Modular Wind Turbine

Abstract

The invention relates to a wind turbine comprising a tower; a drive train which has a rotor, a rotor bearing, preferably a transmission, and a generator; a cylinder, the longitudinal axis of which extends transversely to the longitudinal axis of the tower and which receives some sections of the drive train on one side; and a dome which closes the other side of the cylinder. The invention is characterized in that the drive train has means for conducting cooling air between the drive train end face opposite the rotor and the lateral surface of the drive train, the cylinder receives an inner cylinder (42) which separates the interior of the cylinder into an outer cylinder intermediate space and an inner cylinder interior, and the dome is designed as an air/air heat exchanger, wherein the inner cylinder is communicatively connected to the drive train end face opposite the rotor and the dome, thereby forming a closed cooling circuit.

Claims

1. Wind turbine with a tower, a power train comprising a rotor, a rotor bearing, preferably a drive, and a generator, a cylinder extending with its longitudinal axis diagonally to the longitudinal axis of the tower, accommodating sections of the power train on the one side of the cylinder, and a dome closing the cylinder on its other side, wherein the power train comprises means for providing cooling air between its front side located opposite the rotor and its lateral area, the cylinder accommodates an inner cylinder which divides the inside of the cylinder into an outer cylinder area and an inner cylinder area, the dome is configured as an air/air-heat exchanger, whereby the inner cylinder, forming a closed cooling system, is connected to communicate with the front side of the power train located opposite the rotor and the dome.

2. Wind turbine according to claim 1, wherein the cylinder is rotatably attached to the tower.

3. Wind turbine according to claim 1, wherein the cylinder and the inner cylinder are concentrically arranged with each other.

4. Wind turbine according to claim 1, wherein the cross-section area of the inner cylinder corresponds to the cross-section area of the space.

5. Wind turbine according to claim 1, wherein the inner cylinder has an area that conically widens in the direction of the power train.

6. Wind turbine according to claim 1, wherein the inner cylinder comprises the front side of the power train located opposite the rotor.

7. Wind turbine according to claim 1, wherein the outer diameter of the generator is smaller than the outer diameter of the drive.

8. Wind turbine according to claim 1, wherein the outer diameter of the drive corresponds to the outer diameter of the cylinder.

9. Wind turbine according to claim 1 further comprising a fan arranged in the inner cylinder and/or in the cylinder space.

10. Wind turbine according to claim 1, wherein the wind turbine is configured as a downwind system.

Description

[0035] Below, the invention is explained with the help of particularly preferred exemplary embodiments, which are also shown in the attached drawings:

[0036] FIG. 1 shows a schematic side view of a wind turbine with a particularly preferred configuration;

[0037] FIG. 2 shows an exploded view of the wind turbine provided in FIG. 1;

[0038] FIG. 3 shows a sectional side view of the wind turbine from FIG. 1;

[0039] FIG. 4 shows a sectional side view of the wind turbine from FIG. 1 with schematically displayed airflow;

[0040] FIG. 5 shows a perspective overall view of a floating offshore wind turbine with a particularly preferred configuration;

[0041] FIG. 6 shows a perspective overall view of a further floating offshore wind turbine with a particularly preferred configuration; and

[0042] FIG. 7 shows a detailed view of the wind turbine provided in FIG. 6 in the area of the one rotor.

[0043] FIG. 1 shows a schematic side view of a wind turbine with a particularly preferred configuration.

[0044] The wind turbine 10 comprises a tower 20 with a cylinder 40 arranged on its upper side, which extends with its longitudinal axis diagonally, in this example at an oblique angle of approximately 80 from the longitudinal axis of the tower 20 and which accommodates the power train 30 from where the rotor 32, the rotor bearing 34, and the drive 36 are visible.

[0045] On the side opposite the power train 30, a dome 50 that closes the cylinder 40 is provided. It is configured as an air/air-heat exchange, and its outer cooling fins are clearly visible.

[0046] The wind turbine shown in FIG. 1 is, in particular, configured as a floating downward wind turbine, whereby the cylinder 40 is firmly attached to the tower 20 which, in turn, is anchored in the floating foundation. To this purpose, it is, in particular, provided that the anchoring is not attached to the tower 20, but the cylinder 40.

[0047] FIG. 2 shows an exploded view of the wind turbine provided in FIG. 1.

[0048] This illustration clearly shows that a functional and in particular previously tested power train 30 comprising a rotor 32, a rotor bearing 34, a drive 36, and a generator 38 may be inserted on one side of the cylinder 40 as a functional unit, whereby the other side of the cylinder 40 is covered by the dome 50.

[0049] Here, the tower 20, the power train 30, the cylinder 40, and the dome 50 are configured so that, when the components are joined, a closed space is created that is not engaged in an exchange of material with the environment.

[0050] FIG. 2 shows as well that an inner cylinder 42, which is concentrically arranged to the cylinder 40, is provided in the cylinder 40, which divides the inside of the cylinder 40 into an outer cylinder area 44 and an inner cylinder area 46. The inner cylinder 42 is attached to the cylinder 40 in particular by means of radial support structures that connect the inner wall of the cylinder 40 with the outer wall of the inner cylinder 42.

[0051] FIG. 3 shows an opened lateral view of the wind turbine 10 so that the functional interaction between the power train 30, the cylinder 40, in particular the inner cylinder 42, and the dome 50 becomes clear.

[0052] The inner cylinder 42 is configured so that the front side of the power train located opposite the rotor 32, i.e., the back wall of the generator 38, is comprised by the one side of the inner cylinder 42 so that the front side of the power train 30 communicates only with the inner cylinder space 46, but not directly with the (outer) cylinder space 44.

[0053] On the other side, the inner cylinder 42 is connected to communicate with the conducting structures of the dome 50 configured as an air/air-heat exchanger so that a closed cooling system is created between the power train 30 and the dome 50, which extends from the dome 50 through the inner cylinder space 46 to the power train 30 and from the power train 30 through the cylinder space 44 to the dome 50.

[0054] The cooling system is illustrated by the arrows shown in FIG. 4. The inner cooling system is completely closed. At the dome 50, the heat losses are dissipated into the exterior air that passes along the dome 50 as a counterflow.

[0055] Finally, FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of a specially configured floating wind turbine 10 with a tower 20 arranged on a floating foundation. On its top side, the tower 20 has a cylinder 40 that is rotatably fixed with the tower 20, whereby the tower 20 is anchored to the foundation by means of suspension points arranged on the cylinder 40.

[0056] The floating wind turbine 10 is configured in particular as a downward wind turbine, whereby the tower 20 comprises a cross-section which at least supports the supply of wind.

[0057] The power train 30 comprises in the exemplary embodiment shown a two-blade rotor and is, as explained above, accommodated in the cylinder 40, whereby the cylinder 40 is closed by a dome 50 on the side located opposite the power train 30.

[0058] FIG. 6 shows another exemplary embodiment of a specially configured floating wind turbine 10 with a tower 20 arranged on a floating foundation. The tower 20 is divided in a vertical section and has two arms branching off from this section in a dichotomous manner. At their ends, a rotatably fixed cylinder 40 is arranged.

[0059] Each of these cylinders 40 accommodates one power train 30 so that a floating wind turbine 10 is created that comprises a total of two power trains 30. This approach is preferable in particular for the construction of an overall high-powered turbine in which the individual components have very small dimensions and thus facilitate a better load distribution on the floating foundation.

[0060] Finally, FIG. 7 shows a detail of the anchoring in the area of a power train 30. It clearly shows that the suspension ropes are attached to the bracing tube 40 so that a replacement of the power train 30 can be performed without impairing the stability of the floating wind turbine 10 as a whole.