WO2013001121A1 - A floating wind turbine with an inclined spar buoy - Google Patents

Abstract

Buoyant support assembly for wave-power generators with a machine (2) provided with a propeller (3) incorporated on a buoyant mast (4) secured to the seabed, which incorporates a first semi-submerged float (5) connected securely in the mid-zone thereof, in which the upper portion (4a) is above the surface (s) and the lower portion (4b) is submerged, said mast (4) being connected to a chain (6) by a freely rotating connection (8) allowing free orientation with the wind. The chain (6) with anchor (7) extends upwards to incorporate a second semi-submerged float (9). The machine (2) with the propeller (3) may be separated from the upper end of the mast (4) by an elbowed extension (10) or an extension arranged to windward, and a rudder (11) is incorporated, it being possible for there to be a third float (12) or a submerged vibration damper (14). Intermediate ballasts (13) and various anchor elements (7) are optionally incorporated.

Description

 Floating support set for wind power generators

Object of the invention

 The invention, as stated in the present specification, refers to a floating support assembly for wind power generators. More specifically, the object of the invention focuses on a set that is configured as an innovative system for floating support of wind power generators, which is specially designed and studied so that the generator can be installed easily floating in the sea, both in low and deep locations, presenting notable advantages and novelty features that represent an improved alternative to systems currently known in the state of the art for the same purpose.

Specifically, the aspects that are improved with its particular configuration are the reduction of costs derived from its simplicity and, especially, its greater ease of installation, as well as transport and / or change of location, for which, essentially, it is configured as a kinematic structure assimilable to an inclined mast working at flexion, which drifts freely around an anchor.

Scope

 The field of application of the present invention falls within the industry dedicated to the generation of energy in general, and especially to the generation of renewable and clean energies, focusing on the support systems of electric power generators that take advantage of the power of the wind and they are intended to be installed in the sea.

Background of the invention

At present, and as a reference to the state of the art, you should noted that multiple documents are known and patents describing systems support for wind generators of the type concerned here, among which the following may be mentioned as most relevant: - The Spanish Utility Model, n ^and U 200301266 concerning a

"Floating platform to obtain electrical energy from the wind" which, being the type that has a wind propeller connected to an electric generator and transmission elements such as belts, is characterized by having a mast in which the wind propeller is fixed, a fixed sail to align the platform with the wind arranged longitudinally to the platform and perpendicular to the plane of rotation of the wind propeller, and anchors, said platform being able to consist of a vessel.

- Patent Application ES 2 182 702 Al, relating to a "floating plant to produce electrical energy from the sea, combined by waves and wind that can be submerged and recovered before a storm", which is composed of floats that immobilized one to the maximum, and the others slide along guides that transmit their efforts through power belts spin generators that produce an electromotive force. At the same time there is a column in the central part where there are a wind blades that by force of the wind transmit the power to a generator for that purpose that adds to the energy production. The plant can submerge and recover from the danger of a storm. A bell for underwater electrical connection, forms a useful component to resume damaged submarine cables.

- Patent ES 2 214 801 T3, with European application number: 99124712.3 and relating to a "Procedure for the operation of a wind power plant on the high seas" and whose objective is to perform the combined load on the rotor of the wind power generator statistically maximum, which appears by recording the load generating parameters and a corresponding load reducing effect for the period, so that construction costs can be reduced, which is achieved by recording the external effects on the wind power plant by determining permanent wave height and wind speed, or the resulting load quantities. - Patent ES 2 266 831 T3, with European application number: 03739475.6 and relating to a "offshore wind farm" and which essentially consists of at least one offshore platform within the wind farm, in which the platform is suitable for offering the housing and accommodation space for the wind farm's operating personnel and in which a cable line and a gondola suspended in said cable line are formed between the platform and at least one wind power installation of the wind farm. - Patent ES 2 286 168 T3 with European application number:

02004492.1 and relative to a "offshore wind plant", with a rotor arranged in a tower and a foundation from a hollow and open individual steel pillar down and bracing to anchor the plant with the bottom, in which under the rotor or directly under the rotor blades are arranged at least three bracings and in which the steel pillar is closed with a foot that is forced into the bottom of the sea.

- Patent ES 2 289 083 T3, with European application number: 02702794.5, and relating to a "Marine Floating Wind Power Generation Plant" comprising a wind power generation unit, a float that supports the power generation unit wind energy and a single point mooring system, in which the float comprises three semi-submersible column elements and three connection elements that connect the column elements to each other and arranged in a triangle-shaped plan that has the column elements at its vertices, and because one of the column elements is adapted to be tied to the single point mooring system.

