| CPC F03D 80/602 (2023.08) [F03D 1/101 (2023.08); F05B 2220/30 (2013.01); F05B 2240/14 (2013.01); F05B 2260/20 (2013.01)] | 20 Claims |
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1. A wind turbine, comprising:
a tower;
a nacelle rotatably coupled to the tower and having a longitudinal axis (LA) configured to be aligned with the direction of the flow of the incoming wind during operation of the wind turbine, wherein when so aligned, the nacelle defines a longitudinal direction (X), a traverse direction (Y), and a vertical direction (Z);
one or more heat-generating components housed in the wind turbine; and
a modular cooler affixed to the nacelle and operatively coupled to the one or more heat-generating components for cooling the heat-generating components, the modular cooler comprising one or more cooling modules, each cooling module including one or more cooling units, each cooling unit further comprising:
a heat exchanger defining a cooling area, the cooling area defining a normal axis (NA); and
a deflector plate configured to be initially engaged by the incoming wind, thereby diverting the flow of the incoming wind so as to be directed through the heat exchanger,
wherein the deflector plate is positioned to define an angle between the deflector plate and the longitudinal axis (X) upstream of the deflector plate that is less than 180°, and
wherein each of the one or more cooling units of the modular cooler is oriented such that the normal axis (NA) of the heat exchanger is non-parallel to the longitudinal axis (LA) of the nacelle.
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