Uptower wind turbine component replacement
AssigneeInventus Holdings, LLC
InventorsMartin E. Lohan, Per Eske Fenger, Charles Asheim, Miguel A. Gonzalez, Daniel M. Brake
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method for performing uptower maintenance of a wind turbine in order to replace the main bearing on the turbine shaft is disclosed. Embodiments of this method to perform maintenance may include installing a rotor lock to resist rotation of the main shaft during maintenance, providing a lifting device in order to elevate the main shaft, removing the main bearing from its main bearing housing, and installing a replacement split main bearing. A crane may also be installed uptower to assist in the maintenance.
Claims18
A method for performing maintenance of a wind turbine, the method comprising:
- removing at least one cover to expose a main bearing which has been press-fit on a main shaft, the main bearing is removable from the main shaft by a press process at a repair shop after extraction of the main shaft and main bearing assembly from the wind turbine;
- removing the main bearing from the main shaft by destructively cutting the main bearing from the main shaft while the main shaft is mechanically coupled at a first end to one or more blades in the wind turbine and the main shaft is mechanically coupled at a second end to a gear box installed in the wind turbine;
- and
- installing a split main bearing to the main shaft while the main shaft is mechanically coupled to the blades at the first end and to the gear box at the second end.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.