As part of the UK government’s Department of Energy and Climate Change funded OWDIn (Offshore Wind Drivetrain Innovation) project, a MultiLife system has now been installed for live validation trials at the Barnesmore wind farm, a location that is known to experience aggressive wind conditions.
This work, in which Ricardo is collaborating with ScottishPower Renewables and the Universities of Sheffield and Strathclyde, will enable the full potential to be evaluated for the first time in an operating wind farm environment. The Ricardo MultiLife wind turbine bearing has in tests been demonstrated as having the potential to improve wind turbine reliability and extend turbine bearing life by more than 500 per cent. Forensic investigation undertaken by Ricardo on behalf of wind energy clients has identified an important similarity in bearing failure mechanisms commonly arising in wind turbine drivetrains. Wear on the inner race of bearings in the inaccessible planetary stages of the gearbox tends to be concentrated over a small arc of some 40 degrees. The Ricardo MultiLife wind turbine bearing system offers the potential to significantly extend bearing life. This is achieved by rotating the race of standard bearings over time, which ensures that the fatigue damage or wear never reaches a critical localised condition during the turbine life. The concept was originally designed for retrofit to existing turbines with minimal modification to the gearbox. In recent discussions, suppliers of new gearboxes have sought assurances of 25-year device life to support their extended warranties. A larger-scale version of MultiLife is also applicable to the races of certain direct drive turbines that suffer damage from sustained lift and gravity loads.
