Tower, a wind turbine and a method for arranging a platform inside a tower

Abstract

This invention relates to a tower for a wind turbine, comprising one or more tubular tower sections, having an outer jacket wall and an inward directed flange in its lower and upper ends, and at least one platform arranged inside the tower for facilitating access for maintenance and repairs to the inner of the tower and to the nacelle. The tower also comprises a support structure including at least three elongated tensile load carrying members, which each is attached in its upper end to the upper flange of the tower section and in its lower end to the lower flange of the tower section and which supports one or more platforms that are suspended by the tensile load carrying members while at least one ladder is attached to the platforms. The at least one ladder is stabilized in the horizontal direction by transversal tensile load carrying members extending from the ladder to the tensile load carrying members that are vertically arranged between the upper and lower flanges. The invention also relates to a method for arranging a platform inside a tower.

1 . A tower for a wind turbine, comprising one or more tubular tower sections, having a jacket wall and an inward directed flange in its lower and upper ends, and at least one platform arranged inside the tower, wherein the tower also comprises a support structure including at least three elongated tensile load carrying members, which each is attached in its upper end to the upper flange of the tower section and in its lower end to the lower flange of the tower section and which supports one or more platforms, wherein the one or more platforms are suspended by the tensile load carrying members while at least one ladder is attached to the platforms and the at least one ladder is stabilized in the horizontal direction by transversal tensile load carrying members extending from the ladder to the tensile load carrying members that are vertically arranged between the upper and lower flanges. 
     
     
         2 . A tower according to  claim 1 , wherein the tensile load carrying members are prestressed with a tensional force between the upper and lower flanges. 
     
     
         3 . A tower according to  claim 1 , wherein the tensile load carrying members are attached by means of bolt connections to the flanges. 
     
     
         4 . A tower according to  claim 1 , wherein the tensile load carrying members are flexible. 
     
     
         5 . A tower according to  claim 1 , wherein two or more platforms are arranged inside the tower section. 
     
     
         6 . A tower according to  claim 5 , wherein all the tensile load carrying members commonly support all the platforms in the tower section. 
     
     
         7 . A tower according to  claim 5 , wherein different tensile load carrying members support different platforms. 
     
     
         8 . A tower according to  claim 1 , wherein the one or more platforms are attached to the tensile load carrying members by means of frictional connections. 
     
     
         9 . A tower according to  claim 1 , wherein buffers are arranged between the platform and the inner surface of the jacket wall. 
     
     
         10 . A method for arranging platforms and ladders inside a tower of a wind turbine, of the kind comprising one or more tubular tower sections having a jacket wall and an inward directed flange portion in its lower and upper ends for interconnecting the tower sections to each other and for mounting of a nacelle in an upper end of the tower, comprising the steps of:
 attaching the upper ends of at least three tensile load carrying members to the upper flange of the tower section;   attaching the lower ends of the at least three tensile load carrying members to the lower flange of the tower section;   suspending at least one platform in the tensile load carrying members;   stabilizing at least one ladder in the horizontal direction by means of transversal tensile load carrying members extending from the ladder to the tensile load carrying members that are vertically arranged between the upper and lower flanges.   
     
     
         11 . A method according to  claim 10 , comprising the further step of:
 prestressing the tensile load carrying members with a tensional force between the upper and lower flanges.   
     
     
         12 . A wind turbine comprising a tower according to  claim 1 .