SPONSORS OF GEARBOX V DD
GEARBOX V DIRECT DRIVE IT IS LARGELY ABOUT MONEY
The choice between using gearboxes or direct drive systems to convert the blade rotation of wind turbines into electricity comes down largely to money.
Doesn’t it always?
THE BASICS
Choose a gearbox and get proven technology, that does the job – but suffer issues of reliability, turbine downtime and too many technician visits. Pick a direct drive system and you’ve eliminated the technically most complicated and vulnerable part of the turbine - but paid the penalty for higher capital cost in the drive train, generator and nacelle.
RETURN ON INVESTMENT Other than health and safety, it’s about how much money the turbine generates over its life, minus the installed capital cost and the lifetime operations and maintenance – and the stakes rise massively offshore. So what horse do you back?
LIQUID FRICTION REDUCTION At Lofrix they know they can improve the gamble whatever the choice, and their on- going work with Huddersfield University and some major wind turbine operators in the UK supports that. Lofrix liquid friction
reduction products boast millions of hours of commercial application and remarkable results across a wide range of industrial sectors.
Already in 10% of the UK’s large wind turbines, Lofrix reduces turbine failures by lowering friction on bearing and gear interfaces. Dramatically reducing component wear, hence lubricant particulate contamination, it maintains oil quality, and substantially lessens unscheduled maintenance - positively impacting on the life of gearboxes, hydraulic systems, and bearings.
JURY’S OUT
The jury is out on the gearbox versus direct drive case, but treating either system with Lofrix will considerably lengthen operating life and increase returns.
Lofrix
www.lofrix.com
HEALTHY FRICTION DIRECT DRIVE VS GEARBOX WIND TURBINES
The competition between direct drive and gear box wind turbine technology only seeks to strengthen both technologies, ensuring improved reliability, affordability, easier and less frequent maintenance.
RECENT COMPARISONS
Gearbox wind turbines have gone through a number of significant improvements in recent years reducing the frequency of the gearbox failures and adding to their reputation of being reliable. However they have come under strong competition from newer direct drive machines that are; simpler and more efficient but questionably more expensive, heavier and whose longevity is yet to be proven.
HISTORY
Historically, most conventional wind turbines have a gearbox located centrally in the drive train, that takes the low rotation speed shaft - coupled to the wind driven rotor - and increases the rotational speed through the gearbox to a high speed shaft sometimes as much as a hundred times to reach the required grid frequency, helping to reduce the size of the generator needed in the process.
INDUSTRY RESPONSE
As a response to growing concerns over the operation and maintenance costs of larger wind turbines, direct drive wind turbines have been developed where the gearbox has been removed and the rotor shaft is fed directly to a synchronous generator.
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www.windenergynetwork.co.uk
This uses less moving parts, potentially creating an even more reliable machine, reducing operating and maintenance costs over the long term and helping make electricity from wind more competitive.
Many newer direct drive variants use permanent magnets which are made out of rare earth materials such as Neodymium, whose future supply is unknown and in recent years have seen sharp increases in price.
DEVELOPMENTS
The developments in direct drive technology are forcing traditional gearbox designs to become cheaper, lighter and more efficient. This healthy friction is set to ensure that both wind turbine technologies help drive up efficiency and reliability whilst driving down operating costs within the industry.
ICE Renewables sells a range of tried and tested medium scale gearbox wind turbines and will shortly be introducing a new 100kW direct drive machine to the market.
Julian Martin ICE Renewables
www.icerenewables.com
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