Generator rotor for a generator of a wind turbine or a hydroelectric power plant, and a generator, wind turbine and hydroelectric power plant comprising same

Abstract

A generator rotor for a generator, in particular a slowly rotating generator, of a wind turbine or a hydroelectric power plant. The rotor generator comprises a rotor belt for holding a plurality of pole shoes, a hub flange for fixing the generator rotor to a shaft, in particular a main shaft or a transmission shaft, of the wind turbine, or for fixing to a number of turbine blades of the hydroelectric power plant, and a carrier structure which is respectively non-rotatably connected to the rotor belt on the one hand and to hub flange on the other hand, wherein the rotor belt comprises a metallic material having a first degree of damping (D.sub.1) and at least one of: the carrier structure or the hub flange partially or completely comprises a material having a second degree of damping (D.sub.2), wherein the second degree of damping (D.sub.2) is higher than the first degree of damping (D.sub.1).

Claims

1. A generator rotor for a generator of a wind turbine or a hydroelectric power plant, comprising: a rotor belt for holding a plurality of pole shoes, a hub flange for fixing the generator rotor to a shaft of the wind turbine, or for fixing to at least one turbine blade of the hydroelectric power plant, and a carrier structure non-rotatably connected to the rotor belt and to the hub flange, wherein the rotor belt comprises a metallic material having a first degree of damping and at least one of: the carrier structure or the hub flange partially or completely comprises a material having a second degree of damping, wherein the second degree of damping is higher than the first degree of damping.

2. The generator rotor according to claim 1 wherein the first degree of damping is in a region of 0.002 or less.

3. The generator rotor according to claim 2 wherein the first degree of damping is in a region of 0.0015 or less.

4. The generator rotor according to claim 1 wherein the second degree of damping is n times the first degree of damping, wherein n is equal to 2 or higher.

5. The generator rotor according to claim 1 wherein at least one of: the carrier structure or the hub flange, partially or completely, comprises at least one of the following materials: concrete; concrete composite; steel-reinforced concrete; fiber-reinforced concrete; wood; plywood; laminated timber; glass fiber-reinforced plastic; or carbon fiber-reinforced plastic.

6. The generator rotor according to claim 1 wherein the carrier structure is of an annular configuration.

7. The generator rotor according to claim 1 wherein the carrier structure is made up of a plurality of segments.

8. The generator rotor according to claim 1 comprising a separating gap between the rotor belt and the carrier structure, and wherein the carrier structure is connected to the rotor belt along the separating gap.

9. The generator rotor according to claim 8 wherein the separating gap is partially or completely filled with a filling material having a third degree of damping that is greater than the first degree of damping.

10. The generator rotor according to claim 9 wherein the third degree of damping is equal to or greater than the second degree of damping.

11. The generator rotor according to claim 8 wherein the carrier structure is locked to the rotor belt.

12. The generator rotor according to claim 1 comprising a separating gap between the carrier structure and the hub flange, and wherein the carrier structure is connected to the hub flange along the separating gap.

13. The generator rotor according to claim 1 wherein at least one of: the rotor belt or the hub flange is made of steel or a steel alloy.

14. A generator of a wind turbine or a hydroelectric power plant, comprising: a generator stator; and the generator rotor according to claim 1, wherein the generator rotor rotates relative to the generator stator.

15. A wind turbine, comprising: a generator, wherein the generator has a generator stator and the generator rotor according to claim 1, wherein the generator rotor rotates relative to the generator stator.

16. A hydroelectric power plant, comprising: a flow passage having a flow inlet and flow outlet, and a water turbine arranged in the flow passage and operatively connected to a generator for generating electrical energy, wherein the generator has the generator rotor according to claim 1.

17. A method comprising: forming a rotor belt configured to hold a plurality of pole shoes; forming a hub flange, wherein the hub flange is configured to fix a generator rotor to a shaft of a wind turbine or to a plurality of turbine blades of a hydroelectric power plant, and coupling a carrier structure to the rotor belt and the hub flange, wherein the rotor belt includes a metallic material having a first degree of damping, wherein at least one of: the carrier structure or the hub flange includes a material having a second degree of damping, and wherein the second degree of damping is higher than the first degree of damping.

18. The method according to claim 17 wherein forming the hub flange comprises forming the hub flange from one or more of the following materials: concrete; concrete composite; steel-reinforced concrete; fiber-reinforced concrete; wood; plywood; laminated timber; glass fiber-reinforced plastic; or carbon fiber-reinforced plastic.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The invention is described in greater detail hereinafter with reference to the accompanying Figures by means of a number of preferred embodiments by way of example. Identical features or features involving the same function are denoted herein by identical references.

