JP7655119B2 - Wind power generation equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a device for monitoring contact strength in a rolling bearing, a wind power generation device, a method for monitoring contact strength, and a program.

Conventionally, mechanical devices such as wind power generation equipment are equipped with rolling bearings. By monitoring the condition of the rolling bearings and controlling them according to that condition, malfunctions of the mechanical devices can be prevented and they can operate more appropriately. Information used to monitor the condition of rolling bearings includes vibration, sound, and rotation speed.

Patent Document 1 discloses a method for determining abnormalities inside a rolling bearing based on vibrations generated by the rolling bearing. Patent Document 2 discloses a method for diagnosing abnormalities based on changes in vibration over time.

Patent No. 4120099 Patent No. 3449194

For example, in a wind power generation device, the rotation speed and the load through the main shaft may fluctuate intermittently due to the influence of external wind. In particular, since a wind power generation device operates at a relatively low rotation speed, the rotation speed and the load through the main shaft may change even during one rotation of the rolling bearing equipped in the wind power generation device. On the other hand, a rolling bearing is composed of multiple parts, among which multiple rolling elements are provided. Due to manufacturing errors of the rolling elements and deterioration due to use, differences in size occur between the multiple rolling elements. As a result, some rolling elements may come into strong contact with other parts (e.g., the outer ring) due to the size difference. For example, a relative tilt of the outer ring and the inner ring occurs due to the load on the rolling bearing, and there are cases where a part of the outer ring comes into strong contact with the rolling elements (rollers). Such strong contact between parts may damage the contact parts, affect the life of the rolling bearing, or cause operational malfunctions.

In view of the above problems, the present invention aims to provide a method for monitoring the contact strength of rolling bearing components during rotational operation.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention has the following configuration. That is, a contact strength monitoring device for monitoring the contact strength of components in a rolling bearing, comprising:
A first acquisition means for acquiring vibration information of the rolling bearing during rotation;
A second acquisition means for acquiring a rotational speed of the rolling bearing during rotation;
A setting means for setting a vibration frequency of interest based on the rotation speed;
a derivation means for deriving a vibration value of the vibration frequency set by the setting means using the vibration information;
The vibration measuring device further comprises a determining means for determining the strength of contact between components in the rolling bearing based on the vibration value derived by the determining means and a predetermined threshold value.

Another aspect of the present invention has the following configuration. That is, a wind power generating device,
A contact strength monitor;
A rolling bearing.
The contact strength monitoring device comprises:
A first acquisition means for acquiring vibration information of the rolling bearing during rotation;
A second acquisition means for acquiring a rotational speed of the rolling bearing during rotation;
A setting means for setting a vibration frequency of interest based on the rotation speed;
a derivation means for deriving a vibration value of the vibration frequency set by the setting means using the vibration information;
The vibration measuring device further comprises a determining means for determining the strength of contact between components in the rolling bearing based on the vibration value derived by the determining means and a predetermined threshold value.

Another aspect of the present invention has the following configuration: A method for monitoring contact strength of components in a rolling bearing, comprising:
a first acquisition step of acquiring vibration information of the rolling bearing during rotation;
A second acquisition step of acquiring a rotational speed of the rolling bearing during rotation;
A setting step of setting a vibration frequency of interest based on the rotation speed;
a derivation step of deriving a vibration value of the vibration frequency set in the setting step by using the vibration information;
The method further includes a determination step of determining the strength of contact between components in the rolling bearing based on the vibration value derived in the derivation step and a predetermined threshold value.

Another aspect of the present invention has the following configuration:
On the computer,
A first acquisition step of acquiring vibration information of a rotating rolling bearing;
A second acquisition step of acquiring a rotational speed of the rolling bearing during rotation;
A setting step of setting a vibration frequency of interest based on the rotation speed;
a derivation step of deriving a vibration value of the vibration frequency set in the setting step by using the vibration information;
A determination step is executed in which the strength of contact between components in the rolling bearing is determined based on the vibration value derived in the derivation step and a predetermined threshold value.

