Friction, Lubrication, and Wear of Gears and Wind-Turbine Components

This article is concerned with gear tooth failures influenced by friction, lubrication, and wear, and especially those failure modes that occur in wind-turbine components. It provides a detailed discussion on wear (including adhesion, abrasion, polishing, fretting, and electrical discharge), scuffing, and Hertzian fatigue (including macropitting and micropitting). Details for obtaining high lubricant specific film thickness are presented. The article describes the selection criteria for lubricants, such as oil, grease, adhesive open gear lubricant, and solid lubricants. It discusses the applications of oil and gear lubricants and the types of standardized gear tests. The article presents some recommendations for selecting lubricants and lubricant viscosity for enclosed gear. It provides some examples of failure modes that commonly occur on gears and bearings in wind turbine gearboxes.