A new kind of wind turbine gearbox?
A new kind of wind turbine gearbox?
(OP)
Here are some claims for this new gearbox:
"Our box will last five to seven times longer than the traditional design," said Attia, who said a traditional gearbox costs upwards of $200,000 per wind turbine, but only lasts two to three years.
"The gearbox Ivankovic and Attia have developed will be priced similarly, Attia said."
http://www.news-journalonline.com/article/20130512...
Sounds too good to be real, but one of the inventors has some good credentials. I can't find any design details for this gearbox. If anyone knows what they are, please post.
"Our box will last five to seven times longer than the traditional design," said Attia, who said a traditional gearbox costs upwards of $200,000 per wind turbine, but only lasts two to three years.
"The gearbox Ivankovic and Attia have developed will be priced similarly, Attia said."
http://www.news-journalonline.com/article/20130512...
Sounds too good to be real, but one of the inventors has some good credentials. I can't find any design details for this gearbox. If anyone knows what they are, please post.





RE: A new kind of wind turbine gearbox?
RE: A new kind of wind turbine gearbox?
"Components are cams, pins, discs, rollers and a cylindrical housing…"
http://www.abmengr.com/#!/2568/qdrive-gearbox-inno...
The publicity about this device reminds me of the Universal Transmission, or Moon Gear:
http://vmt-news.blogspot.com/
Maybe these outfits have something, maybe not. I know that it takes a lot of time, money and testing to prove a new gearbox idea, especially whether it is good enough for a wind turbine, so I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt for now.
RE: A new kind of wind turbine gearbox?
No Gearbox Wind Turbines
www.tynevalleyplastics.co.uk
It's ok to soar like an eagle, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.
RE: A new kind of wind turbine gearbox?
thread406-367399: right-angle wind turbine gearbox
Regarding the often-heard claim that DD is more reliable because there are fewer moving parts, see Werner von Braun's response in that thread and some discussion of it.
Objections to DD:
1. Cannot eliminate the power electronics. This requires a geared turbine such as the Dewind 8.2 and 9.2.
2. Requires rare earth magnets to keep the generator size and weight down to the barely feasible. Uncertain supply and high cost of rare earths are serious disadvantages.
3. Does not allow a vertical drive shaft. This also requires a geared turbine. See the thread listed above.
4. Does not reduce tower top weight.
5. While superconducting technology would reduce the size and weight of a DD generator, I doubt that the cost would justify any benefit.
RE: A new kind of wind turbine gearbox?
Cheers
H
www.tynevalleyplastics.co.uk
It's ok to soar like an eagle, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.
RE: A new kind of wind turbine gearbox?
Trust me, there is no way GE would spend close to $500M of their own money to bring a DD commercial wind turbine to market. GE dominates the US commercial wind turbine market because they own IP for the standard DFIG design used for 95% of the US market. Globally, over 80% of the market is still for DFIG turbines using gearboxes.
RE: A new kind of wind turbine gearbox?
http://www.sciencealert.com/new-superconductor-pow...
RE: A new kind of wind turbine gearbox?
RE: A new kind of wind turbine gearbox?
The team isn't a company or organisation, they're part of the Institute for Superconducting and Electronic Materials at the University of Wollongong, NSW.
RE: A new kind of wind turbine gearbox?
RE: A new kind of wind turbine gearbox?
"This, and the fact that the copper wire decays quickly, means our current power systems are relatively inefficient with short lifespans."
I would like to know what others think of another proposed wind turbine drive train:
http://www.engineering.com/ElectronicsDesign/Elect...
"The technology uses a transmission of sorts, but instead of mechanical gears, belts, or chains, the ZCT uses neodymium permanent magnets to make the generator in the turbine spin five times faster than the rotor."
I know just a little about magnetic drives. For instance, units like the one described at
http://www.engineerlive.com/content/magnets-offer-...
may lose timing for a short while when speeding up or slowing down. That is, the output may not directly follow the input according to the gear ratio for a little while. Maybe only under heavy load. I can't remember where I read that. Maybe this would not be a disadvantage in the typical variable speed wind turbine, where the AC is wild anyway before conditioning by the power electronics.
RE: A new kind of wind turbine gearbox?
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Researchers_deve...
"Levitating" means that it has magnetic bearings.
Are any other of us gearheads getting nervous yet?
RE: A new kind of wind turbine gearbox?
Those sound like appropriate things to say any time alternative energy is considered... especially wind energy.
-Joe
RE: A new kind of wind turbine gearbox?