A wind turbine turns wind energy into electricity using the aerodynamic force from the rotor blades, which work like an airplane wing or helicopter rotor blade. When wind flows across the blade, the air pressure on one side of the blade decreases. The difference in air pressure across the two sides of the blade creates both lift and drag. The force of the lift is stronger than the drag and this causes the rotor to spin. The rotor connects to the generator, either directly (if it's a direct drive turbine) or through a shaft and a series of gears (a gearbox) that speed up the rotation and allow for a physically smaller generator. This translation of aerodynamic force to rotation of a generator creates electricity.
The nacelle sits atop the tower and contains the gearbox, low- and high-speed shafts, generator, and brake. Some nacelles are larger than a house and for a 1.5 MW geared turbine, can weigh more than 4.5 tons.
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The drivetrain is comprised of the rotor, main bearing, main shaft, gearbox, and generator. The drivetrain converts the low-speed, high-torque rotation of the turbine's rotor (blades and hub assembly) into electrical energy.
The generator is driven by the high-speed shaft. Copper windings turn through a magnetic field in the generator to produce electricity. Some generators are driven by gearboxes (shown here) and others are direct-drives where the rotor attaches directly to the generator.
Direct-drive turbines simplify nacelle systems and can increase efficiency and reliability by avoiding gearbox issues. They work by connecting the rotor directly to the generator to generate electricity.
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