Horizontal axis wind turbine with ball-and-socket hub
원문보기
IPC분류정보
국가/구분
United States(US) Patent
등록
국제특허분류(IPC7판)
F03D-001/06
F03D-007/02
F03D-011/00
출원번호
US-0941542
(2013-07-15)
등록번호
US-9194366
(2015-11-24)
발명자
/ 주소
Ramsland, Arnold
출원인 / 주소
Ramsland, Arnold
대리인 / 주소
Withrow & Terranova, P.L.L.C.
인용정보
피인용 횟수 :
2인용 특허 :
5
초록▼
A horizontal axis wind turbine with a ball-and-socket hub is disclosed. The hub enables horizontal axis turbines with two or more blades to teeter in response to wind shear gradients. The new hub design for a turbine equipped with three blades has been modeled using modified FAST code and has shown
A horizontal axis wind turbine with a ball-and-socket hub is disclosed. The hub enables horizontal axis turbines with two or more blades to teeter in response to wind shear gradients. The new hub design for a turbine equipped with three blades has been modeled using modified FAST code and has shown significant advantages over present three-bladed turbines with fixed hubs in reducing loads on the blades, tower, main shaft and bearings. The new hub design for a turbine equipped with three blades has also shown significant advantages over present two-bladed teetering turbines in reducing loads on the blades and tower. A likely additional advantage of a ball-and-socket hub equipped with three blades over a teetering hub with two blades is that wider teetering ranges are possible due to the significantly reduced likelihood for resonant teetering.
대표청구항▼
1. A horizontal axis wind turbine generator comprising: a horizontal nacelle supported by a tower;a plurality of turbine blades; anda ball-and-socket hub arranged external to the nacelle and arranged at an end of a main shaft configured to transmit kinetic energy to be received by an electric genera
1. A horizontal axis wind turbine generator comprising: a horizontal nacelle supported by a tower;a plurality of turbine blades; anda ball-and-socket hub arranged external to the nacelle and arranged at an end of a main shaft configured to transmit kinetic energy to be received by an electric generator in the nacelle, wherein the ball-and-socket hub comprises: a main shaft ball element affixed to the end of the main shaft such that a center of the main shaft ball element can be intersected by a main shaft axis and perpendicular xa and ya axes, wherein at least a portion of the ball element comprises a spherical shape;a hub socket that surrounds a portion of the main shaft ball element;a plurality of blade connectors coupled with the hub socket and arranged to connect to the plurality of turbine blades; anda plurality of dynamic rotational couplers, the plurality of dynamic rotational couplers comprising (A) a plurality of longitudinal grooves defined in one of (i) the main shaft ball element and (ii) the hub socket; and (B) a plurality of sliding elements arranged generally perpendicular to the main shaft, arranged to fit into the plurality of longitudinal grooves, and associated with the other of (i) the main shaft ball element and (ii) the hub socket;wherein the plurality of sliding elements are arranged to cooperate with the plurality of longitudinal grooves to permit the hub socket, the plurality of blade connectors, and the plurality of turbine blades to teeter in response to exposure to wind shear conditions. 2. The horizontal axis wind turbine generator of claim 1 wherein the plurality of longitudinal grooves is defined in an outer surface of the main shaft ball element and the plurality of sliding elements extends from an inner surface of the hub socket. 3. The horizontal axis wind turbine generator of claim 1 wherein the plurality of longitudinal grooves is defined in an inner surface of the hub socket and the plurality of sliding elements extend from an outer surface of the main shaft ball element. 4. The horizontal axis wind turbine generator of claim 1 wherein: each longitudinal groove of the plurality of longitudinal grooves comprises elongated sides; andeach sliding element of the plurality of sliding elements fits within a corresponding longitudinal groove of the plurality of longitudinal grooves and is in slidable contact with at least one of the elongated sides of the corresponding longitudinal groove. 5. The horizontal axis wind turbine generator of claim 1 further comprising a plurality of independent transfer assemblies associated with the plurality of blade connectors and housed within the hub socket, wherein each independent transfer assembly of the plurality of independent transfer assemblies comprises: a cylindrical coupling base that is oriented such that an axis of the cylindrical coupling base intersects the center of the main shaft ball element and is co-linear with a pitch axis of a turbine blade coupled to a blade connector associated with the independent transfer assembly; anda transfer bearing surrounding the cylindrical coupling base, the transfer bearing enabling the cylindrical coupling base to rotate within the hub socket about the axis of the cylindrical coupling base. 6. The horizontal axis wind turbine generator of claim 5 wherein the plurality of sliding elements comprises a plurality of groove fittings associated with the plurality of independent transfer assemblies, each groove fitting being affixed to an inner end of the cylindrical coupling base of the associated independent transfer assembly and fitting within a corresponding longitudinal groove defined in the main shaft ball element, with said groove fitting having two sides that are generally parallel to elongated sides of the corresponding longitudinal groove. 7. The horizontal axis wind turbine generator of claim 5 wherein, for each independent transfer assembly, an inner end of the cylindrical coupling base embodies a groove fitting that fits within a longitudinal groove of the plurality of longitudinal grooves defined in the main shaft ball element, with said groove fitting having two sides that are generally parallel to the two elongated sides of the longitudinal groove. 8. The horizontal axis wind turbine generator of claim 1 wherein the plurality of sliding elements comprises a plurality of groove fittings, and each groove fitting of the plurality of groove fittings comprises a plurality of bearings located on sides of the groove fitting promoting a smooth, slidable movement between the groove fitting and elongated sides of a corresponding longitudinal groove of the plurality of longitudinal grooves. 