JP6414837B2 - Floating wind power generator - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a floating wind power generator installed in a floating state on the ocean.

In general, it is proposed that a wind power generator is installed on the ocean because the wind is stronger on the ocean than on land and the problems of noise, vibration and radio interference are less likely to occur.
As a wind power generation apparatus, from the viewpoint of economy and the like, a floating body type installed on the sea surface is being studied instead of a landing type installed on the seabed, and a demonstration experiment is being conducted.
As a floating wind power generator, for example, there is a device having a base portion standing on the sea surface, a floating body that causes buoyancy to act on the base portion, and a windmill attached to the base portion (see Patent Document 1). ).
The base unit includes a support column and a nacelle unit that is rotatable with respect to the support column, and the windmill is attached to the nacelle unit. A windmill turns to the direction which receives a wind force efficiently, when a nacelle part rotates according to the direction of a wind.
The floating wind turbine generator is normally stably connected to an anchor on the seabed via a mooring line connected to a plurality of locations of the base body. A method of mooring at multiple locations is called a multi-point mooring method.

JP 2002-285951 A

In the wind power generator, the base portion includes a support column and a nacelle portion that can rotate with respect to the support column. However, when a small or medium-sized wind power generator is assumed, a simple structure is desired for the base portion.
When a simple structure without a rotation mechanism is employed in the base body, the entire device needs to be displaceable around the axis of the base body in order to change the direction of the windmill according to the direction of the wind. For this reason, a base | substrate part is moored only at one place. This mooring method is called one-point mooring method. Since the base portion moored in this manner is moored only at one location, it can be displaced around the axis.

In the wind power generator having this structure, it is preferable that the windmill is directed in a direction in which the wind power can be received efficiently, but depending on the direction of the wind, the windmill may be in an inefficient direction.
This invention is made | formed in view of the said situation, Comprising: It aims at providing the floating type wind power generator which operate | moves so that a windmill may face the optimal direction reliably, and can acquire high power generation efficiency. .

The present invention is a floating wind power generator installed in a state of floating on the water surface, at least a part of the base body standing on the water surface, a floating body that acts buoyancy on the base body, A windmill provided on the base portion, and the windmill includes a shaft portion having a rotation shaft, and a wing body extending from the shaft portion and rotating around the rotation shaft. Floating wind power moored to the bottom of the water via a mooring line, and the mooring line is connected to the base portion at a position away from the center of gravity of the device in the direction of the axis of rotation of the windmill in a plan view. A power generation device is provided.
In the floating wind power generator according to the present invention, the base portion is provided with an extending portion that extends outward from the base portion, and the mooring line is connected to the base portion via the extending portion. The connecting position of the mooring line with respect to the extending part is preferably a position away from the center of gravity of the device in the direction of the rotation axis of the windmill in plan view.
The extending part is preferably attached to the base part at a position higher than the lower end of the base part.
The floating wind turbine generator according to the present invention is a downwind type in which the windmill has a basic posture in which the front of the rotation axis direction is the same as the wind direction, and the mooring line is connected to the base body. The position to be performed may be a position away from the center of gravity of the device rearward in the direction of the rotation axis of the windmill in plan view.
The floating wind turbine generator according to the present invention is an upwind type in which the windmill has a basic posture in which the front of the rotation axis direction is opposite to the direction of the wind, and the mooring line is attached to the base portion. The connected position may be a position away from the center of gravity of the device in a plan view and forward in the rotational axis direction of the windmill.
The base portion includes a support column that is at least partially erected on the water surface, and a support unit that is provided on the support column and supports the windmill, and the support unit is formed integrally with the support column. Or a structure fixed to the support column.

In the floating wind turbine generator according to the present invention, the mooring line is connected in a one-point mooring system at a position away from the center of gravity of the device in the plan view in the direction of the axis of rotation of the windmill. Due to the tensile force of the rope, the windmill is in a posture in which the front in the rotational axis direction faces the same direction (or the opposite direction) as the wind.
Therefore, the windmill efficiently receives wind force and rotates, and high power generation efficiency is obtained.

