Undergraduate Journal of

Mathematical Modeling: One + Two

Volume 6 | 2016 Issue 2 | Article 2

Maximum Efficiency of a Wind Turbine

Marisa Blackwood
University of South Florida

Advisors:
Arcadii Grinshpan, Mathematics and Statistics
Scott Campbell, Chemical and Biomedical Engineering

Problem Suggested By: Scott Campbell

Abstract. The concept of a wind turbine is not new technology, however, in a day and age where renewable energy is
popular, the interest in wind turbines has increased dramatically. This project investigates multiple aspects of a wind
turbine and will derive the maximum power efficiency of an ideal wind turbine, first introduced by Albert Betz in 1919.
This project will also calculate the size of a wind turbine at maximum efficiency given certain parameters and determine
the optimum outlet velocity as a function of wind speed to maximize the mechanical energy produced. These equations
will be derived by using concepts from physics and calculus, which will result in determining the optimal efficiency of an
ideal turbine to be 59.26%; this is referred to as The Betz Limit.
Keywords. Wind Turbine, Betz Limit, power efficiency

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Recommended Citation
Blackwood, Marisa (2016) "Maximum Efficiency of a Wind Turbine," Undergraduate Journal of Mathematical Modeling: One + Two:
Vol. 6: Iss. 2, Article 2.

Available at: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/ujmm/vol6/iss2/2

Maximum Efficiency of a Wind Turbine
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 Blackwood: Maximum Efficiency of a Wind Turbine
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PROBLEM STATEMENT
A wind turbine works by converting kinetic energy into mechanical energy. Air approaches the

turbine with the wind speed 𝑣𝑤 and leaves at a lower velocity 𝑣2 . If 𝑣2 is almost as large as 𝑣𝑤 ,

the turbine won’t extract much kinetic energy. If 𝑣2 is very low, then not much air will pass

through the turbine. This suggests that there is an optimum outlet velocity 𝑣2 that will maximize

the amount of mechanical energy that can be produced. The purpose of this project is to

determine the optimal outlet velocity as a function of the wind speed and the corresponding

optimal efficiency of the wind turbine.

MOTIVATION
We live in a world powered by fossil fuels. However, these fossil fuels are a nonrenewable

resource and are expected to run dry by the middle of the 21st century (Britannica). A renewable

resource is defined as “any natural resource that can be replenished naturally with the passage of

time” (TheFreeDictionary.com). Over the past 40 years, with the rise of new ideas and

technology, a transition to renewable energy has begun. This movement was spurred in the 1970s

when oil prices leaped dramatically and motivated by the realization that fossil fuel abundance

was being quickly depleted (US Department of Energy).

This switch was supported by those aware of the current status of climate change.

Climate change is a naturally occurring process whose rate has increased due to human activities,

consisting mainly of fossil fuel consumption. Renewable energy such as wind, hydro, and solar

power do not release harmful pollutants but the combustion of fossil fuels does.

When the sun heats the atmosphere unevenly, wind is used to distribute the excess heat;

therefore, wind is considered a form of solar energy (US Department of Energy). The use of

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wind to create energy dates back to 5000 B.C. when it propelled boats down the Nile River (US

Department of Energy). The popularity of windmills grew by the 11th century and then took off

during Industrialization when companies began to use windmills for electricity.

In harnessing energy from a wind turbine, the wind spins the blades of a turbine that then

spins a shaft that is connected to a generator. This process converts the kinetic energy of the

wind into mechanical energy. By using physics and calculus concepts, it is possible to derive

formulas that represent the velocity that maximizes the turbine power and the maximum possible

conversion efficiency of a wind turbine. These play an important in maximizing the amount of

energy we can extract from the wind.

MATHEMATICAL DESCRIPTION AND SOLUTION APPROACH

Consider the Figure 1 below:

Figure 1: Profile of a wind turbine illustrating the path of airflow

Since the air is incompressible, the mass flow rate of air (kg/s), 𝑚̇, can be defined as:

𝑚̇ = 𝜌𝐴1 𝑣𝑤 = 𝜌𝐴𝑇 𝑣 = 𝜌𝐴2 𝑣2 (1)

where 𝜌 is the density of air (kg/m3), 𝐴1 is the is the cross-sectional area of the wind approaching

the turbine, 𝐴2 is the cross-sectional area of the air stream after the turbine, 𝐴𝑇 is the area of the

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 Blackwood: Maximum Efficiency of a Wind Turbine
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turbine, 𝑣𝑤 is the upstream wind speed, 𝑣 is the air velocity at the turbine blades, and 𝑣2 is the

velocity of the downstream air after it has passed the turbine. The cross-sectional areas are in

units of m2, and the airspeed (velocity) in m/s.

