5 common wind turbine failures and maintenance

Wind turbines are adopted globally as a way to cut carbon emission and develop renewable energy. Any wind turbine failures like blown generators, misbehaving gearboxes and damaged blades affect wind power generation. Therefore, wind turbine maintenance is indispensible in wind power industry. Here we introduce 5 common wind turbine failures and maintenance methods. TICO has developed an innovative wind tower climbing crane, which can take maintenance work in an efficient way.

Wind turbine generator shakes fiercely

Failure

The wind turbine operates unsteadily and makes high noise. The head and body vibrate fiercely, sometimes can pull apart the steel rope and cause wind generator to fall.

Cause and reparation

• Wind generator vibration usually arises from bolt looseness on the base. When this happens, you need to fasten the bolt. Remember to add spring cushion to the bolts.
• Distortion of fixed pitch wind turbine blades can cause the vibration. In this case, you need to take them off to repair, or change to new blades. Be careful that wind turbine blades must be replaced in pairs.
• If it is caused by stagnation of variable pitch wind turbines, you have to take the blades down and clean the slide slot, slider and spring with gasoline. After cleaning, install the blades to their right place. Attach accessories to their original part, or they would disturb the wind turbine balance.

Ineffective yaw system

Failure

When the wind speed is under 3 to 5 meters per second, the wind turbine hardly adjust its direction to face into the wind. Meanwhile, when the wind speed is over 12 meters per second, the yaw system can not limit the speed timely, leaving the wind turbine rotation on overspeed, which impairs the stability of wind turbine. 

Cause

• Pressure bearing on the top of wind tower is broken.
• Neglect pressure bearing in wind turbine installation.
• wind turbine maintenance lacking, there are too much oil sludge in wind turbine rotator and pressure bearing.
• No lube oil in the rotator and pressure bearing.

Maintenance

• Unload the rotor and clean it.
• Add pressure bearing if there isn’t.
• Clean the rotor and pressure bearing carefully and smear them with oil.

Unusual noise

Failure

Wind turbine makes obvious sound, grating or knocking when working in low-speed wind environment.

Cause and reparation

• If there are unusual noises during wind turbine operation, it is necessary to stop and have a check.
• If the bolts or screws get loose, just add spring pads and tighten them. 
• If wind rotors rub against other components, you need to adjust or repair the component.
• Unusual noises may come from the front or back bearing of generators. Open up the nacelle and check the generator bearing, clean or change bearings if necessary. Before putting the bearings back to generators, don’t forget to lubricate them.

No electricity generation

Failure

Wind turbine generator doesn't output current when operating.

Cause

• The power transition circuits break
• The rectifier tube of generator is broken
• The generator overheats, or the coil is burned out.
• The protective tube is burned out.

Maintenance

• If the wind turbine doesn’t generate power, stop it at once and make an inspection.
• Check whether the joint of circuits are firm.
• If circuits are intact, inspect if there are any damages in rectifier tube or protective rube.
• Having inspect the items above, you can take the generator off and check the stator coils. Figure out the short circuit parts, then change the coil or replace the generator.

Wind turbine rotation slows down significantly

Failure

Wind turbine is difficult to start when the wind rises. The rotation speed falls short of the rated speed when the wind speed is high enough.

Cause and Reparation

• Low rotation speed may because the blades are distorted, or variable pith blades are not reset. In these cases, you need to adjust or replace the wind turbine blades.
• In wind turbines with brake device, high friction between brake lining and brake disc may slow down the rotation. You can adjust the brake clearance to keep the wind turbine working smoothly.
• Generator bearing broken is another cause. Just replace the bearing.

Use and maintenance of storage battery

Generally, the power generated by mini-sized wind turbine is stored in storage battery. As a matter of fact, the quality of mini-sized wind turbine depends on its storage battery. To take full advantages and extend its service life, we need to use and maintain the storage battery scientifically.

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