Product category:
Seals
News Release from: Freudenberg Simrit LP | Subject: Sealing and damping solutions for wind power plant
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 08 July 2003
Sealing and damping solutions for wind
power plant
Great demands are made on components used in wind power plants - elastomer elements in particular need long service life, easy installation and resistance to environmental influences.
Great demands are made on components used in both offshore and onshore wind power plants Elastomer elements in particular - such as seals, conical mounts or pressure accumulators - are expected to have long service lives, be easy to install and be highly resistant to all environmental influences
This article was originally published on Engineeringtalk on 18 Feb 2003 at 8.00am (UK)
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Simrit has a range of special wind power plant solutions, opening up significant innovation potential for this ground-breaking form of power generation.
The increasing performance of wind power plants makes ever greater demands on the technical components used in them.
The design and dimensions of transmission seals, rotor bearings or rotating assembly seals are particularly important when it comes to ensuring long-term serviceability.
High thermal stability, aging stability and resistance to media such as water, salt water, ozone and mineral oil are essential component attributes in such applications and require the use of specially adapted elastomer materials.
For modern wind power plants, Simrit has a broad range of rotary shaft seals and endless sealing cords for very large diameters, as well as conical mounts and pressure accumulators for blade pitch variation.
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This list has recently been extended by an innovative telediagnosis tool for wind power plants in the form of the first Simmerrings with integral leakage sensors.
The Radiamatic Simmerring has already proven its excellence and reliability as a rotor bearing seal for wind power plants.
These rotary shaft seals can be used to seal large diameter areas between 200 and 3000mm.
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These large seals are moulded, endless rings.
This allows for great dimensional accuracy.
A tension spring made of a stainless material ensures that the sealing lip is always pressed into the right position.
These rotary shaft seals are designed to have an extra-large outer diameter.
During assembly, they are then lightly compressed to fit the nominal outer diameter.
In addition, a metallic cover plate ensures axial compression in the housing, thereby ensuring the interference fit and static imperviousness.
For even greater seal contact areas - for example on rotating assemblies for the gondola and blade bearing - profiles and sealing cords as endless or fixed length seals are used.
The cross sections of these seals can be as large as 3000mmı.
Where necessary, these large seals can be manufactured with eigen curvature and can also be fitted with a spring.
The particular advantages of these large sealing versions are the low tool costs even for small batches and the large selection of materials.
The standard material used for large bearing and rotating assembly seals for wind power plants is the wear-resistant NBR.
As a result of its high thermal stability and excellent ozone resistance, HNBR is often preferable for rotor bearing seals.
Vibrations in wind power plants can cause more than just wear.
They can also result in disturbing structure borne noise.
At the same time, the secure and low-loss transfer of forces and momentum from the rotor to the generator is indispensable for the efficient use of energy.
The Simrit standard range includes a large selection of conical mounts especially for this purpose.
Where necessary, Simrit works hand in hand with wind power plant design engineers to develop special solutions for bearings and vibration control solutions.
Pressure accumulators are used in wind power plants to complete hydraulic adjustment and clamping tasks.
These pressure accumulators guarantee a constant and consistent supply of hydraulic fluid for blade pitch variation.
The hydraulic brake units for the main rotor and the gondola are also fitted with modern pressure accumulators.
Pressure accumulators are used here to: maintain pressure, store energy for pressure peaks and ensure emergency supplies.
It is essential that the expense of maintenance is kept to a minimum for wind power plants, especially those that are located off shore.
Machine elements that are exposed to high loads - such as rotary shaft seals - are also subjected to unavoidable wear.
Thanks to modern materials and innovative sealing structures, long service lives are now par for the course.
However, to ensure the long-term functional reliability of wind power plants, Simrit has developed a sealing system that uses leakage sensors to monitor and report on the state of the shaft seal.
This allows the wind power plant operator to keep up to date on the condition of the sealing system simply by calling up data at any time.
This eliminates the need for the preventive replacement of seals, makes it easier to plan the maintenance of wind power plants and minimises downtime and maintenance costs.
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