A system for lubricating a pivot interface defined between adjacent components of a work vehicle may include a shaft and a shaft housing configured to receive an axial portion of the shaft such that the shaft housing is configured to rotate relative to the shaft. The system may also include an end cap installed relative to an end of the shaft housing and a sealing device configured to seal a radial gap defined between the shaft housing and the shaft at a seal location when a fluid pressure within the housing is below the seal's cracking pressure. Additionally, when the fluid pressure within the housing exceeds the cracking pressure, the sealing device may be configured to transition to an unsealed state to allow lubricant contained within the housing to flow axially between the sealing device and the shaft and be subsequently purged from the housing.

A machine element, in particular for a shaping machine, having a lubricated bearing and/or a seal and at least one drainage conduit for catching a medium issuing from the bearing and/or the seal, preferably substantially pressure-lessly. A collecting device is provided for collecting the medium which is caught in the at least one drainage conduit over a period of time, and a measuring device is adapted to directly and/or indirectly measure an amount of the medium collected by the collecting device over the period of time.

A lubricant deterioration detection device of the present invention includes a gas sensor that selectively detects a carbonyl compound.

A lubricating system for a bearing includes a lubricant supplying system having a first pumping device configured to introduce a first quantity of lubricant into the bearing, a lubricant disposal system including a second pumping device configured to remove a second quantity of lubricant from the bearing, and a controlling device configured to activate the first pumping device and the second pumping device interdependently with each other.

A method of monitoring the amount of lubricant inside a bearing of a wind turbine is provided. The bearing includes a lubricant for reducing wear and fatigue of the bearing, a seal for minimizing the amount of lubricant which is leaking out of the bearing, a ventilation device with at least one pressure compensation hole for enabling a pressure compensation between the sealed bearing and the ambient, and a lubricant drain hole for enabling lubricant to exit the bearing in a controlled manner. The method includes the steps of blowing a compressed medium through the pressure compensation hole into the bearing; measuring the pressure inside the bearing; and determining the amount of lubricant inside the bearing based on the measured pressure.

A yaw assembly for a wind turbine may include a bushing configured for securement within a yaw cylinder containing a yaw piston and a yaw pad having a first side configured for engagement with a slew ring of the wind turbine and a second side configured for engagement with the yaw piston, a thrust stem engaged with the bushing and configured to apply force to the yaw pad against the slew ring, the thrust stem biased away from the yaw pad by one or more springs residing within the yaw piston, and an anti-rotation collar disposed at an interface between the thrust stem and the yaw piston, the anti-rotation collar including a flange extending from a bottom-center portion thereof, the flange disposed between the one or more springs and a bottom end of the yaw piston.

A bearing arrangement for low speed rotating machinery includes a shaft and at least one double row spherical roller bearing supporting the shaft. The bearing has an inner ring providing a radially outer circumferential surface having a first and a second inner raceway and an annular portion separating the first and second inner raceway in an axial direction. An outer ring provides a radially inner circumferential surface with at least one outer raceway. Spherical rollers are located in a first and a second roller row, the first and second roller row disposed between the at least one outer raceway and the first and second respective inner raceway. A cage has a central portion located between the roller rows. The central portion provides a radially inner circumferential surface and axial protrusions to separate at least two rollers in one of the first and second rollers rows.

A wind turbine yaw assembly has a yaw piston and a yaw bearing pad. A spring resides inside the yaw piston and applies spring pressure to the yaw bearing pad. A threaded yaw piston bushing applies adjustable pressure to the spring. The threaded yaw bushing has a plurality of at least three force adjustment screws distributed symmetrically about the threaded yaw piston bushing. The spring pressure is adjusted by tightening or loosening the plurality of force adjustment screws. This abstract is not to be considered limiting, since other embodiments may deviate from the features described in this abstract.

Disclosed is a sealed bearing arrangement that provides at least a bearing with an outer ring and an inner ring, which are rotatable to each other and form a rolling chamber between each other, in which a set of rolling elements. A lubricant is encompassed in the rolling chamber and the rolling chamber is sealed off from an environment by at least one sealing element. The inner ring, the outer ring and/or the sealing element includes at least one opening for providing a fluid passage through the sealing element. The bearing is arranged in a housing that is adapted to seal off the bearing from an outside environment. A lubricant is encompassed inside the housing. The housing including the at least one opening for providing a fluid passage from the inside of the housing to the outside. The opening is fluid tightly connected to an oxygen removing element and/or to a gas tank, which provides an oxygen poor to free fluid flow to the rolling chamber.

According to the method of the invention, a lubricant is supplied incrementally to a rotary bearing while the bearing is in operation rotating at a rotational speed. The lubricant is supplied in consecutive steps so that at each step a portion of a prescribed amount of lubricant is supplied, followed each time by an ultrasound measurement. A first ultrasound measurement is performed before the first supply step, and starting from the second supply step, each measurement result is compared at least to the previous result, in order to evaluate the bearing condition and decide on that basis whether to continue the sequence or not. Stopping the sequence is decided when the lubrication of the bearing is assessed as successful, a lubrication failure or over-lubrication.