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Wind Energy

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Do you know how tall the tallest wind turbine is and wonder what is inside? You can explore it right now with a new online 3D model. Right in your browser without installing any extension.

What scenes and objects can you find in this model?

Wind Energy

Nacelle

Nacelle sits atop the tower and houses all of the generating components of the wind turbine like electric generator or gearbox. Some nacelles are as large as a house and weigh many tons.

Tower

A tubular steel tower which supports the structure of the turbine and is mounted on a huge foundation made of solid reinforced concrete. A lift passes through the center of the tower. The tower usually comes in three sections and is assembled on-site. Because wind speed increases with height, taller towers enable turbines to capture more energy and generate more electricity. The tallest off-shore wind turbine tower is more than 200 m high.

Wind vane

The wind vane measures wind direction and communicates with the yaw drive to orient the turbine properly with respect to the wind.

Anemometer

An anemometer is an instrument used to measure the speed of the wind. The data is evaluated by a computer that controls the blade pitch and adjusts the angle of the turbine's blades in order to achieve maximum efficiency.

Blades

The blades are made of fiberglass, sometimes with Kevlar reinforcement. They are hollow and their shape is designed to achieve the best aerodynamic conditions, maximum efficiency and minimum noise generation during movement. When wind flows across the blade, the air pressure on one side of the blade decreases. The difference in air pressure across the two sides of the blade creates both lift and drag. The force of the lift is stronger than the drag and this causes the rotor to spin. Most turbines have three blades.

Rotor

A rotating part of a wind turbine which consists of three blades seated in the hub connected to the main shaft. Inside the hub the blades’ pitch driving mechanism is located.

Main shaft

Part of the turbine's drivetrain, the low-speed main shaft, is connected to the rotor and spins between 8–20 rotations per minute.

Main shaft bearing

The main bearing supports the rotating low-speed shaft and reduces friction between moving parts so that the forces from the rotor do not damage the shaft.

Gearbox

The gear box contains a series of gears ensuring that the output shaft rotates at a continuous frequency, whether the rotor rotates slowly or quickly. The controlled speed allows the use of a synchronous generator, which supplies generated electricity into a transformer station from which it flows directly to the grid.

Rotor brake

If it is necessary to stop wind turbine, the aerodynamic braking is usually used. The blades are turned so that they do not offer resistance to the wind and the turbine smoothly stops during one or two turns. The rotor brake keeps the rotor from turning after it's been shut down by the pitch system and serves as a parking brake for maintenance tasks.

Electric generator

Wind moves the blades and the rotational force is transmitted by a shaft from the rotor through a gearbox to the generator, which converts mechanical energy into electricity. In the electric generator copper windings turns through a magnetic field producing alternate electric current.

Yaw drive

The yaw drive rotates the nacelle to keep the wind turbine facing the current wind direction.

Blade pitch

A hydraulic system that control blade pitch - adjusts the angle of the wind turbine's blades with respect to the wind. By adjusting the angle of a turbine's blades, the pitch system controls the rotor speed and thus how much energy the blades can generate. At a wind speed of 3.5 m/s, the blades are put into their rotating position. When the wind exceeds 25 m/s, the wind turbine stops automatically to prevent overload. The pitch system turns the blades so they do not oppose the wind and the turbine stops smoothly.

Did you know?

The blades wary in length and size, the largest wind turbine has blades more than 100 m long – about the same length as a football field.

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