Gearbox Reliability Assessment for Wind Industry

Aug 12, 2021

In KISSsoft, it is possible to calculate the reliability of a system and display it in a diagram. In addition to the Bertsche and VDMA 23904 methods, the KISSsoft Release 2021 now also includes the calculation according to AGMA 6006-B20.

AGMA 6006-B20 is the first gear standard detailing a reliability assessment in an internationally accepted document. The reliability value is calculated based on a three parametric Weibull distribution; the parameter values used in the standard can be adjusted by the software user. Of course, the reliability of individual gears, shafts and bearing elements can also be displayed in KISSsoft.

The reliability of bearings is in fact a major concern in wind turbine main gearboxes as you can read in this detailed paper of Dipl.-Ing. Hanspeter Dinner. Predicting the risk of a bearing failure to calculate the total cost of ownership and to predict the need for spare parts is an important task for the engineer. Furthermore, the comparison of several designs to find the one with the lowest risk - e.g. when selecting suppliers and their designs - is of interest to all stakeholders. We hope, you enjoy reading this contribution on the reliability of bearings in the wind sector. Let uns know, if you have further questions.