NL2019168B1

NL2019168B1 - Wind turbine and method of installing thereof

Info

Publication number: NL2019168B1
Application number: NL2019168A
Authority: NL
Inventors: Winkes Jasper
Original assignee: Fistuca B V
Priority date: 2017-07-04
Filing date: 2017-07-04
Publication date: 2019-01-14

Description

F03D 9/10 (2018.01) F03D 9/17 (2018.01) F03D 13/25 (2018.01) F03D 9/18 (2018.01) F03D 13/40 (2018.01) F03D 9/19 (2018.01)

0 Aanvraag ingeschreven:	© Octrooihouder(s):
14 januari 2019	Fistuca B.V. te DELFT.
© Aanvraag gepubliceerd:
-	© Uitvinder(s):
	Jasper Winkes te Den Haag.
© Octrooi verleend:
14 januari 2019
	© Gemachtigde:
© Octrooischrift uitgegeven:	ir. P.J. Hylarides c.s. te Den Haag.
8 mei 2019

Wind turbine and method of installing thereof © The present invention relates to a wind turbine, comprising:

- a nacelle with a generator that is drivable by a rotor that comprises rotor blades, wherein the rotor blades convert wind power into energy;

- a monopile tower, supporting said nacelle; and

- a compartment configured to accommodate an energy storage medium to store the energy.

The invention further relates to a method of installing such a wind turbine, comprising the steps of:

- arranging said compartment in said monopile tower before transport;

- transporting said monopile tower; and

- driving said monopile tower into a seabed.

NL B1 2019168

Dit octrooi is verleend ongeacht het bijgevoegde resultaat van het onderzoek naar de stand van de techniek en schriftelijke opinie. Het octrooischrift komt overeen met de oorspronkelijk ingediende stukken.

Wind turbine and method of installing thereof

The present invention relates to a wind turbine, and to a method of installing such a wind turbine.

Energy production by wind turbines fluctuates significant over time, both on short scale (hours / days) and long scale (weeks / months / seasons) time periods. Besides this, energy demand also fluctuates of time. As energy supply and energy demand both fluctuate independently from each other, wind turbines sometimes have a surplus of energy, and sometime a shortage.

In order to reduce the likelihood of a temporarily shortage of energy, sometime a larger capacity wind turbine is installed. When the capacity of a whole wind power plant comprising multiple wind turbines is chosen larger than stipulated in a connection agreement with a transmission system operator, this is called 'overplanting'.

An object of the present invention is to provide a wind turbine, that is improved relative to the prior art and wherein al least one of the above stated problems is obviated.

Said object is achieved with the wind turbine according to the present invention, comprising:

- a monopile tower, supporting said nacelle; and

The energy of the rotor is kinetic energy and normally converted to electrical energy using said generator, wherein said electrical energy is delivered to a grid. Although the energy may be stored after a conversion to electrical energy, and may possibly be subjected to even further energy conversions, it is also conceivable that the energy of the rotor is used directly, e.g. for driving a pump that may directly pressurize the energy storage medium.

According to the invention, energy may be stored in the energy storage medium when there is temporarily a surplus on energy, i.e. when the energy supply of the generated energy is temporarily higher than the demand for energy at that time. In this way, the wind turbine is capable to more closely match energy supply and demand. It may also reduce the need for ‘overplanting’ a wind power plant.

Alternatively, overplanting in combination with energy storage according to the invention will result in a wind power plant with a very stable and reliable energy delivery to the grid.

According to a preferred embodiment, the compartment is bounded by a circumferential wall of said monopile tower, and a partition wall and a further partition wall that are vertically offset. Having a compartment enclosed by two vertically offset partition walls has multiple advantages.

On the one hand, the partition wall and further partition wall strengthen the monopile tower, which becomes less vulnerable to deformations during transport in a lying state.

On the other hand, the compartment allows the introduction of a medium therein, thereby increasing a buoyancy of said monopile tower. In this way, the monopile tower may be transported in a floating state, thereby reducing the need for ships with large transport capacity on deck. Moreover, if a part of the monopile tower extends past the compartment, this extending part will not be floatable. Consequently, the least buoyant part will position itself downward relative to the buoyant compartment under the influence of gravity, and may thereby cause a substantially upright orientation of the floating monopile tower. A substantially upright orientation of the floating monopile tower largely corresponds to the upright orientation of the floating monopile lower during driving said monopile tower into the seabed. In this way, the load on the cranes may be significantly reduced, and cranes with a smaller capacity may be sufficient for lifting (so called upending) the monopile tower before the monopile is supported by a gripper during driving of said monopile tower into the sea bed.

