Table of Contents

Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 2
constructional aspects of horizontal-axis wind turbines.................................................. 2
The Turbine Rotor ...................................................................................................................................... 3
The Power-Train ........................................................................................................................................... 4
The Nacelle Structure .................................................................................................................................. 5
The Tower ....................................................................................................................................................... 5
The Ground Equipment Station ............................................................................................. 5
Mathematical models and theories of HAWTs ................................................................... 6
Mean Wind Speed ....................................................................................................................................... 7
Energy in the Wind ..................................................................................................................................... 8
Actuator Disc Model ................................................................................................................................... 8
Power Coefficients and Principles of Design ...................................................................... 9
Coefficient of Power Cp .............................................................................................................................. 9
Tip Speed Ratio ............................................................................................................................................ 9
Power Efficiency ........................................................................................................................................ 10
Principles of Design .................................................................................................................................. 10

Economical and technical feasibility analysis .................................................................. 10

Site specific factors ............................................................................................................................... 11
Machine parameters ............................................................................................................................... 12
Energy market ......................................................................................................................................... 13
Incentives and exemptions ................................................................................................................. 13

Applications and integration in wind farms. ...................................................................... 13

Double acting pump ............................................................................................................................. 14
Wind electric pumps ............................................................................................................................. 14

Software package used for simulation.................................................................................. 15

References............................................................................................16

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1. Introduction
The global population is increasing day by day. The population growth is more rapid in
developing countries than the industrialized nations. As a result of this population growth and
developmental activities, the energy demand is also increasing.
The rate at which energy is being consumed by a nation often reflects the level of prosperity
that it could achieve. Social and economic well-being can be gauged by the Hu-man
Development Index (HDI).It is found that most of the developed nations, showing high HDI,
have per capita energy consumption in the range of 150 to 250 per annum. On the other
hand, the developing nations with lower HDI the energy consumption per capita is below
100 GJ for most of the countries [1].
Wind energy represents one of the essential renewable energy resource, and the energy
available in wind is basically the kinetic energy of large masses of air moving over the earth’s
surface. Blades of the wind turbine receive this kinetic energy, which is then transformed to
mechanical or electrical forms, depending on our end use.
Horizontal-Axis Wind Turbine (HAWT) are the most common wind machine designs in use
today, and most of the commercial wind turbines fall under this category. However, the
generator and gearbox of these turbines are to be placed over the tower which makes its
design more complex and expensive. there are two types of wind farms onshore and offshore.
In the recent years, there is a strong trend to shift the wind farm activities to offshore. Today,
a number of ambitious offshore projects are in the pipeline. worldwide contribution from
offshore projects is estimated to be 4,500 MW by 2010 [2].

2. constructional aspects of horizontal-axis wind turbines

The figure below illustrates the general configurations of modern HAWTs. The principal
subsystems which make up the total wind energy conversion system are the rotor, the power
train, the nacelle structure, the tower, the foundation, and the ground equipment station [3] .

2
 Figure 1 Components of a wind electric generator

2.1 The Turbine Rotor

the main components of the HAWT rotor are its blades fastened to a central hub. HAWT
rotors usually contain either two or three blades. Size of the rotor depends on the power rating
of the turbine.
The turbine cost, in terms of $ per rated kW, decreases with the increase in turbine size.
Hence, MW sized designs are getting popular in the industry. For example, NEG Micon® has
already installed a 4.5 MW prototype in Denmark [4]. The rotor of this turbine is built with
massive 54 m blades. Some manufactures are planning even longer blades for their future
projects. For example, the 61.5 m blade from the LM Glass-fiber® is being installed in a 5
MW turbine with 125 m rotor, by the REpower Systems AG®, Germany.

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The two general types of rotor hubs are rigid and teetered. In a typical rigid hub, each blade
is bolted to the hub and the hub is rigidly attached to the turbine shaft. The blades are, in
effect, cantilevered from the shaft and therefore transmit all of their dynamic loads directly to
it. Teeter hub used to reduce this loading on the shaft. A two-bladed HAWT rotor usually has
a teetered hub, which is connected to the turbine shaft through a pivot called a teeter bearing
or a teeter hinge. The three-bladed rotor usually has a rigid hub.
A wide variety of materials have been used successfully for HAWT rotor blades, including
glass-fibre, laminated wood composites, steel spars with non-structural composite fairings,
and welded steel aerofoils. The choice of blade materials is a system engineering decision
involving considerations of size, strength, stiffness, weight design and manufacturing
expertise, maintenance, and cost.

2.2 The Power-Train

The power train of a wind turbine consists of the series of mechanical and electrical
components required to convert the mechanical power received from the rotor hub to
electrical power. The design, manufacture, installation, and maintenance of this assembly
must be of the highest quality in order to meet its difficult service requirements.

