CN111356838A - Nacelle, wind turbine air filtration system and method for filtering air in a nacelle of a wind turbine - Google Patents

Abstract

A wind turbine (1) and a wind turbine nacelle (3) comprising an interior space, wherein the interior space in the nacelle (3) is divided into a cleaning section (9) and a soiling section (10). The clean and dirty sections of the space are separated (8) by a filter wall. One or more blower devices are arranged in the nacelle (3) for drawing air through the filter wall (8) into a dirty section (9) of the nacelle and into a clean section (10). The generator (7) is arranged in a cleaning section of the cabin space. The cooling air for cooling the generator is drawn directly from the ambient air of the cleaning section. The present invention significantly increases the filtration zone manifolds and reduces the risk of filter plugging. A method for purifying air in a nacelle is also disclosed.

Description

Nacelles, wind turbines, wind turbine air filtration systems and for wind turbines Method for filtering the air in the engine room

technical field

The invention relates to a wind turbine nacelle.

The invention also relates to a wind generator comprising a tower, a nacelle and a wind generator hub with rotor blades, wherein the wind generator hub is rotatably arranged on the nacelle.

The invention also relates to a method for cleaning the air in a wind turbine nacelle.

The invention also relates to an air filtration system for a wind power generator.

Background technique

The increased size of modern wind turbines has led to increased awareness and attention to thermal control of heat generating components in the nacelle of wind turbines. The need for thermal control is due to increased frictional heat from major components such as gearboxes, generators, inverters and/or control/monitoring electronics. The increased size of the main components also increases the risk of having large thermal stresses caused by temperature differences within the main components such as the generator.

Additionally, in recent years, more attention has been paid to reducing production costs, installation costs, and costs associated with maintenance and/or repair.

In conjunction with the direct cooling of the generator in the nacelle of the wind turbine, the cooling air must be pure enough to avoid deposits inside the generator. Such deposits within the generator can lead to built-up layers on the interior surfaces. This provides an undesired insulating layer that reduces the ability to efficiently conduct heat generated in the generator to the environment.

Particle laden air from ambient air may cause such build-up layers unless these particles are removed from the cooling air prior to entering the generator through the air generator cooling system.

Such build-up layers within the generator cause blockages and can cause damage to the generator and increased maintenance costs. Additionally, such buildup layers within generators are often very difficult to remove, for example in narrow passages or voids or otherwise inaccessible areas/spaces within the generator unit, resulting in increased maintenance costs or worse, The situation even leads to destroyed generators and thus increased maintenance costs.

Airborne particles that may lead to such deposits may be, for example, fine and/or coarse particles, such as pollen, sand, dirt, dust, etc., or such as airborne catkins, airborne plant seeds, especially on the surface of seeds Coarse particles like fluffy seeds with layers of cotton wool or fibers, etc. Depending on the environment, weather conditions (rain/drought combined with wind conditions), time of year, eg spring (in spring, pollen is released) or summer/autumn (in summer/autumn, various airborne seeds appear ), etc., the concentration of airborne particles may vary significantly.

It is very common to provide a filtration system for filtering the air entering the interior of the cabin, the transmission cooling system and/or the generator cooling system. State-of-the-art direct systems are disclosed, for example, in CN202034685U or WO2017/0888846A. These systems disclose different types of particulate filters that filter ambient air before it enters the cooling system in a direct cooling system, or in a system where the ambient air absorbs heat from a second circulating coolant. CN204253286U does not disclose a direct cooling system, but provides a solution for filtering air using an air filter, wherein the air uses a second circulating cooling liquid to cool the generator.

With conventional air systems such as those discussed in the preceding paragraphs, the filter area provided, for example, in the inlet of the direct cooling system of the generator is not large enough. This results in: The filter gets clogged very quickly, causing a huge pressure drop across the filter. This may further reduce the flow of cooling air and subsequently lead to insufficient cooling. The latter two documents provide different scenarios for the filter screen to be cleaned or replaced in order to ensure that the filter screen is not blocked.

Specifically, WO2017/0888846A provides a large and heavy filter unit installed in a nacelle. This solution thus also takes up space in the nacelle and increases the loads and potential stresses on the nacelle body due to the increased overall nacelle weight including the in-cabin instruments.

Another solution is to provide an air/water system, wherein the cooling air supplied to the generator is initially cooled in exchange with circulating water, and wherein cooling towers are arranged on the outer roof of the nacelle for cooling the circulating water.

This solution is very expensive and provides a system in which additional possible failures of water system leaks and blockage of cooling elements may result in increased maintenance and/or repair costs. Additionally, the externally installed cooling towers are separately transported to the erection site and attached to the nacelle on site in conjunction with the erection of the wind turbine, resulting in increased cost and overall installation time.

Additionally, externally installed cooling towers are sensitive to strong winds such as wind speeds above 18 m/s and may increase the stress on the nacelle unit caused by the strong winds. Therefore, the nacelle wall must be dimensioned to carry the additional load of the cooling tower and to experience stress during such high wind conditions, which further increases the overall cost of the wind turbine. Additionally, cooling towers provide insufficient cooling in low to moderate wind conditions such as wind speeds as high as 11-18 m/s.

Invention task

The task of the present invention is therefore to provide a method for supplying cooling air to generators regardless of generator type, which method does not have the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art systems.

In addition, the task of the present invention is to provide a solution for reducing the overall cost of wind turbines.

Another task of the present invention is to provide a solution for reducing the installation time and/or the installation cost of the wind turbine.

Another task of the present invention is to provide a solution for reducing maintenance time and/or maintenance costs of wind turbines.

The task of the present invention is also to provide a solution which increases the efficiency, installation time, weight, cost and reduces maintenance of an air filtration system in a wind turbine nacelle.

The task of the present invention is also to provide a simplified air filtration system in a wind turbine, which system greatly increases the filtration capacity, is inexpensive, requires little maintenance, and reduces installation time, is lightweight and therefore reduces the need for eg Influence of dimensioning such as thickness of nacelle body, bottom and/or roof.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

These tasks are solved by means of a wind turbine nacelle comprising an interior space, wherein the interior space is divided into a clean section and a dirty section, wherein a clean section and a dirty section of the space Separated by a filter wall arranged to surround or enclose the generator and cleaning section inside the nacelle.

Thus, the filter walls are arranged to surround the generator and create a cage-like structure that encloses the generator and the surrounding cleaning section in the filter wall subsections.

The interior space refers to the space within the nacelle between the inner wall, the inner bottom and the inner top of the nacelle. By clean section is meant that the concentration of airborne particles is significantly reduced, or preferably substantially removed from the air in that part of the interior of the nacelle that is defined as the clean section. In the dirty section, the air corresponds to the ambient air in terms of the content of airborne particles and may contain a significant amount of airborne particles.

This enables the generator to be installed in the clean section, which enables cooling air to be supplied to the generator cooling system directly from clean ambient air in the clean section of the nacelle interior. This provides a very simple and low cost system for providing clean generator cooling air especially in combination with a direct cooling system of the generator arranged in the clean section of the nacelle.

This solution also avoids complex and/or bulky solutions, such as systems comprising cooling towers arranged on top of the nacelle.

In addition, deposits can also be avoided on other sensitive equipment such as electronics, converters of PLCs, controllers, etc. by providing a clean section in the cabin interior where the air is substantially free of particles. This also results in less damage to the electronics and less maintenance and/or repair, and thus further cost reduction.

The clean and dirty sections of the space are separated by filter walls. The filter area of the filter wall is many times larger than conventional filters arranged in the air ducts of the generator cooling system, resulting in a huge increase in filter area and filter capacity compared to the prior art. The huge increase in filter area also greatly reduces the risk of clogging the filter.

In addition, the filter walls are very easily accessible, which makes changing the filter material or similar maintenance work on the filter very easy and very fast.

The filter provided in the filter wall is preferably replaceable.

The type of filter material is immaterial as long as the filter is able to remove unwanted particles of the above-mentioned type in the clean section of the interior of the nacelle.

It is also possible to use two or more screen layers, such as a first coarse filter or screen layer, which captures coarse particles such as seeds, catkins, sand, etc., followed by separation such as dust, pollen, etc. A fine filter for fine particles such as. A person skilled in the art would know how to select the pore size of a screen or filter screen to remove unwanted particles from the air passing through the filter walls.

Thus, such a filter may, for example, be made of filter material supported by a filter wall construction, which will be described further below. The filter to be supported may be made of, for example, one or more flat or corrugated cardboard, fabric panels such as woven filter cloth or non-woven filter cloth.

The filter wall filter may also be self-supporting and may comprise one or more rigid filter plates, or may comprise one or more separate filter modules, such as filter boxes, which may be described further below The described filter wall is configured to support or be installed therein.

Consequently, the cooling system for the generator is greatly simplified, which also leads to reduced overall costs when arranging the air filter in the filter wall in the nacelle.

The filter wall can in principle also extend through the entire cross-section of the interior space in a direction perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the nacelle. This results in that the air from the dirty section cannot reach the clean section from the dirty section unless passing through the filter wall, which results in particles being trapped in the filter and thus not carried into the clean section.

The nacelle is characterized in that the filter wall is arranged between the gearbox and the generator, which are arranged in the interior space of the nacelle. Transmissions are typically cooled using a liquid coolant, such as water. Therefore, the gearbox is not as sensitive to deposits of airborne particles. Thus, the gearbox can be positioned in the dirty section.

As mentioned above, the filter wall comprises a filter wall or filter wall subsections arranged to surround or enclose the generator and the clean section inside the nacelle. Accordingly, the filter wall optionally further comprises filter wall subsections arranged to enclose the generator and create a cage-like structure enclosing the filter wall subsections generator in the segment.

The cage may optionally also comprise a top subsection arranged to provide a filter element extending between and connecting the upper ends of the wall subsections , which creates a box-shaped filter surface that encloses the generator on all its sides in the filter surface. This further maximizes the filtering surface.

The inlet providing air into the nacelle may be positioned such that air is provided into the dirty section. The dirty section is preferably arranged in the front end, ie the hub end of the nacelle. Therefore, an air inlet is preferably provided in the front end of the nacelle, for example in combination with an air intake provided in the hub, which provides a flow of cooling air to cool the hub bearing and then leads the cooling air to the hub inside. Alternatively, the air inlet may be arranged in the bottom area to provide air flow without any risk of water or rain intrusion.

The air flow is then directed from the dirty section through the filter wall to the clean section.

In the clean section, the generator cooling system draws cooling air from the ambient air into the clean section of the interior of the nacelle by means of a fan or blower. A fan or blower can for example be arranged on the generator rotating shaft. Therefore, the fan or blower of the generator cooling system can also ensure sufficient air circulation in the interior space of the nacelle to ensure that the air passes through the filter walls and is filtered as it enters the cleaning section. Cooling air is expelled from the generator through air ducts that direct the heated cooling air to the air outlet.

The air outlet is preferably arranged in the rear end wall or bottom region of the nacelle. The air outlets arranged in the rear wall or in the bottom part of the rear end are protected from damage by water or the intrusion of eg rain, snow or the like.

The fan or blower may alternatively be a separate device arranged in the nacelle, eg connected to the air inlet or air outlet. When a separate fan or blower is used, the air outlet may be the same air outlet as the air outlet from the generator cooling system, or a separate second outlet.

The filter wall may be a single planar wall extending through the interior space of the nacelle when the internal layout and position of the instruments in the nacelle, in particular the gearbox and the generator allow. The filter wall can be divided into one or more subsections. Alternatively, the filter wall can be adapted to the position or arrangement of the instruments in the nacelle, especially the position of the gearbox and generator. Accordingly, the filter wall may comprise one or more subsections positioned at an angle to the other subsections, eg perpendicular to one or two other adjacent subsections, and extending therethrough The interior space of the cabin. This can result in one or more subsections being offset relative to other subsections within the cabin space.

