Wind Turbine Lubrication with Swappable Multi-Container Supply
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current lubrication systems for wind turbines, particularly those with increased size and offshore locations, face challenges in efficient lubricant supply and storage, leading to high maintenance costs, complex logistics, and environmental hazards due to the need for frequent refilling and replacement of large lubricant tanks, which disrupt turbine operation and pose risks during maintenance.
Innovation Solution
A lubrication system utilizing multiple containers instead of a single tank, where fresh lubricant is supplied and used lubricant is collected, allowing continuous operation without shutting down the turbine during maintenance, with input and output valves and a control unit to manage lubricant flow and storage, ensuring efficient distribution and minimizing lubricant degradation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Duration of action of stationary object
If a single large lubricant tank is used to store enough lubricant for extended periods, then the lubrication duration is improved, but the tank replacement becomes more complex and expensive requiring special hoisting technology
Solution Approach 1:
The single large lubricant tank is divided into multiple smaller containers (first container and second container). This segmentation allows the wind turbine to maintain lubrication capacity while simplifying replacement operations, as smaller containers can be more easily handled and replaced without complex hoisting equipment.
Solution Approach 2:
The second container is pre-filled with lubricant before being disconnected from the lubrication system. This preliminary action ensures that when the first container needs replacement, the second container is already ready to immediately take over, avoiding any interruption in lubrication supply and eliminating the need to lock the turbine during maintenance.
2Duration of action of stationary object
If a single large lubricant tank is used to provide sufficient lubricant for extended periods, then the maintenance interval is extended, but the available space for components at the wind turbine becomes insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The lubricant storage is segmented into multiple smaller containers that can be arranged in available spaces around the wind turbine components. This allows the total lubricant capacity to be distributed across different locations, utilizing otherwise unused spaces and avoiding the need for a single large tank that would require significant space.
3Ease of operation
If the lubricant tank is refilled on-site, then the logistics are simplified, but the turbine has to be locked from rotation and the tank requires cleaning to remove old lubricant
Solution Approach 1:
The second container is pre-filled with fresh lubricant before being disconnected from the system. When maintenance is needed, the second container can immediately replace the first container without requiring on-site refilling operations. This eliminates the need to lock the turbine during refilling and avoids the cleaning requirements associated with reusing the same tank.
4Device complexity
If a single lubricant tank is used, then the system structure is simplified, but the lubricant must be transported offsite for cleaning which risks leakage and requires complex hoisting
Solution Approach 1:
The lubricant storage is divided into multiple smaller containers that can be easily handled and replaced. This segmentation eliminates the need to transport large tanks offsite for cleaning, as the smaller containers can be simply swapped out and disposed of or refilled elsewhere without creating environmental hazards from leakage during transport.
Solution Approach 2:
The containers are designed as disposable or single-use units that are replaced rather than cleaned and reused. This approach eliminates the cleaning process entirely, removing the associated environmental risks of leakage during offsite transport and cleaning operations, while the cost of new containers is lower than the risk management costs.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A lubrication system (1) for a wind turbine (20), said lubrication system (1) comprising a lubricant consumer (10) to which fresh lubricant (11) is supplied and out of which used lubricant (12) is extracted, a pump (4) for pumping fresh lubricant (11) to the lubricant consumer (10), a waste lubricant collector where used lubricant (12) can flow after being extracted from the lubricant consumer (10), and a plurality of containers (2) delivering fresh lubricant (11) to the lubrication system (1).