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21st European Conference on Fracture, ECF21, 20-24 June 2016, Catania, Italy
21st European Conference on Fracture, ECF21, 20-24 June 2016, Catania, Italy
Fatigue and fracture mechanical behaviour of a wind turbine rotor
Fatigue and fracture mechanical behaviour of a wind turbine rotor
XV Portuguese Conference shaft made of cast
on Fracture, PCF iron
2016, and
10-12forgedFebruary steel2016, Paço de Arcos, Portugal
shaft made of cast iron and forged steel
Thermo-mechanical
Jenni Herrmannaa*, modelingThes Rauertaa,of a
Peter high
Dalhoff
Jenni Herrmann *, Thes Rauert , Peter Dalhoff and Manuela Sanderb pressure
a
a
and Manuela turbine Sander blade
b
of an
a
airplane gas turbine
Institute of Renewable Energy and Energy-efficient Systems, Hamburg
a engine
Institute of Renewable Energy and Energy-efficient Systems, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Berliner Tor 21, 20099 Hamburg,
University of Applied Sciences, Berliner Tor 21, 20099 Hamburg,
Germany
b
Institute of Structural Mechanics, University of Germany
Rostock, Albert-Einstein-Str. 2, 18059 Rostock, Germany
a of Rostock, Albert-Einstein-Str.
b c Rostock, Germany
b
P. Brandão , V. Infante , A.M. Deus *
Institute of Structural Mechanics, University 2, 18059

a
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1, 1049-001 Lisboa,
Abstract Portugal
b
Abstract IDMEC, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1, 1049-001 Lisboa,
Portugal
To reduce
c uncertainties associated with the fatigue behaviour of the highly safety relevant wind turbine rotor shaft and also to
CeFEMA, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1, 1049-001 Lisboa,
To reduce uncertainties associated with the fatigue behaviour
review today’s design practice the fatigue life time is tested on a Portugal of the
full highly
scale safety
test rig. relevant
Further wind turbine
investigations rotor shaft
of weight savingand also to
potentials
review
contribute today’s design practice
to suggestions theusage
for the fatigueoflife timematerials.
other is tested on a full scale
Therefore, test rig. Furthercomparison
a comprehensive investigations of weight
regarding thesaving
fatiguepotentials
and the
contribute to suggestions
fracture mechanical for the
behaviour ofusage of other
the rotor shaft materials. Therefore,
made of different a comprehensive
materials is done. Forcomparison
the loadingregarding
situationthe
it isfatigue and the
distinguished
fracture
between
Abstract mechanical
test conditions behaviour of the rotor
and a realistic shaft made
cumulative of different
frequency materials
distribution is done.
of loads For the
in a wind loading situation it is distinguished
turbine.
between test conditions and a realistic cumulative frequency distribution of loads in a wind turbine.
© During
2016 Thetheir operation,
Authors. modern
Published aircraft B.V.
by Elsevier engine components are subjected to increasingly demanding operating conditions,
© 2016, PROSTR (Procedia Structural Integrity) Hosting by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
© especially
2016 The under
Peer-review the high
Authors. pressure
Publishedturbine
responsibility by
of (HPT)
Elsevier
the blades.
B.V.
Scientific Such conditions
Committee of ECF21. cause these parts to undergo different types of time-dependent
Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of PCF 2016.
degradation,
Peer-review oneresponsibility
under of which is creep.
of theAScientific
model using the finite
Committee ofelement
ECF21.method (FEM) was developed, in order to be able to predict
the creep
Keywords: behaviour
rotor shaft; windofturbine
HPTcomponent
blades. Flight data
test; cast iron;records (FDR)
forged steel; for test
fatigue a specific aircraft,
rig; remaining life provided by a commercial aviation
company,
Keywords: were
rotor shaft;used
windtoturbine
obtain thermal test;
component and cast
mechanical
iron; forgeddata forfatigue
steel; threetest
different flight life
rig; remaining cycles. In order to create the 3D model
needed for the FEM analysis, a HPT blade scrap was scanned, and its chemical composition and material properties were
obtained. The data that was gathered was fed into the FEM model and different simulations were run, first with a simplified 3D
1. Introduction
1. rectangular
Introduction block shape, in order to better establish the model, and then with the real 3D mesh obtained from the blade scrap. The
overall expected behaviour in terms of displacement was observed, in particular at the trailing edge of the blade. Therefore such a
Because
model can of
be various
useful inwind andofenvironmental
the goal predicting turbine conditions,
blade life,wind
giventurbines havedata.
a set of FDR to withstand enormous loads over a life
Because
of 20 years.ofConsequently,
various wind and environmental
in terms of growthconditions, wind turbines
in wind turbine size, nothave
just to
thewithstand
height ofenormous
the system loads
andover
the arotor
life
of ©202016
diameteryears.
TheConsequently,
increase, all drive
Authors. in terms
train
Published of growth
components
by Elsevier B.V. in to
have wind turbine
be scaled upsize, not just
regarding thethe
newheight of theFor
conditions. system and the
economic rotor
reasons
diameter
it should increase,
Peer-review
be underall
figured drive
out, train of
responsibility
if there components
arethe Scientifichave
possibilities fortooptimization
be scaled
Committee up2016.
of PCF regarding
with thetonew
respect conditions.
component For economic
weight. reasons
If the weight of a
it should
drive trainbecomponent
figured out,decreases,
if there are
thepossibilities
material usage for optimization with
of the structure respect
below to component
could weight.
also be reduced andIfhence
the weight of a
the costs.
Keywords:
drive High Pressuredecreases,
train component Turbine Blade;
theCreep; Finiteusage
material ElementofMethod; 3D Model;
the structure Simulation.
below could also be reduced and hence the costs.

