STRUT LINKAGE FOR A STEEL CONSTRUCTION, AND STEEL CONSTRUCTION HAVING A STRUT LINKAGE

Abstract

A strut linkage for a steel construction may involve a tower of a wind turbine and/or a corner post of a lattice tower. In order that high forces can be removed via the strut linkage without causing increased stress concentrations, excessive use of material, and/or an excessive structural outlay, a plate element is provided for arranging between, preferably load-bearing, steel construction components. At least one connection element, which may be connected to the plate element, may be utilized to fasten at least one strut and/or guy of the steel construction to the steel construction components via the plate element.”

Claims

1.-15. (canceled)

16. A strut linkage for a steel construction comprising: a plate element configured to be disposed between two load-bearing steel construction components, wherein the plate element is configured as a ring with at least a portion that protrudes outward, wherein the plate element includes bores disposed in an encircling manner with respect to an annular portion of the plate element for form-fitting to at least one of the two load-bearing steel construction components; and a connection element connected to the portion of the plate element that protrudes outward, the connection element for fastening at least one of a strut or a guy of the steel construction to the two load-bearing steel construction components via the plate element.

17. The strut linkage of claim 16 wherein the plate element and the connection element are at least one of screwed or welded to one another.

18. The strut linkage of claim 16 wherein at least one of the plate element or the connection element is manufactured substantially from metal and comprises at least one of a cast part or sheet metal.

19. The strut linkage of claim 16 wherein the connection element is at least one of bent, deep drawn, stamped, or welded.

20. The strut linkage of claim 16 wherein the connection element comprises a plurality of connection element parts that are at least one of screwed or welded to one another.

21. The strut linkage of claim 2.0 wherein the connection element is configured as at least one of a deformed sheet metal part, a forged part, a heavy plate, or a cast part.

22. The strut linkage of claim 16 wherein the connection element comprises a first connection limb that extends away from the plate element obliquely with respect to a plane of the plate element.

23. The strut linkage of claim 22 wherein the first connection limb is disposed on a first side of the plate element, the strut linkage further comprising a second connection limb disposed on a second side of the plate element that opposes the first side, the second connection limb extending away from the plate element obliquely with respect to the plane of the plate element.

24. The strut linkage of claim 16 wherein the steel construction is configured as a tower of a wind turbine.

25. A steel construction comprising: at least one of a strut or a guy; and a strut linkage including a plate element disposed between two load-bearing components of the steel construction, and a connection element connected to the plate element for fastening the at least one of the strut or the guy to the two load-bearing components of the steel construction via the plate element.

26. The steel construction of claim 25 wherein the steel construction is configured as a tower of a wind turbine.

27. The steel construction of claim 25 wherein a portion of the plate element at least partially protrudes outward relative to the two load-bearing components, wherein the at least one strut or the guy is fastened to the two load-bearing components via the connection element and the portion of the plate element that at least partially protrudes outward relative to the two load-bearing components.

28. The steel construction of claim 25 wherein at least one of the two load-bearing components and the plate element engage one another in a form-fitting manner, wherein the two load-bearing components engage one another in a form-fitting manner.

29. The steel construction of claim 25 wherein at least one of the two load-bearing components comprises a flange that interacts with the plate element.

30. The steel construction of claim 29 wherein the flange is disposed on a first side of the at least one of the two load-bearing components that comprises the flange, wherein at least a second side of the at least one of the two load-bearing components that comprises the flange is configured as a hollow profile with a steel casing.

31. The steel construction of claim 25 wherein either the at least one of the strut or the guy, or a connection limb of the connection element extends obliquely relative to a longitudinal axis of the two load-bearing components.

32. The steel construction of claim 25 wherein the plate element is flush with at least one of the two load-bearing components.

33. The steel construction of claim 25 wherein the plate element is configured as a ring.

34. The steel construction of claim 25 wherein the plate element includes a portion that protrudes outward.

35. The steel construction of claim 34 wherein the plate element includes bores disposed in an encircling manner with respect to an annular portion of the plate element for form-fitting to at least one of the two load-bearing components.

Description

[0028] The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to a drawing merely illustrating exemplary embodiments. In the drawing

[0029] FIG. 1 shows a first steel construction according to the invention in the form of a tower of a wind turbine in a perspective view,

[0030] FIGS. 2a-b show a detail of the steel construction from FIG. 1 in the region of a first strut linkage according to the invention in a perspective view and in an exploded illustration,

[0031] FIG. 3 shows a second strut linkage according to the invention in a perspective view,

[0032] FIG. 4 shows a third strut linkage according to the invention in a perspective view, and

[0033] FIG. 5 shows a fourth strut linkage according to the invention in an exploded illustration.

[0034] FIG. 1 illustrates a steel construction 1 in the form of a tower of a wind turbine 2. The tower is at least partially designed here in the manner of a truss structure. The steel construction 1 which is illustrated is at least partially formed by a lattice tower with four load-bearing corner posts 3 here and struts 4 which are braced in between and stabilize the lattice tower, but are not load-bearing or are load-bearing only to a limited extent, depending on the loading. In addition, the tower supports a wind turbine with what is referred to as a nacelle 5 and the rotor 6.

[0035] FIGS. 2a and 2b illustrate a detail of the steel construction 1 from FIG. 1 with two adjacent steel construction components 7,8 of a corner post 3 and a strut linkage 9 arranged in between. The steel construction components 7,8 which are illustrated and are to this extent preferred are designed as hollow profiles with a substantially circular cross section. If required, the steel construction components 7,8 can taper upward, i.e. can be of substantially conical design. The steel construction components 7,8 predominantly have a casing 10 made of steel plate. A flange 11,12 is provided at at least one end of the steel construction components 7,8 which are illustrated and are to this extent preferred. The flange 11,12 can likewise have a central opening, but is preferably formed with a material thickness which is significantly greater than the casing 10.

[0036] The strut linkage 9 comprises a plate element 13 designed in a corresponding manner to the adjacent flanges 11,12 of the steel construction components 7,8. The plate element 13 which is illustrated and to this extent is preferred is of annular design here with a central opening 14. In addition, the flanges 11,12 of the two steel construction components 7,8 and the plate element 13 are designed in a manner corresponding to one another such that the two steel construction components 7,8 and the plate element 13 grip in a form-fitting manner in one another. In the steel construction 1 which is illustrated, an inner edge 15 of the flange 11 of the lower steel construction component 7 engages both in a form-fitting manner in the central opening 14 of the plate element 8 of the strut linkage 9 and in the central opening of the flange 12 of the upper steel construction component 8. The strut linkage 9 and the upper steel construction component 8 can consequently be plugged onto the lower steel construction component 7. In the case of the steel construction 1 which is illustrated and is to this extent preferred, the plate element 13 is formed from a heavy plate of corresponding thickness by deformation, in particular forging.

[0037] The outer diameter of the plate element 13 which is illustrated and is to this extent preferred corresponds over a large part of the circumference of the plate element 13 to the outer circumference of the adjacent flanges 11,12 of the two steel construction components 7,8. The plate element 13 is therefore in particular flush there with the flanges 11,12 of the steel construction components 7,8. On one side, the plate element 13 protrudes in relation to the steel construction components 7,8, specifically laterally outward both in relation to the flanges 11,12 and the casings 10. A connection element 17 of the strut linkage 9 is connected to the plate element 13 at said outwardly protruding portion 16. The connection element 17 here has two connection limbs 18,19 which point obliquely outward and are each connected at their free ends to a strut 20. Instead of the struts 20 which are illustrated and are to this extent preferred, a guy or the like may, however, also be fixed to the connection limbs 18,19. The struts 20 which are illustrated and are to this extent preferred are formed from a hollow profile similarly to the steel construction components 7,8 and are welded to the connection limbs 18,19 via connection pieces 21. However, in principle, a screw connection would also be suitable here.