The rate at which kinetic energy is extracted from the wind is:

𝑚̇ 2
𝑃= (𝑣 − 𝑣22 ) (2)
2 𝑤

The rate at which kinetic energy is extracted from the wind is:

𝑃𝑇 = 𝑚̇𝑣(𝑣𝑤 − 𝑣2 ) (3)

Using the mass balance relationship at the turbine from equation (1) and substituting it into

equations (2) and (3), results in:

𝑚̇ 2 𝜌𝐴𝑇 𝑣 2
𝑃= (𝑣𝑤 − 𝑣22 ) = (𝑣𝑤 − 𝑣22 ) (4)
2 2

𝑃𝑇 = 𝑚̇𝑣(𝑣𝑤 − 𝑣2 ) = 𝜌𝐴𝑇 𝑣 2 (𝑣𝑤 − 𝑣2 ) (5)

From physics, we apply the law of conservation of energy and state that 𝑃𝑇 = 𝑃, thereby setting

equations (4) and equal to each other. This results in the following relationship:

𝜌 𝐴𝑇 𝑣 2
(𝑣𝑤 − 𝑣22 ) = 𝜌𝐴𝑇 𝑣 2 (𝑣𝑤 − 𝑣2 )
2

which can be further reduced down to,

1
(𝑣 − 𝑣2 )(𝑣𝑤 + 𝑣2 ) = 𝑣 (𝑣𝑤 − 𝑣2 )
2 𝑤
1
(𝑣 + 𝑣2 ) = 𝑣 (6)
2 𝑤

This simply states that the airspeed at the turbine is the average of the airspeeds upstream and

downstream from the turbine. Using this relationship, we can now restate the power extracted

from the wind at the turbine, Equation (4), as:

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𝜌𝐴𝑇 𝑣 2 1
𝑃 = 𝑃𝑇 = (𝑣𝑤 − 𝑣22 ) = 𝜌𝐴𝑇 (𝑣𝑤3 − 𝑣𝑤 𝑣22 + 𝑣𝑤2 𝑣2 − 𝑣23 ) (7)
2 4

by factoring out the wind speed term, Equation (7) can be restated as:

1 𝑣2 2 𝑣2 𝑣2 3
𝑃𝑇 = 𝜌𝐴𝑇 𝑣𝑤3 (1 − ( ) + ( ) − ( ) ) (8)
4 𝑣𝑤 𝑣𝑤 𝑣𝑤

To simplify the equation, let’s define the following term:

𝑣2
𝑎= (9)
𝑣𝑤

Using this relationship, Equation (8) now becomes:

1
𝑃𝑇 = 𝜌𝐴 𝑣 3 (1 − 𝑎2 + 𝑎 − 𝑎3 ) (10)
4 𝑇 𝑤

The results of Equation (10) show that the power extracted by the turbine is a function of the
𝑣
ratio of the downstream and upstream air velocities, 𝑣 2 , and proportional to the cube of the
𝑤

upstream wind, 𝑣𝑤3 .

Consider the total rate of kinetic energy from the wind, 𝑃𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 , passing through an

equivalent area in the absence of a turbine. Determining this relationship will be key in

determining the maximum efficiency of our ideal wind turbine.

From physics, we know that Power is defined as the incremental change in work over

time, where work is equivalent to the kinetic energy of the wind. The kinetic energy of the wind

is defined as:

1
𝐸= 𝑚𝑣 2 ,
2

The power can be calculated as:

𝑑𝐸 𝑑 1
𝑃= = ( 𝑚𝑣 2 ) (11)
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡 2

Using the chain rule and equation (11) we have:

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 Blackwood: Maximum Efficiency of a Wind Turbine
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1𝑑 1 𝑑𝑣 𝑑𝑚
𝑃= (𝑚𝑣 2 ) = (2𝑚𝑣 + 𝑣2 ) (12)
2 𝑑𝑡 2 𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡
𝑑𝑣
In the absence of the turbine, the wind velocity, 𝑣𝑤 , is constant so the 𝑑𝑡 term goes to zero. Using

the results from equations (1) and (12) and remembering that the cross-sectional areas,

𝐴1 , 𝐴𝑇 , 𝐴2 , in this case, are equivalent, the total power, 𝑃𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 , can now be expressed as:

1 𝑑𝑚 1 2 1
𝑃𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 = 𝑣𝑤 2 = 𝑣𝑤 𝑚̇ = 𝜌𝐴𝑇 𝑣𝑤 3 (13)
2 𝑑𝑡 2 2

Similar to the results found for the extractable turbine, the total power of the wind is proportional

to the cube of the wind velocity.

