Low Temperature Rheology of Wind Turbine Oils

摘要

Wind turbines are often stopped under extreme conditions and then need to be restarted. If the temperature is too low it is difficult to re-start the wind turbine due to the low temperature rheological properties of the wind turbine oils. Typically, simple viscometric tests are used to measure the low temperature rheology of oils. However, lubricants can undergo complex structural changes at low temperatures that often make it difficult to determine the cause of differences in low temperature rheological results. Oscillatory rheometry has been used to examine the viscous and elastic behavior of wind turbine oils at low temperatures. These studies have made it easier to select the proper base oil and additive components for wind turbine oils. The optimized combinations of base oil and additive components have resulted in fluids that have improved low temperature rheological properties versus current commercial wind turbine lubricants.