Claims:We Claim:
1. A blade storage and transportation system comprising:
a root side modular frame supporting the blade at a root side thereof, the root side modular frame having a root frame weldment defined by a plurality of hollow or solid structural tubes, the root side modular frame including a plurality of replaceable stud holder assemblies defined by a fixed frame and a replaceable frame; and
a tip side modular frame supporting the blade at a tip side thereof, the tip side modular frame having a top frame and a bottom frame detachably connected by a twist lock, the bottom frame having a plurality of grooves connecting to a nose down support assembly , a girder support assembly and a clamping support assembly,
wherein, the nose down support assembly having an elongated U-shaped cup supported by a solid rod through a first connecting member, the girder support assembly having a curved profile trapezoidal surface connected to a square rod by a second connecting member, the clamping support assembly having a curved profiled trapezoidal clamping surface connected to a clamp support rod through a third connecting member.

2. The blade storage and transportation system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first connecting member facilitates angular movement in a horizontal plane as per orientation of the blade.

3. The blade storage and transportation system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the solid rod has a plurality of holes or grooves that facilitate vertical adjustment of the elongated U-shaped cup as per orientation of the blade.

4. The blade storage and transportation system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the elongated U-shaped cup is made of a cushioning material having load bearing capacity, impact resistance and load distributing ability to facilitate self-adaptability to the blade.

5. The blade storage and transportation system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second connecting member facilitates angular movement of the curved profile trapezoidal surface in a horizontal and vertical plane as per orientation of the blade.

6. The blade storage and transportation system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the square rod has a plurality of holes or grooves that facilitate vertical adjustment of the curved profile trapezoidal surface as per orientation of the blade.

7. The blade storage and transportation system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the curved profile trapezoidal surface is made of a cushioning material having load bearing capacity, impact resistance and load distributing ability to facilitate self-adaptability of the blade.

8. The blade storage and transportation system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the third connecting member facilitates angular movement in a diagonal plane as per orientation of the blade.

9. The blade storage and transportation system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the clamp support rod has a plurality of holes or grooves that facilitate vertical adjustment of the curved profiled trapezoidal clamping surface as per orientation of the blade.

10. The blade storage and transportation system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the clamping support assembly having a rotational degree of freedom for clamping and unclamping of the blade.

Dated this 31st Day of March 2016.
FOR SUZLON ENERGY LIMITED
By their Agent

(ANAND GOPALKRISHNA MAHURKAR) (IN/PA 1862)
KRISHNA & SAURASTRI ASSOCIATES
, Description:FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 OF 1970)

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(See Section 10; Rule 13)

A SYSTEM FOR TRANSPORTATION AND STORAGE OF TURBINE BLADES;

SUZLON ENERGY LIMITED, A COMPANY INCORPORATED UNDER THE COMPANIES ACT, 1956, WHOSE ADDRESS IS: BLOCK NO. 93, VILLAGE: VADASALA - VARNAMA, N.H. 8, VADODARA 391242, INDIA

