Yaw bearing for a wind turbine

Abstract

A sliding yaw bearing system (20) for use in a wind turbine comprising a first bearing assembly configured for attachment to a tower (2) of the wind turbine, a second bearing assembly configured for attachment to a nacelle (4) of the wind turbine, an upwind section of the second bearing assembly being different from a downwind section of the second bearing assembly. Also disclosed is a wind turbine, in particular a direct drive wind turbine, comprising a sliding yaw bearing.

Claims

1. A sliding yaw bearing system (20) for use in a wind turbine, comprising: A first bearing portion (50) is configured for attachment to the tower of the wind turbine; and a second bearing portion (40) configured for attachment to the nacelle of the wind turbine; wherein The upwind section (40A) of the second bearing section (40) is different from the downwind section (40B) of the second bearing section (40). The downwind section (40B) of the second bearing portion (40) is configured to support higher bending loads. The second bearing portion (40) includes a plurality of calipers (45, 46), wherein the number of calipers (45, 46) and / or the size of the calipers (45, 46) differs in the upwind section from that in the downwind section.

2. The sliding yaw bearing system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The second bearing portion (40) includes a plurality of nacelle sliding pads (47, 49).

3. The sliding yaw bearing system according to claim 2, characterized in that, The number of nacelle sliding pads (47, 49) is higher in the downwind section (40B) of the second bearing section than in the upwind section (40A) of the second bearing section.

4. The sliding yaw bearing system according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that, The material of the nacelle sliding pads (47, 49) is different in the downwind section (40B) of the second bearing section than in the upwind section (40A) of the second bearing section.

5. The sliding yaw bearing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The first bearing portion includes an annular disk with a tower sliding pad (53), wherein the annular disk includes gear teeth (21) on the radial surface of the disk.

6. The sliding yaw bearing system according to claim 5, characterized in that, The tower sliding pad (53) is attached to the upper surface of the disk.

7. The sliding yaw bearing system according to claim 5, characterized in that, The calipers (45, 46) include bottom sliding pads (49) configured to contact the bottom of the disc.

8. The sliding yaw bearing system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The calipers (45, 46) include radial sliding pads (47) configured to contact the radial surface of the disc.

9. The sliding yaw bearing system according to claim 8, characterized in that, The radial sliding pad (47) is wedge-shaped.

10. The sliding yaw bearing system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The caliper (45) includes a mechanism (43) on the upwind section (40A) for increasing the friction between the first bearing portion (50) and the second bearing portion (40).

11. A wind turbine (1; 200) comprising a tower (2), a nacelle (4) rotatably mounted on the tower (2), and a sliding yaw bearing system (20) according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

12. The wind turbine according to claim 11, characterized in that, The wind turbine is a direct-drive wind turbine (200).

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