Improving wind turbine drivetrain designs to minimize the impacts of non‐torque loads

Non‐torque loads induced by the wind turbine rotor overhang weight and aerodynamic forces can greatly affect drivetrain loads and responses. If not addressed properly, these loads can result in a decrease in gearbox component life. This work uses analytical modeling, computational modeling and experimental approaches to evaluate two distinct drivetrain designs that minimize the effects of non‐torque loads on gearbox reliability: a modified three‐point suspension drivetrain studied by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Gearbox Reliability Collaborative (GRC) and the Pure Torque® drivetrain developed by Alstom. In the original GRC drivetrain, the unequal planetary load distribution and sharing were present and they can lead to gear tooth pitting and reduce the lives of the planet bearings. The NREL GRC team modified the original design of its drivetrain by changing the rolling element bearings in the planetary gear stage. In this modified design, gearbox bearings in the planetary gear stage are anticipated to transmit non‐torque loads directly to the gearbox housing rather than the gears. Alstom's Pure Torque drivetrain has a hub support configuration that transmits non‐torque loads directly into the tower rather than through the gearbox as in other design approaches. An analytical model of Alstom's Pure Torque drivetrain provides insight into the relationships among turbine component weights, aerodynamic forces and the resulting drivetrain loads. In Alstom's Pure Torque drivetrain, main shaft bending loads are orders of magnitude lower than the rated torque and hardly affected by wind speed, gusts or turbine operations. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Identification of loading conditions resulting in roller slippage in gearbox bearings of large wind turbines

The dynamic loads on the rollers inside the bearings of large wind turbine gearboxes operating under transient conditions are presented with a focus on identifying conditions leading to slippage of rollers. The methodology was developed using a multi‐body model of the drivetrain coupled with aeroelastic simulations of the wind turbine system. A 5 MW reference wind turbine is considered for which a three‐stage planetary gearbox is designed on the basis of upscaling of an actual 750 kW gearbox unit. Multi‐body dynamic simulations are run using the ADAMS software using a detailed model of the gearbox planetary bearings to investigate transient loads inside the planet bearing. It was found that assembly and pre‐loading conditions have significant influence on the bearing's operation. Also, the load distribution in the gearbox bearings strongly depends on wind turbine operation. Wind turbine start‐up and shut‐down under normal conditions are shown to induce roller slippage, as characterized by loss of contacts and impacts between rollers and raceways. The roller impacts occur under reduced initial pre‐load on opposite sides of the load zone followed by stress variation, which can be one of the potential reasons leading to wear and premature bearing failures. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modelling and analysis of floating spar‐type wind turbine drivetrain

This paper studies the drivetrain dynamics of a 750 kW spar‐type floating wind turbine (FWT). The drivetrain studied is a high‐speed generator, one‐stage planetary, two‐stage parallel and three‐point support type. The response analysis is carried out in two steps. First, global aero‐hydro‐elastic‐servo time‐domain analyses are performed using HAWC2. The main shaft loads, which include the axial forces, shear forces and bending moments, are obtained in this integrated wind–wave response analysis. These loads are then used as inputs for the multi‐body drivetrain time‐domain analyses in SIMPACK. The investigations are largely based on comparisons of the main shaft loads and internal drivetrain responses from 1 h simulations. The tooth contact forces, bearing loads and gear deflections are the internal drivetrain response variables studied. The comparisons are based on the mean values, standard deviations and maximum values extrapolated using a 10 ^{? 5} up‐crossing rate. Both operational and parked conditions are considered. The investigation consists of three parts. First, the responses are compared between the FWT and its equivalent land‐based version. Second, the contributions from the main shaft loads (shear forces, axial forces and bending moments) and nacelle motions are investigated individually. Third, an improved four‐point support (4PT) system is studied and compared against the original three‐point support system for the FWT. The results show that there are general increases in the standard deviations of the main shaft loads and internal drivetrain responses in the FWT. In addition, these increases are a result of the increased main shaft loads in the FWT, especially the non‐torque loads. Last, the 4PT system, when applied to a FWT drivetrain, significantly reduces the tooth contact forces and bearing loads in the low‐speed stage, but this result comes at the expense of increased main bearing radial loads. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of floating sun gear in a wind turbine's planetary gearbox with geometrical imperfections