The present invention makes it possible to monitor the contact strength of rolling bearing components during rotational operation.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an apparatus configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a functional configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining contact between parts in a rolling bearing. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining contact between parts in a rolling bearing. FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining waveform data when a strong contact occurs according to an embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a flowchart of a monitoring process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The following describes the embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings. Note that the embodiment described below is one embodiment for explaining the present invention, and is not intended to be interpreted as limiting the present invention, and not all of the configurations described in each embodiment are necessarily essential configurations for solving the problems of the present invention. In addition, in each drawing, the same components are given the same reference numbers to indicate their correspondence.

First Embodiment
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

[Device configuration]
Hereinafter, an embodiment of a device to which the contact strength monitoring method according to the present invention can be applied will be described. In the following description, a wind power generation device including a rolling bearing will be taken as an example of application, but the present invention is not limited to a wind power generation device and can be applied to other mechanical devices as well. Devices to which the present invention can be applied include devices that have rolling bearings and have a relatively slow rotation speed or devices with large fluctuations in rotation speed.

Figures 1 and 2 are schematic diagrams of a wind power generation device to which the contact strength monitoring method according to this embodiment is applied. As shown in Figure 1, the wind power generation device 10 comprises a tower 11 erected on the ground, a nacelle 12 supported on the upper end of the tower 11, and a rotor 13 provided at the end of the nacelle 12. In addition, a rotation mechanism 14 is provided between the tower 11 and the nacelle 12 to adjust the orientation of the nacelle 12 (yaw control).

The nacelle 12 houses a drive train section 21. The drive train section 21 includes a main shaft 22, a gearbox 23, a generator 24, and a bearing unit 25. The main shaft 22 is connected to the generator 24 via the gearbox 23. The main shaft 22 is rotatably supported within the nacelle 12 by the bearing unit 25. The bearing unit 25 that supports the main shaft 22 is provided with a vibration sensor 27 for measuring vibrations generated in the bearing unit 25. In addition, a rotation speed sensor 29 is provided to detect the rotation speed of the main shaft 22. The generator 24 is provided with a power generation measuring device 28 for measuring the amount of power generated.

The rotor 13 has a hub 31 and a number of blades 32. The blades 32 extend radially from the hub 31. The rotor 13 is provided at the end of the main shaft 22 of the drive train section 21. The hub 31 adjusts the orientation (pitch control) of each of the multiple blades 32.

In addition, in the wind power generation device 10, the rotating shaft 221 (FIG. 2) of the gearbox 23 and the generator 24 is also supported by a rolling bearing 101 (FIG. 2). In addition, the drive train section 21 is provided with a brake device (not shown) for stopping or slowing down the rotation of the main shaft 22 as necessary.

In the wind power generation device 10 having the above structure, the blades 32 of the rotor 13 receive the wind, causing the main shaft 22 to rotate. The rotation of the main shaft 22 is then accelerated by the speed increaser 23 and transmitted to the generator 24, which generates electricity. In addition, as the blades 32 of the rotor 13 receive the wind, a load (radial load and axial load) is applied to the bearing unit 25 and the rolling bearing 101 in the speed increaser 23 via the main shaft 22. Note that, in order to simplify the explanation, Figures 1 and 2 show a configuration in which one bearing is provided for one wind power generation device 10, but this configuration is not limited to this, and multiple bearings may be provided in one wind power generation device 10.

[Functional configuration]
Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a functional configuration according to this embodiment. Fig. 2 shows the configuration of a rolling bearing 101 whose contact strength is monitored by the contact strength monitoring method according to this embodiment, and a contact strength monitoring device 200 that monitors the contact strength. The rolling bearing 101 that supports a rotating shaft 221 is provided inside the speed increaser 23. Note that, in this embodiment, the rolling bearing 101 can be, for example, a cylindrical roller bearing (NJ type, NUP type, NF type) that receives an axial load, but is not limited to these.

