Keeping the Power Plant Producing
Power plants are a major foundation for providing energy to the world, so it is important to those facilities that production is efficient. Maintenance of components and systems in power plants must be completed regularly to ensure maximum production and to reduce downtime.
For one coal-fired power plant in Wyoming’s Powder River basin, 50 leaking gearboxes used to cool fans on the condenser were creating downtime in operations, and without reliable service to help solve the problem, the power company needed a solution.
After inspection, L&H partnered with the customer to design and revise some options to address the seals that were causing the leaks in the gearboxes. A solution was made with internal modifications that included additional seals, lower bearing support and an installation of a brake to mitigate the turning of the fan. L&H felt these improvements would address all problem areas in the current design of the gearboxes. After approving the modifications, the customer began sending gearboxes to L&H where 1-2 will be rebuilt each month in 2016.
A solution that can be scaled
With similar gearboxes across the industry, L&H has developed a rebuild solution to increase the life span of these assemblies while improving their efficiency.
Providing power for the world is a 24/7 job, and downtime is not an option. Working in collaboration with our customer, L&H is proud to have provided an Honestly Better® solution for a heavy industry and the world’s largest machines.
To find out more about L&H Industrial’s rebuild and manufacturing capabilities, visit our website www.LNH.net.