Fault analysis and adaptive design of wind turbine lubrication system

Abstract

Wind turbines work in harsh environments and have changeable loads. The reliability and service life of the wind turbine gearbox has become an important factor for maintaining its safe, stable, and reliable economic operation. The production practice shows that the failure of the wind turbine gearbox is closely related to the structure and performance of the lubrication system. In this paper, the fault tree of the wind turbine gearbox lubrication system is established. It is pointed out that the temperature, state, and lubrication intensity of the lubricating oil are not well adapted to the working condition of the gear box, which leads to frequent gearbox breakdowns until its failure. The heat dissipation power consumption of the lubrication system is determined by calculating the heat balance of the lubrication system. By introducing the AI control method, the adaptive lubrication system framework of the wind turbine gear box is constructed from the aspects of oil temperature, oil pressure, oil level, and oil quality, which can automatically adjust the lubrication intensity according to the working condition of the wind turbine, so as to improve the lubrication effect of the wind turbine gear box. The research work in this paper plays an important role in optimizing the performance of the lubrication system, reducing the failure of the lubrication system, and reducing the operation and maintenance cost of wind turbines.