Modern wind turbines require delivery of power and signals to and from the rotating blades by a reliable rotary union assembly. Moog Components Group, a sister operating group of the Moog Industrial Group, provides a line of wind power (WP) products that are designed for this application. Slip Rings, utilizing fiber brush sliding contact technology are “no maintenance” rotary devices for transferring electrical power and signals. This fiber brush contact system eliminates the need for common slip ring maintenance procedures such as vacuuming of brush debris, lubrication, regular inspection for wear, and brush replacement.
Moog Components Group also offers fluid rotary unions used for hydraulic power transfer. These fluid rotary unions, with an innovative patented low-leak, long life design, can be combined with slip rings for integrated electrical/hydraulic rotary union solutions. Our fiber optic systems can also be integrated into the rotary union to transmit data and signals on a broad bandwidth fiber optic line. Fiber optic rotary joints provide the rotary connection and multiplexers allow multiple signals to be combined onto a single fiber.
Appendix: Technical Data
Author
Glenn Dorsey is a Product Line Manager at Moog Components Group and is responsible for the slip ring and fiber optic rotary components. Glenn has an extensive background in rotary components and motion technology and manages the relationship between customers, markets and product development. Glenn is currently focused on focused on product and business development for medical imaging, wind energy and future combat systems.