JP7459024B2 - Offshore wind power generation equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a wind power generation device that generates electricity using wind power at sea, and in particular to an offshore wind power generation device that is deployed on the ocean far from land.

Conventionally, as this type of wind power generation device, one described in Patent Document 1 below, for example, is known. A schematic configuration of the wind power generation device described in Patent Document 1 is shown in FIG. 7(a). The illustrated wind power generation device 51a is a type installed on the seabed, and a pedestal 53 is built over a concrete foundation 52 erected on the seabed B, and the wind power generator 2 is installed on the pedestal 53. This wind power generator 2 includes a tower 59 consisting of a base part 58 installed on a frame 53 and a column part 7 erected on the base part 58, and a power generation motor supported on the upper end of the tower 59. and a nacelle 10 incorporating a speed increaser, a hub 11 disposed on the front surface of the nacelle 10 and attached to the rotating shaft of the speed increaser, and a plurality of propellers 12 provided on the outer periphery of the hub 11. It is configured. Such a wind power generation device 51a is often installed close to the land in shallow water up to a depth of about 10 meters, where the concrete foundation 52 and the pedestal 53 can reach.

On the other hand, for example, the one described in Patent Document 2 below is known. A schematic configuration of the wind power generator described in Patent Document 2 is shown in FIG. 7(b). The illustrated wind power generator 51b is of a barge-mounted type, and includes a wind power generator 2 having the same configuration as shown in FIG. It is composed of a barge 54 and a mooring line 55 whose upper end is connected to the barge 54 and whose lower end is moored to the seabed B. In such a wind power generation device 51b, a barge 54 is moored with mooring ropes 55 to the seabed B at a depth of about 50 m, where the mooring ropes 55 can realistically reach, and the power generation capacity is about 5 MW.
On the other hand, a wind power generation device is also known in which a vertically long rod-shaped floating body whose lower part is moored to the seabed with a mooring cable is used, and a wind power generator is fixed to the upper surface of the rod-shaped floating body that protrudes from the sea surface.

JP 2004-36517 A International Publication WO2013/84546

Currently, however, there are still problems with fishing rights and other issues, so there is virtually no use of offshore wind power generation. In addition, the technical development of offshore wind power generation has not been established yet. On the other hand, in 2019, the country enacted a revised port and harbor law that stipulated "promotion areas" in the new offshore wind power law. This has led to many hopes for the construction of offshore wind power generation bases far from land, but the reality is that no concrete implementation plans have been made.

Turning our attention to the wind power generation device 51a described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, this wind power generation device 51a can only be installed in shallow waters, so the installation site is close to land. Since such close locations are often good coastal fishing grounds, there is a risk that the wind power generation device 51a will interfere with coastal fishing, and that the noise generated by the wind power generator 2 will have a negative impact on people and fish.
Furthermore, the wind power generation device 51b described in Patent Document 2 uses a barge 54 with a relatively large planar area at the waterline in order to stably support the wind power generator 2. However, since the barge 54 has a rectangular shape in plan view, it is easily hit by waves and easily sways due to the wind. For this reason, it is not possible to install a wind power generator 2 with a large capacity. Furthermore, since places with a water depth of about 50 m are relatively good fishing grounds, it is considered that the barge may interfere with fishing and have a negative impact on fish, as described above.
In a wind power generation device in which a wind power generator is fixed to the top surface of a rod-shaped float protruding from the sea surface, the rod-shaped float is moored to the seabed, so there is a risk that the rod-shaped float will tilt due to wind or waves and its upper part will be submerged, or that the upper part of the rod-shaped float will sink below the sea surface during spring tides, etc. In such cases, the operation of the generator must be stopped. Also, when attempting to deploy the device in the ocean with a water depth of about 150 to 200 meters, the mooring rope becomes too long and becomes impractical in terms of strength and parts cost.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and does not cause operational problems to the generator due to the influence of wind, waves, tide level, etc., and does not interfere with fishing or adversely affect fish etc. The purpose is to provide an offshore wind power generation device that does not cause

