Transportation fixtures for wind turbine blades

A fixture for supporting a wind turbine blade, having a mounting flange at a root end thereof, on a transportation vehicle, comprising:

• a root stand frame configured to engage the transportation vehicle;
• a bearing assembly coupled to said root stand frame;
• a mounting flange adapter having a hub assembly with a spindle configured to rotatably engage said bearing assembly, and having plural spokes extending from said hub assembly, each of said plural spokes having an attachment plate at a distal end thereof for engaging the mounting flange of the wind turbine blade, to thereby rotatably support the root end of the wind turbine blade, and
• a bearing pivot assembly coupled between said root stand frame and said bearing assembly to enable said bearing assembly to pivot with respect to said root stand frame, to thereby enable a range of pivotal movement of the wind turbine blade during loading, unloading, and transport thereof, and wherein
• said mounting flange adapter hub assembly includes a hub plate coupled between plural proximal ends of said plural spokes, and wherein said spindle extends from said hub plate, and wherein said hub plate has a plurality of indexing holes formed therethrough for selectively locating said root adapter at an angular position with respect to said root stand assembly, to thereby locate the wind turbine blade at a selected angular position with respect to the transportation vehicle, and
• a thrust washer fabricated from a polymeric material disposed about said spindle and adjacent said hub plate for engaging said bearing plate of said bearing assembly.

A method of supporting a wind turbine blade on a transportation vehicle, the wind turbine blade having a root end with a mounting flange and a tip end support region, by employing a tip stand assembly, a root stand assembly having a bearing assembly, and a mounting flange adapter with a hub assembly having a spindle, and having plural spokes extending from the hub assembly, each spoke having an attachment plate at a distal end thereof, the method comprising the steps of:

• engaging the root stand assembly to the transportation vehicle;
• engaging the tip stand assembly to the transportation vehicle;
• attaching the mounting flange adapter to the mounting flange of the wind turbine blade using the plural attachment plates;
• rotatably engaging the spindle of the hub assembly with the bearing assembly;
• selecting a rotational position of the wind turbine blade with respect to the transportation vehicle, and
• supporting the wind turbine blade with the tip stand assembly along the tip end support region.

A system for supporting plural wind turbine blades on a transportation vehicle, the wind turbine blades each having a root end with a mounting flange, and a tip end support region, the system comprising:

• plural tip stand assemblies, each having a sling hung therefrom adapted to support one of the plural wind turbine blades along the tip end support region, and each tip stand assembly having twistlock castings fixed to plural corners thereof for selective engagement to the transportation vehicle or for selective engagement with other tips stand assemblies;
• plural root stand assemblies, each having a bearing assembly, and each having twistlock castings fixed to plural corners thereof for selective engagement to the transportation vehicle or for selective engagement with other root stand assemblies;
• plural mounting flange adapters, each having a hub assembly with a spindle configured to rotatably engage said bearing assembly in a corresponding one of said plural root stand assemblies, and each having plural spokes extending from said hub assembly, each of said plural spokes having an attachment plate at a distal end thereof for engaging the mounting flange of a corresponding one of the wind turbine blades, to thereby rotatably support the root end of the wind turbine blade, and wherein
• said plural tip stand assemblies and said plural root stand assemblies are interconnectable to one another and to the transportation vehicle using plural twistlock fasteners.