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +49-40-42875-8661.

* E-mail
Corresponding
address:author. Tel.: +49-40-42875-8661.
jenni.herrmann@haw-hamburg.de
E-mail address: jenni.herrmann@haw-hamburg.de
2452-3216 © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
Peer-review underThe
2452-3216 © 2016 responsibility of theby
Authors. Published Scientific Committee of ECF21.
Elsevier B.V.
Peer-review underauthor.
* Corresponding responsibility
Tel.: +351of218419991.
the Scientific Committee of ECF21.
E-mail address: amd@tecnico.ulisboa.pt

2452-3216 © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of PCF 2016.
2452-3216 © 2016, PROSTR (Procedia Structural Integrity) Hosting by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Peer review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of PCF 2016.
10.1016/j.prostr.2016.06.369
2952 Jenni Herrmann et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 2 (2016) 2951–2958
2 Jenni Herrmann et al./ Structural Integrity Procedia 00 (2016) 000–000

Recently full scale test benches were developed to investigate the overall performance of wind turbines less to
analyse the fatigue behaviour of single components. But, especially for the constructive design of the main components
the fatigue strength over the whole wind turbine service life is decisive. Thus, a gap in systematic testing is evident in
between common material investigations and entire turbine system tests. Separate main component test rigs for fatigue
strength and behaviour only exist for a few components, like rotor blades and gear boxes.
On this account a research project called BeBen XXL – accelerated fatigue testing of wind turbine large components
using the example of the main shaft was started. The aim of this joint project, with the cooperation partners Suzlon
Energy Ltd., Fraunhofer IWES and Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, is to reduce the material usage for rotor
shafts while not changing the turbine integrity. Therefore, six S-N fatigue tests of full size forged shafts are performed.
In addition to the investigation of weight saving potentials by reviewing today’s design practice, alternative rotor
shaft materials are of great interest. It is examined, if alternative materials to forged steel are able to withstand the
requirements of a wind turbine main component, like high reliability, simple and cost-effective manufacturing and
resistance against high payload at low self-weight.

