Wind turbine and a shaft for a wind turbine
AssigneeEnvision Energy (Denmark) ApS
InventorAnders Varming Rebsdorf
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A drive shaft for a wind turbine is shaped so as to allow for increased bending of the shaft, while being suitable for transferring torque in a wind turbine system. An example of such a shaping is a drive shaft having a helical rib defined on the surface of the shaft. A wind turbine incorporating such a shaft, and a method of manufacture of such a shaft are also described.
Claims11
A horizontal-axis wind turbine having a rotor with a diameter of at least 50 m length, the turbine comprising:
- a wind turbine main frame;
- a generator system comprising a generator that is rigidly mounted to said main frame without vibration damping elements;
- a rotor hub, the hub mounted to a rigid support shaft provided on the main frame, wherein the hub is operable to rotate about the support shaft and wherein the support shaft transfers the structural load of the hub to the main frame, and
- a drive shaft rigidly connected to and extending from the hub, wherein the drive shaft is connected to the generator system to transfer torque from the hub to the generator system, and wherein the drive shaft is a mechanically anisotropic shaft that has sufficient flexibility for preventing transmission of bending moments from the hub to the generator system by absorption of the bending moments;
- the drive shaft comprising a first coupling flange at is first end and a second coupling flange at its opposite end, the first coupling flange being bolted to said rotor hub and the second coupling flange being bolted to said generator system;
- wherein the drive shaft is only supported at said first and second coupling flanges by said hub and said generator system, the drive shaft being free of shaft bearings and rollers at locations between the first and second ends;
- and
- wherein the drive shaft comprises at least one rib to facilitate bending of the shaft.
A drive shaft for a wind turbine, the shaft comprising a cylindrical member having a first end for coupling to a wind turbine rotor hub and a second end for coupling to a wind turbine generator system, characterized in that the shaft is a fiber composite mechanically anisotropic shaft which is relatively flexible in bending moments and relatively stiff in torsion, wherein the shaft comprises at least one rib provided between the first end and the second end to facilitate bending of the shaft, and wherein the at least one rib is helical.
A horizontal-axis wind turbine having a rotor with a diameter of at least 50 m length, the turbine comprising:
- a wind turbine main frame;
- a generator system;
- a rotor hub, the hub mounted to a rigid support shaft provided on the main frame, wherein the hub is operable to rotate about the support shaft and wherein the support shaft transfers the structural load of the hub to the main frame, and
- a drive shaft rigidly connected to and extending from the hub, wherein the drive shaft is connected to the generator system to transfer torque from the hub to the generator system, and wherein the drive shaft is a mechanically anisotropic shaft adapted to limit the bending moments transferred between the hub and the generator system,
- wherein the drive shaft comprises at least one rib to facilitate bending of the shaft, and
- wherein the at least one rib is helical.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.