Nordex gets grant for bearing support arrangement for wind turbine with removable wedges

Bearing support arrangement for wind turbine with removable wedges

A recently granted patent (Publication Number: US11761430B2) describes a bearing support arrangement for wind turbines. The arrangement includes a support structure, a bearing housing, and two bearings. The first bearing is radially supported by the bearing housing and the rotor shaft is radially supported by the first bearing. A removable first wedge is arranged between the support structure and the bearing housing to clamp the first bearing between the rotor shaft and the bearing housing. Similarly, the second bearing is radially supported by the bearing housing and a removable second wedge is arranged between the support structure and the bearing housing to clamp the second bearing between the rotor shaft and the bearing housing.

The first wedge has an annular configuration and surrounds the first bearing. It also has a mounting interface for removably fixing it to either the bearing housing or the support structure. The mounting interface includes a radial projection extending to either the bearing housing or the support structure. The arrangement also includes a plurality of first fixing elements for removably fixing the first wedge to either the bearing housing or the support structure.
The bearing support arrangement defines a longitudinal axis, and the support structure has an outer side and an inner side along this axis. The first wedge has a radial thickness that decreases along the longitudinal axis from the outer side of the support structure toward the inner side.
In addition to the bearing support arrangement, the patent also describes a wind turbine that includes the bearing support arrangement. The wind turbine comprises a nacelle and the bearing support arrangement is arranged within the nacelle. The rotor shaft is connected to a rotor hub that has rotor blades mounted on it. The support structure of the bearing support arrangement is rotatably mounted atop a tower.
The patent also includes methods for mounting the bearing support arrangement and for removing the rotor shaft from the arrangement. The methods involve inserting and fixing the wedges to clamp the bearings, as well as releasing and removing the wedges to remove the rotor shaft.
Overall, this patent presents a novel bearing support arrangement for wind turbines that allows for easy installation and removal of the rotor shaft. The arrangement improves the efficiency and maintenance of wind turbines.