Author Topic: Wind turbine destruction  (Read 43489 times)

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Offline oliver602Topic starter

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Wind turbine destruction
« on: January 03, 2015, 04:31:21 pm »
This is vaguely electronics, right?

2500kW wind turbine took a tumble not to far from home. Was spinning like crazy in the wind, some time after dark there was a loud crack and this was the result.

Article with close up photos
« Last Edit: January 03, 2015, 05:23:41 pm by oliver602 »
 

Offline netdudeuk

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Re: Wind turbine distruction
« Reply #1 on: January 03, 2015, 04:41:25 pm »
Thanks for sharing.  A sight for sore eyes and may all the others go the same way.
 

Offline amyk

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Re: Wind turbine destruction
« Reply #2 on: January 03, 2015, 04:46:26 pm »
I bet it was making some pretty intense power before that happened...
 

Offline SeanB

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Re: Wind turbine distruction
« Reply #3 on: January 03, 2015, 04:47:42 pm »
Structural failure due to unbalanced operation owing to blade failure. So much for the 25 year life of the structure that was touted. Even the SA coal silo collapse was 20 years old when it failed due to lack of maintenance.
 

Offline zapta

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Re: Wind turbine distruction
« Reply #4 on: January 03, 2015, 05:07:23 pm »
Structural failure due to unbalanced operation owing to blade failure. So much for the 25 year life of the structure that was touted. Even the SA coal silo collapse was 20 years old when it failed due to lack of maintenance.

Looks like wind turbines failures are more common than I thought. These machines are monsters. Netflix have an interesting documentary call Windfall about the impact on small communities.

https://www.google.com/search?q=wind+turbine+failures&es_sm=119&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X
 

Offline oliver602Topic starter

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Re: Wind turbine distruction
« Reply #5 on: January 03, 2015, 05:25:27 pm »
Structural failure due to unbalanced operation owing to blade failure. So much for the 25 year life of the structure that was touted. Even the SA coal silo collapse was 20 years old when it failed due to lack of maintenance.

Got the wrong site, it was a Nordex 2.5MW, only commissioned in 2011
 

Offline coppice

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Re: Wind turbine destruction
« Reply #6 on: January 03, 2015, 05:47:13 pm »
This is vaguely electronics, right?

2500kW wind turbine took a tumble not to far from home.
Each rotor blade is 9 tonnes, and the whole rotor is 52 tonnes. That's quite a mass to go flying around.

I wonder if there is a breakdown of wind turbine failures due to build quality issues versus failures due to extreme weather conditions exceeding the design envelope?
 

Offline netdudeuk

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Re: Wind turbine destruction
« Reply #7 on: January 03, 2015, 06:24:39 pm »
This is vaguely electronics, right?

2500kW wind turbine took a tumble not to far from home.
Each rotor blade is 9 tonnes, and the whole rotor is 52 tonnes. That's quite a mass to go flying around.

I wonder if there is a breakdown of wind turbine failures due to build quality issues versus failures due to extreme weather conditions exceeding the design envelope?
From what I've read, they don't even allow them to run when the winds are high.

I'd say that a more interesting statistic would be the increased number of senior citizens dying due to hyperthermia brought on by the shocking renewable tariffs added to our energy bills.
« Last Edit: January 03, 2015, 06:26:40 pm by netdudeuk »
 

Online Zero999

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Re: Wind turbine destruction
« Reply #8 on: January 03, 2015, 06:30:43 pm »
Mechanical failure due to lack of maintenance or manufacturing defect.

20 year life? Of course that's just the typical life expectancy. There will be infant mortalities and some which last for much longer than 20 years. If it's the manufacturer's fault, I hope they will pay for it to be replaced, plus damages.
 

Online tom66

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Re: Wind turbine destruction
« Reply #9 on: January 03, 2015, 06:49:50 pm »
Sometimes they catch fire...


I wonder how frequent this is?  There's a large wind farm near me, I go past it on the train every morning, and I've seen no fires yet. This must mean wind turbines never catch fire. (Of course if I saw one near me burning, I would immediately assume they all are due to catch fire.)
 

Online nctnico

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Re: Wind turbine destruction
« Reply #10 on: January 03, 2015, 06:56:10 pm »
Windturbines failing is not uncommon. Loosing wings or the structure bending gets on the news every few years.
There are small lies, big lies and then there is what is on the screen of your oscilloscope.
 

Offline CosPhi

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Re: Wind turbine destruction
« Reply #11 on: January 03, 2015, 07:26:22 pm »
Windturbines failing is not uncommon. Loosing wings or the structure bending gets on the news every few years.


How many large (>1MW) wind turbines are around in the world???

I would guess between, hm really no idea. I would guess more than 2000 less than 10000.

=> ask Google ... Google say ... http://www.gwec.net/global-figures/wind-in-numbers/

=>225,000:   The number of wind turbines spinning around the world at the end of 2012.
=> 45,894:   The amount of wind turbines up and running in China at the end of 2011.

I really wouldn't think there are so many. I guess now there has to be 250'000 to 300'000 wind turbines by now
 

Online Neilm

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Re: Wind turbine destruction
« Reply #12 on: January 03, 2015, 07:33:46 pm »
I found this a few years ago.

If you see one spinning really fast - walk away even faster
Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe. - Albert Einstein
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Online nctnico

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Re: Wind turbine destruction
« Reply #13 on: January 03, 2015, 09:43:45 pm »
Windturbines failing is not uncommon. Loosing wings or the structure bending gets on the news every few years.