The contact strength monitoring device 200 may be provided inside the wind power generation device 10 shown in FIG. 1, or may be provided outside the wind power generation device 10. Also, in FIG. 2, in order to simplify the explanation, a configuration in which one contact strength monitoring device 200 is provided for one bearing is shown. However, this configuration is not limited, and one contact strength monitoring device 200 may be configured to monitor the contact strength of multiple bearings.

The rolling bearing 101 supports the rotating shaft 221 so that it can rotate freely. The rotating shaft 221 is supported by the housing 100 that covers the outside of the rolling bearing 101 via the rolling bearing 101, which is a rotating part. The rolling bearing 101 includes an inner ring 104, which is a rotating ring that is fitted to the outside of the rotating shaft 221, an outer ring 102, which is a fixed ring that is fitted to the inside of the housing 100, a plurality of cylinders (rollers) that are a plurality of rolling elements 103 arranged between the inner ring 104 and the outer ring 102, and a retainer (not shown) that holds the rolling elements 103 so that they can roll freely. In addition, in the rolling bearing 101, friction between the inner ring 104 and the rolling elements 103 and between the outer ring 102 and the rolling elements 103 is reduced by a predetermined lubrication method. The lubrication method is not particularly limited, but for example, grease lubrication or oil lubrication is used. In addition, the type of lubricant is not particularly limited.

The bearing unit 25 or the bearing in the speed increaser 23 is provided with a vibration sensor 27 that detects vibrations generated from the rolling bearing 101 during rotation of the rotating shaft 221. The vibration sensor 27 is fixed near the outer ring of the housing by bolting, gluing, bolting and gluing, or embedding with a molding material. When bolting, it may be provided with a rotation prevention function. The vibration sensor 27 is not limited to a configuration in which it is fixed and installed at the detection position, but may be installed at a position for detecting vibrations caused by the rolling bearing 101 when detecting the strength of contact. Therefore, the vibration sensor 27 may be configured to be removable or movable.

The vibration sensor 27 may be any sensor capable of detecting vibrations, such as an acceleration sensor, an acoustic emission (AE) sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, or a shock pulse sensor, as long as it can convert the detected acceleration, speed, strain, stress, displacement, or other vibrations into an electrical signal. When mounting the sensor on a wind power generation device 10 located in a noisy environment, it is more preferable to use an insulated sensor, as it is less susceptible to the effects of noise. Furthermore, when the vibration sensor 27 uses a vibration detection element such as a piezoelectric element, the element may be molded into plastic or the like.

The rotating shaft 221 is provided with a rotation speed sensor 29 that detects the rotation speed of the inner ring 104 fitted to the rotating shaft 221. In this embodiment, the rotation speed and number of revolutions of the inner ring 104, which is the rotating ring, and the rotating shaft 221 are the same. The rotation speed of the rotating shaft 221 may vary depending on the direction of the wind received by the wind power generation device 10, the amount of wind, and the wind pressure. Furthermore, the rotation speed may be adjusted by a brake device (not shown). The rotation speed sensor 29 may detect the rotation speed by detecting, for example, an encoder (not shown) provided on the inner ring 104 of the rolling bearing 101. The wind power generation device 10 according to this embodiment rotates at a relatively low rotation speed. Therefore, the rotation speed sensor 29 is configured to be able to detect the change in the rotation speed during one rotation of the rolling bearing 101. The vibration sensor 27 and the rotation speed sensor 29 may be configured to perform detection operations only at specified times (e.g., when monitoring the strength of contact) based on instructions from the user of the contact strength monitoring device 200 (e.g., the administrator of the wind power generation device 10), or may be configured to perform detection operations at all times.

The contact strength monitoring device 200 may be realized, for example, by an information processing device including a control device, a storage device, and an input/output device (not shown). The control device may be composed of a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), a DSP (Digital Single Processor), or a dedicated circuit. The storage device is composed of volatile and non-volatile storage media such as a HDD (Hard Disk Drive), a ROM (Read Only Memory), or a RAM (Random Access Memory), and can input and output various information in response to instructions from the control device. The input/output device is composed of a speaker, a light, or a display device such as a liquid crystal display, and notifies the worker in response to instructions from the control device. The notification method by the input/output device is not particularly limited, but may be, for example, an auditory notification by voice or a visual notification by screen output. The input/output device may also be a network interface with a communication function, and may perform various input/output operations by sending and receiving data to and from an external device (not shown) via a network (not shown).

