Downtime – Way Up in the Sky
Broken Disc from Wind Turbine coupling
When a wind turbine has a coupling failure, it’s a long way up to get a replacement coupling installed. When a wind turbine has a coupling failure and the coupling OEM is on a different continent, it can mean many weeks of downtime. This is precisely what happened to a wind turbine fleet owner in West Texas. They experienced a rash of coupling failures in a short amount of time, and had a very short supply of replacement couplings. The coupling OEM in Europe gave a lead time of 8-10 weeks, which amounted to a large amount of lost MWh.
CouplingCorp replacement flexible element
Luckily, CouplingCorp was ready to help. Our engineers analyzed the situation, and examined the broken elements of the original coupling. Within a couple days, they designed a replacement unit that could be dropped into place. It even had the ability to take more misalignment than the original unit.