Alternate Energy Activities

A look at Wind Power

Wind Power
The first use of a large windmill
to generate electricity was a
system built in Cleveland,
Ohio, in 1888 by Charles F.
Brush. The Brush machine
was a postmill with a
multiple-bladed "picket-
fence" rotor 17 meters in
diameter, featuring a large
tail hinged to turn the rotor
out of the wind. It was the
first windmill to incorporate a
step-up gearbox (with a ratio
of 50:1) in order to turn a
direct current generator at its
required operational speed
(in this case, 500 RPM.)
Major factors that have led to an accelerated development of wind power

1.Falling prices of power electronics

2. Variable speed operation of electrical generator to capture maximum energy

3. Improved plant operation pushing the availability up to 95%

4. Economy of scale as the turbines and plans are getting larger in size

5. Accumulated field experience improving the capacity factor

6. Solar energy payback period of about 1 year

Factors affecting the distribution of wind energy on the surface of the earth

Several factors are responsible for the distribution of wind energy on the surface of
the earth. Both global and local factors influence the availability of wind energy at a
particular site. The extent of influence of each factor varies from site to site

1. On the planetary level great mountain masses influence the circulation of air
currents

2. Surface roughness or friction owing to the resistance that different elements of the
earth's surface offer to air circulation affects the nature of wind.

3. Hills, trees, buildings and similar obstructions impair streamline airflow.

Turbulence results and wind velocity in a horizontal direction gets markedly reduced.
Frictional effect is on smooth areas such as Seas or large open areas and more in
rough urban areas with tall buildings or trees.Therefore wind speed is quite high near
the sea shore

4. Climatic disturbances such as down draught from thunderclouds and precipitation

also affect the local winds

5. Wind speed also increases while running through narrow mountain gaps where it
gets channelized
Modern Wind Turbine
Commercial wind energy is one of the most
economical sources of new electricity
available today.

Wind turbines can be set up quickly and

cheaply compared with building new coal-fired
generating stations or hydroelectric facilities.

Modern wind generating equipment is

efficient, highly reliable, and becoming
cheaper to purchase.

The environmental impact of large wind

turbines is negligible compared with an open
pit coal mine or a reservoir, and during their
operation produce no air pollution.

Because of these factors, wind energy is

recognized as the world's fastest-growing new
energy source.
How does a Wind Turbine Work?
• Wind turbines operate on a simple principle. The
energy in the wind turns two or three propeller-
like blades around a rotor.

• The rotor is connected to the main shaft, which

spins a generator to create electricity.

• Wind turbines are mounted on a tower to

capture the most energy. At 100 feet (30
meters) or more above ground, they can take
advantage of faster and less turbulent wind.

Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. • Wind turbines can be used to produce electricity
for a single home or building, or they can be
connected to an electricity grid (shown here) for
more widespread electricity distribution.
How does a Wind Turbine Work?

Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

Inside view of Wind Turbine

How does a Wind Turbine Work?
 How does a Wind Turbine Work?
•Anemometer: Measures the wind speed and transmits wind speed data to the controller.
•Blades: Most turbines have either two or three blades. Wind blowing over the blades causes the blades to
"lift" and rotate.
•Brake: A disc brake, which can be applied mechanically, electrically, or hydraulically to stop the rotor in
emergencies.
•Controller: The controller starts up the machine at wind speeds of about 8 to 16 miles per hour (mph) and
shuts off the machine at about 55 mph. Turbines do not operate at wind speeds above about 55 mph
because they might be damaged by the high winds.
•Gear box: Gears connect the low-speed shaft to the high-speed shaft and increase the rotational speeds
from about 30 to 60 rotations per minute (rpm) to about 1000 to 1800 rpm, the rotational speed required by
most generators to produce electricity. The gear box is a costly (and heavy) part of the wind turbine and
engineers are exploring "direct-drive" generators that operate at lower rotational speeds and don't need gear
boxes.
•Generator: Usually an off-the-shelf induction generator that produces 60-cycle AC electricity. High-speed
shaft: Drives the generator. Low-speed shaft: The rotor turns the low-speed shaft at about 30 to 60 rotations
per minute.
•Nacelle: The nacelle sits atop the tower and contains the gear box, low- and high-speed shafts, generator,
controller, and brake. Some nacelles are large enough for a helicopter to land on.
•Pitch: Blades are turned, or pitched, out of the wind to control the rotor speed and keep the rotor from
turning in winds that are too high or too low to produce electricity.
•Rotor: The blades and the hub together are called the rotor.
•Tower: Towers are made from tubular steel (shown here), concrete, or steel lattice. Because wind speed
increases with height, taller towers enable turbines to capture more energy and generate more electricity.
•Wind direction: This is an "upwind" turbine, so-called because it operates facing into the wind. Other
turbines are designed to run "downwind," facing away from the wind.
•Wind vane: Measures wind direction and communicates with the yaw drive to orient the turbine properly with
respect to the wind.
•Yaw drive: Upwind turbines face into the wind; the yaw drive is used to keep the rotor facing into the wind as
the wind direction changes. Downwind turbines don't require a yaw drive, the wind blows the rotor downwind.
•Yaw motor: Powers the yaw drive.
Where should you put a Wind
Turbine?
How much Power does a Wind
Turbine Generate?
Kinetic Energy = Work = ½mV2
Where:
M= mass of moving object
V = velocity of moving object

What is the mass of moving air?

= density (ρ) x volume (Area x distance)

=ρxAxd A
= (kg/m3) (m2) (m)
= kg V
d
How much Power does a Wind
Turbine Generate?
Power = Work / t
=
Kinetic Energy / t
= ½mV2 / t
= ½(ρAd)V2/t
= ½ρAV2(d/t) d/t = V
= ½ρAV3

Power in the Wind =½ρAV3

A couple things to remember…
Power in the Wind = ½ρAV3

Swept Area – A = πR2

(m2) Area of the circle
swept by the rotor.

ρ = air density – in
Colorado its about 1-
kg/m3
Example – Calculating Power in the Wind

Power in the Wind = ½ρAV3

V = 5 meters (m) per second (s)
m/s
ρ = 1.0 kg/m3
R = .2 m >>>> A = .125 m2
Power in the Wind = ½ρAV3
= (.5)(1.0)(.125)(5)3
= 7.85 Watts

Units = (kg/m3)x (m2)x (m3/s3)

= (kg-m)/s2 x m/s
= N-m/s = Watt
 Is Wind Power 100% efficient?
Power from a Wind Turbine Rotor = Cp½ρAV3
Cp is called the power coefficient.
Cp is the percentage of power in the wind that is
converted into mechanical energy.

What is the maximum amount of energy that can be

extracted from the wind?

16
Betz Limit: C p ,max   .5926
27
What’s the most power the .2-m turbine in the
example can produce in a 5 m/s wind?
Or try this
7.85 Watts x .5926 (Betz Limit) = 4.65 Watts online
Power
calculator
Axial Thrust on Turbine, FA
Axial Thrust on Turbine, FA
Torque developed by the Turbine, T
Torque developed by the Turbine, T
Dynamic matching of maximum power extraction

As per the Betz criterion, a turbine can theoretically extract a maximum of 59% of
the available power in wind.

However, this criterion tells nothing about dynamic rotational state of the turbine
required to reach this maximum power condition.

a) Tip speed ratio

- For constant wind speed , the power extraction by a turbine will decrease if

i) The blades are so close together or rotating so rapidly that a blade moves into
the turbulence created by a preceding blade; or

ii) The blades are so far apart or rotating so slowly that much of the air passes
through the cross section of the device without interacting with the blades.

Thus, for particular wind speed, there exists an optimum turbine speed to
produce maximum output. Therefore, to obtain optimum efficiency, it is
important to match the rotational frequency of the turbine to the corresponding
wind speed.
Wind turbine Types and their construction

HAWT-when axis of rotation is parallel to the air stream

VAWT- it is perpendicular to air stream

The size of the rotor and its speed depends on rating of the turbine.

