Wind Turbine Drive Coupling With Vibration Decoupling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Wind turbine rotors experience strong vibrations due to turbulent air flows, which are transmitted to the drivetrain, leading to potential damage, material fatigue, and noise emissions.
Innovation Solution
A drive arrangement for wind turbines that includes a sun shaft non-rotatably connected to a sun gear, a shaft or hub for receiving the generator rotor, and a connecting element with spring and/or damping elements to decouple the connecting element from the sun shaft and/or the shaft or hub, thereby reducing vibrations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the rotor is directly connected to the drivetrain, then the power transmission is efficient, but strong vibrations are transmitted causing damage and material fatigue
Solution Approach 1:
A connecting element with spring and/or damping elements is introduced as an intermediary between the rotor shaft and the sun shaft. This mediator absorbs and dampens vibrations while still transmitting power, resolving the contradiction between efficient power transmission and vibration reduction.
Solution Approach 2:
The connecting element changes the mechanical parameters of the connection from rigid to compliant by incorporating spring elements that can deform elastically. This parameter change allows the system to absorb vibration energy while maintaining power transmission capability.
2Stability of the object's composition
If rigid connection is used between sun shaft and hub, then structural stability is maintained, but vibrations are transmitted throughout the drivetrain
Solution Approach 1:
The connection parameters are changed from rigid to compliant by incorporating spring and damping elements. This allows the structure to maintain stability while reducing the transmission of vibrations that cause noise emissions.
Solution Approach 2:
The spring and damping elements convert the harmful vibrations into useful elastic deformation and heat dissipation. The vibration energy is absorbed and dissipated by the damping elements rather than being transmitted as noise.
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 proposed drive arrangement effectively reduces vibrations in the wind turbine drivetrain, minimizing the risk of damage and material fatigue while also reducing noise emissions.
Implementation Method 1
one or more spring and/or damping elements that decouple the connecting element from the sun shaft and/or the shaft or hub
Implementation Method 2
one or more spring and/or damping elements that decouple the connecting element from the sun shaft and/or the shaft or hub
Data Source
AI summary
A drive arrangement for a wind turbine includes a sun shaft, which is non-rotatably connected or connectable to a sun gear arranged on a rotor side with respect to the sun shaft, and a shaft or hub for receiving a rotor of a generator. The drive arrangement includes a connecting element, which is connected non-rotatably to the sun shaft and the shaft or hub and which is arranged inside the shaft or hub or on a generator side relative to the shaft or hub, and one or more spring and/or damping elements that decouple the connecting element from the sun shaft and/or the shaft or hub.