Patent Abstract:
A system is used to transport wind turbines on railroad cars. The wind turbines are partially disassembled into four types of components—nacelles, blades, rotor hubs and tower sections. The blades are stored in cargo containers suitable for use in multi-mode transportation of freight by ship, rail and truck. The nacelles and rotor hubs are not stored in containers but are affixed to transport structures. Brackets are affixed to the tower sections. Then the components are mounted on railroad cars.

Full Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to wind turbines, and more particularly, to transporting wind turbines on railroad cars. 
     2. Background 
     Wind turbines are used to generate electrical power, and conventional wind turbine  1  is illustrated in  FIG. 1 . The turbine  1  is mounted on the ground  5  and includes a tower  6  comprised of a plurality of sections with a nacelle  10  mounted on top. A rotor  12  is affixed to the front of the nacelle  10  and blades  14  are connected to the rotor  12 . The tower  6  is comprised of sections including base member  16 , intermediate members  17  and a top member  18 . 
     Turning now to  FIG. 2  the components of nacelle  10  of a conventional wind turbine  1  are illustrated. The nacelle  10  is rotatably mounted on the upper flange  15  of the top tower member  18  through a bearing  19  having an inner race and outer race connected to flange  15 . The inner race of the bearing  19  is connected to an annular nacelle mounting plate  20  having a larger diameter than the outer diameter of the top tower member  18 . 
     The nacelle  10  has a cylinder-like configuration extending horizontally and both ends are closed. The nacelle  10  includes a front nacelle section  21 A and a rear nacelle section  21 B. The nacelle  10  has holes  22  and  23  disposed opposite to each other on the upper and lower surfaces thereof, respectively. The hole  22  provided on the upper surface of the nacelle  10  is closed by a lid  22   a , after the nacelle  21  is mounted on the tower  6 . 
     A front supporting member  24  and rear supporting member  25  are installed on the floor surface of the front nacelle section  21   a  and rear nacelle section  21   b . The respective supporting members  24 ,  25  are connected through a plurality of L-shaped mounting members  26  with the mounting plate  20 . In the front nacelle section  21 A a rotation shaft  32  for supporting a rotor hub  31 , a bearing box  33  for supporting the rotation shaft  32 , a gear box  34  for changing the revolution speed of the rotation shaft  32 , a brake  35  and a shaft  36 , are disposed. 
     In the rear nacelle section  21 B a generator  37  connected to the shaft  36 , a controller  38 , and hydraulic power sources  39  are disposed. A drive shaft  40  is disposed between the gear box  34  and the generator  37  to transmit power from the gear box  34  to the generator  37 . A yaw motor  41  is mounted on the nacelle mounting plate  20  in order to rotate the nacelle  10 . An output shaft of the yaw motor  41  is provided with a drive gear (not shown) and the drive gear meshes with the gear formed on the outer periphery of the outer race of the bearing  19  so that the rotation of the yaw motor  41  adjusts the direction of the nacelle  10 . 
     Various components of a wind turbine are often manufactured in different parts of the world and then transported to a site and assembled and erected at the site. As one example, a manufacturer who wishes to assemble a tower in the United States may have the towers manufactured in Korea, the nacelles manufactured in Denmark and the blades manufactured in Germany. The components are shipped by ocean liners to the US and then loaded onto railroad cars and/or trucks for transportation to the assembly site where they are erected. Some types of wind turbines are relatively large structures which have some fragile components, and therefore they must be transported carefully to avoid damage. 
     Cargo containers, sometimes called intermodal containers, are commonly used for transportation of goods by a variety of methods. Such cargo containers are designed for shipment by ship, railroad and truck so that the cargo can be packed into the container at the beginning of the trip and then transported to the destination by more than one mode of transportation with out the need to load and unload the container when changing from one transportation mode to another. A conventional intermodal cargo container is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,782,561. 
