Wind Turbine Slip Ring

What is a wind turbine slip ring? Find out here.

Wind Turbines are designed to rotate to face the wind and extract the maximum possible amount of power from it. With the wind often changing direction frequently this can lead to the that emerge from the wind turbine generator becoming twisted. Usually they will untwist themselves during periods of no wind, but if left tangled wires can be damaged and connections lost with potentially disastrous consequences. A Slip Ring is one elegant solution to that problem.

Futurenergy 60A 500V Wind Turbine Slip Ring

One definition of a slip ring is An electromagnetic device allowing the transmission of power from a stationary to a rotating structure. One side is kept stationary - in this case connected to the wires which go to battery storage, to an inverter, and/or to a bridge rectifier, while the other side can rotate freely into which the wires from the wind turbine generator are connected. As the wind turbine generator rotates on top of its pole, none of the rotation is transmitted below the slip ring.

A slip ring is mounted on an insulated shaft with the electical connections from the wind turbine made to a conductive ring which is free to rotate. Brushes (contacts) are fixed in place (to which the batteries etc are connected) and remain in constant contact with the ring rubbing against it as it rotates. This over time leads to the brushes wearing down or becoming clogged with debris. Therefore it is essential that a low maintenance high quality slip ring is chosen. In order to reduce friction roller bearings are used within the slip ring assembly.

* An alternative to a wind turbine split ring is a simple plug connector positioned at the bottom of the wind turbine mast.When the wires become excessively twisted it can be unplugged, untwisted and re-plugged in. However this can only be done when the wind turbine is not turning or in a sudden gust of wind it could speed up excessively and be damaged.