Common failure modes and solutions for wind turbine gearbox bearings
The wind turbine gearbox is the transmission component that connects the main shaft of the unit and the generator. Its main function is to convert the low-speed running input of the main shaft into the output required by the medium-speed or high-speed generator. It is one of the important components in the wind turbine. Due to the complex working conditions of the wind turbine gearbox and the high requirements for reliability, the design and application of the wind turbine gearbox, especially the selection, installation and use of the bearing as a key component are particularly important. Improper bearing selection or improper installation and use can result in various damage and failure modes of the bearing and may even damage other components in the gearbox. These damages and failures can directly or indirectly cause unit shutdowns, which not only affect productivity, but also create unplanned replacement and maintenance costs. Timken offers an effective solution for many common failure modes.
2. Common failure modes and solutions for wind turbine gearbox bearings Wind turbine gearbox designs are various, but basically consist of line stars and parallel stages. In this paper, a common design with a planetary carrier as the input, the inner ring gear is fixed, and the sun gear is output and transmitted to the parallel stage is taken as an example to analyze the common bearing failure modes and corresponding solutions.