According to a preferred embodiment, the wind turbine further comprises a pressure release that is, after installation, arranged between the compartment and a seabed. The monopile tower may have one or two sections that extend past the compartment that is arranged in said monopile tower. If there is only one section extending past the compartment, this will be the least buoyant part of the monopile tower. However, if the monopile tower comprises sections extending on both sides of the compartment, the heaviest of those extending sections will be the least buoyant section. Preferably, the pressure release is arranged in the least buoyant section of the monopile tower. In the above described situation of the substantially upright orientation of the floating monopile tower, the least buoyant section is automatically downward directed. Consequently, the pressure release will be arranged below the compartment. While driving the monopile tower into the seabed, water that is enclosed inside said monopile tower, between the compartment and the seabed, may escape via the pressure release to the water body surrounding the monopile tower.

According to a further preferred embodiment, the pressure release is a through hole that is arranged in said circumferential wall of said monopile tower. Alternatively, the pressure release may be arranged in said partition wall and/or further partition wall. The latter case may comprise a conduit extending through at least the further partition wall and the compartment.

The invention is further related to a method of installing such a wind turbine, comprising the steps of:

- arranging said compartment in said monopile tower before transport;

- transporting said monopile tower; and

- driving said monopile tower into a seabed.

Further preferred embodiments are the subject of the dependent claims, hi the following description preferred embodiments of the present invention tire further elucidated with reference to the drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a wind turbine;

Figure 2 is a cross sectional view of the monopile lower of the wind turbine of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a schematic view of a first embodiment of a wind turbine according to the invention;

Figure 4 is a schematic view of a second embodiment of a wind turbine according to the invention;

Figure 5 is a view of a wind power plant wherein multiple wind turbines according to the invention are applied; and

Figures 6-9: show successive steps of transporting and installing a monopile tower of a wind turbine according to the invention.

The wind turbine 1 shown in Figure 1 comprises a nacelle 2 with a generator 3 that is drivable by a rotor 4 that comprises rotor blades 5.The rotor blades 5 convert wind power into energy. The wind turbine 1 further comprises a monopile tower 6, supporting said nacelle 2. The wind turbine 1 further comprises a compartment 7 configured to accommodate an energy storage medium 8 to store the energy.

The energy of the rotor 4 is kinetic energy and normally converted to electrical energy using said generator 3, wherein said electrical energy is delivered to a (not shown) grid. Although the energy may be stored after a conversion from kinetic energy to electrical energy, and possibly even further energy conversions, it is also conceivable that the kinetic energy of the rotor 4 is used directly, e.g. for driving a pump 12 that directly pressurizes the energy storage medium.

The compartment 7 of the wind turbine 1 is bounded by an inner circumferential wall 9 of said monopile tower 6 and a partition wall 10 on an upper side of compartment 7.

The compartment 7 may be enclosed by the circumferential wall 9 of said monopile tower 6, said partition wall 10, and a seabed 25 wherein the monopile tower is arranged. However, in the preferred embodiment that is shown in the Figures, the compartment 7 is bound by a further partition wall 11 on a bottom side of the compartment 7. This has several advantages. Firstly, the compartment 7 is closed and may be very rigid, therefor capable to withstand relatively high pressures. Secondly, a pressure build up in compartment 7 will not be supported by the seabed 25. A separate compartment 7 thus prevents that the monopile tower 6 may be moved upward relative to the seabed 25due to pressure in said compartment 7. This is especially important if the energy storage medium 8 is floatable and the compartment 7 is relatively large. Thirdly, a compartment that is closed on all sides may be used to safely increase the buoyancy of the monopile tower 6. This is advantageous during transport and installing, as will be described in more detail below.

Thus, preferably, the compartment Ί is bounded by the circumferential wall 9 of said monopile tower 6, and the partition wall 10 and the further partition wall 11 that are vertically offset.

In Figure 3, the wind turbine 1 further comprises a pump 12 that is configured to pressurize said energy storage medium 8, and wherein said compartment 7 is reinforced to contain the compressed energy storage medium. The compressed energy storage medium may be transported from the pump 12 to the compartment via a first conduit 13, and back via a second conduit 14.

