Technical Paper

BEARING SELECTION TECHNIQUES AS APPLIED

TO MAINSHAFT DIRECT AND HYBRID DRIVES
FOR WIND TURBINES
Matthew B. Turi and Christopher S. Marks

bearing arrangements available based on the

turbine drive train architecture.

INTRODUCTION
As
wind
turbine
manufactures
gain
experience with turbine and gearbox designs,
they are elevating the need to improve the
reliability of drivetrains while employing an
architecture that optimizes the cost structure
of turbines and towers.

Drive
Type

Tapered
Single

Tapered
Double

Tapered
Double +
Cylindrical

3 & 4 Point
SRB

Hybrid
Direct
Modular

Wind turbine generator designs have

historically utilized a modular architecture
(Fig. 1a, 1b). Several departures from that
traditional design approach aim to improve
turbine reliability and cost. Two of the most
common architectures include direct drive
and mid-speed hybrid drive turbines. Direct
drives tend to result in more upfront cost, but
can reduce complexity by eliminating the
gearbox. Hybrid drives also focus on
simplifying the gearbox and generally result
in lower tower top mass.

Hybrid Drive
Direct Drive
Modular Drive
MW

2.5

10

Table 1. Wind turbine main shaft bearing

mounting arrangement general solutions.

Previous technical articles have addressed

concerns when using spherical roller
bearings (SRB) in main shaft fixed positions
as compared to preloaded double-row
tapered roller bearings (TRB). Due to elevated
axial loading and inability to optimize in
preload, use of SRBs may result in unseating
effects, abnormal load distribution between
rows, roller skewing, roller retainer distress,
excessive heat generation and roller
smearing.

Fig 1a. Modular drive train configuration.

Source: NREL/TP-500-41160

A key consideration in turbine design is the

selection of the bearing system used to
support the main shaft. Options include a
single bearing position system utilizing a
two-row bearing or a multiple bearing
position system.
For each position, the
bearing type and configuration must also be
determined. For larger turbines, viable
alternatives
include
combinations
of
spherical, cylindrical and tapered roller
bearings. Table 1 lists various main shaft

Fig 1b. Modular drive train configuration.

Preloaded TRBs allow for improved system

stiffness and are available with modified

1
THE TIMKEN COMPANY

internal geometry to operate effectively in

high misalignment conditions. In addition,
cylindrical roller bearings (CRB) work well
with TRBs, providing additional radial
capacity and stiffness that allows for a more
power-dense arrangement. These and other
advantages of TRB and CRB arrangements
make them a better solution for multimegawatt turbines.
This paper will expand on bearing selection
requirements for main shaft positions in
direct drive and hybrid drive turbines.

Fig 2. Typical direct drive generator

wind turbine design with a two-row
TRB.

DIRECT AND HYBRID DRIVES

There is significant work within the industry
to understand real operating loads on
turbines, gears, shafts and bearings in the
field. Standards have been developed to help
the industry design more reliable turbines
with improved performance, but there is still
room for further improvement.

Hybrid drives use mid-speed generators and

will employ one or two planetary stages to
achieve generator speeds between those
typically found with direct drives (low speed)
and modular designs (high speed). These
designs can significantly reduce tower top
mass as a ratio to power output. Also, these
designs target a good balance between
gearbox and generator size to achieve
optimal use of space atop the tower.

While work continues in understanding

environmental conditions and a turbines
reaction to those conditions, there are new
designs focused on making a system more
robust against unknown challenges and/or
eliminating the sources of reliability
problems.
A direct drive turbine that eliminates the
gearbox entirely has to meet certain
considerations. To be able to generate
adequate power at low speeds, generators
tend to become larger, heavier and more
expensive. Typical bearing solutions have
been three-row CRB designs with two axially
positioned rows in light preload, and one
radial row mounted in clearance. Unitized
two-row TRBs are also a viable and
advantageous solution (see Fig. 2).

Fig 3. Hybrid drivetrain example with

two-row TRB mainshaft.
Source: DNV-GEC

2
THE TIMKEN COMPANY

each row and prevent bearing lubrication

starvation due to flow blockages.

DIRECT/HYBRID DRIVE
CONSIDERATIONS
Fig. 4 shows loads in a coordinate axis
imposed by the rotor blades on a typical
wind turbine.

