OILS & LUBRICATION
FEATURE SPONSOR
WIND TURBINES POWER UP WITH OIL
Specialty lubricants breathe extra life into wind power stations
• Changes to the design of wind turbines create additional demands on lubricants that are used in the wind power industry.
• Lubricants offer high thermal resistance and resistance to oxidation, lower change in viscosity at rising or falling temperature, lower friction coefficients, high wear protection for bearings and gears; good load- carrying capacity in bearings and gears and low residue formation.
WIND TURBINE DEMANDS
As the wind industry continues to develop into a key provider of electricity around the world, operators and manufacturers are demanding more from their machines. This continual evolution of wind power has led to larger turbines and larger wind farms, and as output increases, the importance lubricants play in the reliability of these powerful machines increases too.
LUBRICANTS ENSURE RELIABLE OPERATION
Lubricants ensure the efficient operation of these facilities and are an integral part of the system, and as a result, lubricants must be accounted for in the design and maintenance planning stages. The main task of the lubricant is to
ensure reliable operation of the machine elements in the wind turbine, which include the main gear drive, yaw system gear, main and generator bearing, pitch adjustment unit and nacelle slewing ring. The lubricant should also meet demands for service life, load carrying capacity and thermal resistance over an extended period of time.
INCREASING CHALLENGES
Meeting these demands with taller and bigger turbines is becoming increasingly challenging and today many basic synthetic oils cannot meet the new requirements created by changes in the industry. As a result, operators are turning
with increasing frequency to new, higher performance synthetic oils.
SYNTHETIC OILS These new lubricants offer…
• High thermal resistance
• Resistance to oxidation • More consistent viscosity at rising or falling temperatures
• Lower friction coefficients
• High wear protection for bearings and gears
• Good load-carrying capacity in bearings and gears
• Low residue formation • Extended service intervals resulting in more economical operations
LUBRICANT DEVELOPMENT
Developing these lubricants requires knowledge of additives – their chemistry, which additives to use, what combinations to use them in – and of base oils. The purer the molecular structure of the base oil, the better the lubricant.
Like the traditional synthetic oils that preceded them, new, high-performance synthetic oils are subject to the tests of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and must meet a number of universal standards.
TESTING AND CLASSIFICATION
For example, industrial gear oils are classified in accordance with DIN 51
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www.windenergynetwork.co.uk
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