WORKING AT HEIGHTS - Wind Energy Network

LubricaTION & Filtration featureKnowledge is profit!learn how to lower your lostproduction factorThe rotor of a wind turbine generator(WTG) will easily top 200 millionrevolutions in 20 years.Wear is enormous. Not least to thegearbox where numerous particles arereleased from the components to the oil.But if you monitor the size and numberof these particles, you can forecastserious problems, optimise operation andschedule maintenance well in advance.One option is to employ the CJC OilContamination Monitor.With the data provided by OCM 30X,you will not only get the earliest possiblewarnings of gearbox failures andcomponent-specific problems. You willalso get an in-depth understanding ofgearbox wear under different operationconditions. This will help you improveoperation, maintenance as well asrootcause analysis dramatically. In short,OCM 30X will not only protect yourinvestment. It will increase your ROI.Small particles are the worstIt is critical to monitor theoccurrence of small particles thesize of 4 to 21 microns.Their size and number revealgearbox wear under differentoperating conditions, and thusthe need for maintenance andchanges in operation. Whenparticles above the size of100 microns appear, itis often too late to takesimple preventative action.The degradation of thecomponent’s surfacesis highly advanced.However, the OCM 30X isthe market’s only devicethat offers exact monitoring ofcontamination from particles as small as4, 6, 14 and 21 microns.Does not confuse air bubblesfor particlesThe oil in a WTG gearbox is whipped full ofair. But unlike other measuring methods,OCM 30X is not air sensitive. It measuresthe light’s refraction to monitor all kinds ofparticles exactly; soft and solid, magneticas well as non-magnetic.It completely ignores air bubbles, whichmakes it the market’s most accuratemonitoring method for this purpose.Predict and prevent gearboxfailureIf you take a look at Figure 1, you will seehow OCM 30X monitors the number andsize of particles under different operationconditions. The graph is a readout from a2 MW WTG.The number of particles peak whenoperation conditions change, such asfilter replacement and cooling problems.The read-out from OCM 30X also revealsabnormal particle peaks that can’t beexplained by changes in operation. Thesepeaks should be analysed carefully toassess degradation of components andprevent breakdowns.Online analysisIn this specific case, all data was analysedusing cjconline.dk, and the customer waswarned well in advance about an impendingbreakdown. Preventive maintenance wasscheduled, and the physical inspectionconfirmed the readouts from OCM 30X andthe analysis using cjconline.dk.Components were changed in time, andthe customer prevented an extremelyexpensive breakdown.The OCM 30X monitors particlecontamination as small as 4 microns inthe air-containing oils of a WTG gearbox.You can collect all data from OCM 30Xremotely and analyse them using eithercjconline.dk or your company’s SCADAsystem.Profit from increased ROIWith remote monitoring and sampleresponse intervals as short as 20seconds, you can collect data under alloperating conditions, even when the WTGis inaccessible for physical inspection.Figure 1. Shows how OCM 30X measuresthe size and number of particles in WTGgearbox oil under different operatingconditions. The graph also shows howOCM 30X monitors abnormal particlepeaks that reveal wear problems indicatinga future breakdown.72www.windenergynetwork.co.uk