Intro Background

Highly coupled rigidly fixed wind turbines in the wind energy market have and continue to exhibit field reliability concerns, short of their 20 year typical life expectancy.

Proposal

A proposal is made to apply an automatic style torque converter concept that will act as a rigid blade load decoupler and absorber via the fluid torque rotary motion transfer energy into an appropriately gear span redesigned planetary gear drive system having the capability to drive at low winds speeds below 5 mph to specific max wind turbine and region speed capability. The intent is to strive to broaden the performance curve to harness more of the available wind speed band. Reliability for the gearbox will in turn be increased by reducing, if not eliminate, pertinent blade turbine loads not conducive to drive train life expectancy.

Practicality

Extensive fundamental engineering design and manufacturing knowledge already exist that can be leveraged with macro scales of production economy. Past wind turbine gearbox development knowledge in conjunction with specific new research and development will enable an innovative drive system with the proposed concept, significantly increasing by orders of magnitude the reliability bath tub curve of a wind turbine box closer or at the 20 year life expectancy.

Sustainability Enabler

The proposal requires innovation on existing design engineering and manufacturing know how that can transcend from other industries into the Wind Turbine Gearbox engineering world. As an example, past fatigue design work transcended from wind turbine research world into the automotive automatic transmission and vehicle design engineering world at Ford Motor Company enabling this company to regain competiveness footing. Break out of the black box my industry only paradigm. Step into other engineering worlds to harness and transcend best practices that will enable innovative solutions to a more sustainable path, Together, making our World better™©.

Vote Yes!

Let’s innovate our way to create the new research, development and manufacturing job creation engine that will enhance our standard and living environment together! Join me today by Voting Yes on this idea. Imagine, Make Reality. I am, it is, now is the time.

Thank you.