The object of the present invention is a base for a flow-based power plant, especially a base for a wind power plant or a tidal power plant, to which base is attached a mast and which base is comprised of several spherical objects connected to each other by means of connecting arms.

Currently, wind power plants located in waters, such as seas, and especially their masts, are usually mounted on concrete castings made on the sea bottom. This presents a challenge to the location of the wind power plant. For a wind power plant, an area must be selected in the sea where the foundation for erecting the mast can be made. This area must be relatively shallow and the sea bottom at the site must be such that the foundation, in practice a concrete casting, can be made for the erection of the mast. In practice, the bottom is a rock bottom or large amounts of rock material must be brought to the site from elsewhere in order to be able to make the casting. This requires time and individual plans. Making this type of foundations is, therefore, relatively expensive and/or they are not available at appropriate locations. In addition to the above limitations, environmental and landscape factors limit the potential locations available, for example, for wind farms consisting of several wind power plants.

Locations can certainly also be found further off shore, but locating wind power plants and making foundations at such sites is expensive. The maintenance of such wind power plants is also difficult to arrange cost- effectively.

From the publication EP 2036814 A2 is known a wind power plant base comprised of several spherical objects coupled to each other by means of connecting arms, which spherical objects are anchored to the bottom with weights, and to which base is attached a mast. The spherical objects act as floats, the buoyancy of which is greater than the weight of the power plant. Making this type of base in sufficiently large size is difficult, especially because it should be possible to alter the number of spherical objects, their mutual positioning and the size of the base according to the conditions of use. This known base is only suitable as a floating offshore base.

From the publication WO 2009131826 A2 is known a wind power plant and its floating base comprised of at least three columns or the like coupled to each other with adjustable connecting arms, the said columns supporting the mast of the power plant. The above-mentioned disadvantages and limitations apply to this base as well.

From the publication GB 2378679 A is known a wind power plant, the base of which is comprised of one or more floats connected to each other by metallic connecting arms and which is anchored to the bottom with tethers and anchors. The above-mentioned disadvantages and limitations apply to this base as well. From the publication FI 107184 B is known a method and system for mounting a wind power plant, where the water tank of the base of the wind power plant and the tank of the mast can be filled with ballast water or the like and similarly be emptied when the power plant is lifted away. This base cannot be made of standard parts so as to be adaptable in size and base type according to different conditions of use.

The aim of the present invention is to provide a base for a wind power plant by means of which the above-mentioned disadvantages are essentially avoided or at least diminished. The above-mentioned aim of the invention is achieved in accordance with the invention in such a way that each spherical object is comprised of at least twenty pieces of hexagonal panel-type elements and at least twelve pieces of pentagonal panel-type elements, and that the radius of curvature of each panel-type element is made such that, when coupled together, they make up a hollow spherical object with a radius of not less than 1.5 meters, and that each panel-type element is provided with an attachment and handling cap to which can be connected connecting arms for coupling the spherical objects together and by means of which the power plant mast can be attached to the base, and that when the base is mounted in place, one or more spherical objects are at least partly filled with stone chips, gravel or other material heavier than water, whereby the said one or more spherical objects are submerged against the sea bottom. The coupled spherical objects form a solid base in water systems, for example, on the surface of the sea, in the sea and/or at the sea bottom, the base being, however, easy to move into place and, if necessary, to remove from its place. Preferred embodiments of the invention are disclosed in the dependent claims. They describe preferred embodiments for base structures and structures for the spherical objects forming the base, by means of which are achieved the above-mentioned aims of the invention. The invention is described in greater detail in the following, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a side view of the wind power plant according to the invention and its base,

Figure 2 shows a top view of the base of the wind power plant shown in

Figure 1, Figure 3 shows one embodiment of a spherical object forming the base of the wind power plant, which is comprised of panel-type elements welded together, Figure 4 shows the panel-type elements forming the spherical object and their positions with respect to one another in a plan view,

Figure 5 shows the connecting arm which couples the spherical objects to each other,

Figure 6A shows a partial sectional view of partial enlargement VI A of

Figure 5,

Figure 6B shows a partial sectional view of partial enlargement VI B of

Figure 5,

Figure 7 shows an attachment and handling cap included in the panel- type element, Figure 8 shows diagrammatically an example of connecting the mast of a wind power plant to a spherical object comprised in the base, and

Figure 9 shows a top view of a second embodiment of the base of the wind power plant,

Figure 10 shows a side view of the embodiment of Figure 9,

Figure 11 shows a side view of a preferred embodiment of the wind power plant mast,

Figure 12 shows a top view of the mast shown in Figure 11, Figure 13 shows a side view of a third preferred embodiment of the base of the wind power plant, and

Figure 14 shows an example of a preferred application of the base

according to the invention.

