Normally-on spring-applied holding brakes for wind turbines

INTORQ BFK series brakes are used by several wind turbine manufacturers with torque ratings from 14 to 200Nm. These brakes are often customised but are always of a single-disc design with multiple engagement springs and DC coil release. They are mounted onto the back of the motors; servo motors for the pitch drives and standard asynchronous motors for the azimuth drives, of which there are typically four or five on a wind turbine. They are designed for 100 per cent running time with coil engaged, and the rated torque can be applied with either dynamic or static brake engagement.

Brake modifications to suit the environment start with the 'Cold Climate Version' allowing operation with ambient temperatures from -20 to +40degC. Corrosion-resistant friction surfaces are used, together with zinc-plated housings. Low backlash is important to prevent oscillations from wind loadings. Here INTORQ provides a plastic coating to the splines of the brake disc which reduces backlash to almost zero and extends the service life. To ensure reliable brake release, even with large air gaps, a specially developed brake rectifier is used, which gives a temporary over-excitation of the brake coil. This also helps reduce the brake engagement time.

Wind turbines present some of the most challenging conditions for industrial brakes, and the need for reliability and low maintenance is evident. INTORQ brakes are developed to meet these challenges, as can be seen from B10d lifetime ratings of up to 20million hours. The full INTORQ range covering spring-applied brakes from 0.1 to 2400Nm is available in the UK through Techdrives. Follow the link for more information about spring-applied brakes for wind turbines.