WO2021175400A1

WO2021175400A1 - Improvements relating to the construction of wind turbines

Info

Publication number: WO2021175400A1
Application number: PCT/DK2021/050065
Authority: WO
Inventors: Alf Olsen
Original assignee: Vestas Offshore Wind A/S
Priority date: 2020-03-05
Filing date: 2021-03-03
Publication date: 2021-09-10

Abstract

A method for mating a first wind turbine component having a respective first mating flange defining a first hole with a second wind turbine component having a respective mating flange defining a second hole. The method comprises the steps of i) engaging a resilient elongate guide member with the first wind turbine component so that it is in alignment with the first hole; ii) threading a guide rope from the resilient elongate guide member to the second hole; and iii) applying tension to the guide rope so as to pull the first mating flange towards the second mating flange. Since it is flexible and resilient, the guide member acts like a spring and applies a counterforce to the guide rope during excessive relative movement between the first and second wind turbine components. Through tension applied to the guide rope, the two components are pulled together such that eventually the resilient guide member starts to engage with the second mating flange. In circumstances where the two components are in radial misalignment, the resilient guide member acts to apply an alignment force directly to the second mating flange. The invention may also be expressed as a wind turbine component having a wall and a mating flange defining one or more holes, where at least one of the one or more holes receives a resilient elongate guide member therein.

Description

IMPROVEMENTS RELATING TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF WIND TURBINES

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to an approach for assembling wind turbine components during construction and also to a wind turbine component incorporating a device for assisting with the assembly of the wind turbine component with another component. BACKGROUND

The construction of a typical utility-scale wind turbine is a complex and challenging process which requires the assembly of many large and heavy components that need to be lifted, supported and moved into position with the assistance of a crane or other heavy lift machinery. By way of example, a wind turbine tower typically comprises several sections which are mounted on top of one another. The connection between adjacent tower sections commonly is achieved by a system of internal mating flanges which have a circumferential arrangement of bolts that join the two flanges together. A similar circumferential arrangement of bolts is also typically found on the interface between a blade and a wind turbine hub.

In both of these scenarios, it is important to control the relative position of both of the components that are to be mated very accurately and to bring those components together gradually in the correct angular position in order to ensure accurate assembly whilst maintaining safety for the assembly personnel. The assembly process is made more challenging in offshore conditions. It is against this background that the invention has been devised.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the embodiments of the invention, there is provided a method for mating a first component having a respective first mating flange defining a first hole with a second component having a respective mating flange defining a second hole. The method comprises the steps of i) engaging a resilient elongate guide member with the first component so that it is in alignment with the first hole; ii) threading a guide rope from the resilient elongate guide member to the second hole; and iii) applying tension to the guide rope so as to pull the first mating flange towards the second mating flange.

The invention may also be expressed as a wind turbine component having a wall and a mating flange defining one or more holes, where at least one of the one or more holes receives a resilient elongate guide member therein.

The invention also extends to and embraces a kit for mating two wind turbine components, each of which includes a mating flange defining one or more holes, the kit including a resilient elongate guide member configured to engage with one of the one or more holes so as to be aligned therewith, and a guide rope for extending from the resilient elongate guide member

The invention is particularly useful in wind turbine components that are tubular in form, for example wind turbine tower sections, wind turbine blades and wind turbine hubs. In such technical contexts a tubular component has an annular mating flange that needs to be aligned and brought into engagement with a mating flange of a component with which it is to be mated. Still further, the invention is particularly advantageous in scenarios where the two components to be mated may be oscillating, as may occur in an offshore setting. The resilient guide member in effect applies a damping force to the oscillation between the two components and makes it easier to align the components for mating purposes.

To provide additional context, the resilient elongate guide member may define a longitudinal axis, and may be resilient in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis. Furthermore, the resilient elongate guide member may have a base portion adjacent the mating flange and a tip portion distal to the mating flange. Expressed another way, the elongate guide member may be configured to flex sideways. The degree of resilience of the guide member may vary along the length of the guide member. For example, the guide member may be relatively stiff at its base, that is, near to where the guide member adjoins the associated mating flange, and may be more flexible towards the free end of the guide member i.e. nearer to its tip. Thus, as the two components move closer to each other along the longitudinal direction of the resilient elongate guide member, relative movements between the two components transversely will be increasingly restricted due to the increased stiffness of the resilient elongate guide member towards its base.

