Wind Turbine Collapses

[owg]

I have read that there have been a few wind turbine collapses. Does anyone have links to the reports on the causes of these collapses. Here is a video that shows one such collapse.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcrO4USqRfo

Looks like the brakes failed. In at least one other case, a turbine just fell over (Fenner, UK).

HAZOP at

http://www.curryhydrocarbons.ca

 

[dpc]

I think it will be difficult to obtain accurate information regarding the root causes of these structural failures. Everyone involved will be trying to shift blame and liability to someone else.

The failures what caused injuries or loss of life are probably investigated by the government and that is probably the best source of information on the failure mode (eventually).

The airplane companies and airlines are still pointing fingers about crashes that happened 10 years ago so good luck.



David Castor

http://www.cvoes.com

 

[eyec]

Google will show you quite a few mis-haps with wind turbines flying apart, burning, or losing blades.

 

[stevenal]

http://blog.oregonlive.com/pdxgreen/2008/02/siemens_fined_for_wind_turbine.html

 

[RobLN]

Maybe it was just too windy ?



Solid Edge; I-Deas 7 to 12; NX4, NX5 & currently NX6.

 

[MikeHalloran]

Well, yeah, seriously, sometime it just is too windy.

There are several defenses against that, but when your defense mechanism (braking, feathering, yawing, whatever) fails, progressive failure ending in total loss happens often enough to get some bad press.

Part of the problem, if you see the bad press as a problem, is lack of defense in depth. I.e., it appears to be customary to provide only one defense mechanism against overspeed.

Maybe at some level it makes economic sense. Since civilians are rarely present, collateral damage potential is limited to a value known at build time, so it may be cheaper to risk loss of the entire structure than to build in redundant overspeed protections or structure able to survive a blade loss. I'm not privy to any such calculations, but I'm speculating that they could exist.


Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA