Wind Turbine Micropitting Workshop

Micropitting is a Hertzian fatigue phenomenon that affects many wind turbine gearboxes, and it affects the reliability of the machines. With the major growth and increasing dependency on renewable energy, mechanical reliability is an extremely important issue. The U.S. Department of Energy has made a commitment to improving wind turbine reliability and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has started a gearbox reliability project. Micropitting as an issue that needed attention came to light through this effort. To understand the background of work that had already been accomplished, and to consolidate some level of collective understanding of the issue by acknowledged experts, NREL hosted a wind turbine micropitting workshop, which was held at the National Wind Technology Center in Boulder, Colorado, on April 15 and 16, 2009.