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6.0 Tower and Wind Turbine Generator Installation
NOTICE: Use of the material contained in this document is subject to the warning on page Iv and the disclaimer
on page v of this document.
DOC012R02 AOC 15/50 User Manual Nov 2001
50
6.6 Lifting and Securing the Wind Turbine
WARNING
ONLY TRAINED AND QUALIFIED TECHNICIANS SHOULD
ATTEMPT TO CLIMB A WIND TURBINE TOWER AND SHOULD
USE OSHA/ANSI APPROVED PRACTICE AND EQUIPMENT. ANY
ACTIVITIES WHERE PERSONS COULD BE SUBJECT TO A FALL
OF SIX FEET OR MORE SHOULD BE PERFORMED USING
APPROPRIATE FALL PROTECTION EQUIPMENT FASTENED TO
A SECURE ANCHOR POINT. SEE CHAPTER 3 FOR A
DESCRIPTION OF SAFETY EQUIPMENT AND SECURE ANCHOR
POINTS.
A CLEARLY IDENTIFIED PERSON SHOULD BE DESIGNATED
LIFT COORDINATOR. THE LIFT COORDINATOR SHOULD
DIRECT ALL EQUIPMENT AND PERSONNEL DURING THE LIFT.
The technicians on the tower, waiting to receive the wind turbine generator, need to be secured
below the top of the tower, in case the machine swings or shifts unexpectedly. They should not
attach themselves to the wind turbine generator until it is securely bolted to the tower.
The wind turbine generator should be lifted above the top of the tower, controlling the swing and
direction via the taglines. Once it is approximately aligned with the top of the tower, it should be
lowered slowly onto the top tower flanges. A large drift pin may be necessary to align bolt holes
between the tower top casting and the tower flanges.
The bolts, with a washer under the head, should be inserted from the bottom up through each bolt
hole in the tower flange and through the one in the tower top casting. Each bolt should then be
secured with a washer and nut from above, making sure that at least one nut on each flange is
snug tight. Since the self-locking nuts require a significant effort to turn, one can shorten the
crane time by using temporary, non-locking nuts. These must be replaced with lock nuts
IMMEDIATELY after the crane has been released.
Once all bolts have been inserted, their locking nuts need to be tightened with a ratchet and
extension until snug. The tower top lock nuts should be torqued to 810 Nm (600 ft-lbs), using a
1 7/16" socket torque wrench and 1½" combination wrench.
To remove the taglines, the parking brake needs to be released and each blade pulled down in
turn until it is pointing straight down and can be reached from the tower climbing leg; the
taglines can be unclipped after which the parking brake should be re-engaged.