OILS & LUBRICATION
FEATURE SPONSOR
CONDITION BASED LUBRICATION REDUCES ASSET MANAGEMENT COSTS
Given the operating conditions a wind turbine faces over a typical 20-year service life, maintenance problems aren’t a question of ‘if’, but ‘when’
When those inevitable maintenance issues arise, windfarms are faced with the prospect of expensive crane mobilisation, lost energy production and the soaring costs of getting teams of maintenance technicians to site. The need to reduce overall operating costs is an important factor in any purchasing decision, especially now in the light of the planned withdrawal of the Renewables Obligation for onshore wind energy.
MORE COMPREHENSIVE ASSET MANAGEMENT PACKAGES
As a result, operators are showing increasing interest in more comprehensive asset management packages – implementing combined remote condition monitoring and automatic lubrication systems, for example, which can have a positive impact on operating life and maintenance cost reduction. Specifying such a condition based lubrication system, either on a new turbine or as a retrofit, is becoming an attractive option for operators seeking to reduce running costs.
LUBRICATION SYSTEMS
While sophisticated lubrication systems for wind turbines have typically been installed on larger turbines of 1.5MW and above, with manual lubrication costs accounting for as much as 10
per cent of the total servicing bill, they are now increasingly likely to be found on smaller turbines. Condition based lubrication enables remotely monitored, automatic lubrication of a wind turbine’s hard-to-access bearing systems, based on real time bearing condition monitoring, reducing the frequency of on-site service engineer visits and potentially wasteful periodic, manual lubrication.
DIFFERING AUTOMATED LUBRICATION DEVICES
The basic type of automated lubrication device is a single point gas-driven or electro-mechanical lubricator. However, while this offers a simple, easy-to-change solution, its life is normally limited to around 12 months. A more effective option is an Automated Lubrication system, combining a refillable reservoir, pump and metering devices, feeding multiple lubrication points through a network of pipes. Lubricants are applied in pre- determined volumes and time intervals by each valve, or may be progressively applied to all lubrication points while the main pump is running. Only occasional manual intervention is needed to recharge lubricant reservoirs and simple system maintenance as part of a normal routine.
REMOTELY ACCESSIBLE CONDITION MONITORING SYSTEM
When interfaced with a remotely accessible condition monitoring system, which uses vibration and temperature sensors mounted on a turbine’s main shaft bearings, drive train gearbox and generator to collect, analyse and compile a range of operating data in real time, condition based lubrication enables automatic applications of lubricant as and when they are necessary - and independently of any existing time-based cycle. A remotely located condition monitoring specialist can use the vibration/temperature data analyses to set appropriate alarm settings that trigger additional or less frequent lubrication cycles and volumes, as necessary.
LARGE WIND TURBINE SYSTEMS
A large wind turbine will typically have up to five lubrication systems, covering pitch bearings and gears, yaw bearings and gears, main bearings, gearboxes and generators. Each of these systems will be subject to different stresses and will therefore have different lubrication requirements; for example, main bearings are subject to fluctuating thrust loads and generator bearings to high and low speed axial loads.
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www.windenergynetwork.co.uk
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