Austrian bearing specialist NKE Austria has developed a modular bearing system for planetary gears in wind turbine gearboxes. The new bearing assemblies offer the advantages of a standardisation of the bearings used in this application, a reduced diversity of parts and simplified logistics. The system is already in use in the 1.5 MW, 2 MW and 2.5 MW wind turbine gearboxes of a well-known German gearbox manufacturer.
Most wind turbines use gearboxes to transform the relatively low rotational speed of the main shaft into higher speeds required for power generation. Because the forces a modern wind turbine gearbox has to transmit are forever increasing while the gearbox itself has to remain compact, single- or two-stage planetary gearboxes are commonly used. The bearings of the planetary gears are among the highest-loaded in this specific application. In modern gearboxes an integrated planetary bearing arrangement is used, in which cylindrical roller bearings without an outer ring are fitted in the planetary gears, with the bore of the gear forming the outer raceway.
The modular concept is based on single-row cylindrical roller bearings of the RN range, which do not have an outer ring. These bearings are equipped with a one-piece solid brass cage, which is guided by the inner ring (MPB). This cage features inspection grooves for endoscopic inspection of the inner raceways as standard.
These single row bearings can be assembled to sets of two, three or four bearings to conform with the individual load and design parameters of a specific gearbox.
NKE supplies ready-to-install matched bearing sets. The tightly toleranced overall height of each individual bearing and their precise matching of these ensures an even distribution of the radial loads. Each bearing set includes the components required to secure the bearings axially in the planetary gears
Product Model | Inside Diameter | Outside Diameter | Thickness |
7330DB KOYO | 150 | 320 | 130 |
7230CDB KOYO | 150 | 270 | 90 |