WIND TURBINE COMPONENT FOR A WIND TURBINE TOWER, WIND TURBINE TOWER, ROTOR BLADE, WIND TURBINE AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING A WIND TURBINE COMPONENT

Abstract

Provided is a wind turbine component for a wind turbine, in particular for a wind turbine tower and/or a rotor blade, to a wind turbine tower, to a rotor blade, to a wind turbine and to a method for producing a wind turbine component. Provided is a wind turbine component for a wind turbine, in particular for a wind turbine tower and/or a rotor blade, comprising a first wall element with a first inner surface and a first outer surface arranged opposite the latter, a corrugated structural element, wherein the structural element is arranged on the first inner surface or on the first outer surface, wherein the first wall element is connected to the structural element.

Claims

1. A wind turbine component for a wind turbine tower and/or a rotor blade, the wind turbine component comprising: a first wall element with a first inner surface and a first outer surface arranged opposite the first inner surface, and a corrugated structural element, wherein the structural element is arranged on the first inner surface or on the first outer surface, wherein the first wall element is connected to the structural element.

2. The wind turbine component as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the first wall element is connected to the structural element by an adhesive material, and/or the connection between the first wall element and the structural element is formed without welded joints.

3. The wind turbine component as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the structural element has a plurality of corrugations, wherein at least one corrugation comprises a connecting section, and the structural element is connected to the first wall element by the connecting section.

4. The wind turbine component as claimed in claim 1, wherein the adhesive material is selected from a group consisting of: hot-melt adhesive; polyurethane adhesive; epoxy resin adhesive; and cyanoacrylate.

5. The wind turbine component as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the corrugations of the structural element have a spacing between adjacent connecting sections of less than 500 mm, and/or the structural element has more than 20, corrugations, and/or the corrugations of the structural element have an amplitude of more than 10 mm.

6. The wind turbine component as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the first wall element is at least one of shell-shaped, oval-shaped, polygonal-shaped, or has a rotationally symmetrical configuration.

7. The wind turbine component as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the structural element is at least one of shell-shaped, cylindrical-shaped, conical-shaped, or has a rotationally symmetrical configuration.

8. The wind turbine component as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the first wall element has a wall thickness and the structural element has a structural element thickness, and a ratio of structural element thickness to wall thickness is greater than 0.1.

9. The wind turbine component as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the structural element comprises at least one of steel, aluminum, or titanium, and/or the structural element comprises plastics material, wherein the plastics material is at least one of a fiber-reinforced plastic, a short-fiber-reinforced plastic, or a glass-fiber-reinforced plastic, and/or the first wall element comprises at least one of steel, aluminum, or titanium.

10. The wind turbine component as claimed in claim 1, comprising: a second wall element with a second inner surface and a second outer surface arranged opposite the second inner surface, wherein the structural element is arranged between the first wall element and the second wall element, and the structural element is connected to the first wall element and the second wall element.

11. The wind turbine component as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the structural element has a first corrugation with a first connecting section facing the first wall element, and the structural element has a second corrugation with a second connecting section facing the second wall element, and the first wall element is connected to the structural element by the first connecting section and the second wall element is connected to the structural element by the second connecting section.

12. The wind turbine component as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the first wall element extends with a wall element length between a first abutment side and a second abutment side and the structural element extends with a structural element length between the first abutment side and the second abutment side, and the structural element length corresponds substantially to the wall element length.

13. The wind turbine component as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the structural element is arranged in such a way that the connecting sections have main directions of extent oriented substantially parallel to the wall element length.

14. The wind turbine component as claimed in claim 1, wherein: a first flange is arranged on the first abutment side and a second flange is arranged on the second abutment side, the structural element forms a plurality of cavities adjoining at least one of the first abutment side or the second abutment side, and at least one of the plurality of cavities at least partially comprising a filling material, wherein the filling material is configured such that a threaded rod for connection of two wind turbine components can be screwed in, and/or a threaded sleeve is arranged in at least one of the cavities, wherein the threaded sleeve is glued in, and the threaded sleeve is configured such that a threaded rod for connection of two wind turbine components can be screwed in.

