State-of-the-art efficiency determination of a wind turbine drivetrain on a nacelle test bench

<p>The efficiency of wind turbine drivetrains is a topic of great interest for both the wind energy industry and the academic community. With the developing maturity of this technology and the increasing pressures to reduce costs, the importance of drivetrain efficiency has grown. However, mea...

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Main Authors: H. Zhang, P. Weidinger, C. Mester, Z. Song, M. Heller, A. Dubowik, B. Tegtmeier, K. Eustorgi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Copernicus Publications 2025-08-01
Series:Wind Energy Science
Online Access:https://wes.copernicus.org/articles/10/1625/2025/wes-10-1625-2025.pdf
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author H. Zhang
P. Weidinger
C. Mester
Z. Song
M. Heller
A. Dubowik
B. Tegtmeier
K. Eustorgi
author_facet H. Zhang
P. Weidinger
C. Mester
Z. Song
M. Heller
A. Dubowik
B. Tegtmeier
K. Eustorgi
author_sort H. Zhang
collection DOAJ
description <p>The efficiency of wind turbine drivetrains is a topic of great interest for both the wind energy industry and the academic community. With the developing maturity of this technology and the increasing pressures to reduce costs, the importance of drivetrain efficiency has grown. However, measuring the mechanical input power and the electrical output power with sufficient accuracy is very challenging due to the high power level of the drivetrain. In the project known as WindEFCY, state-of-the-art measurement and calibration instruments are used to determine the drivetrain efficiency of a direct drive wind turbine on the nacelle test bench called DyNaLab. This paper discusses the test configuration applied for this work as well as the instrumentation of the measurement systems used. It further presents the results from two tests of different types to demonstrate the process of efficiency determination, the analysis of uncertainty and the consequent comparability of the tests. Within the paper's scope of study, an uncertainty level of approximately 0.7 % is achievable when measuring drivetrain efficiency. Details and recommendations concerning data processing and uncertainty analysis are also given in the paper.</p>
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institution Kabale University
issn 2366-7443
2366-7451
language English
publishDate 2025-08-01
publisher Copernicus Publications
record_format Article
series Wind Energy Science
spelling doaj-art-3a41aadfc3154b6ba935457be28ebe322025-08-20T04:00:56ZengCopernicus PublicationsWind Energy Science2366-74432366-74512025-08-01101625163610.5194/wes-10-1625-2025State-of-the-art efficiency determination of a wind turbine drivetrain on a nacelle test benchH. Zhang0P. Weidinger1C. Mester2Z. Song3M. Heller4A. Dubowik5B. Tegtmeier6K. Eustorgi7Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy Systems IWES, 27572 Bremerhaven, GermanyPhysikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, 38116 Braunschweig, GermanyFederal Institute of Metrology METAS, 3003 Bern-Wabern, SwitzerlandPhysikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, 38116 Braunschweig, GermanyFraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy Systems IWES, 27572 Bremerhaven, GermanyPhysikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, 38116 Braunschweig, GermanyFraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy Systems IWES, 27572 Bremerhaven, GermanyFraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy Systems IWES, 27572 Bremerhaven, Germany<p>The efficiency of wind turbine drivetrains is a topic of great interest for both the wind energy industry and the academic community. With the developing maturity of this technology and the increasing pressures to reduce costs, the importance of drivetrain efficiency has grown. However, measuring the mechanical input power and the electrical output power with sufficient accuracy is very challenging due to the high power level of the drivetrain. In the project known as WindEFCY, state-of-the-art measurement and calibration instruments are used to determine the drivetrain efficiency of a direct drive wind turbine on the nacelle test bench called DyNaLab. This paper discusses the test configuration applied for this work as well as the instrumentation of the measurement systems used. It further presents the results from two tests of different types to demonstrate the process of efficiency determination, the analysis of uncertainty and the consequent comparability of the tests. Within the paper's scope of study, an uncertainty level of approximately 0.7 % is achievable when measuring drivetrain efficiency. Details and recommendations concerning data processing and uncertainty analysis are also given in the paper.</p>https://wes.copernicus.org/articles/10/1625/2025/wes-10-1625-2025.pdf
spellingShingle H. Zhang
P. Weidinger
C. Mester
Z. Song
M. Heller
A. Dubowik
B. Tegtmeier
K. Eustorgi
State-of-the-art efficiency determination of a wind turbine drivetrain on a nacelle test bench
Wind Energy Science
title State-of-the-art efficiency determination of a wind turbine drivetrain on a nacelle test bench
title_full State-of-the-art efficiency determination of a wind turbine drivetrain on a nacelle test bench
title_fullStr State-of-the-art efficiency determination of a wind turbine drivetrain on a nacelle test bench
title_full_unstemmed State-of-the-art efficiency determination of a wind turbine drivetrain on a nacelle test bench
title_short State-of-the-art efficiency determination of a wind turbine drivetrain on a nacelle test bench
title_sort state of the art efficiency determination of a wind turbine drivetrain on a nacelle test bench
url https://wes.copernicus.org/articles/10/1625/2025/wes-10-1625-2025.pdf
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