"Gearbox failures account for the largest amount of downtime, maintenance, and loss of power production. These costly failures can total 15-20% of the price of the turbine…"
- Renewable Energy World
Solve the Biggest Problem First
The TI-data system and the expert Knowledge Base specializes and dedicates to selected components of highest criticality. The first examples would be the bearings and the gearbox.
An extensive National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) study indicates that wind turbine gearboxes do not achieve their design life goals of twenty years. Wind turbines typically require total gearbox replacements every 5-7 years. The higher-than-expected failure significantly adds to the cost of wind energy.
The majority of gearbox failures originate at the bearing level. Common gear failures include wear from poor lubricant abrasion, surface fatigue initiated by contaminant debris and bearing failures, and poor load distribution.
Micropitting is prominent in the wind industry and is frequently a primary failure mode responsible for initiating other failure modes such as macropitting, scuffing, bending fatigue, and polishing. With early detection, micro/macro pitting can be halted or reversed eliminating potential failures.
High temperatures degrades or destroys the lubricant. Overheating results in the loss of bearing-material hardness, which eventually causes failure.
Gearbox faults initiate and progress to failure very quickly, creating costly unplanned failures.
A Different Way
Current O&M practice by OEMs and wind turbine operators do not accurately predict any failure related to lubrication or thermal disparity. TI-data's solution begins with the goal to eliminate gearbox and bearing failures, thus offering operators the best "bang for the buck" on investing in a new O&M solution.
