Fluid Film Bearing Pad Structure for Serviceable Wind Turbine Hubs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional roller or ball bearings used in wind turbines are costly and difficult to service due to their complex design and hard-to-access pad structures, which increases maintenance complexity and weight.
Innovation Solution
A fluid film bearing design with pads formed as one piece, featuring a mounting section on the backside of the support structure, allowing for tilting without additional mechanisms, and using a coating to reduce friction, enabling easier access and maintenance by mounting pads from the interior or exterior, thus reducing complexity and cost.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If roller or ball bearings are used in wind turbines, then rotational support is provided, but the bearing requires high production precision and is costly and difficult to service
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional roller or ball bearings with a fluid film bearing system that uses a layer of fluid (oil or grease) between sliding surfaces to enable rotation without direct mechanical contact. This substitution eliminates the need for complex rolling element structures while providing reliable rotational support through hydrodynamic lubrication.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the fundamental operating parameter from rolling contact to sliding contact with fluid film separation. By introducing a fluid layer and modifying the contact mechanics, the system achieves reliable rotation with simpler construction and easier servicing.
2Reliability
If pads are arranged between the two rings of the bearing, then radial support is provided, but access to the pads becomes difficult and servicing is laborious
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of mounting pads between the two bearing rings where they are hard to access, the invention inverts the mounting approach by attaching pads to the outer ring's outer surface. This allows servicing personnel to access and replace pads from the outside of the bearing assembly without needing to disassemble the bearing or create crawl spaces between rings.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent moves the pad mounting location from the radial/axial plane between rings to the outer radial surface of the bearing. This dimensional relocation enables easy access from the exterior while maintaining the pads' functional position for providing radial support through the fluid film.
3Manufacturing precision
If pads are designed to allow tilting of the sliding surface, then tolerance compensation is achieved, but the pad structure becomes complex and costly
Solution Approach 1:
The invention introduces dynamic capability to the pad structure by enabling the contact surface to tilt or pivot relative to the mounting surface. This dynamic adjustment allows the pad to automatically compensate for misalignments and tolerances in the bearing components while maintaining simple overall construction without complex mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the geometric parameter of the pad contact surface from fixed to variable, allowing it to adjust its orientation angle. This parameter change enables tolerance compensation while keeping the pad structure simple through clever geometric design rather than complex mechanisms.
4Ease of repair
If a dedicated crawl space is provided for accessing pads, then pad servicing becomes possible, but the overall bearing complexity and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the servicing access function from the internal bearing structure by mounting pads on the outer surface. This eliminates the need for dedicated crawl spaces or access channels within the bearing assembly, reducing structural complexity and weight while maintaining easy pad accessibility from the exterior.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design simplifies maintenance, reduces weight, and lowers costs by allowing pads to be easily exchanged from within the wind turbine, improving serviceability and reducing the need for complex access mechanisms while maintaining effective rotational support.
Implementation Method 1
a connecting section that connects the contact section with the mounting section and that allows for a tilting of the contact section with respect to the mounting section
Implementation Method 2
a contact section that is either forming the respective pad sliding surface or carrying a coating that forms the respective pad sliding surface
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a fluid film bearing, for a rotor hub in a wind turbine, including a first and second part rotatably connected to each other, wherein the first part forms a first annular sliding surface that extends in the circumferential direction of the bearing along the first part, wherein the second part includes a support structure and first pads distributed along the circumference of the support structure, wherein a respective pad sliding surface of each of the first pads or of a first subgroup of the first pads supports the first annular sliding surface, wherein each first pad includes a mounting section that is mounted to a backside of the support structure, a contact section that is either forming the respective pad sliding surface or carrying a coating that forms the respective pad sliding surface and a connecting section that connects the contact section with the mounting section.