9. The horizontal axis wind turbine generator of claim 1 wherein the plurality of sliding elements comprises a plurality of groove fittings, and each longitudinal groove of the plurality of longitudinal grooves comprises a plurality of bearings located on elongated sides of the longitudinal groove promoting a smooth, slidable movement between the longitudinal groove and elongated sides of a corresponding groove fitting of the plurality of groove fittings. 10. The horizontal axis wind turbine generator of claim 1, arranged to maintain alignment with the main shaft, wherein: the plurality of longitudinal grooves is defined in the main shaft ball element; andthe plurality of sliding elements comprises a plurality of groove fittings, wherein each groove fitting is positioned at an inner end of a cylindrical coupling base, wherein each groove fitting contacts a corresponding longitudinal groove either directly at a plurality of locations or indirectly through a plurality of bearings, with said contact preventing the groove fitting from rotating about an axis of the cylindrical coupling base within the longitudinal groove, and with said prevention of rotation serving to maintain alignment between the longitudinal groove and the main shaft while the groove fitting is moving within the longitudinal groove. 11. The horizontal axis wind turbine generator of claim 1, arranged to maintain alignment with the hub socket, wherein: the plurality of longitudinal grooves is defined in the main shaft ball element; andthe plurality of sliding elements comprises a plurality of coupling rods, wherein each coupling rod of the plurality of coupling rods is affixed to the hub socket and has a generally cylindrical shape, and wherein the generally cylindrical shape enables the coupling rod to rotate around its axis while also moving back and forth within a corresponding longitudinal groove of the plurality of longitudinal grooves defined in the main shaft ball element. 12. The horizontal axis wind turbine generator of claim 1, arranged to maintain alignment with the hub socket, wherein: the plurality of longitudinal grooves is defined in the hub socket;the plurality of sliding elements comprises a plurality of coupling rods, wherein each coupling rod is affixed to the main shaft ball element and is aligned perpendicular to the main shaft axis and oriented in an x-y plane, where each coupling rod has a generally cylindrical shape and where the generally cylindrical shape enables the coupling rod to rotate around its axis while also moving within a corresponding longitudinal groove of the plurality of longitudinal grooves defined in the hub socket. 13. The horizontal axis wind turbine generator of claim 11, wherein each coupling rod comprises a rod-shaped bearing fitted over the coupling rod to enable smoother movement of the coupling rod within the corresponding longitudinal groove. 14. The horizontal axis wind turbine generator of claim 1 wherein each longitudinal groove of the plurality of longitudinal grooves includes soft stops located at terminal ends of the longitudinal groove. 15. The horizontal axis wind turbine generator of claim 1, further comprising: a nose cone attached to the hub socket; andan inner hub protector, wherein the inner hub protector fits over the main shaft and is attached to either the nose cone or a back surface of the hub socket. 16. The horizontal axis wind turbine generator of claim 15 wherein the inner hub protector is made of a flexible material that allows the hub socket to move with respect to the main shaft, and wherein the nose cone and the inner hub protector together create a seal that surrounds and protects the hub socket. 17. The horizontal axis wind turbine generator of claim 1, wherein the ball-and-socket hub is arranged proximate to a face of the nacelle, and the horizontal axis wind turbine generator further comprises multiple linear actuators and multiple laser measuring devices arranged on or in the face of the nacelle, wherein each linear actuator of the multiple linear actuators is arranged to permit extension or retraction of an associated wheel or a rotary member, and wherein the multiple laser measuring devices continuously monitor distances between the face of the nacelle and a back of the hub socket as embodying alignment data regarding a plane of rotation of the hub socket. 18. The horizontal axis wind turbine generator of claim 17 further comprising a microprocessor arranged to receive the alignment data, wherein, based on the alignment data, the microprocessor is arranged to control extension and retraction of each wheel or rotary member so that a wheel or rotary member associated with one or more linear actuators engages the back of the hub socket, thereby adjusting the plane of rotation of the hub socket. 19. The horizontal axis wind turbine generator of claim 17, wherein the multiple linear actuators and associated wheels or rotary members limit movement of the hub socket within a desired range of motion and impose limits of the rotation of the hub socket relative to the main shaft axis in order to prevent impact between the hub socket and the face of the nacelle. 20. The horizontal axis wind turbine generator of claim 17, wherein the wheels or rotary members associated with the multiple linear actuators are extended during startup and shut down of the horizontal axis wind turbine generator in order to position the hub socket so as to prevent the plurality of turbine blades from striking the tower or the nacelle. 21. The horizontal axis wind turbine generator of claim 5, further comprising a pitch motor arranged to cause rotation of the coupling base to enable a pitch angle of the turbine blade to be changed. 22. The horizontal axis wind turbine generator of claim 1, wherein the plurality of blade connectors comprises at least three blade connectors, and wherein the plurality of turbine blades comprises at least three turbine blades.
연구과제 타임라인
LOADING...
LOADING...
LOADING...
LOADING...
LOADING...
이 특허에 인용된 특허 (5)
Ramsland, Arnold, Horizontal axis wind turbine with ball-and-socket hub.
※ AI-Helper는 부적절한 답변을 할 수 있습니다.