The filter wall includes a frame and a screen arranged in the frame. The frame is preferably constructed from standard profiles, such as T, U or H profiles. These profiles are sized and made of a material suitable for carrying the load of the screen. These profiles are produced, for example, from metals or alloys, such as steel or aluminum.

The filter wall may comprise one or more frame members attached to the inner wall of the nacelle or to one or more ribs, protrusions or projections of the inner wall of the nacelle. The frame members are adapted to follow the cross-section of the nacelle to the greatest possible extent in order to maximize the filtering area. In order to facilitate the production of the filter wall and to easily adapt the filter wall to the cross-section inside the nacelle, the outermost area of the filter wall between the frame and the inner wall of the nacelle is covered by a cover sheet.

The frame may thus comprise a single frame or two or more subframes or modules built together to form a filter wall frame. Each frame module or subframe preferably has a polygonal shape, such as a square, rectangle, triangle, or has five or more sides which ensure that the subframe is easily connected to a cross section of the interior space of the nacelle ). This makes the filter wall easy to transport and easy to install in the nacelle.

The screen may be attached by conventional means, such as by bolting the screen to the frame member, for example by using bolts and nuts, for example to winged bolts and/or nuts, or by means of a snap-lock connection to frame or grid/grid. This ensures that when the screen is installed or replaced during maintenance, the screen can be easily detached and easily reattached to the frame. Alternatively, the screen may be attached to the frame using rails integrated in the frame or by clips that easily clamp the screen between spring biased clips and the frame. Such clips may be separate and attached to the frame by means of spring force, or the clips may be integrated into the frame. Additional possible attachment means may also include hooks, loops or similar conventional filter cloth attachment means.

In order to support the screen and/or improve the stability of the filter wall, the filter wall frame may preferably comprise filter support means, preferably rigid grids or grid members, on at least one or both sides of the screen.

If the filter wall comprises grids on both sides of the screen, at least one side of the grid or screen is equipped with hinges either using latches, pins, bolts, thumbscrews and/or thumbnuts or by means of snaps A lock connection is attached to the frame to allow access to the voids between the grids/grids to allow for screen replacement.

It is also possible to connect each side of the grid/grid to a separate frame. The frames can then be joined to each other to form a filter wall with a double mesh/grid to support the screen. The screen can then be simply arranged in the filter wall by squeezing the screen between the two frames and/or between the two faces of the grid/mesh, thereby retaining the screen between the frames at the location.

Thus, the screen is easily arranged in the frame and can be rolled up in a standard width corresponding to the distance between the frame members of the frame or sub-frame in the filter wall. The screen can thus simply be cut to the required length and attached to the filter wall frame using the attachment means as described above. Where a single large filter surface is provided, the screen can be cut to shape using a template corresponding to the shape of the filter wall.

Preferably, the filter area of the filter wall covers at least two thirds of the entire cross-sectional area of the nacelle, or more preferably at least 75% or at least 80% or at least 90% of the entire cross-sectional area of the nacelle, which maximizes filtration filter capacity and minimize the risk of filter clogging.

The filter wall may also include a shielding plate member surrounding the shaft of rotation of the generator. Accordingly, the shielding plate comprises through holes through which the generator rotating shaft can extend into the dirty section. The shield plate member preferably includes one or more sealing members disposed between the shield plate and the generator shaft. The sealing member provides a particle- or dust-proof connection around the rotating shaft of the generator. The generator rotating shaft is connected to the gearbox and thus extends through the filter wall. The shielding panel may be a separate panel member attached to the bottom and/or walls of the interior space of the nacelle. Alternatively, the shielding plate may be integrated into the nacelle body, for example by shaping the shielding plate as a rib extending from the bottom and/or walls inside the nacelle body. The shield bottom can be cast together with the nacelle body, for example, of fiberglass.

The filter wall frame may alternatively comprise a screen comprising one or more self-supporting filter elements.

