In this feature, we look to bring you further examples of customer applications addressed by flowmeter development by Titan Enterprises.
STUDY 1: Metering grease lubrication flow in a wind turbine
In this case study we report on how Titan Enterprises developed a highly reliable flowmeter to monitor the lubricating grease being supplied into a wind turbine main bearing mechanism.
Although China leads the world in the amount of power generated from wind, Denmark has the highest generation rate per capita by a long way. In 2015, this small country was generating over 2 megawatt hours per person well ahead of China’s 0.26. This relatively high generation rate has resulted in a local industry which produces large numbers of wind turbines for the rest of the world. One of the fundamental requirements of ensuring reliable and efficient wind turbine operation is to keep the heavily loaded main bearings fully lubricated in all operating conditions.
Titan Enterprises were approached to supply a small flowmeter to monitor the grease being supplied into a wind turbine main bearing mechanism. For simplicity the grease mechanism is mechanically driven from the blade rotation and therefore the flow rate is potentially very low if the blades are barely rotating. This grease flow is crucial and an alarm must be tripped and the rotation stopped should the grease flow be insufficient. In addition, if the lubricant supply line became blocked the flowmeter should be able to withstand pressure that could potentially rise to several hundred Bar. An extra requirement for the required flow measurement device was for a low power system as the backup system was battery powered. Drawing upon its proven OG2 flowmeter that fulfilled the low flow measurement specifications on lubricating viscous fluids, Titan redesigned this meter to operate at 700 Bar in a small body and fitted a miniature reed switch detector to keep the power requirements to a minimum. Used in hundreds of wind turbine installations, the Titan Enterprises OG2-700 flowmeter is now a well-established monitoring device that provides valuable data helping to ensure safe and reliable operation.