- Patent ES 2 295 145 T3, with European application number: 01915121 .6 and relating to a "Wind power offshore installation" which consists of a maritime power generation device comprising at least one windmill wind mounted on a floating base, said at least one windmill having a machine compartment mounted on the top of a tower and said base being fixed to the bottom of the sea or a lake by means of a connection, being characterized because the base comprises at least two deposits and at least one unit to move liquid between the deposits or the deposits and the surroundings. - Patent ES 2 303 635 T3, with European application number:

04730134.6 and relating to a "wind power plant" consisting of an arrangement for a tower of a floating wind power plant comprising a machine housing comprising a rotor, the machine housing connecting in a non-rotating manner with the tower and the tower can rotate around a rotating axis of the tower, characterized in that the tower has at least one tension bar and at least one pole, said at least one tension bar extending from a top part of the tower by At least one tangon, to the bottom of the tower. The lower part of the tower has a pivotal joint. The tower is connected in an articulated way with the seabed or a tensioned anchor leg. And the axis of rotation of the tower substantially coincides with the central axis of the tower (3) or is located at an angle with respect to the central axis of the tower.

- Patent ES 2 305 462 T3, with European application number: 03730930.9, and relating to a "Device for wind power plant located in deep water" that can float on water, comprising a machine housing mounted on a tower that is extends below the surface of the water, in which the tower is an elongated structure generally cylindrical having an upper axial part on which the machine housing is mounted and a lower axial part below the surface of the water that It contains ballast material to provide the total center of gravity of the plant and which is located below the center of flotation of the plant so that the plant essentially floats in an upright position. The ballast material comprises solid or liquid ballast. The wind power plant is positioned and stabilized by a torsionally rigid connection to the bottom of the sea, said connection comprising an anchor bar that includes a joint at each end, of which a lower joint is fixed to an anchor point at the bottom under tension. - And the Spanish patent ES 2 324 276 B2, relating to a "Floating platform for the extraction of wind energy", which comprises a structure that constitutes the support of the assembly formed by a wind turbine tower, a gondola and its corresponding blades where the support structure is formed by an upper structure that joins the assembly with a float tank, which in turn is connected by a lower structure to a ballast tank, and wherein said ballast tank is configured to control the center of gravity of the assembly and adjust the waterline by mass distribution. However, it is not observed that none of the above-mentioned inventions and patents, taken separately or in combination, describe a floating support assembly for wind power generators or another invention of similar application that has technical, structural and constitutive characteristics similar to those presented in the set described herein and whose characterizing details are conveniently included in the final claims that accompany the present specification thereof.

As for the advantages that this new floating support set for wind power generators offers with respect to other configurations implemented in existing platform, multihull or multiboot designs, it should be noted that any such configuration will have a tendency to maintain the platform parallel to the surface of the water, and therefore to the perpendicular mast, said surface at every moment, which implies that the waves will cause oscillation of the mast, with all the inconveniences that this entails: inertia, apparent wind changes, force due to axis change of the moment of inertia of the blades, etc.

On the other hand, the ballast monocoque or submerged or semi-submerged buoy configurations maintain vertical equilibrium by means of a twisting pair that increases according to the sine of the heel angle, so that, until the inclination is not significant, the twisting torque it is practically null, since the twisting pair grows very slowly and with small angles of heel, which translates into that they always work somewhat inclined, their inclination will depend on the force of the wind and, in addition, they may oscillate with the waves.

Explanation of the invention.

 Specifically, what the intention proposes is a set of floating support for wind power generators, of the type of generators that comprises an energy generating machine that takes advantage of the wind force, preferably constituted by a gondola with a propeller, and that goes incorporated into the upper end of a mast, which, in turn, is subject to the seabed, with the particularity that said mast floats on the surface thanks to the existence of at least a first semi-submerged float that goes jointly attached to said mast in its middle zone, and in which the fastening to the seabed is carried out by means of a anchorage attached to the lower end of the mast by means of a free turning joint that is located below the surface. In this way the mast works inclined, which is the main feature of the recommended floating assembly. The mast floats at an angle, working flexurally, and drifts freely around the chain's attachment point. Preferably, moreover, the anchoring chain extends superiorly over the clamping point and ends in a second semi-submerged float.

It is important to note that to achieve vertical balance and tipping torque due to the weight of the generator, the mast maintains its position thanks to the ascending force of the semi-submerged float and the vertical downward force caused by the tension of the chain subject to anchoring, forces They are conveniently compensated. With such a configuration, the twisting torque grows much faster than with a vertical configuration.

Following the particularities of the invention, it should be mentioned that said semi-submerged float can consist of both a conventional buoy, spherical, cylindrical, or otherwise, as in a boat-shaped float with double bow or consist of two buoys joined equidistant to each other on both sides of the mast. Thus, the main advantage offered by the proposed floating support assembly is that it is a stable system and does not oscillate with the waves, since its inclined configuration makes the stability more vertical. In addition, another of its advantages is that it is self-orientated, since the structure and generator set is automatically oriented to the wind, since it rotates freely on its vertical axis.

