The turbine mainshaft, to which the blades and rotor are connected, must be supported by bearings to allow the blades and rotor to rotate in order to produce electricity.
When Goldwind was awarded the contract to supply 33 turbines for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games the company selected SKF as its bearing supplier. The 1.5MW turbines are Goldwind's largest turbines and the company felt that the larger the turbine, the more they needed to be sure about the reliability of critical components, like bearings.
Turbines producing higher energy outputs are usually physically bigger and taller than smaller energy producing units.
This results in more wind being captured, which leads to higher forces on machinery at the top of the turbine where the electricity is generated.
In Goldwind's 1.5 MW turbines the electricity is generated 65m from the ground.
Qiaozhen Ning, Director of Mechanical Design at Goldwind said 'We are very happy to select SKF for this project because we know from experience that they understand the application demands of wind turbines and the technical support we get from the engineers in SKF China is excellent'.
The 1.5 MW design is a direct drive turbine requiring no gearbox.
The turbine mainshaft, to which the blades and rotor are connected, must be supported by bearings to allow the blades and rotor to rotate in order to produce electricity.
One major concern for all turbine builders is the ever changing wind conditions in terms of continuity, strength, direction and water content.
These conditions mean that the forces transmitted from the wind through to the actual turbine generator are continually changing.
Critical components, like bearings, have to be able to withstand a broad range of forces that are continually changing.
Bearings are precision components that are designed for specific ranges of speed, forces and angular misalignment.
Unexpected stoppages in wind turbines can be extremely expensive because usually cranes have to be hired to dismantle and repair the turbine.
The turbine is also not producing electricity while it is being repaired.
The bearings selected for the 1.5MW turbines are a single-row cylindrical bearing, with almost 1m outside diameter, and a double-row tapered roller bearing, almost 6m outside diameter.
SKF calculations show that both bearings should operate reliably in the expected range of weather conditions to be encountered during the Games and for many years afterwards, when the electricity generated will supply green power to the city of Beijing.
The turbines are all erected and many are already producing power.
Since the contract was awarded to Goldwind another 10 turbines have been ordered.
The 43 turbines now constitute a wind farm on the banks of the Guanting reservoir in Beijing.
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