The resilient elongate guide member may comprise a single part, that is preferably polymeric in form. Alternatively, the guide member may be formed of subsections, for example it may have a structure comprising a plurality of interconnected articulated sections.

The resilient elongate guide member may take various forms. In one example, it may be tapered from the base portion to the tip portion. The additional material near to the base portion means that the guide member is stiffer, or less resilient, towards the base portion. The taper may be constant, or it may vary along the length of the guide member. More generally, the material composition and/or the shape and/or the structure of the guide member may be configured so as to define its resilient properties more precisely along its length.

Mounting of the resilient elongate guide member to the first mating flange may be achieved by receiving a portion of guide member inside the first hole. This is a relatively easy way of securing the guide member to the hole since a portion of the guide member can simply be pushed into the hole like a plug, wherein it can be removed at a later time. Alternative mounting options are conceivable. For example, the elongate resilient guide member may include a mounting ring or flange that may be fixed to the mating flange surrounding the associated hole. This option would avoid the need to insert anything directly into the hole.

Threading the guide rope from the resilient elongate guide member to the second hole includes inserting the guide rope through the second hole. The guide rope may be secured inside the second hole or secured in some way on the other side of the hole, for example by a suitable support or bracket and/or by attaching a section of the guide rope to a surface associated with the second mating flange.

The guide rope may extend through the resilient elongate guide member and so extend past the mating flange and into an interior volume of the first component. Beneficially, therefore, tension may be applied to the rope from inside the component to which the resilient guide member is mounted. This may be a convenient method where the wind turbine component is tubular in form, such as a blade or tower section.

In an alternative example, the guide rope may extend to the second hole from a first end of the guide rope that is connected to a tip portion of the flexible elongate guide member. In such an example, tension may be applied to the guide rope from near to or inside of the second component.

The step of applying tension to the guide rope may include pulling the first mating flange and the second mating flange towards each other such that at least a portion of the resilient elongate guide member is received by the second hole defined in the second mating flange. As the guide member starts to be received in the second hole in the second mating flange, it improves the process of aligning the first and second mating flanges radially and angularly. Finally, when the first mating flange is mated with the second mating flange, the guide member extends through both the first hole and the second hole which are aligned with one another.

In examples where the guide rope extends through the hole past and/or through the resilient elongate guide member, this may be achieved by the guide member being hollow so as to define an internal channel for the guide rope, or by another means such as an external channel defined along an outer surface of the guide member.

Within the scope of this application it is expressly intended that the various aspects, embodiments, examples and alternatives set out in the preceding paragraphs, in the claims and/or in the following description and drawings, and in particular the individual features thereof, may be taken independently or in any combination. That is, all embodiments and/or features of any embodiment can be combined in any way and/or combination, unless such features are incompatible. Accordingly, the applicant reserves the right to change any originally filed claim or file any new claim, including the right to amend any originally filed claim to depend from and/or incorporate any feature of any other claim although not originally claimed in that manner. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1A is a front view of a wind turbine during the construction process showing a tower section being mounted on top of a base tower section, which provides context for the examples of the invention;

Figure 1B is a diagrammatic view of a wind turbine blade being joined to wind turbine hub, which provides further context for the examples of the invention;

Figures 2 to 6 are schematic views of two wind turbine components that are to be mated together with the assistance of a flexible guide pin, in accordance with an example of the invention, wherein the views illustrate the two wind turbine components in different relative positions;

Figure 7 is a schematic view of another example of the invention; and Figure 8 is a schematic view of another example of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings that show, by way of illustration, specific details, examples and embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These examples are described in sufficient detail to enable those of ordinary skill in the art to practice the invention. Other examples may be utilised, and structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Figures 1A and 1B provide technical context for the subsequent discussion of the illustrated examples of the invention. As such, these figures show different scenarios where two wind turbine components are brought towards one another for the purposes of being joined. Referring firstly to Figure 1 A, a wind turbine tower 2 is shown under construction, where a tower base section 4 has been mounted to the ground, albeit a foundation is not shown in Figure 1A. It should be appreciated here that Figure 1A is a diagrammatic view to illustrate a principle, and as such the wind turbine tower is not necessary a realistic depiction and some details of the installation may not be shown. A second tower section 6 is suspended over the base tower section 4 by a crane 8. The base tower section 4 and the second tower section 6 each have a respective mounting flange 9,10 which mate with one another to allow the two tower sections to be joined. Fixing is achieved by arranging a plurality of bolts (not shown) circumferentially around the mated flanges 9,10.

