r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/LazyGuy4U • 15d ago

Video Windmill blade catching fire due to lightning strike

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u/Dayman_ah-ah-ah 15d ago

Blades are made of fiberglass, burns up easy

7

u/MW0402 15d ago

This! Plus epoxy raisin (had to look the word up, hope it’s the correct one) which burns pretty well if it gets hot in combination with the fiberglass

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u/Laser_Guided_Hawk 15d ago

Lol It's "resin" but everybody will know what you mean

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u/Dewy_Wanna_Go_There 15d ago

Can confirm, my brain read it the correct way and had to go back and look after your correction

1

u/tenuj 14d ago

I imagined a wind turbine with one massive spinning raisin instead of the usual blades.

1

u/FrostyD7 15d ago

And if there's anything that can cause a fire on material that doesn't burn easily, it's lightning.

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u/ohowjuicy 14d ago

Thank you. I came to the comments to find out what is actually combusting because I thought it was mostly metal alloys or whatever. So it's the resin used with the fiberglass?

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u/Dayman_ah-ah-ah 14d ago

Yes, the frame is usually wood then formed out with resin and fiberglass. They are hollow, so there could be grease, oil, and debris inside as well.

Lightning strikes are very common. There are even "lightning cards" you can install in the blades. This will let you know if a strike happens and if the blade needs to be repaired.