The contact strength monitoring device 200 includes a vibration signal acquisition unit 201, a rotation speed acquisition unit 202, a vibration analysis unit 203, a contact strength monitoring unit 204, an information storage unit 205, an alarm processing unit 206, a communication processing unit 207, and a mechanism control unit 208. Each part may be realized by the above-mentioned control device reading out a corresponding program from a storage device and executing it. Furthermore, various operations such as an alarm operation and a communication operation may be performed by the control device controlling an input/output device.

The vibration signal acquisition unit 201 acquires the electrical signal detected by the vibration sensor 27 as vibration information. Depending on the content of the electrical signal, the vibration signal acquisition unit 201 may perform A/D (Analog/Digital) conversion using an AD converter (not shown) or signal amplification processing using an amplifier (not shown). The acquired vibration information is output to the information storage unit 205.

The rotation speed acquisition unit 202 acquires the rotation speed of the rotating shaft 221 (or the inner ring 104) detected by the rotation speed sensor 29. The acquired rotation speed information is output to the information storage unit 205.

The vibration analysis unit 203 performs vibration analysis processing on the vibration information stored in the information storage unit 205. In the vibration analysis processing, the vibration information is subjected to FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) analysis to derive the vibration value of each frequency. At this time, envelope processing and filtering processing using a low pass filter (LPF) or a band pass filter (BPF) may be performed. The vibration analysis unit 203 may also be configured to sample and extract data to be used for diagnosis from the vibration information based on a predetermined condition. The predetermined condition here may be defined according to the rotational speed of the rolling bearing 101, etc. In this embodiment, acceleration is used as the vibration value, but other values such as speed may also be used.

The contact strength monitoring unit 204 detects the strength of contact occurring within the rolling bearing 101 based on the vibration value derived by the vibration analysis unit 203. Details of the contact strength monitoring method according to this embodiment will be described later.

The information storage unit 205 timely receives and stores the vibration information and rotation speed information output from the vibration signal acquisition unit 201 and the rotation speed acquisition unit 202. At this time, the detection timing of the vibration sensor 27 and the rotation speed sensor 29 correspond to each other, and the detection information is stored in association with each other. The information storage unit 205 also timely provides various information stored in other parts such as the vibration analysis unit 203. The information storage unit 205 may also store the analysis results of the vibration analysis unit 203 and the monitoring results of the contact strength monitoring unit 204 as history information. The notification processing unit 206 performs notification processing based on the detection results by the contact strength monitoring unit 204. The communication processing unit 207 controls communication with the outside via a network (not shown). For example, the communication processing unit 207 transmits the detection results by the contact strength monitoring unit 204 to an external device (not shown).

The mechanism control unit 208 controls the operation of the wind turbine generator 10 based on the detection results by the contact strength monitoring unit 204. Specifically, the mechanism control unit 208 may control the rotation mechanism 14 to adjust the orientation of the nacelle 12 (yaw control), or may control the hub 31 to adjust the orientation of each of the multiple blades 32 (pitch control). In addition, a brake mechanism (not shown) may be used to control the rotation speed of the main shaft 22 to a predetermined speed.

[Contact in rolling bearings]
3 and 4 are diagrams for explaining contact between components of the rolling bearing 101 used in this embodiment. FIG. 3(a) shows a schematic cross-sectional view of the rolling bearing 101 according to this embodiment. FIG. 3(b) shows the revolution of the rolling elements 103. The number and revolution direction of the rolling elements 103 are examples and are not limited thereto. The rolling elements 103 revolve around the main shaft 22 in conjunction with the rotation of the rotating shaft 221 and the inner ring 104. At this time, the rolling elements 103 do not come into contact with the flange portion 301, which is a part of the outer ring 102.