     As described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,782,561 the intermodal cargo containers each have eight corners, and mounted on each corner is a corner fitting which includes three standard sized and shaped slots, one at each face of the container. The corner fittings cooperate with twist locking devices which enable a user to connect and disconnect the corners of a container to corresponding corners of another container thus permitting two containers to be connected to one another in a stable manner during transit and then disconnected from each other as required. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The system is used to transport wind turbines on railroad cars. The wind turbines are partially disassembled into four types of components—nacelles, blades, rotor hubs, and tower sections. The blades are stored in cargo containers suitable for use in multi-mode transportation of freight by ship, rail and truck. The nacelles and rotor hubs are not stored in containers but are affixed to transport structures. Brackets are affixed to the tower sections. Then the components are mounted on the decks of railroad cars. 
     The cargo containers are of standard construction, having a standard corner fitting at each corner thereof. The transport structures have holes in their ends. The railroad cars have brackets and stops welded thereto for cooperation with the standard corner fittings and with the holes in the transport structures. 
     Conventional twist lock connectors are installed in brackets located on a railroad car. Then the containers are lowered onto the railroad cars with their corner fittings aligned with the twist lock connectors, and the connectors are engaged with the corner fittings to form a secure connection. The nacelles with their transport structures are lowered onto the railroad cars so that the holes on the transport structures are aligned with the holes in the brackets, and then a pin is installed to connect them together. Once these connections have been made the railroad cars can be moved. 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a system and process for transporting a wind turbine by railroad efficiently and at reduced cost. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  shows a conventional wind turbine. 
         FIG. 2  shows the interior of the nacelle of a conventional wind turbine. 
         FIG. 3  is an elevation view of one embodiment of the present invention, showing tower sections. 
         FIG. 4  is another elevation view of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 5  is a plan view of part of the system shown in  FIG. 4 . 
         FIGS. 6–11  show components of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 3 . 
         FIGS. 12–15  show components of a system for mounting a tower section on a rail car. 
         FIG. 16  shows an end view of a tower section mounted on a rail car. 
         FIGS. 17–18  show conventional twist locks which can be used with the embodiments shown in  FIGS. 3–16 . 
         FIG. 19  shows a preferred embodiment for transporting blades, broken into three sections. 
         FIG. 19   a  shows the embodiment of  FIG. 19  in operation. 
         FIG. 20  shows an end view of the embodiment of  FIG. 19 . 
         FIG. 21  shows a plan view of part of the system of  FIG. 19 . 
         FIGS. 22–25  show details of the system of  FIG. 19 . 
         FIG. 26  shows a preferred embodiment for transporting nacelles. 
         FIGS. 27–32  show details of the system of  FIG. 26 . 
         FIGS. 33–37  show elevation views of railroad cars with tower sections in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 38  shows a plan view of the deck of a railroad car configured according to the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 33–37 . 
         FIGS. 39–44  show details of the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 33–38 . 
         FIG. 45  shows an end view of a tower section. 
         FIG. 46  shows an elevation view of railroad cars in accordance with the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 33–38 . 
         FIG. 47  shows a plan view of a system for transporting rotor hubs. 
         FIG. 48  shows an elevation view of the device of  FIG. 47 . 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Turning to  FIGS. 3–16 , the railroad transportation system for the tower sections is illustrated. With reference to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , bottom tower sections  50  and top tower sections  52  are located on railroad cars  54 . It should be noted that the tower sections are substantially cylindrical and the bottom tower sections  50  are roughly half the length of the top tower sections  52 . Middle tower sections are not shown since they are similar in length to the top sections  52  and are transported in the same way as the top tower sections  52 . The tower sections  52  and  50  are connected to the rail cars  54  by mounting systems  56  and  58  which will be further described below. 
