Wind Gearbox Torque Bracket With Variable-Stiffness Elastomer Bush
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Solution Overview
Problem
Wind power plants with conventional torque brackets experience sympathetic vibrations, leading to noise and reduced service life due to low rigidity, which is impractical to address without compromising the gearbox's performance or increasing mass.
Innovation Solution
A torque bracket arrangement with an elastomer bearing bush featuring regions of varying rigidity, where a soft region for low loads and a harder region for high loads ensure effective force transmission and vibration reduction without compromising service life.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional torque bracket with uniform rigidity is used, then the structure is simple and manufacturing is easy, but sympathetic vibrations occur leading to noise and reduced service life
Solution Approach 1:
The elastomer bearing bush is designed with regions of different rigidity (softer region and harder region) within a single component. The softer region reduces sympathetic vibrations and noise, while the harder region maintains structural stability and load-bearing capacity. This local differentiation of material properties resolves the contradiction between improving reliability through vibration reduction and avoiding excessive structural complexity.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the rigidity of the torque bracket is increased to reduce vibrations, then vibration transmission is reduced, but the mass of the gearbox increases which is impractical
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of uniformly increasing the rigidity parameter throughout the torque bracket, the invention changes the rigidity parameter locally within the elastomer bearing bush by creating regions of different stiffness. The softer region absorbs vibrations while the harder region provides necessary structural support, achieving vibration reduction without requiring a uniform mass increase across the entire gearbox.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If a softer elastomer material is used to reduce vibrations, then sympathetic vibrations are reduced, but the service life of the torque bracket decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The elastomer bearing bush incorporates a softer region for vibration absorption and a harder region for durability. The softer region specifically targets sympathetic vibrations to reduce noise, while the harder region ensures the component maintains its load-bearing capacity and structural integrity over an extended service life, thus resolving the contradiction between vibration reduction and service life maintenance.
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 elastomer bearing bush reduces sympathetic vibrations by up to 30% and shifts noise into the inaudible range, maintaining the service life of the torque bracket by adapting rigidity to load conditions, ensuring effective stabilization and noise reduction.
Implementation Method 1
The elastomer bearing bush has differing rigidities depending on the load... consists of at least one soft region of low rigidity and at least one comparatively harder region of greater rigidity... reduces sympathetic vibrations by up to 30%
Implementation Method 2
The elastomer bearing bush has differing rigidities depending on the load... soft region of low rigidity and at least one comparatively harder region of greater rigidity
Implementation Method 3
The elastomer bearing bush has differing rigidities depending on the load... ensures effective force transmission... maintaining the service life of the torque bracket by adapting rigidity to load conditions
Data Source
AI summary
A torque bracket arrangement for a wind power gearbox for transmitting a supporting force to a support structure of a wind power plant includes at least one radial support arm having an associated opening configured to receive a horizontal support pin. The at least one radial support arm is provided on a gearbox side and is configured to establish a detachable connection to at least one corresponding opening of a support eyelet unit arranged on the support structure. The at least one corresponding opening of the support eyelet unit includes an elastomer bearing bush into which the horizontal support pin is configured to be inserted. The elastomer bearing bush has differing rigidities depending on the load. The elastomer bearing bush consists of at least one soft region of low rigidity and at least one comparatively harder region of greater rigidity.