Bearing wear caused by converter-induced bearing currents

Tischmacher, H.; Gattermann, S.; Kriese, M. D.; Wittek, E.

doi:10.1109/iecon.2010.5675212

Cited by 18 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 6 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Thresholds for maximum current density in the roller contact were determined experimentally for small ball bearings. [11] In addition to the raceways and rolling elements, the lubricant is damaged due to the passage of electrical current. The locally high temperatures can cause oxidation, leading to, e.g.…”

Section: Damage Mechanisms In Wt Bearings Induced By Electrical Currentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental Characterization of Common-Mode Voltages and Currents in Gearbox Bearings of a Doubly-Fed Induction Generator Wind Turbine on a Test Bench

Zweiffel,

Jacobs,

Bach

et al. 2024

J. Phys.: Conf. Ser.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Wind turbine (WT) drivetrain failures can lead to expensive repairs and downtime, significantly impacting the Levelized Costs of Electricity (LCOE). Gearbox failures are a major contributor to maintenance costs, with High-Speed-Shaft (HSS) bearings having the highest failure rate. Frequently occurring premature HSS bearing damage indicates design inadequacies. Currently, bearing design standards (DIN/ISO 281) are primarily based on fatigue. Other damage mechanisms like adhesion or damages due to electrical currents passing through the bearings are not considered. WT gearbox bearings are exposed to electrical currents, mainly caused by common-mode (CM) voltages. Bearing currents lead to surface damages and also may promote the formation of white etching areas (WEA) or cracks (WEC) and thus need to be investigated further. The CM voltage is an inherent feature of the power converter, which generates CM currents in the electrical machine. The resulting high voltages at the HSS bearings can lead to electrical discharge currents in the rolling contact, which damage the raceways of the bearing. This paper presents an experimental method for characterization of the currents and voltages that pass from the generator to the HSS of the gearbox in a multi-megawatt WT drivetrain on a test bench. CM currents and voltages measured at the converter are correlated with the shaft voltages at the HSS bearing. The results indicate, that the CM currents directly pass the HSS and its bearings into the gearbox housing. The CM currents show peaks indicating discharge events with over 100 A. Furthermore, at the discharge events, high-frequency oscillations with over 20 MHz are observed in CM current and bearing voltage.

show abstract

Section: Damage Mechanisms In Wt Bearings Induced By Electrical Currentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental Characterization of Common-Mode Voltages and Currents in Gearbox Bearings of a Doubly-Fed Induction Generator Wind Turbine on a Test Bench

Zweiffel,

Jacobs,

Bach

et al. 2024

J. Phys.: Conf. Ser.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Lubricants used in EVs and HEVs endure the current flow through the lubricated bearings while protecting the contacting surfaces. This current will occur on lubricated surfaces that electrically connected to the electric motor (Busse et al, 1997;Tischmacher et al, 2010;Di Piazza et al, 2011;Hadden et al, 2016). The lubricant with poor electric properties may cause ED (electric discharge) damage (Wang and Wang, 2008;Gunderson et al, 2011).…”

Section: Properties Of Lubricants Electrical Properties Of Lubricantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To avoid electric damages, having a low electric resistance is more important than having a high dielectric constant. The dielectric breakdown voltage of neat non-polar BOs such as PAO and mineral oil is in the range of 10 kV, orders of magnitude higher than the voltage applied across motor bearings (Wang and Wang, 2008;Tischmacher et al, 2010;Gunderson et al, 2011). However, dielectric breakdown voltage of oils drastically decreased when they contain impurities such as water or lubricant additives (Wang and Wang, 2008;Gunderson et al, 2011).…”

Section: Properties Of Lubricants Electrical Properties Of Lubricantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, dielectric breakdown voltage of oils drastically decreased when they contain impurities such as water or lubricant additives (Wang and Wang, 2008;Gunderson et al, 2011). The bearing electric wear test indicated that the ED damage could occur at the bearing voltage as low as 100 V (Tischmacher et al, 2010;Willwerth and Roman, 2013). The dielectric breakdown voltage of non-conductive grease can even decrease to a few volts when the tests were running for a long time (Jeschke and Hirsch, 2014;Jeschke et al, 2015).…”

