System and method for manufacturing a wind turbine tower structure

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11970868-B2
Application number	US-201817278814-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 28, 2018
Priority date	Sep 28, 2018
Publication date	Apr 30, 2024
Grant date	Apr 30, 2024

Abstract

An additive printing device and a method for using the same to manufacture a tower structure of a wind turbine is provided. The additive printing device includes a vertical support structure, a support ring suspended from the vertical support structure, and a printer head movably coupled to the support ring for selectively depositing cementitious material. A drive mechanism, such as a rack and pinion, moves the printer head around the support ring while selectively depositing cementitious material. The vertical support structure may be raised and/or the relative position between the vertical support structure and the printer head may be adjusted to raise the printer head to print subsequent layers. This process may be repeated to print the tower structure layer-by-layer from the ground up.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An additive printing device for manufacturing a tower structure of a wind turbine, the additive printing device comprising:
a vertical support structure positioned at least partially above the tower structure along a vertical direction;
an outer support ring suspended from the vertical support structure;
an inner support ring concentrically positioned within the outer support ring;
a first printer head movably coupled to the outer support ring, the first printer head configured for moving around a perimeter of the outer support ring while selectively depositing cementitious material to form the tower structure; and
a second printer head movably coupled to the inner support ring.

2. The additive printing device of claim 1 , further comprising:
a drive mechanism operably coupling the first printer head to the outer support ring, the drive mechanism configured for moving the first printer head around the perimeter of the outer support ring.

3. The additive printing device of claim 2 , wherein the drive mechanism further comprises:
a ring gear positioned on the outer support ring;
a drive gear rotatably mounted to the first printer head, the drive gear engaging the ring gear; and,
a drive motor mechanically coupled to the drive gear for selectively rotating the drive gear to move the first printer head about the perimeter of the outer support ring.

4. The additive printing device of claim 1 , wherein the vertical support structure further comprises:
a plurality of towers, each of the plurality of towers comprising a plurality of stacked segments, wherein additional segments are added to the plurality of stacked segments to raise the plurality of towers and the vertical support structure.

5. The additive printing device of claim 4 , wherein the vertical support structure further comprises:
a gantry beam extending between at least two of the plurality of towers at a top of the vertical support structure, wherein the outer support ring is mounted to the gantry beam above the tower structure.

6. The additive printing device of claim 1 , further comprising:
a vertical positioning mechanism operably coupling the first printer head to the vertical support structure, the vertical positioning mechanism configured for moving the first printer head along the vertical direction.

7. The additive printing device of claim 6 , wherein the vertical positioning mechanism further comprises:
one or more hydraulic actuators operably coupling the vertical support structure to the outer support ring for adjusting a vertical distance between the vertical support structure and the outer support ring.

8. The additive printing device of claim 1 , wherein the first printer head further comprises:
a print nozzle for selectively depositing the cementitious material; and,
a radial adjustment mechanism for moving the print nozzle along a radial direction.

9. The additive printing device of claim 8 , wherein the radial adjustment mechanism further comprises:
a slide rail mounted to a bottom of the first printer head and extending along the radial direction; and
an actuating mechanism for moving the print nozzle along the radial direction within the slide rail.

10. The additive printing device of claim 9 , wherein the actuating mechanism comprises at least one of a rack and pinion mechanism, a servomotor, or a linear actuator.

11. The additive printing device of claim 1 , further comprising:
a reinforcement module movably coupled to the outer support ring, the reinforcement module being configured for embedding one or more support members at least partially within the tower structure.

12. The additive printing device of claim 11 , wherein the one or more support members are reinforcement bars or tensioning cables.

13. The additive printing device of claim 1 , further comprising:
a finishing module movably coupled to the outer support ring, the finishing module comprising one or more of a trowel for smoothing deposited cementitious material to a finished surface, a machining system for adding features to the finished surface, a grinding operation to smooth the finished surface, and an applicator for applying a treatment to the tower structure.

14. The additive printing device of claim 1 , further comprising:
a tower cover defining a controlled environment around the tower structure.

15. The additive printing device of claim 14 , further comprising:
a climate regulating system positioned within the controlled environment for regulating a temperature or a humidity within the controlled environment.

16. The additive printing device of claim 1 , further comprising:
a climate regulating system positioned within the tower structure.

Assignees

• Gen Electric
• Ge Infrastructure Technology Llc

Inventors

• Cooper Gregory Edward
• Turnquist Norman Arnold
• Lissianski Vitali Victor
• Fang Biao
• Tobin James Robert
• Meyer Pascal

Classifications

• E04G21/0427 Primary

  on a static support, e.g. crane · CPC title

• B33Y30/00

  Apparatus for additive manufacturing; Details thereof or accessories therefor · CPC title

• F03D13/20

  Arrangements for mounting or supporting wind motors; Masts or towers for wind motors · CPC title

• B33Y80/00

  Products made by additive manufacturing · CPC title

• F05B2230/31

  Layer deposition · CPC title