U.S. Department of EnergyOffice of Scientific and Technical Information
Exploring Optimization Opportunities in Four-Point Suspension Wind Turbine Drivetrains Through Integrated Design Approaches: Preprint
Abstract
Drivetrain design has significant influence on the costs of wind power generation. Current industry practices usually approach the drivetrain design with loads and system requirements defined by the turbine manufacturer. Several different manufacturers are contracted to supply individual components from the low-speed shaft to the generator - each receiving separate design specifications from the turbine manufacturer. Increasingly, more integrated approaches to turbine design have shown promise for blades and towers. Yet, integrated drivetrain design is a challenging task owing to the complex physical behavior of the important load-bearing components, namely the main bearings, gearbox, and the generator. In this paper we combine two of NREL's systems engineering design tools, DriveSE and GeneratorSE, to enable a comprehensive system-level drivetrain optimization for the IEAWind reference turbine for land-based applications. We compare a more traditional design with integrated approaches employing decoupled and coupled design optimization. It is demonstrated that both approaches have the potential to realize notable mass savings with opportunities to lower the costs of energy.
- Authors:
-
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Wind and Water Technologies Office (EE-4W)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1421784
- Report Number(s):
- NREL/CP-5000-70622
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC36-08GO28308
- Resource Type:
- Conference
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Presented at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics 2018 Wind Energy Symposium, 8-12 January 2018, Kissimmee, Florida
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 17 WIND ENERGY; drivetrains; doubly fed induction generator; optimization
Citation Formats
Sethuraman, Latha, Quick, Julian, Guo, Yi, and Dykes, Katherine L. Exploring Optimization Opportunities in Four-Point Suspension Wind Turbine Drivetrains Through Integrated Design Approaches: Preprint. United States: N. p., 2018.
Web.
Sethuraman, Latha, Quick, Julian, Guo, Yi, & Dykes, Katherine L. Exploring Optimization Opportunities in Four-Point Suspension Wind Turbine Drivetrains Through Integrated Design Approaches: Preprint. United States.
Sethuraman, Latha, Quick, Julian, Guo, Yi, and Dykes, Katherine L. 2018.
"Exploring Optimization Opportunities in Four-Point Suspension Wind Turbine Drivetrains Through Integrated Design Approaches: Preprint". United States. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1421784.
@article{osti_1421784,
title = {Exploring Optimization Opportunities in Four-Point Suspension Wind Turbine Drivetrains Through Integrated Design Approaches: Preprint},
author = {Sethuraman, Latha and Quick, Julian and Guo, Yi and Dykes, Katherine L},
abstractNote = {Drivetrain design has significant influence on the costs of wind power generation. Current industry practices usually approach the drivetrain design with loads and system requirements defined by the turbine manufacturer. Several different manufacturers are contracted to supply individual components from the low-speed shaft to the generator - each receiving separate design specifications from the turbine manufacturer. Increasingly, more integrated approaches to turbine design have shown promise for blades and towers. Yet, integrated drivetrain design is a challenging task owing to the complex physical behavior of the important load-bearing components, namely the main bearings, gearbox, and the generator. In this paper we combine two of NREL's systems engineering design tools, DriveSE and GeneratorSE, to enable a comprehensive system-level drivetrain optimization for the IEAWind reference turbine for land-based applications. We compare a more traditional design with integrated approaches employing decoupled and coupled design optimization. It is demonstrated that both approaches have the potential to realize notable mass savings with opportunities to lower the costs of energy.},
doi = {},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1421784},
journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Feb 13 00:00:00 EST 2018},
month = {Tue Feb 13 00:00:00 EST 2018}
}