Integrated bearing boosts wind-turbine performance

Integrated flexpin bearings from The Timken Co., Canton, Ohio (www.timken.com), cut part count and raise power density in planetary transmissions.

Sherri Carmody

Jan. 8, 2004

Timken flexpin units come ready to mount with bearing clearances preset for ease of assembly and long life.

MAAG DPPV-7 gearboxes use the flexpins to support five planet gears and ensure even load sharing among them. The gearboxes couple generators to rotors in Nordex GmbH, Hamburg, Germany, wind turbines.

The turbines generate 1.3 MW at a rotor speed of 15 rpm at either 50 or 60 Hz, depending on gearbox ratio (1:79 or 1:94). Wind-turbine photo courtesy of Nordex GmbH.

Integrated flexpin bearings from The Timken Co., Canton, Ohio (www.timken.com), cut part count and raise power density in planetary transmissions. The transmissions from MAAG Gear AG in Switzerland, are to go in three prototype 1.3-MW onshore wind turbines.

The integrated, tapered-roller units contain five main components, half that of some conventional planetary bearing assemblies. And they accommodate a greater number of tapered rollers, which themselves sport a specially designed rolling surface.

The result: more evenly distributed torque among multiple planet gears and longer gear and bearing life. "Combining shafts, bearings, and gears in one unit also saves weight and lowers cost," says Gerald P. Fox, chief engineer at Timken Advanced Application Development.

-- Lawrence Kren