Articles | Volume 11, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-11-1733-2026
https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-11-1733-2026
Research article
 | 
13 May 2026
Research article |  | 13 May 2026

Design and simulation of a continuously variable hydraulic power-split drivetrain for wind turbines

Pascal Seifermann, Jonathan Schaaf, Sven Störtenbecker, Alexander Dam, and Peter Dalhoff

Cited articles

Anderson, F., Dawid, R., McMillan, D., and Cava, D. G.: On the Sensitivity of Wind Turbine Failure Rate Estimates to Failure Definitions, J. Phys. Conf. Ser., 2626, 012025, https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/2626/1/012025, 2023. a
Bak, C., Zahle, F., Bitsche, R., Kim, T., Yde, A., C. Henriksen, L., Natarajan, A., and Hansen, M.: Description of the DTU 10 MW Reference Wind Turbine, DTU, technical report, 2013. a, b, c, d
Basteck, D. A. and Voith Turbo Wind GmbH & Co. KG: Elektromechanischer Hochleistungsantrieb für Windenergieanlagen der Multi-Megawatt-Klasse, Abschlussbericht des Bundesministeriums für Umwelt, Naturschutz und Reaktorsicherheit der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, https://edocs.tib.eu/files/e01fb08/58525236X.pdf (last access: 11 May 2026), 2008. a, b
Bauer, G. and Niebergall, M.: Ölhydraulik: Grundlagen, Bauelemente, Anwendungen, Springer Fachmedien, Wiesbaden, ISBN 978-3-658-27026-1, 978-3-658-27027-8, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-27027-8, 2020. a
Bottiglione, F., Mantriota, G., and Valle, M.: Power-Split Hydrostatic Transmissions for Wind Energy Systems, Energies, 11, 3369, https://doi.org/10.3390/en11123369, 2018. a, b
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Short summary
This paper investigates a novel drivetrain concept for wind turbines. The proposed approach allows for the elimination of the frequency converter that is typically required to enable variable-rotor speed. Instead, variable-speed operation is realized through a combination of hydraulic and mechanical transmission. The concept can achieve efficiency levels comparable to conventional drivetrains while avoiding the high susceptibility to faults and costs associated with frequency converters.
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