Whether to supply a bearing with a full

complement of rollers or to include a cage or
separator is another critical design decision.
Full complement designs will use more
rollers in the same design space, thus will
have increased load carrying capacity. Rollers
will contact each other at the roller body, so
appropriate surface treatment may be
necessary to avoid surface damage during
use. For full complement designs, surface
treatments can be incorporated to provide
surface hardness improvements and ultralow surface finishes allowing improved
lubricant film thickness generation at
relatively low speeds. The type and method
of lubrication will also influence the decisions
on applying a full complement bearing.
Incorporating a cage on ultra-large bearings
may provide benefit in roller guidance,
lubricant distribution and elimination of roller
body contact.

Fig 4. Loads and working system of

axis.
Some challenges faced by direct drive
turbine manufacturers and bearing suppliers
in managing the loads and stresses in a
compact space. Stress internal to the bearing
is a function of the weight of the hub/blade
and rotor assembly, along with external
loading during operation. Therefore, for any
type of wind turbine architecture, it is critical
that wind turbine manufacturers provide an
accurate assessment of field loading to the
bearing manufacturer.
Inadequate inputs
into bearing life models may result in
improper bearing life analysis and potentially
lead to premature bearing damage.

Direct drive main shaft bearings also need to

have properly designed features that allow
for efficient handling and installation. The
size of the bearings can create logistical
challenges and bearings need to be installed
properly to avoid issues that can cause longterm performance problems. Some bearings
are designed to have bolt-on features for
attachment to the nacelle structure, hub and
rotor assemblies. Without an external shaft
or a press fit into the housing, bolt designs
are critical to maintain bearing clamp, and in
some cases, alignment of bearing races.

Lubrication of critical race/roller surfaces is

another issue requiring special design
consideration. Most bearings in the direct
drive mainshaft market are grease lubricated.
Care needs to be taken to select the proper
grease that will not migrate away from
roller/race surfaces and lead to seal leakage.
This may need to be balanced with the ability
of lubrication control systems to work with
the specified grease. These systems should
be designed to ensure proper lubrication of

Bearing setting is another critical aspect for

proper performance. In a tapered nonadjustable (TNA) design, bearing suppliers
can carefully control the designed setting. In
fact, the only factor outside the bearing
suppliers control that can impact the
operating setting is external clamp load.
For a turbine mainshaft application with two
separate rows, setting is the responsibility of
the turbine assembler. Several methods for
achieving a desired final setting may be
3

THE TIMKEN COMPANY

employed, but bearing size needs to be

considered for several reasons, including
proper measurement of initial parameters,
accurate assessment of adjustments needed
to achieve final setting and determining the
final assembly effect on setting. We will
cover the importance of bearing lateral
setting later in this paper.

800

My
600

Mz
400

200

Fx
0

Fy
-200

BEARING SELECTION FOR DIRECT

DRIVES AND HYBRID MAINSHAFTS

Fz
-400
0

1.5

2.5

3.5

4.5

Time (s)

BEARING FATIGUE DUTY CYCLE

The bearing fatigue duty cycle received from
the customer can have a significant influence
on the size and geometry of the mainshaft
bearing designs. A concern is that adding
conservatism by oversimplification of the
duty cycle will result in a negative cost
structure.
Some manufacturers use
hundreds of conditions in the duty cycle.
Others may use tens or only a single
condition in the duty cycle.

Fig. 5. Five second snapshot of data from

design program.

In order to develop a duty cycle from time

series data for these load conditions, two
methods can be utilized to generate duty
cycles an independent or dependent
reduction. In an independent reduction, each
load is binned separately for a specific RPM
bin. A load histogram can then be generated
for each load using the previously discussed
technique.
An equivalent load for each
resulting load histogram can then be
calculated. Finally, a duty cycle can be
constructed
with
the
corresponding
combinations of independent equivalent
loads.

Duty cycles usually are generated using

design programs to model the wind turbine
system, typically with an output at 20-Hz.
The high frequency of data provides a vast
number of snap shots of the system, even for
short time intervals. All this data must be
sorted and binned in useful categories, using
the arithmetic average bin value, for fatigue
analysis. A five second excerpt of data from
the graph has been added in to show the
variation of the data. Variation in this short
time is graphically shown in Fig. 5. The
complete data is then sorted into bins and
the time durations in each bin is summed to
determine the percent of time each condition
contributes to the duty cycle.

