A single wind turbine requires 600 to 800 litres of lubricant per gearbox, which means selecting the correct product for reduced maintenance and increased lifespan is critical. With the 16th edition of the African Energy Indaba from 5 to 7 March at the Cape Town International Convention Centre focusing on renewable interview with the inaugural Solar & Wind Indaba, FUCHS LUBRICANTS SOUTH AFRICA is showcasing its RENOLIN UNISYN XT 320 to maintain wind turbines at wind farms.
This is an innovative polyalphaolefin (PAO). Whereas normal PAOs offer an oil change interval of about five years, the FUCHS product offers oil changes of around nine to ten years. With the normal lifespan of a wind turbine being about 20 years, it means that an oil change is only required twice during a wind turbine’s lifespan, translating into reduced costs and downtime.
“If changing from a competitor product to RENOLIN UNISYN XT 320, it is important to note that our product is easily compatible with esters and mineral oils, for example,” highlights Ernst Bekker, Specialist Technical Sales, Lubritech Division.
A proudly B-BBEE Level 1 company, FUCHS also manufactures RENOLIN UNISYN CLP 320 locally. This is a fully synthetic, PAO-based industrial gear oil with increased ageing stability, very good load carrying capacity, and excellent wear protection. Features include a high micropitting resistance, a good air release, and very good filtration behaviour.
Modern wind power plants must have the highest possible effectiveness to generate electricity efficiently. Optimum design of the machine elements is required to achieve this over a plant lifetime often exceeding 20 years.
Minimising friction in the entire system is critical, but avoiding wear is even more important. Once the moving components such as roller bearings or gear wheels show initial signs of wear, this is irreversible, with a dramatic impact on the service life of components.
In particular, the pitch and yaw bearings in wind power plants are subject to high requirements from a tribological point of view due to the adverse environmental conditions. Conventional greases do not provide adequate wear protection in this instance.
The use of solid lubricants has proven to be effective in isolating running surfaces and rolling elements from one another during static and mixed friction phases, thus preventing wear. Due to their high physio-mechanical pressure resistance, these solid lubricants, unlike oils and simple greases, remain between and isolate the surfaces of the components, even under high surface pressures.
“We have developed specialty lubricants for this purpose which clearly contribute to reducing the wear on equipment and thus significantly reduce your maintenance effort and expenditure, all for ideally smooth generation with no loss of energy and with optimal frictional wear protection,” adds Giles Cutter, Export Divisional Manager.
For pitch and yaw bearings, GLEITMO 585 K PLUS is a well-proven, fully synthetic special lubricant containing reactive white solid lubricants. This synergistic combination offers excellent protection against wear, even under critical operation conditions like vibration and small oscillations under high load, which are typical for pitch and yaw bearings in wind turbines. It is also ideal for gear lubrication of pitch and yaw bearings using lubrication pinions.
STABYL LX 460 SYN is a fully synthetic high-performance grease developed especially for use in wind turbines. Due to its wide operating temperature range, high mechanical stability, and outstanding load-carrying capacity, this grease is ideal for the lubrication of the main rotor bearings. Moreover, it can also be used as a multifunctional grease in the demanding lubricating areas of azimuth and pitch bearings due to its special properties.
CEPLATTYN BL WHITE is a white adhesive lubricant with reactive solid lubricants. It is used as a lubricant for machines and machine components operating under difficult conditions and subject to extreme temperature fluctuations and environmental influences. A specialised application is the lubrication of azimuth and pitch gear rings in wind turbines.
URETHYN XHD 2 is a soft lubricating grease with a synthetic hydrocarbon base oil and a very temperature-resistant polyurea thickener. A selected additive package provides excellent wear protection, even at fluctuating speeds, temperatures, it boasts outstanding performance when it comes to generator bearings