How many large (>1MW) wind turbines are around in the world???

I would guess between, hm really no idea. I would guess more than 2000 less than 10000.
I think there are already 2000 wind turbines in the area I live in. When I drive in the night the sky is filled with blinking red lamps to warn airplanes there is something big standing in the way.

@Neilm: a wind turbine is much more complicated then it looks. A couple of years ago I had the idea of building one. Put a propellor on a generator and done. NOT! One of the biggest challenges is to stop it at some point. If the wind gets too strong the generator can't deal with the power so you need a couple of brakes to halt the blades and put them in an idle position and/or turn the blades away from the wind.
« Last Edit: January 03, 2015, 09:49:25 pm by nctnico »
There are small lies, big lies and then there is what is on the screen of your oscilloscope.
 

Offline codeboy2k

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Re: Wind turbine destruction
« Reply #14 on: January 03, 2015, 10:26:26 pm »
Ours have viewing pods. 

I better visit it before it falls over.




https://www.grousemountain.com/eye-of-the-wind
 

Offline dannyf

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Re: Wind turbine destruction
« Reply #15 on: January 03, 2015, 10:48:59 pm »
Quote
I'd say that a more interesting statistic would be the increased number of senior citizens dying due to hyperthermia brought on by the shocking renewable tariffs added to our energy bills.

The only thing green about those "green energy sources" is the giant socking sound of your money going into some else's pockets.
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Offline zapta

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Re: Wind turbine destruction
« Reply #16 on: January 03, 2015, 11:23:15 pm »
Windfall (2012), the trailer

 

Online Zero999

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Re: Wind turbine destruction
« Reply #17 on: January 03, 2015, 11:46:13 pm »
Windfall (2012), the trailer


I think having strobing in your home from the shadow of the blades would be maddening. I don't know I would get used to it. Putting them so close to homes is unwise in my opinion. Looks like an interesting doco. I'm yet to be convinced of the sub-sonic sound issue. All the people I hear complaining they are driven mad by it sound like kooks to me. Which is sadly ironic.
I agree, putting wind turbines that near houses is a stupid idea.
 

Offline Tinkerer

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Re: Wind turbine destruction
« Reply #18 on: January 04, 2015, 12:00:50 am »
Well actually these things can fail when the governor which limits their speed fails. They are limited in how fast they can spin and when they are allowed to spin at high speeds, they can fly apart. You can find video of this one youtube as well.
The catching fire likely comes from imbalanced blades and lack of/improper maintaince.
 

Online tom66

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Re: Wind turbine destruction
« Reply #19 on: January 04, 2015, 12:02:19 am »
There is a nice wind turbine in an office park nearby where I live but I can't help but think the strobing of the blades must irritate the employees.

Wind turbines belong on hills and off shore - those are the best places. Anyone who puts a wind turbine near a house (or the other way around, even) must be an idiot.

Well actually these things can fail when the governor which limits their speed fails. They are limited in how fast they can spin and when they are allowed to spin at high speeds, they can fly apart. You can find video of this one youtube as well.
The catching fire likely comes from imbalanced blades and lack of/improper maintaince.

Last I heard for one fire of a turbine was that the brakes failed which meant the turbine tried to spin too fast causing the gearbox and motor to overheat, leading to a fire. Lack of proper maintenance or perhaps lack of important redundant systems, I don't know. There's nothing inherently flawed about wind turbines that should lead to them randomly catching fire with no easily preventable cause.
« Last Edit: January 04, 2015, 12:04:06 am by tom66 »
 

Offline dannyf

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Re: Wind turbine destruction
« Reply #20 on: January 04, 2015, 12:22:19 am »
Quote
putting wind turbines that near houses is a stupid idea.

Don't know. It seems to me that anyone voting for wind turbines should have one installed in their backyard - why should they push the negative externalities associated with their pet projects onto the rest of us?

If they think it is good for us, it must be good for them too.
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Offline gxti

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Re: Wind turbine destruction
« Reply #21 on: January 04, 2015, 12:22:52 am »
I think having strobing in your home from the shadow of the blades would be maddening. I don't know I would get used to it.

I wonder what it would do to a photovoltaic system. Would probably drive the inverter mad, too.
 

Online tom66

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Re: Wind turbine destruction
« Reply #22 on: January 04, 2015, 12:26:49 am »
Quote
putting wind turbines that near houses is a stupid idea.

Don't know. It seems to me that anyone voting for wind turbines should have one installed in their backyard - why should they push the negative externalities associated with their pet projects onto the rest of us?

If they think it is good for us, it must be good for them too.

Does this work the other way, anyone voting for coal power has a minature coal power plant installed in the back garden? If so, would be interesting to see how quickly that would change people's minds.
 

Online TopLoser

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Re: Wind turbine destruction
« Reply #23 on: January 04, 2015, 12:34:23 am »
Quote
putting wind turbines that near houses is a stupid idea.

Don't know. It seems to me that anyone voting for wind turbines should have one installed in their backyard - why should they push the negative externalities associated with their pet projects onto the rest of us?

If they think it is good for us, it must be good for them too.

I look out of my office window and see 75 x 3.6MW turbines. They supply 2/3 of the electric for the county I live in. I think they are a fabulous sight, love them. They are less than 6Km away and I'm totally unaware that they are there. I welcome the plans to build another 250 of them.
 

Offline pickle9000

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Re: Wind turbine destruction
« Reply #24 on: January 04, 2015, 12:39:19 am »
Any power generating system or plant = Nice place (interesting) to visit wouldn't want to live there.
 


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