WO2022064126A1

WO2022064126A1 - Method for designing and producing a pylon

Info

Publication number: WO2022064126A1
Application number: PCT/FR2021/051601
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jonathan LIGNER; Reda JAOUAD; Dolène HAURET-CLOS; Xavier NAUDIN; Alexandre DEGUELTE
Original assignee: Santerne Toulouse
Priority date: 2020-09-23
Filing date: 2021-09-20
Publication date: 2022-03-31
Also published as: FR3114337A1; FR3114337B1

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for producing a pylon, comprising steps consisting of: defining a pylon profile which is made up of a plurality of pylon sections (T1-T6) with identical structures and corresponds to a larger pylon that can be produced, selecting consecutive sections of the pylon profile depending on the specific height of a pylon to be produced, selecting a configuration from configurations defined for each crossbar of each selected section, performing a simulation calculation by means of a computer to determine mechanical stresses endured by the selected crossbar configurations of the selected sections when the pylon is subjected to maximum wind stress, if the selected crossbar configurations of the selected sections are not under-dimensioned, selecting, from the crossbars produced, crossbars having the selected configurations for each of the selected sections, and assembling the selected crossbars produced in order to construct the pylon (PYL, 1).

Description

PROCESS FOR DESIGNING AND MANUFACTURING A PYLONE

The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a pylon and in particular a pylon with a metal frame assembled by bolts. The present invention applies in particular to the manufacture of pylons supporting telecommunication antennas or electric cables.

The structure of such a pylon is defined according to various parameters such as the height of the pylon, its equipment (for example the weight and wind resistance of the equipment to be installed on the pylon), the directions and maximum speeds of the winds determined depending on the location of the pylon and the characteristics of its immediate environment (wooded area or not, significant difference in level or not, etc.), and the admissible bending of the pylon under the effect of the wind, taking into account the wind from the equipment installed on the pylon.

This diversity of parameters leads to a multiplicity of different pylon structures which can reach several hundred different pylon configurations.

Generally, the design of a pylon is carried out from specifications indicating the height of the pylon, its location, the total wind resistance surface of the equipment to be installed on the pylon, and the maximum allowable deformation of the pylon under the wind effect. On the basis of these specifications, a structure or general silhouette of the pylon can be defined, this silhouette defining in particular the width of the pylon at its base and at its top, the height and the number of sections forming the pylon and the structure of each of these sections. This general structure is then modeled using structural calculation software such as ROBOT. This modeling is carried out on the basis of a first choice of sections forming each of the sections of the pylon. This choice relates to the shape and dimensions of the section of each of the profiles (cylindrical, L-shaped, U-shaped, I-shaped, ...), the type of steel forming the profiles (S235, S255, ... ), and the type and size of the bolts used to join the profiles. This modeling is also carried out taking into account the action of the wind and snow and the weight of the equipment installed on the pylon. The modeling software carries out stress calculations on the various elements forming the pylon, the results of these calculations making it possible to determine for each of the elements of the pylon, whether it is over- or under-dimensioned or correctly dimensioned. Depending on these results, the characteristics of the profile forming the over- and under-dimensioned elements are adjusted. For example, the thickness of a section of an undersized element will be increased, while that of an oversized element will be decreased. A new modeling of the pylon is then carried out. Several iterations must thus be carried out to obtain an optimum dimensioning of the elements of the structure of the pylon, and thus to obtain a pylon as light as possible, by using the usual profiles on the market.

Once the elements forming the pylon are defined, the detailed manufacturing plans of the various parts constituting the pylon are produced, for example using software such as TEKLA. The pylon parts are then manufactured based on the detailed plans.

The different design steps described above require dozens of hours of work and computing time. It is therefore desirable to reduce this working time. It is also desirable to reduce the manufacturing costs of the various parts constituting a pylon.

Embodiments relate to a method of manufacturing a pylon, comprising the steps of: defining a pylon silhouette formed of a plurality of pylon sections of identical structures, corresponding to a largest pylon specified in a set of specifications of pylons, defining for each of the pylon sections a pylon section structure, formed of a set of bars, defining at least one bar configuration for each bar forming each section of the pylon silhouette, at least part of the bars sections having several alternative interchangeable configurations, manufacturing bars having the defined configurations, selecting consecutive sections of the silhouette of the pylon, according to a specified height of a pylon to be produced, for each bar of each selected section, selecting a configuration among the configurations defined for the bar, perform a simulation calculation by a calc ulator to determine a bending of the pylon and the mechanical stresses undergone by the selected configurations of the bars of the selected sections when the pylon is subjected to a maximum wind stress, if the bending of the pylon is greater than a threshold value or if the mechanical stresses undergone by one of the selected configurations of the bars are excessive, select another configuration for at least one of the bars of the sections selected from the configurations defined for the bar, and perform the simulation calculation again, if the bending of the pylon is less than the threshold value and if the stresses undergone by all the selected configurations of the bars of the selected sections are not excessive, selecting from among the manufactured bars, bars having the selected configurations for each of the selected sections, and assembling the selected manufactured bars to form the pylon.

According to one embodiment, each pylon section comprises two to four floors and vertical or substantially vertical bars, each floor comprising horizontal bars and diagonal bars.

According to one embodiment, each pylon section comprises two to four floors and three vertical or substantially vertical bars, each floor comprising three horizontal bars, and three diagonal bars each extending between, on the one hand, an intersection between a top plane of the floor and a vertical or substantially vertical bar of the section, and on the other hand, an intersection between a base plane of the floor and another vertical or substantially vertical bar of the section, the three horizontal bars each extending in the top plane or the base plane of the floor, between two of the three vertical or substantially vertical bars of the section.

According to one embodiment, each bar configuration of each of the sections is distinguished from another bar configuration of the section by at least one of the following specific parameters: a material forming the bar, a sectional shape of the bar, a dimension of the bar section, and a thickness of the bar section.

According to one embodiment, the pylon silhouette comprises at least six pylon sections having the same height, including an upper section having four floors and a lower section having two floors. According to one embodiment, lower sections of the pylon silhouette have a top section that is smaller than a base section.

According to one embodiment, an upper section of the pylon silhouette has identical top and base sections.

According to one embodiment, the simulation calculation is configured to identify oversized bar configurations, the method comprising the steps of: if a selected bar configuration is identified as oversized, selecting an alternative configuration to replace the identified bar configuration oversized, and perform the simulation calculation again.

According to one embodiment, the selection of the bar configurations is carried out taking into account a stock of available manufactured bars.

According to one embodiment, the selection of the sections is carried out by deleting lower sections of the pylon silhouette.

Examples of embodiments of the invention will be described in the following, on a non-limiting basis in relation to the appended figures, among which: FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a method for manufacturing parts of a pylon, according to one embodiment, FIG. 2 schematically illustrates a method of manufacturing a pylon, according to one embodiment, FIGS. 3A, 3B schematically represent two stages of pylon sections, according to various embodiments, FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of a pylon, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 1 represents steps S01 to S05 of a method for manufacturing parts of a pylon, according to one embodiment. At step S01, pylon silhouettes are defined from a set of RQSS pylon specifications including specifications of a smaller and a larger pylon. Step S01 includes the definition of a number of pylon sections and the height of each section, depending on the different heights of pylons to be made indicated in the RQSS specifications.

According to one embodiment, the heights of the pylon sections are all chosen to be identical. In one example, the pylon silhouettes in the specifications vary from 12 to 42 m. In this example, the height of each of the pylon sections is chosen equal to 6 m. During step S01, MDLS models of the various specified pylon silhouettes are generated in order to allow the calculation of the stresses undergone by the elements of each of the pylons.

In step S02, the silhouette of each of the pylon sections identified in step S01 is defined. A pylon section silhouette is defined by a set of lines each connecting two nodes, each line representing a bar of the section and having the length of the latter and each node representing a connection element between bars of the section. This step consists of defining the shape of the sections of the different sections and the layout and length of each of the lines forming each section silhouette.

Figures 3A, 3B show examples of silhouettes of pylon sections. In FIGS. 3A, 3B, the pylon sections have a triangular section formed by several stages. In FIG. 3A, the section of the pylon section has constant dimensions over the entire height of the section. In Figure 3B, the section of the pylon section widens downwards.