The general structure of the wind power plant and its base according to the invention are described first with reference to Figures 1 and 2. The wind power plant is designated by reference numeral 10. The wind power plant 10 comprises a centre part 10a, around the essentially horizontal shaft of which blades or vanes 10b are arranged to rotate. The centre part 10a and the wind power plant 10 are provided with means known as such (e.g. a generator) for recovering the energy obtained from the rotation of the blades 10b and for transferring it further and thus these means are not described here in any greater detail.

The wind power plant 10 comprises a mast 10c. The upper end of the mast 10c is connected to the lower surface of the centre part 10a and it extends vertically or essentially vertically below the water level (sea level) into contact with the base according to the invention. In this embodiment, the mast is a cylindrical metal pipe which tapers somewhat towards the upper end. Its diameter at the lower end is typically 1.5-7 metres, depending on the size of the wind power plant (the size of the blades, among others). The base is here designated by reference numeral 2. The base 2 is here comprised of four spherical objects 3, 3a, 3b and 3c. The locations of these in relation to one another are arranged in the desired positions by means of connecting arms 4, 5 and 6 of different lengths. In a top view of the embodiment of Figures 1 and 2, the centres of the three spherical objects 3a, 3b and 3c are located essentially at the apices of an equilateral triangle. In the centre of the imaginary equilateral triangle is in addition located a fourth spherical object 3, in conjunction with which the mast 10c of the wind power plant 10 is connected.

Next is, however, described in greater detail a preferred structure of a completed spherical object 3, 3a, 3b, 3c, with reference to the accompanying Figures 3 and 4. Figure 3 accordingly shows a spherical object designated by reference numeral 3. The spherical object 3 of Figure 3 is comprised of several parts 13 joined together. In this case, the parts 13 are hexagonal and pentagonal panel-type elements 13, and their relative positions are shown in a plan view in Figure 2.

In Figures 3 and 4, the hexagonal panel-type elements are specified more precisely with reference numerals HI, H2, H3, H4,..., H20 and the

pentagonal panel-type elements are specified more precisely with reference numerals PI, P2, P3,..., P12. These specifications are here only to clarify the structure of the spherical object 3 in greater detail. In this case, the spherical object 3 comprises at least twenty pieces of hexagonal panel-type elements 13 and at least twelve pieces of pentagonal panel-type elements 13. The panel-type elements 13 are connected with respect to one another in such a way that the corners of the panel-type elements 13 are located on the surface of the spherical object 3, 3a, 3b, 3c, 3a', 3b' and 3c' in positions which correspond to the positions of carbon atoms in fullerene, which consists of at least sixty carbon atoms. In addition to this, each panel-type element 13 is formed with such radius of curvature that when joined together, the panel-type elements 13 form a hollow spherical object 3. The radius of curvature is at least 1.5 metres and, depending on the application, the radius of curvature can be determined to be practically as large as desired. At its largest, the radius R of such spherical object, for example the radius of the skin part of LNG containers (liquid nitrogen transport containers), is typically 20-30 metres. It is, of course, possible to fabricate spherical objects with even larger radii. The diameter of a single spherical object in the base 2 of a wind power plant (comprising the said four spherical objects 3, 3a, 3b, 3c) is preferably about 5-15 metres (corresponding radius 2.5-7.5 metres), most preferably 8-10 metres

(corresponding radius 4-5 metres). This is enough to give sufficient support to the wind power plant and to prevent the power plant from collapsing even in high winds in offshore areas. It should be noted that the manufacturing method of the spherical object 13 is described in the Applicant's Finnish patent application FI 20105520. A material preferably used for the panel-type elements 13 is steel, the material thickness of which varies depending on the application and the radius (diameter) of the completed spherical object 3. In typical applications, the material thickness varies within the range from 1.5 to 2.5 cm, but may naturally deviate from this. It is, furthermore, beneficial that, at least in applications where the spherical object is in contact with water (the sea), the spherical object is coated, for example zinc plated, both internally and externally.

