Method for lubricating a bearing, lubricant supply system and wind turbine
A method for lubricating a bearing, in particular a rotor bearing, of a wind turbine, includes: determining a load condition of a load acting on the bearing, determining an operating condition of the bearing dependent on the determined load condition, determining a damage potential of the bearing dependent on the determined operating condition, providing a lubricant supply signal dependent on the determined damage potential, wherein the lubricant supply signal includes information about supplying lubricant to the bearing.
1 . A method for lubricating a bearing of a wind turbine, the method comprising:
determining a load condition of a load acting on the bearing;
determining an operating condition of the bearing in dependence upon the determined load condition;
determining a damage potential of the bearing in dependence upon the determined operating condition;
providing a lubricant supply signal in dependence upon the determined damage potential, wherein the lubricant supply signal includes information about supplying lubricant to the bearing;
determining the load condition by determining an axial load and a radial load applied on the bearing; and,
determining the operating condition in dependence upon at least one of the determined axial load and the determined radial load.
2 . The method of claim 1 further comprising:
determining at least one dynamic parameter based on at least one of a model calculation and sensor data provided by at least one sensor; and,
determining the load condition dependent on the at least one dynamic parameter.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one of said determining the load condition and said determining the operating condition is based on at least one of:
a rotation speed of a rotor of the wind turbine;
a rotor power;
a power generated by the wind turbine;
a wind speed;
an air density;
a bearing temperature;
a difference between a bearing temperature and a temperature within a nacelle of the wind turbine;
a blade pitch angle; and,
a load acting on at least one rotor blade.
4 . The method of claim 1 further comprising determining the load condition in dependence upon at least one static parameter.
5 . The method of claim 1 further comprising determining the load condition in dependence upon at least one of a wind shear, a rotor property and a bearing property.
6 . The method of claim 1 further comprising:
determining the load condition by determining an axial load and a radial load applied on the bearing; and,
determining the operating condition in dependence upon a ratio between the determined axial load and the determined radial load.
7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the axial load is determined based on at least one of a power generated by the wind turbine and on a wind speed; and, the radial load is determined based on at least one of the power generated by the wind turbine and a rotor property.
8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the axial load is determined based on at least one of a power generated by the wind turbine and on a wind speed; and, the radial load is determined based on a rotor weight.
9 . The method of claim 1 further comprising determining the operating condition of the bearing in dependence upon the determined load condition and on at least one of a rotation speed of a rotor of the wind turbine, a bearing temperature, and a difference between a bearing temperature and a temperature within a nacelle of the wind turbine.
10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the lubricant supply signal includes at least one information about:
a quantity of lubricant supplied to the bearing in dependence upon the determined damage potential;
a frequency of lubricant supplied to the bearing in dependence upon the determined damage potential; and,
a region of the bearing where the lubricant is applied in dependence upon the determined damage potential.
11 . The method of claim 1 further comprising:
adding the determined damage potential to a damage sum cumulating the determined damage potential over time,
providing the lubricant supply signal dependent on the determined damage potential and on the damage sum and/or providing a maintenance signal dependent on the determined damage sum, wherein the maintenance signal includes information about a maintenance in addition to supplying lubricant to the bearing.
12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said determining the damage potential includes:
comparing the operating condition with at least one predefined threshold.
13 . The method of claim 12 further comprising:
classifying the operating condition based on the comparison between the operating condition and the at least one predefined threshold into one of a plurality of classes, wherein each class corresponds to a different damage potential.
14 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the bearing is a roller bearing.
15 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the bearing is a spherical roller bearing or a tapered roller bearing.
16 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the bearing is a rotor bearing.
17 . A lubricant supply system for a wind turbine, the lubricant supply system comprising:
a control unit including a processor and a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having program code stored thereon;
a lubricant supply device;
said control unit being configured to control said lubricant supply device;
said program code being configured, when executed by said processor, to:
determine a load condition of a load acting on a bearing;
determine an operating condition of the bearing in dependence upon the determined load condition;
determine a damage potential of the bearing in dependence upon the determined operating condition;
provide a lubricant supply signal in dependence upon the determined damage potential, wherein the lubricant supply signal includes information about supplying lubricant to the bearing;
determine the load condition by determining an axial load and a radial load applied on the bearing; and,
determine the operating condition in dependence upon at least one of the determined axial load and the determined radial load.
18 . The lubricant supply system of claim 17 , wherein said lubricant supply device includes a plurality of lubricant supply units to supply the lubricant to different regions of the bearing.
19 . A wind turbine comprising:
a bearing;
a lubricant supply system coupled with said bearing to supply lubricant to said bearing;
said lubricant supply system having a lubricant supply device and a control unit including a processor and a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having program code stored thereon;
said control unit being configured to control said lubricant supply device;
said program code being configured, when executed by said processor, to:
determine a load condition of a load acting on said bearing;
determine an operating condition of said bearing in dependence upon the determined load condition;
determine a damage potential of said bearing in dependence upon the determined operating condition;
provide a lubricant supply signal in dependence upon the determined damage potential, wherein the lubricant supply signal includes information about supplying lubricant to said bearing;
determine the load condition by determining an axial load and a radial load applied on the bearing; and,
determine the operating condition in dependence upon at least one of the determined axial load and the determined radial load.
20 . The wind turbine of claim 19 , wherein said bearing is a roller bearing.
21 . The wind turbine of claim 19 , wherein said bearing is a spherical roller bearing or a tapered roller bearing.
22 . The wind turbine of claim 19 , wherein said bearing is a rotor bearing.