Work

Main bearing response in a waked 15-MW floating wind turbine in below-rated conditions

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Increased wind turbine size raises unknowns related to structural flexibility. Moreover, moving to deeper waters, component reliability becomes more critical. This work investigates main bearing response dependence on drivetrain flexibility and wake impingement in a two-turbine wind farm. A 15-MW floating direct-drive turbine is considered. Large eddy simulations (LES) are employed to model neutral, stable and unstable atmospheric conditions at below-rated mean wind speed, while the engineering codes OpenFAST and FAST.Farm simulate turbine and wake behavior. Results indicate significant sensitivities in fatigue estimates to lateral distance between the upstream and downstream turbine. The trends are most substantial in stable conditions, where the waked downwind main bearing sees twice the fatigue damage estimates of the upstream turbine for one position and 50% for another. Main bearing fatigue sensitivity to drivetrain flexibility is minor, while properly including generator rotor inertia loads is important for the axial forces of the locating (axially fixed) bearing, especially in stable conditions.

Source: Forschung im Ingenieurwesen

DOI: 10.1007/s10010-025-00808-z

Authors: Veronica Liverud Krathe, Regis Thedin, Jason M. Jonkman, Amir R. Nejad, Erin E. Bachynski-Polić

Institutions: Norwegian University of Science and Technology, National Laboratory of the Rockies

Language: English

Topic: Wind Energy Research and Development

Subfield: Aerospace Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Affordable and clean energy

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $2,290