Each panel-type element 13 of the spherical object 3 is provided with an attachment and handling cap, which is shown in partial cross-section in Figure 7 and designated by reference numeral 40. The attachment and handling cap 40 is preferably in the centre of each panel-type element 13. The body of the attachment and handling cap 40 preferably has a cylindrical shape and it is preferably fixed by welding (weld joint W) in a hole formed in the centre of a panel-type element 13. The fixed attachment and handling cap 40, especially its face 40a, is fitted in the hole in such a way that the plane of the face 40a is arranged on the same plane with the outer surface 13a of the panel-type element 13 in the radial direction of the spherical object 3 or inside the said plane. The body of the attachment and handling cap 40 is provided with a cylindrical space which opens onto the face 40a and which is provided with an internal thread. The attachment and handling cap 40 further includes, or to it are connected, means 41 and 50, which allow the spherical object 3 to be formed and the formed spherical object to be attached and handled from the internal surface 13b side and the external surface 13a side also automatically, if necessary. Here, these means 41 and 50 include a first gripper element 41. The first gripper element 41 is here a spigot 41 extending into the interior of the spherical object from the rear surface of the cylindrical body of the attachment and handling cap 2 which remains inside the spherical object, which can here be referred to as the first attachment spigot 41.

The second gripper element 50 is provided with an external thread 51a', which meshes with the internal thread of the said body, by means of which the second gripper element 50 is removably attached to the body of the attachment and handling cap 40. The second gripper element 50 is here formed by a cap connector 50, which preferably has two parts. The first of these parts forms the body part 51a of the cap connector 50. The body part 51a is provided with the above-mentioned external thread which meshes with the internal thread of the body of the attachment and handling cap 40, by means of which external thread the body part 51a is removably attached to the attachment and handling cap 40. The body part 51a of the cap connector 50 is provided with a lug which is supported against the outer surface 13a of the panel-type element 13 when the body part 51a is attached to the body of the handling cap 40. In ttie body part 51a is formed an essentially hemispherical concave space 51c in which can be fitted the spherical connecting end 68 of a connecting arm 6, which is described in greater detail below with reference to Figures 5-6B, in such a way that the connecting end is able to turn in the concave space 51c like a ball joint. The cap connector 50 comprises a cover part 51b, by means of which the connecting end 68, and thus the connecting arm 6, is connected pivotedly in conjunction with the cap connector 50. The cover part 51b, by means of which the connecting end 68 is connected to the cap connector 50, is removably attached to the body part 51a by attachment means 52, such as screws or bolts.

In the following is described in greater detail a preferred structure of the connecting arm 6, with reference to the accompanying drawings 5-6B. The connecting arms 6 are preferably pipes bent from sheet. The basic structure of the connecting arm 6 has two parts, that is, the connecting arm 6 is comprised of two arm parts 6a and 6b connected longitudinally as extensions of one another. In Figure 6B, the arm parts 6a and 6b are connected to each other by means of flange parts 65a and 65b connected, for example, by welding in conjunction with the first ends of the arm parts coming against each other. The flanges 65a and 65b, and therefore the arm parts 6a and 6b, are connected with fastening means 65c, such as bolt-and-nut joints. Several fastening means 65c are preferably fitted at equal radial distances on the annular flange 65 (which is thus comprised of two opposite flange parts 65a and 65b). The length of the connecting arm 6 may preferably be varied by mounting an extension part (not shown) between the arm parts 6a and 6b, both ends of which extension part are provided with flanges in accordance with the arm parts 6a and 6b for making the joint. A corresponding structure can be applied to connecting arms 4 and 5.

Figure 6A shows the structure of the other end of the connecting arm 6a (the other end of connecting arm 6b has the same structure in principle). The other end is made into a cone 61. In place of the apex of the cone 61 is arranged a connecting element 62 provided with an internal thread, which is preferably arranged coaxially with respect to the longitudinal centre shaft of the connecting arm, to which element can be removably connected a gripping element 66 provided with a spherical connecting end 68 by means of the external thread 67 formed in the arm part of the gripping element 66.

In addition to this, the spherical objects are preferably provided with at least one openable and closeable gate (not shown) There are preferably several gates for different purposes. Such purposes include a so-called manhole, which is large enough for a person to pass through into the spherical object, for example for carrying out maintenance procedures. Another purpose of the gate is it being a loading and/or unloading hatch, through which necessary materials can be delivered inside or brought out of the spherical object. Through such gates can, in addition, be delivered zinc coating material into the spherical object for zinc coating the surfaces of spherical objects, or alternatively water/sand/air for mounting a base comprised of spherical objects, for example, at the bottom of the sea or to float below the water surface. One hatch structure is disclosed in greater detail in the Applicant's Finnish patent application no. FI 20105520 and it is, therefore, not described in greater detail herein. The structure of the gate may indeed vary according to the intended use. For example, as a gate can be

understood an assembly through which air can be supplied inside the spherical object or removed from it.