In the example of Figures 3A, 3B, the pylon sections comprise three vertical bars (Figure 3A) or substantially vertical (Figure 3B) V1, V2, V3, and two stages ST 1 , ST2 each formed of three horizontal bars H1, H2, H3 and H1 1 , H12, H13, and three diagonal bars D1 , D2, D3 and D1 1 , D12, D13. The three horizontal bars H1, H2, H3, H1 1 , H12, H13 each extend in the top plane or the base plane of the stage ST1, ST2, between two of the three vertical or substantially vertical bars V1, V2 , V3 of the section. The three diagonal bars D1, D2, D3 and D1 1 , D12, D13 each extend between, on the one hand, an intersection between a top plane of the floor ST1, ST2 and a vertical or substantially vertical bar of the section, and on the other hand, an intersection between a base plane of the floor and another vertical or substantially vertical bar of the section. In step S03, one or more interchangeable configurations of each of the bars of each section are defined with regard to the material, and the characteristics of the profile of the bar, namely the shape of the section of the bar, a dimension of section and thickness of section elements. Thus, the section of a bar can be annular, L-shaped, U-shaped, I-shaped, ... In the case of an annular section, the dimension of the section can be its external diameter and the thickness of the section can be the gap between the outer radius and the inner radius of the ring shape. In the case of an L-shaped section, the dimension can be the width of one of the two branches of the L-shape, and the thickness, that of the branches of the L.

Step S03 uses RQSS pylon specifications and MDLS modeling to perform calculations of stresses exerted on the bars of the pylon sections and calculations of pylon bending, taking into account the action of the wind, at several speeds maximum wind speeds and several types of equipment installed on the tower in terms of weight and wind resistance, indicated in the RQSS specifications. This step makes it possible to obtain a set of bar configurations for each of the pylon sections, certain bar configurations being interchangeable in order to be able to propose a pylon configuration that meets each of the RQSS specifications. A compromise is sought between the number of interchangeable bar configurations for each of the bars of the sections identified in step S02, and the precision with which the various possible specifications can be fulfilled.

In step S04, a manufacturing plan is generated for each of the bar configurations obtained in step S03. At step S05, the BRS bars specified by the manufacturing plans obtained at step S04 are manufactured and there are sufficient to produce a stock of bars.

FIG. 2 represents steps S11 to S17 of a method for designing and manufacturing a pylon, according to one embodiment. Step S1 1 consists in determining a pylon silhouette according to a required height indicated in RQS specifications further specifying a location of the pylon, the weight and the wind resistance of equipment to be installed on the pylon , and a maximum admissible deflection of the pylon under the effect of the wind. The required pylon height allows the selection of sections of consecutive pylons to be used among those of the silhouette of the pylon defined in step S02.

In step S12, bar configurations for each of the sections selected in step S11 are selected. At step S13, the MDLS modeling corresponding to the set of sections and bar configuration selected is executed by a computer to check that the stresses applied to each of the bars of the sections of the pylon modeling do not cause a break in one of the bars or an excessive deflection of the pylon, greater than the maximum value indicated in the RQS specifications, taking into account a maximum wind stress. The maximum wind constraint is related to the wind resistance of the pylon and the equipment to be installed on the pylon, combined with the maximum wind speed on the site where the pylon must be installed.

At step S14, if one or more bars are undersized, taking into account the wind speed and deflection specifications to be fulfilled, steps S12 and S13 are again executed by replacing the unsuitable bars. If, on the contrary, all the bars selected at step S12 are correctly sized, a BRL list of bars is edited at step S15, the list indicating all the bar configurations selected at step S12 and correctly sized. In step S16, the bars indicated in the BRL list are extracted from the stock of BRS bars. At step S17, the PYL pylon is assembled and installed on the planned site, using the BRS bars extracted from stock.

