Development of a hydrostatic drive train for onshore and offshore wind turbines
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Research Content
The main objective of the research project was to develop and test a new type of drive train for wind turbines (WTGs). This drive train is intended to increase the yield of wind turbines and at the same time reduce the cost of the electrical energy produced. Furthermore, the availability of wind turbines can be increased by a novel drive train.
The most important features of the new concept compared to established solutions are a mechanical decoupling of wind turbine and generator as well as the elimination of the usually required frequency converter. This is made possible by hydrostatic power transmission, which allows the transmission ratio of the drive train to be adjusted continuously. This means that the generator speed can be kept constant, so that the electrical energy is generated directly at mains frequency and does not have to be adapted to the mains frequency in a frequency converter. Hydrostatic components also have very good damping, so torque surges caused by the tower shadow effect and wind gusts are smoothed out. In order to maximize the energy yield from the wind, a good overall efficiency is of particular importance, even in partial load operation.
In this project, a hydrostatic wind power transmission was first configured and optimized in simulations. Subsequently, a prototype of the drivetrain was installed and measured on a test rig specially built for this application. The main focus was on the overall efficiency over the entire power spectrum of a wind turbine.
It was shown that the newly developed hydrostatic wind turbine gearbox, using standard components, achieves an efficiency of approx.
standard components, an efficiency of approx. 85 % can be achieved over a wide power range. Furthermore, it can be shown that the efficiency in the partial load range can be further increased by mechanical decoupling.
A demand-oriented interconnection of components increases the efficiency and thus the electricity yield. The measurement results and findings obtained enable an iterative development and optimization loop.
Acknowledgement
This research and development project is funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) (funding code 0325109A) and supervised by Project Management Jülich.
Publications
| Title | Author(s) |
|---|---|
| Hydrostatic transmission for wind turbines - lessons learned from five years of research Contribution to a book, Contribution to a conference proceedings (2017) | Matthiesen, Gunnar (Corresponding author) Schmitz, Johannes Vatheuer, Nils Murrenhoff, Hubertus |
| Konzipierung und Vermessung hydrostatischer Windkraftgetriebe Dissertation / PhD Thesis (2015) | Schmitz, Johannes B. |
| Hydrostatic transmission for wind turbines : comparison of different configurations and their applicability Contribution to a book, Contribution to a conference proceedings (2014) | Schmitz, Johannes Murrenhoff, Hubertus |
| Hydrostatic transmission for wind turbines - an old concept, new dynamics Contribution to a book, Contribution to a conference proceedings (2014) | Schmitz, Johannes Vukovic, Milos Murrenhoff, Hubertus |
| Dynamic Transmission Response of a Hydrostatic Transmission measured on a Test Bench Contribution to a conference proceedings (2012) | Schmitz, Johannes Diepeveen, Niels Vatheuer, Nils Murrenhoff, Hubertus |
| Dynamic analysis and measurement of hydrostatic transmission for wind turbines Contribution to a conference proceedings (2012) | Schmitz, Johannes Vatheuer, Nils Murrenhoff, Hubertus |
| Efficient hydrostatic heavy-duty drive train in renewable energy branch Contribution to a book, Contribution to a conference proceedings (2011) | Vatheuer, Nils Schmitz, Johannes Murrenhoff, Hubertus |
| Hydrostatic Drive Train in Wind Energy Plants Contribution to a book, Contribution to a conference proceedings (2011) | Schmitz, Johannes Vatheuer, Nils Reinertz, Olivier Murrenhoff, Hubertus |
| Vollhydrostatisches Hauptgetriebe für Windenergieanlagen Contribution to a book, Contribution to a conference proceedings (2011) | Vatheuer, Nils Schmitz, Johannes Murrenhoff, Hubertus |
| Hydrostatic drive train in Wind Energy Plants Contribution to a conference proceedings (2011) | Schmitz, Johannes Vatheuer, Nils Murrenhoff, Hubertus |
| Development of a hydrostatic transmission for wind turbines Contribution to a book, Contribution to a conference proceedings (2010) | Schmitz, Johannes Vatheuer, Nils Murrenhoff, Hubertus |