The self-supporting filter can be a self-supporting plate member, such as a cardboard-like filter element, or a box with a screen, which can be arranged in a frame, for example in rails on the frame.

The filter wall may also include a door. The door member is preferably arranged in the filter wall, or in a subsection of the filter wall, in a conventional manner using hinges in order to ensure access between the clean and dirty sections during service, maintenance or repair. The door may for example be attached to the frame of the filter wall by hinges, see below.

Alternatively, the door may be a sliding door, eg using rollers arranged in tracks. Sliding doors are advantageous when hinged doors cannot be used due to the limited free area. The entire subsection of the filter wall can thus be a sliding door, or the sliding door can be arranged in a subsection of the filter wall.

The door area can also form a filtering surface. If necessary, the door and/or the door frame surrounding the door may include a weatherstrip member for sealing between the door frame and the door, and thus preventing dust from escaping from dirty areas if there is a gap between the door and door frame The segment escapes to the clean segment.

The door member is preferably also constituted by a frame member with a screen in order to further increase the filtering area and thus optimize the air filtering capacity of the filter wall.

The invention also relates to a wind turbine comprising a tower, a nacelle and a wind turbine hub with rotor blades, wherein the wind turbine hub is rotatably arranged on the nacelle, and wherein the wind turbine nacelle is As defined in any of claims 1-9 or as above.

The above mentioned drawbacks are also solved by providing a method for cleaning the air in a wind turbine nacelle. The method comprises the steps of introducing ambient air into a dirty section of the interior space of the nacelle; filtering the air by means of a filter wall arranged between the dirty section and the cleaning section and in which The filter wall is arranged to surround or enclose the generator arranged in the cleaning section and thereby provide filtered clean air into the cleaning section of the interior space of the nacelle.

As discussed above, the clean space air in the clean section is suitable for direct use as cooling air to the generator and thus eliminates the need for complex/clunky solutions, such as cooling towers placed on top of the nacelle needs. The method and nacelle/wind generator discussed above also greatly simplifies the nacelle construction and thereby achieves lower weight and easier transport and installation of the nacelle.

The method also includes providing cooling air from ambient air in the cleaning section of the interior space to a generator arranged in the cleaning section. Thereby, the above-mentioned advantages of low cost, simplified system, etc. are further improved.

As mentioned above with regard to the nacelle construction/wind generator, the method further comprises the steps of drawing air into the interior space of the nacelle in the hub end of the nacelle and at the rear end or rear end of the nacelle The air is exhausted to the environment in the bottom.

The above-mentioned drawbacks are also solved by providing an air filtration system for a wind turbine, which is arranged in the nacelle and is used for filtering the air in the nacelle, comprising: air introduction means for introducing the air into the nacelle. Ambient air is introduced into the interior space of the nacelle; and further comprising a filter wall dividing the interior space of the nacelle into a clean section and a dirty section, and wherein the filter wall is arranged to surround or enclose the arrangement A generator in the cleaning section, and wherein one or more blower devices are arranged in the nacelle for drawing air into the nacelle through the filter wall, and wherein the generator is arranged in the cleaning section of the nacelle.

Preferably, the wind turbine air filtration system further comprises blower means, wherein the generator cooling system comprises blower means for drawing air from the surrounding clean section of the nacelle into the generator cooling system.

The wind turbine air filtration system is also greatly simplified by using a single blower arranged to force air through the filter walls and provide cooling air to the generator cooling system.

As mentioned above, the wind turbine air filter inlet is arranged in the hub end of the nacelle and the air outlet from the nacelle is arranged in the rear end or rear bottom of the nacelle.

The filter in the wind turbine air filtration system is as defined and described above.

Description of drawings

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, which:

Figure 1 shows the exterior of a wind turbine according to the invention;

Figure 2 shows a wind turbine nacelle in a perspective view with part of the nacelle wall removed to show the interior space;

Figure 3 shows details of the interior of the nacelle and the position of the filter wall relative to the generator of the wind turbine; and

Figure 4 shows details of the interior of the nacelle and a variant of the arrangement of the filter wall with respect to the generator of the wind turbine.

