Bearing Solutions

and Service for Wind Turbines

 The Schaeffler Wind Power Standard
... is the quality standard for all products and processes that
are relevant for wind power,
... ensures the highest quality and reliability worldwide, e. g.
through 100 % testing of all function-critical characteristics,
... refers to all bearings developed and manufactured in
accordance with the new standard.

We thus offer a holistic concept that further

increases the reliability of the rolling bearings
in wind turbines.

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 Your Development Partner

Reliability – made by Schaeffler

Schaeffler is one of the world’s leading rolling bearing manufacturers and has been producing
bearings for wind turbines for over 30 years. We offer the right solution for every bearing position
and a holistic concept that further increases the reliability of the rolling bearings in wind turbines:
The Schaeffler Wind Power Standard (WPOS).

In order to ensure that the high standards of the sector are maintained, we work closely with customers
and suppliers across the entire process chain all the way up to volume production. In this way, we
work together to develop the optimum solution for every bearing position – from the rotor shaft to the
gearbox, generator, nacelle, and blade adjustment system. Customer requirements have already been
taken into account down to the finest detail in the project planning phase. Sophisticated simulation
and calculation methods support the selection of bearings and documentation. And the test phase
uses Schaeffler’s ASTRAIOS – one of the most modern and powerful large-size bearing test rigs in the
world. There, bearings of up to 15 metric tons and an outside diameter of 3.5 meters can be tested
under realistic conditions. Special rolling bearing greases and a wide range of services and products
for maintenance and equipment condition monitoring round out our program. The follow-up costs for
maintenance can thus be reduced and the availability of wind turbines can be increased.

Profitable wind turbines need reliable components.

Let us be your development partner!

FAG and INA products manufactured in accordance with

the Schaeffler Wind Power Standard bear the WPOS mark

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Everything from a single source
The ideal solution
for every bearing position

Animation
http://windpower.schaeffler.com

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 O u r R a n g e o f P r o d u c t s

Proven and powerful bearing designs

Rotor Shaft Tapered roller bearings, spherical roller bearings, cylindrical roller bearings,
and bearing housings

Strong and safe for every drive unit

Tapered roller bearings, cylindrical roller bearings with cage, full complement
Gearbox
cylindrical roller bearings, deep groove ball bearings, and four-point contact
ball bearings

Longer operating life thanks to current insulation

Generator Deep groove ball bearings and cylindrical roller bearings in a variety of current
insulation versions

Ensure yaw control in the long term

Pitch and Single and double-row four-point contact bearings with and without gearing,
Yaw Systems deep groove ball bearings, cylindrical roller bearings, spherical roller bearings,
tapered roller bearings, and sealed plain bearings

Reliability through remote monitoring and diagnosis

Condition
Service and systems for online condition monitoring, offline individual
Monitoring
measurements, lubricant monitoring

Professional service for all bearing positions

Installation & Tools, measuring equipment and accessories for the mounting/dismounting of
Maintenance rolling bearings, worldwide support by specially trained Schaeffler technicians,
wide range of training options

Modern simulation and calculation programs and realistic tests

Bearing
From the complete system to the rolling element contact:
Design
Comprehensive analysis for the optimum bearing design

Rolling Bearing Important for a long operating life

Lubrication Arcanol – rolling bearing-tested grease, relubricating devices

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R o t o r S h a f t

Proven and powerful bearing designs

Hub bearing support

In the adjusted bearing version, two

tapered roller bearings are mounted.
The alternative locating/non-locating
bearing consists of a paired tapered
roller bearing and a cylindrical roller
bearing.

Single-bearing designs

These designs combine power and

torque in one multiple-row bearing.
The version of the bearing as a double-
row tapered roller bearing is selected
in accordance with the operating con-
ditions. The dimensions of the large-
size bearing extend to over 400 mm in
width and over 3,000 mm in outside
diameter. Pre-mounted rotor bearing
All of the forces generated by the wind tests with our large-size bearing test rig units with adjacent parts and seal sys-
directly affect the bearings on the ASTRAIOS (see page 13) are incorporated tem lower the expense for logistics and
rotor shaft. Low-friction bearings from into our bearing designs. installation.
Schaeffler operate in the drive trains
of modern turbines from 220 kW to the Shaft bearing support Rotor bearing housings

latest multi-megawatt class around the The classic, well-proven solution consists Bearing housings calculated with the
world. Together with our customers, we of a locating/non-locating bearing with most modern methods ensure the
develop the most efficient bearing for spherical, cylindrical, or tapered roller best possible application of force and
the situation. The results from realistic bearings. torque.