This paper addresses the effect of gear geometrical errors in wind turbine planetary gearboxes with a floating sun gear. Numerical simulations and experiments are employed throughout the study. A National Renewable Energy Laboratory 750 kW gearbox is modelled in a multibody environment and verified using the experimental data obtained from a dynamometer test. The gear geometrical errors, which are both assembly dependent and assembly independent, are described, and planet‐pin misalignment and eccentricity are selected as the two most influential and key errors for case studies. Various load cases involving errors in the floating and non‐floating sun gear designs are simulated, and the planet‐bearing reactions, gear vibrations, gear mesh loads and bearing fatigue lives are compared. All tests and simulations are performed at the rated wind speed. For errorless gears, the non‐floating sun gear design performs better in terms of gear load variation, whereas the upwind planet bearing has more damage. In the floating sun gear scenario, the planet misalignment is neutralized by changing the sun motion pattern and the planet gear's elastic deformation. The effects of gear profile modifications are also evaluated, revealing that profile modifications such as crowning improve the effects of misalignment. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sources of time‐varying contact stress and misalignments in wind turbine planetary sets

Recent data shows that 90% of large wind turbines include a gearbox, and industry forecasts expect this figure to remain relatively stable. With global annual volumes (2009) of around 18,600 units, the quality, cost and performance of gearboxes is of paramount importance to the wind sector. The industry has been focusing some attention on gearbox reliability, as demonstrated by a growth in the number of specific seminars and collaborative programs on this topic. One aspect that needs to be brought to an industry‐wide forum is the understanding of the complexity of bearing design in the gearbox and the careful attention that needs to be paid to ensure a reliable gearbox design. This paper seeks to address this issue by clear demonstration of design issues using a model of the gearbox from the National Renewable Energy Lab's Gearbox Reliability Collaborative. Detailed models are presented with focus on determining the quality of the function of the planetary gear stages. Key design drivers are discussed such as the quality of alignment at the gears and bearings and the loads and stresses seen on these components. Under a design load case with a significant rotor off‐axis moment the stresses in the planet gears and bearings are investigated. It is shown how the misalignment of the planet pins varies with the rotation of the planetary set and how subsequently time‐varying contact stresses and load distributions occur in the planet gears and bearings. These factors strongly influence the fatigue life of the gearbox components as well as the level of vibration. Design tools are then used to demonstrate how small variations in the clearances of the planet carrier bearings can have a big effect on the quality of the design. Numerical studies show where optimal clearance settings lie and how the misalignment of the planetary set can be improved. Furthermore, a demonstration is made of how redesign of the bearing arrangement and subsequent optimization of the planet tooth geometry further improves the misalignment and results in significantly reduced time‐varying contact stresses, better load distribution and reduced vibration. It is illustrated that small clearances, such as in the carrier bearings, can have a large effect on the performance of the design and a study shows how to identify and reduce time‐varying misalignment and contact stresses resulting in lower vibration, lower fatigue and a more reliable product. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Load sharing behavior analysis method of wind turbine gearbox in consideration of multiple-errors

Conducting a further analysis on loading sharing among compound planetary gear system in wind turbine gearbox, and making a meshing error analysis on the eccentricity error, gear thickness error, base pitch error, assembly error, and bearing error of wind turbine gearbox respectively. In view of the floating meshing error resulting from meshing clearance variation caused by the simultaneous floating of all gears, this paper establishes a refined mathematical model of two-stage power split loading sharing coefficient calculation in consideration of multiple errors. Also obtains the regular curves of the load sharing coefficient and floating orbits of center gears, and conducts a load sharing coefficient test experiment of compound planetary gear system to verify the research results, which can provide scientific theory evidence for proper tolerance distribution and control in design and process.     

Wind turbine main‐bearing loading and wind field characteristics

This paper investigates the relationship between wind turbine main‐bearing loads and the characteristics of the incident wind field in which the wind turbine is operating. For a 2‐MW wind turbine model, fully aeroelastic multibody simulations are performed in 3D turbulent wind fields across the wind turbine's operational envelope. Hub loads are extracted and then injected into simplified drivetrain models of three types of main‐bearing configuration. The main‐bearing reaction loads and load ratios from the simplified model are presented and analysed. Results indicate that there is a strong link between wind field characteristics and the loading experienced by the main bearing(s), with the different bearing configurations displaying very different loading behaviours. Main‐bearing failure rates determined from operational data for two drivetrain configurations are also presented.     

