science

Hornslet wind-turbine collapse

Hornslet wind-turbine collapse is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Hornslet wind-turbine collapse rather than just read about it. In short: The Hornslet Wind Turbine Collapse was a collapse of a wind turbine on 22 February 2008. It is one of only a few structural collapses that have been captured on film.

Key takeaways

Hornslet wind-turbine collapse belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Hornslet wind-turbine collapse to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Hornslet wind-turbine collapse from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Hornslet Wind Turbine Collapse was a collapse of a wind turbine on 22 February 2008. It is one of only a few structural collapses that have been captured on film.

Description of wind turbine The wind turbine was a Nordtank NTK 600-180/43 with a maximum generation capacity of 600 kW at Hornslet, Denmark at 56°20′42.97″N 10°10′13.03″E. It was operated by Syddjurs and inaugurated on 23 December 1996. The rotor of this turbine, which carried in the Danish wind turbine register the designation 570715000000021503, had a diameter of 43 metres. It was mounted on a free-standing steel-tube tower 44.5 metres above ground. The turbine was the first and northernmost turbine of Hyacintvej Wind Park, which consists of five similar wind turbines, arranged in a line running south-southeasterly - north-northwesterly.

Failure After a malfunction from a worn brake mechanism, a service team from Vestas were called. Vestas engineers checked and repaired the wind turbine brake on the morning of 22 February 2008. At the last routine inspection it was noted that the main gear of the turbine was also making unusual noises and a sophisticated endoscopic inspection of the gear was planned, but as result of its high cost it was not undertaken immediately. After repair and several checks of the brake, the turbine was restarted in order to bring it back into normal operation. At this time the wind was very strong. The airbrakes at the tip of the blades were turned on to control the speed of the turbine before it reached operational speed. After its generator was synchronized to the grid a noise from the nacelle prompted an attempt to stop the turbine manually. A large crashing sound occurred, possibly as a result of the gear failing, at which point the turbine began to oscillate strongly. The rotor then suddenly stopped but immediately started turning again. The rotor did not at first turn very fast, but it was now impossible to control the speed of rotation. The tower was evacuated immediately, the airbrakes of the turbine had failed and as a strong wind blew the turbine started rotating faster and faster quickly reaching a speed far beyond its design tolerances. Service personnel contacted the police who established a security cordon of 400 metres around the turbine. 2.5 hours later, at about 3:20 pm, the blades began to disintegrate. One of the blades hit halfway along the tower which bent in the direction of the wind. The top half of the tower then sheared off at the bend and fell to the ground. The base of the tower remained standing. The debris of the turbine flew 200–500 metres away. No injuries were caused. The collapse was filmed from a nearby farmhouse. The film was shown on several TV stations and is available online. The turbine was out of service until June 2008 and was eventually replaced by a new wind turbine of the same design.

See also List of structural failures and collapses

External links "Nordtank (Vestas) wind system fail and crashes". Dborup (YouTube). 24 February 2008. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. "Final report on investigation of a catastrophic turbine failures, February 22 and 23, 2008". WindAction (Anti-Windfarm Group). "List of wind turbines in Denmark". Archived from the original on 4 July 2011.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Hornslet wind-turbine collapse

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Hornslet wind-turbine collapse claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Hornslet wind-turbine collapse before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Hornslet wind-turbine collapse ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Hornslet wind-turbine collapse

In research: Hornslet wind-turbine collapse appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Hornslet wind-turbine collapse in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Hornslet wind-turbine collapse is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2000s disasters in Denmark, 2008 disasters in Europe, 2008 in Denmark, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Hornslet wind-turbine collapse outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Hornslet wind-turbine collapse in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Hornslet wind-turbine collapse means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Hornslet wind-turbine collapse out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Hornslet wind-turbine collapse in simple terms?

The Hornslet Wind Turbine Collapse was a collapse of a wind turbine on 22 February 2008. It is one of only a few structural collapses that have been captured on film.

Why does Hornslet wind-turbine collapse matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Hornslet wind-turbine collapse?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Hornslet wind-turbine collapse.