Operating method for transmissions

1 . A method for operating a first transmission for a gearbox for a first transmission application which is configured as a wind power plant or an industrial application and having a plurality of first transmission components, the method comprising:

establishing an operating state of the first transmission and measuring a mechanical stress on one of the first transmission components;

determining an amount of damage to the one first transmission component based on the measured mechanical stress for a first damage mechanism;

determining a mechanical stress on a second transmission component belonging to the same transmission as the one first transmission component in the same operating state with a transfer function which is a physical relationship between the one first and second transmission component describing the mechanical stress on the one first transmission component as a function of the mechanical stress on the second transmission component;

in a first defect accumulation model, adding the determined amount of damage for the first damage mechanism and a second damage mechanism based on the mechanical stress of the second transmission component to a defect total;

determining a model-based remaining useful life of the one first transmission component based on the first defect accumulation model;

determining a probability of occurrence for the model-based remaining useful life based on multiple data sets of corresponding second transmission comparison components of other transmissions employed in second transmission applications deployed in vehicle transmissions, with the corresponding second transmission comparison components having an Identical construction as the first transmission components;

comparing the model-based remaining useful life and the occurrence probability with configurable parameters comprising a first and a second threshold value for the model-based remaining useful life and the occurrence probability respectively, and when the threshold values are exceeded, confirming that no operating state is present which requires a response, and returning to the determining an amount of damage to the one first transmission component based on the measured mechanical stress for the first damage mechanism via a return loop, and when the model remaining useful life and the occurrence probability fall below the first and second threshold values, outputting a warning or a stock level statement for the second transmission component is output; and

storing at least one of the model-based remaining useful life, the probability of occurrence, and information about a type of corresponding damage mechanism.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising outputting a warning when the model-based remaining useful life falls below a configurable first threshold value or the probability of occurrence falls below a configurable second threshold value.

3 . The method of the claim 1 , wherein the first or second damage mechanism comprise a feature selected from high-cycle fatigue, low cycle fatigue, wear, tooth root breakage and pitting at a toothed gearing.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the probability of occurrence for the model-based remaining useful life is determined based on a distribution function of permitted defect totals of the comparison components.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the defect total can be set by using an algorithm or a user input.

6 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining, based on the model-based remaining useful life or the probability of occurrence, an anticipated repair cost for the first transmission component or for the transmission.

7 . The method of claim 6 , further comprising providing inventory instructions to a materials management system for at least the first transmission component.

8 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining the model-based remaining useful life or the probability of occurrence based on a configurable load level for continued operation of the first transmission component.

9 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising storing in the data set at least one of the measured mechanical stress, the amount of damage, and the defect total.

10 . A computer program product for operating a first transmission application which is configured as a wind power plant or an industrial application, comprising a first part-program embodied in a non-transitory computer readable medium and being either entirely or at least partially in a data connection with a second part-program, wherein the first and second part programs, when loaded into a storage entity of a control unit and executed by the control unit, cause the control unit to perform the steps of

establishing an operating state of the first transmission and measuring a mechanical stress on one of the first transmission components;

determining an amount of damage to the one first transmission component based on the measured mechanical stress for a first damage mechanism;

determining a mechanical stress on a second transmission component belonging to the same transmission as the one first transmission component in the same operating state with a transfer function which is a physical relationship between the one first and second transmission component describing the mechanical stress on the one first transmission component as a function of the mechanical stress on the second transmission component;

in a first defect accumulation model, adding the determined amount of damage for the first damage mechanism and a second damage mechanism based on the mechanical stress of the second transmission component to a defect total;

determining a model-based remaining useful life of the one first transmission component based on the first defect accumulation model;

determining a probability of occurrence for the model-based remaining useful life based on multiple data sets of corresponding second transmission comparison components of other transmissions employed in second transmission applications deployed in vehicle transmissions, with the corresponding second transmission comparison components having an identical construction as the first transmission components;

comparing the model-based remaining useful life and the occurrence probability with configurable parameters comprising a first and a second threshold value for the model-based remaining useful life and the occurrence probability respectively, and when the threshold values are exceeded, confirming that no operating state is present which requires a response, and returning to the determining an amount of damage to the one first transmission component based on the measured mechanical stress for the first damage mechanism via a return loop, and when the model remaining useful life and the occurrence probability fall below the first and second threshold values, outputting a warning or a stock level statement for the second transmission component is output; and

storing at least one of the model-based remaining useful life, the probability of occurrence, and information about a type of corresponding damage mechanism.

11 . A control unit for controlling a first transmission application which is configured as a wind power plant or an industrial application, said control unit arranged at a first transmission as an internal control unit or is installed separately from the first transmission as a supervisory control unit and comprising:

a storage entity, and

a computing unit configured to execute a computer program having program instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, with the program instructions comprising at least one part-program which operates either entirely or at least partially in data connection with a second part-program, wherein the program instructions, when stored in the storage entity and executed by the computing unit, cause the control unit to perform the steps of

establishing an operating state of the first transmission and measuring a mechanical stress on one of the first transmission components;

determining an amount of damage to the one first transmission component based on the measured mechanical stress for a first damage mechanism;

determining a mechanical stress on a second transmission component belonging to the same transmission as the one first transmission component in the same operating state with a transfer function which is a physical relationship between the one first and second transmission component describing the mechanical stress on the one first transmission component as a function of the mechanical stress on the second transmission component;

in a first defect accumulation model, adding the determined amount of damage for the first damage mechanism and a second damage mechanism based on the mechanical stress of the second transmission component to a defect total;

determining a model-based remaining useful life of the one first transmission component based on the first defect accumulation model;

determining a probability of occurrence for the model-based remaining useful life based on multiple data sets of corresponding second transmission comparison components of other transmissions employed in second transmission applications deployed in vehicle transmissions, with the corresponding second transmission comparison components having an identical construction as the first transmission components;

comparing the model-based remaining useful life and the occurrence probability with configurable parameters comprising a first and a second threshold value for the model-based remaining useful life and the occurrence probability respectively, and when the threshold values are exceeded, confirming that no operating state is present which requires a response, and returning to the determining an amount of damage to the one first transmission component based on the measured mechanical stress for the first damage mechanism via a return loop, and when the model remaining useful life and the occurrence probability fall below the first and second threshold values, outputting a warning or a stock level statement for the second transmission component is output; and

storing at least one of the model-based remaining useful life, the probability of occurrence, and information about a type of corresponding damage mechanism.

12 . A transmission application, comprising a transmission arranged between a drive unit and a driven unit and configured to change a rotational speed, said transmission application being embodied as an industrial application or a wind turbine, with the transmission comprising a plurality of first and second transmission components, wherein at least one first transmission component is coupled to at least one sensor associated with a monitoring system for detecting measured data that corresponds to a mechanical stress on the first transmission component, with the monitoring system comprising a control unit connected to the at least one sensor and designed as an internal control unit or as a supervisory control unit, said control unit being designed as set forth in claim 11 .