Wind Turbine Oil System

Wind turbine oil system provides lubrication for the inner parts of the turbine, which is very important for the safety and efficiency of the unit. It is clearly understandable that condition of the oil in the system is crucial as well. To keep wind power plant systems safe and clean, manufacturers must maintain them properly and regularly. Sample analysis, regular oil changes and purification are the procedures that shouldn’t be omitted

How Does the Wind Turbine Oil System Function?

Nowadays, wind power plants use automatic turbine oil systems. The unit usually has a special internal reservoir that contains lubricating oil and spreads it through the machinery:

gear
gearbox
rotor bearings
generator bearings
brakes
blade bearings etc.

Figure 1. General Wind Turbine Lubrication Diagram

Lubricating oil should be monitored, filtered and changed in time. While wind turbine oil systems usually have internal filters, that is not enough for good maintenance. If there is not enough oil or the oil is in bad condition, it may cause serious damage.

There can be different types of oil system applications, but all of them have the same issues and challenges.

The Challenges of Turbine Oil System

Wind turbine lubrication is a big challenge. There are dozens of interconnected parts, and lubrication is essential for each single part. But what makes wind turbine lubrication so complicated is that these components are elevated up to 50 stories high!

The key to servicing wind turbines is proper lubrication of the bearings in the turbine gearbox. The lack of proper lubrication accounts for about 40% of all bearing failures. Gearbox failure is one of the most common causes of downtime and huge repair costs.

Imagine the cost difference between the use of proper preventive maintenance by automatic lubrication system against attaching a faucet and replacing a new bearing or the entire gearbox!

Most Common Oil System Problems

There are several most common failures that can happen in the oil system:

Oil leak

A wind turbine can develop leaks due to different factors. It happens most often because of system contamination or overheating

Contamination due to aging

Oil aging is an inevitable process, which occurs after a long period of turbine operation. The only way to keep the power plant running is by changing or purifying the oil

Contamination with cleaning liquids

Cleaning liquids are another source of pollution. They are used to wash leaking oil from towers and dead insects from blades, resulting an a paste-like substance.

Picture 2. Turbine Oil Leak

Wind Turbine Oil System Care

GlobeCore produces different equipment for oil maintenance, including wind turbine service machines – our latest development.

There are three types of units:

CMM-G Wind Turbine Gearbox Oil Changer

The CMM-G plant is designed for three different modes of wind turbine maintenance:

purification of oil
wind turbine flushing
oil evacuation and oil filling

The device effectively services wind turbines in less than 1 hour. The device is available for wind power plants up to 105 meters high.

CMM-GL Wind Turbine Gearbox Oil Changer

The machine has the same features as the CMM-G plant with the only difference in size and capacity. The CMM-GL unit in this configuration operates with wind turbines of up to 60 meters in height and is equipped with a 15 μm filter.