A main bearing unit of a wind turbine drivetrain is provided, including a number of bearings arranged about a low-speed shaft of the drivetrain; a housing arranged to enclose the bearings; a preload ring arranged between an inner surface of the housing and the outer race of a bearing, which preload ring is adapted to facilitate its axial displacement during a bearing preload reinstatement procedure; and a fastener for fixing the position of the preload ring to the housing following a bearing preload reinstatement procedure. Also provided is a bearing preloading arrangement for use in reinstating preload in a bearing of such a main bearing unit; and a method of reinstating a preload force in a bearing of such a main bearing unit.

A drive arrangement for a wind turbine includes a main shaft, a housing, and a nacelle-mounted support structure. The main shaft of the drive arrangement for the wind turbine is completely supported in the housing. The housing of the drive arrangement for the wind turbine is at least partially resiliently mounted in the support structure.

A bearing assembly for a pitch tube of a wind power plant includes a transmission shaft, a bearing cartridge for mounting and sealing the pitch tube with respect to the transmission shaft, a fastening flange which is configured by the transmission shaft or by the pitch tube for fastening the bearing cartridge in a non-rotational manner, and an insulation element which is fastened via a first fastening element to the fastening flange and via a second fastening element to the bearing cartridge for the electrical insulation of the pitch tube with respect to the transmission shaft. With the aid of the bearing cartridge which is fastened in an electrically insulating manner by the insulation element, a mechanically and electrically operationally reliable passage of the pitch tube through the transmission of a wind power plant is made possible in an inexpensive and simple manner.

A support apparatus for a shaft system includes a first shaft, a second shaft, and a bearing arranged between the first shaft and the second shaft. The first shaft is sleeved at an outer peripheral side of the second shaft and is able to rotate relative to the second shaft by means of the bearing. The support apparatus includes: shaft end support members, at least a portion of the shaft end support members being rotatably supported in an axial direction at an outer side of a shaft end face of a first end of the second shaft; and connection assemblies. The connection assemblies in the axial direction of the shaft system are used for being connected between a first end of the first shaft and the shaft end support members.

A pitch tube for a blade pitch control system of a wind turbine includes a tube body extending from a first axial end to a second axial end, for passing supply lines through a transmission. The tube body is designed in multiple parts and made of a non-conductive material only in an axial partial region in order to electrically insulate the first axial end in relation to the second axial end and/or in order to electrically insulate the tube body in relation to the transmission.

A fatigue-resistant load-bearing steel for a wind turbine main shaft, and a manufacturing method and a use thereof are provided. The manufacturing method includes: step S1, smelting: smelting a raw steel into a molten iron, followed by impurity removal and deoxidation, and adjusting contents of respective components to obtain a casting molten steel; step S2, continuous casting: crystallizing the casting molten steel with an electric pulse, followed by solidification to obtain a continuous casting billet; step S3, rolling: subjecting the continuous casting billet to rough rolling and finish rolling sequentially to obtain a finish-rolled billet; and step S4, post-rolling treatment: slowly cooling and then air-cooling the finish-rolled billet to obtain the fatigue-resistant load-bearing steel.

A spherical roller bearing for supporting a wind turbine main shaft includes an outer ring, an inner ring having a diameter of at least 499 mm, two sets of spherical rollers which roll along raceways formed on the outer and inner rings, and first and second cages each configured to retain a separate one of the sets of spherical rollers. Each one of the first and second cages includes a first cage ring extending in a circumferential direction of the spherical roller bearing, a second cage ring spaced axially from the first cage ring and connected to the first cage ring by a plurality of cage bars so as to form closed pockets. Each pocket receives a separate one of the spherical rollers of one of the two sets of spherical rollers.

A spherical roller bearing includes an inner ring, an outer ring, spherical rollers and a cage. The cage has an axially inner ring and an axially outer ring connected by a plurality of cage bars to form pockets to hold the rollers. Each cage bar has an axially extending curvature in the circumferential direction that is at least partially concave, and an axial distance between an apex of the curvature and an axial inner pocket side face is not equal to and preferably larger than a distance between the apex of the curvature and an axial outer pocket side face.

A transmission assembly for coupling a forerunning gearbox stage to a generator of a wind turbine is provided, the transmission assembly including an intermediate speed shaft supported by an intermediate speed shaft bearing arrangement and including an intermediate speed shaft gear, a high-speed shaft supported by a high-speed shaft bearing arrangement and including a high-speed shaft gear, and a gear mesh formed by an engagement of the intermediate speed shaft gear and the high-speed shaft gear, wherein the gear mesh is configured to transfer a torque between the intermediate speed shaft and the high-speed shaft.

A drive train designed for a requirement profile includes a transmission to transmit and convert torque from a rotor shaft of a rotor. The transmission includes an Input transmission component which is unmounted on a rotor side for introducing the torque into the transmission and which partially protrudes on the rotor side out of a transmission housing and/or a ring gear of the transmission. The drive train further includes a coupling unit which is separate from the rotor shaft, from the rotor bearing arrangement and from the transmission, for permitting a torque-transmitting and rotationally rigid coupling of the rotor shaft to the input transmission component within the coupling unit. The coupling unit includes a bearing to mount the unmounted input transmission component within the coupling unit, with the input transmission component being mounted on the rotor side exclusively only by the bearing within the coupling unit.