Simulative Ermittlung des Belastungszustandes im Antriebsstrang von Windenergieanlagen im Betrieb

• Simulative determination of the load condition in the drivetrain of wind turbines in operation

Pagitsch, Michael; Jacobs, Georg (Thesis advisor); Schelenz, Ralf (Thesis advisor)

Aachen : RWTH Aachen University (2022, 2023)
Dissertation / PhD Thesis

Dissertation, Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen, 2022

Abstract

The increasing use of wind turbines (WTs) and the growing share of wind power in the electricity mix require high reliability of the turbines and early detection of faults. This can be achieved, among other things, by continuous monitoring of the technical condition of the plants. An analysis of reliability studies shows that bearings and gears in the gearbox as well as the main bearing are responsible for the largest share of WT downtimes. The main objective of this work is to develop a system performance indicator that describes the degradation of wind turbines taking into account the real loads, using the same means that are applied in the design calculation. A model for the calculation of local loads on machine elements of the drive train is constructed. The quality of the results is evaluated using a validated multi-body simulation model. Based on the fatigue calculation, degradation performance indicators are determined for the relevant components and the WT as a system. To demonstrate the real applicability, three identical, neighboring turbines of a wind farm are examined. It can be shown that the developed performance indicator allows a clear differentiation of the degradation states.

Institutions

• Chair for Wind Power Drives [412010]