Departments - Design Diagram
Wind Turbines Require Thousands of Fasteners
7/22/2010
More than 500 bolts alone go into a wind turbine, and those are just the bolts.
More than 500 bolts alone go into a wind turbine, and those are just the bolts. This does not include the hundreds of other types of fasteners that bring a wind turbine to life – keeping it standing safely and securely while producing electricity. However, when you look at the total amount of fasteners used in a typical three-blade wind turbine – from the ground to the top, it can amount to more than 25,000 fasteners per turbine. Power generation from wind depends on bolts, studs, screws, and nuts, with any imperfections bringing the entire operation to a halt.
Fasteners used in wind turbines must withstand the high stress applications and intense vibrations that exist during the turbine operation. Studs, bolts, and nuts are either machined or forged, depending on the specification. High-quality fasteners, washers, and dowel pins are utilized for internal and external bolting of the tower sections, blade and hub joints, and nacelle components.
Typical bolting areas on a wind turbine include:
- Foundation;
- Tower sections;
- Front main bearing;
- Blade to bearing;
- Main shaft to the hub;
- Nacelle and yaw bearing;
- Nacelle frame; and
- Rear main bearing.
Refer back to the April/May 2010 issue of Today’s Energy Solutions magazine for a refresher about proper torque techniques and standards that Snap-On Industrial is spearheading, for the safe installation, maintenance, repair, and overhaul of today’s wind turbines.
Suppliers of Fasteners to the Wind Turbine, and many other industries, include:
Applied Bolting Technology, appliedbolting.com
Askew Industrial Corp., askewindustrial.com
BBC Fasteners Inc., bbcfasteners.com
Cardinal Fastener, cardinalfastener.com
Copper State Bolt & Nut, copperstate.com
FCI-Burndy Products, burndy.com
Gexpro Services, gexproservices.com
Nelson Stud Welding Inc., nelsonstudwelding.com
Norm Tooman Construction Inc., normtoolmanconst.com
Nova Machine Products Inc., novamachine.com
Nylok Corp, nylok.com
Portland Bolts & Manufacturing, portlandbolt.com
Process Products Ltd., process-products.com
RW Supply, rwsupply.net
Safety Socket LLC, safetysocket.com
The Dyson Corp, dysoncorp.com
Threaded Fasteners Inc., threadedfastenersinc.com
TurnaSure LLC, turnasure.com