The partition wall 10 and/or the further partition wall 11 are preferably dome shaped (Figure 2). The dome shape guarantees an optimal loading due to membrane stresses in the partition wall 10 and/or in the further partition wall 11. Therefore, a dome shape is capable of withstanding accelerations during driving said monopile into the seabed, and pressure inside the compartment 7.

As shown in Figure 2, the partition wall 10 and/or the further partition wall 11 is arranged at or near an end of a truncated conical section 23 of the monopile tower 6. The partition walls reinforce the monopile tower 6 near the transitions of a truncated conical section to a straight section or a truncated conical section that has a different slope. At such a transition, the circumferential walls of the truncated conical section 23 and an adjacent section of the monopile tower 6 will be arranged at an angle a. This will lead to the force F being decomposed in an axial force F, and a radial force F,· (detailed view in Figure 2). The partition wall 10 and/or the further partition wall 11 reinforce the monopile tower 6 relative to the radial force F_r component.

A method for storing energy generated by a wind turbine I comprises the steps of: providing a compartment 7, providing a medium 8 in said compartment 7, and storing energy generated by said wind turbine 1 in said medium 8. After an amount of time, which may be short term (order of hours / days) or long term (order of weeks / months / seasons), the energy stored in said medium 8 may be retrieved.

The energy storage medium 8 that is pressurized by pump 12 may be storage medium is water or air. Using air as medium, a compressed air energy storage (CAES) is obtained, that is useful for peak shaving power supply over relatively short time periods in the order of hours and days. Internal pressure inside compartment 7 also reduces the chance of that segment buckling.

Storage media 8 that may store far more energy are e.g. hydrogen and ammonia, and thus they may be used for peak shaving over long term (weeks / months / seasons) time periods. Both hydrogen and ammonia are obtained via a chemical process. In Figures 4 and 5, the wind turbine 1 comprises a chemical converter 15 (Figure 4), or is connected to a chemical converter 18 (Figure 5), that is configured to drive a chemical conversion.

The chemical converter 15, 18 may be configured to produce the hydrogen that is used as the energy storage medium 8, or configured to produce the ammonia that is used as the energy storage medium 8. Such processes, such as the Haber-Bosch process are known to the skilled person, and therefore they are not described in detail here.

The method may comprise the steps of:

- extracting nitrogen from air;

- making hydrogen from water by electrolysis using electricity generated by said generator 3;

- converting said hydrogen and nitrogen to ammonia (in a Haber-Bosch process); and

- storing said ammonia in said compartment 7.

In Figure 4, the chemical converter 15 may be power via a power supply line 16 that connects the converter 15 to the generator 3 of the wind turbine 1. Chemical compositions formed in the chemical converter 15, such as hydrogen and ammonia, may be fed via a transfer conduit 17 to the compartment 7.

In Figure 5, the chemical converter 18 is arranged remote from the wind turbines 1 in a wind power plant. The chemical converter 18 is arranged on a support 19, and power for the chemical converter 18 may be supplied via a (not shown) connection to a generator 3 of one or more than one of the wind turbines 1. Chemical compositions formed in the chemical converter 18, such as hydrogen and ammonia, may be fed via transfer conduits 20 to one or more than one compartment 7 of wind turbines I of said wind power plant.

After an amount of time, the energy storage medium 8, e.g. ammonia, may be extracted from the compartment. Ammonia may be used as a base chemical (e.g. for use in fertilizers) or as a fuel.

As described above, a compartment 7 enclosed inside the monopile tower 6 between a partition wall 10 and a further partition wall 11 is advantageous during transport and installation. A method of installing a wind turbine according to the invention preferably comprises the steps of:

- arranging said compartment 7 in said monopile tower 6 before transport;

- transporting said monopile tower 6; and

- driving said monopile tower 6 into a seabed 25.

An alternative way of storing energy in said compartment 7 is by using the wind power to heat the energy storage medium 8 with a heater. The energy storage medium 8 may be heated till a temperature of several hundred degrees Celsius, and stored in a compartment that is provided with a thermal insulation. The thermal insulation may comprise a foam layer and/or a coating.

The compartment being arranged in said monopile tower 6 before transport allows it to be filled with a medium to increase the buoyancy of said monopile tower 6. The method than further comprises the step of filling the compartment with a medium to increase a buoyancy of said monopile tower 6 prior to transporting said monopile tower, wherein transporting said monopile tower 6 comprises floating said monopile tower 6 on a water surface 24. By making the monopile tower 6 floatable, it can be transported in a very efficient way. A floater 26 may be arranged in a section (Figure 6) and/or around a section of the monopile tower 6, and the floater 26 and compartment 7 together provide the monopile tower 6 with sufficient buoyancy for it to be towed in a substantially lying state by a (not shown) vessel (Figure 6).

At the location where the monopile tower 6 is to be driven into the sea bed 25, the floater 26 is removed from the monopile tower 6, and a gas 27 (typically air) may be introduced as a substitute for the buoyancy provided by floater 26. A pressure release 21, which will be described in more detail below, is temporarily closed in order to maintain the gas 27 in the respective section of the monopile tower 6. Because the compartment 7 and gas 27 provide buoyancy to the monopile tower, a relatively low capacity (not shown) crane is sufficient for upending the monopile tower 6 before gripping it with a (not shown) gripper (Figure 7).

A (not shown) floater 26 that is arranged at an external side of a section of the monopile tower 6 has the advantages that gas 27 may be introduced into that section while the external floater 26 still provides buoyancy. In this way, the buoyancy of the monopile tower 6 is very controllable and secure.

Thus, the monopile tower 6 is floatable, and a crane of limited capacity is sufficient for upending and moving said monopile to a (not shown) gripper. The gripper supports the monopile tower 6 when it is driven into the seabed 25.

The method thus may comprise the additional step of further increasing the buoyance of said floating monopile tower 6 by introducing a gas 27 in a section of the monopile lower 6 that is below said compartment 7 when said monopile tower 6 is arranged in a substantially upright orientation.

The monopile tower 6 further comprises a pressure release 21 that is, after installation, arranged between the compartment 7 and the seabed 25. In the Figures, the monopile tower 6 comprises sections extending on both sides of the compartment 7. The heaviest of those extending sections will be the least buoyant section. The pressure release 21 is arranged in the least buoyant section of the monopile tower 6, i.e. the section that is automatically downward directed during the substantially upright orientation of the floating monopile tower 6. Consequently, the pressure release 21 will be arranged below the compartment 7. While driving the monopile tower 6 into the seabed 25, water that is enclosed inside said monopile tower 6, between the compartment 7 and the seabed 25, may escape via the pressure release 21. The water escapes to the water body surrounding the monopile tower 6.

The pressure release 21 limits the flow rate at which water enclosed inside said monopile lower 6 may escape to the water body surrounding the monopile tower 6. In this way, the pressure release functions as a restriction that provides a controlled lowering of the monopile tower 6 during driving of said monopile tower 6 into the ground. In this way it is prevented that a monopile tower 6 may drop several meters in an uncontrolled way when it is driven through a soft layer in the sea bed.

In Figures 2 and 6, the pressure release 21 is embodied as a through hole 22 that is arranged in said circumferential wall 9 of said monopile tower 6.

For decommissioning of the monopile tower 6, the through hole 22 may be used as an input for supplying a medium in the space enclosed between the circumferential wall 9, the further partition wall 11 and the sea bed 25. Due to a pressure build up, the further partition wall 11 is pushed away from the sea bed 25, thereby lifting the monopile tower 6 up out of the sea bed 25.

Although they show preferred embodiments of the invention, the above described embodiments are intended only to illustrate the invention and not to limit in any way the scope of the invention. Accordingly, it should be understood that where features mentioned in the appended claims are followed by reference signs, such signs are included solely for the purpose of enhancing the intelligibility of the claims and are in no way limiting on the scope of the claims. Furthermore, it is particularly noted that the skilled person can combine technical measures of the different embodiments. The scope of the invention is therefore defined solely by the following claims.

Claims

Conclusies

1. Windturbine, omvattende:

- een gondel met een generator die aandrijfbaar is door een rotor die rotorbladen omvat, waarbij de rotorbladen windkracht naar energie omzetten;

