Direct-Drive Generator/Motor for a Windmill/Hydropower Plant/Vessel Where the Generator/Morot is Configured as a Hollow Profile and a Method to Assemble Such a Windmill/Hydropower Plant

• US 20080292467A1
• Filed: 10/13/2006
• Published: 11/27/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/13/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sway Turbine AS
• Original Assignee: Sway AS
• Inventors: Borgen, Eystein
• Granted Patent: US 8,222,762 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 416/244.00R
• CPC Class Codes: B63H 13/00 Marine propulsion by wind motors driving water-engaging propulsive elements
• CPC Class Codes: F03B 13/10 Submerged units incorporating electric generators or motors
• CPC Class Codes: F03D 13/10 Assembly of wind motors; Arrangements for erecting wind motors
• CPC Class Codes: F03D 13/20 Arrangements for mounting or supporting wind motors; Masts or towers for wind motors
• CPC Class Codes: F03D 15/20 Gearless transmission, i.e. direct-drive
• CPC Class Codes: F03D 80/70 Bearing or lubricating arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: F03D 9/25 the apparatus being an electrical generator F03D9/22 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F05B 2220/7068 equipped with permanent magnets
• CPC Class Codes: F05B 2240/51 magnetic
• CPC Class Codes: F05B 2240/515 electromagnetic
• CPC Class Codes: F16C 2326/30 Ships, e.g. propelling shafts and bearings therefor
• CPC Class Codes: F16C 2360/31 Wind motors
• CPC Class Codes: F16C 32/0436 with a conductor on one part movable with respect to a magnetic field, e.g. a body of copper on one part and a permanent magnet on the other part
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 1/2795 the rotor consisting of two or more circumferentially positioned magnets
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 7/09 with magnetic bearings
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 7/14 Structural association with mechanical loads, e.g. with hand-held machine tools or fans with fan or impeller for cooling the machine H02K9/06
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 7/1838 Generators mounted in a nacelle or similar structure of a horizontal axis wind turbine
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/20 Hydro energy
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/30 Energy from the sea, e.g. using wave energy or salinity gradient
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/72 Wind turbines with rotation axis in wind direction
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/728 : Onshore wind turbines
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 70/5236 : Renewable or hybrid-electric solutions

Abstract

A turbine rotor for a wind power plant or a hydropower plant with a direct-drive generator for converting the energy in flowing wind or water into electrical energy wherein the wind or hydropower plant comprises a turbine rotor and a stator and wherein the turbine rotor further comprises a ring-shaped hub (6) having an axis of rotation that coincides with the centre axis of the stator and wherein the turbine rotor comprises at least one rotor blade, which rotor blade is arranged on the ring-shaped hub. The turbine rotor is also intended to be used as a propeller for a craft.

Claims

1. A turbine rotor for a wind power plant or hydro power plant or for propulsive means for a vessel, the turbine rotor comprising a ring-shaped hub, the ring-shaped hub comprising at least one rotor blade which is arranged on the ring-shaped hub, the ring-shaped hub, in a side view cross-section, being configured as a closed, hollow profile, and that the ring-shaped hub being formed either

as a regular torus wherein the side view cross-section of the torus is circularly shaped and a section through the torus perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the turbine rotor being ring-shaped wherein the outer and inner circumferences of the ring are circular, or

as a quasi-torus wherein the side view cross-section of the quasi-torus is either polygonally or circularly shaped and the section through the quasi-torus perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the turbine rotor is ring-shaped wherein the outer and inner circumferences of the ring are either polygonally or circularly shaped.

2. A turbine rotor according to claim 1, wherein the side view cross sectional diameter of the ring-shaped hub is of substantially the same size as the diameter of the at least one blade at the point of attachment of the blade.

3. A turbine rotor according to claim 1, wherein the generator rotor is mounted to the ring-shaped hub.

4. A turbine rotor according to claim 1, wherein the distance from the axis of rotation of the turbine rotor to the outer circumference of the ring-shaped hub around the axis of rotation of the turbine rotor is at least 1/12 of the radius of the turbine rotor from the axis of rotation to a blade tip.

5. A turbine rotor according to one of the claims 1-4, wherein the wind turbine rotor comprises at least two tension rods which at their first ends are attached to a bearing that is coaxial with the centre axis of the stator and at their second ends are fastened to the ring-shaped hub.

6. A turbine rotor according to claim 5, wherein that the tension rods lie in one and the same plane.

7. A turbine rotor according to one of the claims 1-4, wherein the wind turbine rotor comprises at least two pressure rods which at their first ends are fastened to a bearing that is coaxial with the centre axis of the stator and at their second ends are fastened to the ring-shaped hub.

8. A turbine rotor according to claim 7, wherein the pressure rods lie in one and the same plane.

24. A power plant comprising a direct-drive generator for converting the energy in wind or flowing water into electrical energy, the power plant comprising a tower structure and a turbine rotor, the direct-drive generator comprising a generator rotor which is mounted on the turbine rotor, a stator which is mounted on the tower structure and a bearing supporting the turbine rotor on the stator, wherein the turbine rotor is formed according to claim 1 and the turbine rotor having an axis of rotation that coincides with the centre axis of the stator of the direct-drive generator.

25. A power plant according to claim 24, wherein the turbine rotor is supported on the stator by a magnetic bearing consisting of either permanent magnets, electromagnets or a combination of both.

26. A power plant according to claim 25, wherein the magnetic bearing is a passive magnetic bearing.

27. A power plant according to claim 25, wherein the magnetic bearing is a passive magnetic bearing with the magnets arranged in a Halbach array.

28. A power plant according to one of the claims 25, wherein the magnets in the stator are replaced by short-circuited electrical conductors.

29. A power plant according to one of the claims 27, wherein the magnets in the stator are replaced by short-circuited electrical conductors.

30. A power plant according to claim 25, wherein the magnetic bearing is an electromagnetic bearing.

31. A power plant according to claim 25, wherein current-producing windings are installed without magnetically conducting iron cores.

32. A power plant according to claim 31, wherein the generator magnets consist of permanent magnets arranged in a Halbach array.

33. A power plant according to claim 24, wherein the turbine rotor is supported on the stator by a conventional bearing.

34. A power plant according to claim 24, wherein the turbine rotor is supported by a magnetic bearing axially against the stator and that the turbine rotor is supported radially by a conventional bearing.

35. A power plant according to one of the claims 25-32, wherein the shortest distance from the axis of rotation of the ring-shaped hub to the area centre of the force transferring face of the magnetic bearing is smaller than the distance from the axis of rotation of the ring-shaped hub to the neutral axis of the side view cross-section of the ring-shaped hub.

36. A power plant according to one of the claims 25-34, wherein the bending stiffness of the ring-shaped hub for bending out of a plane that passes through the ring-shaped hub and is perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the ring-shaped hub is greater than the bending stiffness of the stator for bending out of the same plane.

37. A power plant according to one of the claims 25-34, wherein the bending stiffness of the ring-shaped hub for bending out of a plane that runs through the ring-shaped hub and is perpendicular to the axis or rotation of the ring-shaped hub is at least twice as great as the bending stiffness of the stator for bending out of the same plane.

38. Wind power plant or hydro power plant, wherein the wind or hydro power plant comprises a turbine rotor according to claim 1.

39. Vessel comprising a turbine rotor according to claim 1, wherein the turbine rotor is arranged on the vessel such that it can be used as a propulsive means.

9-23. -23. (canceled)