[0038] The configuration of the strut linkage 9 has the effect that the forces which are transmitted and are to be removed from the struts 20 are transmitted to the plate element 13 and are distributed there over the circumference of the plate element 13 and therefore ultimately over the circumferences of the steel construction components 7,8, as is illustrated by the arrows representing the corresponding forces. Accordingly, a uniform force transmission and a uniform removal of the transmitted forces is achieved, and therefore stress concentrations are largely avoided.

[0039] The connection element 16 is formed by a plurality of metal plates 22,23,24, in particular made of steel, which are welded to one another. Each connection limb 18,19 is formed here from a metal plate 22 and are connected and stabilized vertically by two further metal plates 23. In addition, the metal plates 22 forming the connection limbs 18,19 also support connection plates 24 for the welding on of the connection pieces 21 of the struts.

[0040] FIG. 3 illustrates an alternative strut linkage 30 which comprises a plate element 31 analogously to the plate element 13 of the strut linkage 9 according to FIGS. 2a-b. However, the connection element 32 has fewer individual parts compared to this strut linkage 30. This is achieved by the connection element 32 comprising a sheet metal part 33 which is deformed in an approximately V-shaped manner by bending and can be welded or screwed to the plate element 31. In the case of screwing, screws arranged parallel to the plane of the plate element 31 are appropriate. To reinforce the connection element 32, two metal plates 34 which run vertically and perpendicularly to the plate element 31 and are in the form of supports are welded to the bent-over sheet metal part 33 which is connected to the plate element 31. The supports support the opposite connection limbs 35,36 which each protrude obliquely with respect to the plate element 31 and are formed by bending the sheet metal part 33.

[0041] FIG. 4 illustrates a strut arrangement 40 with a plate element 41 and an integral connection element 42 which in turn can be screwed to the plate element 41 by, for example, screws running parallel to the plane of the plate element 41. An alternative to screwing is, for example, a welded joint. The integrity of the connection element 42 is achieved here by the use of a deep drawn part or stamped part 43, wherein a flat product, in particular a flat steel product, for example in the form of a steel plate, is suitable in turn as the starting material. A connection element 42 is thereby obtained which has an approximately V-shaped cross section in a vertical section and an approximately U-shaped cross section in a horizontal section. The welding extent can therefore be reduced and the manufacturing of the connection element 42 accelerated. This is because the supports of the connection element 32 of the strut linkage 30 according to FIG. 3 can be omitted since the supports 44 in the strut linkage 40 according to FIG. 4 are formed by deformation.

[0042] FIG. 5 illustrates a multipart strut arrangement 50 in an exploded illustration, the individual parts of which are screwed to one another. The corresponding screws are not illustrated here for the sake of better clarity. For the screwing to at least one steel construction component, a plate element 51 has bores 52 in an encircling manner with respect to the annular portion. In addition, bores 53 are provided on that portion 54 of the plate element which protrudes outward in relation to the at least one steel construction component. The corresponding portion 54 of the plate element 51 is screwed to an intermediate piece 55 of the connection element 56 via the bores 53, wherein the plate element 51 is introduced beforehand by the outwardly protruding portion 54 into a groove 57 of the intermediate piece 55. The previously described bores 52,53 and screw connections run substantially vertically. By contrast, in the strut arrangement 50 which is illustrated and is to this extent preferred, the intermediate piece 55 is screwed horizontally via bores 58,59 running substantially horizontally to a profile 60 which provides the connection limbs 61,62 which extend upward and downward obliquely with respect to the plane of the plate element 51. The corresponding profile 60 is curved and is formed with edges 63 which are bent over away from the plate element 51 or are beveled in order to reinforce the profile 60.

[0043] Apart from the explained examples of using the strut linkage in corner posts, a strut linkage of the above-described type can also be arranged between other steel construction components. For example, a strut linkage of this type, in particular with a plurality of connection elements distributed over the circumference, can likewise be used with transition nodes between various tower portions or for the fastening of guys between tubular tower segments.