Subsection of a tower section, a tower and a method for manufacturing a subsection of a tower section

• US 10,641,000 B2
• Filed: 06/23/2016
• Issued: 05/05/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 06/26/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ENO Energy Systems GmbH
• Original Assignee: ENO Energy Systems GmbH
• Inventors: Porm, Karsten, Bockholt, Stefan, Jakowski, Klaus, Ahrens, Robin, Bull, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Chapman, Jeanette E
• Application Number:
  US15/738,133
• Publication Number:
  US 20190003199A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,412 Days
• Field of Search: 5265101
• CPC Class Codes: E02D 27/425 specially adapted for wind motors masts wind motors per se F03D1/00
• CPC Class Codes: E04H 12/085 Details of flanges for tubular masts
• CPC Class Codes: E04H 12/342 Arrangements for stacking tower sections on top of each other E04H12/344 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F05B 2240/9121 on a lattice tower
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/72 Wind turbines with rotation axis in wind direction
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/728 Onshore wind turbines

Abstract

A subsection 100 of a tower section comprises a shell segment 120 of the tower section and at least a longitudinal flange 130 mounted to a longitudinal side of the shell segment 120 for connecting to a longitudinal flange of a further subsection of the tower section. Here, the longitudinal flange 130 comprises a part 132 of a surface contour extending from a contact surface 136 of the longitudinal flange 130 which is provided for a connection to a longitudinal flange of a further subsection to a connecting surface 134 connected to the shell segment 120. The part 132 of the surface contour comprises a distance to a contacting plane 106 passing through the contact surface 136.

Claims

1. A tower comprising a plurality of vertically stacked tower sections, wherein at least one tower section comprises at least two longitudinally separated subsections, wherein the at least two subsections each include at least one longitudinal flange connected to a shell segment of the tower section, wherein a one-piece longitudinal flange of a first subsection of the at least two subsections is directly connected to a one-piece longitudinal flange of a second subsection of the at least two subsections at a contact surface, wherein a gap exists between the shell segment of the first subsection and the shell segment of the second subsection,

wherein a gap exists between ends of the two neighboring, one-piece longitudinal flanges facing the shell segments,

wherein the gap between the two neighboring, one-piece longitudinal flanges is larger than the gap between the shell segments of the at least two subsections, and

wherein a contacting plane passing through the contact surface extends through the gap between the two neighboring, one-piece longitudinal flanges and the gap between the shell segments of the at least two subsections.

2. The tower according to claim 1, wherein the first subsection of the tower section comprises the one-piece longitudinal flange mounted to a longitudinal side of the shell segment for connecting to the longitudinal flange of the second subsection of the tower section,

wherein the one-piece longitudinal flange of the first subsection comprises a part of a surface contour extending from a contact surface of the longitudinal flange of the first subsection which is provided for a connection to the longitudinal flange of the second subsection to a connecting surface connected to the shell segment of the first subsection,

wherein the part of the surface contour comprises a distance to a contacting plane passing through the contact surface.

3. The tower according to claim 2, wherein the part of the surface contour of the longitudinal flange forms a notch or an undercut-shaped recess.

4. The tower according to claim 2, wherein the part of the surface contour of the longitudinal flange comprises a distance of more than 1.5 mm to the contacting plane at one end adjacent to the connecting surface connected to the shell segment.

5. The tower according to claim 1, wherein the shell segment of the first subsection comprises a shape which substantially forms part of a cylinder barrel-shaped or truncated cone jacket-shaped geometry.

6. The tower according to claim 1, wherein the gap between the two neighboring longitudinal flanges is more than 5 mm larger than the gap between the shell segments of the at least two subsections.

7. A wind turbine comprising a tower according to claim 1.