Was the generator shaft seized? Variable pitch blades locked at the shallowest position?
Patrick Shoemaker Vector Data Systems LLC [email protected] office: (301) 358-1690 x36 http://www.vectordatasystems.com [email protected] wrote: > Ok, so, two weeks ago, after having stood for 4.5 years, through 2, and I > mean TWO "century" wind storms, my generator tower failed on a very normal > normal windy spring day. > > We took it the rest of the way down, cut it apart, looking for the cause of > failure. > > And found none. No rust, no breaks, no corrosion, nothing. > > And found while it was down, that the generator windings and electronics had > burnt themselves up, as well. > > A real head scratcher. All the "obvious" stuff ain't there. > > All we can think of is that there was some very localized freak conditions > that did what the storm a year and a half ago could not do. The storm > then was so strong that about 1/3 of all homes suffered significant roof > damage. Fields migrated across roads. RV's tipped over. parked Semis > tipped over. metal buildings exploded. Wind velocities at the normal > stations set records. individual weather stations recorded high hurricane > velocities. > > But our tower didn't bend or even show damage. > > But two weeks ago, where we had predicted "gusts" to 35 or 40 mph, caused it > to fold. We had changed the blades on it a couple weeks before, on the > advice of the maker of the generator. They insisted that wind loading was > within 1% of the original. > > So, we're re engineering it and back up it goes when the generator gets back > from the maker (who is rebuilding it under warranty). > > I love a mystery. NOT. > > > > > > > ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ > <insert witty tagline here> > > > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > WISPA Wants You! Join today! > http://signup.wispa.org/ > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > WISPA Wireless List: [email protected] > > Subscribe/Unsubscribe: > http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless > > Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WISPA Wants You! Join today! http://signup.wispa.org/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WISPA Wireless List: [email protected] Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
