• Journal of Drive and Control
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.16-21
• /
• 2024

The yaw gearbox is a key device in a wind power generator that improves power generation efficiency by rotating hundreds of tons (400 to 600 tons) of nacelle so that the blade reaches 90 degrees in the wind direction. Recently, installation sites have been advancing from land to sea as they have become super-large at (8-12) MW to increase the economic feasibility of wind power generators and utilize excellent wind resources, and the target life of large wind power generators is 25 to 30 years. The yaw gearbox of 6 to 12 sets is installed in a very complex place inside the nacelle on the tower with parallels, and it is important to secure the reliability of the yaw gearbox because if a failure occurs after installation, it costs tens to hundreds of times the price of a new product to restore. In this study, equivalent loads were calculated by analyzing failure mode and field data, accelerated life test conditions were established, and a test device was constructed to perform the accelerated life tests and performance tests to ensure the reliability of the gearbox.

• Journal of Convergence for Information Technology
• /
• v.12 no.2
• /
• pp.142-148
• /
• 2022

In this paper, the weight reduction design of the yaw gearbox for wind turbine was performed through the finite element analysis method, and the stability was checked by performing the critical speed analysis. The weight reduction product can improve engine efficiency, save parts materials, and earn economic benefits. The yaw gearbox is lightweighted with the goal of achieving a safety rate of 1.3 or higher for wind turbine as indicated by IEC61400-1. In order to reduce the weight of the carrier, a topology optimization method was performed. The safety factor was verified by performing finite element analysis on the carrier. In addition, the housing and carrier were modeled using the finite element method, and the gear train was modeled using MASTA. For the yaw gearbox, the housing and carrier FE model and the gear train model were connected by the partial structural synthesis method to perform the rotational vibration analysis. Vibration excitation sources are mass unbalance and gear mesh frrequemcy, and as a result of the critical speed analysis, it was found that there was no resonance within the operating speed range.