- een monopaal mast, die de gondel ondersteunt; en

- een compartiment dat is geconfigureerd om een energie-opslagmedium te accommoderen om energie op te slaan.
2. Windturbine volgens conclusie 1, waarbij het compartiment wordt begrensd door een binnenste omtrekwand van de monopaal mast en een scheidingswand aan een bovenzijde.
3. Windturbine volgens conclusie 2, waarbij het compartiment wordt begrensd door een verdere scheidingswand aan een onderzijde.
4. Windturbine volgens conclusie 3, waarbij het compartiment wordt begrensd door de omtrekwand van de monopaal mast, en door de scheidingswand en de verdere scheidingswand die vertikaal op een afstand ten opzichte van elkaar zijn aangebracht.
5. Windturbine volgens ten minste één van de voorgaande conclusies, verder omvattende een pomp die is geconfigureerd om het energie-opslagmedium op druk te brengen, en waarbij het compartiment is versterkt om het gecomprimeerde energie-opslagmedium te bevatten.
6. Windturbine volgens ten minste één van de conclusies 2-5, waarbij de scheidingswand en/of de verdere scheidingswand koepelvormig is.
7. Windturbine volgens ten minste één van de conclusies 1-6, waarbij het energieopslagmedium water of lucht is.
8. Windturbine volgens ten minste één van de conclusies 1 -6, waarbij het energieopslagmedium waterstof is.
9. Windturbine volgens ten minste één van de conclusies 1-6, waarbij het energieopslagmedium ammoniak is.
10. Windturbine volgens ten minste één van de voorgaande conclusies, verder omvattende een chemische omzetter die is geconfigureerd om een chemische omzetting te bewerkstelligen.
11. Windturbine volgens conclusie 8 en 10, waarbij de chemische omzetter is geconfigureerd om het waterstof dat als het energie-opslagmedium wordt gebruikt, te produceren.
12. Windturbine volgens conclusie 9 en 10, waarbij de chemische omzetter is geconfigureerd om de ammoniak die als hel energie-opslagmedium wordt gebruikt, te produceren.
13. Windturbine volgens ten minste één van de voorgaande conclusies, waarbij het compartiment een thermische isolatie omvat en is geconfigureerd om een verwarmd energieopslagmedium op te slaan.
14. Windturbine volgens ten minste één van de voorgaande conclusies, verder omvattende een drukafvoer.
15. Windturbine volgens conclusie 14, waarbij de drukafvoer is ten minste één van:

- aangebracht in een sectie van de monopaal met het minste drijfvermogen; en

- na installatie, aangebracht tussen het compartiment en een zeebed.
16. Windturbine volgens conclusie 14 of 15, waarbij de drukafvoer een doorboring is die is aangebracht in de omtrekwand van de monopaal mast.
17. Windturbine volgens conclusie 14 of 15, waarbij de drukafvoer is aangebracht in de scheidingswand en/of de verdere scheidingswand.
18. Windturbine volgens conclusie 2 en ten minste één van de conclusies 3-17, waarbij de scheidingswand en/of de verdere scheidingswand is aangebracht aan of nabij een einde van een afgeknot conisch deel van de monopaal mast.
19. Monopaal, omvattende de maatregelen van de monopaal mast volgens ten minste één van de conclusies 1-18.
20. Werkwijze voor het installeren van een windturbine volgens één van de conclusies 1-18, omvattende de stappen van:

- het voorafgaand aan transport in de monopaal mast aanbrengen van het compartiment;

- het transporteren van de monopaal mast; en

- het in een zeebed drijven van de monopaal mast.
21. Werkwijze volgens conclusie 20, verder omvattende de stap van het met een medium vullen van het compartiment om een drijfvermogen van de monopaal mast voorafgaand aan het transporteren van de monopaal mast te vergroten, en waarbij het transporteren van de monopaal mast het drijven van de monopaal mast op een wateroppervlak omvat.
22. Werkwijze volgens conclusie 20 of 21, verder omvattende de stap van het, voorafgaand aan de stap van het in hel zeebed drijven van de monopaal mast, in een in hoofdzaak rechtopstaande oriëntatie drijven van de monopaal mast.
23. Werkwijze volgens conclusie 22, verder omvattende de stap van het, tijdens de stap van het in het zeebed drijven van de monopaal mast, in een in hoofdzaak rechtopstaande oriëntatie drijven van de monopaal mast.
24. Werkwijze volgens conclusie 23, verder omvattende de stap van het verder vergroten van hel drijfvermogen van de drijvende monopaal mast door het introduceren van een gas in een deel van de monopaal mast dat zich lager dan het compartiment bevindt wanneer de monopaal mast in de in hoofdzaak rechtopstaande oriëntatie is aangebracht.
25. Werkwijze volgens ten minste één van de conclusies 20-24, verder omvattende de stap van het, tijdens het in het zeebed drijven van de monopaal mast, naar een omgeving vrijlaten van water dat door de monopaal mast is ingesloten.

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