Monitoring the Oil of Wind-Turbine Gearboxes: Main Degradation Indicators and Detection Methods

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 an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Machines (Basel) 2018-06, Vol.6 (2), p.25
Main Authors: Coronado, Diego, Wenske, Jan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Additives
Condition monitoring
Degradation
Failure
Fourier transforms
Gearboxes
Indicators
International conferences
Lubricants & lubrication
Maintenance management
Multivariate analysis
oil analysis
oil condition monitoring
oil degradation
oil sampling
oil sensors
Rangefinding
Sensors
Spectrum analysis
Turbines
Wind power
Wind turbines
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Summary: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.
ISSN:2075-1702
2075-1702
DOI:10.3390/machines6020025