THE FOLLOWING SPECIFICATION PARTICULARLY DESCRIBES THE NATURE OF THE INVENTION AND THE MANNER IN WHICH IT IS TO BE PERFORMED.
Field of the invention
The present invention relates to the transportation systems and more particularly, to the modular transportation and storage system for turbine blades.
Background of the invention
Wind turbines are one of the common modes of electricity generation. The wind turbines include a plurality of blades having long length and heavy weight mounted on a vertical axis. These blades are manufactured at production houses situated away from installation sites of wind turbines and transported from the production houses to installation sites via various modes such as ships, trucks, trains and the like.
It is necessary to handle turbine blades with care during storage and transportation to ensure structural integrity of the blades. Attempts have been made to develop such systems for safe and easy transportation of turbine blades. For example, patent number US7591621B2 discloses a wind turbine transportation system that includes three supports namely a root support, a tip support and a mid-section support for holding a blade. The guiding structures and brackets connect the two railcars and align the airfoil to limit its lateral and vertical movement during transportation. This system is used in rail transportation of turbine blades. Another patent number US 20130315685A1 discloses a road transportation system for turbine blades having curved portion that includes a tip support having a root elevation element and a root support such that the root support is rotatable about a longitudinal axis of the blade. The system also includes a toothed wheel that allows adjustment of the rotational angle of the blade root portion.
The systems, supports and methods disclosed in the prior art used for transportation of turbine blades having similar profiles and also, limited degrees of flexible movement provided to the supporting elements. It is necessary to construct supports or fixtures according to profile of the blade to be transported. The cost and time involved in designing and manufacturing such supports according to blade profile and transportation of these supports back to the production houses after delivery of the turbine blades at installation sites is very high.
Accordingly, there is need of a system for storage and transportation of turbine blades that is capable of accommodating blades having different profiles including variety of length, weight and geometrical properties.
Summary of the invention
The present invention discloses a turbine blade transportation system that includes a tip side modular frame and a root side modular frame. The root side modular frame includes a root frame weldmet and a plurality of replaceable stud holders. The tip side modular frame includes a plurality of sub assemblies such as a nose down support assembly, a girder support assembly and a clamping support assembly that support tip and root portions of the blade during transportation. The tip side and root side modular frames are capable of accommodating blades having different dimensions such as length, height, width, PCDs and the like. The nose down support assembly, girder support assembly and clamping support assembly are designed to provide various degrees of linear and angular movements to match with different sizes and types of the blade profiles. The turbine blade transportation system also facilitates stacking of the blades in vertical and horizontal manner for storage as well as for ground and sea transportation.
Brief Description of the Drawings
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a blade transportation system, in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 2A is front view of a root side modular frame of the blade transportation system of FIG. 1;
FIG. 2B is a perspective view of stud holder of the root side modular frame of the FIG. 2;
FIG. 3 is a front view of a tip side modular frame, in accordance with the present invention
FIG. 4 is a front view of a bottom frame of the tip side modular frame of FIG. 3;
FIG. 5A is side view of a nose down support mounted on the bottom frame of the tip side modular frame of FIG. 4;
FIG 5B is a perspective view of a nose down support of the bottom frame of the tip side modular frame of FIG. 4;
FIG. 6A is a side view of a girder support of the bottom frame of the tip side modular frame of FIG. 4;
FIG. 6B is a rear view of a girder support of the bottom frame of the tip side modular frame of FIG. 4;
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a clamping support of the bottom frame of the tip side modular frame of FIG. 4;
FIG. 8A is a perspective view of the root side modular frame and the root side of blade in accordance with the preferred embodiment;
FIG. 8B is a perspective view of the root side modular frame and the root side of blade in accordance with the preferred embodiment;
FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the tip side modular frame holding the tip side of blade in accordance with the preferred embodiment;
FIG. 10 is a front view of the tip side modular frame holding the tip side of blade in accordance with the preferred embodiment;
FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the tip side modular frame holding the tip side of blade in accordance with the preferred embodiment; and
FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a stacking arrangement of the blades in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention.
Detailed Description of the invention
The invention described herein is explained using specific exemplary details for better understanding. However, the invention disclosed can be worked on by a person skilled in the art without the use of these specific details.
References in the specification to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, characteristic, or function described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.
References in the specification to “preferred embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, characteristic, or function described in detail thereby omitting known constructions and functions for clear description of the present invention.
The foregoing description of specific embodiments of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present invention to the precise forms disclosed and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching.