     With reference to  FIG. 5  it can be understood that there are two types of mounting systems, a first type  56  and a second type  58 . The first type of mounting system  56  includes two short deck slot pedestals  59  and four end stops  62 , each of which is welded to the deck of the rail car  54  near one end of the car  54 . The second type of mounting system  58  is located near the end of the rail car opposite the first type of mounting system  56 , and the second type  58  includes four deck slot pedestals  60 , each of which is welded to the deck of the rail car  54 . 
     Turning to  FIGS. 6–8 , details of the deck slot pedestals  60  are shown. Each deck slot pedestal  60  comprises a substantially box like structure having four sides  70  and a top  72 . A slot  74  is formed in the top  72  and is shaped and sized to cooperate with a standard twist lock  100 . The slot  74  is considerably longer than necessary to accommodate a twist lock  100  so that the twist lock can be located in different positions along the length of the slot depending on the length of the tower section to be mounted to the pedestal  60 . On the other hand, the short deck slot pedestals  59  are shorter than pedestals  60  because the end of the tower section affixed to the short deck slot pedestals  59  is constrained in its location by the end stops  62 . 
     There are a number of designs for standard twist locks, and one twist lock  100  which can be used with the present embodiment is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,782,561, the teachings of which are incorporated herein by reference. Turning to  FIGS. 17 and 18  the twist lock  100  described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,782,561 includes a body  110  with a first projection  112  and a first lock  114  mounted above the first projection  112 . A second projection  116  is connected to the body  110  and a second lock  118  is mounted below the second projection  116 . A handle  120  is connected to the body and to the first and second locks  114  and  116  to enable a user to operate the locks  114  and  116 . In use, the user can engage the upper and lower locks with corresponding slots in a cargo container to connect cargo containers to one another. 
     Turning to  FIGS. 9–11 , details of end stops  62  are shown. Each end stop  62  comprises a flat base  76 , a vertical member  78  having a curved upper portion and two supports  80  which are mounted to the base and to the vertical member. 
     Turning to  FIGS. 12–14 , a bracket  82  is shown. The bracket  82  comprises a flat base plate  84  and a flat vertical member  86  welded to the base plate  84  and including five ports  88 . The ports  88  are substantially rectangular and have rounded ends. Two of the ports  88  have their long axes oriented horizontally and are located to the left side of the vertical member (as shown in  FIG. 12 ); two of the ports have their long axes oriented horizontally and are located to the right side of the vertical member  86 , and one of the ports is located with its long axis oriented vertically in the middle of the vertical member  86 . Two twist lock coupling members  90  are located one at each end of the bracket  82  and are affixed to the vertical member  86 . Each twist lock coupling member  90  comprises a flat horizontal member  94  and two vertical members  96  which are substantially triangular in shape. Each twist lock coupling member  90  includes a port  92  which is substantially rectangular and has rounded ends. As shown in  FIG. 12 , the ports  92  are shaped and sized to accommodate twist locks  100 . Moreover, as shown in FIG.  12 , it can be understood that the bracket  82  is sized and shaped so that when twist locks  100  are coupled to the ports  92 , the twist locks cooperate with the deck slot pedestals  60 . 
     In  FIG. 5  the location of the base plate  84  is shown. As part of the first type of mounting system  56  the base plate  84  is located as shown. As part of the second type of mounting system  58  the base plate  84  can be located to cooperate with either of two sets of deck slot pedestals  60 , depending on the length of the tower section to be accommodated. 
       FIG. 15  shows the first type of mounting system  56  in which the end stops  62  are welded to the deck of the rail car  54  and the bracket  82  is located between the end stops  62 . It should be understood that in the second type of mounting system  58  there are no end stops  62 . Turning to  FIG. 16  the bracket  82  is shown connected to a tower section  16 . It should be understood that each tower section  50  and  52  has a disc shaped flange  15  at each of its ends, and each flange  15  has a plurality of holes  102  located around its circumference so that tower sections can be bolted together. In the present transportation system the top tower section  50  is connected to the bracket  82  by three bolts  104 . There are no bolts through two of the ports  88  because the two ports are not used with tower section  50  but are used to accommodate top tower sections  52  which have a smaller diameter. 
