Wind turbine bearing flushing

description of the customer’s problem

The main bearings of the turbine rotor were filled with grease, which (according to the information provided by the ordering party), had been in use since the beginning of the commissioning of the wind farm in 2012. During operation, relubrication was carried out according to the approved schedule. Laboratory analysis of the samples taken indicated the need to replace the lubricant, both in the front and rear bearings, due to numerous contaminants and grease sintering.

proposed solution

Due to the impossibility of completely removing the grease by mechanical means, a service of flushing bearings with flushing oil was proposed.
The implementation is planned in two stages: Stage I front bearing, Stage II rear bearing, using a bearing flushing unit with a pneumatic diaphragm pump along with oil hoses and fittings (couplings, valves). Bearing flushing is to take place with the rotor running at a set generator speed between 200 and 500 rpm.
The plan was to flush each bearing three times with flushing oil, flush once with viscosity oil, and then drain the system and inject new grease.

result achieved:

After the process of flushing the bearings and filling the bearings with new grease, the turbine was returned to normal operation.
A sample of bearing grease was taken and subjected to laboratory analysis, confirming the effectiveness of the implementation.