(A) It is a perspective view which shows typically 1st Embodiment of the wind power generator of this invention. (B) It is a top view which shows typically a part of wind power generator shown to (a). (A) It is a perspective view which shows typically 2nd Embodiment of the wind power generator of this invention. (B) It is a top view which shows typically a part of wind power generator shown to (a). (A) It is a perspective view which shows typically 3rd Embodiment of the wind power generator of this invention. (B) It is a top view which shows typically a part of wind power generator shown to (a). (A) It is a perspective view which shows typically 4th Embodiment of the wind power generator of this invention. (B) It is a top view which shows typically a part of wind power generator shown to (a). (A) It is a perspective view which shows typically 5th Embodiment of the wind power generator of this invention. (B) It is a top view which shows typically a part of wind power generator shown to (a).

FIG. 1 shows a wind power generator 1 that is a first embodiment of a floating wind power generator (hereinafter simply referred to as a wind power generator) of the present invention. FIG. FIG. 1B is a plan view schematically showing a part of the wind turbine generator 1.
The wind power generator 1 includes a base body 2, a floating body 3 that causes buoyancy to act on the base body 2, a windmill 4 attached to the upper end of the base body 2, and an extension that extends from the lower end of the base body 2. Part 5.
The wind turbine generator 1 is a so-called floating wind turbine generator that is installed in a floating state on the sea surface 10.

As shown in FIG. 1A, the base body 2 supports the wind turbine 4, and includes a columnar column 8 and a support unit 9 that is provided at the upper end of the column 8 and supports the wind turbine 4. Have.
In the illustrated example of the support 8, the upper part is erected on the sea surface 10 (water surface), and the lower part extends below the sea surface 10. Note that the entire support column 8 may be erected on the sea surface 10.

As shown in FIG. 1B, it is preferable that the position of the center axis A <b> 3 of the column 8 coincides with the position of the center of gravity of the device 1 in plan view. That is, it is preferable that the center axis A3 coincides with the center of gravity line of the device 1. The center of gravity line is a vertical line passing through the center of gravity.
In this figure, the central axis A3 is perpendicular to the sea surface 10. In addition, planar view means seeing from the direction of the central axis A3 of the support column 8.
As shown in FIG. 1A, the base portion 2 is moored to the seabed 7 by a mooring line 6 through an extension portion 5.

  It is preferable that the base portion 2 does not have a mechanism for rotating the support portion 9 with respect to the support column 8. The base body 2 may have, for example, a structure in which the support portion 9 is formed integrally with the support column 8 or a structure in which the support portion 9 is separate from the support column 8 and is fixed to the support column 8. As a result, the structure can be simplified and the cost can be reduced.

As shown in FIG. 1 (a), the floating body 3 is for obtaining a buoyancy for installing the base portion 2 on the sea surface 10, and for example, a hollow structure can be adopted. The floating body 3 may be filled with a resin material (for example, foamed resin) having a specific gravity smaller than that of water for reinforcement. Further, a rib structure for reinforcement may be provided inside.
The floating body 3 may have a buoyancy such that a part of the float 3 comes out on the sea surface 10 (floating type) (see FIG. 1A), or has a buoyancy enough to immerse the whole below the sea surface 10. It may have (submersible type) (see FIG. 2).
The levitation type has an advantage that a stable and high buoyancy can be obtained and the base body portion 2 is difficult to tilt. Since the diving type does not appear on the sea surface 10, there is an advantage that the swaying due to the waves can be suppressed.

The floating body 3 in the illustrated example is formed in a cylindrical shape whose central axis is along the central axis A <b> 3 of the column 8, and is formed integrally with the column 8 at an intermediate position in the length direction of the column 8. The floating body 3 shown in FIG. 1A is a floating type.
The floating body 3 is not limited to the illustrated example as long as buoyancy can be applied to the base portion 2. The shape of the floating body 3 may be a rectangular parallelepiped or a sphere. Further, the floating body 3 may be separated from the base body portion 2.

