Wind turbine and method for manufacturing a wind turbine

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12292033-B2
Application number	US-202318109000-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 13, 2023
Priority date	Feb 24, 2022
Publication date	May 6, 2025
Grant date	May 6, 2025

Abstract

A wind turbine includes a tower, a nacelle supported rotatably at a top portion of the tower, a main cable for transporting electrical energy produced in the nacelle to a bottom portion of the tower, and at least one auxiliary cable guided from the nacelle to an intermediate portion between the top and bottom portion and/or to the bottom portion of the tower, wherein the main cable includes a first loop, and the at least one auxiliary cable includes a second loop, and the first and second loops are configured for compensating, independently from each other, a movement of the respective cable due to rotation of the nacelle relative to the tower. Thus, movement of the auxiliary cables caused by yawing of the nacelle will not affect movement of the main cable.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A wind turbine, comprising:
a tower;
a nacelle supported rotatably at a top portion of the tower;
a main cable for transporting electrical energy produced in the nacelle to a bottom portion of the tower; and
at least one auxiliary cable guided from the nacelle to an intermediate portion between the top portion and the bottom portion and/or to the bottom portion of the tower;
wherein the main cable comprises a first loop, and the at least one auxiliary cable comprises a second loop, and the first loop and the second loop are configured for compensating, independently from each other, a movement of the respective cable due to a rotation of the nacelle relative to the tower;
wherein each of the first loop and the second loop comprises, in a direction along the respective cable, an upper attachment point at the nacelle, an intermediate attachment point in the tower for stopping a twisting movement of the respective cable, and a lower attachment point in the tower for stopping a twisting and vertical movement of the respective cable;
wherein a height of the intermediate attachment point of the main cable within the tower is different than a height of the intermediate attachment point of the at least one auxiliary cable within the tower.

2. The wind turbine according to claim 1 , wherein
each of the first loop and the second loop comprises a free-hanging portion between the upper attachment point and the intermediate attachment point, and/or a U-shaped portion between the intermediate attachment point and the lower attachment point.

3. The wind turbine according to claim 1 , wherein each of the first loop and the second loop comprises a U-shaped portion, and the U-shaped portion of the first loop is arranged, with respect to a tower height, at a lower height than the U-shaped portion of the second loop.

4. The wind turbine according to claim 1 , wherein each of the first loop and the second loop comprises a free-hanging portion, and a cable length of the free-hanging portion of the first loop is larger than a cable length of the free-hanging portion of the second loop.

5. The wind turbine according to claim 1 , wherein each of the first loop and the second loop comprises an attachment point at the nacelle and one or more further attachment points in the tower, and
the one or more further attachment points of the first loop is/are arranged, with respect to a tower height, at a lower height than the one or more further attachment points of the second loop.

6. The wind turbine according to claim 1 , comprising
a first attachment arrangement for forming the first loop in the tower, and/or for attaching the first loop at the intermediate attachment point and a lower attachment point, and
a second attachment arrangement for forming the second loop in the tower, and/or for attaching the second loop at the intermediate attachment point and a lower attachment point,
wherein the first attachment arrangement is arranged, with respect to a tower height, at a lower height than the second attachment arrangement.

7. The wind turbine according to claim 6 , comprising at least two platforms arranged, with respect to a tower height in an erected state of the tower, at different heights inside the tower, wherein:
a U-shaped portion of the first loop is arranged at a lower one of the at least two platforms and a U-shaped portion of the second loop is arranged at a higher one of the at least two platforms, and/or
the first attachment arrangement is arranged at a lower one of the at least two platforms and the second attachment arrangement is arranged at a higher one of the at least two platforms.

8. The wind turbine according to claim 6 , wherein:
the first attachment arrangement and the second attachment arrangement comprise a first slider unit and a second slider unit, respectively, for attaching the respective loop at the intermediate attachment point and/or for stopping a twisting movement of the respective cable,
each of the first slider unit and the second slider unit comprises a slider housing attached inside the tower and a slider element for sliding in the respective slider housing,
the main cable is attached to the slider element of the first slider unit for providing the intermediate attachment point of the first loop, and
the at least one auxiliary cable is attached to the slider element of the second slider unit for providing the intermediate attachment point of the second loop.

9. The wind turbine according to claim 6 , wherein the first attachment arrangement comprises a carrying structure with a cable tray for attaching and carrying the main cable and/or for providing the lower attachment point of the first loop.

10. The wind turbine according to claim 9 , wherein the carrying structure is arranged pivotably on a platform of the tower such that the carrying structure is configured to be folded towards the platform for transportation and folded up for operation of the wind turbine.

11. The wind turbine according to claim 1 , wherein:
the tower comprises one or more separator disks for separating the main cable and the at least one auxiliary cable from each other in a region of a free-hanging portion of the first loop and the second loop in which the main cable and the at least one auxiliary cable run in parallel,
the one or more separator disks each have a ring-shaped structure comprising a middle hole with a first radius for inserting the main cable and at least one further opening extending from the middle hole radially outwards to a second radius with an interior wall arranged at the second radius, and
the at least one auxiliary cable is attached to the interior wall of the at least one further opening such that the at least one separator disk follows a motion of the at least one auxiliary cable.

12. The wind turbine according to claim 11 , wherein each of the one or more separator disks comprises two or more of the further openings evenly spaced with respect to angular distances across the ring-shaped structure, and/or the at least one further opening is tapered in a radial direction from the second radius to the first radius.

13. The wind turbine according to claim 1 , comprising, arranged in the nacelle, a generator unit for converting rotational energy into electrical energy and a transformer unit for transforming the electrical energy from a low voltage state to a high voltage, wherein the main cable is electrically connected at an upper end thereof to the transformer unit for transporting the electrical energy in the high voltage state towards the bottom portion of the tower.

14. A method for manufacturing a wind turbine comprising a tower, a nacelle supported rotatably at a top portion of the tower, a main cable for transporting electrical energy produced in the nacelle to a bottom portion of the tower, and at least one auxiliary cable guided from the nacelle to an intermediate portion between the top portion and the bottom portion and/or the bottom portion of the tower, wherein the main cable comprises a first loop and the at least one auxiliary cable comprises a second loop, the method comprising:
installing the at least one auxiliary cable with the second loop in the tower;
erecting the tower; and
installing the main cable with the first loop in the tower, wherein the first loop and the second loop are configured to compensate, independently from each other, a movement of the respective cable due to a rotation of the nacelle relative to the tower during operation of the wind turbine;
wherein each of the first loop and the second loop comprises, in a direction along the respective cab

Assignees

• Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy As

Inventors

• Gosain Vikram
• Lenssen Matthias
• Lord Adam
• Maniraj Nehru

Classifications

• F03D13/10

  Assembly of wind motors; Arrangements for erecting wind motors · CPC title

• F05B2240/917

  attached to cables · CPC title

• F03D13/201

  Towers · CPC title

• F03D13/122

  of auxiliary arrangements inside tower or nacelle, e.g. generators or transmission · CPC title

• Y02E10/72

  Wind turbines with rotation axis in wind direction · CPC title