Residual signal feature extraction for gearbox planetary stage fault detection

Faults in planetary gears and related bearings, e.g. planet bearings and planet carrier bearings, pose inherent difficulties on their accurate and consistent detection associated mainly to the low energy in slow rotating stages and the operating complexity of planetary gearboxes. In this work, statistical features measuring the signal energy and Gaussianity are calculated from the residual signals between each pair from the first to the fifth tooth mesh frequency of the meshing process in a multi‐stage wind turbine gearbox. The suggested algorithm includes resampling from time to angular domain, identification of the expected spectral signature for proper residual signal calculation and filtering of any frequency component not related to the planetary stage. Two field cases of planet carrier bearing defect and planet wheel spalling are presented and discussed, showing the efficiency of the followed approach and the possibility of characterizing a fault as localized or distributed. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evaluation of PMSG‐based drivetrain technologies for 10‐MW floating offshore wind turbines: Pros and cons in a life cycle perspective

This paper presents an in depth evaluation and comparison of three different drivetrain choices based on permanent‐magnet synchronous generator (PMSG) technology for 10‐MW offshore wind turbines. The life cycle approach is suggested to evaluate the performance of the different under consideration drivetrain topologies. Furthermore, the design of the drivetrain is studied through optimized designs for the generator and gearbox. The proposed drivetrain analytical optimization approach supported by numerical simulations shows that application of gearbox in 10‐MW offshore wind turbines can help to reduce weight, raw material cost, and size and simultaneously improve the efficiency. The possibility of resonance with the first torsional natural frequency of drivetrain for the different designed drivetrain systems, the influence of gear ratio, and the feasibility of the application for a spar floating platform are also discussed. This study gives evidence on how gearbox can mitigate the torque oscillation consequences on the other components and how the latter can influence the reliability of drivetrain.     

基于齿廓修形和摩擦耦合的风电齿轮磨损动力学特性分析

为定量研究齿面磨损（TSW）的振动特性,提出一种基于齿廓修形和摩擦耦合的磨损故障建模方法,并引入最大磨损深度来表征齿面磨损程度。以大型风电机组齿轮箱高速输出轴直齿轮为研究对象,得到对应不同磨损程度下的齿轮时变啮合刚度,并将其代入到齿轮箱8自由度动力学微分方程,在不同转矩条件下对齿轮箱进行动力学仿真,得到不同磨损严重程度和转矩条件下的振动时频域特性。结果表明：仿真结果与实验数据吻合良好,验证了该方法的有效性;随着齿面磨损程度增加、转矩增大,齿轮箱振动、齿轮扭振剧烈;在0.4倍额定转矩附近,齿面磨损引起齿轮箱振动速度、振动加速度最为明显。研究结果可为齿轮磨损故障诊断提供理论指导。     

Multi‐body modelling and analysis of a planet carrier in a wind turbine gearbox

There have been some recent efforts to numerically model and analyse the wind turbine gearbox. To date, much of the focus has been on increasing model refinement and demonstrating its added value. This paper takes a step back and examines in detail the modelling and analysis of an important wind turbine gearbox component, the planet carrier, in a multi‐body setting. The planet carrier studied in this work comes from the 750 kW wind turbine gearbox used in the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Gearbox Reliability Collaborative project. The study is performed in two parts. First, the influence of subcomponents mated to the planet carrier in the gearbox assembly is investigated in detail. These components consist of the planet pins, bearings and the main shaft. In the second part of the study, the flexible body modelling of the planet carrier for use in multi‐body simulations is examined through the use of condensed finite element and multi‐body simulation models. Both eigenvalue analyses and time domain simulations are performed. Comparisons are made regarding the eigenfrequencies, categorized mode shapes and the maximum and minimum planet carrier rim deflections from the time domain simulations. The mode shapes are categorized into seven distinct deformation patterns. An actual load case from the dynamometer tests, a 100% rated torque loading, is used in the time domain simulations. The results from this comprehensive study provide an insight into the proper modelling of a wind turbine planet carrier in a multi‐body setting. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ultimate design load analysis of planetary gearbox bearings under extreme events

