FOLDABLE WIND-DRIVEN POWER PLANT

INSTALLATION PLIANTE DE PRODUCTION D`ENERGIE EOLIENNE

English Abstract

A foldable wind-driven power plant comprises a stand, having a wind generator
installed in its upper part, mounted on a main support and configured to tilt
into a
horizontal position and lift into a vertical position, and a main winch, where
the
plant is equipped with an auxiliary winch mounted on an additional support
provided with a seat and installed on a separate foundation. The main support
consists of a fixed base and a rotary part installed thereon with the
possibility to
turn in the horizontal plane around a vertical axis. The base enables the
downwind
rotation of the stand mounted on the rotary part and embodied in the form of a
vertical wing realized on the basis of a spatial frame, the elements of which
are
only subjected to compression or tension, and are covered with a shell. The
cross-
section of the wing has a symmetrical aerodynamic profile, while the vertical
axis
of rotation of the stand is located in front of the aerodynamic focus of the
wing,
thus, enabling the stand to feather downwind. Furthermore, the lower part of
the
stand contains a hinge, which enables the rotation of the stand around the
horizontal axis and divides the stand post into a non-tilting beam containing
rope
transfer blocks of the main winch mounted on the fixed base, which are distant
from the axis of rotation, and a tilting-lifting part containing in its
section the blocks
for securing such ropes, which are distant from the hinge. Furthermore, the
upper
part of the stand contains the point of attachment of the auxiliary winch
rope.

Claims

5
Claims
1. A foldable wind-driven power plant, comprising a stand, having a wind
generator installed in its upper part, which is mounted on a main support
and configured to tilt into a horizontal position and lift into a vertical
position,
and a main winch, wherein said plant is equipped with an auxiliary winch
mounted on an additional support provided with a seat and installed on a
separate foundation; the main support consists of a fixed base and a rotary
part installed thereon with the possibility to turn in the horizontal plane
around a vertical axis; said base enables the downwind rotation of the stand
mounted on the rotary part and embodied in the form of a vertical wing
realized on the basis of a spatial frame, the elements of which are only
subjected to compression or tension, and are covered with a shell; the
cross-section of said wing has a symmetrical aerodynamic profile, while the
vertical axis of rotation of the stand is located in front of the aerodynamic
focus of the wing, thus, enabling the stand to feather downwind; the lower
part of the stand contains a hinge, which enables the rotation of the stand
around the horizontal axis and divides the stand post into a non-tilting beam
containing rope transfer blocks of the main winch mounted on the fixed
base, which are distant from the axis of rotation, and a tilting-lifting part
containing in its section the blocks for securing such ropes, which are
distant from said hinge; the upper part of the stand contains the point of
attachment of the auxiliary winch rope.
2. The plant according to claim 1, wherein the fixed base of the main support
is embodied in the form of a star-shaped structure mounted on the
foundation and provided with at least three legs, one of which is equipped
with the main winch, while located in the center of the fixed base are the
fixed part of the hinge, facilitating rotation of the stand around the
vertical
axis, and the rotary part of the main support along with the mechanisms
facilitating such rotation.

Description

. .
1
FOLDABLE WIND-DRIVEN POWER PLANT
Field of the invention
The invention relates to wind power engineering and can be used when
designing wind generators to produce electrical or thermal energy.
Description of the prior art
The prior art includes a solution (RU 55887 U1 dated 24-Nov-2005) describing
a wind-driven power installation comprising a nacelle, which contains a wind
wheel
and is mounted on a mast using four cables, wherein one of such cables is
provided with a pull-rod (intended for creating a lever when lifting the
mast).
However, the proposed solution is applicable to small wind-driven power
installations and is not suitable for lifting and lowering masts of the medium
and
high-capacity installations.
Summary of the invention
The objective of the invention is to create a design of the medium and high-
capacity wind-driven power plants capable of lifting and lowering the mast and
system assembly without the use of special high-capacity cranes. The technical
result would offer an expansion of technological and operational capabilities
of a
wind-driven power plant.
The above objective is solved by the fact that the foldable wind-driven power
plant comprises a stand, having a wind generator installed in its upper part,
which
is mounted on a main support and configured to tilt into a horizontal position
and
lift into a vertical position, and a main winch, wherein the plant is equipped
with an
auxiliary winch mounted on an additional support provided with a seat and
CA 3074294 2020-02-28