Experience the
product interactively!
Wear-resistant thanks to black oxide-coated rolling
elements (Durotect® B): FAG spherical roller bearings

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 G e a r b o x

Strong and safe for every gearbox

Highly dynamic forces with extreme

peak and minimum loads, sudden load
changes, and strongly varying operating
temperatures present great challenges
for the bearing technology in wind
turbine gearboxes. Bearings with high
static safety and safe dynamic design in
accordance with international design
guidelines such as ISO 81 400 and IEC
61400-4 are the solution here.

New simulation calculations

The deformation of the gearbox housing

can also place stress on the bearings.
Load peaks also result from braking
procedures and other influences from
the turbine controls. New simulation
calculations of the dynamic behavior
of the drive train lead to more precise
load formulations and enhance the
previous approaches based on analogies
Reliable and economical clearance is attuned using adjusted
and measurements.
Ready-to-fit, optimally designed intermediate rings. The load distribu-
High load ratings – low friction tapered roller bearing units for fast tion and the friction can be optimized

Thanks to its special cage design, the gearbox shafts are easy to install and through the effect of varying contact

high-capacity cylindrical roller bearing lower logistics expenses. The internal angles of the two bearing series.
combines the advantages of full comple-
ment bearings with those of cage-type
bearings. Depending on the need, a
significant increase in load ratings is
possible compared to bearings with a
standard cage.

High load capacity and low friction: FAG high- Ready-to-fit: FAG tapered roller bearings for fast
capacity cylindrical roller bearings for planetary gears gearbox shafts

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G e n e r a t o r

Longer operating life thanks to current insulation

electrically insulated bearings. Schaeffler

offers a variety of solutions for this:

Coated bearings

Insutect®, our highly wear-resistant coat-

ing made from aluminum oxide ceramic,
can withstand a disruptive voltage of up
to 3,000 volts, even in damp environ-
ments. And Insutect® E, the glass-fiber
reinforced plastic coating, insulates
against high-frequency currents with a
coating thickness of over 1 mm.

Hybrid bearings

Hybrid bearings with ceramic rolling

elements offer maximum protection
against current passage. In addition,
Generators in wind turbines are exposed Current insulation of generator bearings hybrid bearings have a longer grease
to high vibrational stresses. This addi- The passage of current can cause severe operating life. They are suitable for
tional long-term stress has an especially damage to the raceways of the bearing high speeds and have good emergency
negative effect on rolling bearing cages rings (craters caused by melting, false operation characteristics. All current-
and places demands on the lubricant. brinelling), leading to extremely high insulated bearings have the same dimen-
The bearings are also exposed to high maintenance costs. This should already sions and load ratings as non-insulated
speeds and temperatures as well as be prevented in the planning phase. bearings and can be installed as a 1-to-1
the risk of current passing through them. In many cases, it is enough to install replacement.

Current-insulated bearings are available with

Economical: Insutect ® E coating permanently insu- coated rolling bearing rings or as hybrid
lates large-size bearings against current passage bearings with ceramic rolling elements

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 P i t c h a n d Y a w S y s t e m s

Ensure yaw control in the long term

Pitch bearings

The blade angle is always optimally

adjusted to the wind speed via the pitch
bearing in order to control the perfor-
mance of the wind turbine. The high
loads from the dynamic stresses on the
rotor blades must be safely dissipated
into the rotor hub via the raceways and
the screw connections. Single or double-
row four-point contact ball bearings
with cages are used, with internal or
external gearing or without gearing,
depending on the drive design.

As an essential component of the turbine

safety design, pitch bearings must
ensure that the blades can be reliably Azimuth bearings Azimuth and pitch drive units
and consistently adjusted under all Wind turbines are automatically con-
A robust slewing ring is necessary to
operating conditions. A long operating trolled by active systems. Schaeffler
adjust the position of the nacelle to the
life and high reliability are achieved offers bearings for slewing gears for
wind direction as well as possible.
thanks to the optimized dimensioning nacelle positioning and blade angle
The wind force and the dynamic inertial
of the bearings and a maintenance positioning from a single source:
forces are dissipated safely and reliably
concept tailored to the turbine and the • Drive shaft – deep groove ball bearings
into the tower head via the raceways
operating conditions. • Planetary gears – full complement
and screw connections. Single or double-
cylindrical roller bearings
row four-point contact bearings with • Output shaft – cylindrical roller
cages are used, with internal or external bearings, spherical roller bearings,
gearing. tapered roller bearings.

