Calculation and Validation of Planet Gear Sliding Bearings for a Three-Stage Wind Turbine Gearbox
In recent years, the trend towards larger wind turbines and higher power densities has led to increasing demands on planet gear bearings. The use of sliding bearings instead of rolling bearings in planetary bearings makes it possible to increase the power density with lower component costs and highe...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Lubricants |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4442/12/3/95 |
| _version_ | 1827305686189473792 |
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| author | Huanhuan Ding Ümit Mermertas Thomas Hagemann Hubert Schwarze |
| author_facet | Huanhuan Ding Ümit Mermertas Thomas Hagemann Hubert Schwarze |
| author_sort | Huanhuan Ding |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In recent years, the trend towards larger wind turbines and higher power densities has led to increasing demands on planet gear bearings. The use of sliding bearings instead of rolling bearings in planetary bearings makes it possible to increase the power density with lower component costs and higher reliability. Therefore, the use of planet gear sliding bearings in wind turbine gearboxes has become more common. However, the flexible structure and complex load conditions from the helical tooth meshes lead to highly complex elastic structure deformation that modifies the lubricant film thickness and pressure distribution and, thus, has to be considered in the calculation of the bearing’s load-carrying capacity. This paper introduces a highly time-efficient calculation procedure that is validated with pressure measurement data from a three-stage planetary gearbox for a multi-megawatt wind energy plant. The investigations focus on three main objectives: (i) analyses of experimental and predicted results for different load cases, (ii) validation of the results of planet gear sliding bearing code, and (iii) discussion on mandatory modeling depths for the different planet stages. Results indicate the necessity of further research in this field of applications, particularly for the third-stage bearings. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:04:23Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-035fceb76c914f1ea13827ce8e285314 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-4442 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:04:23Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Lubricants |
| spelling | doaj.art-035fceb76c914f1ea13827ce8e2853142024-03-27T13:51:44ZengMDPI AGLubricants2075-44422024-03-011239510.3390/lubricants12030095Calculation and Validation of Planet Gear Sliding Bearings for a Three-Stage Wind Turbine GearboxHuanhuan Ding0Ümit Mermertas1Thomas Hagemann2Hubert Schwarze3Institute of Tribology and Energy Conversion Machinery, Clausthal University of Technology, 38678 Clausthal-Zellerfeld, GermanyEnvision Energy CoE GmbH, 44629 Dortmund, GermanyInstitute of Tribology and Energy Conversion Machinery, Clausthal University of Technology, 38678 Clausthal-Zellerfeld, GermanyInstitute of Tribology and Energy Conversion Machinery, Clausthal University of Technology, 38678 Clausthal-Zellerfeld, GermanyIn recent years, the trend towards larger wind turbines and higher power densities has led to increasing demands on planet gear bearings. The use of sliding bearings instead of rolling bearings in planetary bearings makes it possible to increase the power density with lower component costs and higher reliability. Therefore, the use of planet gear sliding bearings in wind turbine gearboxes has become more common. However, the flexible structure and complex load conditions from the helical tooth meshes lead to highly complex elastic structure deformation that modifies the lubricant film thickness and pressure distribution and, thus, has to be considered in the calculation of the bearing’s load-carrying capacity. This paper introduces a highly time-efficient calculation procedure that is validated with pressure measurement data from a three-stage planetary gearbox for a multi-megawatt wind energy plant. The investigations focus on three main objectives: (i) analyses of experimental and predicted results for different load cases, (ii) validation of the results of planet gear sliding bearing code, and (iii) discussion on mandatory modeling depths for the different planet stages. Results indicate the necessity of further research in this field of applications, particularly for the third-stage bearings.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4442/12/3/95planet gear sliding bearingvalidationstructural deformationload carrying capacitywind turbine gearbox |
| spellingShingle | Huanhuan Ding Ümit Mermertas Thomas Hagemann Hubert Schwarze Calculation and Validation of Planet Gear Sliding Bearings for a Three-Stage Wind Turbine Gearbox Lubricants planet gear sliding bearing validation structural deformation load carrying capacity wind turbine gearbox |
| title | Calculation and Validation of Planet Gear Sliding Bearings for a Three-Stage Wind Turbine Gearbox |
| title_full | Calculation and Validation of Planet Gear Sliding Bearings for a Three-Stage Wind Turbine Gearbox |
| title_fullStr | Calculation and Validation of Planet Gear Sliding Bearings for a Three-Stage Wind Turbine Gearbox |
| title_full_unstemmed | Calculation and Validation of Planet Gear Sliding Bearings for a Three-Stage Wind Turbine Gearbox |
| title_short | Calculation and Validation of Planet Gear Sliding Bearings for a Three-Stage Wind Turbine Gearbox |
| title_sort | calculation and validation of planet gear sliding bearings for a three stage wind turbine gearbox |
| topic | planet gear sliding bearing validation structural deformation load carrying capacity wind turbine gearbox |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4442/12/3/95 |
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