Figure 1B shows a similar arrangement of two wind turbine components being guided towards one other to be joined, but in this case the components are a wind turbine blade 12 and a wind turbine hub 14. The wind turbine blade 12 is provided with a blade root connection flange 16, and which is configured to mate to a hub connection flange 18 as the wind turbine blade is moved in the direction shown by the arrow A such that the blade root connection flange 16 is aligned with and moved so as to make contact with the hub connection flange 18. Once again, a secure fixing between the blade root connection flange 16 and the hub connection flange 18 is achieved through a series of circumferential bolts (not shown). The configurations of Figures 1 A and 1 B are both well known to the skilled person.

In the context of the two scenarios illustrated in Figures 1A and 1B, it will be appreciated that it is a technical challenge to move two large and heavy wind turbine components such as tower sections or blades towards one another so that the flange holes can be aligned precisely and the two components can be joined. This challenge is even more pronounced when carried out offshore, as the sea conditions generally mean that the two components will be shifting constantly relative to one another.

An example of the invention is shown in Figures 2 to 6, in which a first wind turbine component 20 is shown in the lower part of the image and which a second wind turbine component 22 is shown in the upper part of the image such that it is displaced axially and transversely from the first wind turbine component 20. In this example, the two wind turbine components are tower sections, such that the first wind turbine component 20 may be considered to be a base or lower tower section, and the second component can be considered to be a further or upper tower section. The terms ‘first’ and ‘second’ component will be used from now on. For the purposes of this discussion, the axial direction is considered to be in line with the longitudinal axis of the two components, therefore in a direction vertically up the page, whilst the transverse direction is across the page. Figure 2 shows the first and second components 20,22 in a broad viewing perspective, whereas Figure 3 to 6 zoom into an enlarged portion of the image with varying relative spacing between the two components as they are brought together to be mated.

Referring firstly to Figure 2, the first component 20 includes a first wall section 24, which extends vertically as illustrated in the drawing, and a first annular flange section 26. The flange section 26 is penetrated by a plurality of bores or holes 28 which are arranged around the circumference of the flange section 26. It should be noted that the first flange section 26 as shown here is annular, but other components to which this invention applies may not have a flange that is annular in form. Although a plurality of holes are shown here, in some applications only a single flange hole may be sufficient to locate and fix mating flanges to each other.

The second component 22 includes a second wall section 30 and a second flange section 32. In the illustrated example, they are configured to match the diameter of the first wall section 24 and first flange section 26 since they are to be joined together with the outside diameters of the two components being the same. The second flange section 32 also includes a plurality of holes or bores 34 (hereinafter “second holes 34”) that penetrate through the second flange section 32 and are circumferentially distributed about the second flange section 32. As would be well understood by the skilled person, the distribution of the first holes and the second holes are matched so that they can be aligned when the two components are engaged with one another.

For the purposes of joining the first component 20 to the second component 22 a plurality of bolts 36 are provided. The bolts may be provided in either of the two components, but it is usual for the bolts 36 to be provided in the component that is being moved relative to the other component. Therefore, the bolts 36 are shown provided in the first plurality of holes 28 in the first flange section 26 in this example because it is the first component 20 that is being moved towards the second component 20. In order to improve the process by which the second component 22 is guided towards the first component 20, a guide rope 38 is used. The precise form of guide rope is not important, and it may be any form of flexible rope, wire or cable, and may be multi- stranded or a monofilament. By way of nonlimiting example, the guide rope may range between 0.5 cm and 6cm.

To pull the second component 22 towards the first component 20, the guide rope 38 may be fixed to one of the first or second components 20,22 and then tension may be applied to the guide rope 38. This may be achieved by pulling on the guide rope 38 from below or pulling on the guide rope 38 from above whilst the other end of the guide rope 38 is fixed in some way to the other component. Tension may be applied to the guide rope manually, for example by assembly workers physically pulling on the guide rope, or through means of an electrically powered winch, for example.

In the example shown in Figure 2, the guide rope 38 extends between the first flange section 26 and the second flange section 32 and, in this example, extends from one of the second holes 34 that does not accommodate a bolt 36, to a corresponding one of the first holes 28.

