A Novel Approach to the Refurbishment of Wind Turbine Gears
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December 06, 2010
By: M. Michaud, REM Surface Engineering, G. J. Sroka and R. E. Benson, REM Research Group
Abstract:
Multi-megawatt wind turbine gearboxes operate under demaning environmental conditions including considerable variation in temperature, wind speed, and air quality. It is not incommon for gearboxes rated for a maintenance free 20-year lifespan to fail after only a few years. These gearboxes experience several types of repairable damage including micropitting or "gray staining", abrasive wear, foreign object debris (FOD) damage, surface corrosion and fretting corrosion. Wear is greatest on the input stage, especially on the sun pinion gear. Historically, grinding is utilized to refurbish these damaged gears. However, there are numerous drawbacks including but not limited to high capital investment and the extraordinary amount of time and skill involved in the grinding process. Moreover, nitrided gears cannot be ground and must be scrapped. However, chemically accelerated vibratory finshing, or isotropic superfinishing (ISF), represents a value adding, low-cost, option for refurbinshing both case carburzied aind nitrided gears. Isotropic superfinishing removes light to moderate gear flank surface damage. The result is a surface witha non-directional pattern with a roughness of approximately 0.08 mm or less. Moreover, evidence suggests that isotropic superfinishing imparts a finish that increases gear durability and service life in the field. A case study on a sun pinion gear is presented.
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