Wind turbine drivetrains: state-of-the-art technologies and future development trends

Amir R. Nejad; Jonathan Keller; Yi  Guo; Shawn Sheng; Henk Polinder; Simon Watson; Jianning Dong; Zian Qin; Amir Ebrahimi; Ralf Schelenz; Francisco Gutiérrez Guzmán; Daniel Cornel; Reza Golafshan; Georg Jacobs; Bart Blockmans; Jelle  Bosmans; Bert Pluymers; James Carroll; Sofia Koukoura; Edward Hart; Alasdair McDonald; Anand Natarajan; Jone  Torsvik; Farid K. Moghadam; Pieter-Jan Daems; Timothy Verstraeten; Cédric Peeters; Jan  Helsen

doi:10.5194/wes-7-387-2022

Wind turbine drivetrains: state-of-the-art technologies and future development trends

Amir R. Nejad, Jonathan Keller, Yi Guo, Shawn Sheng, Henk Polinder, Simon Watson, Jianning Dong, Zian Qin, Amir Ebrahimi, Ralf Schelenz, Francisco Gutiérrez Guzmán, Daniel Cornel, Reza Golafshan, Georg Jacobs, Bart Blockmans, Jelle Bosmans, Bert Pluymers, James Carroll, Sofia Koukoura, Edward HartAlasdair McDonald, Anand Natarajan, Jone Torsvik, Farid K. Moghadam, Pieter-Jan Daems, Timothy Verstraeten, Cédric Peeters, Jan Helsen

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Abstract

This paper presents the state-of-the-art technologies and development trends of wind turbine drivetrains – the system that converts kinetic energy of the wind to electrical energy – in different stages of their life cycle: design, manufacturing, installation, operation, lifetime extension, decommissioning and recycling. Offshore development and digitalization are also a focal point in this study. Drivetrain in this context includes the whole power conversion system: main bearing, shafts, gearbox, generator and power converter. The main aim of this article is to review the drivetrain technology development as well as to identify future challenges and research gaps. The main challenges in drivetrain research identified in this paper include drivetrain dynamic responses in large or floating turbines, aerodynamic and farm control effects, use of rare-earth material in generators, improving reliability through prognostics, and use of advances in digitalization. These challenges illustrate the multidisciplinary aspect of wind turbine drivetrains, which emphasizes the need for more interdisciplinary research and collaboration.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	387-411
Number of pages	15
Journal	Wind Energy Science
Volume	7
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-7-387-2022
Publication status	Published - 21 Feb 2022

Keywords

wind turbine drivetrains
state-of-the-art technologies
future development trends

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10.5194/wes-7-387-2022Licence: CC BY 4.0

Nejad-etal-WES-2022-Wind turbine drivetrains-state-of-the-art-technologies-and-future-development-trendsFinal published version, 1.34 MBLicence: CC BY 4.0

Cite this

R. Nejad, A., Keller, J., Guo, Y., Sheng, S., Polinder, H., Watson, S., Dong, J., Qin, Z., Ebrahimi, A., Schelenz, R., Guzmán, F. G., Cornel, D., Golafshan, R., Jacobs, G., Blockmans, B., Bosmans, J., Pluymers, B., Carroll, J., Koukoura, S., ... Helsen, J. (2022). Wind turbine drivetrains: state-of-the-art technologies and future development trends. Wind Energy Science, 7(1), 387-411. https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-7-387-2022

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title = "Wind turbine drivetrains: state-of-the-art technologies and future development trends",

abstract = "This paper presents the state-of-the-art technologies and development trends of wind turbine drivetrains – the system that converts kinetic energy of the wind to electrical energy – in different stages of their life cycle: design, manufacturing, installation, operation, lifetime extension, decommissioning and recycling. Offshore development and digitalization are also a focal point in this study. Drivetrain in this context includes the whole power conversion system: main bearing, shafts, gearbox, generator and power converter. The main aim of this article is to review the drivetrain technology development as well as to identify future challenges and research gaps. The main challenges in drivetrain research identified in this paper include drivetrain dynamic responses in large or floating turbines, aerodynamic and farm control effects, use of rare-earth material in generators, improving reliability through prognostics, and use of advances in digitalization. These challenges illustrate the multidisciplinary aspect of wind turbine drivetrains, which emphasizes the need for more interdisciplinary research and collaboration.",

keywords = "wind turbine drivetrains, state-of-the-art technologies, future development trends",

