TRANSITION PIECE FOR A HYBRID WIND TURBINE TOWER AND METHOD FOR ASSEMBLING SAME

Abstract

A hybrid wind turbine tower (12) includes at least one polygonal tower section (24) with a polygonal cross-sectional profile connected to a foundation (28), at least one tubular tower section (26) with a circular cross-sectional profile for connection to the nacelle (14), and a transition piece (40) disposed between the at least one polygonal tower section (24) and the at least one tubular tower section (26). The transition piece (40) includes an upper portion having a circular cross-sectional profile connected to a lower end of the at least one tubular tower section (26), and a lower portion having a polygonal cross-sectional profile connected to an upper end of the at least one polygonal tower section (24). A method for assembling a hybrid wind turbine tower (12) is also disclosed.

Claims

1. A hybrid wind turbine tower having a lower end mounted to a foundation and an upper end for connection to a nacelle of a wind turbine, comprising: at least one polygonal tower section connected to the foundation, wherein the at least one polygonal tower section includes a polygonal cross-sectional profile; at least one tubular tower section for connection to the nacelle, wherein the at least one tubular tower section includes a circular cross-sectional profile; and a transition piece disposed between the at least one polygonal tower section and the at least one tubular tower section, wherein the transition piece includes an upper portion having a circular cross-sectional profile connected to a lower end of the at least one tubular tower section, and a lower portion having a polygonal cross-sectional profile connected to an upper end of the at least one polygonal tower section.

2. The hybrid wind turbine tower of claim 1, wherein the transition piece is integrated into the lower end of the at least one tubular tower section such that the transition piece and the at least one tubular tower section form a unitary structure.

3. The hybrid wind turbine tower of claim 1, wherein the transition piece includes a mounting interface at an upper end of the upper portion of the transition piece, and wherein the mounting interface is connected to a mounting interface at the lower end of the at least one tubular tower section.

4. The hybrid wind turbine tower of claim 3, where the mounting interface of the transition piece is connected to the mounting interface of the at least one tubular tower section by a weld or a mounting flange.

5. The hybrid wind turbine tower of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of splice plates connecting the lower portion of the transition piece to the upper end of the at least one polygonal tower section.

6. The hybrid wind turbine tower of claim 1, wherein the transition piece has a one-piece construction, a monolithic construction, or a two-piece construction.

7. The hybrid wind turbine tower of claim 1, wherein the upper portion of the transition piece includes a first wall thickness (T1), wherein the lower portion of the transition piece includes a second wall thickness (T2), and wherein the second wall thickness (T2) is less than the first wall thickness (T1).

8. The hybrid wind turbine tower of claim 1, wherein at a connection joint between upper and lower portions of the transition piece, the upper portion defines an inner radius (Ri) and an outer radius (Ro) and the lower portion defines an inner periphery (Pi) and an outer periphery (Po), and wherein the inner and outer peripheries (Pi, Po) of the lower portion of the transition piece is within the confines of the inner and outer radius (Ri, Ro) of the upper portion of the transition piece.

9. The hybrid wind turbine tower of claim 1, wherein the transition piece has a height (H) and a diameter (D), and wherein the height-to-diameter (H/D) ratio is less than or equal to 0.5.

10. A wind turbine, comprising: the hybrid wind turbine tower according to claim 1; a nacelle mounted to the upper end of the tower; and a rotor having one or more wind turbine blades rotatably coupled to the nacelle.

11. A method of assembling a hybrid tower for a wind turbine, comprising: connecting a lower end of at least one polygonal tower section to a foundation of the wind turbine, wherein the at least one polygonal tower section includes a polygonal cross-sectional profile; connecting a lower end of at least one tubular tower section to an upper end of the at least one polygonal tower section, wherein the at least one tubular tower section includes a circular cross-sectional profile; and disposing a transition piece between the at least one polygonal tower section and the at least one tubular tower section, wherein the transition piece includes an upper portion having a circular cross-sectional profile configured to connect to the lower end of the at least one tubular tower section, and a lower portion having a polygonal cross-sectional profile configured to connect to the upper end of the at least one polygonal tower section.

