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by oneiric 2951 days ago
A Russian hydroelectric turbine (not too different from a flywheel) stored horizontally in a "vault" (a dam) killed 75 people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Sayano%E2%80%93Shushenska...
2 comments
8bitsrule 2951 days ago
I remember following that amazing accident. But as I recall, the turbine jumped up out of its vault, and that's what started the whole failure.

IIRC, the speed of a water-powered generator is regulated by the load on it. Take that load away, it spins faster and faster (think that's what happened to the other generators). So that one guy had to climb up to the top of the dam to close the gate.

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oneiric 2947 days ago
About the "faster and faster" remark, turbines will only get to about double their nominal speed without load (called runaway).
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ChuckMcM 2951 days ago
Wow, that is pretty amazing article. About 2 orders of magnitude more energy than I think we're talking about here, but still. These things are scary when they get away from you.
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