7 - Wind Energy Principles

Other Wind Power Parameters
Tip Speed Ratio

- The Tip Speed Ratio (often known as the TSR) is of vital importance in the design of wind
turbine generators.
- If the rotor of the wind turbine turns too slowly, most of the wind will pass undisturbed
through the gap between the rotor blades. Alternatively if the rotor turns too quickly, the
blurring blades will appear like a solid wall to the wind.
- Wind turbines are designed with optimal tip speed ratios to extract as much power out of
the wind as possible.
- The TSR is given by dividing the speed of the tips of the turbine blades (V tips) by the speed
of the wind (V)
Example: If a 20 mph wind is blowing on a wind turbine and the tips of its blades
are rotating at 80 mph.
TSR = Vtips/V = 80/20 = 4
Force on a wind turbine

Airflow over any surface creates two types of aerodynamic forces— drag forces, in the
direction of the airflow, and lift forces, perpendicular to the airflow. Either or both of these can be
used to generate the forces needed to rotate the blades of a wind turbine.
1. Drag-based wind turbine

- In drag-based wind turbines, the force of the wind pushes against a surface, like
an open sail.
- The earliest wind turbines, dating back to ancient Persia, used this approach.
- The Savonius rotor is a simple drag-based windmill. It works because the drag of
the open, or concave, face of the cylinder is greater than the drag on the closed or
convex section.
2. Lift-based wind turbines

- More energy can be extracted from wind using lift rather than drag, but this requires
specially shaped airfoil surfaces, like those used on airplane wings.
- The airfoil shape is designed to create a differential pressure between the upper and
lower surfaces, leading to a net force in the direction perpendicular to the wind
direction.
- Rotors of this type must be carefully oriented (the orientation is referred to as the
rotor pitch), to maintain their ability to harness the power of the wind as wind speed
changes.
Types of wind turbines
1. Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines (HAWT) - A HAWT has a similar design to a windmill,
it has blades that look like a propeller that spin on the horizontal axis.
Important point to remember for HAWT:

➢ Lift is the main force
➢ Much lower cyclic stress
➢ 95% of the existing turbines are HAWTs
➢ Nacelle is placed at the top of the tower
➢ Yaw mechanism is required
HAWT Advantage
➢ The tall tower base allows access to stronger wind in sites with wind shear. In some
wind shear sites, every ten meters up the wind speed can increase by 20% and the
power output by 34%.
➢ High efficiency, since the blades always move perpendicular to the wind, receiving
power through the whole rotation.
HAWT Disadvantages
➢ Massive tower construction is required to support the heavy blades, gearbox, and
generator.
➢ Components of horizontal axis wind turbine (gearbox, rotor shaft and brake
assembly) are being lifted into position.
➢ Their height makes them obtrusively visible across large areas, disrupting the
appearance of the landscape and sometimes creating local opposition.
➢ HAWTs require an additional yaw control mechanism to turn the blades toward the
wind.
➢ HAWTs generally require a braking or yawing device in high winds to stop the
turbine from spinning and destroying or damaging itself.
2. Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWT) - Vertical wind turbines (VAWTs), have the main
rotor shaft arranged vertically.
Important points to remember for VAWT:

➢ Nacelle is placed at the bottom.
➢ Drag is the main force
➢ Yaw mechanism is not required
➢ Lower starting torque
➢ Difficulty in mounting the turbine
➢ Unwanted fluctuations in the power output
VAWT Advantages
➢ No yaw mechanisms is needed
➢ A VAWT can be located nearer the ground, making it easier to maintain the moving
parts.
➢ VAWTs have lower wind startup speeds than the typical HAWTs.
➢ VAWTs may be built at locations where taller structures are prohibited.
➢ VAWTs situated close to the ground can take advantage of locations where rooftops,
means hilltops, ridgelines, and passes funnel the wind and increase wind velocity.
VAWT Disadvantage
➢ In contrast to HAWT, all vertical axis wind turbines, and most proposed airborne
wind turbine designs, involve various types of reciprocating actions, requiring
airfoil surfaces to the wind leads to inherently lower efficiency.
➢ Most VAWTs have an average decreased efficiency from a common HAWT, mainly
because of the additional drag that they have as their blades rotate into the wind.
Versions that reduce drag produce more energy, especially those that funnel wind
into the collector area.
➢ Having rotors located close to the ground where wind speeds are lower and do not
take advantage of higher wind speeds above.
VAWT Subtypes
1. Darrieus Wind Turbine
- has long, thin blades in the shape of loops connected to the top and bottom of
the axle
- often called an eggbeater windmill
Darrieus Wind Turbine
Advantages
➢ The rotor shaft is vertical, thus it is possible to place the load, like a generator
or a centrifugal pump at ground level.
➢ The rotor can take wind from every direction.
➢ The visual acceptance for placing of the windmill on a building might be
larger than for an horizontal axis windmill.
➢ Easily integrates into buildings.
Disadvantages
➢ Difficult start unlike the Savonius wind turbine.
➢ Low efficiency.
2. Savonius wind turbine