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the offshore wind turbine of the present invention comprises a float carrying a wind turbine and floating on the ocean, a vertical column body consisting of a cylindrical member having a floating portion and a weight portion and floating in an upright position in the sea, and a mooring rope whose upper end is connected to the vertical column body and whose lower end is moored to the seabed, wherein vertical through holes are formed in the float, and the vertical column body is inserted into the vertical through holes so as to be freely movable up and down, the wind turbine is composed of a column portion, a nacelle supported on the upper end of the column portion and incorporating a generator motor and a speed increaser, a hub disposed in front of the nacelle and attached to the rotating shaft of the speed increaser, and a propeller attached to the outer periphery of the hub, the float has a base portion provided at its upper end and accommodating the upper end consisting of the free end of the vertical column body so as to be movable up and down, and the column portion of the wind turbine is erected on the base portion.

The above configuration is also characterized in that the mooring rope is composed of a first mooring rope connected to the lower end of the vertical column body and a second mooring rope connected to a middle position above or below the vertical column body.

Each of the configurations described above is characterized in that the anchor body anchored to the seabed is attached to the lower end of the mooring cable.

Furthermore, each of the above configurations is characterized in that the vertical dimension of the columnar body is 100 m or more and 200 m or less.

According to the offshore wind power generation device according to the present invention, the vertical through holes are formed in the floating body floating on the ocean with the wind power generator mounted thereon, and the vertical column body floating in an upright position in the sea can freely move up and down into the vertical through holes of the floating body. When the vertical column is tilted due to wind, waves, tides, etc., the floating body moves toward the top of the vertical column and remains floating on the sea surface, so it does not submerge. Eventually, when the wind and tide stop, the column returns to its vertical position, and the floating body descends from the top of the column, remaining afloat, and returns to its original position. Even during the ebb and flow of the tide, the floating body moves up and down relative to the columnar body, and always floats in a position that allows it to generate electricity. Therefore, even under the influence of wind, waves, tide level, etc., the wind power generator does not have any operational problems, and wind power generation can be stably performed. Furthermore, it does not interfere with fishing operations or cause any negative effects on fish. In this case, if a vertical column with long vertical dimensions is used, the installation location is not limited to shallow water, and can be installed even in deep locations far away from land.

In addition, in the case where the mooring cable is composed of a first mooring cable connected to the lower end of the vertical column body and a second mooring cable connected to a position halfway up and down the vertical column body, the first mooring cable and the second mooring cable are connected to the lower end of the vertical column body. Since the two mooring cables moor the vertical column at its upper and lower positions, the inclination of the column can be kept small even when subjected to forces such as wind, waves, and tide levels.

And if the anchor body that is anchored to the seabed is attached to the lower end of the mooring rope, the lower end of the mooring rope can be fixed to the seabed and the vertical column body can be moored simply by dropping the anchor, even in deep waters, such as 100m deep.

Furthermore, if the vertical dimension of the vertical column is between 100m and 200m, the offshore wind power generation device of the present invention can be placed on the continental shelf, where the water depth is up to about 200m. The distance from the land to this continental shelf is about 80km on average worldwide, so by utilizing the vast continental shelf surrounding Japan, the enormous wind power, which is a natural energy source, can be effectively utilized to generate electricity.