In FIG. 4, the rolling element 103a is a rolling element whose axial length is longer than the other rolling elements 103 due to manufacturing errors, wear due to continuous use, and the like. Here, in order to clarify the difference from the other rolling elements 103, an example is shown in which the rolling element 103a is longer in the axial direction of the rotating shaft 221 than the other rolling elements 103. In a state in which one or more such rolling elements 103a are included in a plurality of rolling elements 103, when a relative inclination occurs between the inner ring 104 and the outer ring 102 and the rolling element 103 revolves, the flange portion 301 of the outer ring 102 and the rolling element 103a come into strong contact with each other. The relative inclination between the inner ring 104 and the outer ring 102 can occur, for example, when a radial load larger than the other is applied to one side in the axial direction of the rotating shaft 221. In the case of a wind power generation device 10, such a relative inclination can occur intermittently due to an external factor such as wind. Furthermore, the degree of inclination can vary depending on the specifications and load of the rolling bearing 101.

[Example of vibration information]
FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the waveform of vibration detected when contact occurs in the rolling bearing 101 handled in this embodiment. In FIG. 5, the vertical axis indicates the amplitude, and the horizontal axis indicates the frequency [Hz]. Also, in FIG. 5, dashed lines 51, 52, and 53 indicate the vibration frequency of the revolution period of the rolling element 103 and its higher order (Nth order) vibration frequency. FIG. 5(a) shows an example of data in a state where there is no contact or light (weak) contact between parts (here, the rolling element 103 and the flange portion 301 of the outer ring 102) in the rolling bearing 101. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5(a), no vibration peak of a certain value or more occurs in the vicinity of the vibration frequency indicating the revolution period of the rolling element 103 and its higher order vibration frequency.

On the other hand, FIG. 5(b) shows an example of data in a state where strong contact occurs between parts (here, the rolling element 103 and the flange portion 301 of the outer ring 102) in the rolling bearing 101. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5(b), a vibration peak 54 of a certain value or more occurs near the vibration frequency (dashed line 51) indicating the revolution period of the rolling element 103. In other words, by focusing on the value near the vibration frequency indicating the revolution period of the rolling element 103, it is possible to monitor whether strong contact occurs in the rolling bearing 101. In the following explanation, the revolution period of the rolling element 103 is taken as an example for explanation, but instead of the revolution period of the rolling element 103, the revolution period of a cage (not shown) that revolves around the rotation axis in the same way as the rolling element 103 may be used. Note that the strength of contact here is relative and is not limited by a numerical value, since it differs depending on the configuration of the rolling bearing 101 and the intended detection content.

The vibration frequency of interest in this embodiment varies according to the rotational speed of the rolling bearing 101. As described above, in a mechanical device such as a wind power generation device 10, the rotational speed changes intermittently due to external factors such as wind, so it is necessary to change the vibration frequency of interest accordingly. In this embodiment, the vibration frequency of interest is based on at least one of the orbital frequency of the rolling body 103 and its higher vibrational frequencies.

Also, a certain width may be set for the vibration frequency of interest and its higher order (Nth order) vibration frequencies. For example, the vibration frequency band of interest may be set to include the vibration frequency f shown by the dashed line 51 in FIG. 5 and a range (±α) including its surroundings. The value of α may be constant, or may be different between the vibration frequency of interest and its higher order vibration frequencies. For example, a range α1 may be set for the vibration frequency shown by the dashed line 51 in FIG. 5, and a range α2 (≠α1) may be set for the vibration frequency shown by the dashed line 52, and vibration peaks may be detected from the frequency bands shown in these ranges (bandwidths).

In this embodiment, the threshold value for determining whether a vibration peak has occurred is predefined. As shown in FIG. 4, even if a rolling element having an axial length different from the other rolling elements is included, there may be cases where there is no contact, only light contact, or the degree of contact varies depending on the relative inclination of the outer ring 102 and the inner ring 104. Therefore, the threshold value for determining a vibration peak may be changed depending on the specifications of the rolling bearing 101, the load applied to the rolling bearing 101, the rotational speed of the rolling bearing 101, or other conditions.

