eight tower plates 7 are identical or essentially identical and each of the plates 7 of the tower includes three vertical folds 11, giving the section 6 of the tower a polygonal shape of twenty-four sides. In another embodiment of the invention, each of the tower plates could have a different number of vertical folds 11, such as one, two, four or five. The eight plates 7 could also contain a variable number of folds 11, the eight plates 7 could be completely straight and flat plates, which causes the section 6 of the tower to have eight sides, the plates 7 could also be laminated, which causes that the section 6 of the tower is round and each of the eight plates 7 would cover practically 45 ° of the 360 ° of the entire section 6 of the tower or section 6 of the tower could include a combination of plates 7 of different shapes .

If the section 6 of the tower is formed, for example, with eight straight plates 7, the plates 8 could include a vertical fold in, for example, its middle part so that it essentially forms the complete side of the plates 8 facing the plates 7 of the tower, supported on the inner surface 9 of the plates 7 of the tower. Likewise, if the tower plates 7 were laminated, the plates 8 could also be laminated to conform to the shape of the tower plates 7 at the joints 15 and 18. Figure 3 illustrates a wind turbine tower 2 of according to the invention, seen from the front. In this embodiment of the invention, the tower 2 has nine tower sections 6, however, in another embodiment, the tower 2 could have a different number of sections 6. The lower section 12 of the tower has, in this embodiment, a height Lp of 3,820 mm and the other eight sections 6 all have a height Lp of 9,000 mm, which causes the tower to have a total height of 75,820 mm, however, it is evident that these heights Lp, both that of the individual section 6 as that of the total height of the tower, can vary almost infinitely within the scope of the invention. In this embodiment of the invention, the lower section 12 of the tower has a height Lp smaller than the 52-519 of the rest of the sections 6, because the lower section 12 of the tower includes a tower plate 7 containing the door opening 17. The plate 7 containing the door opening 17 has a thickness Tp considerably greater than that of the rest of the plates 7 of the lower section of the tower and, to reduce the use of material, the lower section 12 is, in this embodiment , shorter than the rest of the sections 12. In another embodiment of the invention, the plate 7 containing the door opening 17 could be placed in another section 6 of the tower 2, as for example, in the second or in the third section 6, counted from the bottom 13 of the tower 2 or the door opening 17 could be formed in some other way that makes it possible and / or advantageous to manufacture, with a different height Lp, a section 6 that includes opening 17 for door. Forming the door opening 17 in the second section 6, or in the third, could have advantages, for example, on the coast, where the door could be located at a safe or relatively safe distance from the waves and the water that in various ways would hit the tower 2. It is evident that this relatively high position of the door would need a means of access, for example, in the form of ladders, stairs, elevators or others, located on the outside 52-519 of the tower 2. In this embodiment of the invention, the thickness Tp of the plates 7 of the tower can vary along the tower 2. In this embodiment, all the tower plates 7 of the lower section 12 (with the exception of of the plate 7 containing the door opening 17, which has a thickness of 27 mm) and of the section 6 that is placed directly above it, have a thickness of 17 mm. All the plates 7 of the third and fourth sections 6 have a thickness of 16 mm, all the plates 7 of the fifth section 6 have a thickness of 15 mm, all the plates 7 of the sixth section 6 have a thickness of 14 mm, all the plates 7 of the seventh section 6 have a thickness of 13 mm and all the plates 7 of the ninth and upper sections 6 have a thickness of 12 mm, where all the sections 6 are counted upwards from the lower part 13 of the tower 2. This variation in the thickness Tp of the plates as it is being ascended by the tower 2, has the purpose of reducing the use of material in the tower 2 and thus reducing the cost thereof, since that the efforts that the tower 2, the sections 6 of the tower and the plates 7 of the tower have to bear are reduced as they go up. In another embodiment of the invention, the thickness Tp of the plates 7 of the tower could vary 52-519 between 1 and 50 mm, preferably, between 4 and 35 mm and, most preferably, between 8 and 25 mm. The plates 7 of the tower could also be placed alternately, in which the plates 7 of the lower part 13 and / or of the upper part 14 of the tower 2 would alternately have different length Lp. Then, the length Lp of the rest of the plates 7 of the tower 2 could be practically the same. The result in an alternate construction of this type would be that none of the horizontal joints 15 between the plates 7 of the tower would be located directly one after the other. A variant of this type of tower design 2 would be to manufacture several sections 6 with alternating plates 7. In this embodiment of the invention, the tower tapers at an essentially constant angle, because all the sections 6 taper at an essentially constant angle, which causes the tower 2 to be wider in