Wind & Solar

: Alternative Energy Sources - (c) Fotolia.com/zentilia

Quadrant has been a solution provider for the energy generation industry for many years. Our expertise is built on application successes in traditional energy sectors like oil & gas, but more and more in emerging alternative energy fields such as wind and solar.

Quadrant's global presence, our broad range of materials and variety of conversion technologies offers turn-key solutions for your specific industry, already proven or customised. Our materials are extensively tested and able to operate under harsh chemical and even extreme thermal conditions. Our high performance materials offer the advantages of all plastics, helping to reduce weight and allow for the substitution of other materials like steel, aluminium or ceramics, due to their high specific strength.

Your Advantages

Productivity increase

Reduced main time between repair (MTBR) by using maintenance-free, self-lubricating materials
Automation possibilities offered thru highly dimensionally stable products
Longer product life based on improved chemical resistance of components

Material cost savings enabled thru Quadrant’s low wear engineering plastics
Noise reduction offered by friction optimized products with non-stick-slip behavior
Safety in use by achieving the optimum cost-performance solution from a wide range of products

Products & Applications

Solar
Wind

: Solar Panels - (c) Fotolia.com/Steve Young

Our materials have been tested and certified for applications in vacuum chambers offering very low out gassing. We also offer materials for wet process environments presenting low out leach values.

Products	Applications
Duratron^® PBI Ertalyte TX Fluorosint^® HPV, Fluorosint 500 Ketron PEEK, Ketron PEEK 1000 Symalit^® ECTFE, Symalit PVDF, Symalit PFA Techtron^® HPV PPS	Wafer holders and combs for photovoltaic solar cells handling Gripper, tips and suction elements for thin film solar panel handling, also in hot environments Liners, spray unit elements, sprockets and guides for Wet benches Bushes, rolls and clamping elements for trackers in solar thermal installations, including CSP

Products	Applications
Ertalyte^® TX Ketron^® PEEK Nylatron^® LFX, Nylatron® NSM, Nylatron® 703 XL TIVAR^® TECH 7000, TIVAR® CeramP	Sliding ring segments in yaw bearing Wear pucks and friction pads for brakes in wind turbines Power transmission sealing rings Bearing cages for giant ball bearings Bearing elements and spacers

Case Study

The manager of a wind farm contacted Quadrant, asking for our help to eliminate a performance and maintenance problem. The bearing surfaces in the positioning system of each unit were rapidly failing because of weather, temperature and mechanical load, which was also causing the units to make very loud noises. These failures would require a maintenance worker to climb a 260ft ladder and apply lubricant into the unit’s stuck bearings whenever the problem occurred, at night, on freezing cold winter days or the peak of summer. Capacity loss of broken units and emergency maintenance were a major expense.
Solution

A grade of Quadrant’s Ketron® PEEK HPV was identified as a solution for the bearing problem. It offered the ideal combination of lubricity, load bearing capability, low coefficient of friction and eliminated noise.

Depending on the individual situation, Ertalyte® TX or Nylatron® 703 XL would typically provide these required material qualities as well.