U.S. patent application number 13/344710 was filed with the patent office on 2013-07-11 for platform assembly for a wind turbine tower.
This patent application is currently assigned to GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY. The applicant listed for this patent is James C. Butts, James E. Reed. Invention is credited to James C. Butts, James E. Reed.
Application Number | 20130174509 13/344710 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 48742939 |
Filed Date | 2013-07-11 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130174509 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Reed; James E. ; et
al. |
July 11, 2013 |
PLATFORM ASSEMBLY FOR A WIND TURBINE TOWER
Abstract
A modular platform assembly for a wind turbine tower includes a
plurality of individual, multi-sided plate members, with each plate
member connected to at least one other plate member along a common
side. At least certain of the plate members have an outboard side
that defines a circumferential section of the platform assembly.
The connected common sides of the plate members define a structural
support grid that connects to a wall within a wind turbine tower at
a plurality of circumferential positions for supporting the
platform assembly relative to the tower.
Inventors: |
Reed; James E.;
(Spartanburg, SC) ; Butts; James C.;
(Simpsonville, SC) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Reed; James E.
Butts; James C. |
Spartanburg
Simpsonville |
SC
SC |
US
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
Schenectady
NY
|
Family ID: |
48742939 |
Appl. No.: |
13/344710 |
Filed: |
January 6, 2012 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
52/655.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
Y02E 10/728 20130101;
E04H 12/08 20130101; E04H 12/12 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
52/655.1 |
International
Class: |
E04H 12/34 20060101
E04H012/34 |
Claims
1. A modular platform assembly for a wind turbine tower,
comprising: a plurality of individual, multi-sided plate members,
each said plate member connected to at least one other said plate
member along a common side; at least certain of said plate members
having an outboard side that defines a circumferential section of
said platform assembly; and said connected common sides of said
plate members defining a structural support grid that connects to a
wall within a wind turbine tower at a plurality of circumferential
positions for supporting said platform assembly relative to the
tower.
2. The platform assembly as in claim 1, wherein each of said plate
members is formed from a single unitary metal plate, said metal
plates comprising down-turned flanges along said common sides, said
down-turned flanges connected together to define said structural
support grid.
3. The platform assembly as in claim 2, wherein said down-turned
flanges are bolted together.
4. The platform assembly as in claim 1, wherein each of said plate
members comprises a respective said outboard side such that every
said plate member defines a circumferential section of said
platform assembly.
5. The platform assembly as in claim 1, wherein one of said plate
members is common to all other said plate members and shares a
common side with each remaining said plate member.
6. The platform assembly as in claim 1, wherein said common plate
member comprises a respective said outboard side and defines a
circumferential section of said platform assembly.
7. The platform assembly as in claim 1, wherein said common plate
member is an interior plate member completely surrounded by the
other remaining said plate members.
8. The platform assembly as in claim 2, wherein said outboard sides
comprise up-turned flanges that define a continuous toe rail around
a circumference of said platform assembly.
9. The platform assembly as in claim 2, wherein one of said plate
members comprises an access opening defined therein, said plate
member comprising up-turned flanges that define a toe rail around
said access opening.
10. The platform assembly as in claim 1, further comprising a
plurality of brackets configured for mounting onto the wind turbine
tower wall at said plurality of circumferential support positions,
said brackets defining a seat for said structural support grid.
11. The platform assembly as in claim 10, wherein said brackets
comprise a sufficient radial length so that the same size platform
assembly is mountable to varying diameter sections of the same or
different wind turbine tower walls.
12. The platform assembly as in claim 1, wherein said structural
support grid has terminal ends only at said circumferential support
positions.
13. A wind turbine, comprising: a tower; a nacelle supported atop
said tower; a rotor hub and rotor blades configured with said
nacelle; a plurality of platform assemblies disposed at different
heights within said tower, each of said platform assemblies further
comprising: a plurality of individual, multi-sided plate members,
each said plate member connected to at least one other said plate
member along a common side; at least certain of said plate members
having an outboard side that defines a circumferential section of
said platform assembly; and said connected common sides of said
plate members defining a structural support grid that connects to
an interior wall of said tower at a plurality of circumferential
positions for supporting said platform assembly relative to said
tower.
14. The wind turbine as in claim 13, wherein each of said plate
members is formed from a single unitary metal plate, said metal
plates comprising down-turned flanges along said common sides, said
down-turned flanges connected together to define said structural
support grid, and wherein one of said plate members is common to
all other said plate members and shares a common side with each of
said remaining plate members.