While an independent duty cycle is simpler to

create it may not always maintain the proper
relationship
between
specific
load
combinations. This type of load case may
result in an over-predicted bearing life due to
lost load/moment relationships.
This is
where a dependent duty cycle reduction can
be beneficial. In a dependent reduction,
loads are binned dependently based on
importance of effect to bearing life, where
low importance loads can generally be
equated to as few or as little as one
equivalent load. Bin size should be
determined methodically for the speed and
loads by understanding the effect on the
bearing
system.
The
following
recommended order of importance of the
data for proper bearing analysis can be
utilized in either reduction case:

4
THE TIMKEN COMPANY

0.5

bearing sizing but would not model actual

operating conditions and many assumptions
made for catalog calculations do not hold
true in real world operation.

1. RPM (due to effects on the development

of the lubrication film thickness).
2. Pitch Moment, My
3. Yaw Moment, Mz
4. Radial Load, Fz
5. Axial Load, Fx
6. Radial Load, Fy

Bearing companies have developed in-house

analytical programs to better evaluate the
environmental effects influencing bearing
life. It is suggested that wind turbine
manufacturers
contact
their
approved
bearing suppliers for advanced bearing life
analysis. There are several life adjustment
factors included in advanced bearing analysis
in Syber, a proprietary finite element based
computer simulation software of the author's
company. In addition to load and speed,
other major life influencers are:

Once the low priority load bins have been

defined, higher importance load data can
then be binned in subset histograms of
appropriate size for each lower importance
load bin. A duty cycle can be constructed
from the dependent relationships and
analyzed with an advanced bearing fatigue
calculation program with Miners Rule to
determine the bearing L10a fatigue life. Fig. 6
below illustrates a generic relationship
structure
based
on
the
authors
recommended importance of reduction.

1. Load zone (bearing fits and setting)

2. Thermal
effects
(operating
temperatures, thermal gradients, lube
sump temperatures)
3. Lubrication effects
4. Misalignment/race stress (functions of
housing and shaft stiffnesses radial,
axial, and tilting)
5. Fatigue propagation rate
6. Bearing geometry factors

Typically,
bearing
manufacturers
are
provided the binned duty cycle from wind
turbine OEMs and/or gearbox manufacturers.
Equally important as the correct time series
data is the method of the reduction. While
each manufacturer can have its own method
for the reduction of time series data, it is also
important
that
they
understand
the
significance of the reduction methods on the
load/moment relationship on predicted
bearing life.

BEARING LOAD ZONE

Load zone is an angular measurement of the
load distribution in a bearing and is a direct
indication of how many rollers per row share
the applied load. There are a vast list of
factors that determine what the operating
load zone is, including initial lateral setting,
applied
load,
operating
temperature,
structural properties of the shaft/housing and
bearing fitting practice.

Fy
Fx

Mz,2

Mz,3

My,1My,2My,3My,4

My,1My,2My,3My,4

My,1My,2My,3My,4

Fz,3

Mz,1

Fz,2

Fz,1

The following diagram (Fig. 7) shows a

graphical representation of load zone, with
the blue arrow indicating an approximate 250
degree load zone):

Fig. 6. Sample dependent duty cycle

relationship structure.

BEARING LIFE CALCULATIONS

Bearing life calculations have evolved from
basic catalog calculations (load and speed
effects) to very sophisticated calculations that
include
many
different
environmental
conditions that impact life. The catalog
calculations were sufficient in very basic
5
THE TIMKEN COMPANY

increased
significantly
to
dramatically
increase the load zone above 110 degrees.
Fig. 9 shows a typical bearing life versus
lateral setting curve. Peak life tends to be in
slight preload where optimum roller sharing
occurs. When analyzing bearing life for a
two-row arrangement, it is more appropriate
to focus on system life, which is a measure of
the life associated with both bearings and
accounts for the likelihood of either bearing
reaching a failure point. This can be seen in
the system life curve for a given condition in
Fig. 10.

Fig 7. Load zone.

Load zone influence on catalog life is

determined through the use of a life
multiplication factor. The factor is 1 at 180
degree load zone. The factor increases in
slight preload. Since TRBs are usually
mounted in pairs, their individual load zones
are interdependent.
Thus, system life
depends on the operating setting in each row
under a given condition. In multiple condition
duty cycles, the load zone can change
dramatically
and
will
affect
bearing
performance. This factor takes into account
the change in roller loading on bearing life.

