Bearings for wind turbines

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Excerpt: Several bearing configurations for wind turbines come from NTN Bearing Co. of America, Mt. Prospect, Ill. For instance, for main shafts, designs include spherical roller bearings. The company says these increase efficiency and service life. Credit for that goes to new materials and improved h …

Ceramic coated bearing handles stray current

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Excerpt: Electrical pitting and erosion, failure modes common in the wind-energy industry, occur in bearings on generators in wind turbines. The failure modes are caused by stray current passing through the bearing. The current arcs from one surface to another to find a ground. So as current goes through the …

Direct drive turbine needs no gearbox

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Excerpt: Most utility-sized wind turbines use a costly speed increaser to drive a generator. Netherlands-based Emergya Wind Technologies (EWT) however, builds wind turbines based on a direct-drive (gearbox free) design. The company says its turbine offers improved performance and reliability over convent …

Turbines get testing and certification

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Excerpt: A company that conducts product safety testing and certification says it will begin offering testing and certification of wind turbines in accordance with a new UL safety standard. The new service of Underwriters Laboratories, offered in partnership with Germanischer Lloyd (GL), a leading wind e …

Webinar series: Reducing wind-turbine design time with simulations

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Excerpt: With increasing demand for alternate energy, manufacturers of large commercial and smaller residential wind turbines feel demand for greater performance. In this webinar series, hosted by FEA developer MSC.Software, attendees will learn from industry experts how simulation-driven developments are us …

A better way to lift tower tubes

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Excerpt: Turbine towers can be a dickens to lift and put into place. Engineered Lifting Technolgies, a subsidiary of Hanes Supply Group, Buffalo, NY, says it can make the task a bit easier with its tower-erection equipment. The system consists of all necessary brackets, rigging, and hardware for installi …

Manufacturing for huge wind turbine parts

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Excerpt: HPM America LLC in Mount Gilead, Ohio, has horizontal machining capabilities to support a part envelope of 192 x 360 in. with a lifting capacity of 150 tons. For heavy fabrication, the company's burn tables can flame-cut steel plate up to 10.5-in. thick and a full service weld and forming sh …

Vertical axis turbine works for small business

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Excerpt: Not all wind turbines are megawatt units. Two designs from HelixWind, San Diego, are said to work in low-wind speeds common around residential areas and small commercial businesses. The developer says its Savonius-turbine design (a vertical axis windmill) catches wind from all directions creatin …

Gearbox breather needs less attention than conventional unit

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Excerpt: Water contamination causes big problems in hydraulic systems and gearbox machinery on wind turbines. A manufacturer of filtration equipment has developed the T.R.A.P. (Thermally reactive advanced protection) breather as a way to prevent moisture buildup in such equipment. "The unit works by remo …

Tools and kits for turbine maintenance teams

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Excerpt: Snap-on Industrial designs, manufactures, and distributes hand and power tools, specialty tools, storage equipment, and training to meet industry needs. The company says it is ready to meet the needs of organizations engaged in the wind industry from around the world. Any combination of Snap …