For wind speed of m/s and Cp=30%

1. Turbine blades
2. Hub
3. Nacelle
4. Yaw Control
5. Tower
6. Types of rotors
7. Teetering of rotor
8. Upwind and downwind Machines
9. Yaw control mechanism
10. Pitch control system
The simplest structure- three or four cups structure attached symmetrically to a
vertical shaft.

The drag force on the concave surface of the cup facing the wind is more than that
on the convex surface.

As a result the structure starts rotating.

Some lift force also helps the rotation.

It cannot carry a load and therefore cannot used as power source.

The main characteristics of this rotor is its rotational frequency is linearly related to
wind speed.

Therefore it is used as transducer for measuring the wind speed and apparatus is
known as Cup anemometer
It consists of two half cylinders attached to a vertical axis and facing in
opposite directions to form two vaned Rotor.

It has high starting torque low speed and low frequency .

It can extract power even from very slow wind, making it working most of the
time.

These are used for low power applications.

A high starting torque particularly makes it suitable for pumping applications,

using positive displacement pumps.
It is used for large scale power generation its power quotient is considerably
better than that of S-rotor.

It runs at a large tip speed ratio.

Aerodynamic force on the blade reverses in every revolution causing fatigue.

This along with centrifugal force, complicates the design of the blade .

One of the drawbacks of this rotor is that it is usually not self starting .

Movement may be initiated by using electrical generator as motor.

As the pitch of the blade cannot change the rotor frequency and thus the output
power cannot be controlled .

Rotor frequency increases with wind speed and power output keeps on
increasing till the blades stall.

Hence at high wind speed, it becomes difficult to control the output.

For better performance and safety of the blades, gearbox and generator ,it is
desirable to limit the output to a level much below its maximum possible value
Musgrove suggested the use of H-shaped Blades with a fixed pitch are
attached vertically to a horizontal cross arm.

Power control is achieved by controlled folding of the blades.

Inclining the blades to the vertical provides an effective means

of altering the blades angle of attack and hence controlling the power output.

The evans rotor , also known as gyromill, is an improvement over H-

shaped rotor.

The rotor geometry remains fixed, but the blades are hinged on a vertical
axis and blade pitch is varied cyclically to regulate the power output.
It is a self start .
A wind-energy conversion system converts wind energy into some form
of electrical energy.

In particular, medium and large scale WECS are designed to operate in

parallel with a public or local ac grid- Grid connected system

A small system isolated from the grid feeding .only to a local load -
Autonomous/remote/decentralised/standalone/isolated power system
Fixed speed drive scheme:
Constant speed is maintained at the shaft of a generator by pitch control.

Induction generators are gaining more acceptability due to their ability to

absorb small vibrations in shaft speed.

One fixed-speed drive

The shaft speed is held fixed for the whole range of wind speed.

The main disadvantage of this is that it never captures the wind energy at the
peak value of the power quotient Cp.

Wind energy is wasted when wind speed is higher or lower than the optimal
value corresponding to Cpmax.

Low annual energy yield-limited to small machines.

Two fixed-speeds Drive

It increases the energy capture, reduces the electrical loses and gear
noise.

The speed setting is changed by changing the gear ratio.

The two operating speeds are selected to optimize the annual energy
production with expected annual wind-speed distribution at the site.

Gear ratio is changed at wind speed of 10 m/s.

The induction generator is designed to operate at two speeds by
-having two stator windings with different number of poles
Matching with system requirement is easy and change of speed setting is made
without losing the control of the machine.
Separate windings are difficult to accommodate.

