Bearings and Renewable Energy

Wind turbines have been instrumental to the progression of wind energy over the past 20 years, and with many turbines reaching the end of their warranties, it is crucial to have local suppliers ready and waiting with replacement parts to avoid down-time.

In this article we will learn about the three main components of the wind turbine, and what type of bearings are most commonly used in their required areas...

Gearbox:

Gearbox bearings found in wind turbines are often subject to high rotational speeds and temperature fluctuations. There are a variety of bearing designs located within wind turbine gearbox. The most common type of bearing for this application is the deep groove ball bearing, and with a variety of internal clearances and materials, these bearings can be tailor-made to suit high rotational speeds and temperature fluctuations. Cylindrical Roller Bearings and Tapered Roller Bearings can also be found in wind turbine gearboxes. The Cylindrical Roller Bearings are capable of withstanding heavy loads, whilst the Tapered Roller Bearing can accept both radial and axial loads. You will find that most wind turbine gearboxes use a combination of all three of these bearings.

Shaft:

Components within the main shaft often need the ability to handle angular misalignment and extreme load capacities. For this reason, the most common bearings used are Tapered Roller Bearings, Spherical Roller bearings and Cylindrical Roller Bearings, generally using a combination of all three.

Pitch & Yaw:

The yaw system is the component responsible for the orientation of the wind turbine rotors. These moving parts need the ability to support slow rotation or oscillation of very heavy loads in combination (axial, radial and moment loads). For this reason, Slewing Ring Bearings are most commonly used in these areas due to their ability to meet the criteria.

The pitch system is responsible for the angle of the wind turbine blades. These areas also require bearings that can accommodate axial, radial and moment loads, and slow rotation and oscillation of heavy loads. Again, the Slewing Ring Bearing is generally the component most commonly used in this area.

Our Support:

Our staff at Main Line Bearing Company Limited have an unrivalled level of experience within the bearing industry which enables us to make these products easily available. We are partnered with a number of world leading manufacturers such as Koyo, NTN, Rollway and MTK+, all of which are the market leaders for Spherical Roller Bearings, Tapered Roller Bearings and Cylindrical Roller Bearings. Our large network of contacts also means that we can supply SKF and Timken alternatives too.

If you'd like anymore information about what we have to offer, give us a call on 0113 263 3321, email us at sales@mainlinebearings.com, or visit the Contact Us page.