Hydraulic gearbox support

In wind turbines of the multimegawatt class the use of two main bearings is widely-spread. One of the main problems are constraint forces on the gearbox because of the over-determined system.

These constraint forces mainly result out of assembling tolerances. Another source are deformations of the drive train and the main frame during operation.

ESM has developed a system where these constraint forces are reduzed to a minimum level. At the same time nodding vibrations of the drive train are damped effectively.

How the system works

In the hydraulic gearbox support the upper rubber mount on one side is connected to the lower rubber mount on the other side by a hydraulic pipe.

Therefor ESM has developed special hydraulic rubber mounts. The hydraulic device is directly included and works without pistons and extra seals. Thereby the system is wear- and maintenance-free.

With this the system has a very low stiffnes for all the dimensions where contraint forces may occur. So all the constraint forces are minimized. At the same time the stiffness for the driving torque is still high enough to carry all the upcoming loads. This stiffness may be adjusted individually due to turbine size and load requirements.