1 is a front view showing an offshore wind turbine generator according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a cylindrical body that constitutes a floating body of the offshore wind power generation device. 3A and 3B are diagrams showing a float of the offshore wind power generation device, in which (a) is a perspective view, and (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in (a). FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 3(a) showing the floating body of the offshore wind power generation device, and a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the upper part of the columnar body. FIG. 3 is an operation explanatory diagram showing operations of main parts in the offshore wind power generation device. FIG. 3 is a side view showing the operation of the offshore wind power generation device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a conventional wind power generation device as a background of the present invention, in which (a) is a side view of an example of the conventional device, and (b) is a side view of another example of the conventional device.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings. Note that the embodiments described below are merely examples of embodying the present invention, and do not limit the technical scope of the present invention. Here, FIG. 1 is a front view showing an offshore wind power generation device according to an embodiment of the present invention. However, in each figure, the same components constituting the conventional wind power generators 51a and 51b shown in FIG. 7 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed explanation thereof may be omitted.
In FIG. 1, an offshore wind power generation device 1 according to this embodiment includes a floating body 3 that carries a wind power generator 2 and floats on the ocean surface SL, a vertical column body 4 that floats in an upright position in seawater SW, and a vertical column body 4 whose upper end is Mooring cables 5, 5, . . . are connected to the vertical column body 4 and have their lower ends moored to the seabed B, and anchor bodies 6, 6, . . . for anchoring are attached to the lower ends of the mooring cables 5. , is composed of.

The wind power generator 2 described above includes a tower 9 with a height of about 90 m, which is made up of a pedestal section 8 as a base and a column section 7 erected on the pedestal section 8, and a power generation motor supported on the upper end of the tower 9. and a nacelle 10 incorporating a speed increaser (all not shown); a hub 11 disposed on the front side of the nacelle 10 and attached to the rotating shaft of the speed increaser; and a hub 11 attached to the outer periphery of the hub 11. It is composed of propellers 12, 12, 12. The total weight of this wind power generator 2 is approximately 850 tons.

In the above-mentioned floating body 3, as shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4, the outer cylindrical portion 16 is formed by rolling a steel plate having a thickness of 19 mm into a cylindrical shape and welding the same. Vertical H-beams 18, 18, . . . are welded to the plurality of locations. Then, a cylindrical reinforcing cylinder part 17 having a smaller diameter than the inner diameter of the outer cylinder part 16 is welded to the inner surface of the H-shaped steels 18, 18, . . . . As a result, a highly rigid outer cylindrical body is completed. Subsequently, vertically oriented H-shaped steels 21, . Then, a cylindrical reinforcing cylinder part 19 having a diameter larger than the outer diameter of the inner cylinder part 20 is welded to the outer surface of the H-shaped steel 21, etc., thereby completing a cylindrical body for a through hole. . The cylindrical body 13 is constructed by temporarily placing this through-hole cylindrical body coaxially within the outer cylindrical body.

Then, the ring-shaped upper cover 14 is fixed to the upper opening of the cylindrical body 13 and welded in a sealed manner, and the ring-shaped lower cover 15 is fixed to the lower opening of the cylindrical body 13 and welded in a sealed manner. Ru. As a result, the floating body 3 having the upper and lower through holes 3A in the center of the plane is completed. This floating body 3 is a hollow cylindrical body with a diameter of 15 m and a height of 10 m, and the diameter of the upper and lower through holes 3A is 6 m. That is, the space hermetically surrounded by the reinforcing cylinder part 17, the reinforcing cylinder part 19, the ring-shaped upper cover 14, and the ring-shaped lower cover 15 can float the floating body 3 carrying the wind power generator 2 in the seawater SW. This becomes a floating space 22 that exhibits buoyancy. The internal volume of this floating space 22 is approximately 1500 cubic meters. That is, the floating body 3 exhibits buoyancy sufficient to float an object of 1500 tons. The upper part of the columnar body 4 is inserted into the vertical through hole 3A in the inner cylinder part 20 of the floating body 3 so as to be vertically movable.