In a two-row TRB system, a net thrust force

will exist that will cause one row to be seated
while
the
other
is
unseated.
This
directionally-dependant net thrust force is the
sum of the external thrust applied to the
system plus the tow-induced thrusts
generated by radial loads on the TRBs. By
design, a radial load applied to a TRB will
create thrust forces with magnitudes relative
to the outer raceway angle. Fig. 10 includes
individual row life for seated and setup
(unseated) bearings.

Unseated Bearing Load Zone vs. Setting

400
350

Low Load

300
250
200

Medium Load

150
100

High Load
50
0
-0.300

-0.250

-0.200

-0.150

-0.100

-0.050

0.000

Setting (mm)

Fig. 8. Varied loads and setting effect on

load zone.

Figure 8 shows that a reduction in bearing

preload on the unseated bearing will lead to
a reduction in load zone for a range of
conditions. One might conclude to increase
the dimensional preload beyond 0.30 mm to
ensure both rows are well-seated under the
heaviest loads, the preload would need

Fig. 9. Life versus bearing setting.

6
THE TIMKEN COMPANY

SRB row (upwind)

SRB row (downwind)
Fig 12. Load zone in SRB.

Optimization of bearing load zones in wind

turbine applications has several benefits.
Loads can be balanced among available
rollers to reduce loads on the maximum
loaded roller in certain conditions. When a
system is not optimized or uses bearing
types which dont allow for the load zone
control similar to TRBs, fewer rollers may be
carrying the bulk of the load.

Fig 10. Life versus bearing setting tworow bearing system.

A previous technical paper compared tworow TRBs versus two-row SRBs in the fixed
position of a wind turbine mainshaft. One
focus of the paper was load zone and the
impact on bearing life.

Keeping rollers engaged with race surfaces

also prevents premature damage from
skidding/smearing. This happens when
rollers move through the unloaded zone and
are being pushed by the cage, rather than
being driven by traction from the rotating
raceway. Roller surface and race surface will
then see contact when the roller moves back
through the loaded zone. This contact will
cause adhesive wear, and also increased
tensile shear forces beneath the surface of
the race/rollers. The tensile shear forces can
lead to formation of axial cracks.

A two-row TRB solution can be installed with

initial preload in the system. Controlled
preload is advantageous from the standpoint
of optimizing bearing life through load
sharing between rollers for a given duty
cycle. Fig. 11 includes examples of TRBs in a
tapered double inner (TDI) arrangement for a
given load condition.

The basic design of a TRB, plus the ability to

optimize setting in preload, will work to avoid
skidding/smearing damage and also help
balance load between the rollers of both
rows.
TRB row (upwind)
TRB row (downwind)
Fig. 11. Load zone in typical TRB.

A comparable spherical two-row bearing (Fig.

12) will tend to have one row-carrying load
while the other may be unloaded. This is
mainly due to the inability to set the bearing
in initial preload. Lack of roller load sharing
could cause reduced fatigue life in service.
7
THE TIMKEN COMPANY

THERMAL EFFECTS
Temperature can impact bearing life in
multiple ways, all of which must be taken
into account when trying to perform
advanced life calculations. Areas in which
thermal gradients can impact are listed
below:
Lubricant viscosity
Operating setting
Bearing arrangement
Dissimilar material thermal expansion

Fig. 13. Two TS wide spread mainshaft.

Because lubricant viscosity is a function of

temperature it is important to properly assess
operating temperatures in order to predict
proper film thickness.
Thermal gradients between shaft and
housings
impact
axial
shaft
expansion/contraction which can result in a
change of setting between two bearings. In
addition to axial shaft expansion, radial
expansion of the bearing raceways can occur.
Because TRB raceways are designed on an
angle, a radial expansion of the raceway can
be equated to an axial movement of the
raceway. Both of these thermal effects will
ultimately impact the operating setting of the
bearing. In a case where two bearings are
wide spread, the change in relative shaft and
housing length due to thermal expansion, L,
is large compared to a close couple TDO or
TDI style bearing assembly.

Fig. 14. Life versus setting with and

without thermal gradients.