the lower part 13 than in the lower part. upper part 14, although in another embodiment, tower 2 could have a constant cross section that causes the cross section of tower 2 to be straight, tower 2 could have curves, such as, for example, concave or convex curves, which would give the tower 2 flared shape; the diameter of tower 2 could be reduced 52-519 up in stages or tower 2 could be designed in some other way, depending on factors such as the assembly site, tower size 2, production costs, transportation or other. A tower 2, as illustrated in Figure 3, made with tower plates 7 joined by means of bolted plates 8, can contain more than 15,000 bolts 22. During assembly of the tower, both immediately after assembly and each determined intervals during the useful life of the towers 2, it will be necessary to keep a check of the bolts 22 of the seals 15 and 18 and, possibly, they have to be tightened. Therefore, on the inner side of the tower 2 could be provided, advantageously, an elevator, which could easily be located in front or very close to these bolts 22, regardless of the "axial" or "radial" position that they have in tower 2. Figure 4 illustrates a tower plate 7, seen from the rear, that is, from the inner side of a wind turbine tower 2 and figure 5 illustrates the same tower plate 7 seen from above . This embodiment of a tower plate 7 includes three vertical or essentially vertical folds 11 and the tower plate 7 has a width Wb of the lower part, which is greater than 52-519 width Wt of the upper part, which allows tower 2 to be shaken at an essentially constant angle; however, in another embodiment, the tower plate 7 could also be practically rectangular or the vertical or essentially vertical side regions 19 and 20 could be non-linear, that is, they could curl outwardly in the lower part. In this embodiment of the invention, the lateral regions 19 and 20 contain several round through holes 21 to form an eclipse joint 16 joining to the tower plate 7 one or more plates 8 with bolts 22, screws, rivets or with other means which pass through the holes 21 of the tower plate 7 and the corresponding holes 23 of the plates 8. In another embodiment, the holes 21 could also be threaded through holes or threaded blind holes. Figure 6 illustrates the cross-section of an embodiment of a fishplate joint 16 between two tower plates 7, viewed from above. In this embodiment of the invention, on the inner surface 9 of the two tower plates 7 is provided with an fish plate 8. In another embodiment, the fish plate 8 could also be placed on the external surface 10 of the two plates 7 or the fish plates 8 could be placed both on the surface 52-519 internal 9 as on the outer surface 10 of the tower plates 7. In this embodiment of the invention, the vertical joint 18 between the plates 7 of the tower contains only two rows of bolts 22, one row through the first vertical side region 19 of the first tower plate 7 and the other row a through the second vertical side region 20 of the other tower plate 7. However, in another embodiment of the invention, the fish plate 8 could be attached, through each of the lateral regions 19 and 20 of the tower plate 7, by means of a different number of rows of bolt screws 22, for example , with two or three rows of bolts 22. In another embodiment, in the joint 18 an fish plate 8 could be placed both in the internal part 9 and in the external part 10 of the joint 18, where the distance between the plates 7 of the The tower was so large that a bolt 22 of relatively large diameter could pass between them. The fish board 16 could then be constituted by fish plates pressed against the inner 9 and outer 10 surfaces of the tower plates 7. The holes 21 of the tower plates 7 would then be avoided and the joint 16 could be made, for example, only by a row of 52-519 Screws 22 through half of the plates, holding the two tower plates and fixing them in this way. In this embodiment of the invention, both the holes 21 of the plates 7 and 23 of the fish plate 8 are formed during the manufacture of the parts 7 and 8, although, for example, in another embodiment of the invention only the holes of the fish plate 23 could be formed in advance. The holes 21 of the tower plates 7 could then be drilled during the assembly of the tower 2 using, for example, the fish plate 8 as a guide or template when the holes 21 are drilled in the tower plates or, in another embodiment, only the holes of the tower plates could be drilled in advance and the holes 23 of the plates would have to be drilled during the assembly. This procedure could be. advantageous, for example, if it is desired that the bolts 22 or the rivets have a tight fit, for example, to ensure that the tower 2 has a very high stiffness and is internally stable. In this embodiment of the invention, the fish plate 8 is attached to the tower plates 7 by means of bolts 22 inserted through the holes 21 of the tower plates 7 and the holes 23 of the tower. 