Hub assembly for a wind turbine having a spacer

A method of assembling a hub assembly of a wind turbine, the method comprising:

• aligning a first set of bolt holes on a surface of a hub of the wind turbine with a second set of bolt holes on a flange of a shaft of the wind turbine at a hub-shaft interface;
• placing one of a plurality of washers around each of a plurality of hub bolts;
• placing at least one spacer around a subset of the plurality of hub bolts adjacent to a subset of the plurality of washers;
• and
• inserting a plurality of hub bolts through the aligned first and second sets of bolt holes at the hub-shaft interface,
• wherein at least two of the plurality of hub bolts extend through the at least one spacer, and wherein the at least one spacer abuts against the surface of the hub.

A wind turbine, comprising:

• a tower;
• a nacelle mounted atop the tower;
• a rotor mounted to the nacelle, the rotor comprising a hub assembly having at least one rotor blade mounted thereto, the hub assembly comprising:
• a hub comprising a surface defining a first set of bolt holes;
• a rotor shaft comprising a flange having a second set of bolt holes, the first set of bolt holes aligning with the second set of bolt holes at a hub-shaft interface;
• a plurality of hub bolts extending through the first and second sets of bolt holes at the hub-shaft interface;
• a plurality of washers with one of the plurality of washers extending around each of the plurality of hub bolts;
• at least one spacer positioned between the surface of the hub and a subset of the plurality of washers, wherein at least two of the plurality of hub bolts extends through the at least one spacer.