LUBRICANTS
ADVANCED LUBRICATION Maximising Wind Farm Productivity
Robert Pears, Renewable Energy Business Development Manager – UK & Ireland, ExxonMobil Lubricants and Specialties, advises as to how operators can optimise offshore wind turbine performance and reduce unscheduled downtime through lubricant selection and best practice.
To optimise wind turbine performance, advanced lubrication and related services have been developed to help operators increase wind turbine availability and reduce unscheduled downtime.
Minimising unscheduled downtime is a particularly important factor for wind farms and in particular for offshore wind farms. In addition to the loss of electrical energy generation, there are high costs associated with replacement parts and labour, and chartering specialist vessels to carry out the maintenance of offshore wind turbines can exceed six-figure sums.
HIGH PERFORMANCE SYNTHETIC LUBRICANTS
By selecting advanced lubricants, and adopting a proactive approach to maintenance, wind farm operators can significantly improve the productivity of their operations, and reduce costs.
GEARBOX
One of the most critical components of a geared wind turbine is the gearbox. To maximise productivity and reduce unscheduled downtime, the gear oil must offer high levels of performance in several critical areas such as oxidative stability and water tolerance, long-term filterability and gear and bearing protection. It is critical that the gear oil has a carefully balanced formulation to provide general protection and performance.
Mobilgear SHC XMP 320, with its balanced formulation, exceeds the performance of conventional mineral- based oils by extending oil change intervals from 18 months to three years. This fully synthetic gear oil, used in over 30,000 wind turbine gearboxes worldwide, is approved by the majority of the top twelve global wind turbine manufacturers.
ENTIRE WIND TURBINE
Wind farm operators should incorporate high performance lubricants across the entire wind turbine, such as the pitch and yaw gears as well as the main, pitch and yaw bearings. Mobil SHC Grease 460WT is proving a compelling choice of synthetic grease for the lubrication of these bearings due to its excellent low and high temperature performance, structural stability even in the presence of water, excellent false brinelling and wear protection, and rust and corrosion inhibition. It allows consolidation of bearing greases into one product, minimising the risk of re-lubrication with the wrong product and without introducing unnecessary operational risks.
OIL AND EQUIPMENT CONDITION MONITORING
High performance oil selection should be supported by scheduled maintenance which includes oil analysis. Routine oil analysis, employing a test slate to evaluate in-service lubricant condition is a widely used maintenance strategy for wind turbines. Maintenance professionals can extend the lives of both the equipment and lubricant by detecting and acting on early warning signs such as oil contamination, cleanliness levels or increasing wear metals using routine oil analysis such as ExxonMobil’s Signum service.
By employing technologically advanced synthetic lubricants alongside an effective oil condition monitoring programme, all wind farm operators can reduce costs and maximise wind turbine productivity.
ExxonMobil Lubricants
www.mobilindustrial.com.
www.windenergynetwork.co.uk
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