On a new methodology for testing full load responses of wind turbine drivetrains on a test bench

Today’s nacelle test benches are facing several challenges regarding meeting the increasing demands of modern wind turbines, which have been growing rapidly in operational range, size, and complexity. These challenges include reproducing the demanded extreme loads, dynamic load bandwidth, power capacity, and cost of testing. This contribution presents a new testing approach to tackle some of the aforementioned challenges faced by existing nacelle test benches. The method is demonstrated in a case study involving experimental measurements and simulations of a multi-megawatt wind turbine drivetrain recently tested at the DyNaLab of Fraunhofer IWES. By combining high-fidelity simulation models and partial load tests, the proposed approach has shown high potential for representing the full load response of a wind turbine nacelle. The proposed testing methodology has potential for resolving some of the challenges being faced by modern test benches in terms of obtaining full load responses on a nacelle test bench with a possibility of reducing the cost of testing.