wind power The MultiLife concept offers the potential to ad- The MultiLife wind turbine bearing management system.


Extending Bearing Life by up to 500% Forensic investigation undertaken by Ricardo on behalf of wind energy clients has identifi ed a number of bearing failure mechanisms commonly found on turbine drivetrains. For example, some of these are due to unequal load dis- tribution applied to the planet bearings in epicyclic gears, while others arise due to a range of conditions including, for example, running at partial turbine power. In this circumstance the rolling elements are prone to skid rather than roll and can cause scuffi ng of the precision ground surfaces. Irrespective of the cause, wear on the inner bearing race is concentrated over a small arc of some 40° and can lead to premature failure, while the remainder of the race remains unworn. This situation is known as localized wear.


dress these mechanisms, thus extending bearing life by up to fi ve times. It ensures that the fatigue damage or wear never reaches a critical condition during the turbine life—an approach also applicable to the outer races of direct drive turbines subject to sustained grav- ity loads. Following extremely promising rig test results of the Ricardo MultiLife wind turbine bearing manage- ment system concept in a collaborative project with the University of Sheffi eld, it was announced in late 2013 that the system would be an area of focus for the UK government’s Department of Energy and Climate Change funded OWDIn (Offshore Wind Drivetrain In- novation) project. As part of this new initiative, MultiLife systems have been deployed at the ScottishPower Renewables Barnesmore Windfarm in County Done- gal, Republic of Ireland, that is known to experience aggressive wind conditions. The technology has been installed on a 600-kW turbine at the facility. Barnesmore is capable of generating up to 15 MW when all its turbines are at full capacity. Ricardo is collaborating on the project with ScottishPower Renewables as well as the University of Shef- fi eld and the University of Strathclyde. The expectation is that the effort will enable the full potential of the technology to be evaluated for the fi rst time in an operating wind farm environment.


TorqLife is a dual-function coupling that avoids drivetrain overloads.


Preventing Overload and Non-Torque Loads In addition to its as- sessment of MultiLife, the OWDIn project is also acting as a demon- stration of a new TorqLife system. Conventional and hybrid wind turbine drivetrain architectures are susceptible to non- torque loads transmitted into the gearbox. The same potentially failure- inducing mechanism can also affect the generator


60 — Energy Manufacturing 2016


Images courtesy Ricardo


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