Figure 2 Typical HAWT power trains components

All types of electrical generators are used in HAWTs. Small-scale turbine rotors may drive
variable-speed alternators and DC generators, minimizing the amount of rotor speed control
required. Medium- and large-scale HAWTs use AC generators.

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2.3 The Nacelle Structure
the HAWT nacelle structure is the primary load path from the turbine shaft to the tower. The
bed plate provides a stiff floor on which to mount the turbine shaft bearings, the power train
components, and the yaw drive mechanism.
Nacelle structures are usually a combination of welded and bolted steel sections which form
trusses or box beams, with an enclosure to protect equipment and maintenance personnel.
Stiffness and static strength, rather than fatigue strength, are the usual design drivers of
nacelle structure.

2.4 The Tower

A HAWT tower raises the rotor and power train to the specified hub elevation. An increase in
tower height increase the energy capture (because average wind speeds generally increase
with increasing elevation) and the marginal increase in system cost, including construction
and maintenance costs.
The principal component of the HAWT tower can be a steel or reinforced-concrete shell, or a
steel truss. Cylindrical shell towers are now used almost exclusively to support large-scale
wind turbines.
HAWT towers are usually supported on massive spread foundations of reinforced concrete,
although local site conditions may make a smaller foundation tied down by rock anchors the
most economical design. Anchor bolts securing the tower to the foundation usually extend
down to the bottom of the concrete. Resistance to overturning and allowable soil pressures
are the key design requirements for HAWT foundations.

2.5 The Ground Equipment Station

Power conditioning and control equipment (e.g. transformers, circuit breakers, and the
electronic components of variable-speed generating systems), a ground control unit, and data
recording devices are typical components in the ground equipment station. Some or all of
these may be located within the base section of the tower.

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3. Mathematical models and theories of HAWTs
3.1 Mean Wind Speed
The knowledge of the quasi-steady mean wind speeds that can be expected at a potential site
is crucial to determine the economical viability of a wind energy project. The probability
distribution of the mean wind speed is predicted from measurements collected during several
years. All these data are usually arranged in a histogram [5].
The wind distribution experimentally obtained can be approximated by a Weibull
distribution, such as that shown in Figure bellow . The Weibull distribution is given by
𝑘 𝑉 𝑘
(1)
𝒫(𝑉𝑚 ) = ( 𝑚 )𝑘−1 𝑒 −(𝑉𝑚 /𝑐)
𝑐 𝑐

where k and C are the shape and scale coefficients, respectively. These coefficients are
adjusted to match the wind data at a particular site.

Figure 3 Weibull probability distribution of mean wind speeds and (b) power density vs. wind
speed [5]

As shown in the following figure, Mean wind speed is also function of height. The ground,
even in the absence of obstacles, produces friction forces that delay the winds in the lower
layers. An empirical formula often used to describe the effect of the terrain on the wind speed
gradient is the following exponential law
𝑧 (1)
𝑉𝑚 (𝑧) = 𝑉𝑚 (𝑧𝑟𝑒𝑓 )( )𝛼
𝑧𝑟𝑒𝑓
where z is the height above ground level, zref is the reference height (usually 10 m) , and the α
is surface roughness exponent that depends on a terrain.

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Values of α for different types of surface are presented in the following Table
Table 1 Typical values of roughness length z0 and roughness exponent α for different types of surface

Type of surface α
Sand 0.10
Mown grass 0.13
High grass 0.19
suburb 0.32

Figure 4 Effect of tower height on the velocity at hub height [6]

3.2 Energy in the Wind

The kinetic energy stored in a flow per unit volume is Ek = 0.5 ρ v2 , where ρ is the density of
the fluid. For a stream flowing through a transversal area A the flow rate is AV . Therefore,
the power in the wind passing through an area A with speed V is
1
𝑝= 𝜌 𝐴 𝑉3
2 (3)

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3.3 Actuator Disc Model
This model is based on the momentum theory [5]. Consider the actuator disc is immersed in
an airflow. Since the actuator disc extracts part of the kinetic energy of the wind, the
upstream wind speed V is necessarily greater than the downstream speed V−∞.
Consequently, for the stream tube just enclosing the disc, the upstream cross-sectional area
A∞ is smaller than the disc area AD, which in turn is smaller than the downstream cross-
sectional area A−∞. This is because, by definition, the mass flow rate must be the same
everywhere within the tube
ρ A∞ V = ρ AD VD = ρ A−∞ V−∞ (4)

Figure 5 Airflow through an actuator disc

The air that passes through the disc undergoes a speed drop V − V−∞. Hence, the force FD
developed by the actuator disc on the incident airflow is the total speed drop times the mass
flow rate
FD = (V − V−∞) ρ AD VD. (5)
Usually, the speed at the disc is written as VD = (1 − a) V . where a is defined as the axial
flow interference factor.
The force FD is originated by the pressure drop introduced by the actuator disc, that is
FD = (pD+ − pD-)AD = (V − V−∞) ρ AD V (1 − a) (6)
where pD+ and pD- are the air pressure immediately before and after the disc.
Bernoulli’s equation is applied to obtain the pressure drop across the disc