Finally, differences in material properties can

mean larger relative displacements for even
small thermal gradients when compared to
similar materials, making thermal effects
even more important to consider for proper
advanced life prediction.

In order to illustrate the effects of thermal

gradients, an example with a two taperedsingle roller bearing (2 TS) arrangement for a
wind turbine main shaft (Fig. 13) was
analyzed with and without thermal gradients
between the shaft, housing and bearing
raceways. From the subsequent life plot (Fig.
14) it is evident at maximum setting there is a
significant difference in predicted life, which
may
not
meet
the
acceptable
life
requirements for the application.

LUBRICATION
For direct drive mainshaft bearings, grease is
a very viable solution due to low operating
speeds. Although grease may result in a
thinner film thickness, it is the preferred
option for direct drive applications. It will
have a lower chance of leakage, will not
migrate as easily, and will exclude
contaminants more effectively than oil.
Common considerations for the grease
selection process include:
Higher viscosity (ISOVG 460 or 320) is
better for maintaining good film strength
8

THE TIMKEN COMPANY

Synthetic base oil with high viscosity

index (VI) will provide better lubrication
over a larger temperature range
Excellent water, rust, oxidation, and
corrosion resistance is important for
extended grease life
Low-temperature operation with adequate
pumping may be required in some
applications

Basic stress profiles are shown below in Fig.

16. Stresses are higher near the center due
to race and roller crowning. Relatively high
loading can cause load truncation at the ends
of the contact area and misalignment can
cause stress imbalance along the raceway.
The final graph shows typical stress plots for
edge stress conditions.

Lubrication control systems are a way to

ensure effective re-lubrication over time and
to make sure each bearing row is receiving
grease. Newer systems have features that
will inject grease with two separate ports,
directing lubrication at each bearing row.
Also, bearings can be designed with features
that take a more active role in removing used
grease from the bearing rather than relying
on back pressure to force it out. This can also
keep internal pressures lower and may help
increase expected life of contacting lip seals.

Fig. 16. Raceway stresses.

For catalog calculations, the impact on

bearing life is handled through the use of a
life factor and this factor is generally 1 for a
misalignment of 0.0005 radians. It is greater
than 1 for lower levels of misalignment and
will reduce life when misalignment is greater
than 0.0005 radians.

MISALIGNMENT/RACEWAY STRESSES

Fig 15. Misalignment.

RELIABILITY REQUIREMENTS
There have been many bearing life
expectations from various customers. Some
have used 150,000 hours, while others have
used 175,000 or even 200,000 hours life
calculation for which 90 percent of the
population will reliably survive (e.g. L10).

Bearing life can be negatively affected by

excessive shaft and housing misalignment.
High loads and overturning moments can
cause this to happen. Misalignment will
increase edge stresses in roller bearings and
could cause early damage in the bearing in
the form of geometric stress concentration
(GSC) spalling.
TRBs and CRBs can be
designed with special profiles to alleviate
edge stresses under given conditions. This is
another reason for the importance of an
accurate assessment of wind turbine loading.

The required calculated L10 for a 20-year

design life would improve with increasing
reliability requirements. As seen in Table 2,
taken from ISO281:2007, in order to obtain
the required reliability of 150,000 hours at a
higher reliability level, the calculated L10 will
increase. Also shown in Table 1 are the
required L10 for a 30-year design. Another
way to state this would be that the reliability
factor, a1, is multiplied by the L10 to attain the
Ln life of 175,000 or 263,000 hours for the 20or 30-year calculated life, respectively.
9

THE TIMKEN COMPANY

Life

Reliabilit
y

a1

L10
L5
L3
L2
L1

90
95
97
98
99

1
0.64
0.47
0.37
0.25

20-year
L10 Life
175,000
274,000
376,000
478,000
706,000

30-year
L10 Life
263,000
411,000
564,000
717,000
1,060,00
0

Table 2. L10 life requirement for various

reliabilities.

DESIGN OF THE TRB

TRBs achieve true rolling motion by being
designed on apex as in Fig. 17. Lines drawn
extending the inner and outer raceways
towards the centerline will intersect on the
centerline. The rollers size (body length,
small- and large-end diameters, and body
included angle) along with its relative
position to the centerline, will define the
bearing series. A single roller could be used
in many different series by adjusting its
angular position relative to the centerline.
This allows for optimization of the radial and
axial load carrying capability. The forces
acting on and generated by the TRB are
shown in Fig. 18. Resultant forces act
perpendicular to the raceway. Since race
surfaces are not parallel, there will be an
effective seating force that pushes the roller
into the rib. The seating force aids in roller
alignment during operation. Excessive
seating forces can cause sizeable rib forces
resulting in increased heat generation and
early bearing damage.

