Schaeffler Wind Turbine Bearing Test Rig Using FEA Simulation
Case study showing how Schaeffler used Abaqus FEA to design and validate a 350-tonne test rig for large wind turbine bearings up to 3.5 meters in diameter.
Schaeffler Technologies built the world's largest large-size bearing test rig to validate performance of bearings for multi-megawatt wind turbines. Engineers used Abaqus finite element analysis over two months to perform stress analysis, modal analysis, and strength verification on a virtual prototype. Submodeling, user elements for rolling contacts, and HPC computing reduced analysis time from days to hours. The rig enables precise load testing, lifetime prediction, and design optimization for wind energy and heavy equipment applications.
Abaqus FEA enabled design validation of a 16m x 6m x 5.7m, 350-tonne bearing test rig in two months
User elements reduced rolling element DOF from 10^5 to ~10^2, cutting analysis time from 5 hours to 5 seconds
Modal analysis confirmed first natural frequency at 13 Hz, avoiding resonance at 1 Hz operating speed
Test rig supports bearings up to 3.5m diameter with eight hydraulic cylinders simulating real turbine loads
Simulation data improves bearing lifetime calculations and provides load distribution and contact angle values
Market overview
Vendor landscape
Leaders
Implementation considerations
Want deeper analysis on vendors?
Related research
Research
Vendors
Company