05/01672 Aerodynamic performance prediction of a 30 kW counter-rotating wind turbine system

Abstract

In this study a single stage planetary multiplying gearbox with helical gears was tested on a back-to-back gearbox test rig with recirculating power under the operating conditions that matched the tangential velocities and operating contact pressures found in a planetary stage of a 2.5 MW wind turbine. The study was done with four different wind turbine gear oils. The gearbox oil sump temperature was set free.The load and no-load losses were measured and compared with the results yielded by an existing numerical model which takes into account the influence of the lubricant formulation in the load losses.The results have indicated that each gear oil formulation promoted different power loss results resulting in distinct stabilized operating temperatures.