[Processing flow]
6 is a flowchart of the contact strength monitoring process according to this embodiment. This process is executed by the contact strength monitoring device 200, for example, by a control device (not shown) included in the contact strength monitoring device 200 reading out from a storage device and executing a program for implementing each part shown in FIG.

In S601, the contact strength monitoring device 200 acquires vibration information of the rolling bearing 101 detected by the vibration sensor 27, which is stored in the information storage unit 205. Note that when monitoring the contact strength state in real time, the device may be configured to directly acquire the signal detected by the vibration sensor 27.

In S602, the contact strength monitoring device 200 acquires the rotational speed of the rolling bearing 101 detected by the rotational speed sensor 29, which is stored in the information storage unit 205. When monitoring the contact strength in real time, the signal detected by the rotational speed sensor 29 may be acquired directly. As described above, the detection timing of the vibration information acquired in S601 and the rotational speed acquired in S602 correspond to each other.

In S603, the contact strength monitoring device 200 performs vibration analysis processing based on the vibration information acquired in S601. Here, processing is performed to derive vibration values corresponding to each vibration frequency using the vibration information. At this time, FFT processing, filtering using an LPF or BPF, envelope processing, etc. may be performed.

In S604, the contact strength monitoring device 200 identifies the revolution frequency of the rolling element 103 of the rolling bearing 101 by performing calculations using the rotation speed acquired in S602, the previously acquired rolling element pitch diameter, the rolling element diameter, and the rolling bearing contact angle. The revolution frequency here corresponds to the vibration frequency of interest. Furthermore, the contact strength monitoring device 200 identifies higher-order frequencies of the identified revolution frequency. Also, as described above, if values near the vibration frequency of interest are also used, a range is set.

In S605, the contact strength monitoring device 200 extracts vibration values corresponding to the revolution frequency identified in S604 and its higher vibration frequencies from the vibration analysis results in S603.

In S606, the contact strength monitoring device 200 acquires a threshold value for the vibration value. The threshold value used here is predefined and stored in a storage device or the like. As described above, in the case of a configuration in which the threshold value for determining the vibration peak is changed depending on the specifications of the rolling bearing 101, the load applied to the rolling bearing 101, the rotational speed of the rolling bearing 101, or other conditions, the contact strength monitoring device 200 acquires information for setting the threshold value, and sets the threshold value based on that information.

In S607, the contact strength monitoring device 200 compares the vibration value extracted in S605 with the threshold value acquired in S606, and determines whether the vibration value is equal to or greater than the threshold value. If the vibration value is equal to or greater than the threshold value (YES in S607), the processing of the contact strength monitoring device 200 proceeds to S608. On the other hand, if the vibration value is less than the threshold value (NO in S607), the processing of the contact strength monitoring device 200 proceeds to S609.

In S608, the contact strength monitoring device 200 determines that strong contact between components is occurring within the rolling bearing 101. The processing of the contact strength monitoring device 200 then proceeds to S610. As described above, the diagnostic criteria for the strength of contact can be defined by the threshold value set in S606. Therefore, the strength is relative and is not limited.

In S609, the contact strength monitoring device 200 determines that no strong contact between components is occurring within the rolling bearing 101. The processing of the contact strength monitoring device 200 then proceeds to S610.

In S610, the contact strength monitoring device 200 outputs the diagnosis result in S608 or S609. The output method here is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, a configuration in which an external device is notified, or may be stored in a storage device as a diagnosis history. Then, this processing flow ends.

The contact strength monitoring device 200 may control the operation of the wind power generation device 10 according to the detection result of the contact strength. Specifically, the rotation mechanism 14 may be controlled to adjust the orientation of the nacelle 12 (yaw control) to suppress the relative tilt in the rolling bearing 101 and reduce contact between parts, and the hub 31 may be controlled to adjust the orientation of each of the multiple blades 32 (pitch control). In addition, a brake mechanism (not shown) may be used to control the rotation speed of the main shaft 22 to a predetermined speed.

