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An Upwind turbine faces into the wind with the turbine blades in front of the Nacelle* while a Downwind turbine has blades to the rear of the Nacelle and faces away from the wind. Up-wind turbines are by far and away the most common, but down-wind turbines (usually two-bladed) are also used in certain situations.
In very strong winds the turbine blades of a wind turbine generator flex under enormous forces. With a down-wind turbine the blades flex AWAY from the mast which prevents them from crashing into it. Up-wind turbines need to be designed so that the blades are positioned at a good distance from the mast, and they must also be engineered to be inflexible (which costs more money). In addition, when the blades of a down-wind turbine bend it reduces the stresses on the mast as wind energy is lost in bending the blades. Finally, down-wind turbines do not need a tail (or motorised yaw mechanism) to align them with wind as the turbine blades perform this task (although this can also be a serious disadvantage in large down-wind turbines if wires carrying huge currents are getting twisted).
Down-wind turbines on the other hand are generally noisier (additional aerodynamic noise), and the blades are subject to more forces than those of up-wind turbines. Another serious disadvantage of a down-wind turbine is wind shadow behind the mast causing a drop in power each time a blade passed behind the mast.
*Nacelle = is located at the top of the mast and contains the rotor and generator, and sometimes a gearbox. Basically it is everything except the turbine blades, tail, and mast.
What else can I help you with?
How fast does a tornado catamarans go?
20 knots upwind, 33 knots downwind.
Does sound travels faster downwind than upwind?
Sound travels faster downwind. The speed at which sound travels is relative to the medium it is moving through. When sound is traveling upwind, you subtract the wind speed from the speed of sound. When it is traveling down wind you add the wind speed.
How can I tell which is the downwind and the upwind side when landing?
Pilots always land and take off upwind (the wind is coming from straight ahead, or nearly so) Downwind is the opposite, when the wind is coming from behind. In order to tell, you can look up winds online (aviation weather dot gov) or look at the wind socket at the airport.
Why fired heater are kept upwind in refinery?
If heater is downwind, any hydrocarbon leak can get into its fire box, potentially leading to fire and explosion
How do sails and the wind move a boat?
The wind hitting the sail at an angle upwind pushes it sideways which is why you zigzag. Downwind wind hit sail straight on
Why is one side of the v longer than the other when birds fly?
Simple aerodynamics: the shorter leg of the "V" is upwind & the longer side is downwind. Usually.
What is the antonym of alee?
The antonym of alee is aweather. Both words went out of use following the introduction of steamships. Alee means in the downwind direction; helm alee ! is the commonest usage. Aweather means in the upwind direction.
What can cause a sand dune to slowly move into the direction of the wind?
A sand dune will always move with the prevailing wind (downwind). It would not be able to move into the direction of the prevailing wind (upwind).
How do you use the word upwind in a sentence?
The hunter was upwind from the prey
Contrast the destructions of pompeii and Herculaneum?
Pompeii, which was downwind from Vesuvius, was buried primarily by falling ash and pumice with only relatively thing deposits from pyroclastic flows. Herculaneum, which was closer to the volcano but upwind was buried primarily by pyroclastic flows, which were hotter than the falling ash.
What is a trough compass?
A Yardang is a rock protrusion that has been shaped by the erosion of wind and sand, such that the upwind side is bluff or undercut, and the downwind part is a diminishing blunt ridge.The compass part comes from the concept that the direction of the prevailing wind may be shown by analysing the effect.
Is upwind the opposite of dishonest?
No, upwind and dishonest are not opposites. Upwind refers to the direction from which the wind is coming, while dishonest refers to not being truthful or deceiving others.
