The wind’s usable kinetic energy increases with the wind speed. Wind turbines, therefore, use kinetic energy to generate torque and then rotational movement. The rotor, consisting of three rotor blades, creates the kinetic energy and passes it on to the generator, which in turn produces an electric current.
Most wind turbines use adjustable gearboxes which match the wind-dependent speed of the rotor to the constant speed of the generator within a housing called a nacelle. While the rotor only turns slowly at very a high torque, the torque of the quickly rotating generator is low.
The necessary transmission ratio between both torques determines the overall size of the gearbox. The efficiency of the gearbox in a wind turbine is very high. Because the transferred power output is extremely high, there are also great energy losses.
This mostly concerns loss through heat, which is why the gearbox must be cooled. A sophisticated lubrication technology in the gearbox achieves this. Oil pressure and temperature measurements are necessary for this process. The oil pressure is constantly monitored by sensors. Keller was able to provide these pressure transmitters from the 21Y series to a client who supplies gearboxes for wind turbines.
Keller’s 21Y piezoresistive pressure sensor is welded, fully insulated, and encapsulated with no internal seals. Its robust stainless steel housing and compact design are perfect for space-critical industrial applications, heat pumps, aircon technology, and in the food industry. The 21Y’s direct analogue signal path, with high bandwidth, guarantees high, long-term stability.
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Sam Kekana, technical sales representative at Lubrication Engineers has spent years working with plant maintenance teams across a range of industries, and he has seen where lubrication goes wrong and what it costs companies when it does.
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Through its extensive SupremeServ operation, pump manufacturer KSB Pumps and Valves is able to repair a wide range of pumps and valves to original OEM specification at a significantly lower cost than new equipment.
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Mammoet was approached by Qingdao McDermott Wuchuan to perform the weighing, jacking and load-out of the 33 000 t floating production unit for Woodside Energy’s Scarborough Project at its fabrication yard in China.
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Mammoet, the global leader in engineered heavy lifting and transport, has been awarded a contract by Saipem to carry out the heavy-lift scope for the construction of Beccs Stockholm, one of Europe’s first large-scale projects for carbon capture and removal.
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In compact automation, right-angle drives are often selected to place motors, actuators or driven modules in a tighter layout. Two less visible factors often matter more, backlash and support stiffness.
Read more...A bird’s-eye view of the world Horne Technologies
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Young Italian company, FloFleet aims to become a pioneer of a new generation of ‘service aircraft’, an innovative type of aircraft in which Faulhaber drive systems ensure the precise alignment of the propellers.
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