Mega Construction: The Creation of Gigantic Wind Turbines | FD Engineering

By converting

wind

to power, these high-tech, high-performance

turbines

are driving the shift to green energy around the world, but building and installing these increasingly larger

wind

turbines

poses a huge challenge: You can force them to do it, which In the factories where they are built, cutting-edge robotic technology is used to build the huge Nels and powerful generators. The rotor blades are especially large, measuring more than 80 meters long and weighing 20 tons, and are molded in one. piece a blade is larger than the wingspan of an A380 to carry the huge components to remote locations the engineer needs special transport ships and

mega

cranes without them the wind turbines could not leave the factory the crews need nerves of steel when assembling the wind turbines on site even a small mistake can have deadly results we do not necessarily have more problems but they are more dangerous and more deadly wind turbines Manu manufacturing is booming around the world the industry is driven by a single bigger and longer goal and heaviest giant wind turbine is being built high-rise conveyor delivers first pieces of concrete 10 specialists will build the first of a total of 24 tower elements weighing at least one ton each at the Falcon wind farm near Berlin that 11 giant wind turbines can generate up to 530

mega

watt hours per day under optimal weather conditions, but that is not enough.

In the coming weeks they will be joined here by an e82 wind turbine. The turbines measure 138 m from ground to shaft and have a rotor diameter of 83.3 m in good wind conditions. They can produce up to 5,000 megawatt hours per year, enough to meet the annual energy needs of about 12,200 homes. The first step is to lay the foundation, made of 75 tons of steel and 700 cubic meters of concrete. It extends 4 meters on the ground and is heavy. several thousand tons, if the ground cannot support such weight, the foundations are further anchored with 40 concrete pillars extending 15 m into the ground.

The team has already placed the first section of the tower on the foundation and now a special crane is lifting the second. ring at the base three crew members push the second ring, which weighs almost 120 tons, into position two iron centering pins help position the second segment flush with the first the two segments must maintain tolerances of only a few millimeters 15 minutes later, the second ring is in place and the tower has grown. 4 mops inside the tower. The team also moves higher. They stand on a platform that has six legs that adjust to the diameter of the tower each time. tower grows the crane raises the platform another 3 m then the platform re-anchors to the interior exterior wall the rest of the team is preparing the third ring the crane suspension system uses several orange heavy lifting slings to lift the sections of the tower the number, length and strength of slings vary depending on the nature and weight of the cargo.

The crew makes precise calculations taking into account all factors to ensure everything goes well. These people's lives are at stake. The crane operator's view may be obstructed. Guided by radio, the Tower's first rings weigh well over 100 tons. We use a floating ballast The floating ballast is the huge counterweight that stabilizes the crane and prevents it from tipping over under heavy loads. It allows the 565-tonne crane to lift more than its own weight. 600 tons. The crane boom is 126 M long. It takes 3 days. Just to install the crane there is a wind meter at the tip of the boom, according to safety regulations, the wind speed cannot exceed 9 m/s during this part of the operation, even a small amount of swing in cargo could be extremely dangerous today. the wind speed is 3.6 m/second so that the work can continue.

The crawler crane lifts the ring and the team moves it into position. They have built dozens of wind turbines around the world and know they are on a tight schedule for the next 8 years. In a few days they will add another 18 cement rings reaching a height of 83 M. At this moment the segments are being stacked. They will not be joined until the steel section is placed. We used to glue the segments together but stopped years ago because of cost and efficiency reasons, right now the rings are being placed on top of each other, their enormous weight making the tower stable.

Later, the team will mount 24 steel cables, each the thickness of an arm, into the structure. The cables will securely hold the tower segments together. Now it is time to remove the working platform, its legs are retracted and the crane lifts it off the tower with the crew still on board. At this stage of

construction

, the diameter of the upper segment is still large enough to accommodate the control cabinets and electrical system. Equipment to be lowered inside The next set of P turbine parts is almost at the

construction

site. 12 trucks are just a few hundred meters from the tower.

They transport the next four rings, each of which is made up of three segments in record time. The crew has placed the slings and unloaded the trucks. The first of the three concrete shells is placed on a mounting star. Casting the concrete in one piece and then transporting the 100-tonne Colossus would be inefficient and very expensive. That is why it is assembled on site. The team unloads the second shell and places it on the mounting star. They use chain hoists to get it into the correct position. The third concrete shell completes the ring. The team starts lining up all the pieces and screws them together how we want them to be. flush for the screws to fit into the holes, so we have to take it out with hydraulic pumps and chain hoists.