2. Materials in wind turbines

Almost all structural components at the top of a wind turbine (AWEA (2011)), like main frames, rotor hubs, blade
root and tower top adapters, torque supports, planet carriers of the gearbox, brake disks as well as rotor axles and
stator elements in direct-drive turbines are made of normal strength spheroidal graphite cast iron. The bearing and
gearbox housing are usually made of lamellar graphite cast iron. Nowadays, higher strength ductile iron is only used
for the planet carrier and rarely for the rotor hub. One of the exceptions among the main components inside the nacelle
is the rotor shaft, which is made of normal strength ductile iron only in rare cases. Predominantly, rotor shafts are
manufactured out of forged steel. Next to forged steel, for the following comparison different cast iron variants are
considered for the rotor shaft (see Table 1).

Table 1. Considered materials for possible rotor shaft application

Material Tensile strength Rm Application in a wind turbine
(t < 30 mm)
42CrMo4s 1100 MPa Rotor shaft mostly made of forged steel.
EN GJS-400-18-LT 400 MPa Normal strength ductile iron often used for wind turbine components (Shirani et al. (2011)).
EN GJS-600-3, 600 MPa, 700 MPa Higher strength ductile iron, rarely used in wind turbines, so far almost exclusive for the
EN GJS-700-2 planet carrier (Pollicino (2006)).
EN GJS-800-8, 800 MPa, 1000 MPa Austempered ductile iron, no application for wind turbine main components so far (Her-
EN GJS-1000-5 furth (2003)).
410 MPa* Si-solid solution strengthened ductile iron especially developed for wind turbine application
GJSF-SiNi30-5 (Mikoleizik et al. (2014)).
*(60 < t < 200 mm)

3. Fatigue behavior of wind turbine rotor shafts made different materials

To examine the efficiency of materials for main wind turbine parts, especially for the rotor shaft, the fatigue strength
plays a crucial role. In this section the rotor shaft on a full scale fatigue test rig is investigated.

3.1. Rotor shaft fatigue testing

Initially, the test rig, which is developed and built in the scope of this research project, is considered more closely.
Thereby the setup, the testing strategy and the validation of the simulation model is presented. In addition, the calcu-
lative assumption of the fatigue life of the rotor shaft, made of different materials, is described. In this fatigue life
estimation the testing conditions with a constant load amplitude and also the realistic conditions in a wind turbine are
considered. During the turbine operation the rotor shaft suffers a circumferential bending stress, besides the torsional
 Jenni Herrmann et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 2 (2016) 2951–2958 2953
Jenni Herrmann et al./ Structural Integrity Procedia 00 (2016) 000–000 3

stress. The damage relevant operational load of the rotor shaft is dominated by the cyclic bending load, which results
from a correlation of the stochastically distributed wind loads and the gravitational load of the rotor (see Fig. 1).

a) c) 140
120

stress amplitude σa [MPa]

100
80
60

b) 2000 40
periodical load out of
20 rotor weight
MB [kNm]

0
0
0 200 400 600
1E+00 1E+02 1E+04 1E+06
time [sec]
-2000 load cycles (divided by 144) N/144 [-]

Fig. 1. Rotor shaft – (a) assembly situation , (b) loading time series of the bending moment at the main bearing, (c) cumulative frequency dis-
tribution of bending stresses

Fig. 2 presents the full scale fatigue test rig. The rotor shaft of a 2.1 MW-turbine that is mounted on the test rig,
has a weight of 8 tonnes, a length of around 2.6 m and a diameter of more than 0.7 m at the main bearing seat
(Fig. 2 c)). On the left hand side, the hydraulic system is shown, which induces the load by a cable pulley at the end
of a cast load lever. The rotor shaft is connected to the load lever by a flange joint and supported by a locating/floating
bearing arrangement. For the locating bearing, close to the notch root of the shaft (hotspot), the real main bearing of
the turbine drive train is used. In the considered wind turbine the rear part of the shaft is normally connected to the
gearbox, which is supported and connected to the main frame by a torque support. Because the gearbox is not a part
of the test rig, the degree of freedom of tilting of this connection is reproduced at the test rig. To minimize constraining
forces a cardan joint connects the rear part with the engine, which rotates the shaft.