52-519 plate 8 and secured with nuts 26 on the inside of the tower 2. A sleeve 24 ensures that the free section of the bolt is of adequate length so that it can be tightened sufficiently and to maintain this pre-tension even when, for example, the plates vibrate. The tower plates 7 are, in this embodiment, slightly spaced, for example about 5 mm, to compensate for any linear expansion of the parts 7 and 8. Additionally, washers 25 have been placed between the nuts 26 and the sleeves 24 and between the heads of the bolt bolts 22 and the tower plates 7. To prevent the bolts 22 from rotating when the nuts 26 are tightened by the inner side of the tower 2, bolts 22 could be fitted, outside the tower 2, with pressure washers; Another possibility could be that the bolts 22 had a hexagonal box at the tip or end thereof (on the inside of the tower 2) so that the bolts 22 can be clamped during the tightening step of the nut 26. The foregoing allows the tightening of all the bolts 22 to be carried out by the internal part of the tower 2. Figure 7 illustrates the cross-section of one embodiment of a fish-joint 16 between two 52-519 7 tower plates of different thickness Tp, seen from above. As explained in the above, the tower plate 7 containing the door opening 17 can be made with a plate having a thickness greater than that of the rest of the tower plates 7 to compensate for the loss of strength due to the orifice 17. Figure 7 shows an example of the manner in which a vertical joint 18 or a horizontal joint 15 could be formed, when the thickness Tp of the adjacent plates 7 of the tower is different. If, as illustrated, it is desired that the center of the plates 7 be aligned, between the fish plate 8 and the thinner plate of the two tower plates 7 an adjustment collar 27 can be placed. In this embodiment of the invention, the Adjustment washer 27 is manufactured as a normal washer, but its thickness is relatively greater; however, in another embodiment, the adjustment collar 27 could also be manufactured as an elongated plate, such as an fish plate having two or more holes, which causes a single plate to act as an adjustment collar 27 on two or more of the holes of the plates 8 and of the plates 7 of the tower. Figure 8 illustrates a part of the interior of a wind turbine tower 2 including riser joints 16, seen from the rear, that is, the inner part 52-519 of the tower 2. In this embodiment of the invention, the plates 8 are slightly separated, for example, they have a separation of 5 mm of free space, to compensate for any linear expansion. The thickness T of the fish plates 8 could vary, depending on their location inside or outside the tower 2, which would mean that all the fish plates 8 would be manufactured to be placed in specific places, either inside or by outside. the tower 2. On the other hand, the fish plates 8 supplied to form the vertical fishtail joints 18 could have practically the same width W and the same thickness T in the whole tower 2. This provides the possibility that the fish plates 8 can be prefabricated in sections of fixed length and pre-painted so that, subsequently, at the assembly site they are cut to the desired length L. So at the assembly site only the end where the cut was made would have to be painted, which could possibly be done manually using a brush. Alternatively, all the plates 8 could be manufactured with a length L of, for example, one meter, where only one of these relatively short plates 8 would have to be cut and repainted to fit the length of the specific section 6. The fish plates 8 could also be manufactured at 52-519 combine the different methods described in the above. The fish plates 8 illustrated in figures 2, 6, 7, 8 and 9 are characterized in that their length L and their thickness T are relatively greater when compared with their width W; however, in another embodiment of the invention, the device supplied to form the fish plate joint 16 could also be a plate, characterized in that its length L can be up to twice its width W; could be a bar or rod characterized because its width W and its thickness T is essentially the same or because the thickness T of the bar or rod is relatively greater compared to its width W or it could be some kind of special design connection supplied to solve the question of joining two plates 7 of a wind turbine tower 2 to an fishplate seal 16. Figure 9 illustrates a part of a vertical cross section through a horizontal fishplate joint 16 in the upper part 14 of a wind turbine tower 2. The gondola 3 has to be attached to the upper part of the tower 2, using, in most cases, an orientation mechanism. To achieve this union, the tower 2 has to have a horizontal flange 28. Which can be achieved, for example, as 52-519 it is illustrated in Figure 9, causing the upper part 14 of the tower to have a very short tower section 29. This short section 29 of the upper part of the tower could be fabricated as a fully welded part, which can be annealed and painted in a controlled environment and subsequently transported to the assembly site as a single piece. If the tower 2 is tapered, the short section 29 of the upper part of the tower will have a relatively small "diameter" and due to its short length, even the section 29 of the upper part of a relatively large wind turbine 1 could be transported easily without having problems when passing under bridges, when crossing tunnels, etc. The invention has been illustrated in the foregoing with reference to specific examples of fish tank joints 16, fish plates 8 and tower plates 7 that will be used in wind turbine towers 2. However, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to the particular examples described above, but can be designed and altered in a multitude of varieties within the scope of the invention as specified in the claims. 52-519 List 1. Wind turbine. 2. Tower. 3. Gondola. 4. Rotor. 5. Aspa. 6. Tower section. 7. Tower plate. 8. Fish 9. Internal surface of the tower plate.

