Braking Concepts for a Long Gear Lifetime

Wind energy is environmentally friendly, yet it is not without competition. Preferences can quickly change to other sources of energy if wind turbines turn out to be too expensive or technically insecure. Despite the competitive struggle the wind energy business has with other sources of energy, there is also competition among the turbine manufacturers. The last few years have provided a little time to relax from the disaster of gear damage that shook almost the entire business. Mostly it was constantly hard applied fail-safe brakes that caused the damage to stall regulated machines. Fortunately, things have changed, but there are emerging Asian countries where manufacturers should learn from mistakes and experience in Europe so that they do not repeat the mistakes.

By Andreas Gerken, Svendborg Brakes, Germany