Abstract. This paper presents the state-of-the-art technologies and development trends of wind turbine drivetrains – the system that converts kinetic energy of the wind to electrical energy – in different stages of their life cycle: design, manufacturing, installation, operation, lifetime extension, decommissioning and recycling. Offshore development and digitalization are also a focal point in this study. Drivetrain in this context includes the whole power conversion system: main bearing, shafts, gearbox, generator and power converter. The main aim of this article is to review the drivetrain technology development as well as to identify future challenges and research gaps. The main challenges in drivetrain research identified in this paper include drivetrain dynamic responses in large or floating turbines, aerodynamic and farm control effects, use of rare-earth material in generators, improving reliability through prognostics, and use of advances in digitalization. These challenges illustrate the multidisciplinary aspect of wind turbine drivetrains, which emphasizes the need for more interdisciplinary research and collaboration.
Abstract. This paper presents the state-of-the-art technologies and development trends of wind turbine drivetrains – the energy conversion systems transferring the kinetic energy of the wind to electrical energy – in different stages of their life cycle: design, manufacturing, installation, operation, lifetime extension, decommissioning, and recycling. Offshore development and digitalization are also a focal point in this study. The main aim of this article is to review the drivetrain technology development as well as to identify future challenges and research gaps. Drivetrain in this context includes the whole power conversion system: main bearing, shafts, gearbox, generator, and power converter. The paper discusses current design technologies for each component along with advantages and disadvantages. The discussion of the operation phase highlights the condition monitoring methods currently employed by the industry as well as emerging areas. This article also illustrates the multidisciplinary aspect of wind turbine drivetrains, which emphasizes the need for more interdisciplinary research and collaboration.
The ability of prediction of machine condition may become even more crucial in mobile mining machines considering their instantly-varying conditions. The field of early damage diagnosis for mobile machinery is gaining increasing attention in modern and predictive maintenance strategies. In general, vibration-based machine condition monitoring methods offer the possibility to detect and localize the damages in mechanical systems at their early stages. In vibration monitoring, the vibration signals are captured via accelerometers, and are processed in the time and frequency domains in signal processing packages to extract diagnostic information. However, in real-world mobile applications, vibration analysis alone may not reveal the diagnostic information due to extreme transient and nonstationary operating conditions. In this regard, additional metadata available on the machine’s CAN bus system, can improve the reliability of vibration analysis for mobile applications. The current study aims to investigate the usage of metadata as additional information to the vibration analysis on cardan shaft of a test wheel loader in field conditions. Two various damage types, namely, misalignment and bearing clearance, both on cardan shaft, are investigated in some detail. The experimental results show how vibration analysis together with metadata processing can identify the state of the machine even in harsh operating conditions.
The present study aims to combine the fields modal analysis and signal processing and to show the use of Frequency Response Function (FRF), as a vibration transfer path, in enhancing reliability and abilities of the next generation vibration-based rolling bearing condition monitoring (CM) systems in complex mechanical systems. In line with this purpose, the hereby-presented paper employs an appropriate numerical model, that is, Multibody Simulation (MBS) of a vehicle's drivetrain as a manner for numerical modal and structural analyses. For this, first, the principles of vibration-based bearing fault detection are reviewed and presented. Following that, a summary of MBS modelling and validating strategies are given. Then, the validated MBS model is used as a case study for further investigations. The results can confirm existence of challenges in fault detection of rolling bearings, in particular in complex mechanical systems. In further discussions, the capability of FRFs in fault localization and determination of ideal sensor positions is discussed in some detail. Finally, concluding remarks and suggestions for future works are summarized.
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