Now that we have expressions for the power extracted at the turbine (𝑃𝑇 ) and the total

power available from the wind (𝑃𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 ), we can now create an expression for the efficiency of the

𝑃𝑇
of the ideal wind turbine, 𝜂 = 𝑃 . Using the results from equations (10) and (13), the
𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙

efficiency factor is:

1
𝑃𝑇 𝜌𝐴𝑇 𝑣𝑤3 (1 − 𝑎2 + 𝑎 − 𝑎3 ) 1
𝜂= = 4 = (1 − 𝑎2 + 𝑎 − 𝑎3 ) .
1 (14)
𝑃𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 3 2
2 𝜌𝐴𝑇 𝑣𝑤

To determine the maximum possible efficiency, we will use Calculus to take the

derivative of Equation (15) with respect to 𝑎, set it equal to zero, and solve for 𝑎.

𝑑𝜂 1 𝑑 1 1
= (1 − 𝑎2 + 𝑎 − 𝑎3 ) = (−2𝑎 + 1 − 3𝑎2 ) = (1 + 𝑎)(1 − 3𝑎)
𝑑𝑎 2 𝑑𝑎 2 2

By inserting the relationship for 𝑎 from (9), we can state this in terms of the upstream and

downstream velocities as:

1 1 𝑣2 𝑣2
0= (1 + 𝑎)(1 − 3𝑎) = (1 + ) (1 − 3 ) . (15)
2 2 𝑣𝑤 𝑣𝑤

This equation results in two solutions. The first solution,

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𝑣2
0 = (1 + ) , ⇒ 𝑣𝑤 = −𝑣2
𝑣𝑤

which does not appear to be valid in a practical sense since the downstream airspeed cannot be in

the opposite direction of the upstream wind.

The second solution results in:

𝑣2 1
0 = (1 − 3 ) ⇒ 3𝑣2 = 𝑣𝑤 ⇒ 𝑣2 = 𝑣 (16)
𝑣𝑤 3 𝑤

This solution is more practical and significant in that it shows that in order to maximize the

power from the turbine, the downstream airspeed must be equal to one-third of the upstream

wind.

To determine the maximum efficiency factor numerically, we must take results from

Equation (16) and insert them into Equation (14). From Equation (16), you can calculate the

value of 𝑎:

𝑣2 1
𝑎= =
𝑣𝑤 3

This results in Equation (15) becoming:

1 1 1 1 16
𝜂 = (1 − + − ) = = 59.26% (17)
2 9 3 27 27

This is referred to as the Betz Limit and was first introduced by the German engineer Albert Betz

in 1919 and published in 1926 with his book, “Wind-Energie und ihre Ausnutzung durch

Windmühlen,” or “Wind Energy and its Extraction through Wind Mills” (Ragheb and Ragheb).

In order to build a turbine with the maximum efficiency, we will need to use the results

that we have come up with so far and factor them into the expression for the power extracted by

the turbine. To do so, we need insert Equation (14) into Equation (10):

1 1
𝑃𝑇 = 𝜌 𝐴𝑇 𝑣𝑤3 (1 − 𝑎2 + 𝑎 − 𝑎3 ) = 𝜌 𝐴𝑇 𝑣𝑤3 𝜂 (18)
4 2

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 Blackwood: Maximum Efficiency of a Wind Turbine
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In regards to the cross-sectional surface area of the turbine, we will assume it to be circular in

nature with a diameter 𝐷. This results in the definition of:

𝜋 𝐷2
𝐴𝑇 = .
4

Equation (18) can now be stated as:

1 1 8 𝑃𝑇
𝑃𝑇 = 𝜌 𝐴𝑇 𝑣𝑤3 𝜂 = 𝜌 𝐷2 𝑣𝑤3 𝜂 𝜋 ⇒ 𝐷= √ (19)
2 8 𝜌 𝑣𝑤3 𝜂 𝜋

Given the following parameters:

𝑚 𝑘𝑔
𝑃𝑇 = 1000 𝑊, 𝑣𝑤 = 10 , 𝜌 = 1.2 ,
𝑠 𝑚3

what would the diameter (in meters) of the turbine with maximum efficiency be?

