The wind turbine brake system is one that is every bit as impressive as it is complicated. To work on something as powerful as a wind turbine, you can’t expect anything less.
Over the years the design has been modified to work at maximum efficiency and to help save on the general cost of materials. That being said, it can be a challenge to know everything that’s involved with making the brakes work.
This article will describe the basics of the brake system, so you’ll have an idea of how they work if you ever need to handle them in the future.
The Basics of the Wind Turbine Brake System
The turbine brake system is made to slow down and halt the movement of the wind turbine itself. It takes more than just a couple of simple brake pads to bring it to a halt.
There’s a lot of kinetic energy generated by the wind turbines, and to disperse it properly, you have to turn that kinetic energy into heat energy. Depending on the type of wind turbine, you can do this in several ways.
Low-Speed Braking
If your wind turbine runs off of lower speed mechanics, you don’t need to have the powerful brakes that high-speed turbines use. In this case, you could get away with installing a large disc brake instead.
Disc brakes are the same brakes found on many motor vehicles. We don’t tend to think of our cars as low-speed or low-power, but compared to a high-power wind turbine they don’t generate nearly as much kinetic energy.
One thing to keep in mind is that the disc brakes rely on torque to do their job, so make sure you pick the right brakes to last you a long while.
High-Speed Braking
When you have a bigger wind turbine or one that generates a lot of power, you need more than disc breaks to stop it. That’s where high-speed brakes come into play.
High-speed brakes work by engaging with the generator so they can directly affect the movement of the turbine. The ratio of the turbine’s gearboxes results in a significant reduction in output torque, something to factor into your selection.
Two of the main things you need to factor in are the diameter of the brakes and the number of teeth the brakes have on them. The higher the number these variables are, the better and faster the brakes will perform.
If you want to be on the safe side (and if your turbine allows it), you could get both brake types. Doing this ends up being cost-effective in the long run, so if you have the money to buy both now, you should do so.
All of the Products You Need
When it comes to accessing the right products, you should know we’ve got you covered. You can buy an industrial wind turbine brake system, as well as clutch accessories, torque limiters, and much more.
Reach out to us to find out what we can do to help you. We look forward to hearing from you soon.