Main bearing housing of a wind turbine

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12104580-B2
Application number	US-202017788061-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 11, 2020
Priority date	Jan 8, 2020
Publication date	Oct 1, 2024
Grant date	Oct 1, 2024

Abstract

A main bearing housing for a wind turbine comprising a bearing arrangement having a sump located in a floor region of the main bearing housing. The sump comprises a floor pan surrounded by a side wall and includes an overflow arrangement configured to permit fluid to spill from the sump. The overflow arrangement comprises a spill passage configured with a spill inlet at or near the floor pan of the sump and a spill outlet located in a position between the spill inlet and an upper edge of the sump side wall. An advantage of the invention is that since the spill passage is fed with oil from a position that is close to the bottom of the sump, debris and sediment at the bottom of the sump tends to be entrained with the flow of oil and so tends not to collect at the bottom of the sump. The lubrication system therefore is able to clean the oil more effectively because the debris and sediment is encouraged to circulate around the lubrication system.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A main bearing housing for a wind turbine comprising:
a bearing arrangement,
an oil sump located in a floor region of the main bearing housing,
the oil sump comprising a floor pan surrounded by a side wall, and including an overflow arrangement configured to permit oil to spill from the oil sump,
wherein the overflow arrangement comprises a spill passage configured with a spill inlet at or near the floor pan of the oil sump and a spill outlet located in a position that is between and spaced apart from, in the direction of gravity, each of the spill inlet and an upper edge of the sump side wall,
wherein the oil sump includes a drain passage, and
wherein the spill passage forms a fluid path between the spill inlet and the spill outlet bypassing the drain passage.

2. The main bearing housing of claim 1 , wherein the spill passage is an integral part of the side wall of the oil sump.

3. The main bearing housing of claim 1 , wherein the spill passage is defined by a columnar tower structure.

4. The main bearing housing of claim 1 , wherein the spill passage comprises a laterally elongated channel that extends between a spill wall and the side wall.

5. The main bearing housing of claim 1 , wherein the drain passage is connected to the spill passage and extends away therefrom.

6. The main bearing housing of claim 1 , wherein the drain passage also includes an input from a collector basin.

7. The main bearing housing of claim 1 , wherein the drain passage also includes an input from a secondary drain passage which collects overspilled oil from a second region of the sump.

8. The main bearing housing of claim 1 , wherein the drain passage connects to a return passage via a drain outlet.

9. The main bearing housing of claim 8 , wherein the drain outlet is defined at a surface of the main bearing housing.

10. The main bearing housing of claim 8 , wherein a control valve controls the flow of oil through the drain passage to the return passage.

11. The main bearing housing of claim 10 , wherein the control valve is attached directly to the main bearing housing and interfaces to the drain outlet.

12. The main bearing housing of claim 11 , wherein the control valve is a three-way valve and interfaces with the drain outlet and a further drain outlet that is associated with a respective drain passage of a second oil sump.

13. The main bearing housing of claim 1 , wherein the oil sump includes one or more baffle plates.

14. The main bearing housing of claim 13 , wherein at least one of the one or more baffle plates are components that are integrally cast with the main bearing housing.

15. The main bearing housing of claim 13 , wherein at least one of the one or more baffle plates are formed as separate components to the main bearing housing but attached thereto.

16. A wind turbine including a main shaft rotatably supported by a main bearing housing as claimed in claim 1 , a gearbox coupled to the main shaft, and a lubrication system including a tank for lubrication fluid, a lubrication pump to draw lubrication fluid from the tank, and a fluid pipe network for conveying lubrication fluid from the lubrication pump to one or more lubrication points on the main bearing housing and one or more lubrication points on the gearbox.

17. A main bearing housing for a wind turbine comprising:
a bearing arrangement,
an oil sump located in a floor region of the main bearing housing,
the oil sump comprising a floor pan surrounded by a side wall, and including an overflow arrangement configured to permit oil to spill from the oil sump,
wherein the overflow arrangement comprises a spill passage configured with a spill inlet at or near the floor pan of the oil sump and a spill outlet located in a position that is between and spaced apart from, in the direction of gravity, each of the spill inlet and an upper edge of the sump side wall, and
wherein the spill outlet is configured to spill oil into a collector basin.

Assignees

• Vestas Wind Sys As

Inventors

• Nielsen Thomas Korsgaard
• Pedersen Jan Hove

Classifications

• F16C33/6685

  Details of collecting or draining, e.g. returning the liquid to a sump · CPC title

• F16C33/6666

  from an oil bath in the bearing housing, e.g. by an oil ring or centrifugal disc · CPC title

• F16N2210/14

  Bearings · CPC title

• F16N2210/025

  Wind Turbines · CPC title

• F16N31/00

  Means for collecting, retaining, or draining-off lubricant in or on machines or apparatus (oil separators for separating oil from exhaust steam F22G) · CPC title