(2) In the drawing:

(3) FIG. 1a shows a diagrammatic perspective view of a wind turbine,

(4) FIG. 1b shows a diagrammatic perspective view of a hydroelectric power plant,

(5) FIG. 2 diagrammatically shows a perspective view in section of a pod of the wind turbine shown in FIG. 1a,

(6) FIG. 3a shows a diagrammatic perspective partial view of a generator for the wind turbine shown in FIGS. 1 and 2,

(7) FIG. 3b shows a further diagrammatic perspective view of the part shown in FIG. 3a,

(8) FIG. 4a shows a diagrammatic detail view of a first fixing variant for the generator rotor of FIGS. 3a and 3b, and

(9) FIG. 4b shows a second fixing variant for the generator rotor shown in FIGS. 3a and 3b.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(10) FIG. 1a shows a wind turbine 100 comprising a tower 102 and a pod 104. A rotor 106 having three rotor blades 108 and a spinner 110 is arranged on the pod 104. In operation the rotor 106 is caused to rotate by the wind and thereby drives a generator 1 (FIG. 2) in the pod 104.

(11) FIG. 1b shows a hydroelectric power plant 200. The hydroelectric power plant 200 has a water turbine 211 driven by water which flows through a flow passage. The water turbine 211 is arranged between a flow inlet 213 and a flow outlet 215 and has a generator 1, in particular a multi-pole, slowly rotating synchronous ring generator. The generator 1 is designed as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4b described hereinafter, with the structural exception that its hub flange (not shown) does not necessarily have to be connected to a drive shaft, but alternatively also directly to a number of turbine blades which rotate in the flow passage. In that respect this is referred to as a so-called straight-flow turbine. In particular the invention also concerns a straight-flow axial turbine. The pod 104 of the wind turbine 100 is shown in greater detail in FIG. 2.

(12) The pod 104 is mounted rotatably to the tower 102 and is connected in driven relationship in generally known manner by means of an azimuth drive 7. In a further generally known manner a machine carrier 9 is arranged in the pod 104, holding a generator 1 which is preferably in the form of a synchronous generator. The generator 1 is designed in accordance with the present invention and is in particular a slowly rotating, multi-pole synchronous ring generator. The generator 1 has a generator stator 3 and an internally rotating generator rotor 5, also referred to as the rotor member. The generator rotor 5 is connected to a rotor hub 13 which transmits the rotary movement of the rotor blades 108, that is caused by the wind, to the synchronous generator 1.

(13) Details of the generator 1 are shown in FIGS. 3a, b and FIGS. 4a, b. The generator rotor 5 is shown as a part thereof in section in FIGS. 3a and 3b. The generator rotor 5 has a carrier structure 17 formed from a plurality of segments 17a-f. The segments 17a-f are preferably prefabricated components, particularly preferably of steel-reinforced concrete. The carrier structure 17 is connected to a rotor belt 15. The rotor belt 15 is adapted to receive the pole shoes (not shown) of the generator 1. On the radially oppositely disposed inward side the carrier structure 17 is connected to a hub flange 19. The hub flange 19 is adapted for fitting to a main or transmission shaft of the wind turbine.

(14) The rotor belt 15 and the hub flange 19 are preferably of steel or a steel alloy.

(15) The carrier structure 17 has a plurality of openings 21 which serve as through-flow openings for air and in addition serve the purpose of saving weight and improving handlability of the carrier structure 17.

(16) The carrier structure 17 is of a substantially disc-shaped configuration but optionally is of a slightly frustoconically shaped contour which can be described with a cone angle a, see FIG. 3b.

(17) FIGS. 4a and 4b show various fixing options for connecting the carrier structure 17 to the rotor belt 15. The same fixing variants are preferably also to be provided for connecting the carrier structure 17 to the hub flange 19. This is not shown separately here for the sake of enhanced clarity of the drawing.

(18) As the invention involves moving away from a completely monolithic structure for the generator rotor, provided between the rotor belt 15 and the carrier structure 17 (and preferably equally between the carrier structure 17 and the hub flange 19, see FIGS. 3a and 3b), is a separating gap 23. The separating gap 23 is bridged over by means of a number of fixing means along its periphery.

(19) In the variant shown in FIG. 4a the fixing means proposed are screws 27 which extend through a corresponding opening 28 in the carrier structure 17 and are screwed into a corresponding threaded bore 25 in the rotor belt 15 to form a force-locking connection. The separating gap 23 is preferably of such a dimension that the carrier structure 17 and the rotor belt 15 bear against each other in the assembled condition, but are not pressed against each other.

(20) In a second fixing variant shown in FIG. 4b the carrier structure 17 is fixed to the rotor belt 15 along the separating gap by means of a number of head bolt connections 29. At the rotor belt 15 the head bolt connections are welded thereto and engage into openings 31 in the carrier structure 17. After positioning of the carrier structure 17 relative to the rotor belt 15 has been effected those openings 31 are filled with a hardening material 33. The hardening material can be for example cement or a curing polymer, for example synthetic resin. In the variant shown in FIG. 4b the separating gap 23 is preferably also of such a dimension that the carrier structure 17 and the rotor belt 15 bear against each other in the assembled state, but are not pressed together. As an alternative to the preferred configuration, the separating gap 23 can also be partially or completely filled with a hardening material, for both variants (FIG. 4a and FIG. 4b). Particularly preferably the material partially or completely filling the separating gap 23 is not fully elastic, but also has a third degree of damping preferably greater than the first degree of damping of the rotor belt 15 and particularly preferably equal to or greater than the second degree of damping of the carrier structure.