Posters

Abstract

The drive train of a Multi-MW wind turbine is an essential part of the total power station. It does not only influence costs but may also be relevant for reliability and availability. As one solution, self-retaining moment bearings are comparably easy to install as single units and show excellent operational performance. Another well-suited alternative is to split the double-row moment bearing into two separated single bearings in order to increase the load-carrying span and thus to enable a reduction of the bearings diameters. Adjusted tapered roller bearings with clamped inner and outer rings are well established within the industry due to their high load capacity, stiffness and adaptability. However, TRB-TRB arrangements are highly sensitive to the drivetrain assembly, the operational conditions and the elasticity of the adjacent components such as shaft, housing, gearbox and generator. In addition to that, the bearing preload plays an important role for the bearing lifetime and the stiffness of the entire drivetrain system. For mechanical layout advanced analysis tools are applied, which allow investigating e.g. the loading of the raceway system, ring creeping and the bearing ring stresses induced due to assembly and operating conditions. The roller crowning is customized considering the respective load distribution. Main shaft tapered roller bearings are therefore highly customized and tailor made products based on the requirements of the customers. The verification of the TRB-TRB characteristics is usually performed on real size test rigs. This publication presents a back to back arrangement with original main shaft units of a 6 MW turbine. The application of up to date measuring technology allow thorough performance evaluation and calculation comparison. The rothe erde smart roller technology with exemplary results is presented. Finally, an alternative, universal test arrangement has been worked out. Pros and cons of the different verification solutions are discussed.