Wind turbine generators having wind assisted cooling systems and cooling methods

• US 20070222223A1
• Filed: 03/22/2006
• Published: 09/27/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/22/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GE Infrastructure Technology, LLC (GE Vernova, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Bagepalli, Bharat, Gadre, Aniruddha, Jansen, Patrick, Jarczynski, Emil, Garg, Jivtesh, Barnes, Gary, Bouchard, Charles
• Granted Patent: US 7,427,814 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 290/55
• CPC Class Codes: F03D 80/60 Cooling or heating of wind motors
• CPC Class Codes: F03D 9/25 the apparatus being an electrical generator F03D9/22 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F05B 2240/14 Casings, housings, nacelles, gondels or the like, protecting or supporting assemblies there within
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 7/1838 Generators mounted in a nacelle or similar structure of a horizontal axis wind turbine
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 9/02 by ambient air flowing through the machine
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/72 Wind turbines with rotation axis in wind direction

Abstract

A wind generator includes: a nacelle; a hub rotatably carried by the nacelle and including at least a pair of wind turbine blades; and an electricity producing generator including a stator and a rotor carried by the nacelle. The rotor is connected to the hub and rotatable in response to wind acting on the blades to rotate the rotor relative to the stator to generate electricity. A cooling system is carried by the nacelle and includes at least one ambient air inlet port opening through a surface of the nacelle downstream of the hub and blades, and a duct for flowing air from the inlet port in a generally upstream direction toward the hub and in cooling relation to the stator.

Claims

1. A wind generator comprising:

a nacelle;

a hub rotatably carried by said nacelle and including at least a pair of wind turbine blades;

an electricity producing generator including a stator and a rotor carried by said nacelle, said rotor being connected to the hub and rotatable in response to wind acting on said blades to rotate the rotor relative to the stator to generate electricity; and

a cooling system carried by the nacelle including at least one ambient air inlet port opening through a surface of said nacelle downstream of said hub and blades, and a duct for flowing air from said inlet port in a generally upstream direction toward said hub and in cooling relation to said stator.

2. A generator according to claim 1 wherein said air inlet port opens into a manifold for distribution about the stator.

3. A generator according to claim 1 wherein said nacelle includes an air outlet port forwardly of the generator stator.

4. A generator according to claim 3 wherein said air outlet port distributes heated air received from the stator to atmosphere at a location behind the hub.

5. A generator according to claim 1 including a plurality of circumferentially spaced outlet ports located behind said hub and forwardly at the generator stator for directing heated cooling air in a forward upstream direction, and an annular chamber overlying the outlet ports for redirecting the heated cooling air in a generally downstream direction for flow about the nacelle.

6. A generator according to claim 1 wherein said cooling system includes a plurality of inlet ports about the surface of the nacelle downstream of the generator stator and the hub, and one or more manifolds and ducts for communicating cooling air between the inlet ports and the generator stator.

7. A generator according to claim 6 wherein said ducts include blowers for forcing air to flow toward said generator stator.

8. A method of cooling the stator of a wind turbine generator having a nacelle carrying the stator and a rotor connected to a hub mounting wind turbine blades, comprising the steps of:

(a) suctioning ambient cooling air through a forward-facing inlet port along a surface of the hub or nacelle;

(b) flowing the cooling air through the generator stator to cool the stator; and

(c) exhausting the cooling air from the stator at a location downstream of the hub and blades.

9. A method according to claim 8 including providing a blower to assist the flow of cooling air in the generally upstream direction.

10. A method according to claim 8 wherein step (c) includes reversing the flow of the cooling air from the generally upstream direction to a generally downstream direction to exhaust the cooling air.

11. A method according to claim 8 wherein step (a) includes providing a plurality of inlet ports about the nacelle, step (b) includes flowing the cooling air from the inlet ports through a plurality of ducts to an inlet manifold and flowing the cooling air from the manifold through the stator, and step (c) includes flowing the cooling air from the generator step into an annulus for flow in a generally downstream direction.

12. The method of claim 8 wherein said inlet port is in the nacelle at a location downstream of the hub and blades.

13. The method of claim 8 wherein said inlet port is in the hub.

14. The method of claim 8 wherein, in step (b), the cooling air flows in a generally upstream direction through the generator stator.

15. The method of claim 8 wherein, in step (b), the cooling air flows in a generally downstream direction through the generator stator.

16. The method of claim 8 wherein, in step (c), cooling air is exhausted upstream of the stator and inlet port.

17. The method of claim 8 wherein, in step (c), cooling air is exhausted downstream of the inlet port, hub, blades and stator.

18. A wind generator comprising:

a nacelle;

a hub rotatably carried by said nacelle and including at least a pair of wind turbine blades;

an electricity producing generator including a stator and a rotor carried by said nacelle, said rotor being connected to the hub and rotatable in response to wind acting on said blades to rotate the rotor relative to the stator to generate electricity; and

a cooling system including at least one forwardly-facing ambient air inlet port and a duct for flowing cooling air from said inlet port in a generally downstream direction away from said hub and in cooling relation to said stator.

19. The generator of claim 18 wherein said inlet port is located in said nacelle, downstream of said hub and said blades.

20. The generator of claim 18 wherein at least three inlet ports are arranged about a periphery of said nacelle, said inlet ports each comprising a forward-facing scoop arranged to feed cooling air through a plurality of inlet holes in a surface of said nacelle.

21. The generator of claim 18 wherein said at least one inlet port is provided in the form of a duct at a blade root portion of each of said blades arranged to feed cooling air into a cooling duct in said hub.

22. The generator of claim 18 wherein said at least one inlet port is provided in the center of the forwardmost surface of said hub.

23. The generator of claim 18 wherein said at least one inlet port comprises at least three inlet ports formed in said hub, at circumferentially spaced locations between said blades.

24. The generator according to claim 23 wherein each inlet port incorporates a filter and a plurality of baffles that establish a serpentine flow path for the cooling air.

25. A generator according to claim 18 wherein said nacelle includes an air outlet port downstream of the generator stator and air inlet port.

26. A generator according to claim 18 including a plurality of circumferentially spaced outlet ports located behind said hub and about said nacelle rearwardly of the generator stator for directing heated cooling air in a rearward downstream direction.