Ridin' The Tiger!!!
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Post Fiend
Joined: Mar 2007
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From: The Great North~West!
Ridin' The Tiger!!!
One of our very own has passed along an interesting video for my viewing pleasure. I have watched this at least 100 times, frame by frame even. Although, it is quite sobering, it has not scared me away from a job I love. It has however, made me even more aware of the dangerous tiger I have by the tail!!
We had one do this last September less than one mile from where I work and there was a couple of guys inside at the time. One died, the other got hurt, but lived. I didn't go look at it for three months. They are just now starting to cut it up and haul it away. A not so gentle reminder of the hazards of the job.
http://www.break.com/index/windmill-...struction.html
We had one do this last September less than one mile from where I work and there was a couple of guys inside at the time. One died, the other got hurt, but lived. I didn't go look at it for three months. They are just now starting to cut it up and haul it away. A not so gentle reminder of the hazards of the job.
http://www.break.com/index/windmill-...struction.html
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Post Fiend
Joined: Mar 2007
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From: The Great North~West!
It's a mechanical failure,,, Through a complex set of hydraulics, the blades pitch flat against the wind to obtain the lift they need to spin. When the wind blows over a certain speed, the blades are supposed to pitch into the wind, and cut it like the edge of a knifeblade. This causes the blades to slow down and is the only way to stop them. When the blades don't pitch properly, because of a valve failure, the hub goes into overspeed and as you can see, that is quite detrimental to the turbine!!
Hundreds of turbines were made with this design and particular valving system, and everybody is working frantically to retrofit their turbines with new valves. Too bad this bad design flaw wasn't found before a life was lost.
Hundreds of turbines were made with this design and particular valving system, and everybody is working frantically to retrofit their turbines with new valves. Too bad this bad design flaw wasn't found before a life was lost.
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dont they have some sort of break that prevents that or is that what happens when the break fails?? that is crazy reminds me of planes blowing apart.
nm you already answered but you would still think they would have some sort of brake to stop it in that case.
nm you already answered but you would still think they would have some sort of brake to stop it in that case.
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Post Fiend
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From: The Great North~West!
They do have a brake. But it's more of a parking brake, if you will. It is to hold the hub still while you "pin" it to keep it from spinning while you are out in it. Having the blades pitch into the wind is the only way to stop such torque!! There is no way a brake could do that!! The hub and blades weigh over 45 ton and at the blade tip, the rotational speed is over 130mph!! There isn't a brake in the world that could stop that kind of force!! And that's on a turbine that is operating normally!!
Unfortunately, once the blades compromise the integrity of the tower, by striking it, the 50+ ton nacelle comes crashing down behind it!!
Unfortunately, once the blades compromise the integrity of the tower, by striking it, the 50+ ton nacelle comes crashing down behind it!!
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i forgot how massive those things were. that would be a good reason for no brakes. now i dont know those things but i do know hydrolics, when the valves go is there not something that trips them into a "safe mode". like a spring type system to push the blades to the "nuetral" position. or is this what the new valve system is supposed to do and something the old ones didnt??/ i just dont understand why there wasnt something in place incase of hydrolic failure which is almost always gonna happen at some point.
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Post Fiend
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From: The Great North~West!
Well, they aren't exactly saying what the failure was or what they've done to prevent it from happening in the future. But the tower in this video is not made by the same manufacturer as the one that fell over by my work. So, one can only assume that is is not so much a fault of the turbine manufacturer, but the valve provider. I'm sure that Wind Turbines are like everything else, and parts are purchased from all over the world and assembled and sold. I have been reassured, many times, that our towers do not have the same system as the ones showing failure. So, I will go to work tomorrow and keep a closer eye on the wind speeds!!
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Posting Guru
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best of luck to ya bunny. its things like this that make you step back and pay more attention to the things you dont always. it sucks when someones life is taken by a job they do. more times then not it sheds a new light on a situation and makes us that much better at our own.
Best of luck
tony
Best of luck
tony
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Carpenter Local 745
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From: on da beach
I was watching a program on TV last night about alternative fuels/energy.
Of course they showed a segment on wind power, and I thought of you (snowbunny). Such an interesting field to be in.
BTW, was that for real?
I don't think you could be far enough away to watch that thing do what it did.
Of course they showed a segment on wind power, and I thought of you (snowbunny). Such an interesting field to be in.
BTW, was that for real?
I don't think you could be far enough away to watch that thing do what it did.
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Post Fiend
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From: The Great North~West!
Originally Posted by khadma
...BTW, was that for real? I don't think you could be far enough away to watch that thing do what it did.
The guy that dies was on our neighbor's wind farm in Oregon.
Token Redneck
Joined: Jun 2007
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From: Breckenridge, TX
I live in West Texas, and there are hundreds of these things just right here in the few counties around me. We get some nasty (40mph+) sustained winds, hope this never happens around here.
Post Fiend
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From: San Francisco, Ca.
There's a big wind farm here in the Altamont Pass (Altamont Pass Wind Farm).
I wonder if they've had that happen there.
I've never heard of one fail, but who knows.
That failure on "Break", looks like that scene from the movie "Contact", where that contraption fails.
You would think that there would be some sort of rev limiter.
I wonder if they've had that happen there.
I've never heard of one fail, but who knows.
That failure on "Break", looks like that scene from the movie "Contact", where that contraption fails.
You would think that there would be some sort of rev limiter.
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From: Southern California
Yes, wow! The destruction was amazing. I was wondering if they could use a dynamic brake like diesel electric locomotives use. But I guess if they designed the hydraulic valves to fail the turbine blades in the feathered position, it would be a whole lot less expensive and safer too!
BTW, bunny, how do you control the frequency of power from wind turbine generation?Do the blades adjust pitch to keep them turning a constant speed? What is the designed speed for 60hz and how many poles do the generators have? (pardon all the pesty questions but I work in generation too)
BTW, bunny, how do you control the frequency of power from wind turbine generation?Do the blades adjust pitch to keep them turning a constant speed? What is the designed speed for 60hz and how many poles do the generators have? (pardon all the pesty questions but I work in generation too)
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Post Fiend
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From: The Great North~West!
Originally Posted by horsepuller
BTW, bunny, how do you control the frequency of power from wind turbine generation?Do the blades adjust pitch to keep them turning a constant speed? What is the designed speed for 60hz and how many poles do the generators have? (pardon all the pesty questions but I work in generation too)
What they do to try to keep everything "level" is all in the blade pitch!! Optimum power production, 1.65MW at 60Hz, is reached when wind speed is 14m/s giving the hub a rotational speed of 17 rpm on the input side and 1,600 rpm on the output side. So, if the wind is less than that, the blades pitch out, and if the wind is higher, they pitch back in. If the rotational speed of the hub can be controlled, then there is no problem!! But, that is not very easy to do!! Now if we can only figure out a way to store power for those really windy days,,,, Maybe Ziplock will come up with a container!!!
I don't mind the pesky questions at all!! It's nice that you are interested!! I am more than willing to share what I know, and who knows, I may have a question or two myself sometime!! So, did I answer all of them?!?! Nope,, our generators have 6 poles!!