As described above, this embodiment makes it possible to monitor the contact strength of rolling bearing components during low-speed rotational operation.

<Other embodiments>
In addition, the present invention can also be realized by supplying a program or application for realizing the functions of one or more of the above-mentioned embodiments to a system or device via a network or a storage medium, etc., and having one or more processors in a computer of the system or device read and execute the program.

It may also be realized by a circuit that realizes one or more functions (for example, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array)).

As such, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and the invention also contemplates the mutual combination of the various components of the embodiments, as well as modifications and applications by those skilled in the art based on the descriptions in the specification and well-known technologies, and these are included in the scope of the protection sought.

As described above, the present specification discloses the following:
(1) A contact strength monitoring device for monitoring the contact strength of components in a rolling bearing, comprising:
A first acquisition means for acquiring vibration information of the rolling bearing during rotation;
A second acquisition means for acquiring a rotational speed of the rolling bearing during rotation;
A setting means for setting a vibration frequency of interest based on the rotation speed;
a derivation means for deriving a vibration value of the vibration frequency set by the setting means using the vibration information;
The vibration measuring device further comprises a determining means for determining the strength of contact between components in the rolling bearing based on the vibration value derived by the determining means and a predetermined threshold value.
According to this configuration, it is possible to monitor the strength of contact between the components of the rolling bearing during rotational operation and to diagnose abnormalities within the rolling bearing.

(2) The contact strength monitoring device according to (1), wherein the setting means sets at least one of the orbital frequency of the rolling bearing identified based on the rotational speed and a higher vibration frequency thereof as the vibration frequency of interest.
According to this configuration, it is possible to extract a vibration value used for determining the strength of contact based on at least one of the revolution frequency of the rolling bearing and its higher vibration frequencies.

(3) The contact strength monitoring device according to (2), wherein the setting means sets, as the vibration frequency of interest, a frequency band consisting of a predetermined bandwidth based on the orbital frequency of the rolling bearing specified on the basis of the rotational speed and a higher-order vibration frequency thereof.
With this configuration, it is possible to extract vibration values to be used when determining the strength of contact, targeting a vibration frequency band based on at least one of the orbital frequency of the rolling bearing and its higher vibration frequencies.

(4) The contact strength monitoring device according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein a fixed value is used as the predetermined threshold value.
According to this configuration, the strength of the contact can be determined using a certain threshold value.

(5) The contact strength monitoring device according to any one of (1) to (3), characterized in that the predetermined threshold value varies depending on at least one of a configuration of the rolling bearing, a load on the rolling bearing, and the rotational speed.
According to this configuration, the strength of contact can be determined using different threshold values depending on the configuration and state of the rolling bearing.

(6) A contact strength monitoring device according to any one of (1) to (5), characterized in that the contact is the strength of contact between a rolling element constituting the rolling bearing and a flange portion provided on a fixed ring.
According to this configuration, it is possible to detect the strength of contact between the rolling element and the flange portion provided on the fixed ring in the rolling bearing.

(7) The contact strength monitoring device according to any one of (1) to (6), wherein the derivation means performs FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) processing or envelope processing on the vibration information, and then derives a vibration value of the vibration frequency of interest.
According to this configuration, the strength of the contact can be determined based on the vibration information to which FFT processing and envelope processing have been applied.

(8) The contact strength monitoring device according to any one of (1) to (7), characterized in that the rolling bearing is a cylindrical roller bearing.
According to this configuration, the strength of contact can be determined for the cylindrical roller bearing.

(9) A contact strength monitoring device according to any one of (1) to (8),
A wind power generation device comprising a rolling bearing.
According to this configuration, it is possible to judge the strength of contact for the rolling bearing provided in the wind turbine generator.

(10) A method for monitoring contact strength of components in a rolling bearing, comprising:
a first acquisition step of acquiring vibration information of the rolling bearing during rotation;
A second acquisition step of acquiring a rotational speed of the rolling bearing during rotation;
A setting step of setting a vibration frequency of interest based on the rotation speed;
a derivation step of deriving a vibration value of the vibration frequency set in the setting step by using the vibration information;
A contact strength monitoring method comprising a determination step of determining the contact strength of components in the rolling bearing based on the vibration value derived in the derivation step and a predetermined threshold value.
This configuration makes it possible to monitor the strength of contact between the components of the rolling bearing during rotational operation.

(11) A computer is provided with:
A first acquisition step of acquiring vibration information of a rotating rolling bearing;
A second acquisition step of acquiring a rotational speed of the rolling bearing during rotation;
A setting step of setting a vibration frequency of interest based on the rotation speed;
a derivation step of deriving a vibration value of the vibration frequency set in the setting step by using the vibration information;
and a determination step of determining the strength of contact between components in the rolling bearing based on the vibration value derived in the derivation step and a predetermined threshold value.
This configuration makes it possible to monitor the strength of contact between the components of the rolling bearing during rotational operation.

LIST OF SYMBOLS 10...Wind power generation device 11...Tower 12...Nacelle 13...Rotor 14...Rotating mechanism 21...Drive train section 22...Main shaft 23...Gearbox 24...Generator 25...Bearing unit 27...Vibration sensor 28...Power generation measuring device 29...Rotational speed sensor 31...Hub 32...Blade 100...Housing 101...Rolling bearing 102...Outer ring 103...Rolling body 104...Inner ring 200...Contact strength monitoring device 201...Vibration signal acquisition section 202...Rotational speed acquisition section 203...Vibration analysis section 204...Contact strength monitoring section 205...Information storage section 206...Alarm processing section 207...Communication processing section 208...Mechanism control section 221...Rotating shaft 301...Flange section

Claims (8)

A tower erected on the ground,
a nacelle supported on an upper end of the tower;
A rotor provided at an end of the nacelle;
a rotation mechanism disposed between the tower and the nacelle and configured to adjust an orientation of the nacelle;
A hub that adjusts the orientation of a plurality of blades that constitute the rotor;
A rolling bearing that supports a main shaft provided in a drive train section that is housed in the nacelle;
a contact strength monitoring device for monitoring the contact strength of components in the rolling bearing ;
A control device,
The monitoring device includes:
A first acquisition means for acquiring vibration information of the rolling bearing during rotation;
A second acquisition means for acquiring a rotational speed of the rolling bearing during rotation;
A setting means for setting a vibration frequency of interest based on the rotation speed;
a derivation means for deriving a vibration value of the vibration frequency set by the setting means using the vibration information;
a determination means for determining a strength of contact between components in the rolling bearing based on the vibration value derived by the derivation means and a predetermined threshold value ;
having
the control device adjusts the orientation of the nacelle by controlling the rotation mechanism, or adjusts the orientation of each of the plurality of blades by controlling the hub, in response to the result of the determination of the contact strength by the monitoring device, thereby suppressing the relative inclination within the rolling bearing and reducing contact between components.
Wind power generation equipment. 2. The wind turbine generator according to claim 1, wherein the setting means sets at least one of an orbital frequency of the rolling bearing identified based on the rotational speed and a higher-order vibration frequency thereof as the vibration frequency of interest. 3. The wind power generation device according to claim 2, wherein the setting means sets, as the vibration frequency of interest, a frequency band consisting of an orbital frequency of the rolling bearing identified based on the rotational speed and a predetermined bandwidth based on higher-order vibration frequencies thereof. 4. The wind power generating device according to claim 1, wherein a constant value is used as the predetermined threshold value. The wind power generation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the predetermined threshold value varies depending on at least one of the configuration of the rolling bearing, the load on the rolling bearing, or the rotational speed . The wind turbine generator according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the strength of contact is the strength of contact between the rolling elements constituting the rolling bearing and a flange portion provided on a fixed ring. The wind power generating device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the derivation means performs FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) processing or envelope processing on the vibration information to derive the vibration value of the vibration frequency of interest. 8. The wind turbine generator according to claim 1, wherein the rolling bearing is a cylindrical roller bearing.

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