Torsional and lateral vibration analysis of wind turbine generator bearing outer ring fault considering unbalanced magnetic pull

Abstract

Rolling bearings play a critical role in wind turbine generators, operating continuously in an electromagnetic excitation environment. Their fault vibration characteristics are affected by unbalanced magnetic pull (UMP), which has received little attention in previous studies. Moreover, torsional vibration can provide advantages in bearing fault diagnosis, since it has a good signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and it can be easily measured by the encoder. However, torsional vibration is rarely considered in the existing model of wind turbine generator. Accordingly, this paper proposes a dynamic model with 8 degrees of freedom to analyze the bearing outer ring fault characteristics of wind turbine generator under the influence of UMP, while also taking into account the torsional vibration in the model. The validity of the model is verified through experiments conducted on a test rig. The results displays modulation of the ball pass frequency outer (BPFO) harmonics with both UMP frequency and rotation frequency in lateral vibration, and this phenomenon can also be observed in instantaneous angular speed (IAS) and instantaneous angular acceleration (IAA) signals that represent torsional vibration. Besides, the lateral vibration spectrum reveals two distinct resonance bands, and simulation analysis suggested that the rotor and bearings give rise to low-frequency and high-frequency resonance, respectively. This study provides a reference for bearing faults diagnosis in wind turbine generator.