- It is one of the simplest wind turbine designs.
- It consists of two to three ―scoops‖ that employ a drag action to convert wind
energy into torque to drive a turbine.
- When looked at from above in cross-section, a two scoop Savonius turbine
looks like an S-shape.
Savonius wind turbine
Advantages
➢ Having a vertical axis, the Savonius turbine continues to work effectively
even if the wind changes direction.
➢ Because the Savonius design works well even at low wind speeds, there‘s no
need for a tower or other expensive structure to hold it in place, greatly
reducing the initial setup cost.
➢ The device is quiet, easy to build, and relatively small.
➢ Because the turbine is close to the ground, maintenance is easy.
Disadvantages
➢ The scoop system used to capture the wind‘s energy is half as efficient as a
conventional turbine, resulting in less power generation.
Components of WPPs
There are three categories of components: mechanical, electrical, and control. The following
is a brief description of the main components:
▪ The tower is the physical structure that holds the wind turbine. It supports the rotor, nacelle,
blades, and other wind turbine equipment. Typical commercial wind towers are usually 50–
120 m long and they are constructed from concrete or reinforced steel.
▪ Blades are physical structures, which are aerodynamically optimized to help capture the
maximum power from the wind in normal operation with a wind speed in the range of
about 3–15 m/s. Each blade is usually 20m or more in length, depending on the power
level.
▪ The nacelle is the enclosure of the wind turbine generator, gearbox and internal equipment.
It protects the turbine‘s internal components from the surrounding environment.
▪ The rotor is the rotating part of the wind turbine. It transfers the energy in the wind to the
shaft. The rotor hub holds the wind turbine blades while connected to the gearbox via the
low-speed shaft.
▪ Pitch is the mechanism of adjusting the angle of attack of the rotor blades. Blades are
turned in their longitudinal axis to change the angle of attack according to the wind
directions.
▪ The shaft is divided into two types: low and high speed. The low-speed shaft transfers
mechanical energy from the rotor to the gearbox, while the high-speed shaft transfers
mechanical energy from gearbox to generator.
▪ Yaw is the horizontal moving part of the turbine. It turns clockwise or anticlockwise to face
the wind. The yaw has two main parts: the yaw motor and the yaw drive. The yaw drive
keeps the rotor facing the wind when the wind direction varies. The yaw motor is used to
move the yaw.
▪ The brake is a mechanical part connected to the high-speed shaft in order to reduce the
rotational speed or stop the wind turbine over speeding or during emergency conditions.
▪ Gearbox is a mechanical component that is used to increase or decrease the rotational
speed. In wind turbines, the gearbox is used to control the rotational speed of the generator.
▪ The generator is the component that converts the mechanical energy from the rotor to
electrical energy. The most common electrical generators used in wind turbines are
induction generators (IGs), doubly fed induction generators (DFIGs), and permanent
magnet synchronous generators (PMSGs).
▪ The controller is the brain of the wind turbine. It monitors constantly the condition of the
wind turbine and controls the pitch and yaw systems to extract optimum power from the
wind.
▪ Anemometer is a type of sensor that is used to measure the wind speed. The wind speed
information may be necessary for maximum power tracking and protection in emergency
cases.
▪ The wind vane is a type of sensor that is used to measure the wind direction. The wind
direction information is important for the yaw control system to operate.

7 - Wind Energy Principles

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

7 - Wind Energy Principles

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

7 - Wind Energy Principles

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Other Wind Power Parameters

Tip Speed Ratio

Force on a wind turbine

1. Drag-based wind turbine

2. Lift-based wind turbines

Types of wind turbines

Important point to remember for HAWT:

Important points to remember for VAWT:

Darrieus Wind Turbine

2. Savonius wind turbine

Savonius wind turbine

You might also like