Oil filter analysis (OFA) on continuously operating wind turbines The black holes of oil analysis Gerrit van Middelkoop Bianca Coolen Page 1 2015 DEKRA 06.11.2015
Contents Company introduction Condition Based Maintenance and oil analysis Effectivity of lab methods Interpretation of oil analysis results Black holes of oil analysis and their consequences There are alternatives! Conclusions and recommendations Page 2 2015 DEKRA 06.11.2015
Van NS naar DEKRA Rail 2014 Page 3 2015 DEKRA 06.11.2015
We will be the global partner for a safe world Prevent accidents to protect lives In transport, at home, at work Global partnering with all stakeholders Global thought leader in safety Because safety pays out DEKRA is An expert organisation with 35.000 people active in over 50 countries focussing on Safety, Quality and Environment presenting a service portfolio in three Business Units: DEKRA Automotive DEKRA Industrial (a.o. DEKRA Rail) DEKRA Personnel Page 4 2015 DEKRA 06.11.2015
DEKRA Rail Utrecht Company 65 employees 3 labs & field measurements Top 3 (often #1) market position Central location in NL (Utrecht) From insight to implementation Customers Infrastructure & transport, including heavy rail, tram, metro Construction & maintenance Asset managers: logistics, energy, civil engineering Services Testing Inspection / Monitoring Certification Applied Contract Research Fields of expertise Materials science Mechanics Tribology Electrical Engineering Equipment Calibration Page 5 2015 DEKRA 06.11.2015
Laboratory Facilities Complementarity for effective system analysis Chemical lab Electrical & geometrical lab Materials lab Field lab Tribology: analysis & testing of oil, grease and fuels, tens of thousands samples for year well equipped lab Equipment calibration, repair and logistics of electrical and geometrical parameters Testing & analysing of metal/plastic constructions and components, like wheels, couplings, rails, and weldings On-site measuring & monitoring of EMC-levels, forces, vibrations and noise Page 6 2015 DEKRA 06.11.2015
Five Competence Areas Coherent, multidisciplinary expertise Testing Electric EMC / cross-talk Detection ERTMS Dataengineering Calibration. Electrical Physical Geometrical Logistics Mechanics Forces & Acceleration Noise & Vibrations Modelling helping customers with optimising the exploitation of their technical, moving systems Materials Degradation Conservation Welding Wear NDT Tribology Lubrication Degradation Adhesion Life span Inspection Certification Applied Research Page 7 2015 DEKRA 06.11.2015
Customers Diversity within but also outside Rail Transport Infrastructure * Industry 8 Page 8 2015 DEKRA 06.11.2015
PDCA-circle for the asset manager services: condition management 9 Page 9 2015 DEKRA 06.11.2015
Classical oil analysis for Condition Based Maintenance Benefits Effective for general purpose Cheap and quick Plenty lab capacity available Page 10 2015 DEKRA 06.11.2015
Pitfalls of oil analysis for Condition Based Maintenance - Technicians are not aware of black holes in classic oil analysis - Interpretation lab data into actual machine risks not straightforward - Advice on effective maintenance actions not straightforward - Different labmethods produce incomparable results - Insufficient info on construction and operating conditions - Bad sampling and frequency Page 11 2015 DEKRA 06.11.2015
Optimal design of condition monitoring Condition of Machine population Sampling+Lab tests + rejection limits interpretation machine condition Target situation A: Legitimate approval: no action required Hitrate R/I = 100% sufficient Miss Rate M/I = 0? M: Unjustified approval: misser I:inadequate F: Unjustified rejection: false alarm R: Justified Rejection: maintenance required F low R = I Page 12 2015 DEKRA 06.11.2015
Effective lab methods for condition monitoring of oil lubricated systems Diameter of wear particles 1 10 2 0 50 100 200 400 µm Hydraulics Engines Compressors Gearboxes test method metal content: ICP/Rotating disc XRF Wear particle amount and diameter : Particle counters/ferrography Wearscan/microscopy Magnetic Plug Analysis MPA Oil Filter Analysis OFA Page 13 2015 DEKRA 06.11.2015
