Effects of elastic support on the dynamic behaviors of the wind turbine drive train

Abstract

The reliability and service life of wind turbines are influenced by the complex loading applied on the hub, especially amidst a poor external wind environment. A three-point elastic support, which includes the main bearing and two torque arms, was considered in this study. Based on the flexibilities of the planet carrier and the housing, a coupled dynamic model was developed for a wind turbine drive train. Then, the dynamic behaviors of the drive train for different elastic support parameters were computed and analyzed. Frequency response functions were used to examine how different elastic support parameters influence the dynamic behaviors of the drive train. Results showed that the elastic support parameters considerably influenced the dynamic behaviors of the wind turbine drive train. A large support stiffness of the torque arms decreased the dynamic response of the planet carrier and the main bearing, whereas a large support stiffness of the main bearing decreased the dynamic response of planet carrier while increasing that of the main bearing. The findings of this study provide the foundation for optimizing the elastic support stiffness of the wind turbine drive train.

Keywords

wind turbine drive train / elastic support / dynamic behavior / frequency response function

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful for the financial support given by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 51405043 and 51575060) and the Innovation Project of the City of Chongqing (Grant Nos. cstc2015zdcy-ztzx70010 and cstc2015zdcy-ztzx70012).

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