Wind Energy

The Wind
• The wind is created by the movement of atmospheric air mass
as a results of variation of atmospheric pressure, which results
from the difference in solar heating of different parts of the
earth surface.
Has different wind systems

Hot air goes up

and creates low Equator receives more solar radiation
pressure region than higher latitude regions.

Cooler air moves The curvature of the earth surface

from high pressure causes oblique interaction with
region incoming suns ray with increased
altitude.
 Basics:
• The kinetic energy associated with the movement of the large masses of
air.

• It is dispersed, erratic and location specific.

• Wind energy is harnessed as mechanical energy with the help of a wind

turbine.

• A generator coupled to a wind turbine is known as aero-generator.

• Wind turbines converts the kinetic energy of the wind into mechanical
energy first and then into electricity if needed.

• The energy in the wind turns propeller like blades around a rotor shaft.

• The rotor is connected to the main shaft, which spins a generator to

create electricity.

• Power available in wind is proportional to the cube of wind speed

 Variation of Wind Speed with height
• Wind speed varies considerably with height above ground; this is referred to as
wind shear.

Fig. Wind speed variation with height; ‘wind shear’

•Figure shows the form of wind speed variation with height z in the near-to-ground
boundary layer up to about 100 m.
•At z = 0 the air speed is always zero. Within the height of local obstructions wind speed
increases erratically, and violent directional fluctuations can occur in strong winds.
• Above this erratic region, the height/wind speed profile is given by expressions of
the form.

• d is the zero plane displacement with magnitude a little less than the height of local
obstructions, the term z0 is called the roughness length and V is a characteristic
speed, (z0 + d) is the height of the local obstructions.
•It is very important then to place the wind turbine well above the height of local
obstructions so that the turbine disk receives a strong uniform wind flux across its
area without erratic fluctuations.
•Most wind turbines operate at hub heights between 5m (battery chargers) and
100m (large, grid linked).
•However, it is common for standard meteorological wind speed measurements us to
be taken at a height of 10 m.
• An approximate expression often then used to determine the wind speed uz at
height z is

• us is the mean wind speed at reference height of10 m.

• It is often stated that b’ = 1/7 = 0.14 for open sites in ‘non-hilly’ country. Good sites
should have small values of b to avoid changes in oncoming wind speed across the
turbine disc, and large values of mean wind speed u to increase power extraction.
 Energy Estimation of Wind
The volume of air column passing through an area A per unit time is
The air mass flow rate is given as
Power available in wind, P0= Kinetic energy associated with
the mass of moving air

Power available in the wind

in per unit area ,
= the speed of free wind in
A
unperturbed state (m/s) u0
= density of air (kg/m2)
 Power Extraction from Wind

Turbine

A1 A2 downstream
upstream A0

Wind stream tube in presence of turbine

Betz model of expanding air stream tube

✓The rotor is an actuator disk across which there is reduction of pressure

as energy is extracted.
✓Air mass flow rate is same everywhere within the stream tube
✓The speed must decrease as air expands
✓Betz model of expanding air stream tube
 Air flow rate throughout the steam tube
, The force or thrust (F) on the rotor is equal to the reduction in momentum per unit
time from air mass flow rate.

This force is applied by the air at uniform air-flow speed , passing through the
actuator disk (turbine)
The power extracted by the turbine is u1
The power extracted from wind is also equal to loss in KE per unit time
Thus,
Equating,

Considering,

Thus, air speed through the actuator disk cannot be less than half the speed of
upstream air.
 Interference /induction/ perturbation factor

A wind turbine converts a fraction of the wind energy into mechanical

energy
- A part is transferred to the rotor of the wind turbine ( PT )
- Rest is carried away by passing air
Interference factor :Fractional wind speed decrease at the turbine

a = (u0 – u2)/(2u0)
• Power extracted by the turbine can be written as,

• is the power co-efficient.

• It is the fraction of the available power in the wind that can
be extracted.
• The power coefficient or the power picked up by the wind
turbine rotor is influenced by many factors:
• - profile of the rotor blade
• - number of blades
• - blade arrangement
 Betz criterion

❖When noload is coupled to the turbine, the

blades just freewheel. There is no reduction
of the wind speed at the turbine , therefore,
u1 = u0 and a =0. The turbine does not
generate any power, thus Cp = 0. The air just
passes through the turbine without any
reduction of speed.

❖When load is applied, power is extracted,

so Cp increases as u1 decreases. Maximum
value of Cp (i.e., Pp.max = 16/27 = 0.593) occurs
at a = 1/3. This the criterion for maximum
power extraction, is called the Betz Criterion.