The windmill 4 is, for example, a propeller-type windmill, and includes a shaft portion 11 having a rotation shaft 24 and a plurality of radially extending outwards in the radial direction of the shaft portion 11 from the shaft portion 11 (specifically, the rotation shaft 24). The wing body 12 is provided.
In the wind turbine 4, the blade body 12 receives the wind 22 and rotates around the rotation shaft 24 together with the rotation shaft 24, thereby driving the generator 20 built in the support portion 9.
The front of the shaft portion 11 of the windmill 4 in the rotation axis direction (the direction in which the rotation shaft 24 extends from the support portion 9) is referred to as A1, and the rear (the direction opposite to A1) is referred to as A2. In this example, A1 and A2 are perpendicular to the central axis A3.

The windmill 4 in the illustrated example employs a downwind type. In the downwind type, the attitude in which the axial front A1 faces the same direction as the wind 22 (downward direction) is the basic attitude of the windmill 4 when receiving wind power. The downwind type has an advantage that it can easily cope with wind direction and wind fluctuation. Another advantage is that the wing body 12 does not easily interfere with the support column 8 even when the wind is strong.
Further, the wind turbine 4 is not limited to the propeller type but may be a Savonius type or the like.

  The extension portion 5 is formed to extend outward (in a direction away from the support column 8) from the lower end 8a of the support column 8 (lower end of the base body 2). The extending direction of the extending part 5 is the axial rear A <b> 2 of the wind turbine 4. Reference numeral 5b is a base end of the extension portion 5 attached to the lower end 8a of the support column 8, and reference numeral 5a is an extension end. It is preferable that the extending direction of the extending portion 5 coincides with the radial direction of the support column 8.

At the extension end 5 a of the extension part 5, a mooring part 14 to which the one end part 6 a of the mooring line 6 is connected is provided. For this reason, the mooring line 6 is connected to the base part 2 through the extension part 5. In this example, the mooring part 14 is located below the sea surface 10.
Since the extending direction of the extending part 5 is the axial rear A2, the anchoring part 14 is at a position away from the central axis A3 of the support column 8 (the center of gravity line of the apparatus 1) in the axial rear A2 in plan view ( (Refer FIG.1 (b)).
In the illustrated example, the extending portion 5 extends in the axial rear A2, but if the anchoring portion 14 is located away from the central axis A3 in the axial rear A2, the extending direction of the extending portion 5 is The direction may intersect with the axial rear A2.

The mooring portion 14 preferably uses a universal joint as a connection structure with the mooring cable 6. Examples of universal joints include those listed in JIS B1454.
By using the universal joint, the entanglement of the mooring line 6 can be avoided even when the wind power generator 1 receives the force of the wind 22 and changes its posture (post-axis direction posture).

The other end 6b of the mooring line 6 is connected to an anchor 13 (mooring point) installed on the seabed 7 (water bottom).
The base body 2 is moored to the seabed 7 by a mooring line 6 only at one place (the mooring part 14) (that is, in a one-point mooring method).
Since the one-point mooring system is a system moored only at one location (the mooring portion 14), a plurality of mooring lines 6 are attached to one location (the mooring portion 14) as indicated by a virtual line in FIG. Is also included in the one-point mooring system. In this case, the number of mooring lines 6 is 2 to 4, for example.
In addition, one mooring line 6 is connected to one place (the mooring portion 14), the mooring line 6 branches at an intermediate position in the length direction, and the plurality of branched mooring lines are connected to different anchors 13, respectively. Are also included in the one-point mooring system.

Next, the operation of the wind power generator 1 will be described.
Since the wind power generator 1 is moored by the one-point mooring method, it can move on the sea surface 10 within a predetermined area.
When the wind power generator 1 receives the wind 22, it moves to the leeward side on the sea surface 10 until the tensile force S1 applied to the mooring portion 14 by the mooring cable 6 becomes equal to the force S2 received by the windmill 4 by the wind 22.

