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Originally Posted by freefeet  As someone who used to repair and service aircraft - specifically helicopters - i can assure you that they don't fall to bits after twenty years - and a helicopter takes a lot more punishment and vibration than a wind turbine tower, it's also made from aluminium which i'm sure you know isn't anything like as strong as steel and reinforced concrete.
I've flown in two planes over 60 years old without any thoughts as to them falling to bits. If a turbine is put up correctly, serviced correctly and has its blades balanced correctly there should be no reason for failure.
As to the water mill i think you missed the point. The point i was making is that if things are looked after properly they will last and last and last. It's a very tiny investment in terms of energy for the good upkeep and servicing of a wind turbine in relation to its output. |
It sounds as if experience as a mechanic has given you a vast knowledge of structural design. Just how much ‘stronger’ is steel than aluminum? What regulations relating to construction of oil rigs operating in the North Sea (DNV typ.) have structural strength requirements higher than those operating in other waters (ABS, IMO typ.)? Hope that enquiries into if you know what you are prattling on about do not make you irrita(Ted).
Getting around all the conjecture, the manufacturer of these windmills specified their lifecycle at 20 years. By what method do you assume they could last any more than 20%beyond that and how can you claim the overhaul cost to be ‘miniscule’? It has already been established that these windmills will be profitable less than ¼ of their life before requiring an overhaul. I imagine if they were designed to meet your ‘hundreds of years’ serviceability criteria, cost would sharply increase while the energy output does not, so we would only break even decades later. That is only if the wind patterns do not shift north or south of the location, a new migratory path for birds shuts them down or the next technology makes them obsolete.
As to the old fashioned windmill, I think you ignored Rich _’s point. The main reason the mill you speak of has lasted this long is because it was built well and designed to last for generations. I would imagine that hundreds of years ago, when this mill was built, it was by a family of Millers who constructed it as a family business. I think you would agree that occupations back then where handed down through multiple generations and along with the probability that the family also used the mill as their home, it was built to NEVER break down. This being the case, materials used in the construction were selected to have much better properties and were more robust than if it was only to be used for a few decades. Incidental factors such as a river that did not diminish, fairly consistent occupation and yes, owners that provided needed service and repairs, ensured that it still works today. I would hope that you do not believe that the reason many of our newer contrivances today do not last as long as those made years ago is because we do not take care of them properly.