12. The method of assembling the hybrid tower of claim 11, wherein disposing the transition piece between the at least one polygonal tower section and the at least one tubular tower section comprises integrating the transition piece into the lower end of the at least one tubular tower section such that the transition piece and the at least one tubular tower section form a unitary structure, and wherein the integrating occurs prior to connecting the at least one tubular tower section to the at least one polygonal tower section.

13. The method of assembling the hybrid tower of claim 12, further comprising hoisting the at least one tubular tower section prior to connecting the at least one tubular tower section to the at least one polygonal tower section, and wherein the transition piece is integrated into the lower end of the at least one tubular tower section prior to hoisting the at least one tubular tower section.

14. The method of assembling the hybrid tower of claim 11 further comprising transporting the at least one tubular tower section from a manufacturing facility to a wind turbine installation site, and wherein the transition piece is integrated into the lower end of the at least one tubular tower section prior to transporting the at least one tubular tower section.

15. The method of assembling the hybrid tower of claim 11, wherein disposing the transition piece between the at least one polygonal tower section and the at least one tubular tower section comprises connecting the transition piece to the lower end of the at least one tubular tower section prior to connecting the at least one tubular tower section to the at least one polygonal tower section.

16. The method of assembling the hybrid tower of claim 15, further comprising hoisting the at least one tubular tower section prior to connecting the at least one tubular tower section to the at least one polygonal tower section, and wherein the transition piece is connected to the lower end of the at least one tubular tower section prior to hoisting the at least one tubular tower section.

17. The method of assembling the hybrid tower of claim 11, wherein the at least one polygonal tower section is formed by a plurality of tower segments, wherein each of the plurality of tower segments have one or more bends formed therein, and wherein the method further comprises connecting the plurality of tower segments edge-to-edge to form the at least one polygonal tower section.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with a general description of the invention given above, and the detailed description given below, serve to explain the invention.

[0019] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a wind turbine in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

[0020] FIG. 2 is an enlarged elevational view of the tower of the wind turbine of FIG. 1;

[0021] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a transition piece according to one embodiment of the invention;

[0022] FIG. 3A is partial cross-sectional view of the transition piece of FIG. 3 taken along lines 3A.

[0023] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a transition piece according to another embodiment of the invention;

[0024] FIG. 5 is a partial plan view of the connection joint between the upper portion and the lower portion of the transition piece of FIG. 4;

[0025] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the transition piece of FIG. 4 connected to a tubular tower section and a polygonal tower section;

[0026] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a transition piece with an upper mounting flange connected to a tubular tower section being lowered onto a polygonal tower section; and

[0027] FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a transition piece with an upper mounting flange connected to polygonal tower section and a tubular tower section being lowered onto the transition piece.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, a wind turbine 10 includes a tower 12, a nacelle 14 disposed at the upper end of the tower 12, and a rotor 16 operatively coupled to a generator (not shown) housed inside the nacelle, and a gearbox (not shown) also housed inside the nacelle 14. In addition to the generator and gearbox, the nacelle 14 may house various components needed to convert wind energy into electrical energy and to operate and optimize the performance of the wind turbine 10. The tower 12 supports the load presented by the nacelle 14, rotor 16, and other wind turbine components housed inside the nacelle 14 and operates to elevate the nacelle 14 and rotor 16 to a height above ground level or sea level, as may be the case, at which air currents having lower turbulence and higher velocity are typically found.

[0029] The rotor 16 includes a hub 18 and one or more (e.g., three) blades 20 attached to the hub 18 at locations distributed about the circumference thereof. The blades 20 project radially outward from the hub 18 and are configured to interact with passing air currents to produce rotational forces that cause the hub 18 to spin about its longitudinal axis. This rotational energy is delivered to the generator housed within the nacelle 14 and converted into electrical power.

[0030] The tower 12 in FIGS. 1 and 2 is constructed of a plurality of tower sections 22, where the bottom part of the tower 12 is constructed of at least one and preferably a plurality of polygonal tower sections 24 connected end-to-end, and the upper part of the tower 12 is constructed of at least one and preferably a plurality of tubular tower sections 26 connected end-to-end. The polygonal tower sections 24 have a polygonal cross-sectional profile and the tubular tower sections 26 have a circular cross-sectional profile. The lowermost polygonal tower section 24 is coupled to a foundation 28 secured to land or at sea. A transition piece 40 connects the uppermost polygonal tower section 24a to the lowermost tubular tower section 26a and provides for a transition between the different cross-sectional profiles. The tower 12 formed of both polygonal tower sections 24 and tubular tower sections 26 may be referred to as a hybrid wind turbine tower.

[0031] FIGS. 3 and 3A illustrate a transition piece, identified as 40a, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. The transition piece 40a includes an upper portion 42 which has a circular cross-sectional profile at its upper end facing the lowermost tubular tower section 26a and a lower portion 44 which has a polygonal cross-sectional profile at its lower end facing the uppermost polygonal tower section 24a. In this embodiment, the transition piece 40a may have a one-piece construction. More particularly, the transition piece 40a may be constructed by first rolling flat plate stock to form a ring whose opposed ends are joined, such as by welding, to form a continuous structure having the desired diameter. Material may then be machined away to form the desired shape of the upper portion 42 with the generally circular cross-sectional profile, and the lower portion 44 with the generally polygonal cross-sectional profile and the transition between the two profiles. By way of example, an exemplary cross-sectional profile of the upper and lower portions 42, 44 is illustrated in FIG. 3a.

[0032] As depicted in FIG. 3A, the upper portion 42 has a wall thickness and the lower section of the lower portion 44 has a wall thickness that is less than the wall thickness of the upper portion 42. The upper section of the lower portion 44 has a tapered section that is machined so that it smoothly transitions or necks from the wall thickness of the upper portion 42 down to the wall thickness of the lower section of the lower portion 44. That tapered section minimizes the stress concentrations in the transition piece 40a as the wall thickness of the upper portion 42 is reduced down to the wall thickness of the lower section of the lower portion 44.

[0033] In an alternative embodiment, the transition piece 40a may be also be formed from a casting process such that the transition piece 40a may be considered to have a monolithic construction, i.e., one that does not have a welded seam such as that described above for the transition piece 40a made from flat plate stock. Casting the transition piece 40a allows it to be in its nearly final form right out of the casting so minimal additional reworking is required to achieve the final shape of the transition piece 40a.

[0034] FIG. 4 illustrates another embodiment of the transition piece, identified as 40b, in accordance with another embodiment of the invention. The transition piece 40b includes an upper portion 50 which has a circular cross-sectional profile and a lower portion 52 which has a polygonal cross-sectional profile. In this embodiment, the transition piece 40b may have a two-piece construction. More particularly, the transition piece 40b may be constructed by first bending a flat plate stock in multiple locations to form a polygonal ring. The opposed ends of the polygonal ring may be welded together to form a continuous structure, and then a series of through holes 54 may be drilled in the polygonal ring. The through holes 54 may alternatively be formed in the plate stock prior to bending and welding to form the polygonal ring. In any event, the polygonal ring represents the lower portion 52 of the transition piece 40b. Separately, a circular ring may be formed from flat plate stock with its opposed ends welded together to form another continuous structure. This circular ring represents the upper portion 50 of the transition piece 40b. An upper end 56 of the polygonal ring (lower portion 52) is then joined via weld 58 to a lower end 60 of the circular ring (upper portion 50) to form the transition piece 40b. A connection joint 62 is formed between the upper end 56 of the lower portion 52 and the lower end 60 of the upper portion 50. It will be appreciated that other techniques may be used to construct the transition piece 40b and join the upper and lower portions 50, 52 together at the connection joint 62 and aspects of the invention should not be limited to that described above.

[0035] The upper portion 50 has a wall thickness T.sub.1, and the lower portion 52 as a wall thickness T.sub.2. Generally, the wall thickness T.sub.2 may be less than the wall thickness T.sub.1. In an exemplary embodiment, the wall thickness T.sub.1 may be in the range of about 45-65 mm and is preferably about 55 mm, and the wall thickness T.sub.2 may be in the range of about 20-40 mm and is preferably about 30 mm. Other thickness values outside of these ranges may also be possible, depending on the particular application. Furthermore, in an exemplary embodiment, the upper portion 50 may have a height h.sub.1 in the range of about 150-250 mm and is preferably about 200 mm, and the lower portion 52 may have a height h.sub.2 in the range of about 250-350 mm and is preferably about 300 mm. The height h.sub.1 plus the height h.sub.2 generally defines the total height H of the transition piece 40b. The transition piece 40b also has a diameter D. In an exemplary embodiment, the transition piece 40b may have a height-to-diameter (H/D) ratio that is less or equal to about 0.5. For example, a transitional piece 40b with a diameter D of 4 m may have a height of about 2 m. Other height-to-diameter ratios may also be possible in alternative embodiments.

[0036] FIG. 5 is a partial view of the transition piece 40b looking upward to where the upper end 56 of the lower portion 52 is welded to the lower end 60 of the upper portion 50. As noted above, the lower portion 52 of the transition piece 40b has a polygonal cross-sectional profile. As such, the lower portion 52 is made up of a plurality of generally planar panels 64 that define an inner periphery P.sub.i and an outer periphery P.sub.o. The upper portion 50 with its circular cross-sectional profile defines an inner radius R.sub.i and an outer radius Ro. In an exemplary embodiment, at connection joint 62, the inner periphery P.sub.i and the outer periphery P.sub.o of the lower portion 52 is within the confines of the inner radius R.sub.i and the outer radius Ro of the upper portion 50, as illustrated in FIG. 5.

[0037] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a representative portion 70 (FIG. 2) of the tower 12. The portion 70 includes the lowermost tubular tower section 26a in the tower 12, the transition piece 40b, and the uppermost polygonal tower section 24a in the tower 12. During the off-site manufacturing of the tubular tower sections 26, 26a, a mounting interface 68 of the upper portion 50 of the transition piece 40b may be attached, such as by a weld 72, to a lower end 74 of tubular tower section 26a. As such, the transition piece 40b is integrated into the lower end 74 of the tubular tower section 26a such that the transition piece 40b and the tubular tower section 26a form a unitary tower section 76. In this regard, the transition piece 40b is configured to be permanently fixed to the tubular tower section 26a. This is in contrast to non-permanent connections, such as those made by bolts or other removable/releasable fasteners (see below). After the unitary tower section 76 is constructed at the off-site manufacturing facility, it may be transported to the installation site in the same manner as a traditional tubular tower section. The other tubular tower sections 26 may also be manufactured off-site and then transported to the installation site in the traditional manner. The unitary tower section 76 has an upper mounting flange 78 such that it may be joined to the next tubular tower section 26 via fasteners, such as bolts or other removable fasteners, for example.

[0038] In an exemplary embodiment, each polygonal tower section 24, 24a may be made from a plurality of polygonal tower segments 80 coupled edge-to-edge using, for example, splice plates. Due to their generally large size, the plurality of polygonal tower segments 80 may be transported to the installation site unassembled and then assembled on site to form the individual polygonal tower sections 24, 24a. As shown in FIG. 6, the lower portion 52 of the transition piece 40b may be connected to an upper end of the polygonal tower segments 80 that form the tower section 24a. In an embodiment, each of the polygonal tower segments 80 may include one or more bends 82 formed therein to define a plurality of generally planar panels 88. The number of panels 88 in the plurality of tower segments 80 that form the polygonal tower section 24a and the number of panels 64 in the lower portion 52 of the transition piece 40b are generally the same. An upper end 84 of the polygonal tower section 24a includes a series of through holes 86. The lower portion 52 of the transition piece 40b may be connected to the upper end 84 of the polygonal tower section 24a via splice plates 90 (alternatively called fish plates) and fasteners 92, such as bolts or other suitable fasteners.

[0039] In another embodiment, a transition piece 40c may be similar to transition piece 40b, but the mounting interface 78 may include a mounting flange 100 with a plurality of through holes 102 as depicted in FIGS. 7 and 8. The mounting flange 100 is configured to be connected with a corresponding mounting flange 104 on the tubular tower section 26a via fasteners 106, such as bolts. This transition piece 40c may be referred to as a standalone transition piece and may be transported to the construction site separately from the tubular tower section 26a.

[0040] At the installation site, the transition piece 40c may be connected to the lower end of the tubular tower section 26a via fasteners 106 and then the two connected pieces hoisted up and connected to the uppermost polygonal tower section 24a via splice plates 90 and fasteners 92 as depicted in FIG. 7. Alternatively, the transition piece 40c may be connected to the polygonal tower section 24a and the two connected pieces hoisted up and connected to the foundation 28 or another polygonal tower section 24. Then, the tubular tower section 26a may be hoisted up and connected to the mounting flange 100 of the transition piece 40c as depicted in FIG. 8. Thus, there are multiple ways to dispose the transition piece 40 between the polygonal tower sections 24 and the tubular tower sections 26.

[0041] The invention also contemplates a method of assembling the hybrid tower 12 for the wind turbine 10. In one embodiment, a lower end 110 (FIG. 1) of the lowermost polygonal tower section 24 may be connected to the foundation 28. Additional polygonal tower sections 24 may then be hoisted up and connected end-to-end using splice plates, for example. The unitary tower section 76, which is the lowermost tubular tower section 26a and the transition piece 40b integrated together, may be hoisted up and connected to the upper end 84 of polygonal tower section 24a. Additional tubular tower sections 26 may then be hoisted up and connected end-to-end to the unitary tower section 76. As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 6, the transition piece 40b may be disposed between the uppermost polygonal tower section 24a and the lowermost tubular tower section 26a and provides for a transition between tower sections 24 having a polygonal cross-sectional profile and tower sections 26 having a circular cross-sectional profile.

[0042] In another embodiment of the method, the standalone transition piece 40c may be transported to the installation site without being connected to any other tower section 24, 26. Once at the installation site, the transition piece 40c may be connected to the lower end of the tubular tower section 26a via fasteners 106 and then those connected components hoisted up and connected to the upper end of the polygonal tower section 24a with splice plates 90 and fasteners 92 as depicted in FIG. 7. Additional tubular tower sections 26 may then be connected end-to-end on top of that tubular tower section 26a. Alternatively, the standalone transition piece 40c may be connected to the upper end 84 of a polygonal tower section 24a at the installation site and then those connected components hoisted up and connected to the foundation 28 or another polygonal tower section 24 with splice plates 90 and fasteners 92. Then, the tubular tower section 26a may be hoisted up and connected to the mounting flange 100 of transition piece 40c as illustrated in FIG. 8. Additional tubular tower sections 26 may then be connected end-to-end on top of the tubular tower section 26a.

[0043] Aspects of the invention provide a hybrid tower with the lower, larger tower sections having a segmented design and with a polygonal cross-sectional profile, the upper, smaller tower sections having a traditional (non-segmented) tubular design and with a circular cross-sectional profile, and an intermediate transition piece that provides for a smooth transition between the different cross-sectional profiles. This hybrid tower arrangement provides the efficiencies of traditional tower sections for those sections having a size conducive to transport over the network of roads, while also providing the advantages of segmented tower sections for those sections that are problematic from a transport perspective. Moreover, aspects of the invention also provide assembly methods for a hybrid tower having an intermediate transition piece between the upper and lower ends of the tower that provide certain efficiencies in the assembly process. The assembly method may include integrating the transition piece into the lowermost tubular tower section, such as at the manufacturing facility or at least before the lowermost tubular tower section is hoisted for connection to an assembled polygonal tower section. The assembly method may alternatively include connecting the transition piece to the lower end of the lowermost tubular tower section prior to hoisting the lowermost tubular tower section for connection to an assembled polygonal tower section. The connection may be made using bolts or other removable fasteners and along mating mounting flanges. The assembly method may further alternatively include connecting the transition piece to the upper end of the uppermost polygonal tower section prior to hoisting the uppermost polygonal tower section for connection to the foundation or another polygonal tower section. This connection may be made using splice plates, for example.

[0044] While the present invention has been illustrated by a description of various preferred embodiments and while these embodiments have been described in some detail, it is not the intention of the Applicant to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those skilled in the art. Thus, the various features of the invention may be used alone or in any combination depending on the needs and preferences of the user.