Wind Power

WIND POWER
WIND ENERGY
The Sun heats our atmosphere unevenly, so some patches
become warmer than others.
These warm patches of air rise, other air blows in to replace
them - and we feel a wind blowing.
We can use the energy in the wind by building a tall tower,
with a large propeller on the top

WIND ENERGY
Wind is free, wind farms need no fuel.
Produces no waste or greenhouse gases.
The land beneath can usually still be used for

farming.
A good method of supplying energy to remote areas.

WIND ENERGY
No Sulfur Dioxide (SO2), Nitrous

Oxide (NOx), or Mercury
Emissions
WHAT IS WIND POWER?
It is a renewable energy source

Wind energy is utilized to
produce electricity
Wind energy is the fastest
growing energy source on earth
The rate at which technology is
improving is making wind power
more and more appealing
Most effective in areas that
receive a decent amount of wind
HOW DOES IT WORK?
PARTS OF WIND TURBINE
TOWERS
Steel-tubular tower
Lattice tower
Concrete tower Steel-tubular tower
10
TOWERS
Conical tubular pole towers:
Steel: Short on-site assembly & erection time; cheap steel.
Concrete: less flexible so does not transmit/amplify sound; can

be built on-site (no need to transport) or pre-fabricated.
Hybrid: Concrete base, steel top sections; no buckling/corrosion

TOWERS
Lattice truss towers:

Half the steel for same stiffness and height, resulting in cost and
transportation advantage
Less resistance to wind flow
Spread structure’s loads over wider area therefore less volume
in the foundation
Less tower shadow, Lower visual/aesthetic appeal
Longer assembly time on-site , Higher maintenance costs
TOWERS
Steel tube most common.
Other designs can be lattice, concrete, or hybrid concrete-steel.
Must be >30 m high to avoid turbulence caused by trees and

buildings. Usually~80 m.
Tower height increases w/ pwr rating/rotor diameter;
More height provides better wind resource
Given material/design, height limited by base diameter

TOWERS
Steel tube base diameter limited by transportation (14.1 feet),

which limits tower height to about 80m.
Lattice, concrete, hybrid designs required for >80m.

BLADES
Materials: aluminum, fiberglass, or carbon-fiber composites to

provide strength-to-weight ratio, fatigue life, and stiffness while
minimizing weight.
Fewer blades cost less (less materials & operate at higher
rotational speeds - lower gearing ratio); but acoustic noise,
proportional to (blade speed)5, is too high.
More than 3 requires more materials, more cost, with only
incremental increase in aerodynamic efficiency.
Three blade design is standard.
ROTOR HUB
The interface between the rotor and the

mechanical drive train. Includes blade
pitch mechanism.
Most highly stressed components, as all

rotor stresses and moments are
concentrated here.
GEARBOX
Rotor speed of 620 rpm.

Wind generator synchronous speed ns=120f/p;
f is frequency, p is number of poles:
ns=1500 rpm (4 pole), 1000 (6 pole)
If generator is an induction generator, then rotor speed is nm=(1-s)ns.
Defining nM as rotor rated speed, the gear ratio is:
nm (1 − s )ns (1 − s )(120) f
rgb = = =
nM nM pnM
With s = -.01, p=4, nM=15, then , rgb=101. Gear ratios range
from 50300.
WIND TURBINES – NUMBER OF BLADES
Most common design is the three-bladed turbine. The most important

reason is the stability of the turbine. A rotor with an odd number of rotor
blades (and at least three blades) can be considered to be similar to a disc
when calculating the dynamic properties of the machine.

WIND TURBINES – NUMBER OF BLADES
A rotor with an even number of blades will give stability problems for a
machine with a stiff structure. The reason is that at the very moment when
the uppermost blade bends backwards, because it gets the maximum power
from the wind, the lowermost blade passes into the wind shade in front of
the tower.
TYPES OF WIND TURBINES
Wind Turbines
Horizontal axis
Vertical axis
HORIZONTAL AXIS WIND TURBINES
VERTICAL AXIS WIND TURBINES
WIND TURBINES
Horizontal vs. Vertical-Axis
Turbine Advantages Disadvantages
type
HAWT • Higher wind energy conversion • Higher installation cost,
efficiency stronger tower to support
• Access to stronger wind due to heavy weight of nacelle
tower height • Longer cable from top of
• Power regulation by stall and tower to ground
pitch angle control at high wind • Yaw control required
speeds
VAWT • Lower installation cost and easier • Lower wind energy conversion
maintenance due to ground-level efficiency (weaker wind on
gearbox and generator lower portion of blades &
• Operation independent of wind limited aerodynamic
direction performance of blades)
• More suitable for rooftops where • Higher torque fluctuations and
strong winds are available prone to mechanical
24 without tower height vibrations
• Limited options for power
PITCH CONTROL
When the power output of turbine becomes too high, the

pitch mechanism immediately pitches (turns) the rotor blades
slightly out of the wind.
Conversely, the blades are turned back into the wind whenever
the wind drops again.
The rotor blades thus have to be able to turn around their
longitudinal axis.
The pitch mechanism can be operated using hydraulic systems
or individual electric drives
YAW CONTROL
Yaw is the angle of rotation of the nacelle

around its vertical axis.
Efficient yaw control is essential to
ensure that wind turbines always face
directly into the wind.
The wind turbine is said to have a yaw
error, if the rotor is not perpendicular to
the wind. A yaw error implies that a
lower share of the energy in the wind
will be running through the rotor area.

Wind Power

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WIND POWER

The Sun heats our atmosphere unevenly, so some patches

become warmer than others.

These warm patches of air rise, other air blows in to replace

them - and we feel a wind blowing.

We can use the energy in the wind by building a tall tower,

with a large propeller on the top

Wind is free, wind farms need no fuel.

Produces no waste or greenhouse gases.

The land beneath can usually still be used for

A good method of supplying energy to remote areas.

No Sulfur Dioxide (SO2), Nitrous

It is a renewable energy source

Concrete tower Steel-tubular tower

Conical tubular pole towers:

Steel: Short on-site assembly & erection time; cheap steel.

Concrete: less flexible so does not transmit/amplify sound; can

Hybrid: Concrete base, steel top sections; no buckling/corrosion

Lattice truss towers:

Steel tube most common.

Other designs can be lattice, concrete, or hybrid concrete-steel.

Must be >30 m high to avoid turbulence caused by trees and

Tower height increases w/ pwr rating/rotor diameter;

More height provides better wind resource

Given material/design, height limited by base diameter

Steel tube base diameter limited by transportation (14.1 feet),

Lattice, concrete, hybrid designs required for >80m.

Materials: aluminum, fiberglass, or carbon-fiber composites to

The interface between the rotor and the

Most highly stressed components, as all

Rotor speed of 620 rpm.

Most common design is the three-bladed turbine. The most important

When the power output of turbine becomes too high, the

Yaw is the angle of rotation of the nacelle

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