In order to damp oscillatory movement between the first component 20 and the second component 22, the first flange section 26 includes an elongated resilient guide member 40. In this example, the resilient guide member 40 is tubular in form, like a rod or pin, and the guide rope 38 passes through the guide member 40. The guide member 40 is flexible and resilient but is still relatively stiff so as to provide tension to the guide rope 38 in the lateral direction. Therefore, if the second component 22 moves sideways relative to the first component 20, the guide rope 38 pulls on the guide member 40 which absorbs this sideways movement by flexing sideways. By flexing sideways, the guide member 40 applies a force to the guide rope counter to the direction of movement of the first component 20. The attributes of the guide member 40 are such that increased movement of the second component 22 relative to the first component 20 increases the force countering the movement. In effect, therefore, the guide member 40 acts like a dampening spring acting against relative movement between the two components 20,22, whilst allowing them to be drawn together. The term ‘resilient’ should therefore be understood as the guide member having the properties of undergoing elastic deformation as it is deformed in a direction transverse to its longitudinal axis. As such, the guide member recoils and springs back into its original shape after the deforming force from the guide rope has been removed and applies a restoring force to the guide rope in a direction opposite to the direction in which the rope extends away from the guide member. In the discussion, the terms ‘guide member’, ‘flexible guide member’ and ‘resilient’ guide member may be used interchangeable.

Further detail of the configuration will be apparent from Figures 3 to 6 which provide enlarged schematic representations of restricted portions of the first and second component 20,22 as they are mated.

As can be seen, the guide rope 38 passes through the first hole 28 and the second hole 34. What is more, the guide rope 38 is fixed to the second flange section 32. Various ways may be used to achieve this, but in the illustrated example, the guide rope 38 is fixed to a bracket or cap 42 that is mounted with respect to the hole 34 in the second flange section 32 so as to extend over the top of the hole 34. In effect, therefore, the guide rope 38 is suspended from the bracket 42. The bracket 42 therefore provides a means to fix the guide rope 38 to a surface associated with the second flange section 32. In this case, that surface is the upper surface of the flange section, that is the surface opposing the lower surface which faces the first component 20.

The flexible guide member 40 is engaged with the first flange section 26 so that it covers and extends from the first hole 28. The extent to which the guide member 40 extends from the hole may vary but it is envisaged that typical lengths may be between 10 and 30cm.

The guide member 40 may be engaged with the first hole 28 in different ways. In the illustrated example, however, the guide member 40 is received in the first hole 28 in a plug-like manner. The outer diameter of the guide member 40 may therefore be sized appropriately to be able to be pushed inside the first hole 28 and remain there. To this end, the guide member 40 may include a plug portion 44 that fits inside the first hole 28 and a spear portion 46 that extends from the first hole 28. The plug portion 44 and the spear portion 46 may be configured differently, for example the plug portion 44 may include texturing such as ribs on its outer surface to increase the friction between the guide member 40 and the first hole 28. Alternatively, there may be no significant difference between the configuration of the outer surface of the plug portion 44 and the spear portion 46. One option is to provide a barb formation 47 at the end of the plug portion 44 which extends through the lower extremity of the first hole 28 and braces against the underside of the first flange section 26 so as to provide resistance against the guide member 40 being pulled out of its hole.

In the illustrated example, the exposed spear portion 46 of the guide member 40 that is not received within the hole 28 includes a base portion 48 that is adjacent the first flange section 26 and a tip portion 50 distal from the first flange section 26. As shown, the spear portion 46 has a taper between the between the base portion 48 and the tip portion 50. The taper may extend from the base portion 48 to the tip portion 50, or the taper may start part way along the spear portion 46, as is shown here.

In order to allow the guide rope 38 to pass into the first component 20 from the second component 22, the guide member 40 defines a channel 52 through it. The channel 52 may be embodied in various ways, one of which is illustrated in Figure 3. As shown, the channel 52 is embodied by a hollow interior volume 54 of the guide member 40, which therefore is defined by a relatively thin-walled structure. The tip portion 50 of the guide member 40 has an aperture 56 at the outermost extremity of the tip portion 50 which allows the guide rope 38 to be threaded through the tip portion 50 and into the hollow interior volume 54 of the guide member 40 and, thus, through the hole 34 in the second flange section 32 and into the hollow interior of the first component 20. Although not shown here, the free end of the guide rope 38 can be fixed to a suitable device for applying tension to it, which may be a manual or electrically-power winch for example. Alternatively, the guide rope 38 may be pulled manually by suitably qualified assembly workers in appropriate applications where the size and weight of the components is acceptable for manual manipulation.

Although the illustrated embodiment depicts the guide member 40 as hollow, thereby providing a channel for the guide rope 38, this is simply a convenient configuration and not essential. For example, in another example, it is envisaged that the guide member 40 may have a solid structure and that an appropriately sized channel could be provided down the side of the guide member 40 to allow passage of the guide rope 38.