author = "{R. Nejad}, Amir and Jonathan Keller and Yi Guo and Shawn Sheng and Henk Polinder and Simon Watson and Jianning Dong and Zian Qin and Amir Ebrahimi and Ralf Schelenz and Guzm{\'a}n, {Francisco Guti{\'e}rrez} and Daniel Cornel and Reza Golafshan and Georg Jacobs and Bart Blockmans and Jelle Bosmans and Bert Pluymers and James Carroll and Sofia Koukoura and Edward Hart and Alasdair McDonald and Anand Natarajan and Jone Torsvik and Moghadam, {Farid K.} and Pieter-Jan Daems and Timothy Verstraeten and C{\'e}dric Peeters and Jan Helsen",

year = "2022",

month = feb,

day = "21",

doi = "10.5194/wes-7-387-2022",

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R. Nejad, A, Keller, J, Guo, Y, Sheng, S, Polinder, H, Watson, S, Dong, J, Qin, Z, Ebrahimi, A, Schelenz, R, Guzmán, FG, Cornel, D, Golafshan, R, Jacobs, G, Blockmans, B, Bosmans, J, Pluymers, B, Carroll, J, Koukoura, S, Hart, E, McDonald, A, Natarajan, A, Torsvik, J, Moghadam, FK, Daems, P-J, Verstraeten, T, Peeters, C & Helsen, J 2022, 'Wind turbine drivetrains: state-of-the-art technologies and future development trends', Wind Energy Science, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 387-411. https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-7-387-2022

TY - JOUR

T1 - Wind turbine drivetrains

T2 - state-of-the-art technologies and future development trends

AU - R. Nejad, Amir

AU - Keller, Jonathan

AU - Guo, Yi

AU - Sheng, Shawn

AU - Polinder, Henk

AU - Watson, Simon

AU - Dong, Jianning

AU - Qin, Zian

AU - Ebrahimi, Amir

AU - Schelenz, Ralf

AU - Guzmán, Francisco Gutiérrez

AU - Cornel, Daniel

AU - Golafshan, Reza

AU - Jacobs, Georg

AU - Blockmans, Bart

AU - Bosmans, Jelle

AU - Pluymers, Bert

AU - Carroll, James

AU - Koukoura, Sofia

AU - Hart, Edward

AU - McDonald, Alasdair

AU - Natarajan, Anand

AU - Torsvik, Jone

AU - Moghadam, Farid K.

AU - Daems, Pieter-Jan

AU - Verstraeten, Timothy

AU - Peeters, Cédric

AU - Helsen, Jan

PY - 2022/2/21

Y1 - 2022/2/21

N2 - This paper presents the state-of-the-art technologies and development trends of wind turbine drivetrains – the system that converts kinetic energy of the wind to electrical energy – in different stages of their life cycle: design, manufacturing, installation, operation, lifetime extension, decommissioning and recycling. Offshore development and digitalization are also a focal point in this study. Drivetrain in this context includes the whole power conversion system: main bearing, shafts, gearbox, generator and power converter. The main aim of this article is to review the drivetrain technology development as well as to identify future challenges and research gaps. The main challenges in drivetrain research identified in this paper include drivetrain dynamic responses in large or floating turbines, aerodynamic and farm control effects, use of rare-earth material in generators, improving reliability through prognostics, and use of advances in digitalization. These challenges illustrate the multidisciplinary aspect of wind turbine drivetrains, which emphasizes the need for more interdisciplinary research and collaboration.

AB - This paper presents the state-of-the-art technologies and development trends of wind turbine drivetrains – the system that converts kinetic energy of the wind to electrical energy – in different stages of their life cycle: design, manufacturing, installation, operation, lifetime extension, decommissioning and recycling. Offshore development and digitalization are also a focal point in this study. Drivetrain in this context includes the whole power conversion system: main bearing, shafts, gearbox, generator and power converter. The main aim of this article is to review the drivetrain technology development as well as to identify future challenges and research gaps. The main challenges in drivetrain research identified in this paper include drivetrain dynamic responses in large or floating turbines, aerodynamic and farm control effects, use of rare-earth material in generators, improving reliability through prognostics, and use of advances in digitalization. These challenges illustrate the multidisciplinary aspect of wind turbine drivetrains, which emphasizes the need for more interdisciplinary research and collaboration.

KW - wind turbine drivetrains

KW - state-of-the-art technologies

KW - future development trends

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DO - 10.5194/wes-7-387-2022

M3 - Article

SN - 2366-7443

VL - 7

SP - 387

EP - 411

JO - Wind Energy Science

JF - Wind Energy Science

IS - 1

ER -

Wind turbine drivetrains: state-of-the-art technologies and future development trends

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Keywords

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