Offshore wind turbines are subject to challenging environmental conditions, including corrosive saltwater, high wind forces, and potential electrical currents. These conditions can contribute to bearing failures and impact the reliability and maintenance of wind turbines. Several factors that can lead to bearing failures, such as corrosion, fatigue, wear, improper lubrication, high electric currents, and the need for improved materials and designs to ensure the longevity and performance of bearings in offshore wind turbines. WECs negatively affects the reliability of bearings, not only in the wind industry but also in various other industrial applications such as electric motors, paper machines, industrial gearboxes, pumps, ship propulsion systems, and the automotive sector. 60% of wind turbines failures are liked to WEC.
In October 2018, a workshop on WECs was organised in Düsseldorf by a junior research group funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). Representatives from academia and industry gathered to discuss the mechanisms behind WEC formation in wind turbines, focusing on the fundamental material processes causing this phenomenon.