Section: Properties Of Lubricants Electrical Properties Of Lubricantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…War is induced by electric discharge (ED) or tribo-corrosion process (Akagi and Tamura, 2006;Mukherjee et al, 2009;Walther and Holub, 2014;Chatterton et al, 2016;Kwak et al, 2019;He et al, 2020). The occurrence of an ED incidence often has a peak current around a few amperes (Tischmacher et al, 2010;Chatterton et al, 2016;He et al, 2020). The current caused an intense localized heat that melts and removes a tiny portion of bearing surfaces (He et al, 2020).…”

Section: Electrically Induced Failurementioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Performance Characteristics of Lubricants in Electric and Hybrid Vehicles: A Review of Current and Future Needs

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Electric and hybrid vehicles are gaining increasing attention in recent years. The distinguished difference between electric/hybrid vehicles from conventional ones is the intermittent on-and-off control of the internal combustion engine, whereas the electric vehicles operate on electrical motors. This difference creates new requirements in lubricants with performance characteristics that are otherwise uncritical: electrical properties (such as electrical conductivity and breakdown voltage) and thermal properties (thermal conductivity, specific heat, among others), in addition to fluidic performance that we have studied for decades. In this review, we discuss about lubricants for electric and hybrid vehicles in the following aspects. Starting with a brief historic review, we gathered information about current needs and challenges in electric and hybrid vehicles. We then compared the properties of lubricants, followed by the performance difference of those vehicles in terms of frictional performance, thermal management, and dielectric breakdown. Performance parameters are critically dependent on the properties of lubricants that are crucial for energy efficiency and reliability. This review can be used as a guidance for the future design of advanced lubricants for electric and hybrid vehicles.

show abstract

Thousands of hits: on inverter-induced bearing currents, related work, and the literature

Mütze

2011

Elektrotech. Inftech.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A. Mü tze OVE Today, a search for bearing currents in databases on engineering literature may return hundreds or (depending on the database and any additional filter used) thousands of hits. The degree to which the identified papers address the bearing current topic itself varies. Often, the term is used (as it is common with key words) to reflect the wider context and the topicality of the work that is presented, e.g. a discussion of a new filter topology. Without claiming completeness, this paper provides an overview of the various aspects that have been addressed in literature related to the bearing current topic.Tausende von Treffern: Ü ber umrichterbedingte Lagerströ me, zugehö rige Themen und die Literatur.Eine einfache Suche unter dem Stichwort "Lagerströ me in einer Datenbank fü r Ingenieursliteratur kann zu hunderten oder (abhä ngig von der Datenbank und zusä tzlich verwendeten Filtern) tausenden von Treffern fü hren. Das Ausmaß, mit dem die identifizierten Publikationen das Lagerstromthema behandeln, variiert. Oft wird der Begriff (wie es fü r Stichwö rter ü blich ist) verwendet, um den weiteren Zusammenhang und die Aktualitä t des in der jeweiligen Publikation behandelten Themas, wie z. B. eine neue Filtertopologie, widerzuspiegeln. Dieser Beitrag gibt einen Ü berblick ü ber die verschiedenen mit dem Lagerstromthema in Verbindung stehenden Aspekte, die in der Literatur behandelt werde.

show abstract

Bearing wear caused by converter-induced bearing currents

Cited by 18 publications

References 6 publications

Experimental Characterization of Common-Mode Voltages and Currents in Gearbox Bearings of a Doubly-Fed Induction Generator Wind Turbine on a Test Bench

Experimental Characterization of Common-Mode Voltages and Currents in Gearbox Bearings of a Doubly-Fed Induction Generator Wind Turbine on a Test Bench

Performance Characteristics of Lubricants in Electric and Hybrid Vehicles: A Review of Current and Future Needs

Thousands of hits: on inverter-induced bearing currents, related work, and the literature

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About