Crucial: correct interpretation of machinecondition Many small particles Normal wear Abnormal wear Machine construction Operating conditions Small particles Help Wear! Extreme wear Sample frequency Service life Big particles high Ironcontent Very big particles remnants processing materials Thick/thin particles In general: big particles <- problem Page 14 2015 DEKRA 06.11.2015
Wear material in practice Page 16 2015 DEKRA 06.11.2015
Black Holes wear particles: Magnetic plugs in gear boxes Full flow filters in gear boxes Filters in engines Additional filtration for oil conditioning Page 17 2015 DEKRA 06.11.2015
Black hole wear particles: magnetic plugs Page 18 2015 DEKRA 06.11.2015
Changing Problem into Solution Magnetic plug analysis Problem: Most wear indicators lost in oil sample No effective condition monitoring with classical methods possible Solution: Use debris on plug as indicator in microscopic analysis 25 year of proven effectiveness Hitrate ~ 100% Restrictions: Normalization of subjective measurements Interpretation requires much expertise and experience Page 20 2015 DEKRA 06.11.2015
Example: Operation of windturbines Consequences of failing gear boxes Damage probability = 10% Average down time in 10 years > 4 months Consequences (despite current inspection techniques) Estimated unnecessary anual production loss in Holland 30 M Significant loss op production (per turbine: 350 MWh, ~ 25k ) availability of spare parts (leadtime 2-6 months) High repair costs (up to 400 k /defect) Each year more than 5 M unnecessary repairs Reputational damage Page 21 2015 DEKRA 06.11.2015
Black hole wear particles : full flow filters Page 22 2015 DEKRA 06.11.2015
Effect of full flow Oil Filter No indicators left in oilsample Diameter of wear particles 1 10 2 0 50 100 200 400 µm Hydraulics Engines Compressors Gearboxes test method metal content: ICP/Rotating disc XRF Wear particle amount and diameter : Particle counters/ferrography Wearscan/microscopy Magnetic Plug Analysis MPA Oil Filter Analysis OFA Page 23 2015 DEKRA 06.11.2015
OFA How it works Advanced test of oil filter representative sample selection sent filter Identification wear particle quantity, shape and size Determination chemical composition wear particle components by XRF Interpretation (damage type) Based on in-depth knowledge of damage mechanisms Based on fingerprinting of hundreds of thousands of previously analyzed gearboxes Assesment: current technical status and prediction Utilizing trending, statistics and engineering expertise Reporting: clear and simple Page 24 2015 DEKRA 06.11.2015
Therefore Oil Filter Analysis (OFA) OFA replaces all conventional condition monitoring methods for Windturbine gearboxes and provides reliable results Methods Hit rate Conditiemonitoring End of warranty discussion Damage investigation OFA high Oil analysis low Endoscopy average Vibration analysis average Page 25 2015 DEKRA 06.11.2015
Possible OFA Benefits Lower costs, increased revenues Significantly lower costs and increased revenues Increased early detection probability: less frequent and shorter down-time Less repair and crane costs Less production loss for jam recovery Optimizing Maintenance Extending maintenance intervals Less maintenance Less production loss for scheduled maintenance Fewer unplanned maintenance and repairs Functioning wind turbines: increased business reputation Page 26 2015 DEKRA 06.11.2015
Black holes of oil analysis Conclusions Oil Analysis is a valuable condition monitoring technique But : interpretation of test results requires thorough expertise filters and plugs can ruin effective condition monitoring knowledge of machine construction is essential for detection Magnetic Plug and Oil Filter Analysis are effective solutions for black holes Page 27 2015 DEKRA 06.11.2015
Black holes of oil analysis Suggestions 1. Evaluate possible black holes before starting programs 2. Choose effective analysis methods 3. Keep the score: Check predicted wear versus machine inspection results (Hit rate) Page 28 2015 DEKRA 06.11.2015
End of presentation Questions? Page 29 2015 DEKRA 06.11.2015