WIND POWER BASIC CONCEPTS

Wind Farm: To generate wind energy in bulk. Multiple Turbines

Horizontal axis:

All of the components (blades, shaft, and generator) are on top of a tall tower, and the
blades face into the wind. The shaft is horizontal to the ground. The wind hits the blades
of the turbine that are connected to a shaft causing rotation. The shaft has a gear on the
end which turns a generator. The generator produces electricity and sends the electricity
into the power grid. The wind turbine also has some key elements that adds to
efficiency. Inside the Nacelle (or head) is an anemometer, wind vane, and controller that
read the speed and direction of the wind. As the wind changes direction, a motor (yaw
motor) turns the nacelle so the blades are always facing the wind. The power source also
comes with a safety feature. In case of extreme winds the turbine has a break that can
slow the shaft speed. This is to inhibit any damage to the turbine in extreme conditions.

Advantages
• Blades are to the side of the turbines center of gravity, helping stability
• Ability to wing warp, which gives the turbine blades the best angle of attack
• Ability to pitch the rotor blades in a storm to minimize damage
• Tall tower allows access to stronger wind in sites with wind shear
• Tall tower allows placement on uneven land or in offshore locations
• Can be sited in forest above tree-line
• Most are self-starting
Disadvantages
• Difficulty operating in near ground winds
• Difficult to transport (20% of equipment costs)
• Difficult to install (require tall cranes and skilled operators)
• Effect radar in proximity
• Local opposition to aesthetics
• Difficult maintenance

Nacelle?
The gearbox — which transforms the slow turning of the blades to a faster rotor speed
— and the generator are massive pieces of machinery housed in a bus-sized container,
called the nacelle, at the top of the tower. The blades are attached to the rotor hub at
one end of the nacelle.

Anemometers measure wind speed and wind vanes measure wind direction
Vertical axis

All of the main components are close to the ground. Also, the wind turbine itself is near
the ground, unlike horizontal where everything is on a tower. There are two types of
vertical axis wind turbines; lift based and drag based. Lift based designs are
generally much more efficient than drag, or ‘paddle’ designs.

Lift type:

Advantages
• Easy to maintain
• Lower construction and transportation costs
• Not directional
• Most effective at mesas, hilltops, ridgelines and passes
Disadvantages
• Blades constantly spinning back into the wind causing drag
• Less efficient
• Operate in lower, more turbulent wind
• Low starting torque and may require energy to start turning

Ducted Wind Turbines

Ducted wind turbines are positioned at the edge of the roof of a building and utilize the
airflow along a building’s side. The air flows upwards, hugging the building wall then
enters the front of the duct. Turbine blade diameter is usually around 600 mm. The
devices are relatively small leaving little visual impact to the building.
Advantages
• Less visual impact on buildings architecture than traditional HAWT or VAWT turbines
• Make use of unused roof space in cities
• Allows energy need to be met on-site avoiding transmission losses associated with
centralized energy generation

Disadvantages
• Suitable for urban environments, but not households (only effective on urban high-rise
buildings)
• Uni-directional. Fixed position and are dependent upon wind blowing in the correct
direction
• Much more research and development is needed. Research in this field is growing as
people become more interested in urban wind generation.
• Research has to be done to determine energy production potential

TIP SPEED RATIO:

Ratio between the tangential speed of the tip of a blade and the actual speed of the
wind. The tip-speed ratio is related to efficiency, with the optimum varying with blade
design.
For different speed of winds, Cp = Cp(max), (for maximum power), rotor speed must
change. That is why, variable speed generators are used.

GENERATORS USED:

https://www.windforce-management.com/wind-power-generators.php

http://www.mjret.in/V1I2/M5-1-2-7-2014.pdf

http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/125217/12/12_chapter%
203.pdf

A wind turbine is characterized by its power-speed characteristics. The amount of power Pt

Where  (kg/m3) is the air density, A(m2 ) is the swept area (cross sectional area) of the
turbine and v is the wind velocity (m/s). Cp a dimensionless power coefficient basically
depends on the tip speed ratio  which equals the ratio of tip speed over wind speed and
the so called blade pitch angle  (deg).
It is observed that the power coefficient is maximum for a particular tip speed ratio. This implies that
for any wind velocity there is a particular rotor rpm for which maximum power transfer takes place.

Constant speed wind energy conversion system:

An alternative means of achieving the same result is to couple the turbine to a cage rotor induction
generator through a gear box and the stator of the generator is tied to the three phase grid through
a transformer.

In constant speed system the power is mostly limited using the classic stall principle. If the wind
speed increases above the rated wind speed, the power coefficient inherently reduces, so that the
power produced by the turbine stays near the rated power.

The pitch angle  is defined as the angle between the cord of the blade and the plane of the wind
rotor.

For this blade maximum energy capture from the wind is obtained for   0 and  just above 6. To
keep Cp at its optimal value for varying wind speed, the rotor speed should be proportional to the
wind speed.
PER Unit Systems
http://peguru.com/2011/03/per-unit-system-an-introduction/

http://electrical-engineering-portal.com/calculate-draw-single-line-diagram-power-
system

Types of DC Generators
https://www.electrical4u.com/types-of-dc-generators/

http://www.windsystemsmag.com/article/detail/663/a-guide-to-understanding-the-most-common-
types-of-wind-turbine-generators