Figure 8 shows diagrammatically an example of the attachment of a wind power plant mast 10c to a spherical object 3 belonging to the base 2. For the attachment, a piece in the shape of a segment of a sphere is removed from the upper part of the spherical object 3, whereupon in the upper part of the spherical object 13 is formed a circular opening with a diameter so much larger than the diameter of the lower part lOd of the mast 10c that the lower part lOd of the mast 10c can be taken at least partly in the interior space of the spherical object 3. The lower part lOd of the mast 10c is preferably a part separate of the mast 10c, a so-called mast 10c shoe lOd, as the longitudinal extension of which the mast 10c can be connected. Between the lower end of the mast 10c and the upper part of the shoe lOd may be provided articulation, hinging 103 or the like, by means of which the mast 10c can be mounted in place or tilted from the vertical position to an essentially horizontal direction, for example, for maintenance procedures. The shoe lOd is welded to the spherical object 3 at the edges of the opening preferably already at the manufacturing stage of the spherical object. To the mast 10c shoe lOd located in the interior space of the spherical object 3 is formed a preferably conically tapering end part lOe of the shoe, the lower edge of which is located above the centre point of the spherical object.

Furthermore, as a downwards extending extension of the end part lOe is arranged a mast attachment piece lOf, which is located essentially within the centre point area of the spherical object 3 and in its vicinity. The mast 10c can be supported and at the same time the strength of the spherical object can be reinforced by means of the internal arms 11 of the spherical object 3 shown in Figure 8, of which there are five in the embodiment shown. The number of arms 11 may vary according to the support required. The first ends 11a of the arms 11 are attached to the attachment piece lOf, for example, by welding. The first ends are welded in such a way that each arm 11 is directed radially towards the inner surface of the spherical object. The corresponding second ends lib of the arms 11 are attached to the first gripping element 41 of the attachment and handling caps 40 of preselected panel-type elements 13 of the spherical object 3 (see Figure 7). Figures 9 and 10 show an example of a so-called extended base. The extended base is the base of Figures 1 and 2 with the exception that outside each spherical object 3a, 3b and 3c (on the opposite side of the central spherical object 3) is connected an additional spherical object 3a', 3b' and 3c' by means of connecting arms. It is possible to add even more additional spherical objects to each spherical object.

In addition to and/or instead of the additional spherical objects 3a', 3b' and 3c' shown in Figures 9 and 10, additional spherical objects may be located, or example, by means of appropriately directed and dimensioned connecting arms, below each spherical object (all four), whereupon the power plant 1 will be supported on the sea bottom by means of the said (lowest) additional spherical objects. Alternatively, if the distances of the spherical objects 3a, 3b and 3c from the central spherical object 3 are dimensioned by increasing the length of the connecting arms from that shown in Figures 9 and 10, the base provided with the additional spherical objects located below these spherical objects is rendered sufficiently bearing and stable to make the base a floating one. In that case, the additional spherical objects are partly filled with, for example, stone chips in order to stabilise the base in the vertical direction, and the base is anchored to the sea bottom. The advantage of this is that standard-sized spherical objects can be used irrespective of the size of the mast and the power plant (in practice the length of the blades). Only the length of the connecting arms 4, 5 and 6 needs to be changed in order to be able to compensate for the torques caused by the mast 10c and the wind on the power plant 1 (in other words, to keep the mast 10c as upright as possible). Figures 11 and 12 show another preferred embodiment of the power plant mast. This differs from the above embodiment in that the mast, which is designated by reference numeral 100, is a cross hatching structured mast, and that this cross hatching mast 100 preferably has a triangular cross- section. The lower part 101 of the cross hatching mast 100 is made into a shoe 101 separate from the cross hatching mast 100, the height of the shoe preferably being selected to be such that when the base 2 is mounted in place, the upper edge of the shoe 101 extends above the water level. The cross hatching mast 100 can thus be connected as a longitudinal extension of the shoe 101. The cross hatching mast is provided with guy wires 70 to reinforce the structure. In the embodiment shown, there are three guy wires 70, the upper end of each guy wire remaining above sea level being attached at a suitable height to the corners of the cross hatching mast 100 having a cross-section the shape of an equilateral triangle. Each corner of the cross hatching mast 100 is directed in the radial direction of the spherical object 3 in the direction of the plane passing through the centre point of the corresponding spherical objects 3a, 3b and 3c. Thus, the lower ends of the guy wires 70 are also attached to the surface of the corresponding spherical objects.

