Wind Turbines Optimized for Enhanced Structural Stability

Vertical axis wind turbine generator with improved torque and noise performance compared to traditional vertical axis wind turbines. The generator has a vertical rotor shaft and multiple blades attached. The blades are divided into fixed and movable sections. The movable sections can close or open a central wind hole in the fixed sections. This allows optimizing blade pressure and torque. When backwind blows, the movable sections close the wind hole to maximize pressure. When headwind blows, they open the wind hole to minimize pressure. This reduces counter-torque from wind forces and noise compared to traditional vertical axis wind turbines.

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Additively manufacturing wind turbine towers that are optimized for the prevailing wind direction at the turbine site. The method involves using 3D printing to create non-symmetrical tower shapes tailored to the local wind conditions. By determining the dominant wind direction, an optimized tower shape is created with thicker sections aligned in that direction. The tower is then 3D printed at the turbine site using cementitious materials, allowing for customized, on-site production of optimized tower shapes that better support the turbine against wind loads.

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Vertical axis multi-stage wind turbine generator with reduced counter-torque wind pressure and improved stability for high wind speeds. The turbine has multiple stages of rotor blades mounted vertically between conical guide plates. Each rotor blade has a ball-netted wind hole that can open or close depending on wind direction. When the blade is accelerating into the wind, the hole opens to increase blade speed. When the blade is decelerating, the hole closes. This allows higher blade speeds and reduces counter-torque force compared to fixed wind holes. The turbine also has reinforcing poles between the guide plates to withstand high winds.

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Additive manufacturing of tall structures like wind turbine towers using variable-width deposition nozzles to form voids in printed walls. The voids are created by allowing the second side of the nozzle to move during printing while fixing the first side. This allows the voids to be positioned closer to the neutral axis of the printed walls than the outer or inner surfaces. Reinforcement members are placed in the voids for added strength. This allows forming hollow sections with internal reinforcement in a single print, avoiding separate concrete pours and reducing material usage compared to solid printed sections.

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Protecting wind turbine generators from mechanical damage during heavy loads by preventing rotor-stator contact. The method involves adding a sliding pad connected to the stator. If the rotor tilts past a critical angle due to gravity forces, it contacts the sliding pad instead of the stator, preventing damage. The sliding pad provides a controlled contact point to avoid direct rotor-stator contact when the rotor tilts excessively under heavy loads.

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Vertical axis wind turbine with a rotor shaft that connects directly between the upper and lower generators without bearings. The rotor has blades with vertical sections and curved tips that attach to fixtures on the shaft. The turbine has a frame with horizontal stages and inner frames. The upper and lower generators are mounted in the center of each stage. The rotor shaft connects vertically between the generator shaft ends without bearings. This allows the shaft to move cooperatively and reduce torsion and vibration as it rotates.

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A direct-drive wind turbine design that reduces the air gap between the stator and rotor without increasing weight or cost. The turbine has a radial elastic fixing mechanism that maintains precise air gap control. The hub and frame have concentric guiding rails/wheels/bearings that rotate together. Elastic fixing elements compress the rails/wheels radially against each other. This allows radial movement while preventing axial and tangential misalignment. This provides stable air gap control without needing heavy bearings or complex systems. The elastic fixings can be separate carriages or sliding surfaces. The turbine also has options like rails/wheels or slide bearings, and internal space housing.

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A wind turbine drivetrain assembly that prevents axial displacement of the bearing without using rings that are difficult to install. The assembly has the bearing, rotor shaft, and a component like a gearbox with opposed annular faces. Bolts are inserted through tapped holes in the faces to connect them. The bolt heads contact the opposing face. This creates a bridge of bolts that prevents axial movement. The bolts can be tightened after assembly to compress the faces together. This allows easier assembly compared to tight fitting rings or threaded shafts.

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Tower structure for wind turbines that enables taller towers with reduced transportation limitations. The tower is made of stacked sections with additively manufactured sections. Each section has printed concrete layers forming the wall element. A base holds the printed layers. The sections have lift connections for stacking. This allows additive manufacturing of the tower sections on site instead of transporting prefabricated sections. The additively manufactured sections can be taller than transportation limits due to their on-site assembly.

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A transverse flow wind turbine design with twin vertical-axis turbines connected to a generator. The turbines rotate about parallel, inclined axes instead of vertical axes. This eliminates the need for a central shaft and reduces vibrations. The blades have a unique shape with an equatorial section where the radius is maximum. The turbines are spaced apart during rotation to prevent blade collisions. The turbines are mounted on arms extending from a central mast. This allows the mast to act as a wind shield and direct airflow to the turbines. The nacelle can rotate to position the turbines downstream of the mast.

