APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR REMOVING EQUIPMENT PARTS FROM A PLATFORM OF A WIND TURBINE GENERATOR, AND METHOD FOR FILLING A FUEL TANK ON SAID PLATFORM

Abstract

A power pack is located within a housing on the platform of a wind turbine generator tower. The power pack is supplied from a fuel tank. With the door of the housing open, the power pack may be removed for servicing and repair by using a U-shaped support structure to which an electric motor is mounted. Two support rails permanently located within the housing support the housed power pack. A chain attached to the power pack is driven by the motor to remove the power pack from the housing by sliding the power pack along the support structure. A pulley arrangement reduces the necessary torque. After removing the power pack from the housing, a crane is used to lift the power pack from the platform and to lower it down to a sea vessel. The crane may also be used in the refilling of the fuel tank by hauling a fuel line from a sea vessel up to the platform and connecting it to the fuel tank.

Claims

1. Apparatus for removing equipment from a housing on a platform of a wind turbine generator, the apparatus comprising: a winch for withdrawing the equipment from the housing in a substantially horizontal direction; and a portable support structure arranged to support the equipment during its withdrawal from the housing.

2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the winch is attached to the support structure.

3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the support structure is arranged to be moved from an inoperative configuration into an operative configuration where it can support the equipment during removal.

4. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a housing support arranged to support the equipment when in the housing.

5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the support structure, when in the operative configuration, abuts the housing support so as to provide a substantially continuous support surface.

6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a tension line which, prior to removal of the equipment, is arranged to be connected to the equipment, the winch being arranged to drive the tension line thereby to withdraw the equipment from the housing.

7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 6, where the winch is arranged to gather the tension line as the equipment is being drawn from the housing.

8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 7, further comprising a pulley arrangement in which the length of tension line gathered by the winch is substantially greater than the distance by which the equipment is caused to move.

9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein the tension line comprises a chain.

10. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the winch comprises an electric motor.

11. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the support structure is generally U-shaped, the two legs of the U-shape forming a surface over which the equipment is arranged to slide, the winch being attached to the bar of the U-shape.

12. The apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein the two legs of the U-shape are detachable from the bar of the U-shape.

13. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a crane arranged in use on the platform and arranged to lift the equipment after removal from the housing from the support structure and to lower the equipment on to an external surface.

14. A method of removing equipment from a housing on a platform of a wind turbine generator, comprising: providing an apparatus having a winch and a portable support structure arranged to support the equipment during its removal from the housing; coupling a tension line from the winch to the equipment in the housing; and actuating the winch so as to remove the equipment from the housing in a substantially horizontal direction.

15. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the equipment is a power pack.

16. The method as claimed in claim 15, wherein there is further provided on the platform a fuel tank for the power pack.

17. The method as claimed in claim 14, further comprising: providing a crane arranged in use on the platform and arranged to lift the equipment; and using the crane to lift the equipment after removal from the housing from the support structure and to lower the equipment on to a surface of a sea vessel.

18. The method of refilling a fuel tank on a platform of a wind turbine generator from an external fuel supply, in which a crane is arranged on the platform, the method comprising using the crane to lift a fuel supply pipeline from the external fuel supply to the platform and connecting the pipeline to the fuel tank.

19. The method as claimed in claim 18, wherein the wind turbine generator is located offshore and the external fuel supply is on a seagoing vessel.

Description

[0033] Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0034] FIG. 1 illustrates apparatus in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention in an inoperative configuration;

[0035] FIG. 2 illustrates the apparatus of FIG. 1 in its operative configuration;

[0036] FIG. 3 illustrates the use of the apparatus of FIG. 1 to lift a power pack from a platform;

[0037] FIG. 4 illustrates the use of the apparatus of FIG. 1 to lower a power pack generator from a platform; and

[0038] FIGS. 5(a) to 5(h) illustrate a method of refilling a fuel tank on a wind turbine generator tower platform in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention.

[0039] Throughout the drawings, the same reference numbers are used to refer to the same elements.

[0040] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a platform 1 is mounted to the tower of an offshore wind turbine generator (not shown). Also mounted to the tower are a power pack 2 within a housing 3 and fuel tank 4. The fuel tank 4 supplies diesel fuel to the power pack 2 along a fuel pipe 5. The housing 3 has a door 6 which may be opened by service personnel to perform servicing operations on the power pack 2.

[0041] A crane 7 is supported on the platform 1 to one side of the housing 3.

[0042] It is sometimes necessary for the power pack 2 to be removed from the housing 3 to enable more substantial servicing and repairs which cannot be performed in situ.

[0043] A U-shaped support structure 8 is used to facilitate removal of the power pack 2 from the housing 3. This is formed by engaging the ends of two elongate rails 9 into respective ends of a cross-bar 10 in the direction indicated by the arrows in FIG. 1. An electric motor 11 is mounted on the cross-bar 10.

[0044] Two further support rails 12 are permanently located within the housing 3 and are used to support the housed power pack 2. These further support rails 12 are spaced by the same distance, and have the same cross-sectional shape, as that of the two elongate rails 9 of the support structure 8. Thus, when the support structure 8 is brought into abutment with the two further support rails 12 by movement in the direction indicated by the arrows in FIG. 2, a continuous sliding surface is formed by the upper surfaces of the two elongate rails 9 and the further support rails 12.

[0045] A tension line in the form of a steel chain 13 is attached to the power pack 2 by means of a hook 14 mounted to one end of the chain 13. The chain 13 is driven by the motor 11 to effect removal of the power pack 2 from the housing 3.

[0046] A pulley arrangement is used to reduce the torque required by the motor to withdraw the power pack 2 from the housing 3. The pulley arrangement is in the form of a loop 15 of the chain 13 extending around a pulley 16 which, in use, is mounted to the power pack 2. In operation, the motor 11 gathers the chain 13 from the loop 15 and winds it on a spool (not shown). With this pulley arrangement, for each three units of length of the chain 13 gathered by the motor 11, the power pack 2 is drawn out of the housing 3 by a distance of one unit of length.

[0047] Referring to FIG. 3, after the power pack 2 has been fully withdrawn from the housing 3, a winching line 16 is lowered from the crane 7 and attached to a lug on the top of the power pack 2. The crane 7 then lifts the power pack 2 from the platform 1.

[0048] Referring to FIG. 4, the arm of the crane 7 is then rotated about a vertical axis to a position where it can lower the power pack 2 on to a suitable surface of sea vessel (not shown).

[0049] Referring to FIGS. 5(a) to 5(h), the crane 7 is also used to facilitate refilling of the diesel fuel tank 4. A sea vessel 17 containing a supply of diesel fuel arrives at a wind turbine tower which supports a platform 1 (FIG. 5(a)). Service personnel then climb up the tower using a ladder (FIG. 5(b)). A diesel fuel line 18 is then winched up to the platform 1 on the tower using the crane 7 (FIG. 5(c)). With the fuel line 18 in position (FIG. 5(d)), it is then attached to a diesel fuel tank 4 mounted on the side of the tower (FIG. 5(e)). The desired amount of diesel fuel is then supplied to the fuel tank 4 through the fuel line 18 (FIG. 5(f)).

[0050] The fuel line 18 is then lowered back on to the sea vessel 17 (FIG. 5(g)), and the service personnel then climb back down the tower and return to the sea vessel 17 (FIG. 5(h)).

[0051] Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it will be apparent that numerous modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention which is defined by the following claims.