     Turning now to  FIGS. 19–25  the system for transporting blades  14  is illustrated. The system comprises four cargo containers, a first large cargo container  122 , a second large cargo container  123 , a first small cargo container  124  and a second small cargo container  126  connected end to end with each other. Two blades  14  are packed inside the four cargo containers. 
     The right end of the first small cargo container  124  and the left end of the first large cargo container  122  are mounted to the rail car  54  by a pedestal system  200 , and the right end of the second large cargo container  123  and the left end of the second small cargo container  126  are mounted to the rail car  54  by a second pedestal system  200 . 
     As best illustrated in  FIG. 21  four pedestal systems  200  are welded to the deck of the rail car  54  near each corner of the deck. With reference to  FIG. 22 , the coupling of the pedestal system to the cargo containers is shown. It should be understood that this figure illustrates the coupling of one corner of the right end of the first small cargo container  124  and the left end of the first large cargo container  122 , and the three other coupling systems are the same as the one illustrated. A standard corner member  202  is connected to each corner of the cargo containers  122  and  124 . Each corner member includes three ports  204 , only one of which is visible in this figure, it being understood that the other ports are substantially identical to those which are shown. The ports  204  are located so that they are aligned with the faces of the cargo containers, and the ports are of industry standard configuration to cooperate with standard twist locks  100 . A conventional twist tie  205  connects the two corner members  202 . 
     With reference to  FIGS. 23–25  the pedestal system  200  comprises two connector boxes  206  and  208  which are substantially cube shaped and include ports. Connector box  206  includes three ports  210 ,  212  and  214 , and connector box  208  includes three ports  216 ,  218  and  220 . The connector boxes  206  and  208  are identical to standard corner members  202  so that standard twist locks are compatible with the connector boxes  206  and  208 . The connector boxes  206  and  208  are welded to the top of an I beam  222 , and eight reinforcing members  224  are welded to the I beam  222 . 
     One of the advantages of the preferred embodiment can now be appreciated with reference to  FIG. 19   a . It should be noted that railroad cars must be able to travel over uneven terrain and sometimes a car, in this example car  54   a , will be higher than an adjacent car, in this case car  54   b . This can result in the car  54   a  being in relatively close vertical proximity to first small cargo container  124 . The pedestal system  200  is designed to insure that the car  54   a  does not contact the small cargo container  124 . Similarly, when the cars travel around a turn the car  54   a  will not be aligned with car  54   b . If the left end of the first small cargo container  124  were attached to car  54   a  it would be difficult, if not impossible for the cars to make the turn. However, with the present system, this potential problem has been solved. 
       FIGS. 26–32  show the transport system for nacelles. In  FIG. 26  two nacelles  10  are shown mounted on rail car  54  by a transport frame  230  and nacelle stops  232 . The nacelles  10  contain components such as those illustrated in  FIG. 2 , including a bearing  19  to which the transport frame  230  is bolted.  FIGS. 27 and 28  show the transport frame  230 , which includes two beams  234  and a plate  236  affixed to the tops of the beams  234 . A cylindrical member  238  is affixed to the top of the plate, and a plurality of bolts  240  are connected through a flange  241  the top of the cylindrical member  238  so that the bolts can be bolted to the bearing  19  of the nacelle. Four cylindrical holes  242  are formed, one in each end of each beam  234  to accommodate two rods  243 . 
       FIG. 29  shows the rail car  54  with nacelle stops  232 , two of which are attached near the ends of the rail car and two of which are attached near the middle thereof.  FIGS. 30 and 31  show a nacelle stop  232 , which includes three plates members  244  and eight support members  246 . Two of the plate members  244  include cylindrical holes  248  which are sized and located to align with the holes  242  on the transport frame  230 . As shown in  FIG. 32 , the transport frame  230  is connected to the nacelle stops  232  by a rod  243  inserted through holes  242  and  248  when the transport frame  230  and the nacelle stop  232  are aligned with each other. 