❖In practice, all of the kinetic energy in the Fig. Cp versus a

wind cannot be converted to shaft power,
since the air must be able to flow away from
the rotor area. In practice, power coefficients
of 20-30% are more common.
• Condition 1: When no load is coupled to the turbine)
✓ u1 = u0 and a = 0
✓ The turbine does not generate any power
✓ Air just passes through turbine without any reduction of
speed
✓ Cp = 0

Condition 2: (load is applied, power is extracted)

Cp increases as u1 decreases
Cp.max= 16/27 = 0.593 ( Betz criterion)
a = 1/3
u1 = 2/3 u0
u2 = 1/3 u0
This applies to an ideal case.
For a commercial wind turbine, Cp value is less than the ideal one.
Condition 3: (Model break down)
u2 = 0
a = 0.5
No wind is predicted to be leaving down stream.
Power extraction decreases due to mismatch of rotational frequency
and wind speed and partial stalling begins. The turbine blades will still
be turning, causing extensive turbulence in the air stream, leading to
more losses.

Condition 4: (No power extraction)

✓u1 = 0
✓a = 1
✓No power is extracted.
✓This state known as (complete) Stall State of blades
 Axial Thrust on Turbine
Thrust acts along the turbine axis
Turbine

downstream
upstream P2, ρ2
P0, ρ0 z0 z2

Wind stream tube in presence of turbine

Betz model of expanding air stream tube

✓Supposing a disc with no energy extraction, Bernoulli’s equation for

upstream and downstream may be written as:
 Cntd…

• The changes in z and ρ are negligible compared with the other terms, so
pressure difference,

✓ Δp is called the static pressure difference

✓ ρ is the average air density

✓ The maximum value of static pressure difference occurs when u 2

approaches zero. Thus,

✓ The maximum thrust on the disk is (pressure * area)

On the horizontal machine, this thrust acts along the turbine axis and, therefore, is
known as axial thrust FA.
 Cntd…
The axial thrust must be equal to loss of momentum of the air stream as

Thus, u1 = (1-a)u0
FA = 4a(1-a)A1ρu02/2 u0-u2 =2au0

FA = CF FA.max

where, CF = 4a(1-a)

✓Maximum axial thrust occurs when CF = 1, which is achieved when a = 1/2

equivalent to u2 = 0.
✓Maximum power extraction by the Betz criterion occurs when a = 1/3,
corresponding to CF = 8/9.
 Torque Developed by Turbine

• Maximum conceivable torque,

P = force × (distance / time)

Where, = Max. circumferential force acts at the tip of the blade. R =

radius of the swept area
• Tip-speed ratio (λ),

Then,
 Torque Developed by Turbine
✓For a practical machine,
-circumferential force is not concentrated at the tip but spread
throughout the length of the blades
- less shaft torque will be produced
✓Thus actual shift torque is given by,
Tsh = CTTM
where CT is torque coefficient
✓As the product of shift torque and angular speed equals power developed
by the turbine,
Tshω = PT
or, CTTMω =Cp PT
or, CT = CP/λ
✓Both CT and Cp are function of λ.
As per Betz criterion, the maximum value of Cp can be 0.593, therefore,
CT max = CP max/ λ
✓Machine with higher speeds have low value of CT max or low starting
torque
 Blade Setting Angle or Pitch Angle (β)

• Angle between central line of the blade element and direction of linear
motion of the blade element or angle between relative wind velocity and
normal to the plane of blade.

• The output of a turbine is greatly influenced by the Blade Pitch Angle (β)

• Blade pitch control is a very effective way of controlling the output power,
speed or torque.
 Blade Pitch Angle (β)
• Though theoretically maximum CP value is 0.953, the maximum practically
obtainable value of CP is approximately 0.5. A wind turbine, achieving a
value of power coefficient as 0.4 or above is considered to have good
performance.

Fig. Cp – λ curves for different pitch angle settings

 Types of Wind Turbine
• Horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT)
- Axis of rotation is parallel to the air steam
- Primarily of the axial flow types
- requires control mechanism to take account of variation in
wind direction

• Vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT)

- Axis of rotation is perpendicular to the air steam
- Can handle winds from all directions
-eliminates the need of yaw control
Horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT)
Vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT)
Turbine Blades:
-Made of high density wood or glass fibre and epoxy composites
-An airfoil type cross section
-The blades are slightly twisted from the outer tip to the root to reduce the tendency to
stall
Hub
-The central solid portion of the rotor wheel
-All blades are attached to the hub.
-The mechanism of for pitch angle control is provided inside the hub.
Nacelle:
-Housing containing the engines of an aircraft.
Contains rotor brakes, gearbox, generator and electrical switchgear and control.
-Gearbox steps up the shaft rpm to suit the generator.
-Brakes are used to stop the rotor when power generation is not desired.
-The generated electrical power is conducted to ground terminals through a cable.
• Yaw-control Mechanism
-to adjust the nacelle around the vertical axis to keep it facing the
wind.
-continuously orients the rotor in the direction of wind
-In small wind turbine, a tail vane is used for passive yaw control.
-In large turbines, an active yaw control with power steering and
wind direction sensor is used to maintain the orientation.
Pitch Control System:
-Controlled by rotating it from its root where it is connected to the
hub
-Provided through the hub using a hydraulic jack in the nacelle
-adjusts the pitch to obtain optimal performance.

