METHOD AND YOKE FOR LIFTING A WIND TURBINE COMPONENT

Abstract

Method for lifting a wind turbine component The present invention relates to a method for lifting a wind turbine component, such as a rotor blade (2), gearbox or a rotor, with a lifting yoke (10) comprising a first structural body (20) comprising a crane hook attachment point (21), a first connection point (22) and a second connection point (23), a second structural body (30) comprising a third connection point (31) and a fourth connection point (32). First and second tensional elements (24, 25) such as slings or wires, are connected to the connection points, the length of the second tensional element being variable. An inertial measurement unit (40) determines the angle of the second structural body to the horizontal and the angle of the second tensional element is determined by an angle sensor. The distance (D) from the fourth connection point to the intersection between an axis (V) extending vertically through the center of gravity of the wind turbine component and the lifting plane is determined and provided to a crane operator. The invention also concerns a corresponding yoke.

Claims

1. A method for lifting a wind turbine component, such as a rotor blade, gearbox or a rotor, using a lifting yoke comprising a first structural body comprising a crane hook attachment point, a first connection point and a second connection point, a second structural body comprising a third connection point and a fourth connection point, the second structural body further comprising a first axis defined as being parallel to the longitudinal direction of the second structural body, a second axis defined as being perpendicular to the first axis and extending substantially in the transverse direction of the second structural body, said first and second axis defining a lifting plane, and a third axis defined as being perpendicular to the first and second axes, a first tensional element, such as a sling or a wire, said first tensional element connecting the first connection point and the third connection point, a second tensional element, such as a sling or a wire, said second tensional element connecting the second connection point and the fourth connection point, and wherein the length of the second tensional element is variable, such that the angle between the first and second structural bodies can be changed, by changing the length of the second tensional element, an inertial measurement unit positioned on the second structural body, wherein the method comprises the steps of: a) attaching a crane hook to the crane hook attachment point, b) attaching the wind turbine component to the second structural body of the lifting yoke, c) measuring at least one angle of rotation of the lifting plane about at least one of the first and/or second axis with respect to the horizontal plane using the inertial measurement unit, d) determining the distance, along at least one axis in the lifting plane perpendicular to the first and/or second axis about which the angle of rotation of the lifting plane was measured, from the fourth connection point on the second structural body to the intersection between an axis extending vertically through the center of gravity of the wind turbine component and the lifting plane, e) providing the distance, along at least one axis in the lifting plane perpendicular to the first and/or second axis about which the angle of rotation of the lifting plane was measured, from the fourth connection point on the second structural body to the intersection between an axis extending vertically through the center of gravity of the wind turbine component and the lifting plane to a crane operator.

2. A method for lifting a wind turbine component, such as a rotor blade, gearbox or a rotor, according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises the steps of: c′) determining the tension in the second tensional element, c″) comparing the information regarding the at least one angle of rotation of the lifting plane and the tension in the second tensional element to a pre-configured look-up table, wherein said pre-configured look-up table contains information regarding the distance, along an axis in the lifting plane perpendicular to the axis about which the angle of rotation of the lifting plane was measured, from the fourth connection point on the second structural body to the intersection between an axis extending vertically through the center of gravity of the wind turbine component and the lifting plane for a plurality of sets of at least one angle of rotation of the lifting plane and tension in the second tensional element.

3. A method for lifting a wind turbine component, such as a rotor blade, gearbox or a rotor, according to any of the previous claims, wherein the method further comprises the steps of: d′) determining the angle between the second tensional element and the first axis of the second structural body, d″) determining the length of the second tensional element between the second connection point and the fourth connection point, using the angle between the second tensional element and the first axis of the second structural body and the length of the second tensional element between the second connection point and the fourth connection point for determining the distance along the first axis of the second structural body from a point on the lifting yoke to the center of gravity of the wind turbine component.

4. A method for lifting a wind turbine component, such as a rotor blade, gearbox or a rotor, according to claim 3, wherein the step of determining the angle between the second tensional element and the first axis of the second structural body further comprises the steps of measuring a first force component in the second tensional element, said first force component having a predetermined direction with relation to the lifting plane, measuring a second force component in the second tensional element, said second force component having a predetermined direction with relation to the lifting plane, said direction of the second force component is not parallel with the direction of the first force component, calculation the directional vector from the size of the first and second force components, calculating the angle between the directional vector and the first axis of the second structural body.

