Page 16 - Industrisal Technology EXTRA 3rd August 2020

REPAIR OR REPLACE...

Downtime and costs cut after

catastrophic gearbox failure

With O&M costs representing about a quarter of total-life costs for wind power
plants, keeping gearboxes functioning properly is crucial to the successful and
profitable running of any wind power project. Here, Andrew Baggaley, from Dana
SAC UK’s service team, explains how the company cuts downtime and reduces
customer costs, through its ability to refurbish and restore

ana has recently completed four challenging. This is due to the risk of cracking the
refurbishment projects of the same gear case when pressing the wheels off. Dana’s aim
gearbox type and same failure mode. is always to investigate the potential for
DThese were interesting because the refurbishment, salvaging parts where possible and
damage was particularly extensive, yet still worth replacing parts where absolutely necessary.
repairing. Andrew Baggaley explains: “Because we were
This specific design has helical gearing able to inspect four units in the same period, we
throughout. The case is partly mono block, making found them at varying stages of the same failure
both strip down and gear wheel installation mode, enabling us to identify the point of initiation.

August 2020 • INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY EXTRA! • p16