a)
c)
Wind turbine drive train
(Hau (2008))
Cable pulley Rotor shaft
Hydraulic system Main bearing
Load lever

b)

Fig. 2. Rotor shaft fatigue test rig – (a), (b) pictures of the assembly (Fraunhofer (2016)), (c) CAD model (Kyling (2014))

Six single S-N fatigue tests will be conducted on the test rig. For the block load tests a combination of the methods
of discrete load steps and fixed horizon is pursued, to get an information about the inclination of the S-N curve in the
2954 Jenni Herrmann et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 2 (2016) 2951–2958
4 Jenni Herrmann et al./ Structural Integrity Procedia 00 (2016) 000–000

finite life regime and about the variance of its position. At the test rig, only the bending moment will be applied to the
shaft. All six specimen have the same rotor shaft design.
Due to the increased loading and rotational speed, a synthetically determined testing time for each load horizon
between about 45 h and 140 h is predicted (with a probability of failure of 50 %). The first test run stops when noticing
a drop in the measured strain and when detecting a fist initial crack. Afterwards a couple of load cycles will be passed
through to get some information about the crack propagation, but thereby unstable crack growth necessarily should
be avoided.

3.2. FE-Model

Fig. 3 shows the finite element model of the experimental setup. On the right side the boundary conditions are
listed. Furthermore, it is referred to the hotspot at the shaft shoulder, which is closely located to the main bearing.
Hotspot A Fixed Support

B Cylindrical Support
D, E C B
C Earth Gravity
A
D Force

E Point Mass

Fig. 3. FE-model of the test rig

The cyclic strain of the strain gauges at the shaft close to the notch of the first specimen is pictured in Fig. 4 (grey
line). For a validation the simulation results are plotted as a black dotted curve. The maximum deviation between the
measured strain amplitude and the FE-results is smaller than the largest deviation of the measured results of the 20
strain gauges among each other.
1.20 1.2 1.2
strain gauge results
0.80 FE results 0.8 0.8
strain ε [mm/m]

strain ε [mm/m]
strain ε [mm/m]

0.40 0.4 0.4

0.00 0 0
-0.40 0 90 180 270 360 -0.4 0 90 180 270 360 -0.4 0 90 180 270 360
-0.80 -0.8 -0.8
-1.20 -1.2 -1.2
normalized angle [°] normalized angle [°] normalized angle [°]

Fig. 4. Comparison of strain gauge results and simulated data at different load levels

3.3. Fatigue life estimation

For a fatigue strength determination of different materials an imperfection-free rotor shaft is assumed. The fatigue
life values in Table 2 result from a constant amplitude loading with a bending moment of 2.2 MNm and a reduced
notch radius for the test. The fatigue life is determined in accordance with the calculation method for synthetic com-
ponent S-N curves in Gudehus (2007). The hotspot stress amplitude is determined by an FE-simulation of the rotor
shaft in the experimental setup. The press-fit between the shaft and the main bearing close to the notch area leads to a
tension stress in the notch. This influence of the R-ratio is strongly affected by the tolerances of the structures. On this
account the R-ratio of the stress range slightly deviates from -1. Standard values are used for the material properties
at the considered structural thickness.
 Jenni Herrmann et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 2 (2016) 2951–2958 2955
Jenni Herrmann et al./ Structural Integrity Procedia 00 (2016) 000–000 5

Table 2. Calculated fatigue life of a bending loaded rotor shaft with R=-0.94
Material GJS-1000-5 GJS-800-10 GJS-700-2 GJS-600-3 42CrMo4 GJSF-SiNi30-5 GJS-400-18-LT
Load cycles 1.88E+07 2.48E+06 1.32E+06 5.76E+05 3.72E+05 1.63E+05 1.08E+05
Days 217.6 28.7 15.3 6.7 4.3 1.9 1.3