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 (pD+ − pD-) = 0.5 ρ (V2 − V 2−∞). (7)
Then, the power extracted from the wind by the actuator disc is given by
PD = FD VD = 2ρ AD V3 a(1 − a)2. (8)

A conventional way of characterising the ability of a wind turbine to capture wind energy is
the power coefficient , which is defined as the ratio of extracted power to wind power
𝑃𝐷 2 𝜌 𝐴𝐷 𝑉 3 𝑎(1−𝑎)2
𝐶𝑝 = = 1 = 𝑎(1 − 𝑎)2 (9)
𝑃 𝜌 𝐴𝐷 𝑉3
2

The Betz Limit .The maximum achievable value of CP , known as Betz limit, is
Cp,max = 16/27 = 0.593 and occurs for a factor a = 1/3.

4. Power Coefficients and Principles of Design

4.1 Coefficient of Power Cp
The question of how much of the wind energy can be transferred to the blade as mechanical
energy has been answered by the Betz’ law.
Betz’ law states that only a maximum of 59.25% of the kinetic power in the wind can be
converted to mechanical power using a wind turbine, the so called maximum power
coefficient or Betz-Number.

4.2 Tip Speed Ratio

A wind energy converter is classified through the characteristic tip speed ratio λs
𝑈𝑒
𝜆𝑠 = (10)
𝑉0

Where Ue is the circumferential velocity of the rotor at the end of the blade, and V0 is the
wind velocity v0 in front of the rotor blade
The tip speed ratio has a strong influence on the efficiency of a wind energy converter. When
λs is small, the circumferential velocity is also small which results in an increase in the angle
of attack αA. When the angle of attack increases past a critical angle, the wind flow breaks
away from the blade profile and becomes turbulent, thus dramatically reducing the lift force.
If the tip speed ratio is too large, the lift force will reach its maximum value and decrease
afterwards, thus reducing the power efficiency of the converter.

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4.3 Power Efficiency
the efficiency can be defined as:
𝜂 = 𝐶𝑃 𝜂𝑚 𝜂𝑔𝑒 (11)

with ηm as the mechanical efficiency and ηge as the efficiency of the coupled generator and
the electrical auxiliary equipment.

4.4 Principles of Design

1.A high aerofoil form ratio Ca/Cr leads to a high tip to speed ratio and therefore a large
power coefficient cp, in which Ca and Cr represent lift and drag force coefficient respectively.
Modern converters with a good aerodynamic profile rotate quickly.
2. Simple profiles with low aerofoil form ratios have a small tip speed ratio.
Therefore, the area of the rotor radius that is occupied by blades must be increased in order to
increase the power coefficient.
Slow rotating converters have poor aerodynamic profiles and a high number of blades.
3. The profile form ratio and the tip speed ratio have a considerably greater influence on the
power coefficient than the number of blades.
For modern converters with a good aerodynamic profile, the number of blades is not so
important for a large power coefficient cp.

5. Economical and technical feasibility analysis

Economic issues of wind energy systems are multidimensional. There are several factors that
affect the unit cost of electricity produced by a wind turbine. These may vary from country to
country and region to region.
Factors influencing the wind energy economics
There are many factors that affect the economic viability of a wind energy project. They can
broadly be grouped as site-specific factors, machine or system parameters, market factors and
policy issues.

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5.1 Site specific factors
Energy available in wind spectra is proportional to the cube of the wind speed. This implies
that when the speed of the wind at a location doubles, the energy increases by eight times.
Hence, the strength of the wind spectra available at the project site is one of the critical
factors deciding the cost of wind generated electricity. The figure bellow demonstrating the
effect of the average wind velocity at a site on the cost of unit energy produced. When the
average velocity increases from 7 m/s to 9.5 m/s, the cost is reduced by 50 per cent (from 5
cents to 2.5 cents per kWh).

Figure 6 Effect of wind velocity on the cost of wind generated electricity [6]

Cost of land, installation charges and labour wages vary from place to place. Expenditure on
foundation depends on the strength of soil profile as well as the extreme loads expected at the
site. In case of grid connected systems, a major concern would be the distance from turbine to
existing grid as the cost of developing additional transmission network should also be taken
into our calculations.
Local climatic conditions also influence the wind energy economics. High turbulence of
wind at the site may demand more attention to the rotor. Further, presence of corrosive and
other harmful substances in the atmosphere reduces life span of the turbine. Frequent
maintenance may be necessary due to these factors, which in turn would increase the
system’s operational and maintenance costs.