Thus, it is no longer necessary to generate a pylon model to create a new pylon. In addition, the number of iterations including steps S12, S13, and S14 is significantly reduced compared to the prior method, due to a limited choice for each bar of each section. As a result, the pylon obtained may be less optimized in terms of weight, but the additional cost induced by this increase in weight is largely compensated by the reduction in the time required for the design of the pylon, by the elimination of the generation step of the bar manufacturing plans, and by the reduction in the cost of bar manufacturing, resulting from mass production.

According to one embodiment, steps S12 and S13 are also executed again if a selected bar configuration of a section selected is oversized, i.e. a less massive bar can be selected so that the wind speed and deflection specifications for the pylon to be constructed are always met. However, to prevent an oversized bar from being selected, provision may be made to select at the first iteration (steps S12-S14) the least massive bar configurations, then to select increasingly massive configurations each time that a bar configuration is detected as undersized.

According to one embodiment, the design of a pylon is coupled with stock management of bars, and the choice of bars in step S12 is limited to the bars in stock.

Figure 4 shows an example of pylon 1 obtained by the process of Figures 1 and 2, from a pylon silhouette comprising at least six pylon sections of identical heights. The pylon comprises six pylon sections numbered from T1 to T6 starting from the top of the pylon. Sections T1 to T6 correspond to all the pylon sections obtained in steps S01, S02. To obtain a lower pylon, the section T1 or T2 and/or one or more of the lower sections T6, T5, ... starting from the section T6, can be omitted until the required pylon height is reached. The sections are assembled to each other using horizontal plates P1, P2, fixed to the ends of each of the vertical bars of each section T1 - T6.

Sections T1 and T2 are substantially identical and comprise four stages having a section of constant width, the structure of which corresponds to that of FIG. 3A. The sections T3, T4 comprise three stages having a width section increasing downwards (FIG. 3B). The sections T5, T6 comprise two stages having the shape of the section of FIG. 3B.

In the example of FIG. 4, the vertical (or quasi-vertical) bars V1, V2, V3 of the sections T1 to T6 have an annular section, the horizontal bars H1-H3, H11-H13 have an L-shaped section, and the diagonal bars D1 -D3, D1 1 -D13 have an annular section.

As sections T1 and T2 have substantially the same dimensions, only one of these two sections can be selected to make a pylon. According to one embodiment, the pylon 1 can be made from a catalog of bars obtained in step S02, comprising:

- seven sections of pylon, including two upper sections T1, T2 having identical base and top sections, the two upper sections T1 and T2 comprising 4 floors, the two following sections T3 and T4 comprising 3 floors, and the three following sections T5, T6 including 2 floors,

- four different configurations for the vertical bars of each section,

- two different configurations of the diagonal bars of each section, and

- a unique configuration for the horizontal bars of each section.

Thus, if the sections T1 and T2 are identical, the bar catalog includes 24 different vertical or substantially vertical bar configurations, 6 different horizontal bar configurations and 12 different diagonal bar configurations, i.e. a total of 42 different bar configurations .

According to an exemplary embodiment, the catalog of bars comprises the following elements:

Table 1

In table 1, di (1=1 to 17) represent values of diameter of a bar with annular section, ej (j=1 to 35) represent values of thickness of annular section of vertical and diagonal bars, Ik (k=1 to 3) represent L-section width values of the horizontal bars.

Bars of the same type (vertical, horizontal, diagonal) of the same section have the same fixing configuration (bolting) so as to be interchangeable. Sections T1, T2, T4, T5 and T6 each include four possible configurations for the vertical bars, a single configuration for the horizontal bars and two possible configurations for the diagonal bars. The T3 section has three possible configurations for the vertical bars, a single configuration for the horizontal bars and two possible configurations for the diagonal bars. The T7 section has three possible configurations for the vertical bars, and a single configuration for the horizontal bars and the diagonal bars.

According to table 1, it is possible to manufacture a large number of pylon configurations with a limited number (less than 40) of different bars. It can be observed that this limited number of bars partly results from the division of the structure of the pylon into sections and the definition of a unique structure from which each section can be made: each stage of section of all the pylons capable of being obtained by the process has the same structure (for example that of FIG. 3A or 3B).