Tower:
-supports the nacelle and rotor.
-both steel and concrete towers are being used.
 Vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT)

Cup type rotor Savonius Wind Turbine Darrieus rotor

Sleek, Silent and Designed for the City

Wind Turbine Operation: Power vs Wind speed Characteristics
 Four Regions:
i. Low-speed region: turbine in braked position till minimum wind speed ( about 5 m/s), known as
cut-in speed.

ii. Maximum power co-efficient region:

-rotor speed is varied with wind speed so as to operate at constant tip-speed ratio,
corresponding to maximum power coefficient, Cpmax.
-turbine operates at maximum-power-output point using pitch control

iii. Constant power region (constant-turbine-speed region):

- During high speed winds (above 12 m/s), the rotor speed is limited to an upper permissible
value based on the design limits of systems components
- the power coefficient is lower than Cpmax
-Pitch Regulation: pitch control to maintain turbine speed as constant
-Stall Regulation: use fixed blades (constant pitch), but the blade twist and thickness are so
designed as to crudely maintain the speed as constant.

iv. Furling speed region:

-Beyond a certain maximum value of wind speed ( around 25 m/s)
- Rotor is shut down and power generation is stopped
 Wind Energy Conversion System

✓Three stages used to optimize the extraction of the energy from the wind and adapt it:
mechanical, electromechanical and another electrical.
✓The first stage may regulate the pitch of the blades, the yaw of the turbine shaft and the
speed of the rotor shaft.
✓The second stage can have a variable structure (pole pairs, rotor resistors, etc.), an
external excitation and/or a power converter that adapts the speed or the torque of the
motor shaft and the waveforms of the generator voltages/currents.
✓The third stage adapts the waveforms of the grid currents.
✓The turbine shaft speed is stepped up with the help of gears to suit the electrical
generator
 The features and suitability of various type of generators in wind power generation:
i) DC Generator:
- not favoured due to high cost, weight and maintenance problems of the commutator.
-permenent-magnent ( brushless and commutator-less) dc machines are considered in small-rating
(below hundred kW) isolated systems.

ii) Synchronous Generator:

- universally used for power generation in conventional plants.
- have very rigid requirement of maintaining constant shaft speed and any deviation from
synchronous value immediately reflects in the generated frequency.
-Requirement of dc current to excite rotor field, which needs sliding carbon brushes of the slip
rings also poses limitations on its use.
-The need of a dc field current and brushes can be eliminated by using reluctance rotor. The
reliability is greatly improved while reducing the cost. The machine rating, however, is
limited to tens of kW.
- Synchronization of a wind-driven generator with the power grid also poses problems especially
during gusty winds.

Induction Generator:
✓Available from very low to several megawatt ratings
✓Rugged, brushless construction, and no need of separate dc field
✓Tolerance of slight variation of shaft speed (±10%) as these variation are absorbed in the slip
✓ Compared to dc and synchronous machines, they have low capital cost, Low maintenance and
better transient performance.
 Double fed induction generator
-have windings on both stationary and rotating parts, where both windings transfer
significant power between shaft and electrical system.
-Usually the stator winding is directly connected to the three-phase grid and the three-
phase rotor winding is fed from the grid through a rotating or static frequency converter.
-rotor frequency can freely differ from the grid frequency (50 or 60 Hz).
By using converter to control the rotor currents, it is possible to adjust the active and
reactive power fed to the grid from the stator independently of the generator's turning
speed.
-doubly fed generator rotors are typically wound with 2 to 3 times the number of
turns of the stator. This means that the rotor voltages will be higher and currents
respectively lower.
-in the typical ± 30% operational speed range around the synchronous speed, the
rated current of the converter is accordingly lower which leads to a lower cost of
the converter
-drawback is that controlled operation outside the operational speed range is
impossible because of the higher than rated rotor voltage.
-voltage transients due to the grid disturbances (three- and two-phase voltage
dips) will also be magnified.
-In order to prevent high rotor voltages - and high currents resulting from these
voltages - from destroying the IGBTs and diodes of the converter, a protection
circuit (called crowbar) is used.
-The crowbar will short-circuit the rotor windings through a small resistance when
excessive currents or voltages are detected
❑a doubly fed induction machine is a wound-rotor doubly fed electric machine and has
several advantages over a conventional induction machine in wind power applications.
✓ First, as the rotor circuit is controlled by a power electronics converter, the induction
generator is able to both import and export reactive power. This has important
consequences for power system stability and allows the machine to support the grid
during severe voltage disturbances.
✓Second, the control of the rotor voltages and currents enables the induction machine
to remain synchronized with the grid while the wind turbine speed varies. A variable
speed wind turbine utilizes the available wind resource more efficiently than a fixed
speed wind turbine, especially during light wind conditions.
✓ Third, the cost of the converter is low when compared with other variable speed
solutions because only a fraction of the mechanical power, typically 25-30%, is fed to
the grid through the converter, the rest being fed to grid directly from the stator. The
efficiency of the DFIG is very good for the same reason.