Wind Turbine Drive Gear Load Control Under Abnormal Meshing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Wind turbines experience excessive loads at the meshing portions of their drive gears, leading to potential breakage and requiring costly repairs, which can significantly reduce capacity utilization and necessitate prolonged shutdowns, especially when caused by temporary factors such as wind gusts.
Innovation Solution
A wind turbine drive system that includes a state quantity detection unit to monitor loads and a control unit to manage driving devices by stopping output to the ring gear, adjusting brake mechanisms, and modifying pitch angles to mitigate excessive loads, thereby reducing the risk of breakage and maintaining operational efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the wind turbine stops power generation to prevent breakage from excessive loads, then the reliability of the drive system is improved, but the productivity is significantly reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the brake mechanism controllable and adjustable. The brake force can be dynamically modified based on detected load conditions, allowing the system to adapt between different operational states (normal operation, load reduction, emergency stopping) rather than being fixed in one state
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback through load detection means that continuously monitor the drive system and provide information to the control means. This feedback loop enables the control system to adjust brake force or stop power generation only when necessary, preventing unnecessary shutdowns while maintaining reliability
2Strength
If the brake mechanism is applied to stop excessive load, then the strength protection of drive gears is improved, but the time loss for operation interruption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by using the brake mechanism to reduce load partially rather than completely stopping operation. The control means can adjust brake force to a level that protects the drive gears from breakage while allowing the wind turbine to continue generating power at reduced capacity
Solution Approach 2:
The brake mechanism is designed to be dynamically controllable, allowing rapid adjustment of brake force in response to detected load conditions. This dynamic control enables the system to apply minimal necessary braking to protect gears while minimizing operation interruption time
3Power
If multiple driving devices are operated simultaneously, then the power output is increased, but the excessive load at meshing portion increases due to synchronization issues
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback by monitoring the load at each drive gear-meshing portion and using this information to control the brake mechanisms. When synchronization issues cause excessive load at any meshing point, the feedback system detects this and applies braking force to the affected driving device to balance the loads
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes operational parameters by dynamically adjusting brake force applied to individual driving devices. This parameter adjustment allows the system to maintain simultaneous operation of multiple driving devices for high power output while preventing excessive load at any single meshing portion through selective braking
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
Figure 4
AI summary
One object is to improve the control upon detecting an excessive load in the movable section of a wind turbine, thereby to raise the capacity utilization of the wind turbine. A wind turbine drive system 5 includes: a plurality of driving devices 10 installed in one structure at a movable section of a wind turbine 101, each of the plurality of driving devices 10 including a drive gear 24a meshing with a ring gear 107 installed in another structure at the movable section of the wind turbine 101; a state quantity detection unit 80 for monitoring, for each of the plurality of driving devices, a load generated between the drive gear of each of the plurality of driving devices and the ring gear; and a control unit 110 for performing control for reducing the load when the state quantity detection unit 80 detects an abnormal load