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Manufacturing wind turbine towers using additive printing to enable on-site construction of larger diameter towers without transportation constraints. The method involves 3D printing molds for the tower using a polymer material to define the inner and outer walls. Then, using a second printer head, cementitious material is 3D printed inside the molds as they are built up. The polymer molds solidify and the cement cures to form the tower sections. The printers move vertically as they build the tower. The printers can also dispense reinforcement elements into the cement or print them. The printers have robotic arms mounted on a central frame that moves longitudinally. This allows the tower sections to be printed in place without needing to transport them.

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Floating-type offshore support structure that can prevent damage to the floating portion and prevent rotation of installed structures like wind turbines. The structure has a ball supported by a hollow floating unit. The support rod attaches to the ball. A base unit on the lower end of the rod supports it. A center pendulum rolls on the floating unit's spherical lower surface to press the rod down. This prevents rotation of the rod and attached structure while allowing it to stand vertically.

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Additively manufacturing wind turbine towers on-site using automated 3D printing devices suspended from an extendable vertical support structure. The printers are mounted above the tower foundation and can print the tower layers by selectively depositing cementitious material. The vertical support structure allows tall towers to be built without size limitations for transportation. The printers also have features like adhesive application, reinforcement bar insertion, and smoothing to improve tower quality.

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Using additive manufacturing techniques like 3D printing to create wind turbine towers with features that prevent vortex shedding, excitation, and drag. The towers are printed layer by layer using cementitious materials. Additional airflow modifying features are printed on the outer surface of the tower to reduce vortex shedding and drag. This prevents resonance and oscillations when wind flows over the tower. The printing process allows customized tower shapes and features to be precisely designed and added.

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Wind turbine design with improved tower-mounted damping system to reduce tower vibrations. The damping system uses a slosh damper module inside the tower. The damper module frame slides horizontally between fixed plates on the tower inner wall. This allows the module to move with tower vibrations. The frame ends are fixed to the plates while the middle sections slide. This prevents excessive force on the frame ends during installation. The sliding restriction is a bracket attached to the plate. This allows initial installation of the fixed ends, then attaching the bracket to secure the sliding middle sections.

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Nacelle cover for wind turbine generators that provides improved strength and maintenance accessibility compared to conventional nacelle covers. The cover has a modular design with detachable plates and beams that allows easier assembly and disassembly compared to welded sheet metal covers. The cover has an inner chamber with removable fasteners connecting the plates to the beams outside the chamber. This allows the plates to be removed without accessing the inner chamber, reducing maintenance time and risks. The beams also have removable positioning portions for the fasteners. The cover also has adaptors and trusses connecting the plates and beams to platforms inside and outside the chamber. This provides additional mounting points and adjustability for components.

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Control method for wind turbines configured as virtual synchronous machines (VSMs) to improve grid stability and reduce mechanical loads after faults. The method involves controlling the wind turbine's power output based on the synchronous machine angle, using high-pass filtered rotational speed to determine damping power. It also uses comparisons of DC link voltage and grid power to determine chopper power. This allows the wind turbine to provide grid-forming properties similar to a synchronous generator while avoiding power oscillations and excessive mechanical loads after faults.

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A method for manufacturing tower sections of wind turbine towers that allows easy installation of doors without stress concentrations. The method involves forming notches in the adjacent tube sections where a door frame will be inserted. The notches have smaller height than the tube sections. The door frame is then embedded into the opening and welded to the tubes. This allows re-rounding of the tubes before the door frame is added, avoiding stress concentrations at the welds. The door frame can be rectangular or trapezoidal for easier welding compared to an arc shape.

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A vertical axis wind turbine with double-layered reversible rotation and horizontal movable wings that improves efficiency compared to traditional vertical axis turbines. The turbine has two coaxial main bodies with reversible rotation and wings. Each wing has movable sections that pivot on shafts. The wings are arranged alternately around the main bodies in a circular pattern. This allows the wings to avoid interference during rotation. The reversible rotation allows power generation from both directions. The main bodies transmit power to a central shaft for output.

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Wind turbine lightning protection system that reduces damage to bearings by providing an alternate lightning current path around the bearings. The system uses a shroud that surrounds the front end of the main shaft and makes contact with the hub and/or shaft. This shroud provides a short circuit path for lightning currents to flow from the hub/shaft to the bearing housing and ground, bypassing the bearings. This reduces the current through the bearings and prevents damage when the turbine is struck by lightning.

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