It will clearly appear to those skilled in the art that the present invention is capable of various variant embodiments. In particular, the invention is not limited to the shapes of pylon and to the shapes of pylon sections previously described, the method described above being able to adapt to any pylon section, and any pylon section structure. However, the structure of a pylon section stage described with reference to FIGS. 3A, 3B has the advantage of minimizing the number of bars required, while having great rigidity. As a result, a significantly reduced number of bar configurations can be sufficient to manufacture a wide variety of towers. In addition, dividing a section into several identical floors makes it possible to form a section with a large number of identical bars.

Claims

1 . A method of manufacturing a pylon, comprising the steps of: defining a silhouette of a pylon formed from a plurality of pylon sections (T1 -T6) of identical structures, corresponding to a largest pylon specified in a set of specifications of pylons (RQSS), define for each of the pylon sections a pylon section structure, formed by a set of bars (V1 -V3, H1 -H3, D1 -D3), define at least one bar configuration for each bar forming each section of the pylon silhouette, at least a part of the bars of the sections having several alternative interchangeable configurations, manufacturing bars (BRS) having the defined configurations, selecting consecutive sections of the pylon silhouette, according to a height of a pylon to be made, for each bar of each selected section, select a configuration from the configurations defined for the bar, carry out a simulation calculation by a calculator for determining a bending of the pylon and the mechanical stresses undergone by the selected configurations of the bars of the selected sections when the pylon is subjected to a maximum wind stress, if the bending of the pylon is greater than a threshold value or if the stresses mechanical conditions undergone by one of the selected configurations of the bars are excessive, select another configuration for at least one of the bars of the sections selected from among the configurations defined for the bar, and carry out the simulation calculation again, if the bending of the pylon is less than the threshold value and if the stresses undergone by all the selected configurations of the bars of the selected sections are not excessive, selecting among the manufactured bars, bars having the selected configurations for each of the selected sections, and assembling the selected manufactured bars to form the pylon (PYL, 1).

2. Method according to claim 1, wherein each pylon section (T1 -T6) comprises two to four floors (ST1, ST2) and vertical or substantially vertical bars (V1 -V3), each floor comprising horizontal bars ( H1 -H3, H 11 -H 13), and diagonal bars (D1 -D3, D11 -D13).

3. Method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein each pylon section (T 1 -T6) comprises two to four floors (ET 1, ET2) and three vertical or substantially vertical bars (V1 -V3), each floor comprising three horizontal bars (H1 -H3, H 11 -H 13), and three diagonal bars (D1 -D3, D11 -D13) each extending between, on the one hand, an intersection between a vertex plane of the floor and a vertical or substantially vertical bar of the section, and on the other hand, an intersection between a base plane of the floor and another vertical or substantially vertical bar of the section, the three horizontal bars each extending in the plane summit or the base plane of the floor, between two of the three vertical or substantially vertical bars of the section.

4. Method according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein each bar configuration (V1 -V3, H1 -H3, D1 -D3) of each of the sections (T1 - T6) differs from another bar configuration of the section by at least one of the following specific parameters: a material forming the bar, a shape of the section of the bar, a dimension of the section of the bar, and a thickness of the section of the bar.

5. Method according to one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the pylon silhouette comprises at least six pylon sections (T1 -T6) having the same height, including an upper section (T1) having four floors and a lower section (T6) having two floors.

6. Method according to claim 5, in which lower sections (T3-T6) of the pylon silhouette have a top section (SS2) smaller than a base section (SB2). 14

7. Method according to claim 5 or 6, in which an upper section (T1, T2) of the silhouette of the pylon has identical top (SS1) and base (SB1) sections.

8. Method according to one of claims 1 to 7, in which the simulation calculation is configured to identify oversized bar configurations, the method comprising steps consisting of: if a selected bar configuration is identified as oversized, selecting a alternative in replacement of the identified oversized bar configuration, and perform the simulation calculation again.

9. Method according to one of claims 1 to 8, in which the selection of the bar configurations is carried out taking into account a stock of manufactured bars (BRS) available.

10. Method according to one of claims 1 to 9, in which the selection of the sections (T1 -T6) is carried out by deleting lower sections of the silhouette of the pylon.