It is important to understand that the

reliability requirements are defined for failure
by subsurface fatigue spalling. There are
other types of bearing failures that may occur
in the application that are not considered
using traditional fatigue durability analysis.
These include, but are not limited to:
Scoring: Scoring may occur on a roller
bearing if the end of the roller contacts an
improperly lubricated flange or if a high
rib contact stress or improper contact
geometry exists.
Scuffing: Scuffing traditionally occurs
when there are insufficient traction forces
between the roller and the raceways
resulting in gross sliding at the contact.
As the heat generation increases, the
surfaces adhere and cause transfer of the
material. The sliding is caused by low
bearing preload or a low load zone, high
speeds and/or light loads.
Micropitting: Micropitting is similar to
macropitting, except occurring on the
micrometer scale. The small pits on the
surface are due to the increased stresses
that occur on the microscale when
lubricant films are thin compared to the
surface texture resulting from the
finishing process. This issue is grossly
accelerated when sliding occurs on the
surface simultaneously with the thin
lubricant films.
Structural issues: Structural issues may
be related to sections of the inner or outer
raceways that may be used as structural
members to transmit the load instead of

Fig. 17. On-apex design of a TRB.

10
THE TIMKEN COMPANY

using a housing or shaft to transfer the

load.
Brinelling
and
false
brinelling:
Brinelling
results
from
permanent
deformation or yielding in the part. False
brinelling is commonly seen when the
rollers are not rotating and oscillate back
and forth along the direction of the
rotational axis of the roller.

Optimization of the overall design takes skill

and experience because these factors are
closely interrelated. Bearing envelope size
will usually be dictated by turbine designers,
but upfront work with bearing suppliers will
make the most effective use of available
space. Designers and application engineers
will balance features affecting load carrying
capability relative to radial, axial and
overturning moments, combining predicted
bearing life, system stiffness, powerloss and
heat generation, load zone maintenance,
setting, lubrication, and handling and
maintenance issues into an optimized
solution.

Fig. 18. Forces acting in a TRB.

A typical double-row TRB single main

bearing for mainshaft applications is
composed of a double outer race [A] (or cup),
two inner races [B] (or cones), two rows of
rollers [C] and a retainer [D] (cage) for each
roller row as shown in Fig. 19. The
intersection of the bearing centerline and the
angled dashed lines in Fig. 19 define the
bearing spread for counteracting the
overturning moments.

RETAINERS AND UNITIZATION

There are several options in bearing designs
for mainshaft bearings in regards to roller
unitization. Bearing cages can have some
performance benefits. Full complement
designs (no cage or separators) have power
density benefits, but need to be engineered
with care due to roller body contact during
operation and also can complicate assembly
and setting procedures.
Manufacturing of "L" style cages in sizes
typical for mainshaft bearings in direct and
hybrid drives may be accomplished through
precision cut processes such as:
Full machining
Forming technology
CNC controlled precision cutting

Fig. 19. Typical TDO bearing

components and features.

A traditional closing in process may not be

feasible in this size range. This can be
overcome with a means of axial retention to
hold the rollers in place after assembly. The
inner race assembly can then be handled
separately from the outer race without a need
of unitization. Another option is a cut-andweld cage design that avoids the closing in
process.

There are many design considerations

required for two-row TRB for mainshaft
applications. Designs should be balanced in
order to obtain a bearing that is optimized for
performance, price and manufacturing. The
primary features (Fig. 19) of the bearing that
must be considered in the design phase are:
Mean pitch diameter (average of the
bore and outside diameter of the
bearing)
Included cup angle (E)

As mentioned previously, use of a cage will

lower the bearing rating when compared to
11

THE TIMKEN COMPANY

Included roller angle (F)

Mean roller diameter [(LED+SED)/2]