Robust and reliable: Pitch bearings

with corrosion protection system
(zinc and color coating)
100 % maintenance-free: INA plain bearings with
Elgoglide ® in hydraulic systems for blade angle
positioning

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C o n d i t i o n M o n i t o r i n g

Dependable thanks to remote monitoring and diagnosis

the nacelle is based on the individual

conditions of the turbine. If predefined
threshold values are reached, an alarm
is triggered, and the data are auto-
matically sent to the service center by
landline, wireless, or satellite modem.
Following detailed analysis, we suggest
concrete measures to the customer
that can be used to avoid unplanned
downtimes and expensive secondary
damage. Planning security is increased
and component replacements can be
scheduled in advance.

Offline individual measurements

As an alternative introduction to system

monitoring, we offer sophisticated
solutions based on portable devices and
individual measurement of vibration and
temperature data.
The permanent monitoring of wind
Lubricant monitoring
turbine bearings is a basic prerequisite
for better profitability. At Schaeffler, The use of oil and grease sensors con-
the experts from Industrial Aftermarket tributes to increased system availability.
(IAM) take on this task. As a grease sensor, Schaeffler recom-
mends the FAG GreaseCheck. Its special
Online condition monitoring with WiPro feature: Relubrication can be carried out
WiPro s is a system tailored to the needs based on condition, i.e. independently
of the wind power producer. It primarily of time intervals, which prevents over-
measures the vibrations and selectively greasing. For monitoring the oil, we use
monitors torque, temperature, oil quality, the Wear Debris Check oil sensor. This
and other measurements. The arrange- can detect wear and damage to bearings
ment of the sensors on critical points in early on through the abrasion particles.

Onshore and offshore: Schaeffler offers variable

systems for the online monitoring of wind farms

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 Installation & Maintenance

Professional service for all bearing positions

The installation service from Schaeffler

offers support worldwide – quickly and
reliably. Extensive bearing knowledge
and expertise in renewable energy allow
professional service for all bearing posi-
tions in a wind turbine. This optimizes
installation and deinstallation processes
and helps to avoid unscheduled down-
times and to reduce maintenance costs.

A broad range of suitable tools, measur-

ing instruments, and lubricants simpli-
fies the installation and maintenance
work and contributes to the prevention
of possible damage to bearings. The
devices can be leased for a fee.

Schaeffler is always a competent partner

for customer-oriented solutions. Indivi-
dual service strategies and practical
training support you in handling bearings,
thus making a crucial contribution to
increasing operating life.

Professional installation = lower costs + higher system availability

FAG mid-frequency heating devices for heating large-size

bearings and components for mounting and dismounting

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B e a r i n g D e s i g n

Modern simulation and calculation programs

From complete systems to the rolling

contact

Downtimes in a wind turbine are asso-

ciated with high costs. All factors must
therefore be taken into account as well
as possible during planning and design.
We work with the most up-to-date
simulation and calculation programs in
order to ensure the optimum selection
of products.

Multi-body simulation

With the hybrid multi-body simulation

(MBS), the dynamic behavior of the
entire wind turbine is displayed. Based
on the model, individual components
of the drive train and the entire turbine From complete systems to bearing contacts: Comprehensive analyses for optimum bearing design

design can be improved as early as the

development phase.
calculated operating life more precisely Taking into account all degrees of free-
Bearinx ®
than was previously possible. dom, the force and movement curves

With the Bearinx® software, all bearing of the bearings and rings are defined,
With Bearinx® online, we offer our
types, complex shafts, and shaft systems which are then used as the basis for
customers the opportunity to perform
determining results (e. g. friction) for
through to complete drive units can be the calculation of complex, multiple-
every time increment. With CABA3D,
modeled and calculated. The support bearing shaft systems from their work-
it is thus possible to calculate, among
reactions, the internal stresses of the place.
other things, the transmitted friction
bearings, the comparative stress of the
and the acceleration behavior of the
shafts, and the most important parame- FEM
bearings when entering the load zone.
ters are calculated and can be displayed For even more detailed analyses, FEM
graphically or in a table. Naturally, the calculations can determine the influence Telos
internal load distribution in the bearing of the adjacent construction on the The Telos 3D simulation program exam-
is also calculated exactly – up to the bearings and vice-versa. ines the individual rolling contacts. Any
contact compression, taking into account rolling contact can be analyzed under
the rolling bearing profile. Analogous CABA general lubrication conditions and a
to the stress on the individual rolling The CABA3D MBS software allows the distinction can be made between coated
contacts, Bearinx determines the
®
dynamic analysis of rolling bearings. and uncoated bearing components.