The above-mentioned vertical column body 4 includes a plurality of cylindrical units 4A, 4A, 4A, . . . made of steel pipes connected vertically by welding or the like, and an upper end surface portion that seals the top opening of the uppermost cylindrical unit 4A by welding or the like. 4B, a lower end surface portion 4C that seals the lower opening of the lowest cylindrical unit 4A by welding or the like, and a weight portion 24 made of concrete blocks, earth and sand, etc. built into the two lowest cylindrical units 4A, 4A. has been done. The inside of the cylindrical units 4A, 4A, . There is. Further, the vertically adjacent cylindrical units 4A, 4A are arranged with packing on the flanges provided at the edges of the openings at both ends of each cylindrical unit 4A, as shown as connection positions 4D, 4D, . . . in FIG. They are connected in a sealed manner by fitting and bolting. Since the vertical dimension of each cylindrical unit 4A is, for example, 25 m, the vertical dimension H of the entire columnar body 4 is, for example, 150 m. The arrangement and weight of the weight part 24 and the arrangement and capacity of the floating part 23 are such that the columnar body 4 is floated in an upright position in seawater SW, and the upper part of the columnar body 4 protrudes from the sea surface SL. Each is set. The center of gravity of this vertical columnar body 4 is set at a position approximately ⅓ above the lower end portion 4C.

The mooring rope 5 is composed of a first mooring rope 5A, 5A, 5A connected to the lower end surface portion 4C of the vertical column body 4, and a second mooring rope 5B, 5B connected to the vertical column body 4 at a substantially central position in the vertical direction. The first mooring rope 5A and the second mooring rope 5B are composed of, for example, a wrought iron chain. However, a wire rope or the like may be used instead of the wrought iron chain. When using a hawser rope, it is preferable to select one that contains a large amount of engineering plastic fibers and is highly durable. The vertical column body 4 is moored to the mooring ropes 5A, 5B while standing and floating in the seawater SW.
Anchor bodies 6, 6, ... are attached to the lower ends of the first mooring rope 5A and the second mooring rope 5B, respectively, to be anchored to the seabed B. These anchor bodies 6, 6, ... allow the lower ends of the mooring ropes 5A, 5B to be fixed to the seabed B and the vertical column body 4 to be moored by simply dropping anchor, even in deep places where the water is 100 m or more deep. Since such a simple operation is sufficient, the labor and cost of the device installation work is significantly less than those of the conventional techniques of Patent Documents 1 and 2. Incidentally, when the water depth is 100 m or more, it becomes practically difficult to drive the anchoring piles into the seabed B.

Next, the operation of the offshore wind power generation device 1 configured as described above will be explained. First, as shown in FIG. 5, the columnar body 4 is floating in an upright state in seawater SW at a certain tide level, and the upper end portion 4B of the columnar body 4 is protruding above the sea surface SL. The upper part of the columnar body 4 is inserted into the vertical through hole 3A of the floating body 3, and the floating body 3 floats on the sea surface SL while freely moving up and down with respect to the columnar body 4. The vertical width of the tide level due to ebb and flow in Japan is said to be 6m to 8m, but when the tide level rises, the sea level SL shown by the solid line rises to the position of the sea level SLu shown by the two-dot chain line, for example (in the direction of arrow U1). ). Then, the floating body 3 also rises to the position indicated by the two-dot chain line as the tide level rises while being guided by the vertical column 4 in the upper and lower through holes 3A (in the direction of arrow U2). Incidentally, if the floating body 3 and the vertical column body 4 are integrated as shown in the third prior art, when the sea level rises to the position SLu, the floating body 3 and the wind power generator 2 The pedestal section 8 of the wind power generator 2 will be submerged in water, causing problems in the operation of the wind power generator 2. However, the offshore wind power generation device 1 of this embodiment does not cause such a problem. Thereafter, when the sea level lowers from SLu due to the ebb tide, the floating body 3 also lowers while being guided by the columnar body 4 while floating on the sea surface.

As shown in FIG. 6, this offshore wind power generation device 1 receives forces such as wind, waves, and tides (in the direction of arrow D), and the vertical column body 4 is pushed in the direction of arrow E and tilted. Even when the floating body 3 is floating, it moves toward the upper end 4B of the columnar body 4, and is kept floating on the sea surface SL and does not submerge. Eventually, when the wind and tide stop, the vertical column 4 returns to the vertical position (solid line in Figure 6), and the floating body 3 descends from the top of the vertical column 4 while floating and returns to its original position. be.

