Abstract
An airfoil rack arrangement for supporting the airfoils of a plurality of rotor blades is provided, including a number of upright support structures; and a number of airfoil carrier brackets, wherein an airfoil carrier bracket is constructed to extend outward from a support structure. The airfoil rack arrangement includes an airfoil carrier bracket is rotatably mounted to a support structure and configured to rotate between a loading position in which the airfoil carrier bracket is positioned to support the airfoil of a rotor blade, and an unloading position in which the airfoil carrier bracket is out of the path of a rotor blade being lifted vertically.
Claims
1. An airfoil rack arrangement for supporting the airfoils of a plurality of rotor blades, comprising: a number of upright support structures; and a number of airfoil carrier brackets, wherein an airfoil carrier bracket is constructed to extend outward from a support structure; wherein an airfoil carrier bracket is rotatably mounted to a support structure and configured to rotate between a loading position in which the airfoil carrier bracket is positioned to support the airfoil of a rotor blade; and an unloading position in which the airfoil carrier bracket is out of the path of a rotor blade being lifted vertically.
2. The airfoil rack arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the unloading position of an airfoil carrier bracket is essentially perpendicular to its loading position.
3. The airfoil rack arrangement according to claim 1, wherein an airfoil carrier bracket is constructed to rotate in an essentially horizontal plane between its unloading position and its loading position.
4. The airfoil rack arrangement according to claim 1, wherein an airfoil carrier bracket further comprising a beam, and wherein one end of the beam is rotatably mounted to a support structure.
5. The airfoil rack arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the airfoil carrier bracket is mounted to a support structure by a swivel mount.
6. The airfoil rack arrangement according to claim 1, wherein an outer end of the airfoil carrier bracket further comprising a locking means configured to engage with the adjacent support structure.
7. The airfoil rack arrangement according to claim 1, wherein an airfoil carrier bracket further comprising an airfoil clamp to receive the airfoil of a rotor blade.
8. The airfoil rack arrangement according to claim 7, wherein an airfoil clamp is shaped to receive a rotor blade oriented with its chord plane essentially horizontal.
9. A wind turbine rotor blade storage arrangement comprising: an airfoil rack arrangement according to claim 1 for supporting the airfoils of a plurality of rotor blades; and a root end rack arrangement for supporting the root ends of the rotor blades.
10. The wind turbine rotor blade storage arrangement according to claim 9, further comprising an arrangement of hydraulic actuators, wherein a hydraulic actuator effects movement of an airfoil carrier bracket between its loading position and its unloading position.
11. The wind turbine rotor blade storage arrangement according to claim 9, further comprising a control means for remote control of the hydraulic actuators of the airfoil carrier brackets.
12. The wind turbine rotor blade storage arrangement according to claim 9, wherein a rack arrangement subtends an angle relative to the vertical, which angle corresponds to a pre-bend angle of a wind turbine rotor blade.
13. The wind turbine rotor blade storage arrangement according to claim 9, wherein the racks are constructed to support a two-dimensional array of wind turbine rotor blades.
14. A method of handling wind turbine rotor blades using a storage arrangement according to claim 9, wherein the storage arrangement is configured to receive a vertical stack of rotor blades, and wherein the method comprising L0) rotating airfoil carrier brackets to their unloading position; and L1) rotating a lowermost free airfoil carrier bracket to its loading position; L2) lowering a wind turbine rotor blade between upright supports of the storage arrangement until the airfoil of the rotor blade is received by that airfoil carrier bracket; and repeating steps L1 and L2 until the storage arrangement is loaded with wind turbine rotor blades.
15. The method according to claim 14, further comprising: U1) lifting any uppermost wind turbine rotor blade from its airfoil carrier bracket; and U2) rotating that unloaded airfoil carrier bracket to its unloading position; and repeating steps U1 and U2 until the wind turbine rotor blades have been removed from the storage arrangement.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
[0027] Some of the embodiments will be described in detail, with references to the following Figures, wherein like designations denote like members, wherein:
[0028] FIG. 1 illustrates loading stages using an embodiment of the inventive wind turbine rotor blade storage arrangement;
[0029] FIG. 2 illustrates loading stages using an embodiment of the inventive wind turbine rotor blade storage arrangement;
[0030] FIG. 3 illustrates loading stages using an embodiment of the inventive wind turbine rotor blade storage arrangement;
[0031] FIG. 4 illustrates loading stages using an embodiment of the inventive wind turbine rotor blade storage arrangement;
[0032] FIG. 5 illustrates loading stages using an embodiment of the inventive wind turbine rotor blade storage arrangement;
[0033] FIG. 6 illustrates loading stages using an embodiment of the inventive wind turbine rotor blade storage arrangement;
[0034] FIG. 7 is a partial side view of a further embodiment of the inventive wind turbine rotor blade storage arrangement;
[0035] FIG. 8 is a partial side view of a further embodiment of the inventive wind turbine rotor blade storage arrangement;
[0036] FIG. 9 shows a further embodiment of the inventive airfoil rack arrangement;
[0037] FIG. 10 is a flowchart to illustrate a loading sequence using an embodiment of the inventive storage arrangement in which the airfoil rack arrangement and the root end rack arrangement are constructed to hold a two-dimensional array of wind turbine rotor blades; and
[0038] FIG. 11 is a flowchart to illustrate an unloading sequence using an embodiment of the inventive storage arrangement in which the airfoil rack arrangement and the root end rack arrangement are constructed to hold a two-dimensional array of wind turbine rotor blades.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0039] FIG. 1 illustrates how racks 1A, 1R of the inventive wind turbine rotor blade storage arrangement 1 might be arranged on board a vessel such as a jack-up installation vessel 5. In this exemplary embodiment, the racks 1A, 1R are positioned so that rotor blades will lie across the vessel, i.e., in the port-starboard direction. The diagram also indicates a crane 51 installed on the deck of the jack-up ship 5, for use during loading and unloading operations.
[0040] The root end rack 1R can be realized in any suitable manner, for example a supporting framework 1R mounted on the deck of the vessel 5 and constructed to receive a two-dimensional array of root end support fittings. As the skilled person will be aware, a root end support fitting can be mounted to the root end of a rotor blade after the molding procedure is complete, and can remain in place during subsequent finishing, handling, transport and storage procedures until the rotor blade is ready for installation. Further details of the root end rack 1R need not be discussed here.
[0041] FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of the inventive airfoil rack arrangement TA. The diagram shows several upright support structures 10S arranged side by side at regular intervals. The diagram also shows several airfoil carrier brackets 10. In this exemplary realization, an airfoil clamp 3 is mounted to each bracket 10. In the upper right of the diagram, the direction of rotation of a bracket 10 is indicated when this bracket 10 will be moved from its loading position P.sub.load to its unloading position P.sub.free. The bracket 10 is mounted at one end 101 to the upright support structures 10S by a pivot or swivel mount 10M. The swivel mount 10M comprises an actuator, for example, a remote-controlled hydraulic actuator such as a hydraulic power unit (HPU), that effects a quarter-turn of the bracket 10 as shown in FIG. 3. After rotating a bracket 10 to its unloading position P.sub.free as shown, access is given to the next lower level of the storage rack. FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 illustrate an embodiment in which the bracket 10 is realized as a sturdy beam, shaped to extend between two adjacent upright structures 10S. At one end 101, the swivel mount TOM connects the beam 10 to one upright structure 10S. At its other end 102, a locking means 10L is provided to allow the beam to lock onto the adjacent upright structure TOS when the bracket is in its loading position P.sub.load.
[0042] FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary stage of the inventive method. Here, prior to loading the 3?4 rotor blade storage arrangement 1 with twelve rotor blades, nine brackets 10 have been moved to their open positions P.sub.free, leaving the lowermost three brackets 10 in their loading or ready positions P.sub.load to receive rotor blades.
[0043] FIG. 5 shows a first rotor blade 2 being maneuvered into the storage arrangement 1. Two cranes 51, 61 are being controlled in a coordinated manner to hoist the rotor blade 2 from its parked position at the quay 6 into the air, into place above the storage racks 1A, 1R, and then downwards between the upright support structures 10S, 11S. As shown in the diagram, the upper three brackets 10 between the two right-hand uprights 10S are open, so that the rotor blade can be safely lowered through this empty space as indicated by the vertical arrow, allowing the airfoil 2A to be placed into the open tip clamp 3 of the fourth and lowermost bracket 10. The rotor blade 2 is suspended from the crane 51 using a suitable remote-controlled hoisting clamp 52, from which the rotor blade will be released once it is in place on its airfoil bracket 10. Here, the hoisting clamp 52 is further outboard from the airfoil bracket 10 so that the airfoil 2A can be lowered into place into the waiting tip clamp 3.
[0044] At the same time, a root end fitting 2RF about the root end 2R engages with a corresponding fitting of the root end rack 1R. Once this rotor blade 2 has been placed into the rack arrangement 1, the third bracket 10 from the top is actuated to move it to its loading or closed position, in readiness to receive the next rotor blade 2.
[0045] FIG. 6 shows an intermediate stage. Here, nine of the twelve rotor blades 2 have been loaded into the rack arrangement 1, and the last three rotor blades will now be maneuvered into place, one by one, thereby completing the loading procedure. At the destination site, the steps can be carried out in reverse order to unload the rotor blades.
[0046] In FIGS. 1-6, the racks 1A, 1R of the storage arrangement 1 are both tilted at an angle as explained above, primarily to allow the root ends 2R to be loaded in a staggered fashion. A horizontally-held rotor blade 2 can be maneuvered upwards or downwards in a straightforward motion without risk of its root end fitting colliding with the root end rack 1R. The staggered root end rack 1R greatly speeds up the loading/unloading procedures. The airfoil rack TA is tilted at a similar angle, so that the airfoil 2A of each rotor blade 2 is clamped at the same position relative to the root end 2R.
[0047] The tilted racks 1A, 1R are shown in a side view in FIG. 7. The diagram shows that the upright supports 11S of the root rack arrangement 1R and the upright supports 10S of the airfoil rack arrangement TA are tilted with respect to the vertical by an angle ?, which can be similar to the rotor blade pre-bend angle ?. In addition to helping avoid damage from collisions between root end fittings and the root end rack 1R, this tilted or staggered realization also favorably accommodates long, pre-bent rotor blades 2 as shown here, since the airfoil brackets 10, which are perpendicular to the uprights 10S, meet the rotor blade airfoil 1A at a suitable angle to receive the airfoil 2A. As explained above, a rotor blade pre-bend angle ? may be relatively small, in the order of 3?-4?, but may equally be relatively large, in the order of 10? or more.
[0048] FIG. 8 is a simplified schematic of an alternative exemplary embodiment. Here, the racks 1A, 1R are essentially vertical. Such a realization may be acceptable in the case of straight rotor blades 2 as shown here, although more care is required when maneuvering the root ends 2R relative to the root end rack 1R for the reasons given above. For example, when loading a rotor blade into the storage arrangement, it may be necessary to lower the rotor blade into position so that its root end has some clearance to the root end rack, before then moving the rotor blade laterally so that the root end fitting can engage with the root end rack. At the same time, care must be taken to avoid damage to the airfoil as it moves relative to its receiving bracket.
[0049] FIG. 9 shows a further possible realization of the airfoil rack arrangement 1A. Here, the brackets 10 are constructed to rotate essentially vertically through one quarter turn between their open position P.sub.free and loading position P.sub.load. A suitable rotation means can be implemented at the interface between bracket 10 and upright 10S, for example a remote-controlled hydraulically operated barrel 10M mounted at the end of the bracket 10. A remote-controlled hook or other locking means 10L can be mounted at the outer end of the bracket 10 to affix the bracket 10 to the upright 10S when in its open position P.sub.free. When a bracket 10 is in its open position as shown, a rotor blade 2 can be lowered into place through the empty space between uprights 10S, to an open tip clamp 3 as shown here. The rotor blade 2 is suspended from a crane as shown in FIG. 5 using a suitable remote-controlled hoisting clamp 52, from which the rotor blade will be released once it is in place on its airfoil bracket 10. This hoisting clamp 52 is either further inboard or further outboard from the airfoil bracket 10 as shown in FIG. 5, to allow the airfoil to be lowered into place into the open tip clamp 3 on the bracket 10. This diagram also illustrates the horizontal orientation of the rotor blade airfoil 2A, i.e., with an essentially horizontal chord plane.
[0050] FIG. 10 is a flowchart to illustrate a loading sequence using an embodiment of the inventive storage arrangement in which the airfoil rack arrangement and the root end rack arrangement are constructed to hold a two-dimensional array of wind turbine rotor blades. In a first step L0, all brackets are in the open position. In a subsequent step L1, a lowermost unloaded airfoil bracket is turned to its loading position. Then, in step L2, a wind turbine rotor blade is lowered between upright supports of the storage arrangement until the rotor blade airfoil is received by that airfoil bracket. Steps L1 and L2 are repeated until the storage arrangement is loaded with its array of rotor blades.
[0051] FIG. 11 is a flowchart to illustrate an unloading sequence using an embodiment of the inventive storage arrangement in which the airfoil rack arrangement and the root end rack arrangement are constructed to hold a two-dimensional array of wind turbine rotor blades. In a first step U1, the tip clamp of an uppermost rotor blade is opened, and the rotor blade is lifted from its bracket and removed from the storage arrangement. The term uppermost rotor blade is understood as any rotor blade whose path is not blocked by an airfoil bracket at a higher level. If that bracket is at the lowest level of the storage arrangement as checked in step U1.1, the method continues with step U1. Otherwise, the now unloaded carrier bracket is rotated in a subsequent step U2, the now unloaded airfoil carrier bracket is rotated to its open position to give access to the rotor blade at the next lower level. These steps are repeated until the rotor blades have all been unloaded from the storage arrangement.
[0052] Although the present invention has been disclosed in the form of embodiments and variations thereon, it will be understood that numerous additional modifications and variations could be made thereto without departing from the scope of the invention.
[0053] For the sake of clarity, it is to be understood that the use of a or an throughout this application does not exclude a plurality, and comprising does not exclude other steps or elements.
