Experimental evaluation of the mesh load factor ( K 3) of a 6MW wind turbine gearbox

Journal article (2022)

Authors

U. Gutierrez Santiago Siemens Gamesa, Team Jan-Willem van Wingerden - Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering
H. Polinder Transport Engineering and Logistics - Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering
J.W. van Wingerden Team Jan-Willem van Wingerden - Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering
Research Group
Team Jan-Willem van Wingerden (Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering) (TU Delft)
Copyright: © 2022 U. Gutierrez Santiago, Alfredo Fernández Sisón, H. Polinder, J.W. van Wingerden
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/2265/3/032003
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Published Date

2022

Language

English

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Faculty

Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering

Department

Delft Center for Systems and Control

Research Group

Team Jan-Willem van Wingerden

Abstract

The significant increase in rotor diameters seen in modern wind turbines has pushed gearbox manufacturers to introduce technological innovations to increase the torque density of current designs. Driven by the need to lower the cost of energy from wind and size limitations imposed by logistic constraints in onshore wind, a trend has emerged to increase the number of planetary stages and the number of planet gears per stage. One of the main challenges of next-generation gearbox designs is sharing the load evenly between a high number of planets. This paper presents an experimental evaluation of the mesh load factor of a modern 6MW wind turbine gearbox with five planets in the first planetary stage. Results from the traditional method, based on tooth root strain gauges, and from strain measurements in the outer surface of the ring gear are described and assessed. Both experimental approaches have yielded lower mesh load factor values than the default values required in the standard "Design requirements for wind turbine gearboxes"IEC 61400-4. Since the mesh load factor is used for gear rating and sizing, a lower value allows a more optimized gearbox design, which leads to a significant improvement in torque density and cost.

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