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.