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Harnessing the best of both worlds

Published in: Wind, Talking Point, Exclusive Articles

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Eduardo Ortiz, Sales Engineer Wind, at Antec part of Dellner Wind Solutions Hybrid brakes for wind turbines are often overlooked as a solution, but the benefits of combining active and passive technology in a single product are becoming more widely accepted by some key industry stakeholders.

Brakes are a central component of a wind turbine, and among the most important are yaw brakes (active or passive) that are installed to align the nacelle into the wind. In simple terms, an active yaw brake utilises high hydraulic pressure to keep the wind turbine nacelle into the wind, and low hydraulic pressure in case the nacelle needs to be moved around the vertical tower axis. In contrast, a passive yaw brake system is constantly applying the same force to keep the wind turbine rotor into the wind.

Heavy-duty rotor and pitch brakes are also used in various wind energy applications. Rotor brakes are typically caliper-style (active or passive), while rotor lock pins (hydraulic or manual) are used for safety locking and maintenance purposes.

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