This self-orientation means that oscillations along the axis perpendicular to the mast do not cause oscillations of the assembly or give problems of inertia.

In addition, such oscillations of said axis perpendicular to the mast will be small for the following reasons:

- The float is semi-submerged and its lever arm is half that of the mass of the generator, therefore, the float will submerge and emerge from the waves without unduly affecting said axis.

- The pair of heel produced by the wind is compensated with the adrizante pair produced by the increase of tension of the chain, when this bends. The increase in angle of heel produced by the force of the wind is compensated by the decrease in angle caused by the shortening of the chain by its vertical displacement.

It should also be noted that the proposed configuration will be adjusted in each case to achieve a better generator performance in the following design aspects: in the relationship between chain and mast lengths, in the buoyancy of the floats and in the shape of these, since depending on the section they have, they will be more or less sensitive to differences in surface level. In parallel, the following aspects of operation will be equally adjustable: incorporation of rudders, filling and emptying of floats, water transfer between floats.

The invention therefore provides for the realization of different variants of the recommended floating support assembly, alternatives to that already described.

Thus, in one of said variants the blades are arranged separately from the upper end of the mast, by means of the existence of an elongated extension, thereby allowing to increase the rotational stability of the horizontal axis.

In another variant, the blades are arranged at the windward of the mast, and a current compensating rudder is incorporated in the upper section of the mast that adopts a broken configuration, which is very effective to favor the orientation of the assembly in the direction of the wind and maintain its balance, especially when the direction of the current is different from the direction of the wind. Also, in another variant, derived from the previous one, a third float or a submerged vibration damper is also incorporated under the aforementioned compensating rudder.

Finally, and with any of the variants described above, the floating support structure for wind power generators also contemplates an option for its realization, especially applicable in areas of great depth, by incorporating in the chain of intermediate ballasts to the anchorage. . This variant also allows the funding to consist of more than one element fixed to different chains. This configuration can also be used by bracing the mast to decrease in section.

Given the foregoing, it is found that the described set of floating support for wind power generators represents an innovation of structural and constitutive characteristics unknown until Now for this purpose, reasons that, together with its practical utility, provide it with sufficient grounds to obtain the privilege of exclusivity that is requested.

Description of the drawings

 To complement the description that is being made and in order to help a better understanding of the characteristics of the invention, this descriptive report is attached, as an integral part thereof, of a set of drawings, in which with character Illustrative and not limiting, the following has been represented:

Figure number 1 shows a schematic elevation view of a preferred embodiment of the floating support assembly for wind power generators object of the invention, the main parts and elements comprising as well as the arrangement of the same ones being appreciated. , being able to observe in her the inclined position of work of the mast and the possible inclination of the chain with respect to the vertical axis.

Figure 2 shows a plan view of the floating support assembly for wind power generators according to the preferred embodiment shown in Figure 1, also shown schematically and in which the possibility of free rotation of the mast around the point is appreciated. chain restraint.

Figures 3 and 4 show schematic plan views of the floating support assembly according to the invention, showing two different examples of float design, in the form of a double-bowed boat in Figure 3 and with a double buoy in Figure 4.

Figure number 5 shows a schematic elevation view of an alternative embodiment of the invention, with the propeller separated from the mast.

Figure 6 shows another alternative example of the invention with a current compensating rudder and a third float. Figure number 7 shows a variant embodiment similar to that shown in the previous figure but with submerged vibration damper.

Figure number 8 shows an embodiment option for large depths with intermediate ballasts and with a multi-chain anchoring system. Preferred Embodiment of the Invention

 In view of the described figures and in accordance with the numbering adopted therein, it can be seen as the floating support assembly for wind power generators that the invention advocates comprises the parts and elements indicated and described in detail below.

Thus, as shown in Figure 1, the floating support assembly (1) in question is applicable to colic power generators of the type comprising a machine (2) provided with its corresponding propeller (3) incorporated in the upper end of a floating mast (4) and attached to the seabed, the recommended assembly having the particularity that said mast (4) incorporates a first semi-submerged float (5) jointly joined in the middle area of said mast (4), of such such that the upper section (4a) of the mast is disposed on the surface (s) of the water and the lower section (4b) submerged, the lower end of said mast (4) being attached to a chain (6) with at least , an anchoring element (7), by means of a free-turning joint (8) that allows the rotation of up to 360 ^e of said mast (4) around said chain (6), allowing it to be freely and autonomously oriented to the wind.