The synthetic component S-N curves for the considered materials are presented in Fig. 5. It is shown that at room
temperature austempered ductile iron (EN-GJS-800-10 and EN-GJS-1000-5) has the highest fatigue strength. Whether
the higher-strength cast iron materials are better suited for this component than forged steel depends on the cumulative
frequency distribution. Only in the low-cycle fatigue regime forged steel is more resistant to fatigue loading, because
of higher static properties. The normal-strength cast shaft (EN-GJS-400-18-LT) shows the lowest fatigue strength
closely followed by GJSF-SiNi30-5.
The total damage sum of a rotor shaft under a realistic wind turbine cumulative frequency distribution of the loads
of 20 years of service life (Fig. 1 c)) is calculated corresponding to the linear damage accumulation in accordance
with the Palmgren-Miner rule modified by Haibach and is shown in Fig. 6. Because the maximum stresses are almost
completely below the endurance limit, the resulting damages of the austempered and higher strength ductile iron are
far lower than the damage of the forged shaft.
1200 42CrMo4 0.01
GJS-1000-5
stress amplitude σa [MPa]

1000
0.008

0.031
GJS-800-10

0.068

0.0043
800 GJS-700-2
0.006

0.0028
GJS-600-3
600 GJSF-SiNi30-5

0.000024
0.00059
0.004

0.00018
GJS-400-18-LT
400 0.002
200 0
0
1.E+01 1.E+03 1.E+05 1.E+07
load cycles N [-]

Fig. 5. Synthetic component S-N curves according to Gudehus (2007) Fig. 6. Damage sum from realistic variable wind turbine bending
moment according to Fig. 1 c)

4. Fracture mechanical assessment of different materials for the rotor shaft

Additionally to the strength and fatigue strength assessment, especially for the higher strength cast iron variants,
fracture mechanical examinations are necessary. Fracture mechanical concepts can be used to evaluate a higher ten-
dency to crack initiation and propagation to minimize the risk of total failure. In accordance to the wind turbine design
guideline from Germanischer Lloyd (2010) for components made of brittle materials an additional fracture mechanical
evidence of safety is required. If the fracture elongation exhibits a value less than 12.5 %, the material cannot be used
for a structure that is involved in the flow of forces, like the rotor hub, the gearbox, the bearing housing or the main
frame, without extensive assessments.
These analytical investigations are based on Forman/Mettu-parameters (Fig. 7) according to Henkel (2008) and
Sander (2008). In conformity with ASTM E 647 (2013), if the stress ratio has a negative algebraic sign, only the
maximum stress intensity value is considered for the stress intensity range.
First, different factors are considered, which can influence the crack growth of a potential crack. In Fig. 8 the
influence on crack growth is shown by varying the magnitude of these parameters. The direction of each influencing
parameter is similarly correct for cast and forged shafts. However, the magnitude of the effect is different. Obviously
the initial crack length has a strong influence on the remaining life. The lowest crack propagation rate is calculated in
the 42CrMo4 shaft, followed by growth rate in the GJS-800-10 shaft. At an initial crack depth of 4 mm, following the
propagation rate in these two materials, the next lowest rate is estimated in GJS-1000-5. However, if the potential
2956 Jenni Herrmann et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 2 (2016) 2951–2958
6 Jenni Herrmann et al./ Structural Integrity Procedia 00 (2016) 000–000

initial crack has a depth of 2 mm the propagation is less fast in the GJS-600-3 and the GJSF-SiNI30-5 rotor shaft. But
at approximately 1E+05 load cycles the propagation rate increases, thus the crack depth exceeds the depth in the GJS-
1000-5 shaft. From the beginning the crack in a shaft made of GJS-400-18-LT grows the fastest.
crack propagation rate da/dN

2c
1E-03

crack depth a
a
- +
a/c
42CrMo4 + -
1E-05 GJS-400-18-LT a0
GJS-600-3 + -
GJS-800-10 α
GJSF-SiNi30-5

+
GJS-1000-5

a0
1E-07

-
4 40
stress intensity range ΔK [MPam0.5] load cycles N

Fig. 7. Forman/Mettu curves of different materials Fig. 8. Influence of different parameters on crack growth – with a0
as the initial crack depth, α as the stress concentration factor and R
as the stress ratio

