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Wind Energy

The document discusses various design considerations for wind turbines, including: 1) The number of blades, with three blades being most common as it provides balance and slower rotation. 2) Blade materials, with fiberglass being a popular lightweight and strong option used in modern large turbines. 3) Aerodynamic designs like airfoils, twist, and taper that maximize lift and efficiency. 4) Factors that determine power output from wind like swept area, wind speed, and air density.

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Chinmoy Kundu
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18 views

Wind Energy

The document discusses various design considerations for wind turbines, including: 1) The number of blades, with three blades being most common as it provides balance and slower rotation. 2) Blade materials, with fiberglass being a popular lightweight and strong option used in modern large turbines. 3) Aerodynamic designs like airfoils, twist, and taper that maximize lift and efficiency. 4) Factors that determine power output from wind like swept area, wind speed, and air density.

Uploaded by

Chinmoy Kundu
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Wind Energy

Number of Blades: One


• Rotor must move more
rapidly to capture same
amount of wind
– Gearbox ratio reduced
– Added weight of counterbalance
negates some benefits of lighter
design
– Higher speed means more noise,
visual, and wildlife impacts
• Blades easier to install
because entire rotor
can be assembled on
ground
• Captures 10% less
energy than two blade
design
• Ultimately provide no
cost savings
Number of Blades: Two
• Advantages & disadvantages
similar to one blade
• Need teetering hub and or
shock absorbers because of
gyroscopic imbalances
• Capture 5% less energy than
three blade designs
Number of Blades: Three

• Balance of gyroscopic
forces
• Slower rotation
– increases gearbox &
transmission costs
– More aesthetic, less
noise, fewer bird strikes
Blade Material: Wood
Wood
– Strong, light weight,
cheap, abundant,
flexible
– Popular on do-it
yourself turbines
• Solid plank
• Laminates
• Veneers
• Composites
Blade Material: Metal
• Steel
– Heavy & expensive
• Aluminum
– Lighter-weight and easy to
work with
– Expensive
– Subject to metal fatigue
Blade Material: Fiberglass
• Lightweight, strong,
inexpensive, good fatigue
characteristics
• Variety of manufacturing
processes
– Cloth over frame
– Pultrusion
– Filament winding to
produce spars
• Most modern large turbines
use fiberglass
Lift & Drag
• The Lift Force is perpendicular
to the direction of motion.
We want to make this force
BIG.

• The Drag Force is parallel to


the direction of motion. We
want to make this force small.
Airfoil
Just like the wings of an
airplane, wind turbine blades
use the airfoil shape to create
lift and maximize efficiency.
Twist & Taper
• Twist from blade root to the tip is used to
optimize the angle of attack all along
blade and result in a constant inflow
along the blade span
• Taper is used to reduce induced drag and
increase the L/D ratio
Tip-Speed Ratio
Tip-speed ratio is the ratio of the ΩR
speed
of the rotating blade tip to the speed R
of
the free stream wind.
There is an optimum angle of attack
which creates the highest lift to drag
ratio.
Because angle of attack is dependant
on
wind speed, there is an optimum tip
speed ratio ΩR
TSR =
V
Where,
Ω = rotational speed in radians /sec
R = Rotor Radius
V = Wind “Free Stream” Velocity
Betz Limit • All wind power cannot be
captured by rotor or air
would be completely still
behind rotor and not allow
more wind to pass
through.
• Theoretical limit of rotor
efficiency is 59%
• Most modern wind
turbines are in the 35 –
45% range
Calculation of Wind Power

Power in the Wind = ½ρAV3


– Effect of swept area, A
– Effect of wind speed, V
– Effect of air density, 
R

Swept Area: A = πR2


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

Solidity is the ratio of total rotor R


planform area to total swept area a
Solidity = 3a/A
Low solidity (0.10) = high speed, low torque
High solidity (>0.80) = low speed, high torque
A
Small and Large Hydro Power
• Power output
• Large-hydro
– More than 100 MW feeding into a large electricity grid
• Medium-hydro
– 15 - 100 MW usually feeding a grid
• Small-hydro
– 1 - 15 MW - usually feeding into a grid
• Mini-hydro
– Above 100 kW, but below 1 MW
– Either stand alone schemes or more often feeding into the grid

• Height of Head
– Below 3m
– 3-40m
– >40m
Small and Large Wind Power

• Power output
• Efficiency
• Land Requirements
• Cost
• Design
• Ecological Disruption

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