Fatigue Damage of Wind Turbine Gearbox Under Extreme Wind Conditions

Author(s):  
Zhongjie Xiong ◽  
Yingning Qiu ◽  
Yanhui Feng ◽  
Lang Chen
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felix C. Mehlan ◽  
Amir R. Nejad ◽  
Zhen Gao

Abstract In this article a novel approach for the estimation of wind turbine gearbox loads with the purpose of online fatigue damage monitoring is presented. The proposed method employs a Digital Twin framework and aims at continuous estimation of the dynamic states based on CMS vibration data and generator torque measurements from SCADA data. With knowledge of the dynamic states local loads at gearbox bearings are easily determined and fatigue models are be applied to track the accumulation of fatigue damage. A case study using simulation measurements from a high-fidelity gearbox model is conducted to evaluate the proposed method. Estimated loads at the considered IMS and HSS bearings show moderate to high correlation (R = 0.50–0.96) to measurements, as lower frequency internal dynamics are not fully captured. The estimated fatigue damage differs by 5–15 % from measurements.


Author(s):  
Jiatang Cheng ◽  
Yan Xiong

Background: The effective diagnosis of wind turbine gearbox fault is an important means to ensure the normal and stable operation and avoid unexpected accidents. Methods: To accurately identify the fault modes of the wind turbine gearbox, an intelligent diagnosis technology based on BP neural network trained by the Improved Quantum Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm (IQPSOBP) is proposed. In IQPSO approach, the random adjustment scheme of contractionexpansion coefficient and the restarting strategy are employed, and the performance evaluation is executed on a set of benchmark test functions. Subsequently, the fault diagnosis model of the wind turbine gearbox is built by using IQPSO algorithm and BP neural network. Results: According to the evaluation results, IQPSO is superior to PSO and QPSO algorithms. Also, compared with BP network, BP network trained by Particle Swarm Optimization (PSOBP) and BP network trained by Quantum Particle Swarm Optimization (QPSOBP), IQPSOBP has the highest diagnostic accuracy. Conclusion: The presented method provides a new reference for the fault diagnosis of wind turbine gearbox.


Author(s):  
Baher Azzam ◽  
Ralf Schelenz ◽  
Björn Roscher ◽  
Abdul Baseer ◽  
Georg Jacobs

AbstractA current development trend in wind energy is characterized by the installation of wind turbines (WT) with increasing rated power output. Higher towers and larger rotor diameters increase rated power leading to an intensification of the load situation on the drive train and the main gearbox. However, current main gearbox condition monitoring systems (CMS) do not record the 6‑degree of freedom (6-DOF) input loads to the transmission as it is too expensive. Therefore, this investigation aims to present an approach to develop and validate a low-cost virtual sensor for measuring the input loads of a WT main gearbox. A prototype of the virtual sensor system was developed in a virtual environment using a multi-body simulation (MBS) model of a WT drivetrain and artificial neural network (ANN) models. Simulated wind fields according to IEC 61400‑1 covering a variety of wind speeds were generated and applied to a MBS model of a Vestas V52 wind turbine. The turbine contains a high-speed drivetrain with 4‑points bearing suspension, a common drivetrain configuration. The simulation was used to generate time-series data of the target and input parameters for the virtual sensor algorithm, an ANN model. After the ANN was trained using the time-series data collected from the MBS, the developed virtual sensor algorithm was tested by comparing the estimated 6‑DOF transmission input loads from the ANN to the simulated 6‑DOF transmission input loads from the MBS. The results show high potential for virtual sensing 6‑DOF wind turbine transmission input loads using the presented method.


2013 ◽  
Vol 768-769 ◽  
pp. 723-732 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jürgen Gegner ◽  
Wolfgang Nierlich

Rolling bearings in wind turbine gearboxes occasionally fail prematurely by so-called white etching cracks. The appearance of the damage indicates brittle spontaneous tensile stress induced surface cracking followed by corrosion fatigue driven crack growth. An X-ray diffraction based residual stress analysis reveals vibrations in service as the root cause. The occurrence of high local friction coefficients in the rolling contact is described by a tribological model. Depth profiles of the equivalent shear and normal stresses are compared with residual stress patterns and a relevant fracture strength, respectively. White etching crack failures are reproduced on a rolling contact fatigue test rig under increased mixed friction. Causative vibration loading is evident from residual stress measurements. Cold working compressive residual stresses are an effective countermeasure.


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