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