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.
Claims18
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 a rotor axis that extends between forward and rearward portions of the housing, wherein a stiffness of a lower portion of the first bearing seat increases toward a lowermost point of the first bearing seat positioned directly below the rotor axis and defined by an intersection of the first bearing seat with a z-axis extending perpendicular to the rotor axis, such that the lowermost point has an increased stiffness relative to portions of the lower portion of the first bearing seat that are positioned circumferentially rotated away from the lowermost point.
A support structure of a wind turbine, comprising:
- a housing that includes a plurality of bearing seats each defining a circumference and 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 stiffening ring that extends at least partially about the circumference of the first bearing seat;
- and
- a second stiffening ring that extends at least partially about the housing at a position rearward of the first bearing seat and forward of the second bearing seat such that the second stiffening ring does not extend about the circumference of any of the plurality of bearing seats, the first stiffening ring and the second stiffening ring defining a gap there between that extends at least partially about a circumference of the housing.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.