Formulating for the future
As with many other lubricant applications, the demands placed upon gear oil lubricants are growing as contact pressures increase and oil lifetimes are expected to lengthen. In wind turbines especially, these oils must withstand extremely high contact pressures and temperatures whilst at the same time providing adequate metal protection.
Our lubricant technologies for wind turbine gears and bearings allow oil formulators to create the next generation of wind turbine oils and greases by harnessing our expertise in tribology and rheology control. We supply ingredients including base oils, solubilisers and friction modifiers.
Product finder
View our additives for turbine lubricantsBase oils for wind turbines
Ideal for the formulation of high-performance wind turbine lubricants
We have a long history in manufacturing base oils for lubricants and we offer a large range of both polyalkylene glycols (PAGs) and esters, from viscosities as low as 14.5mm²/s to 2000mm²/s at 40°C.
Solubilisers
Our ester, Priolube™ 3970, is used extensively in wind turbine formulations, most notably in Siemens approved lubricants to improve additive solubility, whilst maintaining oxidative and hydrolytic stability.
Friction modifiers
Perfad™ 3100 is a friction modifier that can provide excellent friction reducing properties to wind turbine gear oils, more efficient power transfer and reduced running costs, whilst having minimal impact on water entrainment. It forms a durable film, most notably in the mixed and boundary regime where energy losses are high. Friction reducing effects have also been observed at high temperatures, as found in heavily loaded contact areas.
The graphs below demonstrate that Perfad 3100 can provide reduced friction over a range of different contact pressures, from 0.65 GPa up to 3.2 GPa at a constant speed of 0.05m/s.
Frictional properties of an industrial gear oil treated with Perfad 3100 across a range of contact pressures
Left: Measured using the MTM (steel ball - steel disc). Right: Measured using the MTM (steel barrel - steel disc).
Perfad 3100 is just one example from our extensive range of organic polymeric friction modifiers that we have developed for extreme applications. You can view our entire range of friction modifiers here.
Technical article: A comparison to alternative energy resources, reliability problems and solutions
