Installing equipment in offshore monopile foundations
An equipment canister for supporting and enclosing electrical equipment of a wind turbine comprises a housing defining or containing at least one internal platform for supporting the equipment; a lifting interface on a top of the housing; an at least one support formation positioned on or projecting laterally beyond a side wall of the housing. The support formation is capable of supporting the weight of the canister suspended therefrom when the canister is installed within a monopile wind turbine foundation. Various wind turbine arrangements and wind turbine assembly methods incorporating such a canister are also described.
1 . A wind turbine equipment canister for supporting and enclosing electrical equipment of a wind turbine, the canister comprising:
a housing comprising a side wall, a base and a roof, the housing containing at least one internal platform for supporting the equipment within the housing;
a lifting interface on the roof of the housing;
wherein the side wall of the housing comprises a cylindrical upper portion and a frusto-conical lower portion that tapers in diameter downwardly from the upper portion toward the base of the housing, and
wherein the frusto-conical lower portion of the side wall of the housing has an inclination and curvature that is configured to complement and engage with inclined wedge faces of wedge-faced supports extending inwardly from a side wall of a monopile foundation for the wind turbine, such that the frusto-conical lower portion of the side wall of the housing serves as a support formation to support a weight of the canister when the canister is installed within the monopile foundation.
2 . The canister of claim 1 , further comprising at least one vertically oriented alignment formation on the side wall of the housing.
3 . The canister of claim 1 , wherein the roof of the housing is closed, or is penetrated by at least one opening that is closable by a hatch cover.
4 . The canister of claim 1 , further comprising a circumferential flange support formation projecting laterally beyond the side wall of the housing and being level with the roof of the housing.
5 . The canister of claim 4 , wherein the circumferential flange support formation is a lateral extension of the roof of the housing.
6 . The canister of claim 1 , wherein the circumferential flange support formation projects laterally beyond the side wall of the housing at a location beneath the roof of the housing.
7 . The canister of claim 1 , wherein the lifting interface comprises posts upstanding from the top of the housing, the posts having a quick release mechanism for engagement with a lifting frame.
8 . A system comprising the canister of claim 1 and a work platform, wherein the canister is attached to the work platform, and the work platform is configured to extend laterally beyond a diameter of the housing of the canister.
9 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the canister is arranged to hang beneath or extend through the work platform.
10 . The monopile foundation for a wind turbine, comprising the canister of claim 1 , wherein at least a part of the canister is contained within the monopile foundation.
11 . The monopile foundation of claim 10 , wherein the housing is a sliding fit for longitudinal movement within an open top of the monopile foundation.
12 . The monopile foundation of claim 10 , further comprising an internal support formation that is positioned to engage the support formation of the canister.
13 . The monopile foundation of claim 12 , wherein the internal support formation projects inwardly from a surrounding wall of the monopile foundation.
14 . The monopile foundation of claim 12 , wherein the internal support formation defines a support surface that is inclined inwardly and downwardly.
15 . The monopile foundation of claim 10 , wherein the canister further comprises at least one alignment formation and the monopile foundation comprises at least one internal guide formation that is configured for engagement with the alignment formation.
16 . The monopile foundation of claim 15 , wherein the guide formation comprises downwardly converging rails.
17 . The monopile foundation of claim 10 , wherein the canister is recessed fully beneath a top end of the monopile foundation.
18 . The monopile foundation of claim 10 , wherein the support formation of the canister rests upon a top interface of the monopile foundation that is configured for mounting a tower upon the monopile foundation.
19 . The monopile foundation of claim 18 , wherein the support formation of the canister is disposed inboard of an outer portion of the top interface, which outer portion is configured for mounting the tower upon the monopile foundation.
20 . The monopile foundation of claim 10 , wherein the support formation of the canister overlies an upper hang off formation of a support structure that embraces the canister.
21 . The monopile foundation of claim 20 , wherein a lower part of the support structure comprises an inwardly facing support formation that complements the housing of the canister.
22 . A wind turbine comprising a tower and the monopile foundation of claim 10 , wherein the tower is mounted on the foundation and encloses the canister.
23 . The wind turbine of claim 22 , wherein the support formation of the canister is sandwiched between mutually opposed ends of the monopile foundation and the tower.
24 . The wind turbine of claim 23 , wherein fastenings that join the tower to the monopile foundation extend through holes in the support formation of the canister.
25 . The wind turbine of claim 22 , further comprising an external work platform.
26 . The wind turbine of claim 25 , wherein the tower and the monopile foundation are in mutual abutment.
27 . The wind turbine of claim 26 , wherein the tower and/or the monopile foundation extend through a wider opening that penetrates the work platform.
28 . The wind turbine of claim 26 , wherein the work platform is sandwiched between mutually opposed ends of the monopile foundation and the tower.
29 . The wind turbine of claim 28 , wherein the work platform is penetrated by an opening that is narrower than the mutually opposed ends of the monopile foundation and the tower.
30 . The wind turbine of claim 28 , wherein fastenings that join the tower to the monopile foundation extend through holes in the work platform.
31 . The wind turbine of claim 25 , wherein the work platform is supported by legs that are disposed externally around the monopile foundation.
32 . The wind turbine of claim 22 , wherein the support formation of the canister rests on a bottom interface of the tower, which interface is configured to mount the tower to the monopile foundation.