The team places the concrete casings in place CM by CM and then fix the segments together using 30mm steel bolts in less than an hour. Once the crew has assembled the fourth ring, the massive crane will hoist it into position. where it will remain for approximately two decades, then the wind turbine will be renovated or replaced. The minimum service life of 20 years is also the reason why manufacturing and assembling the turbine is precision work. A factory in the town of Bond, Denmark, produces more than 1,000 onshore and offshore wind turbines a year. 3,000 skilled workers use high-tech robotic technology to assemble the multi-tonne nacelle, as the Nel's deck is called.

The wind turbines built here are found in more than 90 countries around the world these large industrial warehouses are worn out Nels used in the wt7 wind turbines are built these wind turbines are up to 165 M high and are designed for offshore use the Rotors are 154 m in diameter Each wind turbine has a nominal capacity of 7 megawatts per year It is more than enough to power 7,000 washing machines A crew of 65 is building the marine giants The 3,000 meter production line can produce four Nels a week The demand for these turbines is increasing as are the technical demands placed on the larger ones.

The challenge in the industry is to constantly improve technology to reduce costs. The expectations of all our customers and, ultimately, society, is that we can bring wind energy to the level of what other fuels cost. First of all, we can make them bigger. That makes them more efficient, but we also work on more advanced dynamics for the blades, lighter structures, but basically we work on everything. Building offshore wind turbines is a very complex process because they are much larger than their land-based cousins, but their huge rotors also generate more electricity and the higher wind speeds over water are converted even more efficiently into electricity.

Building offshore wind farms requires special ship lifting platforms and heavy-duty floating cranes to withstand years of wind waves and adverse weather conditions. The marine turbines must be supported by a huge base, depending on the depth of the water and the prevailing currents, up to four enormous steel pillars sink up to 30 m deep into the ocean floor, this anchors the marine turbines that They weigh several hundred tons. Germany built its first offshore wind farms in 2004. Since then, it has been adding about 100 offshore turbines a year, unlike its Scandinavian and British counterparts. German offshore wind farms are not located near the coast, but more than 12 nautical miles out to sea, which means at least 22.2 km from land. energy has become quite competitive because it has been around for 20 30 in some places 40 years and we keep improving the turbines they have gotten bigger they started with the size of a dining table now a single blade is bigger than the wingspan of an A380 Technology continues to improve and costs continue to fall, which is why wind energy is in such demand around the world today and why it is so useful.

The components for an offshore wind turbine have just arrived at the factory. This 30 ton main frame is the At the heart of the turbine, the cast iron structure will link the tower to the large Nel and the rotor that will be able to rotate the main frame is equipped with a huge gearbox so that the Nel and the rotors can spin as needed at the next station where the crew installs 16 yaw gears, each of these electric motors spins a yaw mechanism that meshes with the gearbox in the Nel allowing the rotor to spin and the Nel turns towards the wind.

Sensors are placed at various points on the Nel to measure wind direction vibration and wind speed. The 16 electric motors rotate the 80-ton cell as efficiently as possible to W the wind. When the Nisel rotates, the rotors must Stand still The WT7 wind turbine can handle wind speeds between 2 and 25 m/s and convert that energy into electricity at higher wind speeds The unit shuts down for safety reasons These high-tech electronic boxes keep the nisel properly oriented in the wind the boxes contain complex sensors and control systems the top box is on the wind turbine in the N there are electrical panels with electronic equipment that controls the movement of the blades and makes some measurements, so there are many sensors there we measure temperatures, we measure wind speed, wind directions, vibrations, we measure the pitch angle, so how the blades are positioned, we measure their angle to a large extent. of parameters that are fed back to our Monitoring Center the company has installed around 11,000 wind turbines around the world the data from the turbines is transmitted through fiber optic cables to the Diagnostic Center in Denmark 85% of breakdowns are can remotely fix the data also supply information on the efficiency of the wind turbine.