At this time, a force in a rotational direction (a direction around the axis of the support column 8) acts on the wind power generator 1 so that the windmill 4 is directed in a direction corresponding to the direction of the wind 22.
Specifically, a rotational moment about the central axis A3 (the center of gravity of the device 1) acts on the device 1 by the tensile force S1 by the mooring line 6 and the force S2 received by the windmill 4. Due to the rotational moment, the wind turbine generator 1 is in such a posture that the windmill 4 is located on the leeward side and the mooring portion 14 is located on the upwind side.
For this reason, the windmill 4 is in a posture in which the axial front A <b> 1 faces the same direction as the wind 22. In this state, the direction of the tensile force S1 by the mooring line 6 is opposite to the direction of the force S2 that the windmill 4 receives.
Therefore, the windmill 4 can efficiently receive the force of the wind 22 and rotate, and the generator 20 can stably obtain high power generation efficiency.

The rotational moment generated by the forces S1 and S2 in the process in which the wind power generator 1 changes the posture (the posture in the direction around the axis of the support column 8) in response to the force of the wind 22 is the separation of the line of action between the forces S1 and S2. The size depends on the distance.
In the wind power generator 1, the mooring portion 14 is provided at the extension end 5 a of the extension portion 5, and therefore, the separation distance between the lines of action of the force S <b> 1 and the force S <b> 2 is likely to be large. it can.
Accordingly, it is possible to optimize the attitude of the windmill 4 by promoting the displacement of the wind power generator 1 in the direction around the axis, and to increase the efficiency of power generation in the generator 20.

Since the wind power generator 1 does not have a mechanism in which the support portion 9 rotates with respect to the support column 8, the structure is simple, and the cost and weight can be reduced. For this reason, it can be suitably applied to a small or medium-sized wind power generator.
As an application destination of the wind power generator 1, a facility with relatively low power consumption, such as a farm, can be cited.

  Although the windmill 4 of the wind turbine generator 1 is a downwind type, even when the axial front A1 is oriented in the direction opposite to the wind 22 (windward direction), the windmill 4 receives the force of the wind 22 and rotates. The generator 20 can be driven (see FIG. 5).

FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of the wind turbine generator of the present invention. Hereinafter, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected about the same structure as the wind power generator 1 of 1st Embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and the description is abbreviate | omitted or simplified.
A wind turbine generator 21 of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 2A is different from the wind turbine generator 1 of FIG. 1 in that it has an extension 15 instead of the extension 5.
The base end 15 b of the extending portion 15 is attached to the upper portion of the support column 8. The attachment position of the base end 15 b is a position (position closer to the upper end) higher than the lower end 8 a of the support column 8 (lower end of the base body 2). The position of the base end 15 b may be a position higher than the sea level 10.

The extending portion 15 is formed so as to incline in a descending direction as it is separated from the support column 8 in the radial direction, and a mooring portion 14 is provided at the extending end 15a. The mooring part 14 is located below the sea surface 10.
As shown in FIG. 2B, the extending direction of the extending portion 15 in plan view is the axial rear A2 similarly to the extending portion 5 in FIG. For this reason, the mooring part 14 exists in the position which left | separated from the center axis | shaft A3 (gravity line of the apparatus 1) of the support | pillar 8 to axial back A2 in planar view.

As shown in FIG. 2A, the extension 15 may be tiltable with respect to the support column 8 with the base end 15b as a fulcrum. The base end 15 b may be structured to be hinged to the support column 8.
In this case, the extending portion 15 is preferably connected to the support column 8 via a connecting body 17 that is an urging body such as an elastically expandable / contractible spring (coil spring or the like). One end of the coupling body 17 in the illustrated example is connected to an intermediate position in the length direction of the extending portion 15 (position between the distal end 15 a and the base end 15 b), and the other end is intermediate in the length direction of the column 8. Connected to the position.

The extending portion 15 can be tilted with respect to the support column 8 with the base end 15 b as a fulcrum, and the inclination angle with respect to the support column 8 can be adjusted.
For this reason, according to the intensity | strength of the wind 22, the inclination-angle of the extension part 15 with respect to the support | pillar 8 can be adjusted so that the inclination (inclination with respect to a perpendicular direction) of the support | pillar 8 may be made small.
For example, when the wind 22 is strong, the force S <b> 2 received by the windmill 4 is increased, so that the column 8 is easily tilted. However, the tensile force S <b> 1 is efficiently applied to the upper portion of the column 8 by adjusting the inclination angle of the extending portion 15. This makes it easy to keep the inclination of the column 8 small.
When the wind 22 is weak, the inclination angle of the extension portion 15 can be reduced to bring the position where the tensile force S1 is applied by the mooring cable 6 closer to the support column 8, so that the stability of the base portion 2 is improved. be able to.