Using the parameters given above and using the result from Equation (18) for maximum

efficiency, Equation (21) can be solved with the following results:

(8)(1000)
𝐷=√ = 1.892 𝑚 . (20)
(1.2)(10)3 (0.5926)(3.14)

DISCUSSION
This project’s goal was to solve four main questions. The first question was to find the optimum
1
outlet velocity as a function of the wind speed. We found this to be 𝑣2 = 3 𝑣𝑤 . In other words,

the optimum amount of kinetic energy extracted from the wind is when the outlet velocity is

equal to one-third the wind speed.

The second question was to determine the total rate of kinetic energy from the wind

passing through an equivalent area in the absence of a turbine. This resulted in the following

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1
equation: 𝑃𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 = 2 𝜌𝐴𝑇 𝑣𝑤 3 . This relationship was found to be proportional to the cube of the

wind speed.

The third question was to determine the maximum possible conversion efficiency of a

wind turbine. This was determined to be 59.26%. This value was first introduced by German

engineer Albert Betz in 1919 and is known as The Betz Limit. Practical turbines have efficiency

factors more in the 40% range. This makes sense in the fact that a turbine cannot extract 100% of

the kinetic energy of the wind; otherwise there would be no wind downstream.

The final question was to find the diameter needed of a wind turbine to produce 1000

watts of power from a wind at 10 m/s while operating at maximum efficiency. This was

calculated to be 1.892 meters. The objectives of this project were all met.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The project was successful in deriving the maximum efficiently of a wind turbine as well

as the optimal relationship between the outlet velocity and wind speed. After calculating these

results, we must now look at the more practical applications of wind turbines. There are many

factors that prevent wind turbines from reaching the theoretical Betz limit such as blade number

losses, whirlpool losses, end losses and the airfoil profile losses (Cetin, Yurdusev and Ata).

These losses prevent kinetic energy from being converted into mechanical energy. A further

study recommendation would be to explore ways to reduce those losses and increase the

efficiency of the practical wind turbine.

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 Blackwood: Maximum Efficiency of a Wind Turbine
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NOMENCLATURE
Symbol Description Units
𝐴1 Cross-sectional area of the air upstream from the turbine 𝑚2
𝐴2 Cross-sectional area of the air downstream from the turbine 𝑚2
𝐴𝑇 Cross-sectional area of the of the air at the turbine 𝑚2
𝑚̇ Mass Flow Rate of the air 𝑘𝑔⁄𝑠
2
𝑃𝑇 Power extracted at the turbine Watts, [𝑘𝑔 ∙ 𝑚 ⁄𝑠 3 ]
2
𝑃𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 Total power available from wind Watts, [𝑘𝑔 ∙ 𝑚 ⁄𝑠 3 ]
𝑣2 Downstream air velocity 𝑚⁄𝑠
𝑣𝑤 Upstream air velocity 𝑚⁄𝑠
𝐷 Diameter of the turbine 𝑚
𝑣 Air velocity at the turbine 𝑚⁄𝑠
𝜂 Efficiency factor of the turbine -
𝜌 Density of air 𝑘𝑔⁄𝑚3
𝐴1 Cross-sectional area of the air upstream from the turbine 𝑚2

REFERENCES
Britannica. The New Encyclopedia Britannica. 1st. Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.,

2005.

Cetin, N.S., et al. "Assesment of optimum tip speed ratio of wind turbines." Math Comput Appl

10.1 (2005): 147-154.

Ragheb, M. and A.M. Ragheb. Wind Turbines Theory - The Betz Equation and Optimal Rotor

Tip Speed Ratio, Fundamental and Advanced Topics in Wind Power. Ed. R. Carriveau.

InTech, 2011. <http://www.intechopen.com/books/fundamental-and-advanced-topics-in-

wind-power/wind-turbines-theory-the-betz-equation-and-optimal-rotor-tip-speed-ratio>.

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 Undergraduate Journal of Mathematical Modeling: One + Two, Vol. 6, Iss. 2 [2016], Art. 2
10

TheFreeDictionary.com. Renewable Resource. n.d. 25 April 2014.

<http://www.thefreedictionary.com/renewable+resource>.

US Department of Energy. History of Wind Energy. n.d. 25 Apr. 2014.

<http://energy.gov/eere/wind/history-wind-energy>.

—. How Do Wind Turbines Work? n.d. 24 April 2014. <http://energy.gov/eere/wind/how-do-

wind-turbines-work>.

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