Abstract
Oil condition monitoring is a common practice in the wind industry. However, the published research about oil degradation in wind turbine gearboxes is limited. This paper aims at providing new information on the oil degradation process by analyzing wind turbine gearbox oils aged in the laboratory and in the field. Oil samples were analyzed in the laboratory and two sensors were used to determine the oil condition by means of dielectric constant and conductivity measurements. Additionally, micropitting tests were carried out for three oils with different base stocks. The results of this study show that viscosity changes of the oils from the field were not significant.Extreme pressure additives depletion and the increase of the iron content are among the most relevant degradation indicators. The oil sensors used in this study provided limited information on the oil degradation process. The accuracy of the sensors was affected by the oil type and its measurement range. The results of the micropitting tests showed that even aged oils exhibited a high micropitting resistance.
Highlights
According to WindEurope [1], wind energy has become the second largest form of power generation capacity in Europe, with a total installed power of 153.3 GW, corresponding to 17% of the European power generation capacity
This paper aims at providing new information on the oil degradation process by analyzing wind turbine gearbox oils aged in the laboratory and in the field
In view of the important role of the oil condition in determining an oil change, this paper aims to provide a better understanding of the oil degradation process in wind turbine gearboxes
Summary
According to WindEurope [1], wind energy has become the second largest form of power generation capacity in Europe, with a total installed power of 153.3 GW, corresponding to 17% of the European power generation capacity. Larger wind turbines are being installed and the reliability of the main components has been the focus of several research initiatives. In [4], a study of downtime and failure rate of the different wind turbine components was carried out. The results indicated that major replacements in gearboxes cause significant downtime. As a gearbox failure implies significant downtime, the reliability of this component is of vital importance to reduce the operation and maintenance costs (O&M) of wind turbines. Bearing failures due to white etching cracks (WEC) have been affecting wind turbines and have been the focus of several studies [5,6,7,8]
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