Braking device for a high-inertia rotor

A braking device for a high-inertia rotor which rotates in a predetermined direction about an axis wherein the braking device comprises:

• a circular braking track fixed coaxially on said rotor and composed of successive water-cooled metal segments, each segment constituting a closed chamber with an inlet and an outlet for the water;
• a succession of stationary brake cylinders disposed adjacent to said track in a position suitable to thrust brake linings against said track;
• a plurality of water tanks fixed on the rotor for supplying cooling water to said segments, each of said tanks being independently hydraulically interconnected with at least one given segment, each said tank being disposed radially nearer to the axis of the rotor than said respective interconnected given segment and being oriented angularly to the rear of said given segment relative to the direction of rotation of the rotor, whereby both centrifugal force and the deceleration force due to braking tend to urge water from said tank towards said given segment;
• and
• inlet pipes and outlet pipes which connect said tank respectively to said inlet and to said outlet of said given segment to form a segment cooling circuit and to allow water to circulate in said circuit by the thermosiphonic effect which results firstly from the rise in temperature of the water in the segment during braking and secondly from the presence of centrifugal and deceleration forces.