The precise configuration of the guide member 40 may take many forms and the illustrated example is just one way in which the guide member 40 may be embodied. As mentioned, it is envisaged that the guide member 40 could also have a solid structure. In another example the hollow interior may be smaller so that only a relatively narrow channel is provided through the guide member. Such a configuration may increase the lateral stiffness of the guide member 40 for a given material.

The shaping of the guide member 40, and particularly the spear portion 46, influences the flexible and resilient properties of the guide member 46. For example, being thicker at the base and thinner towards the tip means that the guide member 40 is more flexible towards the tip, yet more rigid near to the base. This improves the ability of the guide member 40 to control relative oscillations between the two components as the guide member 40 will exert a greater force on the guide rope 38 the more it flexes. A comparable effect could be achieved by configuring the material of the guide member 40 to vary along its length, for example by forming the guide member of a less flexible polymer towards is base, but a more flexible rubber towards its tip. Still further, a similar effect could be achieved by a suitable internal structuring of the guide member 40.

It is currently envisaged that the guide member 40 would be polymeric in form, for example a polyurethane, although other materials would also be acceptable. One option would be for the guide member 40 to be of a composite construction. For example, the tubular structure of the guide member 40 could be defined by a fibrous skeleton which could be encased in a polymer substrate. The configuration of the fibrous skeleton could be adapted to change the resilient properties of the guide member 40. The fibres could be carbon or Kevlar, for example.

In the illustrated example, it will be appreciated that the guide member 40 is a part that is defined as a single piece of material. If the guide member 40 is formed of a plastic material, it may be formed from any appropriate manner, for example injection moulded, milled from a solid block or material, 3D printed and so on.

The outer surface of the guide member is shown here as being smooth. A smooth surface is not essential, as radial ribs or nodules could be provided. However, a smooth surface may be advantageous to prevent any snagging of loose cables on the guide member, and to ease the passage of the guide member into the hole in the second flange section. One option is for a toughened protective skin to be provided over the guide member. This could be provided by way of an appropriate surface treatment process for the guide member during its fabrication, or even a thin metallic coating or sleeve could be provided over the guide member to provide protection to it, but still allow it to flex over a full range of motion.

However, it is also envisaged that the guide member 40 could be formed in other ways. For example, one option would be to form the guide member 40 from a plurality of joined articulated sections. Each articulated section could be appropriately coupled by a resilient coupling to provide the guide member with lateral resilience.

Flexibility of the guide member 40 is illustrated well in Figure 4. As shown, the second component 22 has moved to the right, in the orientation of the figures, which has caused the guide member 40 to flex sideways. Due to its resilient properties, sideways flex generates a counterforce in the opposite direction, thereby providing a dampening force to the movement of the second component 22 relative to the first component 20. In effect, therefore, the guide member 40 acts like a horizontal spring linked between the two components 20,22.

It should be noted that tension on the guide rope 38 can be controlled appropriately to limit the sideways flexing of the guide member 40.

Figure 5 shows a situation where the second component 22 has been moved closer to the first component 20 such that the tip portion 50 of the guide member 40 approaches and enter the lower extremity of the hole 34 in the second flange section 32. It will be appreciated from this figure that the guide member 40 has engaged with the hole 34 in the second flange section 32 despite this hole and the respective hole 28 in the first flange section 26 being misaligned. In this case, since the guide member 40 is flexed, it will apply a lateral force to the second flange section 32 which urges the second flange member 32 in a direction where it is aligned with the hole 28 in the first flange section 26.

A final position of the second component 22 relative to the first component 20 is shown in Figure 6. Here, the second flange section 32 is shown mated to the first flange section 26 such that the respective holes in those flange sections are in alignment. As can be seen the guide member 40 extends within the holes 28,34 in both flange sections. From this configuration, and due in part to its flexible properties, the guide member 40 can be withdrawn, and the bracket 42 can be removed, in order to allow a fixing bolt to be placed into the holes 28,34 and tightened up in the normal way.

In the preceding discussion, the installation process for the second component was described with reference to a single guide member 40 for brevity. However, it should be appreciated that more than one guide member 40 may be used. For example, four guide members 40 may be used, and distributed evenly around the circumference of the tower flange. Such an arrangement would provide improved control during the process of bring the second component towards the first component below it.

