4 ms·

wouldnt the turbines be safer if they are spinning instead of being parked? you could just disengage the dynamo..

• qayxc 6y ago
  No, that'd be a bad idea. Keep in mind that the rotors and mechanical parts are subject to wear and tear. A rotor that's feathered experiences less mechanical stress and thus lasts longer. Same goes for any other moving parts. It's a measure to increase the lifetime and reduce the risk of fires (e.g. from spinning too fast due to lack of mechanical load from the generator).
• mkingston 6y ago
  I'm no expert, but I guess if you disengage the load the turbine blades would accelerate until the internal heat losses to friction matched the energy input from the wind. In other words, they'd spin very quickly, probably far in excess of their design speed, meaning at best that they would wear out much more quickly, or I guess more likely RUD (rapid unscheduled disassembly), causing them to be considerably more dangerous.
• jacquesm 6y ago
  No. A parked turbine has its blades furled and is locked in place. A freely spinning but disengaged turbine is super dangerous because there is nothing to stop it from overspeeding and that can happen quite quickly with the right gust of wind. So you always want to have drag on a spinning turbine.
• rsynnott 6y ago
  That's how you get this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u14tBwO5QVQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u14tBwO5QVQ Ultimately, the energy has to go _somewhere_, if it's spinning.