Schaeffler’s WiProM condition monitoring system will be on display at WINDPOWER 2015. It eliminates the high costs associated with installing and operating permanently mounted vibration-based systems on wind turbines.
Schaeffler will showcase a broad array of product and service solutions for wind turbine applications at the 2015 American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) WINDPOWER Conference and Exhibition held May 18-21 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. The WINDPOWER annual conference and exhibition is the premier trade show in the U.S. for wind energy professionals to generate actionable ideas for expanding the wind energy industry through technology and collaboration.
Visitors can meet with Schaeffler’s team (Booth #2122) of wind industry experts and learn about the company’s expansive portfolio of solutions for the wind industry, including the game-changing asymmetric bearing for main shaft bearings in wind turbines and the WiProM, a genuine breakthrough in condition monitoring.
Specifically developed to address the common causes of main bearing failures in wind turbines as observed through extensive study of issues faced by wind-farm operators, Schaeffler’s new asymmetric main shaft bearing offers improved axial stiffness for even higher axial load-carrying capacity. This is intended to ensure reduced vibrations within the wind turbine’s drivetrain, less downtime, and significantly reduced overall maintenance, repair and overhaul costs for wind farm owner/operators.
Other features of the asymmetric bearing include rollers coated with Schaeffler’s proprietary Triondur C coating to protect against micro-pitting damage, a two-piece cage design to accommodate and adjust to uneven roller speeds, a specially coated inner ring to protect the shaft against friction corrosion, plus special design features that make bearing mounting as pain-free as possible for the installer.
In the words of Schaeffler Industry Manager Ryan Greenfield, “Our new asymmetric bearing takes into account every potential bearing failure mode that we have seen through our extensive observations in the field. We feel that this bearing may very well be the ‘silver bullet’ for solving the main bearing problems in the aftermarket.”
WiProM from Schaeffler is the wind industry’s first truly cost-effective diagnostic tool for analyzing the performance of wind turbine components such as motors, gearboxes, and generators. Combining the best features of permanently mounted continuous monitors with the portability of handheld monitoring devices, WiProM is a breakthrough innovation that is specifically designed to provide medium-term, fully automated condition monitoring information for wind farms.
WiProM eliminates the high costs associated with installing, operating and maintaining permanently mounted vibration-based systems, while providing a superior alternative to traditional, manually operated walk-around monitoring systems that typically lack the robustness, connectivity and automated features required for unattended monitoring.
Moreover, WiProM offers all of the performance benefits of an expensive online monitoring system, tucked neatly inside a rugged, compact carrying case that is easily moved between towers.
Schaeffler Group
www.schaeffler.com
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