15. The wind turbine as in claim 14, wherein said outboard sides
comprise up-turned flanges that define a continuous toe rail around
a circumference of said platform assembly.
16. The wind turbine as in claim 14, further comprising a plurality
of brackets mounted on said interior wall of said tower at said
circumferential support positions of each said platform assembly,
said brackets defining a seat for said structural support grid.
17. The wind turbine as in claim 16, wherein at least two of said
platform assemblies within said tower have the same circumferential
dimension and are mounted at respective locations within said tower
having different diameters, said respective brackets for said
platform assemblies having a sufficient radial length so as to
accommodate for different radial distances between said platform
assemblies and said interior wall of said tower.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present subject matter relates generally to wind
turbines and, more particularly, to a platform assembly within the
tower of a wind turbine.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Platforms in wind turbine towers provide operators safe
access to areas of a wind turbine that may require servicing,
maintenance and inspection. For example, the platforms are
typically located adjacent to the tower flange bolts for safe and
easy inspection of the flange bolts. Typically, a number of service
platforms are located at different heights in the turbine tower and
are fixed by welding or with bolts to the tower wall.
[0003] A conventional type of platform includes a metal plate,
typically a checker plate, which is supported by a number of steel
beams fixed to the tower walls. Steel beams are heavy, have to be
lifted with a crane when mounting the platform in the tower, and
are thus generally difficult to install. Further, a significant
number of bosses, clip plates, and the like, are necessary to mount
the plate to the beams, which is both time and cost intensive.
[0004] The conventional platforms are also tailored to a specific
tower diameter, and must be redesigned whenever the tower shell
diameter or wall thickness changes. This is due primarily to
maintaining a required maximum space of about one-inch between the
circumference of the plate and the tower wall.
[0005] A further conventional design (referred to as a "bent
plate") includes a self-supporting platform formed from a metal
sheet. The round platform may have multiple positions where the
sheet has been cold formed such that a double layered I-section is
formed which protrudes along the width of the platform. This
vertical sheet section of the platform may provide some degree of
stability, however the cold forming process is technically
demanding and cost intensive.
[0006] In light of the above, it is desirable to have a platform
for a wind turbine tower which is relatively easy to produce and
assemble within the tower, and is versatile so as to be used at
different diameter sections of the same or different wind turbine
towers.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0007] Aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in
part in the following description, or may be obvious from the
description, or may be learned through practice of the
invention.
[0008] In accordance with aspects of the invention, a modular
platform assembly is provided for a wind turbine tower. In a
particular embodiment, the platform assembly includes a plurality
of individual, multi-sided plate members, with each of the plate
members connected to at least one other plate member along a common
side. At least certain ones of the plate members have an outboard
side that collectively define a circumferential section of the
platform assembly. In one embodiment, all of the plate members have
an outboard side and contribute to the circumference of the plate
assembly. The connected common sides of the plate members define a
structural support grid that connects to an interior wall within a
wind turbine tower at a plurality of circumferential positions for
supporting the platform assembly relative to the tower.
[0009] In a particular embodiment of the platform assembly, the
plate members are each formed from a single unitary metal plate,
with the metal plates having down-turned flanges along the common
sides that are connected together to define the structural support
grid. The flanges may, for example, be bolted together along the
common sides.
[0010] In one embodiment, one of the plate members is common to all
of the other plate members and thus shares a common side with each
remaining plate member. This common plate member may also have an
outboard side that defines a circumferential section of the
platform assembly. Alternatively, the common plate member may be an
interior plate member that is completely surrounded by the other
remaining plate members.
[0011] The outboard sides of the plate members that define the
circumference of the platform assembly may include integral toe
rails defined by up-turned flanges along straight lengths of the
outboard sides.
[0012] It should be appreciated that any one or combination of the
plate members may have any manner of access opening or port defined
therein, for example to accommodate a lift or ladder, cable runs,
and so forth. The plate members may include up-turned flanges that
define a toe rail around the access openings.
[0013] The platform assembly may further include a plurality of
brackets configured for mounting onto the tower wall at the
plurality of circumferential support positions, with the brackets
defining a seat for the structural support grid. The brackets may
be provided in varying radial lengths (or a sufficiently long
radial length) so that the same size platform assembly is mountable
to varying diameter sections of the wind turbine tower wall.