15. The wind turbine component as claimed in claim 1, wherein the component is a tower section or a rotor blade.

16. A wind turbine tower, comprising at least one wind turbine component as claimed in claim 1.

17. A rotor blade of a wind turbine, comprising at least one wind turbine component as claimed in claim 1.

18. A wind turbine, comprising the wind turbine tower as claimed in claim 16.

19. A method for producing a wind turbine component for a wind turbine, comprising: arranging a corrugated structural element on a first inner surface or on a first outer surface of a first wall element, the second outer surface being arranged opposite the first inner surface, and connecting the first wall element to the structural element.

20. The method as claimed in claim 19, comprising: arranging a second wall element in a cavity formed by the first wall element, arranging the structural element between the first wall element and the second wall element, connecting the first wall element to the structural element and connecting the second wall element to the structural element by an adhesive material.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

[0053] Preferred exemplary embodiments will be discussed by way of example on the basis of the appended figures. In the figures:

[0054] FIG. 1 shows a schematic three-dimensional view of an exemplary embodiment of a wind turbine;

[0055] FIG. 2 shows a schematic three-dimensional view of an exemplary embodiment of a wind turbine component;

[0056] FIG. 3 shows a detail view of the wind turbine component shown in FIG. 2;

[0057] FIG. 4 shows a schematic three-dimensional view of an exemplary embodiment of a corrugated structural element;

[0058] FIG. 5 shows a schematic two-dimensional cross-sectional view of a wind turbine component;

[0059] FIG. 6 shows a further schematic two-dimensional cross-sectional view of a wind turbine component;

[0060] FIG. 7 shows a further schematic two-dimensional cross-sectional view of a wind turbine component; and

[0061] FIG. 8 shows a schematic method for producing a wind turbine component for a wind turbine tower.

[0062] In the figures, identical or substantially functionally identical or similar elements are denoted by the same reference signs.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0063] FIG. 1 shows a schematic three-dimensional view of an exemplary embodiment of a wind turbine 100. FIG. 1 shows in particular a wind turbine 100 with a tower 102 and with a nacelle 104. A rotor 106 having three rotor blades 108 and having a spinner 110 is arranged on the nacelle 104. The rotor 106 is set in rotation by the wind during operation and thereby drives a generator in the nacelle 104. The tower 102 has at least one tower section 200, which is explained in more detail below. The wind turbine 100 comprises at least one wind turbine component. Preferably, one, two, several or all sections of the tower 102 are provided in an analogous manner to the wind turbine component configured in the form of a tower section 200 described below.

[0064] FIG. 2 shows a schematic three-dimensional view of an exemplary embodiment of a wind turbine component configured in the form of a tower section. The tower section 200 is of cylindrical configuration. The tower section 200 extends with a tower section length from an upper horizontal abutment side 202 to a lower horizontal abutment side 204. On these abutment sides 202, 204, the tower section 200 in the intended installation state in a wind turbine tower abuts against further tower sections.

[0065] The tower section 200 has a first wall element configured in the form of an outer wall element 210 and a second wall element configured in the form of an inner wall element 220. The outer wall element 210 and the inner wall element 220 have an axis of rotation 206. The outer wall element 210 and the inner wall element 220 are configured to be rotationally symmetrical about the axis of rotation 206. The outer wall element 210 and the inner wall element 220 have a ring-shaped cross section orthogonally with respect to the axis of rotation 206. The inner diameter of the outer wall element 210 is larger than the outer diameter of the inner wall element 220. As a result, the inner wall element 220 can be arranged within the outer wall element 210. The outer wall element 210 and the inner wall element 220 are arranged coaxially with respect to one another. The tower section 200 extends with a tower section length between the upper horizontal abutment side 202 and the lower horizontal abutment side 204. In this direction, the outer wall element 210 and the inner wall element 220 have the same length.

