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Spare Parts Service: Enertrag Develops New Main Bearing Solution for Ecotecnia Wind Turbine

Dauerthal, Germany - Enertrag has joined forces with Eolotec, a German company specialised in roller bearings and roller bearing systems for wind turbines, to develop an improved, TÜV-certified main bearing solution for the Ecotecnia ECO 74/80/1670 kW wind turbine.

Wind turbine models of the ECO 70/80/1670 series are particularly known for defects on bloc II, i.e. defective roller bearings at the main bearing. Until now, the only option was a direct replacement by the OEM with a spare part, which, however, has the same design flawas, according to Enertrag. The affected Ecotecnia turbines have been in operation for about 10 years in Brazil, Morocco, France, Portugal, Spain and Italy.

Based on the latest load assumptions and calculation methods, such as the finite element method, the improved spare part was redesigned using reverse engineering. Development has been ongoing since 2018 and the first three prototypes are now available.

According to Enertrag, the newly developed solution is not only more cost-efficient than an original spare part, but also offers numerous other advantages and is available in one: The state-of-the-art bearing design combines optimized bearing seats based on actual loads and calculation models with improved automatic lubrication and sealing systems. In addition, the bearing preload is now adjustable and equipped with permanent online monitoring. Enertrag and Eolotec rely on quality components for the new main bearing solution, which is designed for continuous operation until the end of the turbines lifetime; only rolling bearings from renowned manufacturers such as SKF, FAG and NTN are used.



Source: IWR Online, Mar 03 2021