Wind Turbine Bearing Problems
Bearings are parts that support and guide rotating or oscillating elements, such asaxles or wheels, and transfer loads between machine components. They offer reduced friction and therefore allow high rotational speeds while reducing noise,heat, energy consumption, and wear. No matter the model of wind turbine, bearings are often a problem in all of them. The…
Wind Turbine Yaw Movements and Gyroscopic Forces
Video : Wind Turbine Yaw Movements and Gyroscopic Forces Under normal operational conditions, yaw movement may occur when the rotor is stopped or when it is turning. When the rotor is stopped, the force applied by the yaw drive needs to overcome only the inertia of the nacelle and the frictional forces at the yaw…
Wind Turbine Main Shaft Brake: Frictional forces
While the rotation of the rotor of the wind turbine can be slowed by changing the pitch angle of the blades during aerodynamic braking, the rotor needs a mechanical main shaft brake to keep it stopped completely. Frictional force is an essential physics concept that will help explain the working mechanism of the main shaft…
Wind Turbine Gearbox Vibration Analysis
When a gearbox vibrates as a whole, the severity of the vibration can be detected at the outer surface of the gearbox housing. While some vibration is normal, higher levels of vibration can be caused by the wearing or failure of the gearbox components. For this reason, gearboxes often incorporate vibration sensors to detect conditions…
Wind Turbine Gearbox Force and Stress Analyses
Three different types of forces act on gears and bearings in a gearbox. They are gravitational forces, frictional forces, and contact forces. The most significant are contact forces, due to the magnitude of the contact stresses that these forces are generating on the surfaces of the moving parts during operation. Contact force occurs when the…
Wind Turbine Gearbox : Cooling
Heat is generated during the operation of the gearbox due to friction between the solid surfaces of the moving parts. Most of the heat is generated by the friction between the gear teeth, and between the rollers and rings of the bearings. Depending on the type of the engaging gears, the input torque and speed,…
Wind Turbine Gearbox: Introduction
The blades, the hub, and the main shaft of a wind turbine harness the kinetic energy of the wind and convert it into rotational mechanical energy. The speed of this rotation is too slow to drive the generator efficiently, so a gearbox converts the high-torque and low-speed mechanical energy of the main shaft into the…
Wind Turbine Yaw drive and Brake Assembly
Once the yaw ring is installed, the nacelle main frame must be turned over in order to complete the yaw system assembly. Temporary legs are installed, and fixtures are added to the yaw ring. The main frame is lifted, and one side is let down while the frame is rotated. Here you can see the…
Wind Turbine Yaw Ring Assembly
The yaw ring assembly fits in a machined groove in the nacelle main frame casting. Several studs are inserted to locate the ring as it is lowered into the groove. The ring is lifted and carefully lowered into position. The remaining studs are inserted and run down. Spacers are added, then nuts are installed and…
Wind Turbine Yaw Sensor Operation
Let’s take closer look at a typical sensor for a large wind turbine. The sensor mounts to the main frame; its gear is driven by the yaw ring. This sensor employs an incremental encoder that tracks nacelle position, along with a group of limit switches dedicated to cable twist control Here we can see the…
Wind Turbine Yaw Controls: Part 2
Let’s take a closer look at some of the sensors used in the yaw control system. Potentiometers,encoders and ultrasonic sensors may be used to detect wind direction. A potentiometer is a variable resistor consisting of a resistive strip, 3 terminals, and a movable wiper. The movable wind vane is connected to the wiper. As the…
Wind Turbine Yaw Controls: Part 1
A wind turbine is a sophisticated system of components that must all work together to efficientlyproduce power. Like most sophisticated systems, it can be divided into sections. Some sections are dedicated to capturing the wind energy. Other sections convert the mechanical kinetic energy into electrical energy. All of the sections depend on a control system…
Wind Turbine Yaw Gearbox
Power from the yaw motors is transmitted to the yaw ring through a reduction gearbox which provides both speed reduction and torque multiplication. This yaw drive uses a planetary gearbox with the motor mounted vertically at the top. Planetary gearboxes are often used on commercial wind turbines because they offer high reduction ratios from a…
Wind Turbine Yaw Brake Hydraulic System
The main parts of the yaw brake hydraulic system and their functions are Accumulator: The accumulator stores fluid under pressure, and serves as a backup source of clamping pressure if system pressure is lost. Bleed Valve: Used to drain fluid from the accumulator to relieve pressure during service operations. Brake Calipers: Pressure in the brake…
Wind Turbine Yaw System: Mechanical Parts
The primary mechanical parts of the Yaw System are This section provides information about the relationship of the yaw bearing, yaw ring, and brakes. Yaw rings The yaw ring is a large gear that engages the pinion gears of the yaw motor gearboxes. Because these gears carry high loads, proper lubrication is important to prevent…
Wind Turbine Yaw System: Introduction
Video: Wind Turbine Yaw System Introduction The wind turbine yaw control system provides two functions that are crucial to safe and efficient operation: The nacelle must point directly into the wind for maximum efficiency. Also, a rotor disk that is not perpendicular to the relative wind experiences higher loading on the portion of the disk…