[0066] The outer diameter of the inner wall element 220 is smaller than the inner diameter of the outer wall element 210. This creates a cavity, or an intermediate space, between the outer wall element 210 and the inner wall element 220. A structural element 230 is arranged in the aforementioned cavity between the outer wall element and the inner wall element. The structural element 230 is corrugated. The structural element 230 extends with a horizontal structural element length between the upper horizontal abutment side 202 and the lower horizontal abutment side 204. The structural element length preferably corresponds to the tower section length.

[0067] The tower section length of the tower section 200 may for example be 24 meters. The outer diameter of the tower section 200 may be 4.3 meters. The spacing between the inner circumferential surface of the outer wall element 210 and the outer circumferential surface of the inner wall element 220 is preferably 30 mm. The amplitude of the structural element 230 is consequently also preferably 30 mm, such that a first part of the apexes can be connected to the outer wall element 210 and a second part of the apexes, said second part being arranged opposite to the apexes of the first part, can be connected to the inner wall element 220.

[0068] FIG. 3 shows a detail view of the tower section 200 shown in FIG. 2. The detail view shown here shows the configuration of the structural element 230 between the outer wall element 210 and the inner wall element 220. The structural element 230 extends in a corrugated manner orthogonally with respect to a radial direction of the tower section 200 and orthogonally with respect to the axis of rotation 206. These corrugations are of sinusoidal configuration here. The corrugated geometry of the structural element 230 produces a multiplicity of cavities 232 between the outer wall element 210 and the inner wall element 220.

[0069] It is preferred that at least one of the cavities 232 at least partially comprises a filling material, in particular steel and/or plastics material, for example fiber-reinforced plastic, wherein the filling material is configured such that a threaded rod for connection of two tower sections can be screwed in. In addition, it is preferred that a threaded sleeve is arranged in at least one of the cavities 232, wherein the threaded sleeve is preferably glued in. Here, the main direction of extent of the connecting sections runs substantially orthogonally with respect to the image plane. Here, the main directions of extent of the connecting sections are oriented in such a way that they are oriented parallel to the tower section length. This means that the main directions of extent of the connecting sections are oriented substantially parallel to the axis of rotation 206.

[0070] The structural element 230 is connected to the outer wall element 210 and to the inner wall element 220. The structural element 230 abuts against the outer wall element 210 by way of its connecting sections on an outer side of the structural element 230. The structural element 230 abuts against the inner wall element 220 by way of connecting sections on an inner side of the structural element 230. The structural element 230 is connected to the outer wall element 210 by means of the connecting sections. The structural element 230 is also connected to the inner wall element 220 by way of its connecting sections. The structural element 230 may be connected to the inner wall element 220 and the outer wall element 210 by means of an adhesive material. In particular, it is preferred that this connection is formed without welded joints.

[0071] FIG. 4 shows a schematic three-dimensional view of an exemplary embodiment of a corrugated structural element 300. The structural element 300 has a first corrugation 310 and a second corrugation 330. The first corrugation 310 extends from a first depression line 320 toward a second depression line 322. The first depression line 320 issues from an edge of the structural element 300 at a depression point 318. The structural element 300 has a first apex 312 between the first depression line 320 and the second depression line 322. Starting from the first apex 312, a first connecting section 314 runs orthogonally with respect to the sinusoidal profile of the structural element 300. The first corrugation 310 extends orthogonally with respect to the first connecting section 314 in the direction of an amplitude 316. The first connecting section 314 has a planar contact surface with which said first connecting section can be arranged on a first or second wall element.

[0072] Analogously to this, the second corrugation 330 has a second apex 332, from which the second connecting section 334 issues. The second connecting section 334 also has a planar contact surface with which said second connecting section can be arranged on a first or second wall element. The main direction of extent of the first connecting section 314 is oriented parallel to the main direction of extent of the second connecting section 334. The structural element 300 has a distance 324 between the connecting sections 314, 334. The distance 324 is the measure of the smallest spacing between the first connecting section 314 and the second connecting section 334. In addition, the structural element 300 has a structural element thickness 302. The structural element thickness 302 corresponds substantially to the material thickness from which the structural element 300 was produced.