This Nel has been equipped with all the necessary electronic sensors and control elements. Now the team begins to assemble the side walls. They are made of glass fiber reinforced plastic or GFRp. This composite material that is lightweight and extremely resistant. They were also used in airplanes. The oldest wind turbines were made of aluminum, but the metal is too heavy for today's massive structures. The team then attaches the side walls using 222 screws on each. The Finish Nel weighs as much as four school buses, but before reaching the customer. receives a thorough check, it is essential that the quality is in order because even a small U error can cause the wind turbine to shut down.

We need to make sure a turbine is working mounted in the ocean then you need to leave it is quite expensive to have a turbine that is not working the nasel is now ready to head to Germany we returned to the Falant Tal wind farm for the last 6 days the tower wind turbines has grown to 22 rings with a total of 80 m in total today the crew will assemble In the last two segments, three crew members climb onto a work platform that is significantly smaller than the one used to assemble the rings lower. The tower is narrower at the top than at the bottom.

The opening at the top measures just under 2 1/2m wide. After almost 10 minutes they reach the 80 M mark, the crew remains in radio contact with the crane operator while they move the cabin into place and then give the order to lower the platform and anchor it to the tower. It's routine work, but they remain alert. high above the ground, a single mistake can spell disaster. Things don't go wrong more often, but when they do, it's more dangerous, more deadly. At 100m above the ground, anything that falls can cause much more damage than when you are on the ground. receive medical checkups to confirm that they arefit to work at these heights during training the crews also receive instruction on how to safely carry out a rescue operation in the event of an accident or fall every 6 months they also receive a medical examination to ensure they are capable of working at Great Heights the team connects the safety cable and remove the cables from the crane 20 minutes after leaving the ground they are at 80 M high and ready to work they will be on the small platform for 3 or 4 hours there is no bathroom, no heating in winter and no shade In summer, simply cleaning the top ring stop is hard work.

It's easier for ground staff. They are preparing the next concrete element for installation at the bottom of the ring. should be cleaned and two centering pins released into position. The crawler crane lifts the concrete ring to the top. This weighs 42 tons, a light weight compared to those at the bottom, but it also has a disadvantage: the lighter the load, the more likely it is to swing when raised the crane operator has to be extremely skillful. and depends on precise instructions from the platform team the team begins to carefully maneuver the segment into place 20 minutes later the concrete ring is in place at the maximum power the team is now At 83 m above the ground they begin to open contact channels.

Two dozen shafts extend along the exterior wall from the top to the basement. They use a pendulum to make sure each axis is free. If it is blocked at any point, the steel cable will not descend. the crew assembles four threaded bolts, the next segment is waiting on the ground, it is solid iron, not concrete, like some kind of cork on top, it will be attached to the 24 steel cables that will extend to the ground, tightening the segments together once. the screws are in place, it's time for lunch, but first they have to go down the ladder and attach their harness to the ladder's fall arrest system, then they disconnect the second lifeline from the 80 M work platform and almost 300 steps Descending the ladder requires strength and stamina.

The tower widens towards the bottom, so the descent is also done at an angle with the crew member's body weight moving them away from the ladder. 6 minutes later the three are within reach. Safe on the ground while the rig team takes a break the others unwrap a huge spool holding the coiled steel cables. Each spool contains 4 85M cables, each made of nine individual strands of steel. It will eventually extend from the top to the bottom of the Tower. Right now the team fixes the cables in the foundation and then they will raise them through the shafts.

Another special component is on the way. This is the motorized uncoiling device that will uncoil the tower. cables on spools so they can be extended through the channels the cables are so heavy that they cannot be uncoiled by hand the crew climbs onto a platform basket that rises to the top of the tower climbing the ladder would be too much Exhausting and time-consuming, but the path up still requires nerves of steel. The fall protection cables are disconnected and the crew returns to the platform. The 5 ton cable reel now connected to the motorized uncoiling device is raised to the top of the tower.

Two crew members begin to untangle the first. The steel cable one level below the third crew member feeds it into the channel, then the rest is untangled and extended down through the tower wall to the basement, then the mounting bracket on top At the end of the day, 24 steel cables extend from the top of the tower to the basement. Later, the team will use a special procedure to tighten the cables that will ensure the final structure is stable. The facilities in BR Denmark not only build cells for offshore wind turbines every week, 18 high-tech Nels for onshore wind turbines are also manufactured here.

