Windmill go boom

[DD_BobK]

Duane-

I was thinking it failed due to overspeed?

When the unit failed & the photographer "pulled back" the weather looked a bit too windy for windmill operation.

cheers Bob

[DD_BobK]

Rico-

I thought it was worth watching. :)

I have cable.

cheers Bob

[mm]

Only in pictures. I think they're the work of the devil.

[Han]

mm wrote in news: [e-mail]:

I have seen small ventilators like that on roofs. Not to generate electricity, but the same priciples apply.

[Larry Fishel]

Here's my take:

The only info from whoever uploaded the video is that the "brakes" failed and there was a storm.

I assume that windmills that big must have rotating blades like planes (and probably also brakes) so they can be stopped in high winds. My guess is that the rotating mechanism failed, and the brakes probably aren't strong enough to stop it with the blades in the normal position.

Seeing the video on a high-speed connection, it seems to be spinning tremendously fast (several revolutions per second which is astronomical for something that size).

I think one of the blades finally reached it's tensile limit and flew off or otherwise failed.

The imbalance immediately twisted the generator section forward.

That torqued the other two blades and at least one of them hit the tower and took it out.

I assure that seeing this thing spinning 20 times faster than normal made it pretty obvious that something was wrong and gave someone time to get their camera before it failed.

[mm]

Well, that's okay.

[DerbyDad03]

This was the same video that was shown (over and over again*) on Destroyed In Seconds.

They also mentioned that the brake had failed which left the device to spin at a rate it was not designed to spin at.

*That's the one thing I don't like about Destroyed In Seconds. Based on the fact that the destruction of most things on the show really does only take seconds, they show each video over and over and over again to fill the time. There's only so many times you can watch the same boat explode or the same motorcycle hit the wall before it begins to get boring.

[aemeijers]

I agree- not enough feedstock for a series. It should be a once-in-a-while special. Same problem killed to funny-at-first blooper shows- they ran out of fresh material.

-- aem sends...

[DerbyDad03]

re: "Then there are those exotic spirally ones that spin on a vertical axis. Anyone ever seen those?"

I watched a show about a guy who designed some vertical windmills to take advantage of the "natural" wind currents that occur between high rise buildings in cities. He captures the winds as it reaches the roof and generates power for the building to use. Neat idea.

The other neat "wind related" design I caught on a show was a super high-rise building in Japan or Dubai or ? It had sort of a twist to it so that there were no full length flat surfaces directly facing wind coming from any direction. The design kind of forced the wind up and around the building, helping to keep it steady even in the strongest of winds.

[Pete C.]

Accelerated evolution...

[Red Green]

RicodJour wrote in news:fba78398-91da-4a70-bbd3- [e-mail]:

That sumbitch got awl toe up didn't it?!

[Red Green]

David Nebenzahl wrote in news:4aff28a5$0$4074$ [e-mail]:

You have a laptop? If so, can't find an open connection?

Desktop such as I? Borrow a wireless USB adapter. If you find an open connection then buy an adapter of your own.

Then again, maybe you're in a thinly populated area.

[Red Green]

RicodJour wrote in news:fba78398-91da-4a70-bbd3- [e-mail]:

Probably a HF coupon item.

[hallerb]

my best friend built a 14 foot windmill in 1960.

one day the brakes failed and he had a bad day. told him about this video tonight, unfortunately he does not have internet access

[Joe]

Most interesting, as we have had 230-odd Vestas turbines in operation here in McLean County, Illinois for about three years. Several hundred more turbines are scheduled for building in the next few years here and in nearby counties. I noted propeller blade replacement being done on one recently. Occasionally, a unit will be stopped for some maintenance while all the surrounding ones keep ponderously rotating, making volts and amps for Ransley up there in Chicago. I haven't seen any bird kill problems, but there have been reports of a few bat kills. At night, seeing acres and acres of winking red warning lights impresses visitors. Kind of neat. The farmers like having the lease income from the operation, and the construction crews were and are absolute models of efficiency and care for the terrain. Not much in the way of downsides.

Joe

[mm]

Yeah, a lot of the bloopers are barely bloopers at all. They seem to think any mistake someone makes is worth showing. I want it to come out funny.

[mm]

Like Hoobert Heever. That was funny.

[aemeijers]

Leeching signal off a neighbor ain't polite. Like tapping in to their cable feed. Not at all like using a coffee shop hotspot at $1.50 a cup.

-- aem sends...

[George]

They were supposed to build a fairly large windfarm here in one of the few places where it would make sense. There is a high end development located around 5 miles from there. A few influential people were very vocal about how it would destroy their "view" so they had the zoning regulations changed to prevent windmills without explicitly preventing them. The interesting part too is the windfarm was being built with private money not with money the government picked out of our pockets.

[aemeijers]

NIMBY strilkes again. Stuff like that is one of the reasons they are now talking about building them offshore, in areas with both wind, and out of view of tourist beachs and rich folk cliffs. Oh yeah, that'll make them cheaper and more resistant to weather.

-- aem sends...