-using single winding with pole changing arrangement by connecting the winding
coils in series and/or parallel.
The poles are either P or 2P,
The only possible speed ratio is 2:1.
Dead time is to be allowed for coils reconnection during every speed transition.
Variable speed drive system

The recent advancement in power electronics has paved the way for a variable
speed drive system.
The rotor speed is allowed to vary optimally with the wind speed to capture
maximum power .
As a result, it can capture about 1/3 rd more power per year as compared to FDS.

a) Variable Speed-Drive using Power Electronics

Power Electronics- for power conditioning, remotely adjustable and

controllable quality of power.
-Variable voltage and variable frequency output available from generator is
- rectified and converted to fixed frequency and fixed voltage ac using
inverter.
- Harmonics are filtered out to get grid quality output before connecting
to the grid.
Rectifier
Inverter
Filter
Transformer----Main parts of interface.
i) Opportunity for remote control which makes it attractive for offshore
applications
ii) Fine tuning for superior grid connection, to make it better suited for
meeting the demand of weak grids.

Use of power electronics adds to the cost, electrical noise and losses of
the system.

However, the cost and benefit trade is generally positive for large
machines.
b) Scherbius Variable speed drive

-It makes use of wound rotor induction machine

-Stator is connected to grid
-Rotor is connected to variable frequency source via slip rings
- Speed is controlled by controlling the frequency of the external voltage injected
into the rotor
- It offers lower cost and eliminates the power quality disadvantages .
-Sliding contacts at slip rings –lead to increased maintenance
-Speed control generally limited to 2:1
c) Variable Speed Direct Drive
- Generator is directly coupled to turbine shaft without gear and operates at
turbine speed.
-Does not make use of power electronics
Main Benefits:
-Lower necelle weight
-Reduced noise and vibration
-Lower power loss
-less frequent servicing at the necelle-for offshore installation

For small sized tubine-rotor speed is high-direct coupling is possible-without much difficulty
Large rotors run slowly-Direct coupling requires more poles on electrical machine-impose
design limitation.
-PMSM-large number of poles
-axial gap induction machine-large number of poles can be designed
i) Low-speed region (Zero to cut-in
speed)
- turbine is kept in braked position
till minimum wind speed (5m/s),
cut-in speed becomes available.

- Below this, speed operation of

turbine is not efficient.

ii) Maximum Power-Coefficient

region
- Rotor speed is varied with wind
speed so as to operate it at
constant tip-speed ratio,
corresponding to Cpmax.

- Nature of Chs is close to that of

Pmax in wind .

- Turbine is operated at Pmax o/p

using pitch control.
iii) Constant Power Region ( Constant –
turbine speed region)

-During high wind speeds (>12 m/s), rotor

speed is limited to an upper permissible
value based on the design limits of the
system components.

-In this region power coefficient is < Cpmax

-Large machines use pitch control to

maintain turbine speed as constant, called
pitch regulated.

- Stall regulated -machines use fixed blades

, blade twist and thickness are so adjusted so
as to crudely maintain the speed constant
Stall performance depends on twist of the blade
tip from the root and thickness of the blade
sections.

- At still higher wind speeds, such as gusts,

constant speed operation is maintained by
employing additional means such as some kind
of braking.

iv) Furling speed region ( Cut-out speed and above)

- Beyond a certain maximum value of wind speed (25m/s), the rotor is shut
down and power generation is stopped to protect the blades, generator and
other components of the system.
Effects of wind speed and grid condition ( system integration)

Wind energy is an intermittent source of power.

There are variations in wind speed and therefore the power output on a yearly,
seasonal, daily and hourly scale.

As wind power is a varying power source, which cannot really be dispatched,

conventional power plants or storage facilities have to deal with these variations.

This means that output variations in wind power can give rise to extra cost due to
extra power changes are start or stop of conventional units.

If the operation of wind power into the grid is continuously increased, it might lead to
a level where economics of the total power production is affected in negative way.
This will limit the penetration of wind power into the grid.
The optimum operation depends on specific circumstances on the characteristics
of the utility system.

In most cases, even the power penetration level less than 10% of the total
electricity production will cause no severe problems and will not cause any
economic disadvantage.

For higher penetration, total electricity production system is to be re-optimized.

A distance of less than 50 kilometers is generally considered as economically
feasible.