The wt3 wind turbines measure up to 1,142 m in height and have a rotor diameter of approximately 100 m with a maximum speed of 19 revolutions per minute. It has a nominal capacity of 3.2 megaw The equipment works at a set rate every 4 hours and 20 minutes The assembly line advances one station We have a complete line here and for each station we have 4 hours and 20 minutes to carry out the assembly process what we have to do in this station, if the attack doesn't work then we will need to investigate what the problem is, it could be quality issues or missing parts, when that happens we need to contact our support functions to help us and make a decision about what to do, then losing Tech will also mean we lose our money, it means we will have to work overtime later to catch up and probably reschedule some of the deliveries we have, this compact Nel has been in serious production.

Since 2010 one of its selling points is that it is assembled here in the factory and not on the construction site. Currently there are two ways to generate electricity from wind. In the first option, the rotation of the rotor is transmitted through a series of gears to a small generator and the other rotor directly powers a large generator. Wind turbines that use gears have a longer Nel that holds the gears. A wind turbine direct drive has a comparatively shorter Nell Bronda factory specializes in direct drive wind turbines its generators work much like an oversized bottle Dynamo on a bicycle a huge copper coil is located inside the generator when the wind rotates the rotor magnets rotate around the copper coil that generates electricity.

We introduced the technology in 2007 on the first test machines, but only in the last 5 years. years in which we have really reached a high volume in this technology the copper ring is constructed from six massive parts copper is a metal with very high electrical conductivity wound copper increases inductance copper is also a soft metal with which is easy to work with. The team is now placing the so-called stator in a special housing. The generator casing is then inserted into this machine. Inside the machine. Four robotic arms install magnets on the drum surrounding the copper coil. We remove the magnets.

We call them cold so they are not magnetized. The robot takes a cold magnet, magnetizes it and places it in the finished generator. The magnetic force in this cell here is very high, so no human can enter there once he is in the generator. It's not dangerous anymore. The cold magnet is coated with a special alloy that helps protect them from wear and tear. The high-tech robots install a total of 648 magnets into the generator. The generator is then placed on a flatbed truck that transports the 3 million watt generator to the next location. factory, this is where the generator is located it will be installed first in the cell the team attaches a large transport frame to the roof crane a custom made spike device makes it possible to move the generators safely here in this 3,000s factory from met an aell for a S wt3 wind turbine is assembled every 4 hours when the direct drive generator is attached and bolted in place the entire nisel weighs 73 tons this factory belongs to one of the largest wind turbine manufacturers in the world build a Of these turbines it costs almost 3 million euros.

Three different types of Nels are built here. A heavy truck takes it to the port of the Danish city of Espur, from there the units are sent around the world. The freighter also transports the enormous Nels to Germany. At the Falcon wind farm near Berlin, preparations for the arrival of the Nisel are underway, but before the Nel can be lifted to the top of the E 82 wind turbine, the team has to install the last two sections of steel. Two cranes are needed to lift the steel sections, allowing the team to lift the pipe while ensuring the delicate ends of the span do not touch the ground.

Fog and approaching twilight make the job difficult. Wind could also pose a problem. problem with wind speeds greater than 8 m per second this stage of the work would have to be postponed if the crane tried to lift 58 tons with a wind speed of 10 or 12 m/s the steel section would start to sway the crane could even tip over we would be risking the lives of the workers there is no way of knowing where the crane would land if it fell despite the least amount of optimal conditions the steel section is raised without problems the crane lifts the section to the top of the 83 M Tower the tower It is another 25 M higher the work continues without interruption the next section of steel is raised it is 28 M long and weighs 42 tonnes Once the wind turbine tower is in place, the 136 M tower is made up of 24 separate elements.

The crew is now preparing the high-tech Nel for the last stage of the process. This type of Nel weighs 19 tons. The crew has to work. It gets dark quickly and there is more fog Operation begins under optimal conditions It takes a month for a new wind turbine to be ready to go into operation The team is working in difficult conditions today but time is still money They have already spent 10 days Building the tower, in the last hours they installed the last two sections of steel. Now they have fixed the Nel to the tower, 136 m high. They will only have one day to install the huge rotor, which is manufactured by another factory in the Danish city of Alborg. rotor blades for wind turbines 1,300 workers here produce about 2,000 blades a year.