. External surface of the tower plate. 11. Vertical fold. 12. Lower section of the tower. 13. Bottom of the tower. 14. Top of the tower. 15. Horizontal board. 16. Board of fish plates. 17. Opening for the door. 18. Vertical board. 19. First vertical lateral region of the tower plate. 20. Second vertical lateral region of the tower plate. 21. Orifice of the tower plate. 22. Bolt bolt. 52-519 23. Orifice of the fishplate. 24. Cuff. 25. Rondana. 26. Nut. 27. Round adjustment. 28. Horizontal tab. 29. Top section of the tower. L. Length of the device to form an eclissa board. T. Thickness of the device to form an eclissa board. W. Width of the device to form an eclissa board. Lp. Length of the tower plate. Tp. Thickness of the tower plate. Wb. Width of the lower part of the tower plate. t. Width of the upper part of the tower plate. 52-519

Claims (33)

1. CLAIMS: 1. A tower (2) of wind turbine, including: at least two adjacent metal plates (7) of the tower; characterized in that: the plates (7) of the tower are joined by one or more joints of fish plates (16).
2. 2. A wind turbine tower (2) according to claim 1, wherein the one or more fishnet joints (16) include one or more fish plates (8) that rest only on the inner surfaces (9) of the at least two adjacent metal plates (7) of the tower and / or one or more plates (8) that rest only on the external surfaces (10) of the at least two adjacent metal plates (7) of the tower.
3. 3. A wind turbine tower (2) according to claim 2, wherein the plate (s) (8) rest solely on the internal surface (9) of the at least two adjacent metal plates (7) of the tower.
4. 4. A wind turbine tower (2) according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the plate (s) (8) are joined to the at least two adjacent metal plates (7) of the tower by means of bolts (22) . 52-519
5. 5. A wind turbine tower (2) according to any of claims 2 to 4, wherein the shape of the plate (s) (8) is practically rectangular and its length (L), width (W) and thickness (T) is essentially constant .
6. 6. A wind turbine tower (2) according to any of claims 2 to 5, wherein the plate (s) (8) have a thickness (T) of between 1 and 50 mm, preferably between 3 and 30 mm and , with the greatest preference, between 5 and 10 mm.
7. A wind turbine tower (2) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the at least two adjacent metal plates (7) for tower include a first vertical region (19) vertically or essentially vertically and a second lateral region (20). ) vertically or essentially vertically and, where the first side region of a first tower plate (7) of the at least two adjacent metal plates (7) of the tower is joined to the second region of the other tower plate (7) of the at least two adjacent metal plates (7) of the tower.
8. 8. A wind turbine tower (2) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the tower (2) includes at least two complete sections (6) of 360 ° tower, the at least two sections (6) of 52-519 tower contain at least two metal plates (7) horizontally adjacent.
9. 9. A wind turbine tower (2) according to claim 8, wherein the shape of the plates (7) of a section (6) of the tower is essentially the same.
10. 10. A wind turbine tower (2) according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the plates (7) of a section (6) of the tower are aligned vertically.
11. 11. A wind turbine tower (2) according to any of claims 8 to 10, wherein the at least two sections (6) of the tower contain between 1 and 50, preferably between 2 and 30 and, with the maximum preferably, between 3 and 10, for example, 4, 6 or 8 horizontally adjacent tower plates (7).
12. 12. A wind turbine tower (2) according to any of claims 8 to 11, wherein at least two of the at least two complete sections (6) of 360 ° of the tower contain a dissimilar number of plates (7) of tower.
13. 13. A wind turbine tower (2) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the wind turbine tower (2) tapers upwards.
14. 14. A wind turbine tower (2) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the 52-519 wind turbine tower (2) has a polygonal shape.
15. 15. A wind turbine tower (2) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the at least two tower plates (7) include between 1 and 15, preferably, 2 or 7 vertical or essentially vertical bends (11).
16. 16. A wind turbine tower (2) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the width of the lower part (Wb) of the at least two tower plates (7) is greater than the width of the upper part (Wt). ).
17. 17. A wind turbine tower (2) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the at least two tower plates (7) have a longitudinal extension (Lp) of between 1 and 50 m, preferably between 3 and 30 m and, most preferably, between 7 and 15 m.
18. 18. A wind turbine tower (2) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the thickness (Tp) of each of the at least two tower plates (7) is constant.
19. 19. A wind turbine tower (2) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the thickness (Tp) of the at least two tower plates (7) is between 1 and 50 mm, preferably between 3 and 30 inches. Y, 52-519 most preferably, between 9 and 20 mm.
20. 20. A wind turbine tower (2) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the largest width (Wb) of the at least two tower plates (7) is between 0.5 and 20 m, preferably between 1 and 10 my, with the most preference, between 1.5 and 5 m.
21. 21. A wind turbine (1) including a wind turbine tower (2) according to any of claims 1 to 20.
22. 22. A method for assembling a wind turbine tower (2), the method comprises the steps of: forming at least two sections (6) of the tower joining at least two adjacent metal plates (7) of tower using one or more joints of fish plates (16); of the at least two sections (6) of the tower, mounting a first section (6) of the tower on at least the other section (6) of the at least two sections (6) of the tower and joining the first section (6) of the tower with the other section (6) of the tower.
23. 23. A method according to claim 22, wherein the first section (6) of the tower and the other section (6) of the tower are joined by means of one or more fishnet joints (16).
24. 24. A method according to claim 22 or 52-519 23, where the at least two sections (6) of the tower were fabricated so that they form complete 360 ° rings.
25. 25. A method according to any of claims 22 to 24, wherein the oval joints (16) are manufactured so that the plate (s) (8) rest only on the internal surfaces (9) of the at least two adjacent metal plates (7) of the tower and / or for the plate (s) (8) to rest only on the external surfaces (10) of the at least two adjacent metal plates (7) of the tower.
26. 26. A method according to claim 25, wherein the plate (s) (8) rest solely on the internal surface (9) of the at least two adjacent metal plates (7) of the tower.
27. 27. A method according to claim 25 or 26, wherein the plate (s) (8) are joined to the at least two adjacent metal plates (7) of the tower by means of bolts (22).
28. 28. A method according to any of claims 25 to 27, wherein the shape of the plate (s) (8) is practically rectangular and its length (L), width (W) and thickness (T) is essentially constant.
29. 29. A method according to any of the 52-519 claims 22 to 28, wherein the at least two adjacent metal plates (7) of the tower include a first lateral region (19) vertical or essentially vertical and a second lateral region (20) vertical or essentially vertical and, where the first region side (19) of a first tower plate (7) of the at least two adjacent metal plates (7) of tower is attached to the second region (20) of the other tower plate (7) of the at least two adjacent metal plates (7) tower.
30. 30. A method according to any of claims 22 to 29, wherein the shape of the plates (7) of a section (6) of the tower is essentially the same.
31. 31. A method according to any of claims 22 to 30, wherein the plates (7) of a section (6) of the tower are aligned vertically.
32. 32. A method according to any of claims 22 to 31, wherein the at least two tower plates (7) have between 1 and 15, preferably, 2 or 7 folds (11) vertical or essentially vertical.
33. 33. A method according to any of claims 22 to 30, wherein the assembly is performed 52-519 on the site or very close to the assembly site where tower (2) of wind turbine will be erected.