GENERAL INFORMATION
Oil Management System
In conventional exciters, the bearings are lubricated by oil mist. The gears inside the housing churn the oil into fine droplets, which are distributed within the gearbox. Only a portion of these droplets reaches the rolling bearings and provide the lubrication. Some housings have oil collection pockets on the inside. These are intended to guide the oil along the inner surfaces of the housing downwards into the bearings. However, the entry of oil into the bearings is random and the quantity is undetermined. To improve the entire lubrication, the JOEST Oil Management System has been developed.
The JOEST Exciter is equipped with an oil pump, which is driven by the gears of the exciter drive. Thus, no auxiliary power is needed to operate the pump. The oil pump draws oil from the sump of the housing and the oil enters thel filter, where dirt particles < 6 µm are separated. The oil filter is designed generously to be replaced after several oil changes.
Subsequently, the oil flow is distributed to the four bearing units. Through the circumferential groove on the outer ring of
the bearing, the oil reaches the inside and flows from there through holes to the rolling elements. Thus, the oil flows axially from the center of the bearings outwards. Any dirt that may occur in the housing is therefore not flushed into the bearings, but is moved away from them. Since the pump is firmly coupled with the movement of the exciter drive, the lubrication is activated immediately upon startup and therefore eliminates the critical phase where the oil moist is initially formed.