5. A method for lifting a wind turbine component, such as a rotor blade, gearbox or a rotor, according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the step of determining the angle between the second tensional element and the first axis of the second structural body further comprises the steps of measuring the angle of an exit sheave axis of an exit sheave, said exit sheave being connected to the second tensional element in a position between the second connection point and the fourth connection point, wherein said exit sheave is connected to the second structural body and wherein the exit sheave axis is parallel with the second tensional element between the second connection point and the fourth connection point.

6. A method for lifting a wind turbine component, such as a rotor blade, gearbox or a rotor, according to claims 3 to 5, adding the information about the angle of rotation of the second structural body about at least the second axis and the angle between the second tensional element and the first axis of the second structural body, d″″) determining the horizontal distance from the second connection point of the second structural body to a point on the wind turbine component intersecting with a vertical axis extending from the second connection point of the first structural body, using the information about the angle of rotation of the second structural body about at least the second axis to determine the distance along at least the first axis of the second structural body from the second connection point of the second structural body to the point on the wind turbine component intersecting with a vertical axis extending from the second connection point of the first structural body.

7. A method for lifting a wind turbine component, such as a rotor blade, gearbox or a rotor, according to any of the previous claims, wherein during step h), the method further comprises the steps of: using information about a predetermined horizontal distance from the crane hook attachment point to the second connection point of the first structural body to determine an off-set value in the direction along the first axis of the second structural body, adding the offset value to the horizontal distance determined in step h), and using the information about the angle of rotation of the second structural body about at least the second axis to determine the distance along at least the first axis of the second structural body from the second connection point of the second structural body to the point on the wind turbine component intersecting with a vertical axis extending from the second connection point of the first structural body.

8. A method for lifting a wind turbine component, such as a rotor blade, gearbox or a rotor, according to any of the previous claims, wherein the method further comprises that the second structural element is held in a first position, during the steps c) to d), and wherein, after providing information to the crane operator in step e), the method further comprises the step f) wherein the second structural element is moved to a second position, by changing the length of the second tensional element, and the crane operator lowers or raises the crane hook.

9. A method for lifting a wind turbine component, such as a rotor blade, gearbox or a rotor, according to claim 8, wherein if the at least one distance provided in step e) is outside a pre-determined range the second structural element is either repositioned relative to the wind turbine component after step e), or if the at least one distance provided in step e) is within the pre-determined range, then step f) is performed.

10. A wind turbine rotor blade lifting yoke for lifting a wind turbine rotor blade, the lifting yoke comprising a first structural body comprising a crane hook connection point configured to attach to the hook of a crane, a second structural body located at a distance from the first structural body, a first tensional element, such as a sling or a wire, said first tensional element connecting a first connection point of the first structural body and a third connection point of the second structural body, a second tensional element, such as a sling or a wire, said second tensional element connecting a second connection point of the first structural body and a fourth connection point of the second structural body, and wherein the length of the second tensional element is variable, such that the angle between the first and second structural bodies can be changed, by changing the length of the second tensional element, an inertial measurement unit positioned on the second structural body, wherein the inertial measurement unit measures the angle of rotation of the second structural body about at least one axis with respect to the horizontal and/or vertical direction, a sensor, which measures information that can be used to calculate the length of the second tensional element, such as an encoder, a positional transducer, a hall effect sensor system, a sensor, which measures information that can be used to calculate an angle of the second tensional element with respect to the second structural body, a control system which, when provided with the measurements of the sensors, calculates the center of gravity of the wind turbine component.

11. A wind turbine rotor blade lifting yoke for lifting a wind turbine rotor blade according to claim 10, wherein the sensor, which measures information that can be used to calculate an angle of the second tensional element with respect to the second structural body is a load pin, which measures the force in the fourth connection point in at least two directions not being parallel with each other, and wherein the angle of the second tensional element with respect to the second structural body can be calculated by the two force vector provided by the load pin.