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5.2 Machine parameters
Cost of the wind turbines can be considerably reduced by scaling up the system size. This
means that the cost per kW of a 2 MW machine is lower than that of a 2 kW unit. In Fig., unit
cost of small-stand alone wind turbines of different sizes are compared. By scaling up the size
from 20 kW to 50 kW, the cost/kW is reduced by 18 per cent.

Figure 7 Cost reduction through scaling up [6]

Scale of production is another factor affecting the unit cost of wind turbines. As the
production rate goes up, unit cost comes down. The so-called learning curves, which are
extensively used in the industry, can be used to correlate the production rate and unit cost of
wind turbines.
Economic life span of the turbine influences the cost calculations of wind energy systems.
When we design our system to sustain longer, the initial investment of the project will be
distributed over more number of years, which in turn would reduce the annual cost of
operation.
As shown in the figure bellow, When the project life increases from 15 years to 30 years, the
cost falls almost by 25 per cent. However, it must be ensured that the life period taken for
our calculations is realistic.

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 Figure 8 Effect of project life on wind generator economy [6]

5.3 Energy market

Existing energy market often decides the benefits of wind energy. The companies have their
peak energy demand in some particular hours of a day. If the wind turbine can supplement
them in meeting this peak demand, the companies may pay higher price for the wind
generated electricity.

5.4 Incentives and exemptions

The major way of extending production incentive is the Production Tax Credit
(PTC), Under this, the electricity produced during the first ten years of operation of a wind
energy project, which is sold in wholesale to the utility or other electricity suppliers, is
entitled for a production tax credit. Several developed countries have formulated
environmental regulations, which will ultimately come in favour of non-polluting sources like
wind. For instance, emission taxes enforced in several countries demands the polluting
industries to pay tax, in proportion to the quantity of CO2 and SOx they emit to the
atmosphere. This will increase the economic competitiveness of renewable technologies.

6. Applications and integration in wind farms.

one of the classical applications of wind energy is water pumping. Several thousands of wind
pumps are still in use in interior areas of America and Australia, catering to the water needs
of crops and livestock. Wind pumps can broadly be classified as mechanical systems and
electrical systems.

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6.1 Double acting pump
The double acting pump discharges during both its upward and downward strokes and thus
offers a continuous flow. During the upward stroke, water above the plunger is lifted and
discharged. During the downward stroke water, equivalent to the volume of the plunger, is
displaced and discharged. As the plunger cross section is half of the cylinder cross-section in
area, the pump discharges equal amount of water in both upward and downward strokes,
delivering an almost continuous flow [7] .

Figure 9 Schematic view of a wind driven roto-

dynamic pump

6.2 Wind electric pumps

In a wind electric pumping system (WEPS), a small and efficient wind electric generator
energizes a roto-dynamic pump-mostly centrifugal-to deliver water in reliable and often cost
effective way. A typical WEPS consist of a three bladed high speed rotor coupled with a
permanent magnet generator. Size of commercial systems ranges from 1 kW to 10 kW.
Electricity from the generator is transmitted to the pump’s motor through cables which may
extend even up to 700 m.

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7. Software package used for simulation
wind Energy Resource Analysis (WERA) software
The Wind Energy Resource Analysis (WERA) programme is based on the models. WERA
can be used for:
1.Analysing the wind energy potential at a given site.
2. Estimating the performance of a Wind Energy Conversion System (WECS) at the site.

WERA has three modules, viz. SITE, WIND TURBINE and WIND PUMP. The SITE and
WIND TURBINE modules have provision to perform the analysis on the basis of either
Weibull or Rayleigh distribution. Wind pumping systems with positive displacement piston
pump and roto-dynamic pump are considered in the WIND PUMP module. Procedure for
installing and using the programme are discussed in the following sections.

15
References

[1] e. a. Iñaki Arto, "The energy requirements of a developed world," energy for sustainable
development, vol. 33, pp. 1-13, 2016.

[2] BWEA, " Prospects for offshore wind energy," british wind energy association, Kingsway, london,
(Altener contract XVII/4.1030/Z/98-395).

[3] David A. Spera, "General Configurations of Horizontal-Axis Wind Turbines," in WIND TURBINE
TECHNOLOGY, New York, ASME, 2009, pp. 52-65.

[4] K. Mason, change in the wind.composites technology., pay publishing, 2004.

[5] e. a. Fernando D. Bianchi, in Wind Turbine Control Systems, london, springer, 2007, pp. 9-16.

[6] S. Mathew, in Wind Energy Fundamentals, Resource Analysis and Economics , kerala, springer,
2006.

[7] P. K. Mathew S, "modelling the integrated output of wind-driven roto-dynamic pumps.,"

Renewable energy., vol. 28, no. 7, pp. 1143-1155, june 2003.

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