11
Development of Nacelle Assembly Lifting
System (LIFTCAP)--Native
American Technologies Company (N. A. Tech. Inc.), P.O. Box 39, Golden, CO 80402‑0039; 720‑273‑3404; www.natech-inc.com
Dr. Jerald Edward Jones, Principal
Investigator, jonesje1@aol.com
Ms. Valerie L. Rhoades, Business Official,
vlrhoades@aol.com
DOE Grant No. DE‑FG02‑07ER84868
Amount:
$374,999
Utility-scale
wind turbines are getting so large that transportation limitations are driving
final, onsite assembly costs. To address this problem, this project will design an apparatus for placing wind
turbine components – the nacelle, generator, gear box, rotor, and blades – on
top of an in-situ-fabricated, self-erecting tower, without using an
external crane. The approach builds on UltraTall, the result of a National Renewable Energy
Laboratory funded project, in which a self-erecting tower (4 sections, 1:15
reduced scale, 5.3 meter tall) was fabricated and tested. However, it was beyond the scope of that
project to develop a nacelle placement apparatus. In Phase I of this project, four different
design concepts for the nacelle placement apparatus were prioritized and a
detailed design of the leading concept was completed. Phase II will conduct a detailed Finite
Element Analysis (FEA) of the nacelle placement system (tower plus nacelle
placement apparatus), develop a full scale prototype, and then test the
apparatus. The plan is to erect three
sections of a full-scale UltraTall
tower and use the prototype nacelle placement system to lift an equivalent
weight. (The construction of a
full-scale wind generating system for testing the nacelle placement system is
beyond the scope of Phase II.) The
nacelle placement apparatus and tower sections will have a complete set of
sensors, and a structural health monitoring system will be used to collect data
on the structural behavior. That data
will be used to validate the FEA.
Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as
described by the awardee: The plan for Phase III is to
erect and demonstrate a full-scale wind energy system that utilizes the UltraTall tower. The site, which is on a farm in eastern