2
installed on a separate foundation. Furthermore, the main support consists of
a
fixed base and a rotary part installed thereon with the possibility to turn in
the
horizontal plane around a vertical axis. Said base enables the downwind
rotation
of the stand mounted on the rotary part and embodied in the form of a vertical
wing realized on the basis of a spatial frame, the elements of which are only
subjected to compression or tension, and are covered with a shell. The cross-
section of said wing has a symmetrical aerodynamic profile, while the vertical
axis
of rotation of the stand is located in front of the aerodynamic focus of the
wing,
thus, enabling the stand to feather downwind. Furthermore, the lower part of
the
stand contains a hinge, which enables the rotation of the stand around the
horizontal axis and divides the stand post into a non-tilting beam containing
rope
transfer blocks of the main winch mounted on the fixed base, which are distant
from the axis of rotation, and a tilting-lifting part containing in its
section the blocks
for securing such ropes, which are distant from said hinge. Furthermore, the
upper
part of the stand contains the point of attachment of the auxiliary winch
rope.
Preferably, the fixed base of the main support is embodied in the form of a
star-
shaped structure mounted on the foundation and provided with at least three
legs,
one of which is equipped with the main winch, while located in the center of
the
fixed base are the fixed part of the hinge, facilitating rotation of the stand
around
the vertical axis, and the rotary part of the main support along with the
mechanisms facilitating such rotation.
Description of the drawings
The invention is illustrated by the drawings showing a general view of the
wind-
driven power plant in the upright (Fig. 1) and horizontal (Fig. 2) positions.
Figure 3
shows a frame-based design of the stand.
CA 3074294 2020-02-28

3
Description of a preferred embodiment of the invention
The wind-driven power plant comprises a fixed base (1) and a rotary part (2)
mounted thereon, which contains a hinge, facilitating rotation of the stand in
the
horizontal plane (around the vertical axis), and is structurally combined with
a
beam (3) and hinges (4) facilitating rotation of the stand in the vertical
plane
(around horizontal axis). Stand (5) has streamlined shape in the form of a
wing. It
is assembled from sections and is hingedly attached to the rotary part (2). A
nacelle with wind generator (6) (electrical or thermal power generator) and
blades
(8) attached to rotor (7) is installed at the top of the stand.
An additional support provided with seat (11) and auxiliary winch (10) are
mounted on a separate foundation. The auxiliary winch is intended for holding
and
gently turning the stand during the final portion of the lifting path, after
the center of
gravity of stand (5) has passed hinge (4), and also for supporting the initial
stage
of lowering stand (5) until the center of gravity thereof passes hinge (4).
The stand is embodied in the form of a wing having a symmetrical aerodynamic
profile, realized in the form of a spatial frame, the elements of which are
only
subjected to compression or tension and are covered with a shell. Furthermore,
the axis of rotation in the horizontal plane is positioned at a certain
distance in
front of the aerodynamic focus of the wing relative to the wind direction.
Such
shape of the stand allows for its use as a wind vane to rotate the
installation in the
wind direction.
The frame-based design of the stand (Fig. 3) allows for a significant weight
reduction of the lifting part of the wind-driven power plant.
For example, at a weight of about 100 tons, it is possible to assemble a
structure,
which is 150 m tall. Such design also allows lifting and lowering the mast
CA 3074294 2020-02-28

4
horizontally without the use of special high-capacity cranes. Even in remote
inaccessible locations.
The streamlined shape of the stand having a symmetrical aerodynamic profile
of the cross-section significantly reduces the air flow turbulence. In the
conventional wind-driven power plants with the round-shaped stands, air flow
turbulence is what causes an infrasound noise upon interaction with the rotor
blades. Thus, the proposed solution reduces the intensity of the noise
generated
by the plant.
The mast is lifted into a vertical position by the main winch (9) mounted on
fixed base (1). The winch rope passes through angle pulleys installed on beam
(3)
of the rotary part (2). Beam (3) acts as a lever, on which the angle pulleys
are
located at a certain distance from the axis of hinge (4) for rotating the
stand in the
vertical plane, such that a sufficient moment of force is created for lifting
and
lowering stand (5) with nacelle, rotor, and blades mounted thereon. The cross-
section of beam (3) is configured to follow the symmetrical aerodynamic
profile of
stand (5).
The main winch can be used to lower the mast into a horizontal position during
repair and maintenance of the nacelle mechanisms.
Although the present invention has been explained hereinabove by way of a
preferred embodiment thereof, it should be pointed out that any modifications
to
this preferred embodiment within the scope of the appended claims is not
deemed
to alter or change the nature and scope of the present invention.
CA 3074294 2020-02-28