Wind turbine rotor shaft support structure
AssigneeVestas Wind Systems A/S
InventorErik Markussen
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Support structures of a wind turbine, including a bearing housing that supports bearings that allow a rotor shaft to rotate about a rotor axis. The bearing housing may be constructed to minimize forces in the bearings in response moments that act on the rotor shaft about axes other than the rotor axis. The support structures of the wind turbine may also include a base to which the bearing housing may be mounted. The base may include features that minimize stress within the wind turbine structure and/or a yaw mechanism of the wind turbine in response to moments that act within the wind turbine about axes other than the rotor axis.
Claims28
A support structure of a wind turbine, comprising:
- a housing including a first bearing seat located at a forward portion of the housing and a second bearing seat located rearward of the first bearing seat, the first and second bearing seats adapted to receive and support first and second bearings, respectively, that support a rotor shaft in rotation about an axis that extends between forward and rearward portions of the housing;
- a first pair of lateral supports that extend generally downward from lateral sides of the housing and that are positioned toward the forward portion of the housing, each of the first pair of lateral supports defining a mounting foot adapted to mount to a base and that is separated from the other mounting foot of the first pair of lateral supports;
- and
- a structural gap defined between each of the pair of lateral supports and the first bearing seat.
A support structure of a wind turbine, comprising:
- a housing that includes a first bearing seat located at a forward portion of the housing and a second bearing seat located rearward of the first bearing seat, the first and second bearing seats adapted to receive and support first and second bearings, respectively, that support a rotor shaft in rotation about an axis that extends between forward and rearward portions of the housing, a lowermost portion of the first bearing seat having a first stiffness, and second portions of the first bearing seat that lie upward and laterally away from the lowermost portion having a second stiffness, less than the first stiffness.
A support structure of a wind turbine, comprising:
- a housing that includes a first bearing seat located at a forward portion of the housing and a second bearing seat located rearward of the first bearing seat, the first and second bearing seats adapted to receive and support first and second bearings, respectively, that support a rotor shaft in rotation about an axis that extends between forward and rearward portions of the housing;
- a first stiffening ring that extends at least partially about the circumference of the first bearing seat and that in part defines a gap lying in the rearward direction of the first stiffening ring and other portions of the housing
- a stiffening structure that extends at least partially about a housing at a position rearward of the first stiffening ring an forward of the second bearing seat, the first stiffening ring and the stiffening structure defining a gap there between that extends at least partially about a circumference of the housing.
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Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.