[0014] The present invention also encompasses any manner of wind
turbine having a plurality of the present platform assemblies
configured at different heights within the tower. In a particular
embodiment, at least two of the platform assemblies within the
tower have the same circumferential dimension and are mounted at
respective locations within the tower having different diameters.
The platform assemblies are supported by brackets having a
sufficient radial length so as to accommodate for different radial
distances between the platform assemblies and the interior wall of
said tower.
[0015] These and other features, aspects and advantages of the
present invention will become better understood with reference to
the following description and appended claims. The accompanying
drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this
specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and,
together with the description, serve to explain the principles of
the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] A full and enabling disclosure of the present invention,
including the best mode thereof, directed to one of ordinary skill
in the art, is set forth in the specification, which makes
reference to the appended figures, in which:
[0017] FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of one embodiment of a
wind turbine with a plurality of interior platform assemblies;
[0018] FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective top view of an embodiment
of a platform assembly;
[0019] FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective bottom view of the platform
assembly of FIG. 2;
[0020] FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view of components of a
platform assembly;
[0021] FIG. 5 illustrates a top view of a platform assembly within
a wind turbine tower; and
[0022] FIG. 6 illustrates a side cut-away view of a bracket
configuration between a platform assembly and wind turbine
tower.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0023] Reference now will be made in detail to embodiments of the
invention, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the
drawings. Each example is provided by way of explanation of the
invention, not limitation of the invention. In fact, it will be
apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and
variations can be made in the present invention without departing
from the scope or spirit of the invention. For instance, features
illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used with
another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment. Thus, it is
intended that the present invention covers such modifications and
variations as come within the scope of the appended claims and
their equivalents.
[0024] Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates a
perspective view of one embodiment of a conventional wind turbine
10 that may utilize one or more platform assembly 20 in accordance
with aspects of the invention. As shown, the wind turbine 10
generally includes a tower 12 erected on a suitable foundation or
support surface, a nacelle 14 mounted on the tower 12, and a rotor
18 coupled to the nacelle 16. The rotor 18 includes a rotatable hub
and one or more rotor blades 16 coupled to and extending outwardly
from the hub. The rotor blades 16 capture the kinetic energy of the
wind, which is converted into usable mechanical energy, and
subsequently, electrical energy via a drivetrain and generator
positioned within the nacelle 14.
[0025] The tower 12 is a tubular structure that may be constructed
from individual stacked segments that are bolted together at flange
locations, as in well known in the art. These segments may be
formed from any number or combination of suitable materials,
including metal and concrete. Typically, a respective platform
assembly 20 is disposed at different heights within the tower 12,
for example at the flange bolt locations. These platform assemblies
serve various functions, including a rest stop for personnel that
climb the tower 12 to access the nacelle 14, inspection and
maintenance platforms, equipment support platforms, and so forth.
The number of platform assemblies 20 and their respective heights
within the tower 12 depends on the individual configuration of the
wind turbine 10. The number of platform assemblies is typically
from 2 to 6, more typically from 3 to 5. In a non-limiting example,
platforms are provided, for example, at 4.4 m height (4.2 m
platform diameter), at 21 m (4.2 m diameter), at 46 m (3.3 m
diameter), at 68 m (2.7 m diameter) and at 75 m (2.5 m
diameter).
[0026] An embodiment of a platform assembly 20 is depicted in FIGS.
2 through 4. The assembly is a modular construction in that it
includes a plurality of individual, multi-sided plate members 22,
with each of the plate members 22 connected to at least one other
plate member 22 along a common (shared) side 30. As readily seen in
FIG. 2, certain of the plate members 22 have a common side 30 with
two other plate members, and certain other plate members 22 have a
common side 30 with three other plate members. Certain of the plate
members 22 have an outboard side 28 that defines a circumferential
section 32 of the overall circumference of the platform assembly
20. For example, in the embodiment of FIGS. 2 and 3, each of the
plate members 22 has an outboard side 28 that contributes to the
overall circumference of the platform assembly 20.
[0027] As particularly seen in FIG. 3, the connected common sides
30 of the plate members 22 define a structural support grid 44 on
the underside of the platform assembly 20 that adequately functions
as the sole load supporting structure. In the illustrated
embodiment, the structural support grid 44 defines a web-like
girder with terminal ends 46 that radiate to a plurality of support
positions at the circumference of the platform assembly 20. As seen
in FIG. 5, the platform assembly 20 is supported on an interior
wall 58 of the tower 12 at these support positions where the
terminal ends 46 of the support grid 44 are mounted to brackets 54
that are welded, screwed, or otherwise attached to the tower wall
58 (FIG. 5).
[0028] The individual plate members 22 may be variously configured.
For example, the plate members 22 may be formed from a single
unitary metal plate, with the plates collectively defining a
generally uninterrupted upper surface 24 of the platform assembly
20. The metal plates may have down-turned flanges 34 (FIG. 4) along
the common sides 30 that are connected together on the underside 26
of the assembly 20 and define the structural support grid 44. The
vertical dimensions of the flanges 34 (and thus strength of the
support grid 44) will be a function of the expected loads on the
platform assembly 20. The down-turned flanges 34 may include
footers 36 (FIGS. 2 and 3).
[0029] The down-turned flanges 34 are desirably bent into their
orientation relative to the upper surface 24 so as to avoid welding
steps. Alternatively, the flanges 34 may be separately attached,
for example by welding, bolts, or other suitable means.
[0030] The size, shape, and configuration of the plate members may
vary widely within the scope and spirit of the invention. For
example, referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, one of the plate members 22
may be a common plate member 42 that shares a common side 30 with
each of the remaining plate members 22. This common plate member 42
may also have an outboard side 28 that defines a portion of the
overall circumference of the platform assembly 20.
[0031] In an alternate embodiment depicted in FIG. 5, the common
plate member 42 is an interior plate member and is completely
surrounded by the other remaining plate members 22.
[0032] Referring to the figures in general, a toe rail 40 is
defined around the circumference of the platform assembly 20. In
one embodiment, this toe rail 40 may consist of one or more
separate components that are attached to the plate members 22. In
the illustrated embodiments, as particularly illustrated in FIG. 4,
the continuous toe rail 40 is defined by up-turned flanges 38
formed at the outboard sides 28 of the plate members 22. Angle
pieces 50 may be provided at the junction of adjacent up-turned
flanges 38, as depicted in FIG. 2.
[0033] The plate members 22 may be connected together by various
means. In the illustrated embodiments, the down-turned flanges 34
along the common sides 30 are bolted together with bolts 48, which
may also be considered as components of the continuous support grid
44. In an alternate embodiment, the flanges 34 may be welded
together.
[0034] Any manner and configuration of access openings 52 may be
provided in the plate members 22 for various purposes. For example,
an interior access opening 52 may be provided to accommodate a
lift, while another is provide in the outboard side 28 of one or
more of the plate members 22 for a ladder that extends along the
interior was of the tower. Additional access openings 52 may be
provided along the outboard sides 28 for cable and bus runs.
[0035] Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, the platform assembly 20 may
further include a plurality of brackets 54 that mount onto the
interior tower wall 58 by any suitable means at the plurality of
circumferential support positions defined by the terminal ends 46
of the support grid 44. The brackets may have any suitable
configuration, such as the L-flange shape depicted in FIG. 6, and
define a seat for the structural support grid 44, in particular the
terminal ends 46, which may be bolted through the footers 36 or
otherwise attached to the bracket 54.
[0036] As can be appreciated from FIGS. 5 and 6, the same size
(diameter) platform assembly 20 may be used at various diameter
positions within the tower 12. The brackets 54 have a radial length
56 (FIG. 6) that accommodates for varying distances between the toe
rail 40 at the circumferential sections 32 of the plate members 22
and the tower wall 58. A single size of brackets 54 may be
manufactured for a given size platform assembly 20, with the
brackets 54 having a sufficient radial length 56 to accommodate the
various positions of the assemblies 20 within the tower 12.
Alternatively, different sized brackets 54 may be manufactured for
the various diameter locations within the tower 12.
[0037] It should be readily appreciated that the present invention
also encompasses any manner of wind turbine 10 (FIG. 1) that
utilizes one or more of the platform assemblies 20 in accordance
with aspects set forth herein.
[0038] This written description uses examples to disclose the
invention, including the best mode, and also to enable any person
skilled in the art to practice the invention, including making and
using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated
methods. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the
claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled
in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope
of the claims if they include structural elements that do not
differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include
equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from
the literal languages of the claims.
* * * * *