TY - JOUR
T1 - Impacts of wind field characteristics and non-steady deterministic wind events on time-varying main-bearing loads
AU - Hart, Edward
AU - Stock, Adam
AU - Elderfield, George
AU - Elliott, Robin
AU - Brasseur, James
AU - Keller, Jonathan
AU - Guo, Yi
AU - Song, Wooyong
N1 - Funding Information:
This research has been supported by the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 (Brunel Fellowship 2020), the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (grant no. EP/L016680/1), and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (grant no. DE-AC36-08GO28308).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Edward Hart et al.
PY - 2022/6/8
Y1 - 2022/6/8
N2 - This work considers the characteristics and drivers of the loads experienced by wind turbine main bearings. Simplified load response models of two different hub and main-bearing configurations are presented, representative of both inverting direct-drive and four-point-mounted geared drivetrains. The influences of deterministic wind field characteristics, such as wind speed, shear, yaw offset, and veer, on the bearing load patterns are then investigated for similarity scaled 5, 7.5, and 10 MW reference wind turbine models. Main-bearing load response in cases of deterministic gusts and extreme changes in wind direction are also considered for the 5 MW model. Perhaps surprisingly, veer is identified as an important driver of main-bearing load fluctuations. Upscaling results indicate that similar behaviour holds as turbines become larger, but with mean loads and load fluctuation levels increasing at least cubically with the turbine rotor radius. Strong links between turbine control and main-bearing load response are also observed.
AB - This work considers the characteristics and drivers of the loads experienced by wind turbine main bearings. Simplified load response models of two different hub and main-bearing configurations are presented, representative of both inverting direct-drive and four-point-mounted geared drivetrains. The influences of deterministic wind field characteristics, such as wind speed, shear, yaw offset, and veer, on the bearing load patterns are then investigated for similarity scaled 5, 7.5, and 10 MW reference wind turbine models. Main-bearing load response in cases of deterministic gusts and extreme changes in wind direction are also considered for the 5 MW model. Perhaps surprisingly, veer is identified as an important driver of main-bearing load fluctuations. Upscaling results indicate that similar behaviour holds as turbines become larger, but with mean loads and load fluctuation levels increasing at least cubically with the turbine rotor radius. Strong links between turbine control and main-bearing load response are also observed.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85132103636&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.5194/wes-7-1209-2022
DO - 10.5194/wes-7-1209-2022
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85132103636
SN - 2366-7443
VL - 7
SP - 1209
EP - 1226
JO - Wind Energy Science
JF - Wind Energy Science
IS - 3
ER -