As described above, according to the offshore wind power generation device 1 of this embodiment, even if there are influences such as wind, waves, and tide levels, the wind power generator 2 is not submerged due to the vertical floating of the float 3, and wind power generation can be performed stably. In this case, since the vertical dimension H of the vertical column body 4 is long, it can be installed not only in shallow waters but also in deep places far from land. In other words, since it is far from land, it does not interfere with fishing or cause adverse effects on fish, etc. In addition, in this offshore wind power generation device 1, since both the float body 3 and the vertical column body 4 are formed in a circular shape in a plan view, it smoothly deflects the impact of wind and tides and reduces the inclination of the vertical column body 4. In other words, it is extremely advantageous compared to the case of using a barge with a square shape in a plan view as in Patent Document 2.

In particular, in this offshore wind power generation device 1, since the vertical dimension H of the vertical column 4 is 150 m, the offshore wind power generation device 1 can be placed even on a continental shelf where the water depth is about 200 m. Since Japan has a vast continental shelf around it, by deploying a large number of offshore wind power generation devices 1 on the continental shelf, vast amounts of strong wind power can be effectively utilized as electricity. Generally, the farther you are from land, the stronger the wind force will be. As a result, this offshore wind power generation device 1 can be equipped with a wind power generator 2 having a power generation capacity of 4 MW to 12 MW. In addition, the lower end 4C of the columnar body 4 is connected to the first mooring rope 5A, and the vertical midway point of the columnar body 4 is connected to the second mooring rope 5B, so that the columnar body 4 stands up and floats. The vertical column body 4 is moored at that height position, and the inclination of the vertical column body 4 is kept small even when subjected to forces such as wind, waves, and tide level.

In the above embodiment, an example was shown in which a horizontal axis type wind power generator that generates power with a propeller rotating around a horizontal axis is used as the wind power generator, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Instead of the horizontal axis wind power generator, it is also possible to use, for example, a vertical axis wind power generator that generates power with blades rotating around a vertical axis. As this vertical axis wind power generator, a lift type wind power generator, a resistance type wind power generator, or a hybrid type wind power generator having both a lift type structure and a resistance type structure can be used.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. In other words, it goes without saying that the present invention includes design changes that do not deviate from the gist of the present invention, including various modifications and amendments that would be conceivable to a person with ordinary knowledge in the field of the present invention.

1 Offshore wind power generation device 2 Wind power generator 3 Floating body 3A Upper and lower through holes 4 Vertical column body 4B Upper end surface portion 4C Lower end surface portion 5 Mooring cable 5A First mooring cable 5B Second mooring cable 6 Anchor body 22 Floating space 23 Floating part 24 Weight Part B Seabed H Vertical dimension SL Sea surface SW Seawater

Claims (4)

A floating body equipped with a wind power generator and floating on the ocean; a vertical column body consisting of a cylindrical member having a floating part and a weight part and floating in an upright position in the sea; an upper end connected to the vertical column body and a lower end connected to the vertical column body; A mooring cable moored to the seabed;
A vertical through hole is formed in the floating body, and the columnar body is inserted into the vertical through hole so as to be vertically movable,
The wind power generator includes a column, a nacelle supported by the upper end of the column and containing a generator motor and a speed increaser, and a nacelle disposed in front of the nacelle and attached to a rotating shaft of the speed increaser. It consists of a hub and a propeller attached to the outer periphery of the hub,
The floating body has a pedestal part that is provided at the upper end thereof and accommodates the upper end , which is a free end of the vertical column body, in a vertically movable manner, and the pillar part of the wind power generator is erected on the pedestal part. An offshore wind power generation device characterized by: Claim characterized in that the mooring cable is composed of a first mooring cable connected to the lower end of the columnar body, and a second mooring cable connected to an intermediate position in the vertical direction of the vertical columnar body. 1. The offshore wind power generation device according to 1. 3. The offshore wind power generation device according to claim 1, wherein an anchor body anchored to the seabed is attached to a lower end of the mooring cable. The offshore wind power generation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the vertical dimension of the vertical column body is 100 m or more and 200 m or less.

Images