NORTH CANTON, Ohio,
June 24, 2015 /PRNewswire/
-- Research conducted by The Timken Company (NYSE: TKR;
www.timken.com), a global maker of bearings, to address a critical
issue for wind turbine operators received the 2015 Wilbur Deutsch
Memorial Award from the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication
Engineers (STLE). Timken researchers used their deep technological
expertise to solve customer problems in the wind energy sector and
underscored the value of Timken®
Wear-Resistant® bearings in helping to prevent smearing
damage to turbine gearbox bearings.
Dr. Ryan Evans, manager of
engineering fundamentals and physical testing at Timken, led a team
of researchers in investigating the root cause of smearing damage
to turbine gearbox bearings manufactured by various companies. It
was known that lightly loaded high speed shaft bearings (usually
cylindrical roller bearings, or CRBs) in turbine gearboxes
sometimes exhibited smearing damage in bands across various
surface areas. These smeared areas can be initiation points for
much more severe damage over the service life of a bearing.
The specific bearing assembly dynamics that caused the smearing
were not well understood, and other researchers had been unable to
reproduce the damage on full-size CRBs in a laboratory. "It took us
a few months and some creative test-rig settings and
instrumentation to determine how to generate the smearing damage.
In addition, we recognized the importance and value of
measuring key bearing dynamic attributes like cage slip in
real time," Dr. Evans said. "We took it a step further and were
able to model the test conditions using the Timken CAGEDYN dynamic
model, which led to a proposed 'smearing criterion' that can
be used to assess smearing risk in other bearings and dynamic
situations."
The team's research proved that erratic load zone
conditions contribute to smearing damage. "As that was the only way
we could reproduce the damage in a laboratory, others outside
Timken increasingly point to the same mechanism as an
explanation for not only smearing, but other types of
bearing damage in real wind turbines," Dr. Evans said.
He and three other Timken researchers co-authored the
award-winning paper that presented the results. They are
Todd Barr, principal product
development engineer, based in North
Canton, Ohio; Steve Boyd,
senior application specialist – product, also based in North Canton; and Luc
Houpert, senior scientist – product, based in Colmar,
France.
Click here to learn more about the published research and Timken
Wear-Resistant bearings.
About STLE
Founded in 1944 in Chicago as the American Society of Lubrication
Engineers (ASLE), the society changed its name in 1987 to
acknowledge a growing international participation. STLE is the
premier technical society serving the needs of more than 10,000
individuals and 150 companies and organizations that comprise the
tribology and lubrication engineering business sector. STLE members
are technical experts who research, develop and market the methods
and products that make industry more successful and that enhance
the well-being of people worldwide. STLE members are employed by
the world's leading corporations and academic institutions and by
governmental agencies dealing with science and technology. STLE
supports these distinguished men and women with a variety of
professional education and certification programs.
About The Timken Company
The Timken Company
(NYSE: TKR; www.timken.com) engineers, manufactures and markets
bearings, transmissions, gearboxes, chain and related products, and
offers a spectrum of powertrain rebuild and repair services. The
leading authority on tapered roller bearings, Timken today applies
its deep knowledge of metallurgy, tribology and mechanical power
transmission across a variety of bearings and related systems to
improve reliability and efficiency of machinery and equipment all
around the world. The company's growing product and services
portfolio features many strong industrial brands including
Timken®, Fafnir®, Philadelphia
Gear®, Drives® and Interlube™.
Known for its quality products and collaborative technical sales
model, Timken posted $3.1 billion in sales in 2014. With 14,000
employees operating from 28 countries, Timken makes the world more
productive and keeps industry in motion.
Media
Contact:
|
Investor
Relations:
|
Gloria
Irwin
|
Shelly
Chadwick
|
Communications
Manager
|
Vice President –
Treasury & Investor Relations
|
Telephone:
234.262.3514
|
Telephone:
234.262.3223
|
Mediarelations@timken.com
|
Shelly.chadwick@timken.com
|
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SOURCE The Timken Company