Dr. Harpal Singh, who recently joined the Sentient Science team in the Idaho Falls, ID office, has been highlighted in the journal Tribology International for his bearing coating discovery that will improve the reliability of wind power.
The renewable energy market has experienced substantial growth in recent decades because of the global initiative to move away from carbon-emitting sources and incentivize investments in wind and solar. At the end of 2015, investments in renewable energy reached nearly $286 billion. Of the renewables total, wind accounted for 62 GW installed around the world.
Wind turbine drivetrains endure extreme and strenuous conditions, which make key components like the actuators, bearings and gears prone to failure. This drives up operations and maintenance costs and the levelized cost of energy, so finding ways to mitigate those failures is crucial to the sustainability of wind energy.
A wind turbine gearbox is typically designed to last 20 years, but in practice, gearboxes usually need to be replaced every 6-8 years. Wind turbines operate in a unique environment, placing considerable challenges on the reliable operation of the gearbox bearing and gear components. Wind turbine gearboxes are subjected to a wide variety of operating conditions with respect to load, speed, lubrication and a combination of these. The strenuous operating conditions contribute to gearbox-related failures and prolonged-asset downtime.
While completing his doctorate in mechanical engineering from the University of Akron, Dr. Singh was part of a team of researchers who discovered that a particular form of carbon coating could improve the reliability of wind turbine drivetrains. The scope of work was funded by the Department of Energy and the Argonne National Laboratory to investigate how lubricants and materials interact, and from these findings, develop novel lubrication and coating that reduces friction and micropitting.
The researchers applied the new “diamond-like” coating, N3FC, to wind turbine components, which is different from industry standard, to determine if it would work under sliding conditions and in the extreme environmental conditions of the wind turbine drivetrain. They tested the theory under different conditions in a physical test lab and did not find any failures after 100 million cycles.
Dr. Singh performed all the measurements and applied the coating, which is patent pending, to the test articles.
Dr. Singh, who received his Ph.D. in December 2015, is a welcomed addition to the Sentient research and development team. His expertise and impressive background align perfectly with Sentient’s mission to help operators lower their LCOE by $10/MWh on the current industry standard of $80/MWh.
Sentient uses small data from material science to simulate the wear of major systems and rotating components to provide the life prognostics of each asset, major systems and key components. Sentient takes the life predictions and offers life extension solutions for operators to optimize, extend life, increase uptime and lower LCOE.