Various modifications may be made to the illustrated examples without departing from the inventive concept as defined by the claims. Some of these have been discussed above. Some will be now be elaborated on below.

In the illustrated examples, the guide member 40 engaged with the first flange section 26 by fitting into the first hole 28 in a plug-like manner. An alternative is shown in Figure 7. Here, the guide member 40 includes a relatively thin flange 58 around its base portion 48 which abuts the upper surface of the first flange section 26 that surrounds the hole 28. The flange 58 of the guide member 40 may be attached to the first flange section by an appropriate glue, for example. In order that the flange 58 does not interfere with the mounting process, the flange 58 may be formed as a thin membrane so that it is squeezed flat when the second component is mounted. The spear portion 46 may in this context be detachable so that it could be removed from the hole when necessary.

Figure 8 depicts another example of the invention. Here, it will be noted that the guide rope 38 does not extend through the guide member 40. Instead, the guide rope 38 is attached to the tip portion 50 of the guide member 40 and extends from it towards the second hole 34 in the second flange section 32. In this example, therefore, the guide rope 38 may be pulled from within the second component 22.

Reference numerals:

2 wind turbine tower

4 tower base section

6 second tower section

8 crane mounting flange mounting flange blade hub blade root connection flange hub connection flange first wind turbine component (lower or base tower section) second wind turbine component (upper or second tower section) first wall section first flange section plurality of first holes second wall section second flange section plurality of second holes bolts guide rope flexible guide member bracket plug portion spear portion barb formation base portion tip portion guide channel hollow interior volume of guide member aperture in tip portion flange

Claims

1. A method for mating a first component (20) having a respective first mating flange (26) defining a first hole (28) with a second component (22) having a respective second mating flange (32) defining a second hole (34), the method comprising: engaging a resilient elongate guide member (40) with the first component (20) so that it is in alignment with the first hole (28); threading a guide rope (38) from the resilient elongate guide member (40) to the second hole (34); and applying tension to the guide rope (38) so as to pull the first mating flange (26) towards the second mating flange (32).

2. The method of Claim 1, including mounting the resilient elongate guide member (40) to the first mating flange (26) so that a portion of the resilient elongate guide member (40) is received inside the first hole (28).

3. The method of Claims 1 or 2, wherein threading the guide rope (38) from the resilient elongate guide member (40) to the second hole (34) includes inserting a portion of the guide rope (38) through the second hole (34).

4. The method of any preceding claim, wherein threading the guide rope (38) from the resilient elongate guide member (40) to the second hole (34) includes attaching a portion of the guide rope (38) to a surface associated with the second mating flange (32).

5. The method of any preceding claim, wherein threading the guide rope (38) from the resilient elongate guide member (40) to the second hole (34) includes extending the guide rope (38) through the resilient elongate guide member (40).

6. The method of any preceding claim, wherein applying tension to the guide rope (38) includes pulling the first mating flange (26) and the second mating flange (32) towards each other such that at least a portion of the resilient elongate guide member (40) is received by the second hole (34) defined in the second mating flange (32).

7. A wind turbine component (20) having a wall (24) and a mating flange (26) defining one or more holes (28), where at least one of the one or more holes (28) receives a resilient elongate guide member (40) therein.

8. The wind turbine component of Claim 7, being one of a wind turbine tower section, a wind turbine blade or a wind turbine hub.

9. The wind turbine component of Claims 7 or 8, wherein the resilient elongate guide member (40) is mounted to the mating flange (26) so that a plug portion (44) of the resilient elongate guide member (40) is received inside the hole (28).

10. The wind turbine component of Claim 9, wherein the resilient elongate guide member (40) is tapered along at least a portion of its length.

11. The wind turbine component of any of Claims 7 to 10, wherein a guide rope (38) extends from a tip portion (50) of the resilient elongate guide member (40).

12. The wind turbine component of any of Claims 7 to 10, wherein the resilient elongate guide member (40) defines a channel (52).

13. The wind turbine component of Claim 12, wherein a guide rope (38) extends through the channel (52) of the resilient elongate guide member (40) and through the hole (28) in the mating flange (26).

14. The wind turbine component of any of Claims 7 to 13, wherein the resilient elongate guide member (40) comprises a single polymeric part.

15. A kit for mating two wind turbine components (20,22), each of which includes a mating flange (26,32) defining one or more holes (28,34), the kit including a resilient elongate guide member (40) configured to engage with one of the one or more holes so as to be aligned therewith, and a guide rope (38) for extending from the resilient elongate guide member.