  Moreover, according to the structure which connects the extension part 15 to the support | pillar 8 with the connection body 17 which can be elastically expanded-contracted, even when the tensile force S1 by the mooring rope 6 increases suddenly, the extension part 15 and the support | pillar 8 are made. The applied impact can be mitigated by the expansion / contraction deformation of the coupling body 17, and damage can be avoided.

In the wind turbine generator 21, since the extending part 15 extends in the axial rear A <b> 2 in plan view, the wind turbine 4 is in a posture in which the axial front A <b> 1 faces the same direction as the wind 22.
For this reason, similarly to the wind power generator 1 shown in FIG. 1, the windmill 4 can efficiently receive the force of the wind 22 and rotate, and the power generation in the generator 20 can be made highly efficient.

In the wind power generator 21, the tensile force S <b> 1 applied to the mooring portion 14 by the mooring cable 6 acts on the upper portion of the column 8 via the mooring portion 14, so that the tensile force S <b> 1 acts on the lower portion of the column 8. It becomes easy to suppress the inclination of the support column 8 by the wind 22.
For this reason, it is possible to maintain the optimum direction of the windmill 4 and further improve the efficiency of power generation.

FIG. 3 shows a third embodiment of the wind turbine generator of the present invention.
The wind power generator 31 shown in FIG. 3A is different from the wind power generator 1 of FIG. 1 in that the extended portion 18 is provided instead of the extended portion 5.
The extending portion 18 includes a lower extending portion 18a extending from the lower end of the support column 8 in the axial rearward direction A2, and a side extending extending upward along the support column 8 from the extending end 18b of the lower extending portion 18a. It is formed in a frame shape having a portion 18 c and an upper extending portion 18 e that extends from the extending end 18 d of the side extending portion 18 c to the front A1 in the axial direction and reaches the support column 8.
As shown in FIG. 3B, since the extending direction of the extending portion 18 in the plan view is the axial rear A2, the mooring portion 14 has the center axis A3 of the column 8 (the barycentric line of the device 1) in the plan view. ) From the rear in the axial direction A2.

As shown in FIG. 3A, in the wind turbine generator 31, as in the wind turbine generator 1 shown in FIG. 1, the axial front A <b> 1 of the windmill 4 faces the same direction as the wind 22. The power generated by the generator 20 can be made highly efficient.
In the wind power generator 31, the upper extending portion 18 e of the extending portion 18 is attached at a position higher than the lower end of the column 8, so that the mooring line 6 is applied to the mooring portion 14 in the same manner as the wind power generator 21 of FIG. 2. Since the force S1 acts at a position higher than the lower end of the support column 8, the inclination of the support column 8 due to the wind 22 can be suppressed.
For this reason, it is possible to maintain the optimum direction of the windmill 4 and further improve the efficiency of power generation.

  In the wind power generator 31, the connection position of the mooring line 6 with respect to the extension part 18 (side extension part 18c) can also be set arbitrarily, and the mooring position can be adjusted according to the strength and direction of the wind 22.

FIG. 4 shows a fourth embodiment of the wind turbine generator of the present invention.
The wind power generator 41 shown in FIG. 4A does not include the extending portion 5, and the mooring line 6 is connected to the mooring portion 14 provided on the outer surface of the support column 8. Different from the wind turbine generator 1.
As shown in FIG. 4B, the mooring portion 14 is installed at a position away from the center axis A3 of the support column 8 (the center of gravity line of the apparatus 1) in the axial rear A2.
As shown in FIG. 4A, also in this wind power generator 41, since the axial front A1 of the windmill 4 faces the same direction as the wind 22, the windmill 4 rotates by receiving the force of the wind 22 efficiently. The power generation in the generator 20 can be made highly efficient.
The wind power generator 41 has an advantage that the structure is simplified because there is no extending portion.