Preferably, moreover, the chain (6) extends superiorly over the free-spin connection (8) of the mast (4) incorporating at its end a second semi-submerged float (9) that keeps it tensioned.

It is important to note that the first semi-submerged float (5) of the mast and the lever arm thereof, that is, the lower section (4b) is half that of the of the mass of the generating machine (2) and the propellers (3), therefore, said float will submerge and emerge from the waves causing a minimum oscillation of the mast (4). In addition, the increase in angle (a) of heel produced by the force of the wind is compensated by the decrease in said angle (a) that causes the chain (6) to shorten due to its displacement relative to its vertical axis.

According to figures 2 to 4, it can be seen that the first semi-submerged float (5) that is incorporated in the middle area of the mast (4) can have different design configurations and consist, for example, of a buoy (figure 2), in a boat-shaped float with a double bow (figure 3) or in two buoys joined to each other equidistant from both sides of the mast (4) (figure 4).

An alternative variant of the floating support assembly (1) of the invention is shown in Figure 5, which has a configuration in which the machine (2) with the propeller (3), instead of being connected at the upper end The mast (4) is separated from it by the existence of an elongated extension (10) that is parallel to the surface (s) of the water, thus favoring the rotation stability of the mast around the chain (6).

Figure number 6 shows another variant of the assembly (1) in which the machine (2) is arranged with the windward propeller of the mast (4) and a rudder (1 1) current compensator is incorporated that favors the orientation of the assembly in the direction of the wind when the direction of the current is different.

Said rudder (1 1) is preferably incorporated in the upper section (4a) of the mast, for which said upper section (4a) has a broken configuration.

Additionally, in the previous variant, the incorporation, under the compensatory rudder (1 1), of a semi-submerged third float (12) or, alternatively, a vibration damper (14) submerged under the rudder (1 1), as shown in Figure 7.

Optionally, for areas of great depth, any of the described embodiments of the floating support assembly (1) may incorporate ballasts (13) in the intermediate chain (6) to the anchoring element (7).

As seen in Figure 8, this option allows the incorporation of several anchoring elements (7) fixed to different chains attached to the ballasts (13).

Describing sufficiently the nature of the present invention, as well as the way of putting it into practice, it is not considered necessary to extend its explanation so that any person skilled in the art understands its scope and the advantages that derive from it.

It is also noted that, within its essentiality, it may be implemented in other embodiments that differ in detail from that indicated by way of example, and which will also achieve the protection that is sought as long as it is not altered, change or modify its fundamental principle.

Claims

one . - Floating support assembly for wind power generators comprising a machine (2) provided with a propeller (3) incorporated in the upper end of a floating mast (4) attached to the seabed, characterized in that said mast (4) incorporates a first semi-submerged float (5) that is jointly joined in the middle area of said mast (4), so that the upper section (4a) of the mast is arranged on the surface (s) of the water and the lower section (4b) submerged , the lower end of said mast (4) being attached to a chain (6) with at least one anchoring element (7), by means of a free turning joint (8) that allows the rotation of up to 360 ^e of said mast (4) around said chain (6), so that said mast rotates freely, independently oriented to the wind; and in that the chain (6) extends superiorly over the free-spin connection (8) of the mast (4), incorporating at its end a second semi-submerged float (9) so that said mast (4) floats and works inclined. 2. - Floating support assembly for wind power generators, according to claim 1, characterized in that the machine (2) with the propeller (3) is separated from the upper end of the mast (4) by an extension (10) angled parallel to the surface (s) of the water. 3. - Floating support assembly for wind power generators according to claim 1, characterized in that the machine (2) is arranged with the windward propeller of the mast (4) and a rudder (1 1) is incorporated. 4. - Floating support assembly for wind power generators, according to claim 3, characterized in that it incorporates a third submerged float (12), fixed under the rudder (1 1). 5. - Floating support assembly for wind power generators, according to claim 3, characterized in that it incorporates a vibration damper (14) submerged under the rudder (1 1). 6. Floating support assembly for wind power generators, according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it incorporates ballasts (13) in the intermediate chain (6) to the anchoring element (7). 7. Floating support assembly for wind power generators, according to claim 6, characterized in that it incorporates several anchoring elements (7) fixed to different chains attached to the ballasts (13). 8. - Floating support assembly for wind power generators, according to any of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the first semi-submerged float (5) that is incorporated in the middle area of the mast (4) is a buoy. 9. - Floating support assembly for wind power generators, according to any of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the first semi-submerged float (5) that is incorporated in the middle area of the mast (4) is a boat-shaped float with double bow. 10. - Floating support assembly for wind power generators, according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the first semi-submerged float (5) consists of two buoys joined together equidistantly on both sides of the mast (4).