[0073] FIG. 5 shows a schematic two-dimensional cross-sectional view of a wind turbine component configured in the form of a tower section 400. The inner wall element 420 has an outer diameter of almost 4000 mm. The outer wall element 410 has an inner diameter of almost 4300 mm. The structural element 430 is arranged between the outer wall element 410 and the inner wall element 420 and has a sinusoidal profile in the ring direction.

[0074] FIG. 6 shows a further schematic two-dimensional cross-sectional view of a wind turbine component. The wind turbine component 600 comprises a single wall element 610 and a structural element 630 connected thereto. In contrast to the exemplary embodiments shown above, the wind turbine component 600 comprises only one wall element and no second wall element. The wall element 610 is configured in the form of an outer wall element, such that the structural element is arranged on an inner surface, in particular an inner circumferential surface, of the wall element 610.

[0075] FIG. 7 shows a further schematic two-dimensional cross-sectional view of a wind turbine component. The wind turbine component 700 comprises a single wall element 710 and a structural element 730 connected thereto. The wind turbine component 700 shown here differs from the exemplary embodiments described above in that it comprises only the wall element 710 configured in the form of an inner wall element and does not have an outer wall element. The structural element 730 is arranged on an inner circumferential surface of the wall element 710.

[0076] FIG. 8 shows a schematic method for producing a tower section for a wind turbine tower. In step 500, a rotationally symmetrical inner wall element 220, 420 is arranged in a cavity formed by a rotationally symmetrical outer wall element 210, 410.

[0077] In step 502, a corrugated structural element 230, 300, 430 is arranged between the outer wall element 210, 410 and the inner wall element 220, 420.

[0078] In step 504, the outer wall element 210, 410 is connected to the structural element 230, 300, 430, preferably by means of an adhesive material. In addition or as an alternative, in step 504, the inner wall element 220, 420 may be connected to the structural element 230, 300, 430, preferably by means of an adhesive material.

[0079] The arrangement of a structural element 230, 300, 430 between an outer wall element 210, 410 and an inner wall element 220, 420 makes it possible to increase the stiffness, in particular the buckling stiffness and the flexural stiffness, of a wind turbine tower. In particular, this effect can be achieved by orienting the main directions of extent of the connecting sections of the corrugated structural element 230, 300, 430 substantially parallel to a tower section longitudinal direction and/or an axis of rotation of the tower section 200, 400 of the outer wall element 210, 410 and/or of the inner wall element 220, 420. As a result of this improved stiffness of the tower section 200, 400, the wind turbine towers 102 can be provided with a smaller outer diameter. On the one hand, this smaller outer diameter enables material to be saved and, on the other hand, a smaller outer diameter enables better logistics, for example when the tower section 200, 400 is being transported to a construction site of a wind turbine 100. In addition, the proportion of vertically segmented tower sections can be reduced or this segmentation can be avoided, since fewer tower sections exceed the maximum transportable dimension of 4.3 m.

REFERENCE SIGNS

[0080] 100 Wind turbine [0081] 102 Tower [0082] 104 Nacelle [0083] 106 Rotor [0084] 108 Rotor blades [0085] 110 Spinner [0086] 200, 400, 600, 700 Wind turbine component [0087] 202 Upper horizontal abutment side [0088] 204 Lower horizontal abutment side [0089] 206 Axis of rotation [0090] 210, 410, 610 First wall element [0091] 220, 420, 710 Second wall element [0092] 230, 300, 430, 630, 730 Structural element [0093] 232 Cavity [0094] 302 Structural element thickness [0095] 310 First corrugation [0096] 312 First apex [0097] 314 First connecting section [0098] 316 Amplitude [0099] 318 Depression point [0100] 320 First depression line [0101] 322 Second depression line [0102] 324 Distance [0103] 330 Second corrugation [0104] 332 Second apex [0105] 334 Second connecting section