This paper investigates the impact of extreme events on the planet bearings of a 5 MW gearbox. The system is simulated using an aeroelastic tool, where the turbine structure is modeled, and MATLAB/Simulink, where the drivetrain (gearbox and generator) are modeled using a lumped‐parameter approach. Three extreme events are assessed: low‐voltage ride through, emergency stop and normal stop. The analysis is focused on finding which event has the most negative impact on the bearing extreme radial loads. The two latter events are carried out following the guidelines of the International Electrotechnical Commission standard 61400‐1. The former is carried out by applying a voltage fault while simulating the wind turbine under normal turbulent wind conditions. The voltage faults are defined by following the guidelines from four different grid codes in order to assess the impact on the bearings. The results show that the grid code specifications have a dominant role in the maximum loads achieved by the bearings during a low‐voltage ride through. Moreover, the emergency brake shows the highest impact by increasing the bearing loads up to three times the rated value. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On the definition and effect of optimum gear microgeometry modifications for the gearbox of an offshore 10-MW wind turbine

This work develops an optimization algorithm for the definition of gear microgeometry modifications (MGM) on a gearbox belonging to an offshore 10-MW wind turbine. Subsequently, the impact of the gear microgeometry on the performance of gears and bearings is quantified: First, under rated load conditions and, second, accounting for the environmental conditions to estimate the long-term damage. To fulfil this task, a high-fidelity numerical model of the drivetrain is used, which meets the design requirements of the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) 10-MW reference offshore wind turbine. The optimization achieves a uniform distribution of the contact stress along the tooth flank, shifts its maximum value to the central position, and eliminates edge contact. These enhancements increase the gear safety factors. Nevertheless, the most significant improvement concerns planetary bearings, for which optimum gear MGM achieve a homogeneous share of the load among bearings. Moreover, deviations of the microgeometry with respect to the defined optimum are also addressed. In gears, lead slope deviations are counteracted by crowning modifications to restrain the increase of the load offset. Concerning planetary bearings, slope deviations can be beneficial or detrimental depending on whether they overload downwind or upwind planetary bearings, respectively. Finally, accumulated damage to planetary bearings after 20 years of service is assessed. Before MGM, results predict a premature failure of planetary bearings, while optimum MGM extend their predicted life above 20 years by achieving a reduction of the maximum accumulated fatigue damage by a factor of 4.4.     

On design,modelling, and analysis of a 10‐MW medium‐speed drivetrain for offshore wind turbines

The design of a medium‐speed drivetrain for the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) 10‐MW reference offshore wind turbine is presented. A four‐point support drivetrain layout that is equipped with a gearbox with two planetary stages and one parallel stage is proposed. Then, the drivetrain components are designed based on design loads and criteria that are recommended in relevant international standards. Finally, an optimized drivetrain model is obtained via an iterative design process that minimizes the weight and volume. A high‐fidelity numerical model is established via the multibody system approach. Then, the developed drivetrain model is compared with the simplified model that was proposed by DTU, and the two models agree well. In addition, a drivetrain resonance evaluation is conducted based on the Campbell diagrams and the modal energy distribution. Detailed parameters for the drivetrain design and dynamic modelling are provided to support the reproduction of the drivetrain model. A decoupled approach, which consists of global aero‐hydro‐servo‐elastic analysis and local drivetrain analysis, is used to determine the drivetrain dynamic response. The 20‐year fatigue damages of gears and bearings are calculated based on the stress or load duration distributions, the Palmgren‐Miner linear accumulative damage hypothesis, and long‐term environmental condition distributions. Then, an inspection priority map is established based on the failure ranking of the drivetrain components, which supports drivetrain inspection and maintenance assessment and further model optimization. The detailed modelling of the baseline drivetrain model provides a basis for benchmark studies and support for future research on multimegawatt offshore wind turbines.     

Fault diagnosis of wind turbine planetary gearbox under nonstationary conditions via adaptive optimal kernel time–frequency analysis

Planetary gearboxes play an important role in wind turbine (WT) drivetrains. WTs usually work under time-varying running conditions due to the volatile wind conditions. The planetary gearbox vibration signals in such an environment are hence highly nonstationary. Conventional spectral analysis and demodulation analysis methods are unable to identify the characteristic frequency of gear fault from such nonstationary signals. As such, this paper presents a time–frequency analysis methods to reveal the constituent frequency components of nonstationary signals and their time-varying features for WT planetary gearbox monitoring. More specifically, we exploit the adaptive optimal kernel (AOK) method for this challenging application because of its fine time–frequency resolution and cross-term free nature, as demonstrated by our simulation analysis. In this study, the AOK method has been applied to identify the time-varying characteristic frequencies of gear fault or to extract different levels of impulses induced by gear faults from lab WT experimental signals and in-situ WT signals under time-varying running conditions. We have demonstrated that the AOK is effective diagnosis of: (a) both the local damage (a single chipped tooth) and distributed faults (wear of all teeth), (b) both sun gear and planet gear faults, and (c) faults with very weak signature (e.g., the sun gear fault at the low speed stage of a WT planetary gearbox).     