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Realistic tests on Schaeffler’s ASTRAIOS

ASTRAIOS is one of the most modern, – for rotor bearings and slewing rings
largest, and most high-performance in wind turbines of up to 6 MW. All
large-size bearing test rigs in the world. rotor bearing designs can be tested.
Large-size bearings of up to 15 metric
Over 300 sensors in the test bearings
tons and a 3.5 meter outside diameter
provide information to be evaluated for
can be tested under practical conditions
a variety of analyses. The measurement
using a broad simulation program. With
and control technology are provided by
ASTRAIOS, Schaeffler makes a significant
SARA, the automation system for R&D Realistic simulation of a wind turbine
contribution to the quick and reliable
applications from Schaeffler. Our experts
design of wind turbines and increases
evaluate the data and improve the cal-
their profitability and safety.
culation models through comparison
ASTRAIOS simulates the real loads and with the test results.
moments which occur in a wind turbine

See
video

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Rolling Bearing Lubrication

Important for a long operating life

Lubrication has an enormous influence atures, Arcanol LOAD460. For a longer that the individual pump bodies in the
on the reliability and operating life of rolling bearing operating life, the race- CONCEPT8 can be controlled separately.
a bearing. The right grease, the per- ways and gearing of pitch and azimuth It is thus possible to completely do
formance of the oil, the effect of the bearings are lubricated with Arcanol away with additional sub-distributors
additives, the cleanliness, and the MOTION2. which would mechanically stress the
adherence to the lubrication intervals grease during pumping. Installation is
Relubricating devices
determine the operating life of the easy and economical. Heatable pump
system. Our range includes a variety of lubrica-
elements allow use at low temperatures.
tors which automatically introduce fresh
The build-up of pressure up to 70 bar
Grease lubrication grease in the right quantity to the bear-
ensures a reliable grease supply for the
Main bearings in wind turbines are ing positions. Relubricating devices
bearing. The open gearing can also be
provided with special Arcanol greases, can be individually designed in indi-
protected from high wear with suitable
which undergo extensive testing before vidual cases for main bearings. The
lubrication pinions.
being approved. Arcanol greases thus FAG CONCEPT8 can be used for the
always have consistently high quality. automatic relubrication of pitch and By the way, Schaeffler also has solutions
Typical greases for main bearings are azimuth bearings and the associated for oil lubrication.
Arcanol LOAD400 and, for low temper- open gearing. The special feature is Talk to our experts!

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X-life. Measurably better They thus open up completely new manufacturing technology and improved
design options and provide a significant internal designs. This leads to better
X-life is the quality seal for especially
contribution to the improvement of and more uniform surfaces and contact
efficient products under the INA and
the overall cost-effectiveness of the points and thus an optimized load
FAG brands.
application. distribution in the bearing.
X-life products offer a longer operating
life – the result of higher dynamic load The reasons for this improved per-
ratings than the previous standard. formance are the most up-to-date

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 www.schaeffler.de/windpower
is your link for more information on Schaeffler’s activities
in the field of wind power.
All products, applications, and services.
MATNR 036794570-0000 / PWE / US-D / 2014022 / Printed in Germany by kraus

Schaeffler Technologies GmbH & Co. KG Every care has been taken to ensure the
Georg-Schäfer-Strasse 30 correctness of the information contained
97421 Schweinfurt in this publication but no liability can be
Germany accepted for any errors or omissions.
Internet www.schaeffler.de/windpower
We reserve the right to make technical
E-Mail windenergy@schaeffler.com
changes.
In Germany:
Phone 0180 5003872 © Schaeffler Technologies GmbH & Co. KG
Fax 0180 5003873 Issued: 2014, February
From other countries:
Phone +49 9721 91-0 This publication or parts thereof may not
Fax +49 9721 91-3435 be reproduced without our permission.