Detailed ways

FIG. 1 shows a wind turbine 1 comprising a tower 2 , a nacelle 3 and a wind turbine hub 4 supporting blades 5 . The hub 4 is rotatably arranged in the nacelle 3 .

2-3 show the interior space within the nacelle 3 . The gearbox 6 is arranged in the hub end of the interior space of the nacelle 3 , and the generator 7 is arranged close to the rear end of the nacelle 3 .

The filter wall 8 is arranged to extend through the interior space of the nacelle 3 . The filter walls extend from one side wall to the other and from the bottom to the top in the interior of the nacelle.

The filter wall 8 includes frames 8e, 8f. The filter wall 8 may comprise a single frame plane frame. Alternatively the filter wall may comprise two or more subsections 8a - 8d attached to each other to form the filter wall 8 . The filter wall 8, or each subsection 8a-8d, comprises horizontal beams 8e at the top and bottom, and two or more vertical columns 8f arranged to extend between the beams 8e.

A screen (not shown) is arranged on the frame or frames such that the frames 8e-8f support the screen.

The filter wall is preferably arranged between the gearbox 7 and the generator 8 , which are arranged in the interior space of the nacelle 3 .

The inlet (not shown in the figures) providing air into the interior of the nacelle 3 may be positioned such that air is provided into a dirty section, such as in or near the hub end of the nacelle 3, eg dirty The front or bottom of a segment.

The air flow is shown by arrows 11a , 11b , 11c and is directed from the dirty section 10 through the filter wall 8 to the clean section 9 .

In the cleaning section 9, the generator 7 cooling system draws cooling air from the ambient air into the cleaning section of the interior of the nacelle by means of a fan or blower (not shown) integrated in the generator 7 and to in the generator body. A fan or blower can for example be arranged on the generator rotating shaft. Therefore, the fan or blower of the generator cooling system can also ensure sufficient air circulation in the interior space of the nacelle to ensure that the air is drawn and filtered through the filter walls as it enters the cleaning section. The cooling air is discharged from the generator 7 through an air duct 12 which directs the heated cooling air to the air outlet 13 .

The air outlet 13 is preferably arranged in the rear end wall or bottom region of the nacelle 3 .

The fan or blower may alternatively be a separate device arranged in the interior space of the nacelle 3 , eg connected to the air inlet or air outlet 13 .

The filter wall 8 may be a single planar wall extending through the interior space of the nacelle when the internal layout and position of the instruments in the nacelle, in particular the gearbox and the generator allow.

In Figures 2-3, the filter wall 8 is shown in a variant in which the filter wall 8 is divided into one or more subsections 8a-8d. The filter wall 8 may comprise one or more subsections 8d positioned at an angle to the other subsections, eg perpendicular to one or two other adjacent subsections 8c, 8e. This may result in one or more subsections 8e being offset relative to the other subsections 8a-8c within the cabin space.

The filter wall 8 may be attached to the inner wall of the nacelle 3 or to one or more ribs, protrusions or projections (not shown) in the inner wall of the nacelle. The frame members are adapted to follow the cross-section of the nacelle to the greatest possible extent in order to maximize the filtering area. In order to facilitate the production of the filter wall and to easily adapt the filter wall to the cross-section inside the nacelle, the outermost area of the filter wall between the frame and the inner wall of the nacelle is covered by a cover sheet.

The screen is mounted to the filter wall frame within the frame 8e, 8f. Details of the screen and/or its installation are described in the preceding paragraphs. The grid 8g on Figures 2-3 may show both the filter screen and the support screen or grid 8g described above.

The filter wall 8 may preferably comprise filter support means, preferably rigid grids or grid members 8g on at least one or both sides of the screen, as discussed above.

The filter area of the filter wall 8 covers at least two thirds of the total cross-sectional area of the nacelle 3 , or more preferably at least 75% or at least 80% or at least 90% of the total cross-sectional area of the nacelle 3 .

The remainder of the filter wall may also include cover panels (not shown) on the interior walls of the nacelle, the bottom and/or the top extending between the frames 8e-8f and the interior surface of the nacelle 3 space, in order to provide a filter wall frame 8e- Particle or dust proof connection between 8f and the inner surface of the nacelle 3.

The shielding plate member 15 is preferably also arranged around the generator rotation axis 14 . Thus, the shielding plate 15 comprises through holes through which the generator rotating shaft 14 can extend from the cleaning section 9 and into the dirty section 10 . The shield plate member preferably includes one or more sealing members (not shown) disposed between the shield plate and the generator shaft. The shielding plate 15 may be a separate plate member attached to the bottom and/or walls of the interior space of the nacelle, or the shielding plate 15 may be formed from the bottom and/or walls of the interior of the nacelle body, for example by shaping the shielding plate 15 Extended ribs to be integrated into the nacelle body 3 .

According to the invention, the filter wall 8 is arranged to surround the generator 7 eg in a box-like manner as shown in FIG. 4 . Figure 4 shows the same generator 7, but from another angle.

In Figure 4, the filter wall 8 is arranged to enclose the cleaning section 9 and the generator 7 arranged in the cleaning section. Preferably, the filter wall 8 comprises wall subsections 8h, 8i, 8k, 8l, 8m, which are arranged to surround the generator and the cleaning section inside the nacelle.

The cage-like enclosure may optionally also comprise a top subsection 8j arranged to provide a filter element at the upper end of the wall subsections 8h, 8i, 8k, 8l, 8m Extending between and connecting the upper ends, this creates a box-shaped filter surface that encloses the generator on all its sides in the filter surface. This maximizes the filtering surface.

In a variant not shown, the filter wall 8 optionally further comprises filter wall subsections 8h, 8i, 8k, 8l, 8m, which are arranged around the generator but bypass the top filter element 8j. This will create a cage-like structure that encapsulates the generators in the filter wall subsections. In this variant, the filter wall subsections may be arranged to extend between the bottom and the top of the nacelle interior as described above.

The filter walls may also include doors (not shown). The door members are preferably arranged in the filter wall 8, or in subsections 8a-8e of the filter wall, in a conventional manner using hinges in order to ensure access to the clean and dirty areas during service, maintenance or repair between segments.

Alternatively, the door may be a sliding door, eg using rollers arranged in tracks. Sliding doors are advantageous when hinged doors cannot be used due to the limited free area. The subsections of the filter wall can thus be sliding doors, or the sliding doors can be arranged in subsections of the filter wall.

If necessary, the door and/or the door frame surrounding the door may include a weatherstrip member for sealing between the door frame and the door, and thus preventing dust from escaping from dirty areas if there is a gap between the door and door frame The segment escapes to the clean segment.

The door member is preferably also constituted by a frame member with a screen in order to further increase the filtering area and thus optimize the air filtering capacity of the filter wall.

The method for cleaning the air in the wind turbine nacelle 3 comprises the following steps: introducing ambient air into the dirty section 10 of the interior space of the nacelle 10; by being arranged between the dirty section and the clean section 9 The air is filtered by the filter wall 8 in between; and the filtered clean air is thereby provided into the clean section of the interior of the nacelle. Air is drawn into the interior space of the nacelle 3 in the end of the hub 4 of the nacelle. The air is discharged to the environment through the air outlet 15 in the rear end or the bottom of the rear end of the nacelle 3 .

The space air in the cleaning section 9 is suitable for direct use as cooling air, eg in the direct cooling of the generator 7 .

Cooling air is supplied from ambient air in the cleaning section 9 of the interior space to the generator 7 arranged in the cleaning section 9 .

The wind turbine air filtration system is arranged in the nacelle and serves to filter the air in the nacelle 3, in particular to provide substantially particle-free air to the direct cooling device of the generator.

Preferably, the wind turbine air filtration system further comprises blower means, wherein the generator cooling system comprises blower means for drawing air from the surrounding cleaning section 9 of the nacelle 3 into the generator cooling system, as indicated by arrow 11b Show. The heated air is discharged from the generator 7 through the outlet duct 12 to the air outlet 15, as indicated by arrow 11c.

reference number

1. Wind Turbine

2. Tower

3. Cabin

4. Wheels

5. Rotor blades

6. Gearbox

7. Generator

8. Filter Wall; 8' Filter Wall, Box Shape

a-d: filter wall subsections

e-f: filter wall frame

g: filter/grid or grid

h-m: filter wall subsection for box version

9. Clean Section

10. Dirty Section

11. Arrows showing airflow in the cabin

12. Air outlet duct from generator

13. Air outlet from the cabin

14. Generator rotating shaft

15. Plate section of filter wall

Claims (17)

1. A wind turbine nacelle comprising an interior space, wherein the interior space is divided into a cleaning section and a soiling section, wherein the cleaning section and the soiling section of the space are separated by a filter wall arranged to surround or enclose a generator and the cleaning section.

2. Aerogenerator nacelle according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the filtering wall comprises wall subsections.

3. Aerogenerator nacelle according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the filtering wall optionally also comprises a top subsection arranged to provide a filter element extending between and connecting the upper ends of the wall subsections.

4. Aerogenerator nacelle according to any of the preceding claims 1-3, characterized in that the filter wall comprises a shield plate member surrounding the generator shaft, and wherein the shield plate member comprises one or more sealing members arranged between the shield plate and the generator shaft.

5. Aerogenerator nacelle according to any of the preceding claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the filtering wall comprises a frame and a filter screen arranged in the frame.

6. Aerogenerator nacelle according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the filter wall frame comprises filter support means, preferably a grid or mesh members, on at least one or both sides of the filter screen.

7. Aerogenerator nacelle according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the filtering wall frame comprises a filter screen of one or more self-supporting filter elements.

8. Aerogenerator nacelle according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the filter wall comprises a door.

9. A wind turbine comprising a tower, a nacelle and a wind turbine hub with rotor blades, wherein the wind turbine hub is rotatably arranged on the nacelle and wherein the wind turbine nacelle is as defined in any of claims 1-10.

10. A method for purifying air in a nacelle of a wind turbine, comprising the steps of:

-introducing ambient air into a dirty section of the interior space of the nacelle;

-filtering the air through a filter wall, the filter wall being arranged between the dirty section and the clean section, and wherein the filter wall is arranged to surround a generator arranged in the clean section;

-thereby providing filtered clean air into the clean section of the cabin interior space.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the cooling air is provided to the generator arranged in the cleaning section from ambient air in the cleaning section of the interior space.

12. A method according to claim 10 or 11, characterised in that in the hub end of the nacelle air is sucked into the interior space of the nacelle and said air is discharged to the environment in the rear end or in the bottom of the rear end of the nacelle.

13. A wind turbine air filtration system arranged in a nacelle and for filtering air in the nacelle, comprising: air introduction means for introducing ambient air into the interior space of the cabin; and further comprising a filter wall dividing the interior space of the nacelle into a clean section and a dirty section, and wherein the filter wall is arranged to surround the generator arranged in the clean section, and wherein one or more blower devices are arranged in the nacelle for drawing air into the nacelle through the filter wall.

14. The wind generator air filtration system of claim 13, wherein the generator cooling system further comprises blower means for drawing air from a surrounding clean section of the nacelle into the generator cooling system.

15. Wind generator air filtration system according to claim 13 or 14, wherein a single blower device is arranged to force air through the filter wall and to provide cooling air to the generator cooling system.

16. Wind turbine air filtration system according to any of claims 13-15, wherein the air inlet is arranged in the hub end of the nacelle and the air outlet from the nacelle is arranged in the rear end or in the rear end bottom of the nacelle.

17. Aerogenerator air filtration system according to any of the claims 13 to 16, characterized in that the filter wall is defined according to any of the claims 1 to 8.

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