Referring to FIG. 1, a blade transportation system 100 in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown. The system 100 includes a root side modular frame 200 and a tip side modular frame 300. The root side modular frame 200 supports and circumferentially holds root of the blade. The root side modular frame 200 includes a plurality of replaceable stud holder assemblies for holding root 102 of the blade by adjusting tightening of the studs. The tip side modular frame 300 includes a plurality of subassemblies having various degrees of freedom for flexibly supporting tip side of the blade.
Referring to FIGS. 2A and 2B, the root side modular frame 200in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown. The root side modular frame 200 includes a root frame weldment 202 and at least four stud holder assemblies 204. The root frame weldment 202 is made of a plurality hollow tubes 206 arranged in a predefined manner. The hollow tubes 206 may have a predefined shape such as square or rectangular. The hollow tubes 206 are made of the material such as mild steel, stainless steel, high tensile strength steel and the like.
The stud holder assembly 204 comprises at least two frames namely a fixed frame 208 and a replaceable frame 210. The fixed frame 208 has a plurality of high tension bolts 212 welded to the root frame weldment 202 at a predefined position. The replaceable frame 210 is connectable to the fixed frame 208 by a bolt and nut arrangement such that bolts 212 of the fixed frame 208are configured to be engaged in the grooves available at a bottom side of the replaceable frame 210. A top side of the replaceable frame 210includesa plurality of adjustable studs 214. The studs 214 are adapted to be tightened on the root 102 of the blade according to size and shape thereof.
Referring to FIG. 3, the tip side modular frame 300 in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown. The tip side modular frame 300 provides flexible support to the tip side 104 of the blade during transportation. The tip side modular frame 300 comprises a top frame 302, a bottom frame 304. The top frame 302 and the bottom frame 304 include a plurality of square hollow tubes 306 arranged in a predefined manner. The hollow tubes 306 may have a square and rectangular shape and are made from the material such as Mild steel, Stainless steel, High Tensile Strength steel and the like. The top frame 302 is detachably connectable to the bottom frame 304 by a twist lock 307.
In accordance with the preferred embodiment, the bottom frame 304 of the tip side modular frame 300 includes a nose down support assembly 308, a girder support assembly310 and a clamping support assembly 312. The nose down support assembly 308, the girder support assembly 310 and the clamping support assembly 312 are detachably connected on the bottom frame 304respectively at predefined positions. It is understood here that the positions of nose down support assembly 308, the girder support assembly 310 and the clamping support assembly 312 may substantially vary as per the size and shape of the blade to be transported.
Referring to FIG. 4, the bottom frame 304 of the tip side modular frame 300 in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown. The bottom frame 304 includes plurality hollow or solid structural tubes 306. The hollow or solid structural tubes 306 have a predefined shape such as a square shape, a rectangular shape, circular shape and the like. The hollow tubes 306 may be made of Mild steel, Stainless steel or High Tensile Strength steel fabricated in predefined manner. The fabricated structures include a plurality of grooves 314 at predefined distances for engagement of the girder support assembly 310 at a first side 316 of the bottom frame 304 and the nose down support assembly 308at a second side 318 of the bottom frame 304. A third side 320 of the bottom frame 304 includes a clamp support block 322 for engagement of the clamp support assembly 312 with the bottom frame 304.The assemblies 308, 310, 312are connected at the desired location by using connecting members such as high tensile bolts or pins in the grooves of the fabricated structure of the bottom frame 304.
Now, referring to FIGS. 5A and 5B, the nose down support assembly 308 in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown. The nose down support assembly 308 comprises an elongated U-shaped cup 502, a solid rod 504, a first connecting member 506 and a hollow rectangular tube 508. The elongated U-shaped cup 502 is supported by a solid frame 503. The solid frame 503 is connected to the solid rod 504 through the first connecting member 506 using a connecting member such as a pin or a bolt and nut arrangement with a respective plurality of grooves 510 provided thereon. The first connecting member 506 allows angular movement of the elongated U-shaped cup 502 in a vertical plane as well as in a horizontal plane as per the orientation of blade. The surface of elongated U-shaped cup 502 is coated with cushioning materials such as rubber, polymeric material, cushioning material, felt, water resistance chute and the like.
As shown in FIG. 5B, the rectangular hollow tube 508 includes a hole512 positioned on surface thereof at predefined location. The rectangular hollow tube 508 also includes at least two engagement structures 514 having at least two collinear grooves 516 thereon at the respective ends thereof. The solid rod 504 in accordance with the nose down support assembly 308 is receivable in the hole 512 of the rectangular hollow tube 508. It is understood here that the hole 512 has dimensions as that of the solid rod 504. The solid rod 504 is fixed in the rectangular hollow tube 508 by a connecting member at a preferred distance as per the orientation of blade such as a pin or a nut and bolt arrangement.
The engagement structures 514 allow positioning of the nose down support assembly 308 on the fabricated structures of the bottom plate 304. The grooves 514 provided on the engagement structures 514 of the rectangular hollow tube 508 are aligned with the grooves 314 provided on the second side 318 of the bottom plate 304. The connections are established by inserting a pin or a bolt and nut arrangement. It is to be noted here that the desired linear position of the nose down support assembly 308 is adjusted in the horizontal plane as per the orientation of blade.
Referring to FIGS. 6A and 6B, the girder support assembly 310 in accordance with the present embodiment of the present invention is shown. The girder support assembly 310 includes a curved profile trapezoidal surface 602 having a predefined length and width, a square rod 604 having a plurality of grooves 606 thereon, a second connecting member 608 and a hollow tube 610 having at least one projection 612 at each end. The curved profile trapezoidal surface 602 is connected to the square rod 604 by the connecting member 608 using a connecting member such as a pin or a bolt and nut arrangement in the topmost groove 606 thereof. The second connecting member 608 provides a predefined degree of angular movement to the curved trapezoidal profile surface 602 in various planes such as a vertical plane, a horizontal plane and a diagonal plane and the like. The curved trapezoidal profile surface 602 is coated with cushioning materials such as rubber, polymeric material, felt, water resistance chute and the like.
The hollow tube 610 has a square groove 614 that receives the square rod 604. It is understood here, that the square groove 614 has identical dimensions as that of the square rod 604 in this one particular embodiment. The curved trapezoidal profile surface 602 is adapted to be adjusted by placing a locking member in one of the grooves 606 in accordance with the orientation of the blade. The locking member is preferably a pin or a bolt in accordance with the present invention. The projections 612 have identical dimensions as that of the grooves 606 in accordance with preferred embodiment of the present invention. It is understood here that the projections 612 of the hollow tube 610 are receivable in the desired groove314 of the bottom frame 304 as per the orientation of blade.
Referring to FIG. 7, the clamping support assembly 312 includes a curved profiled trapezoidal clamping surface 702, a third connecting member 704 and a clamp support rod 706. The curved profiled trapezoidal clamping surface 702 has a concave profile at front side and the third connecting member 704 at a rear end thereof. The curved profiled trapezoidal clamping surface 702 is connected to the clamp support rod 706 through the third connecting member 704 at the top portion thereof. The third connecting member 704 facilitates a preferred degree of angular movement with respect to the curved profiled trapezoidal clamping surface 702 in a predefined plane, preferably in vertical plane and a horizontal plane. The trapezoidal clamping surface 702 is coated with cushioning materials such as rubber, polymeric material, felt, water resistance chute and the like.
The clamp support rod 704 has a plurality of grooves 708 on both sides thereof. The clamping support assembly 312 is positioned on the third side 320 of the bottom frame 304 using the clamping support block 322. The grooves 323 provided on the clamping support block 322 are aligned with desired grooves 708 of the clamp support rod 704 and the clamp support rod 704 is locked at a desired position by inserting a pin or a bolt in the aligned holes thereby providing desired inclination to the curved profiled trapezoidal clamping surface 702 as per the orientation of blade. The arrangement for locking of the clamp support rod 706 at desired location may be provided throughout the length thereof.
Referring to FIGS. 8-11, in operation, the root side 102 of the blade is connected to the root side modular frame 200 in an initial step. The stud holder assemblies 204 are positioned as per profile and orientation of blade. The flanges 802 of the root side102 of the blade are aligned with the root side modular frame 200. The studs or bolts of the stud holder assemblies 204 are tightened to fix the root side 102 of blade after aligning the flanges 802.
In next step, the tip side 104 of the blade is supported by the tip side modular frame 300. The girder support assembly 310is mounted precisely on the bottom frame 304 such that the blade rests on the curved profile trapezoidal surface 602 of the girder support assembly 310. The curved profile trapezoidal surface 602 is adjusted as per profile of the blade in order to distribute load evenly along the blade.
In next step, the nose down support assembly 308 is mounted precisely on the bottom frame 304 such that the nose area of the blade is properly placed within the blade transportation system 100. The elongated U shaped cup 502 of the nose down support assembly 308 facilitates adjustment of varying degrees of angular movement adjusted as per the profile of the blade in order to evenly distribute the load along the blade.
As shown in FIG. 10, in operation, the clamping support assembly 312 remains in open condition during placement of the blade over then nose down support assembly 308 and the girder support assembly 308. However, the clamping support assembly 312 is adjusted accordingly once the blade is properly positioned over the girder support assembly 310 and the nose down support assembly 308. In this step, the length of the clamp support rod 706 of the clamping support assembly 312 is locked at the desired position. In the last step, the curved profiled trapezoidal clamping surface 702 of the clamping support assembly 312 having preferred degrees of angular movement is adjusted as per the blade profile thereby evenly exerting desired clamping pressure on the surface of the blade.
Referring to FIG. 12, a stacking arrangement of a plurality of blades utilizing the blade transportation system 100 in accordance with the present invention is shown. The plurality of blades supported by the root side modular frame 200 and the tip side modular frame 300 may be arranged in vertical and horizontal manner as shown. The blade transportation system 100 may be used during storage, ground transportation or sea transportation.
The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the present invention and its practical application, to thereby enable others, skilled in the art to best utilize the present invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.
It is understood that various omission and substitutions of equivalents are contemplated as circumstance may suggest or render expedient, but such are intended to cover the application or implementation without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention.