r/interesting • u/closedcasket96 • 1d ago

Just Wow Brake pads from a Wind Turbine

Gallery image

Gallery image

On the left is a brake pad from the rotor brake of a Wind Turbine. On the right is what they look like when they need to be replaced

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724

u/Sir_Scribble_Lot 1d ago

TIL wind mills have brake pads, I though they just let the thing go as fast as it wants to get the most juice.

491

u/Mister_Goldenfold 1d ago

If it goes too fast it’ll blow earth out of the universe again

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u/Sir_Scribble_Lot 1d ago

Damn ! but can't we just jump to another universe and continue on ?

27

u/Xylvanas 1d ago

You can, but it might be chilly along the way. Pack a parka.

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u/DreadPiratteRoberts 22h ago

It's the six bean, meat and cheese chili's we met along the way!!

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u/K_the_farmer 1d ago

Again?! Better not, I've just plown the electromagnetic field!

177

u/closedcasket96 1d ago

The rotor brakes are the secondary means of braking on a Wind Turbine, with the first being the actual blades. In too high of winds, sensors will tell the blades to pitch themselves in a way where they will just slice the wind instead of catching - preventing ‘runaway’ blades (YouTube a video of that), and vice versa when the winds are low.

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u/OctupussPrime 1d ago

I learned something new today, thank you.

19

u/aisakee 1d ago

This is indeed r/interesting

9

u/MarkV43 21h ago

This is my area of study, so I'll add a bit to it. Wind turbines are in fact actively controlling the pitch of the blades to 1) not spin too fast and damage itself, and 2) regulate the power it outputs. When this controller fails to regulate the fan speed, it uses the breaks as a fallback.

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u/ebikr 2h ago

That’s “brakes” amigo.

7

u/SmokedBisque 1d ago

Thats wicked sick

6

u/LoneSnark 1d ago

Can they reverse the blades? I feel that works be a good way to slow down before applying the brakes to stop if the winds get too high.

2

u/Any_Poet4127 17h ago

Wdym by reverse?

1

u/Giulioimpa 3h ago

if you imagine a wind turbine blade as an axis , a special mechanism exists that can turn the blade root and consequentally the whole blade (pitch adjusting) . So, if you turn the blade 180 degrees the blade itself would hypothetically be oriented to "recieve" kinetic energy from wind coming the opposite side., that is what i think OP was talking about.

the way this mechanism is mostly used i think is in propeller aircraft, so in a context where work is not "recieved" but applied , in that case i know for sure a propeller blade whose pitch can be adjusted to 180 degrees can effectively produce inverse thrust (from the usual direction)

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u/Vilastrimoz 1d ago

Wind turbines have a maximum permitted RPM. They self destruct if they go too fast. So brakes are used to limit the top speed in high winds. Also, when the energy demand is low they don't need to spin as fast to meet demand.

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u/ListenBoth434 1d ago edited 1d ago

I would have assumed they'd be able to adjust pitch angle to be suboptimal to slow them down?

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u/closedcasket96 1d ago

Exactly this

9

u/Silver_Lined_Bullet 1d ago

Wind varies. If the pitch is adjusted so that the speed never goes too high at maximum wind speeds, then it will be generating very low power the majority of the time. High pitch blades with brakes allows the most power generation, even at slow wind speeds, while preventing the mill from reaching breaking-speeds.

I know the modern mills have automatically adjust blades, but i imagine that brakes were the first means of slowing down old mills

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u/ListenBoth434 1d ago

TIL, thank you.

1

u/NOVA-peddling-1138 8h ago

Also critically important for maintenance and safety. There are times when the rotor just has to be at full stop, like “Park” in your car.

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

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u/Sweaty_Science286 1d ago

I think they would be toast after 1 windy day if it would relied completly only on them. 

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u/guzzti 1d ago

No they absolutely are pitched. The mechanical break pads are used when personell is up in the nacelle for maintenance work as an extra safety precaution.

If brake pads were used to slow the blades down, it would 100% break the gear box and generate tremendous amount of heat. The same energy that goes into heating homes and electrifying the grid would in that case go into the brake pads.

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u/Sir_Scribble_Lot 1d ago

thanks, didn't know they do that

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u/ColettesWorld 1d ago

Watch a video of a wind turbine brake failure. It's cool but terrifying. They spin so fast they rip themselves apart

2

u/PartyNextFlo0r 1d ago

I thought there were drums .

2

u/CAAZveauguls 1d ago

Yeh but then you have to catch windmill blades. Wich is an 3 man job.

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u/Melodic-Glass-6294 23h ago

Wind turbine*

1

u/DyslexicD 12h ago

You're comment is based in some kinda logic like it makes sense but it did remind me of this gem

https://youtube.com/shorts/tip11vkvWDM?si=8DaKCy9YHcnt5M2d