Contacting lip polymer seals are likely to

control leakage better than non-contacting
labyrinth seals, but care must be taken in
designing the seal for ability to meet life
expectations for wind turbines in the field.
Non-contacting
labyrinth
seals,
when
designed and applied properly, should give
more confidence in meeting long-life targets.
Concerns that must be addressed for
labyrinth seals are control of lubricant
leakage and robustness to system deflections
to avoid labyrinth element contact.

an identically sized full-complement design,

but there could be other advantages related
to better grease distribution including
elimination of contact between roller bodies
(rollers will contact cage which is made of
softer material and generally will not wear
roller surface) and roller guidance through
unloaded zones.
For full-complement designs, there are
several considerations that must be taken
into account during the design process,
including:

A two-row TRB bearing supplied with a

preset lateral setting, seals and lubrication
takes complexity out of the turbine
manufacturers assembly process and allows
the bearing manufacturer to maintain tight
control of the characteristics that factor into
final bearing assembly.

Maximum allowable speed is limited to

prevent metal transfer from roller to
roller/race.
Engineered coatings on rollers will allow
for increases in speed and will enhance
bearing performance by altering the
surface finish and improving the lambda
ratios.
The bearing life should be
improved, particularly in low lambda
conditions, by reducing adhesive metal
transfer.
Unitization will simplify bearing setting,
installation and removal, and may help
eliminate incidental damage to rollers
during turbine assembly.

CONCLUSION
There is a strong drive in the industry to
improve wind turbine reliability. Proper
bearing design and application are key
factors in helping to increase turbine uptime
and reducing maintenance costs. Accurately
defining system loading and environmental
conditions and translating them for use into
advanced analytical programs is a key first
step to achieving improvements.

The use of CRB/SRB designs in mainshaft

configurations, especially hybrids which may
have a very large outside diameter (OD) size,
is related to roller size. Large rollers
operating in a system with excessive
clearance
may
be
more
prone
to
skidding/smearing damage compared to a
preloaded TRB.

For mainshaft designs in mid-speed hybrids

or direct drive turbines, TRBs provide
features that address concerns relating to
bearing life/capacity, stress and roller load
management, reduction of skidding and
smearing, improving system stiffness and
simplifying the turbine assembly process.
The authors company has significant
experience in advanced analysis to help
achieve the desired improvements.

SEALS
Sealing is more critical in direct drive
generator wind turbines than hybrid and
other drivetrain designs. The seals need to
control grease/oil leakage and also exclude
contaminants from entering the bearing.
Direct drive generators can be damaged if
lubricants leak from the bearing seals into the
generator. Seals are also critical in off-shore
applications where exposure to salt water
spray causes a harsh operating environment.

Involving bearing suppliers in the design

process can lead to better use of available
package space for the bearings and allow for
a more optimized turbine design.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors would like to extend sincere
appreciation to several individuals who
12

THE TIMKEN COMPANY

helped formulate the ideas discussed in this

paper, including Timken associates Jim
Charmley, Gerald Fox, Michael Kotzalas,
Doug Lucas and David Novak.
REFERENCES
1)

2)
3)

4)

5)

6)

Butterfield, S., McNiff, B., and Musial, W.,

Improving Wind Turbine Gearbox Reliability,
European Wind Energy Conference, May 2007
Dinner, H., Trends in Wind Turbine Drive
Trains, KISSsoft GmbH, Switzerland
Lucas, D., and Pontius, T., Designing Large
Diameter Close-Coupled Two-Row Tapered
Roller Bearings for Supporting Wind Turbine
Rotor Loading, Hannover Fair, 2003
Bhatia, R., and Springer, T., Using Histograms
in the Selection Process for Tapered Roller
Bearings, International Off-Highway Meeting,
Milwaukee, 1981
Ionescu, L., and Pontius, T., Mainshaft Support
for Wind Turbine with Fixed and Floating
Bearing Configuration: Tapered Double Inner
Row Bearing vs. Spherical Roller Bearing on
Fixed Position, 2005
Oyague, F. Gearbox Modeling and Load
Simulation of a Baseline 750-kW Wind Turbine
Using State-of-the-Art Simulation Codes,
NREL/TP-500-41160, Feb. 2009

13
THE TIMKEN COMPANY

Bearings Steel
Precision Components Lubrication
Seals Remanufacture and Repair
Industrial Services

www.timken.com
Timken is the registered trademark of
The Timken Company.
2009 The Timken Company
Printed in U.S.A.