计入齿面摩擦的封闭行星轮系均载特性研究

封闭行星轮系结构复杂,载荷的均匀分配对于提高系统的传动质量及使用寿命具有重要意义,齿面摩擦对封闭行星轮系均载特性有重要的影响。以人字齿封闭行星轮系为研究对象,以基于弹流润滑理论的摩擦系数模型为基础,考虑人字齿轮两端斜齿轮扭转振动的相互影响,建立了考虑齿面摩擦的人字齿纯扭转动力学模型。分析考虑齿面摩擦(EHL)和不考虑齿面摩擦情况下封闭行星轮系振动位移响应及输入转速、输入功率和摩擦系数变化对均载特性的影响。结果表明:系统均载系数随着输入转速的增加而增加,随着输入功率的增加而减小,随着摩擦系数的增加有微幅的增加。     

考虑齿圈柔性的风电行星轮系动态啮合特性研究

针对集中参数法难以考虑齿圈柔性而有限元法计算量大的问题,以风电行星轮系为研究对象在集中参数/有限元混合法基础上提出一种揭示内啮合齿轮副延长啮合现象的分析方法。首先采用集中参数法建立风电行星轮系的动力学模型,并求解获得动态啮合力;随后,运用有限元法建立行星轮系内啮合齿轮副的有限元模型,并开展静态接触分析从而获得内啮合齿轮副各啮合位置发生多齿啮合时的变形阈值;最后,将集中参数模型获得的动态啮合力施加在内齿圈有限元模型上计算出内齿圈的动态响应,并结合发生多齿啮合时的变形阈值,从而揭示在不同负载和支撑数量下内齿圈上多齿啮合的分布区域,获得接触应力和齿根应力,分析啮合齿对数量改变前后对应力的影响。结果表明：考虑齿轮柔性后,内啮合齿轮副会出现除理论啮合齿对外其他齿对相接触的现象;随着负载扭矩的增大,内齿圈上三齿啮合首先发生在支撑两侧,随后三齿啮合发生区域不断增加;当行星轮与内齿圈间的啮合由理论两齿啮合变为三齿啮合时,其齿面接触应力和齿根应力小于其在相同时刻只计入两齿啮合时的应力值。     

Amplitude modulations in planetary gears

A planetary gear set introduces complicated gear vibration frequency structures, especially in sequentially phased planetary gear sets. Frequency components from a fixed sensor can be enhanced and/or canceled with different planets and ring gear configurations. In this study, an amplitude modulation based formula and simple trigonometric function manipulations are used to reveal the major physical phenomena in a planetary gearbox. The formulation used in this study permits unlimited modulation indices as well as unrestricted planet passing signal responses sensed at fixed transducer locations on the gearbox. Numerical simulations and field examples are given in the end of the paper to validate the analysis. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Using transfer path analysis to assess the influence of bearings on structural vibrations of a wind turbine gearbox

Noise and vibration issues can be dealt with using several approaches. Using the source–transfer path–receiver approach, a vibration issue could be solved by attenuating the source, modifying the transfer path or by influencing the receiver. Applying this approach on a wind turbine gearbox would respectively correspond with lowering the gear excitation levels, modifying the gearbox housing or by trying to isolate the gearbox from the rest of the wind turbine. This paper uses a combination of multi‐body modelling and typical transfer path analysis (TPA) to investigate the impact of bearings on the total transfer path and the resulting vibration levels. Structural vibrations are calculated using a flexible multi‐body model of a three‐stage wind turbine gearbox. Because the high‐speed mesh is often the main source of vibrations, focus is put on the four bearings of this gear stage. The TPA method using structural vibration simulation results shows which bearing position is responsible for transmitting the highest excitation levels from the gears to the gearbox housing structure. Influences of bearing stiffness values and bearing damping values on the resulting vibration levels are investigated by means of a parameter sensitivity study and are confirmed with the results from the TPA. Because both the TPA and the parameter sensitivity analysis revealed a big influence on radial stiffness for a certain bearing, this was investigated in more detail and showed the big importance of correct axial bearing position. The main conclusions of this paper are that the total vibration behaviour of a wind turbine gearbox can be altered significantly by changing both bearing properties such as stiffness, damping and position, and bearing support stiffness. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.