The world's biggest wind turbine, targeting

lowest levelized cost of energy, does mean

redefining certain dimensions.

Such a project is a big challenge.

Together with Adwen we had to take many obstacles.

The boundary of LCoE, the lifecycle of cost

of energy, is what we are trying to tackle.

It is a must to cross these boundaries and

to make sure we stay ahead of the curve.

Wind energy is playing an increasingly prominent

role in the market for renewable energies.

When it comes to the technologies used in

this field, wind turbine manufacturer Adwen

and the gearbox manufacturer Winergy take

leading positions.

This is where the energy history of the future

is being written, and has been for 35 years

now.

The latest project as an 8 MW turbine.

It is one of the most powerful wind turbines

in the world.

Today is the day the gearbox begins its journey.

Looking at introductions Winergy has done

in the last couple of years, like the journal

bearings and the hybrid drives, I would call

Winergy the technology leader.

The wind industry has been continuously developing

new and larger types of turbines.

For a number of years now, the focus for large

offshore turbines has been not only on reliability,

but also on compactness and efficiency.

Winergy and Adwen have joined forces to meet

these challenges.

As we approached this project we immediately

knew that we were going to build the most

powerful wind turbine in the world.

The 8 MW that we have designed here is the

largest gearbox for wind turbines in the world.

A turbine this size with hub heights of over

100m and a rotor diameter of 180m experiences

forces that make the turbine, its rotor and

drive train significantly different than the

conventional wind turbines we have seen so

far.

New developments and new technologies always

lead to new challenges.

We are used to it.

It is our job to make these risks assessable.

Our strength is in new development of products

where we are exceeding boundaries that we

have had in the past.

This is what we offer to the costumer and,

of course, quality.

Quality is a priority for every product we

supply.

By starting this project we had to evaluate

which sub-suppliers are able to supply us

with the single components that also have

extraordinary sizes.

We needed to ensure top level quality and

therefore we had to choose and qualify them

very well.

Quality management starts with defining the

order specifications for the raw materials

and continues throughout the entire value

added process.

It applies to the production of the toothed

parts, soft machining, hardening and hard

machining.

Wind turbine gearboxes are not easily scalable.

Numerous conditions change as their size and

performance class increase.

This is just as true for the overall concept

as it is for the smallest detail.
And it goes without saying that each new gearbox
benefits from the best practices.

With bigger rotor sizes the input torque grows

exponentially.

And it is the same for demand in engineering.

With increasing the size of the gearbox by

such a big step we had to admit that our experience

is only valid to a certain degree.

For every component of the gearbox we made

special calculations or risk analyses.

The large 180 meter rotor defines a clear

speed limit of 8 to 9 RPM for the drive train.

In comparison to the power rating, the drive

train torque increases disproportionally.

Adwen decided to go for a medium speed concept.

That means that the gearbox consists out of

two planetary stages that are directly connected

to the generator.

This is a planet carrier of the first stage.

It alone has a weight round about 30 tons.

The time schedule in this project was really

tough.

But still the reliability is the highest goal

in this project.

In order to provide this reliability for offshore

operation there is one thing that is absolutely

essential for validating the theory, an extensive

test series.

We developed the most comprehensive four phase

test plan.

It includes stand-alone-components test, integrated

back to back test with the gearbox, complete

drive train nacelle test and the final turbine

test campaign.

So when we started the installation of the

prototype we will have accumulated over 8000

hours of testing.
It was planned to use much of the existing
equipment and adept this to the necessary

size.

But after some loops more or less nothing

of these devices were left.

And now we are standing in front of the complete

new test bench.

Load tests involving temperature, pressure

and oscillation measurement, as well as analyses

of deformations within the gears.

Show whether the gearbox will be able to withstand

the stresses arising from years of continuous

operation.

The tests were really successful.

Especially the parameters which are difficult

to predict like vibrations and efficiency

showed excellent results.

Also the load distribution measurements in

the gear meshes were really good.

In the cold chamber test the impermeability

of the gearbox and the interplay with the

oil supply system at different ambient temperatures

is tested.

Once this has been done a long term robustness

test is conducted.

After which the gearbox is completely disassembled

and assessed, in order to see if there are

any possible weaknesses remaining.

When the gearbox is assembled into the nacelle,

it has already gone through a great deal.

But it also has big things ahead.

In a wind turbine such as Adwen's AD 8-180

it can supply more than 11.000 households

with energy.

In spite of the immense effort and expenditure

of such projects, not to mention the risks

they entail, Winergy is happy to take on large

challenges.

We need to secure the future for ourselves.

Therefore I think we have to develop that

product to get the cost of energy down.

A superlative on its way to meet its destiny.

With the right planning and a first class

manufacturing process something unique is

created for the Adwen AD 8-180 wind turbine.

The Winergy 8 MW gearbox.