     Turning now to  FIGS. 33–46  another embodiment of the present invention is shown. In this embodiment a system is provided to configure a rail car to be capable of carrying tower sections of a variety of sizes or to carry blades in cargo containers. 
     As discussed above, tower sections can be a variety of sizes. It is desirable to configure a rail car so that it is capable of carrying a tower section of any one of the sizes. In the particular embodiment discussed herein the tower sections have particular sizes for the purposes of this example, and it should be understood that the invention is equally applicable to tower sections of sizes different from those discussed herein.  FIG. 33  shows the mounting system for a top tower section  250 , which is the longest section.  FIG. 34  shows the mounting system for a middle tower section  252 , which is shorter than the top section  250 .  FIG. 35  shows the upper base section  254 , which is shorter than the middle section  252 .  FIG. 36  shows the lower base section  256 , which is shorter than the upper base section  254 .  FIG. 37  shows the middle base section  258 , which is shorter than the lower base section  256 . In  FIGS. 33–37  the rail car  260  is configured in the same way, as will be described with reference to  FIG. 38 . 
       FIG. 38  shows the deck of the rail car  260  in plan view, and, for reference purposes, the rail car will be said to have a left end  262 , a right end  264 , a front side  266  and a back side  268 . A first pedestal system  270  is welded to the deck of the rail car  260  near the back, left corner, and a second pedestal system  272  is welded to the deck near the front, left corner. The pedestal systems  270  and  272  are the same in configuration as pedestal systems  200  discussed above. Between the pedestal systems  270  and  272 , a fixed riser assembly  274  is welded to the deck. The riser assembly  274  is described below. To the right of the fixed riser assembly  274  a first deck slot pedestal  276  is located near the back side of the deck, and a second deck slot pedestal  278  is located near the front of the deck. The deck slot pedestals  276  and  278  are the same configuration as short deck slot pedestals  59 , discussed above. Between the deck slot pedestals  276  and  278  four end stops  280 ,  282 ,  284  and  286  are welded to the deck. The end stops  280 – 286  are the same in configuration as the end stops  62  discussed above. 
     To the right of deck slot pedestals  276 ,  278  four deck slot pedestals are mounted to the deck, two of which,  290  and  292  are mounted near the back and two of which,  294  and  296  are mounted near the front. Deck slot pedestals  290 – 296  are similar in construction to deck slot pedestals  60  discussed above. To the right of deck slot pedestals  290 – 296 , two deck slot pedestals  300  and  302  are mounted near the front and the back of the rail car respectively. To the right of the deck slot pedestals  300  and  302  a floating riser system  304  is welded to the deck of the car  260 , near the right end. 
     The fixed riser system  274  and the floating riser system  304  are shown in  FIGS. 39–41  and  42 – 44 , respectively. The fixed riser system  274  comprises two steel beams  306  having C-shaped cross sections and located parallel to each other and connected to each other by three plates  308 . Two plates  310  are welded to the tops of the beams  306 , and two I-beams  312  are welded, one to each of the beams  306  to form a substantially cross-shaped structure. The floating riser system  304  comprises two steel beams  314  having C-shaped cross sections and located parallel to each other and connected to each other by four plates  316 . Two I-beams  318  are welded, one to each of the beams  314 , and two I beams  320  are welded, one to each of the beams  314 . At the ends of the I beams  318  are affixed deck slot pedestals  322  and at the ends of the I beams  320  are affixed deck slot pedestals  324 . The deck slot pedestals  322  are the same as deck slot pedestals  60 , and pedestals  324  are similar in construction to deck slot pedestals  60 , except that the deck slot pedestals  324  are longer than the pedestals  322 . 
