When looking at the future of drive trains for wind turbines, it’s clear to see that the winner is the medium-speed drive train. This is because the medium-speed drive combines the advantages of solid reliability with lower losses and higher efficiency.
At The Switch, we were ahead of the game when we came out with our FusionDrive® concept with Moventas. FusionDrive® is an intelligent gear and generator combo that offers high availability, a compact size and low weight. All high-speed components that are more prone to failure were eliminated. This design enables the highest efficiency curves and boosts annual energy production.
As FusionDrive® manufacturing is now underway, we’re also looking at other innovative ways to integrate our permanent magnet generator (PMG) technology into new drive train concepts. It seems that the time is right for the industry to find new solutions to advance the level of drive train performance.
By testing new concepts, such as featuring the integrated PMG at the backside of the gearbox, we can create drive trains with no generator bearings and fewer breakable components, for example. Other semi-integrated options also exist where the gear and generator have their own bearings.
Those against integration are worried that thermal issues will pop up when a drive train is built too compactly and that the drive train cannot be cooled down effectively enough. After testing the FusionDrive® extensively, the results demonstrate that such claims are not warranted.
At The Switch, we see that the level of integration in drive trains will continue to increase as the benefits far outweigh any of the downsides. Greater integration allows more freedom to adjust the radius of the drive train or to create other options that enable it to fit a turbine design even better.
The level of integration in a drive train can be increased in specific steps. The first is to place all components next to each other in a row. The second, more advanced option is to reduce some of the common components, such as bearings, thereby eliminating associated losses and maintenance issues.
In our opinion, increasing integration is absolutely the smartest way to advance drive train technology to achieve the higher efficiency and greater overall annual energy production that wind turbine manufacturers are striving towards today. And we look forward to continue to be part of this movement.
Panu Kurronen
Product Manager, Generators