
Building Industrial Digital Twins
By :

According to a wind energy publication from July 2013, titled Monitoring wind turbine gearboxes, more failures have been observed in the gearbox than in the other sub-assemblies in the wind turbines. According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), the expected lifespan of a wind turbine is about 20-25 years. The gearboxes are designed for about 20 years, but most have experienced a shorter life. The gearbox is also one of the most expensive sub-assemblies in the wind turbine. It can be as much as 13% of the cost of the wind turbine. The repair and replacement process of the gearbox is complex, as it is located at a great height and leads to long downtime. Figure 6.28 shows a view of the gearbox in a wind turbine. The oil in the gearbox protects the pitch gear, open gear, and yaw gear.
Figure 6.28 – Wind turbine sub-assemblies
Note
Image source: Keller, J., Guo, Y., Zhang, Z., and Lucas, D.: Comparison...