Wind Turbine Coupling Assembly Access for Fastener Maintenance
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The existing wind turbine drivetrain design with an annular connecting part does not allow access to the fasteners connecting the annular plates to the low-speed shaft and gearbox, making maintenance difficult and costly.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates an outer access opening in the drivetrain housing and an inner access opening in the intermediate part of the coupling assembly, aligning to facilitate access to the fasteners within the coupling assembly, allowing for maintenance without extending the coupling assembly length.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If a short annular connecting part is used to achieve a compact drivetrain, then the drivetrain length is reduced, but access to fasteners for maintenance is blocked
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling assembly is segmented into modular components: first annular part, second annular part, and intermediate part. This segmentation allows the intermediate part to be designed with an inner access opening while maintaining overall compactness, resolving the contradiction between short length and maintenance accessibility.
Solution Approach 2:
Access to fasteners is achieved by creating an inner access opening in the intermediate part that aligns with an outer access opening in the housing, establishing a through-path in the radial dimension. This dimensional approach allows maintenance access without extending the axial length of the coupling assembly.
2Ease of repair
If the coupling assembly is made maintenance-free, then maintenance costs are reduced, but the design becomes more expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The drivetrain is designed to enable self-service maintenance through the aligned access openings, allowing operators to inspect and maintain fasteners without requiring complex disassembly procedures. This balanced approach avoids the high costs of maintenance-free designs while enabling practical maintenance.
3Ease of repair
If apertures are added to annular plates for fastener access, then maintenance access is enabled, but the flexion and torsion properties of the plates are altered
Solution Approach 1:
The access opening is extracted from the annular plates themselves and placed in the intermediate part instead. This extraction preserves the structural integrity and flexion/torsion properties of the annular plates while still enabling fastener access through the intermediate part's opening.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
The invention describes a wind turbine drivetrain (2) comprising a low-speed shaft (201); a high-speed assembly (211, 212) comprising a planetary gearbox (211) and a generator (212); a coupling assembly (1) comprising a first annular part (11) connected to the low-speed shaft (201), a second annular part (12) connected to a first stage (212) of the planetary gearbox (211), and a cylindrical intermediate part (13) extending between the annular parts (11, 12), a drivetrain housing (1H, 2H) arranged to enclose the low-speed shaft (201) and the coupling assembly (1); characterized by an outer access opening (1HA) formed in the drivetrain housing (1H); and an inner access opening (13A) formed in the intermediate part (13) of the coupling assembly (1) and arranged to align with the outer access opening (1HA) to facilitate access to the interior of the coupling assembly (1). The invention further describes a method of performing a maintenance procedure on such a wind turbine drivetrain (2).