In this consideration a semi-elliptical crack in the shaft hotspot is assumed. Though, in sharp notched or hardened
rotating bending loaded shafts, a circumferential crack is also possible. In the present case this assumption is very
unlikely, but still has to be investigated. A closer look on a selection of the considered materials shows a much lower
number of load cycles at the same initial crack depth than for a semi-elliptical crack geometry (see Fig. 9). Despite
equal external stress and equal initial crack depth, the deciding reason for the higher stress intensity factor for a cir-
cumferential crack, is the higher value of the geometry function, due to the higher cross section reduction. However,
a material specific difference is not apparent.
25
GJS-400-18-LT (semi-ellip.)
GJSF-SiNi30-5 (semi-ellip.) GJS-1000-5 99 % 1%
20
crack depth a [mm]

GJS-600-3 (semi-ellip.) GJS-800-10 89 % 11 %

GJS-400-18-LT (circum.)
15 GJS-600-3 76 % 24 %
GJSF-SiNi30-5 (circum.)
GJS-600-3 (circum.)
10 GJSF-… 45 % 55 %
GJS-400-… 44 % 56 %
5
42CrMo4 27 % 73 %
0
1.E+03 1.E+04 1.E+05 1E+04 1E+06 1E+08
load cycles N [-] fatigue life remaining life

Fig. 9. Assumption of semi-elliptical and circumferential crack Fig. 10. Total life of a rotor shaft made of different materials

4.1. Remaining life estimation at one-stage loading on the test rig

Subsequently the remaining life of the rotor shaft made of the considered materials is examined for the test environ-
ment at different constant load amplitude (Fig. 11). Therefore, two different load stages are simulated. In the following
investigation a 2 mm initial crack depth is assumed.
The crack in the forged shaft has the lowest propagation rate independent of the loading level. The crack growth in
cast shafts is considered more differentiated. At high load levels the austempered ductile iron is the most resistant
material, in contrast to GJS-400-18-LT, where sudden, unstable crack growth occurs (see Fig. 11 c)). In the beginning,
 Jenni Herrmann et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 2 (2016) 2951–2958 2957
Jenni Herrmann et al./ Structural Integrity Procedia 00 (2016) 000–000 7

at a lower load level, it is just the opposite. The fatigue crack growth in the normal strength ductile iron is slower than
in GJS-800-10 and in GJS-1000-5 (Fig. 11 a)). At this loading, till approximately 4E+05 load cycles, also the brittle
higher strength cast iron shaft (GJS-600-3) is more insensitive to fatigue cracking than the GJS-1000-5-shaft. Espe-
cially GJSF-SINI30-5 is suitable at external stresses beneath the endurance limit. But, with the increasing number of
load cycles, the crack propagation rate in normal and higher strength ductile iron shafts rises and unstable crack growth
starts at a lower cycle numbers than in the GJS-800-10 shaft.
Fig. 10 shows the total life as a sum of fatigue life till crack initiation and remaining life (at initial thumbnail crack
with a depth of 2 mm) till component failure, when the hotspot stress amplitude is 240 MPa. Here again the high
discrepancy of the resistance with regard to fatigue and to fatigue crack growth is obvious.
180 a) 30 b) 30
160 42CrMo4 160 MPa 300 MPa
GJS-400-18-LT 25 25
crack depth a [mm]

140
120 GJSF-SiNi30-5 20 20
100 GJS-600-3
GJS-800-10 15 15
80
60 GJS-1000-5 10 10
40
5 5
20
0 0 0
1.E+00 1.E+02 1.E+04 1.E+06 1E+00 4E+05 0E+00 5E+04 1E+05
load cycles N [-]

Fig. 11. Crack propagation at cyclic-single-stage stress amplitude - a) 160 MPa, b) 300 MPa

