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A Russian hydroelectric turbine (not too different from a flywheel) stored horizontally in a "vault" (a dam) killed 75 people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/200
by oneiric 8y ago
A Russian hydroelectric turbine (not too different from a flywheel) stored horizontally in a "vault" (a dam) killed 75 people.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Sayano%E2%80%93Shushenskaya_power_station_accident https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Sayano%E2%80%93Shushenska...
- ChuckMcM 8y agoWow, that is pretty amazing article. About 2 orders of magnitude more energy than I think we're talking about here, but still. These things are scary when they get away from you.
- 8bitsrule 8y agoI remember following that amazing accident. But as I recall, the turbine jumped up out of its vault, and that's what started the whole failure. IIRC, the speed of a water-powered generator is regulated by the load on it. Take that load away, it spins faster and faster (think that's what happened to the other generators). So that one guy had to climb up to the top of the dam to close the gate.
- oneiric 8y agoAbout the "faster and faster" remark, turbines will only get to about double their nominal speed without load (called runaway).