Description

[0081] The invention will now be explained in more detail below by means of examples of embodiments with reference to the very schematic drawing, in which

[0082] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a wind turbine according to prior art,

[0083] FIG. 2a is a perspective view of a lifting yoke according to an embodiment of the invention, which is being lifted into position to use the method according to an embodiment of the invention,

[0084] FIG. 2b shows a detailed view of the lifting yoke according to the invention,

[0085] FIG. 3a is a perspective view of a lifting yoke according to an embodiment of the invention, which has been attached to the wind turbine rotor blade according to an embodiment of the invention,

[0086] FIG. 3b shows a detailed side view of the lifting yoke according to FIG. 3a,

[0087] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a step in the method according to an embodiment of the invention, where the wind turbine rotor blade has been detached from the rotor hub,

[0088] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a step in the method according to an embodiment of the invention, where the wind turbine rotor blade has been lowered a distance from the rotor hub,

[0089] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a wind turbine rotor blade being rotated in the lifting yoke according to an aspect of the invention,

[0090] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a wind turbine rotor blade that has been rotated in the lifting yoke and lowered to the ground according to an aspect of the invention,

[0091] FIG. 8 shows a detailed side view of the lifting yoke according to FIG. 7,

[0092] FIG. 9 is a side view of a lifting yoke according to an aspect of the invention,

[0093] FIG. 10a shows a detailed view of exit sheave according to the invention,

[0094] FIG. 10b shows another detailed view of exit sheave according to the invention,

[0095] FIG. 11a shows a detailed view from another perspective of exit sheave according to the invention,

[0096] FIG. 11b shows another detailed view from another perspective of exit sheave according to the invention,

[0097] FIG. 12 is a side view of a lifting yoke according to the invention, which details the geometric relations in the invention.

[0098] FIG. 1 shows a wind turbine 1 as known in the field. Such a wind turbine 1 has a tower a nacelle 4 and a rotor hub 4, onto which in the operational configuration of the wind turbine has three wind turbine rotor blades 2. When installing or uninstalling the wind turbine rotor blades 2, one method comprises installing a single wind turbine rotor blade 2 in a substantially vertical position pointing towards the ground.

[0099] Such an uninstallation process is shown in FIGS. 2a-8, using a lifting yoke 10 and method according to an embodiment of the inventive concept of this application. FIG. 2a shows a wind turbine 1 where a crane 5 has been mounted in the nacelle 4 and where the crane 5 has a crane hook 6, which holds a lifting yoke 10 according to the invention. FIG. 2b shows the lifting yoke 10 being positioned to attach to the wind turbine rotor blade 2, which is to be uninstalled. The crane hook 6 is connected to a first structural body 20 of the lifting yoke 10. The first structural body 20 is connected to a second structural body 30 by a first tensional element 24, a second structural element 25 and a third structural element 26. As seen in FIGS. 3a and 3b the second structural element 30 has been positioned relative to the wind turbine rotor blade 2, and a hydraulic actuator actuates structural parts of the second structural body 30, such that clamping pads 34 attached to the second structural body 30 press against the wind turbine rotor blade 2 such as to hold the blade in a frictional connection. As seen in FIG. 3b the crane hook 6 is connected to the crane hook connection point 21 of the first structural body 20 by a crane hook sling 8. The crane hook connection point 21 is in this embodiment a shackle. The spreader beam shaped first structural element 20 further has a first connection point 22, a second connection point 23 and a sixth connection point 27, each of which are connected to a third connection point 31, fourth connection point 32 and fifth connection point 33, respectively, of the second structural body 30. Thus the first connection point 22 is connected to the third connection point 31 by a first tensional element 24 and the sixth connection point 27 is connected to the fifth connection point 33 by a third tensional element 26, both of which tensional elements in the shown embodiment are fixed length tensional elements, such as a steel wire or a sling. Further the second connection point 23 is connected to the fourth connection point 32 by a second tensional element 25, which can be varied in length. In this embodiment the second tensional element 25 is a steel wire, which can be varied in length by winding or unwinding a winch, onto which the second tensional element 25 is attached.

[0100] The lifting yoke 10, further comprises an inertial measurement unit 40, which is fixed to the second structural body 30 and which measures the angular orientation of the second structural body 30 with respect to a horizontal plane.

