Rotor assembly having a pitch bearing with a stiffener ring
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorStefan Rieken
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A rotor assembly for a wind turbine includes a rotor blade extending between a blade root and a blade tip, a rotatable hub, a pitch bearing arranged between the rotor blade and a hub of the wind turbine, and a stiffener ring. The pitch bearing has an outer race, an inner race rotatable relative to the outer race, and a plurality of roller elements arranged between the outer race and the inner race. The stiffener ring is arranged between one of the inner race or the outer race of the pitch bearing and the blade root. Further, the stiffener ring has a symmetrical shape so as to provide uniform stiffness to the pitch bearing so as to provide a uniform stiffness to the pitch bearing.
Claims14
A rotor assembly for a wind turbine, the rotor assembly comprising:
- a rotor blade extending between a blade root and a blade tip;
- a rotatable hub;
- a pitch bearing arranged between the rotor blade and the rotatable hub, the pitch bearing comprising an outer race, an inner race rotatable relative to the outer race, and a plurality of roller elements arranged between the outer race and the inner race;
- and, a stiffener ring arranged between one of the inner race or the outer race of the pitch bearing and the blade root, the stiffener ring comprising a symmetrical shape so as to provide a uniform stiffness to the pitch bearing, the stiffener ring further comprising an outer diameter and an inner diameter and at least one stiffening rib at a radial position between the outer and inner diameters, the outer diameter being equal to or less than an outer diameter of the inner race, the inner diameter being less than an inner diameter of the inner race of the pitch bearing, the inner diameter defining a central opening so as to allow ingress and egress through the stiffener ring, the central opening covered by a removable cover so as to form a bulkhead, the stiffener ring further comprising a first circumferential flange positioned at and circumferentially surrounding the central opening, wherein the first circumferential flange extends in a longitudinal direction of the rotor blade.
A wind turbine, comprising:
- a tower;
- a nacelle mounted atop the tower;
- a rotor mounted to the nacelle, the rotor comprising a rotatable hub having a plurality of rotor blades secured thereto, each of the rotor blades extending between a blade root and a blade tip;
- a pitch bearing arranged between each of the plurality of rotor blades and the rotatable hub, each of the pitch bearings comprising an outer race, an inner race rotatable relative to the outer race, and a plurality of roller elements arranged between the outer race and the inner race;
- and, a stiffener ring arranged between each of the pitch bearings and each of the blade roots of the rotor blades, each of the stiffener rings comprising a symmetrical shape so as to provide a uniform stiffness to the pitch bearing, each of the stiffener rings further comprising an outer diameter and an inner diameter and at least one stiffening rib at a radial position between the outer and inner diameters, the outer diameter being equal to or less than an outer diameter of the inner race, the inner diameter being less than an inner diameter of the inner race of the pitch bearing, the inner diameter defining a central opening so as to allow ingress and egress through the stiffener ring, the central opening covered by a removable cover so as to form a bulkhead, each of the stiffener rings further comprising at least one circumferential flange positioned at and circumferentially surrounding the central opening, wherein the at least one circumferential flange extends in a longitudinal direction of the rotor blade.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.