Overall Vibration Values for Reliable Wind Turbines

{access view=!registered}Only logged in users can view the full text of the article.{/access}{access view=registered}Wind power is an industry undergoing turbulent growth, both with regard to its volume and its energy generating capacity. System vendors have had little opportunity to test the wind turbines as their power output has grown, and this has had a negative impact on system reliability. Particularly because of the frequent occurrence of gearbox damage in 2002/03, system insurers introduced a so-called revision clause and cancelled almost all old contracts. The revision clause stipulates that ‘all roller bearings in the drive train must be replaced after 5 years or 40,000 operating hours at the latest, unless a suitable Condition Monitoring System (CMS) has been installed’. These types of CMS can be used for function diagnosis and/or for fault diagnosis.