Wind Energy

Introducing the Leak-Free Wind Seal

As wind energy moves to larger, lighter-weight turbines located in harsh and remote locations, service life and reliability have grown increasingly more important. System Seals’ Wind division is leading the industry with new technologies that now double the service life of wind turbine main bearing seals.

System Seals has also developed a new wind turbine seal that virtually eliminates leaks – even after the seal becomes worn. Like run-flat tires on a premium car, this self-correcting feature ensures continuous protection to the main bearing, while preventing leaks, fires and contamination.

All told, the improvements reduce maintenance, downtime and the cost of ownership by approximately 50 percent – no matter where in the world a turbine is located. This new technology is used in OEM equipment, MRO, seal upgrades and repower projects.

With a specialty in large-diameter, custom seals, System Seals quickly became a natural fit for the wind industry several years ago during the surge of new turbines. Today, the company produces the industry’s top performing wind turbine bearing and pitch seals in sizes up to 3,000 millimeters in diameter.

Systems Seals’ engineers have a unique ability to custom design seals in PTFE compound and polyurethane that substantially outperform standard parts. They offer lower friction, greater reliability and are more resistant to extrusion.

The time and cost involved in replacing turbine seals are far too valuable to rely on standard parts. Talk to a System Seals engineer today to learn how seals designed specifically for each application can be developed and delivered more quickly than most off-the-shelf solutions.

Our wind seals include:

  • Main bearing seals—with a groundbreaking design that redirects grease back where it belongs
  • Gearbox seals
  • Yaw pucks/yaw brake pads and Yaw bearing seals
  • Pitch bearing seals—featuring completely redesigned bearing groove dimensions for a multi-faceted, higher-performance seal
  • Metallic wear sleeves—eliminating the costly need of grinding and hardening shaft surfaces to accept traditional lip seals

A revolutionary wind turbine seal design that redefines rotary seals.

System Seals has created a corkscrew-style seal that uses the turning action of a rotary shaft to pump escaping grease back inside the bearing where it belongs. During deflections, when grease naturally migrates towards the seal, the Vortex pumps it back inside.

The Vortex wind turbine seal was a stroke of genius that caused a global wind turbine manufacturer to retrofit all of its labyrinth seals with the new design. System Seals spent more than a year refining the design and testing prototypes, installation methods and tooling – both in the lab and in the field. System Seals also provided initial installation training and ongoing evaluations to monitor performance.

The design has revolutionized the way turbine manufacturers view main bearings.

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Wear Sleeves for Significant Cost Savings

System Seals wear sleeves are installed onto the shaft to provide a hardened smooth surface, allowing a seal lip to run more effectively. The sleeves eliminate the costly need of grinding and hardening shaft surfaces to accept traditional lip seals.

Wear sleeves maximize seal life and significantly enhance performance. They are typically used in conjunction with the System Seals 440, 442 or 443 series seals. They form a critical part of the complete sealing system.

Product Benefits:

  • High wear resistance for use with 440/442/443 Series lip seals
  • Ground surface finish maximizes seal performance
  • Non-oriented surface finish eliminates fluid pumping effects
  • Manufactured to precise tolerances
  • Precise design tolerances allow pre-heating the sleeve for exact fit installation
  • Tested extensively in aggressive mining and wind turbine main bearings
  • Reduces OEM costs compared to grinding and hardening the shaft sealing surface

Applications

  • Wheel-motor, gearbox-shaft seals for mining
  • Main bearings in wind turbines
  • Large-diameter gearbox shafts
  • Features
  • Ground surface finish of 15-20 RMS
  • Hardness value of 48-51HRc
  • Precision high-strength welding to achieve required diameter
  • Easy installation
  • Readily available in large diameters
  • Available in a variety of thicknesses and widths to accommodate any application

Learn More

With a specialty in large-diameter, customized seals, System Seals is the go-to company for the wind industry. System Seals produces the industry’s top performing bearing and pitch seals in sizes up to 3000 millimeters in diameter.

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System Seals has created a comprehensive Vortex wind energy seal information packet that we mail at no cost. The packet contains a self-playing animated video, a capabilities brochure and a physical sample of the Vortex seal. Register now and we’ll get your packet in the mail by the next business day. Thank you for your interest.

  • The new seal performed flawlessly in initial lab tests and then for more than a year in the field. System Seals now produces all new pitch-bearing seals for one of the largest wind turbine manufacturers in the world.

    Learn How
  • Six-month testing proved the seal to be virtually flawless.
    The redesign mitigated financial risk for both the wind turbine manufacturer and owner operator.

    Learn How
  • The new design stopped main-bearing leaks in the field and prevented the wind turbine manufacturer from redesigning the main bearing for new builds. The solution provided significant overall cost reductions.

    Learn How

“System Seals consistently produces high quality seals for our products, and I highly recommend them for all high-performing seals”

– Peter Pfund, Schuler Incorporated

Contact our Wind Energy Specialist

Ron Claus

With two decades in the fluid power industry, Ron Claus has led the System Seals engineering team to develop a number of product breakthroughs in industries that include mining, metal processing, wind energy and oil & gas. Ron’s innate ability to solve complex problems has made him the industry’s go-to person for engineering proposals, technical calculations, failure analysis and custom sealing solutions. Most importantly, Ron is accessible to any customer looking to advance seal performance beyond an off-the-shelf solution.

Tel: 216.220.1800

Email: ronclaus@systemseals.com