Although the mast 10c shown in Figures 1 and 2 is suitable for being placed under water, a cross hatching structured mast 100 is particularly well suited as a mast placed under water. This type of masts can be applied, for example, in connection with off-shore wind power plants. One embodiment is shown in Figure 13, in which is in practice shown the cross hatching mast 100 and base 2 shown in Figures 1 and 2. The difference in Figure 13 is that in the power plant 1 construction is shown a structure remaining below the base 2, which is made to extend to the bottom of significantly deeper waters (seas) than that in Figures 1 and 2. For this purpose, to the bottom of the central spherical object 3 is connected an arm 102 which extends downwards over a distance towards the bottom of the sea. The basic structure of the arm 102 is preferably similar to that of the cross hatching mast 100. In length the arm is, however, preferably shorter than the cross hatching mast 100 on the opposite side of the spherical object 3. The length of the arm 102 is about 1/3-2/3 of the length of the cross hatching mast, depending on how high above sea level the power plant 1 machinery 10 is positioned. In conjunction with the lower end of the arm 102 is arranged a counterweight ball 3d, which is preferably filled partly with stone chips or gravel. In addition to this, additional guy wires 71 are provided between the spherical objects 3a, 3b and 3c and the counterweight ball 3d. The counterweight ball 3d is in turn connected by means of an intermediate chain or the like 9 to an anchoring ball 3e anchored (chain 9a and anchor 9b) to the bottom of the sea 7, the ball being filled, for example, partly with stone chips, gravel or other material heavier than water. Thus, the displacement of the base and, therefore, of the power plant can be adjusted by additional filling and emptying (e.g. water or stone chips) of the spherical objects. As an example of the magnitude of such arrangement it should be noted that the diameter of the spherical objects 3 of Figure 13 is approximately 9 metres and the diameter of the rotational path of the tips of the blades 10b is approximately 80 metres.

Figure 14 shows yet another preferred embodiment of the base 2 according to the present invention. Figure 14 shows a tidal power plant 1 which is completely submerged under the water level 8 when in use. The power plant 1 machinery 10 is arranged to recover the energy generated by the flow S of water caused by tidewater. It is advantageous to locate this type of tidal power plant, for example, in fjords in seas or in deep river deltas, where there are strong water currents relating to the tidewater phenomenon.

The base shown in Figure 14 is comprised of two spherical objects 3 and 3' arranged adjacent to one another by means of a short arm 102'. Of these, spherical object 3 is above spherical object 3d' and to it is also attached a cross hatching mast 100 (may also be the cylindrical mast 10c shown in Figures 1 and 2), in which case the lower spherical object 3d' constitutes the counterweight ball. The cross hatching mast 100 is here made shorter (lower) than the embodiments shown above. The counterweight ball 3d' is in turn connected, as in the embodiment of Figure 13, by means of an intermediate chain or the like 9 to an anchoring ball 3e anchored (chain 9a and anchor 9b) to the bottom of the water body, such as the sea 7, the said ball being filled, for example, partly with stone chips, gravel or other material heavier than water. In use, the spherical object 3 is filled with air, the counterweight ball 3d' is filled with water, and the anchoring ball 3e is partly filled with stone chips. There are enough stone chips in the anchoring ball 3e to make the anchoring ball 3e so heavy that the buoyancy of the spherical objects 3 and 3' will not suffice to lift the anchoring ball 3e and the power plant 1. To lift the power plant 1 above the water level, for example for maintenance, the counterweight ball 3d' is filled with air. The buoyancy of the two topmost spherical objects is then greater than the downwards directed force of the anchoring ball 3e filled with stone material or the like. For supplying the air, air supply means (not shown) are provided in connection with the counterweight ball 3d' by means of which pressurized air can be supplied from the shore or from a service vessel brought alongside the power plant. In the foregoing are disclosed only a few of the many preferred

embodiments for producing the base 2 of several spherical objects in accordance with the invention. The spherical objects may be combined in various ways within the scope of protection defined by the claims depending on the application and according to the requirements determined by the size of the power plant.