A number of different factors influence its construction, including its lifespan, its noise emissions and, especially, its performance here in the plant. Furthermore, we manufacture blades both onshore and offshore and it is comprehensive. blades, that means they are actually one piece blades that we are manufacturing in lengths between 53M and 81m and we make in rounds of 30 to 40 blades a week here in this factory, each blade starts in a huge mold much like this That also applies to the largest blades built here in Denmark with 81 m. It is one of the longest rotor blades in the world.

This fiberglass mat is the raw material, that's what the Packers and the team at this station are called. They use the giant mold to pack. It is easy. to handle and very easy to form in our molds, so we had no problem placing them or straightening them if that is what we needed. The fiberglass strips have a special woven structure that makes the sheet exceptionally strong. The mat should be placed without wrinkles or air pockets, which would have a negative impact on the structural properties of the material if you throw it away. It's very stiff and just with a little wrinkle you can throw it, it doesn't have much strength, the Packers.

Place 500 strips of fiberglass mat into the mold; They must be overlapped in a specific pattern and placed at set distances from each other. Then, the Finish sheet can withstand all types of loads and weather conditions. The interior of each sheet also contains a connecting beam as tall as a man, which provides additional stability for installing the beam and the overhead crane moves a huge steel frame over the mold. The frame supports the wood core for safety reasons. Packers have to wait until the frame is stationary, then they can remove the beam and secure it. Once installed, the rotors of wind turbines are becoming larger.

Longer blades can generate more electricity, reducing the number of wind turbines needed to meet demand. This blade will be even longer than the wingspan of an Airbus A380. The crew then installs a lightning rod and then a foam. The core is placed in the mold and finished with another 500 strips of fiberglass mat to form the top of the blade. The foam is then removed leaving a hollow, lighter blade, allowing the blade to be formed as a single piece later. The Packers have covered the foam core with a layer of wood. They can begin placing the fiberglass panels that will form the top of the blade.

Now that all the parts of the shovel are in place. The overhead crane moves a huge steel casing into position and closes. The mold, the inside of the shell is equipped with a piping system. All the air inside the blade will be sucked through the pipes and then the structure will be filled with a two-component resin. A special pump and mixing unit inject 8,300 kilos of resin. and the hardener in the mold, the resin and hardener flow through these tubes into this mixer which mixes the two components in a specific ratio, this is how epoxy resin is made and continues here, the mixed resin flows through these tubes, the vacuum sucks up the epoxy. resin in the mold is also heated, at the same time its temperature slowly increases around 0.2 per minute until it reaches 92° C, which takes around 7 and 1/2 hours, then the leaf is left to harden for another 2at 85° the The rest of the air is removed through these hoses.

The resulting vacuum causes the rest of the epoxy resin to move to each corner of the mold, that way no air pockets can form inside the sheet, which helps ensure maximum stability. Nine epoxy resin flow containers. In the blade, once the entire mold is filled, the mixture of synthetic resin and hardener is heated. It is joined to the fiberglass mats. The blade is then allowed to harden. The final result is one of the largest rotor blades in the world. blades used in e82 wind turbine The Falcon turbine and blade have a length of about 38 M and are transported to the construction site by three special trailer trucks.

Two cranes are used to unload the rotor blades, so that the 8-ton blades can be lifted from both sides, preventing accidents and damage to the blades. are first placed on the ground Modern wind turbine blades have a sawtooth-shaped edge along part of the blade, making the blades quieter and more aerodynamic, increasing the efficiency. The design was inspired by nature. The trailing edge of an owl's wing allows it to fly. It darts quickly and silently on its prey, then the three blades are attached to the rotor hub when the unit is running, this is what will transfer the energy from the blades to the generator.

A hook is attached to the center of gravity of the blades, which makes it possible for a single crane to lift the blade while keeping it parallel to the ground. The blades are attached to the rotor hub at an angle of 120°. The hub has been carefully positioned when the blades are attached. are attached the crane will be able to lift it and turn it to the vertical position in a single movement so that it can be raised to the top, it takes the crew approximately 5 hours to fix the blades to the hub, then the 56 ton rotor star is ready to operate, but first we return to the factory in Alborg a new blade has just been manufactured.

The Packers placed 500 strips of fiberglass matting in a huge steel mold. The strips were laid in a special overlapping pattern to ensure that each finished sheet was strong enough to withstand high winds and then a massive roof. The crane placed a connecting beam inside the blade to help stabilize it. A temporary foam core filled the inside of the blade which was finished off with a wood panel and finally another 500 strips of fiberglass, then the top of the steel mold was placed over the blade. Structure air was pumped out of the structure to generate a vacuum. The mold was filled with a mixture of resin and a hardener.

The mold containing the fiberglass and epoxy resin mixture was heated for 10 hours and allowed to harden. The final result was a model 81 m long. Blade made of glass fiber reinforced plastic or GFRp. The material is robust and lightweight, but it also has some disadvantages. Even small air pockets or indentations can weaken the blade. That's why the team is now ensuring that the material is perfectly solid and smooth, any defects are removed with a grinder and the resulting holes are filled with new fiberglass until the blade is solid and smooth. The rotor blades then go to the painting line, first receiving a coat of primer which is then covered with a special protective polyurethane layer.

The varnish creates a tough surface that can withstand immense mechanical stress. This mechanical stress increases proportionally to the length of the blade, so it becomes longer and then you have to think about the laws of nature, how it is used in production, how it is manufactured. but also how you take it from the plant to the views, whether on the boats or on the traditions, and how to get them to the site and install them, you also need big cranes to install boats, so there are many parameters that you have to think and think about in new ways of doing it.

To meet and meet these new challenges, the blades then undergo several fatigue tests that can take up to 12 weeks. Engineers subject blades to extreme bending and twisting moments for long periods in simulations. Blades must withstand the same force that they will be exposed to throughout their life, not all blades are tested this way, but a random sample of blades receive rigorous testing, as do prototypes and new designs, most blades They are tested for some loads which is equivalent to 25 years lifespan, it can also be 20 years but mainly 25 years, we can also run extended testing programs where we test the blades to double their lifespan so it can be quite a long time, but a full testing program for a blade can last up to a year.

The sheet is subject to a special test. Tower in the middle of the blade, a weight of several tons causes the blade to oscillate depending on the size of the blade. Up to 400 sensors measure various parameters 25 times per second. The 24 hours of the day. I've been there for almost seven years. I think I've seen only two blades fail a fatigue test. It is so rare for blades to fall because we monitor all the data so closely that we will find the errors before they really turn into serious damage. Among Alborg's enormous blades are the largest in the world, 81 m long and with a surface area of ​​20,000 m.

Blades of this size produce offshore wind turbines with a nominal power of 7 to 8 megaw at the Falcon wind farm the rotor star has been mounted The next step It will be complicated, the crane will lift the rotor off the ground and then turn it into a vertical position in the air just a few meters from the waiting tower. For safety reasons, the maximum wind speed during this maneuver is 6 m/second. You can see the Its size, the diameter is 83 M, the crew has to stay close because we need to tilt the star. We lift the star and then the star tilts up so it can rise.

The crane slowly lifts the rotor star to 56 tons. The size of half a football field will now move to a vertical position. The rotor hangs from a special hook called a banana. Its curved shape allows the entire rotor star to hang in perfect balance. Only a small amount of force is needed to tilt it. the crane lifts the star two crew members push it towards the tower the huge rotor star slowly moves from a horizontal to a vertical position meter by meter the wind turbine propeller slowly rises to the top two long cables are attached to the blades that the crew Ed to maintain a uniform kill an hour later, the huge rotor star has reached the Nel at 138 m above the ground, the crew then fixes it to the generator with screws after 4 weeks of work, the new e82 wind turbine will finally be in position in the next few days the wind turbine will come into operation when the wind reaches a speed of 2 m per second the turbine will start automatically and generate green energy we have an immense and growing need for electricity due to the world population , grid expansion and cheap electric vehicles Renewable energy from wind power is ideal.

The first wind turbine was built almost 130 years ago. Since then, people have been harnessing the power of the wind as a cheap, powerful, and unlimited source of energy. Today, wind turbines are high-tech industrial facilities. Its enormous cells contain. giant copper coils of the latest generation robots install huge magnets in them today wind turbines are manufactured on the assembly line rotor blades are manufactured with the help of huge steel molds and special robust materials thousands of steps of production to get a new wind turbine online once it is finally operational. Nature and technology work hand in hand to generate energy from the wind.