4.2. Fracture mechanical investigation at real variable loading in a wind turbine

Furthermore, besides the assessment of remaining life after a fatigue crack initiation, the potential risk of an unde-
tected imperfection in the rotor shaft has to be investigated. On this account, initially a conservative assumption for
surface defects with different depths in the hotspot region of the rotor shaft from the beginning of the operation are
done. The crack length increases as a function of load cycles at a realistic frequency distribution of the wind turbine
bending moment as pictured in Fig. 12. The maximum value of the cumulative frequency distribution of stresses at
the real notch geometry of the considered shaft is below the endurance limit (approximately 70 %). Furthermore, the
high proportion of cycles with far smaller amplitudes leads to a much lower crack propagation rate in the wind turbine
than at the test rig. For the crack growth calculation the cumulative frequency distribution of stress of the whole wind
turbine life is divided by the cycle number of the least occurring class, sorted in descending order and then successively
repeated till the whole cycles of lifetime (6E+08 cycles correspond to 20 years of service life) are passed through.

stress spectrum 42CrMo4 GJS-1000-5 160

stress amplitude σ [MPa]

GJS-800-10 GJS-600-3 GJSF-SiNi30-5

crack depth a [mm]

100 GJS-400-18-LT
110

50
60
a0 = 20 mm
0 10
1E+00 1E+01 1E+02 1E+03 1E+04 1E+05 1E+06 1E+07 1E+08 1E+09
load cycles N [-]

Fig. 12. Crack growth at real variable loading out of Fig. 1 c)

2958 Jenni Herrmann et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 2 (2016) 2951–2958
8 Jenni Herrmann et al./ Structural Integrity Procedia 00 (2016) 000–000

Semi-elliptical surface cracks up to an initial depth of 4 mm are not growing more than 1 mm in these 20 years in
any of the considered materials. Except for the GJS-1000-5-shaft, after 2E+08 cycles (around 6.7 years) an initial
crack in the shaft hotspot with a depth of 10 mm is propagating less than 5 mm. And only in austempered ductile iron
unstable crack growth occurs before the end of the lifetime is reached, when a 10 mm crack is located in the hotspot
area since first day of operation. If the initial crack in the notch region has a depth of 20 mm, in several shafts unstable
crack growth starts before completion of service life (see Fig. 12). After 1E+07 load cycles (one third of a year) no
crack has grown more than 5 mm. But after 2.2E+07 load cycles (less than three quarters of a year), first of all the
GJS-1000-5-rotor shaft fails, thereon the GJS-800-10-shaft (nearly 2.6E+07 load cycles), followed by the shaft made
of GJS-400-18-LT (nearly 2.7E+07 load cycles) and subsequently the GJS-600-3-shaft (at 2E+08 cycles, around 7
years). In the shafts made of GJSF-SiNi30-5 and of forged steel there is no unstable crack growth till the end of turbine
life. Once again, it appears that considering the realistic stress level with regard to fatigue and remaining life in the
material selection process is highly important.
In this manner maintenance intervals can be deduced easily for shafts made of different materials. It should be
noted, however, that these statements apply for climatically uncritical conditions. For negative temperatures a different
order may arise.

5. Conclusion and outlook

In conclusion the paper contains a comprehensive comparison of the rotor shafts made of different materials under
test conditions and under realistic loads in a wind turbine. It is demonstrated, why it is important to take account of
other materials for the rotor shaft of a wind turbine in regard to the fatigue and the fracture mechanical behaviour.
While rotor shafts made of cast iron have better qualities concerning fatigue at low loading, forged steel is superior at
high load levels. Fracture mechanical investigations show a higher resistance of the forged shaft against fatigue crack
propagation. Though, at stresses below the endurance limit cast iron is also persevering.
In order to realistically evaluate the risk of undetected cracks or premature initiated cracks in the rotor shaft while
turbine operation, the crack propagation of different potential imperfections will be considered more closely.

Acknowledgements

The research project BeBen XXL is done in collaboration with Fraunhofer IWES and Suzlon Energy. It is funded
by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi).

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