FIG. 5 shows a fifth embodiment of the wind turbine generator of the present invention.
The wind power generator 51 shown in FIG. 5 (a) is that the wind turbine 4 is an upwind type, and that the extended portion 23 is provided in place of the extended portion 5, so that the wind power generator of FIG. Different from 1.
Since the windmill 4 is an upwind type, the basic attitude of the windmill 4 is a posture in which the axial front A <b> 1 faces the direction opposite to the wind 22 (windward direction).

  The extending portion 23 is formed to extend from the lower end 8a of the support column 8 to the axial front A1. As shown in FIG. 5B, the mooring portion 14 is provided at the extending end 23 a of the extending portion 23, so that the position of the mooring portion 14 is separated from the central axis A <b> 3 of the support column 8 in the axial front A <b> 1. Position.

In the wind power generator 51, when a force by the wind 22 is applied, the axial front A <b> 1 of the windmill 4 is caused by the wind 22 by the rotational force generated by the tensile force S <b> 1 by the mooring cable 6 and the force S <b> 2 received by the windmill 4. Turn in the opposite direction.
Therefore, the windmill 4 can efficiently receive the force of the wind 22 and rotate, and the power generation in the generator 20 can be made highly efficient.

1, 21, 31, 41, 51 ... Wind power generator (floating wind power generator), 2 ... Base part, 3 ... Floating body, 4 ... Windmill 5, 15, 18, 23 ..Extension part, 6 ... mooring line, 7 ... sea bottom (water bottom), 8 ... strut, 8a ... lower end of strut (lower end of base part), 9 ... support part, 10 ... Sea surface (water surface), 11 ... shaft part, 12 ... wing body, 13 ... anchor, 14 ... mooring part, 24 ... rotation axis, A1 ... forward in the axial direction ( Front of rotation axis direction), A2 ... Axial rearward (rear of rotation axis direction), A3 ... Center axis of column (center of gravity of base portion, center of gravity of wind power generator)

Claims (5)

A floating wind power generator installed in a floating state on the water surface,
A base part at least partially standing on the water surface, a floating body that causes buoyancy to act on the base part, and a windmill provided on the base part,
The windmill includes a shaft portion having a rotation shaft, and a wing body extending from the shaft portion and rotating around the rotation shaft,
The base portion is moored to the bottom of the water via a mooring line;
The mooring line is connected to the base portion by a one-point mooring method at a position away from the center of gravity of the device in the plan view in the rotation axis direction of the windmill,
The floating body has a buoyancy such that a part of the floating body comes out on the water surface,
The base portion is provided with an extending portion extending outward from the base portion,
The mooring line is connected to the base portion through the extension portion,
The connection position of the mooring line to the extension portion is a position away from the center of gravity of the floating wind turbine generator in the direction of the rotation axis of the windmill in plan view, and the floating wind turbine generator is floated on the water surface. Ri Oh below than the surface of the water in the state,
The extension part includes a lower extension part extending outward from the base part, a side extension part extending upward along the base part from an extension end of the lower extension part, It is a frame shape having an upper extension part extending from the extension end of the side extension part to the base part,
The connection position of the extension part with respect to the base part is a floating wind power generator that is below the water surface in a state where the floating wind power generator is floated on the water surface .   The floating wind power generator according to claim 1, wherein the extending portion is attached to the base portion at a position higher than a lower end of the base portion. The windmill is a downwind type whose basic posture is a posture in which the front of the rotation axis direction is the same direction as the wind direction,
3. The floating body according to claim 1, wherein a position where the mooring line is connected to the base portion is a position away from the center of gravity of the device rearward in the direction of the rotation axis of the windmill in plan view. Wind power generator. The windmill is an upwind type whose basic posture is a posture in which the front in the rotation axis direction is opposite to the wind direction,
3. The floating body according to claim 1, wherein a position where the mooring line is connected to the base portion is a position away from the center of gravity of the device in a plan view in front of the rotation axis of the windmill. Wind power generator. The base portion includes a support column that is at least partially erected on the water surface, and a support unit that is provided on the support column and supports the windmill.
5. The floating wind turbine generator according to claim 1, wherein the support portion is formed integrally with the support column or has a structure fixed to the support column.

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