[0101] Once the clamping pads 34 of the second structural unit 20 have clamped on to the wind turbine rotor blade 2, the wind turbine rotor blade 2 can be detached from the rotor hub 3, typically by unfastening a number of bolts from the interior of the rotor hub 3. After having detached the wind turbine rotor blade 2 from the rotor hub 3 the entire weight of the wind turbine rotor blade 2 is held in the lifting yoke 10, as seen in FIG. 4. From here the position of the center of gravity 7 of the wind turbine rotor blade 2 can be calculated relative to the second structural body 30. In this embodiment the position of the center of gravity 7 relative to the second structural body 30 is calculated as the distance D along a first axis 35 from the fourth connection point 32. In the figures, the positions of the wind turbine rotor blade 2, crane hook 6 and lifting yoke 10 have been exaggerated to enable showing the features and varying angles. In a physical setup the angles will likely be more compact. However, in a real application, the center of gravity 7 of the wind turbine rotor blade 2 will always be positioned on a vertical line below the crane hook 6.

[0102] An example of this is shown in FIG. 12 where a part of a lifting yoke 10 is seen. Here the center of gravity 7 of a wind turbine rotor blade 2 (not shown) is placed on a vertical V line below the crane hook connection point 21. The inertial measurement unit 40 measures the angle of rotation θ1′ of the second structural body 30 relative to the horizontal direction H. Further in this embodiment the fourth connection point 32 is in the form of a winch, which is connected to the second structural body 30 by a directional load pin, which measures two components of force acting on the pin, one of which is the force component in the direction of the first axis 35, and the second force component is measured in a direction perpendicular to both the first 35 and second axis 36. By using the trigonometric relation between the opposite leg and adjacent leg of a right-angled triangle, the angle θ1′ between the first axis 35 and the second tensional element 25 can be calculated. An encoder in the winch measures the length of wire al between the second connection point 23 and the fourth connection point 32. Using the following trigonometric equation, the distance D, along the direction of the first axis 35, between the fourth connection point 32 and the vertical line extending through the crane hook connection point 21 and the center of gravity 7 of the wind turbine rotor blade can be calculated:

[00001]$D=a3=a1.Math.\frac{\cos \left({\mathrm{\theta 1}}^{\prime }+{\mathrm{\theta 1}}^{″}\right)}{\sin \left(\theta 1^{\prime }\right)}$

[0103] By calculating this distance D and combining with the knowledge of similar triangle geometry (e.g. in a right angled triangle, such as the one containing θ1′ and θ3, all other triangles consisting of either the horizontal line H or the vertical line V, a line that is perpendicular to the line a3 and which contains one right angle, said triangle will have the same angles as the original right angled triangle containing θ1′ and θ3) and a number of other known or pre-determined distances on the lifting yoke 10, the distance a7, which the lifting yoke 10 needs to be moved relative to the wind turbine rotor blade 2 in order to position the center of gravity 7 in the desired location relative to the second structural body 30, can be determined.

[0104] If the position of the center of gravity 7 is within a pre-determined range, the crane hook will be lowered further, as seen on FIG. 5.

[0105] Once the wind turbine rotor blade 2 has been lowered enough to safely rotate it to a substantially horizontal position, the winch 32 connected to the second tensional element 25 will wind up, such that the length of the wire 25 between the second connection point 23 and the fourth connection point 32 decreases. As seen in FIG. 6, this will result in rotation of the second structural body 30 and the wind turbine rotor blade 2 held therein. Since the center of gravity 7 of the wind turbine rotor blade 2 will always be positioned vertically below the crane hook 6, the forces acting on the first 24, second 25 and third tensional elements 26 will change depending on the relative position of the center of gravity 7 of the wind turbine rotor blade 2 in the second structural body 30. If the center of gravity 7 of the wind turbine rotor blade 2 is closer to the end where the fourth connection point 32 is located, the second tensional element 25 will carry a substantially large part of the load. Likewise, the second structural body 30 will be loaded unfavorably if the position of the center of gravity 7 of the wind turbine rotor blade 2 is shifted too far to either side. In order to weight optimize the lifting yoke 10, it is for this reason that it is particularly advantageous to use the method according to the invention to lift a wind turbine rotor blade 2.

