Determination of Stresses in the Axle Pin Based on the Wind Model in the Wind Turbine

Abstract

SummaryEven when all the details are provided, the design of wind turbines is a big challenge. The detailed knowledge of the deformation of vital wind turbine components caused by a wind with extreme operating gusts and other type of winds can be obtained only by performing measurements on the wind turbine. The vital component of the wind turbine is axle pin. This article presents the results of the measured changes in wind speed at the height at which strains were measured. The measured strains are used for calculating the stress. It is also shown that on the basis of the calculations on the wind model obtained with the GH Bladed software, the input data are obtained for the SolidWorks software, by which stress on the axle pin can be calculated. The final confirmation of the proper approach and the calculation is achieved by comparison between the calculated and the measured strains on the axle pin during exploitation of a wind turbine of nominal power output of 1 MW.

Application of structural integrity assessment procedure on an axle pin of a wind turbine

“…It is the maximum external load for the axle pin and corresponds to a critical wind speed of 180 km/h. If the wind overcomes this maximum allowed value, the blades “feather” and the wind freely pass without rotating the wind turbine . Design loading case is defined by the geometry, the wind conditions (yaw position, pitch position of blade, etc), and the design situation (power of the wind turbine, start, stop, etc).…”