Wind turbine spindle assembly with spindle constraint

Patent · Tue Mar 06 04:00:00 EST 1984

OSTI ID:6506965

Cook, G E

A spindle assembly for a soft airfoil wind turbine wheel having an elongate support cable connected in tension between the rim and hub of the wheel, an elongate, rotatable spindle mounted adjacent the elongate support member and a constraint mechanism for constraining the spindle against excessive bowing in response to wind pressure. The constraint mechanism includes a plurality of clamps mounted to the elongate support member which loosely surround the spindle and any airfoil furled therearound except for a slot for passage of the airfoil. Rollers are located adjacent the slots to guide the airfoil therethrough and are mounted to rotate about members interconnecting the clamps so that the wind pressure exerted by the soft airfoil is distributed along the length of the support members. Bracing cables connected to the elongate support member further distribute the wind pressure forces to the wheel structure and ground. In one embodiment, one end of the spindle and the constraint clamps are mounted for pivotal movement about the elongate support member. In another embodiment, an elongate boom is connected to a portion of a constraint clamp and pivots therewith about the support member. In one form, the slot in the constraint clamp may be widened to remove the clamp from around the spindle. When the spindle is fixedly rather than pivotally mounted, other embodiments provide for fixed mounting of the clamps to the support member, rotary movement of the clamps and attached boom about an axis passing through the clamps and eccentric movement of the clamps and attached boom relative to the spindle axis. The variation in apparent wind direction relative to the airfoil caused by wheel rotation is accommodated by differential pivoting of the constraint members, so that more pivoting of constraint members located further from the hub occurs than those closer to the hub.

• Assignee: Windpower Machines Ltd.
• Patent Number(s): US 4435125
• OSTI ID: 6506965
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

17 WIND ENERGY
170602* -- Wind Energy Engineering-- Turbine Design & Operation
AERODYNAMICS
AIRFOILS
CABLES
CONTROL
CONTROL EQUIPMENT
DESIGN
EQUIPMENT
FASTENERS
FLUID MECHANICS
MACHINERY
MECHANICAL STRUCTURES
MECHANICS
MOTION
PRESSURE CONTROL
ROTATION
SUPPORTS
TILT MECHANISMS
TURBINES
TURBOMACHINERY
WHEELS
WIND TURBINES