[0106] As seen in FIG. 7 the wind turbine rotor blade 2 has been rotated to has been rotated to a substantially horizontal position, which is the position in which it will be placed on the ground or a truck bed for transportation. As seen in FIG. 8 the center of gravity 7 of the wind turbine rotor blade 2 is within the pre-determined range (marked with dashed lines), wherein the lifting yoke 10 has been designed to handle the loading.

[0107] FIGS. 9-11b show details of the second structural body 30 of the lifting yoke 10. As seen in FIG. 9 the second structural body 30 comprises a main beam 37, which is the primary load carrying structure, and which longitudinal direction in this embodiment also defines the first axis 35. A pair of clamping arms 38 are actuatably connected to the main beam 37. When the hydraulic actuator is activated, the clamping arms will either move closer to each other or away, such as to enable clamping on to the wind turbine rotor blade 2. This clamping is effectuated by a number of clamping pads 34, equally distributed on each clamping arm 37, which are specially designed to distribute the clamping force over the surface of the wind turbine rotor blade 2. On the clamp pads 34 both a third 31 and fifth 33 connection point are located, one on the clamp pads 34 of each clamping arm 37. These connection points are connected to the first 22 and sixth 27 connection points of the first structural body 20 by means of a sling or wire. On the main beam 37 the second structural body 30 further comprises an inertial measurement unit 40, which in this embodiment provides three-dimensional rotation information, such that the angle of the main beam 37 is measured about three axes. At an end of the main beam 37 a fixture for the fourth connection point 32 is placed. In this embodiment, the fourth connection point 32 is coincident with a rotational axis of an exit sheave 50. Next to the exit sheave 50 a winch 55 is located, the function of which is to wind an unwind the second tensional element 25, in this embodiment a steel wire, in order to vary the length between the second connection point 23 and the fourth connection point 32.

[0108] In FIG. 10a a detailed view of the exit sheave 50 seen. The exit sheave 50 has a wire guide section, which functions to ensure the wire exits the sheave in the correct angle, and that when the angles change, the wire will stay in the groove of the sheave. However for the use of the lifting method according to the invention, an angle sensor, such as a potentiometer, attached to the wire guide 51 section of the exit sheave 50 will provide a measurement of the angle between the second tensional element 25 and the first axis 35 of the lifting plane. In FIG. 10b, the angle of the wire guide 51 section of the exit sheave 50 has been changed. In a similar manner, the exit sheave 50 has a second sheave rotation axis 52, which is parallel to the first axis 35, which allows for compensation for rotation of the second structural body 30 about an axis parallel to the first axis 35. In FIGS. 11a and 11b a rotation about such an axis is shown, and the exit sheave 50 is rotated about the sheave rotation axis 52. By attaching an angle sensor, such as a potentiometer, between second structural body 30 and the sheave rotation axis 52 of the exit sheave 50 will provide a measurement of the angle between the second tensional element 25 and the second axis 36 of the lifting plane. As further seen on FIGS. 11a and 11b is the winch 55, which will wind and unwind the wire 25.

[0109] The person skilled in the art realizes that the present invention by no means is limited to the preferred embodiments described above. On the contrary, many modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the appended claims.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

[0110] D Distance [0111] 1 wind turbine [0112] 2 wind turbine rotor blade [0113] 3 wind turbine nacelle [0114] 4 wind turbine rotor hub [0115] 5 crane [0116] 6 crane hook [0117] 7 center of gravity [0118] 8 crane hook sling [0119] 10 lifting yoke [0120] 20 first structural body [0121] 21 crane hook connection point [0122] 22 first connection point [0123] 23 second connection point [0124] 24 first tensional element [0125] 25 second tensional element [0126] 26 third tensional element [0127] 27 sixth connection point [0128] 30 second structural body [0129] 31 third connection point [0130] 32 fourth connection point [0131] 33 fifth connection point [0132] 34 clamp pads [0133] 35 first axis [0134] 36 second axis [0135] 37 main beam [0136] 38 clamping arms [0137] 40 inertial measurement unit [0138] 50 exit sheave [0139] 51 wire guide [0140] 52 sheave rotation axis [0141] 55 winch