     Turning now to  FIG. 45 , the system for mounting a tower section to the rail car is shown. The system shown in  FIG. 45  is similar to that shown in  FIG. 16 . However, in  FIG. 45  the fixed end riser  274  is included and no end stops  62  are included. It should be understood that the system for mounting a tower section to a floating end riser  340  is substantially the same as the system shown in  FIG. 45 . 
     Turning again to  FIGS. 33–37  the system for mounting the towers can now be appreciated.  FIG. 33  shows the top tower section  250 , which is the longest section, with its left end coupled to the first and second pedestal systems  270  and  272  by twist locks. The base plate  84  sits atop the fixed riser  274 , and the base plate  84  is located between the two plates  310  in the position indicated by dashed lines  350  ( FIG. 38 ) so that the plates  310  prevent motion of the tower in the direction extending between the left and right ends of the rail car. The right end of tower section  250  is coupled to the deck slot pedestals  324  of the floating riser system  304  by twist locks. It should be noted that the long slots in the deck slot pedestals  324  allow for variations in tower length. It should also be understood that conventional rail cars are often made with a deck which is not flat but which is slightly higher in the middle than at its left and right ends so that when loads are mounted on the car, slight sagging in the middle results in a relatively flat car. As cars age the extent of the height differential between the middle and the ends normally decreases. Accordingly it can be seen that the present mounting system which raises the ends of the tower section, thus permits the tower to be carried securely on conventional, slightly bowed rail cars. 
       FIG. 34  shows the middle tower section  252 , which is shorter than the top section  250 , mounted similarly to the top section  250  except that the right end of the tower section  252  is coupled to the deck slot pedestals  322  of the floating riser system  304 . 
       FIG. 35  shows the upper base section  254 , which is shorter than the middle section  252 , with its left end mounted to deck slot pedestals  276  and  278  as indicated by dashed lines  352  ( FIG. 38 ) and its right end mounted to deck slot pedestals  300  and  302  as indicated by dashed lines  354 . 
       FIG. 36  shows the lower base section  256 , which is shorter than the upper base section  254 , with its left end mounted to deck slot pedestals  276  and  278  as indicated by dashed lines  352  ( FIG. 38 ) and its right end mounted to deck slot pedestals  292  and  296 . 
       FIG. 37  shows the middle base section  258 , which is shorter than the lower base section  256 , with its left end mounted to deck slot pedestals  276  and  278  as indicated by dashed lines  352  ( FIG. 38 ) and its right end mounted to deck slot pedestals  290  and  294 . 
     Turning now to  FIG. 46  a system for mounting blades in cargo containers to a rail car and for mounting rotor hubs to adjacent rail cars is shown. The blades are packed in cargo containers  122 ,  123 ,  124  and  126  as discussed above. The cargo containers are mounted to the rail car  260  by coupling the right end of the first small cargo container  124  and the left end of the first large cargo container  122  to the first and second pedestal systems  270  and  272  by twist ties. The left end of the second small cargo container  126  and the right end of the second large cargo container  123  are coupled to the deck slot pedestals  324  of the floating riser system  304  by twist ties. 
     To the left and right of rail car  260  are connected other rail cars  360  on which are mounted rotor hubs  31 . Turning to  FIGS. 47 and 48  the system for mounting rotor hubs  31  is shown. The rotor mounting system  362  comprises a relatively flat deck section  364  to which is connected a cylindrical section  366 . At each corner of the deck section  364  is connected a twist tie connector  368  which includes a slot configured to cooperate with a standard twist tie. Standard twist ties  370  which have flat bases are welded to the deck of the rail car  360  to cooperate with the twist tie connectors  368 . A plurality of bolt holes  372  are formed in the top of the cylindrical section  366  so that a rotor hub  31  can be bolted to the rotor hub mounting system  362 . 
     While the invention has been described in detail with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that various changes can be made, and equivalents employed, without departing from the scope of the invention. All of the aforementioned documents are incorporated by reference in each of their entireties herein.

Technology Classification (CPC): 5