A wind turbine commonly comprises a rotor, a nacelle and a tower. The rotor is typically attached so as to be rotatable to the nacelle and the nacelle is ordinarily arranged on top of the tower. An electric generator is usually connected to the nacelle of the wind turbine.
The wind interacts with the rotor of the wind turbine and rotates the rotor. The rotation of the rotor is transferred to the electric generator where the rotational energy is transformed into electrical energy.
The electrical energy of the generator is generally transformed by a transformer to a certain predetermined voltage level.
It is therefore known to arrange a transformer within the nacelle or the tower of the wind turbine.
Short-circuits can occur in the transformer that lead to an electric arc. The electric arc can lead to a rapid local temperature increase that again leads to a vaporization of material, like oil, in the transformer. This vaporization can lead to a pressure increase in the transformer that may cause the transformer housing to rupture and release the pressure. This is known as an explosion of a transformer.
The explosion of a transformer can present several negative effects, for example the transformer may be damaged and the oil present in the transformer may be released into the surrounding area. When people are present in the surrounding of the transformer, an explosion can be a severe safety problem.
Several measures are known to avoid these negative effects, for example the transformer may be arranged in a special transformer housing to guide the pressure wave and the spilled oil into a predetermined direction of the transformer that is equipped with an explosion tight housing.
This presents further disadvantages in that the transformer still gets damaged due to the explosion of that the housing, which is very heavy and not very service friendly.