Chapter10

10.1 Wind Energy

Wind is air circulation in the terrestrial atmosphere as a consequence of irregular

warming by the sun. A wind energy system converts 45% of the kinetic energy
of the wind into electricity. Optimum energy yield is typically obtained by
designing the system such that maximum power is reached at a wind speed
about 50% higher than the yearly average speed.

10.2 Types of Wind Energy Conversion Systems

10.2.1 Drag Machines

Drag machines are machines where power results from lift (perpendicular to the
relative velocity) and drag (in the direction of the speed of the wind. A simple
example of a drag machine is the cup anemometer; the principle is that the cup
whose concave side is facing the wind is subjected to a greater force than the
cup that faces the wind with its convex side. Drag machines have three major
disadvantages:. Average blade speed cannot exceed the wind speed, which
results in low rotational speeds, and their efficiency is low

10.2 Types of Wind Energy Conversion Systems

The power coefficient of a modern lift-based wind energy conversion system

amounts to about 0.45, for a drag machine this is much lower, due to large
forces contrary to the sense of rotation and thus dissipating energy. Drag
machines are only rarely applied and only for low-power applications. The term
solidity means the ratio of the blade surface to the through-flow area.

10.2.2 High-Speed Horizontal-Axis Turbines

The most common type is an axial turbine with force generation by lift. Wind
velocity at the place of a rotor blade (v) is reduced compared to the free wind
velocity (v0). The wind velocity also deviates somewhat from the original
direction (not rendered in Fig. 10.2). With such machines, blade speed may be
much higher than wind speed.

Figure 10.3 represents a front view of a three-blade horizontal-axis wind turbine

for electricity generation. It is one of the biggest machines existing nowadays
(manufacturer Enercon). The rated power is 7.58 MW for locations with a high
average wind speed (10 m/s at hub height).
Most turbines have three rotor blades. At present (2014), machines of the\r 3
MW order are standard. There is a strong tendency to even larger power. A
three-blade machine turns more steadily than a two-blade one. When arranged in
a square matrix, a wind turbine occupies a 25D2 ground area.

10.2.3 Technical Aspects of Horizontal-Axis Wind Turbines

for Electricity Generation

The blades are rigidly fixed to the hub, but have a high bending flexibility. The
rotor shaft is borne in a nacelle housing the gearbox (if present) and the\r
generator. Rotational speed depends on the turbine size and is about 25 rpm with
a 1000 kW turbine and about 18rpm with a 2500 kW turbine. A nacelle is a
section of a turbine with blade pitch control, where sudden changes of wind
direction are not reacted to immediately. Blade torsion typically amounts to
about 10°, as the angle of attack is already very high at the hub.

Because of the lower blade speed near the hub (see velocity triangle in Fig.
10.2), the relative velocity is lower as well. Pitch control and active stall control
are the most common methods of stopping wind turbines from turning at a fixed
rotational speed. Pitch control involves positioning the rotor blades so that they
are aligned with the wind direction. With stall control, the rotor is stopped in
stormy weather by means of a mechanical brake on the fast shaft of the gearbox.
This brake also serves as a parking brake, i.e. to keep the rotor in standstill with
very low wind speeds.

10.2.4 Low-Speed Horizontal-Axis Wind Turbines

For pumping, often a type as sketched in Fig. 10.5 is used, which has a working
principle similar to that of the previously discussed type, but the solidity is much
larger. Turbines of this type are applied in locations where electric power supply
is difficult, such as meadows and fields. The rotor is kept in the wind by a vane
and may be turned partially out of the wind at high wind speed.

10.2.5 Vertical-Axis Wind Turbines

Figure 10.6 represents a type with straight prismatic blades and a vertical shaft.
A horizontal section is shown, with one blade in four positions. In the upwind
and Fig. 10.6 Vertical-axis wind turbine with straight blades (VAWT
10.2 Types of Wind Energy Conversion Systems

Vertical-axis wind turbines have as\r\main advantages that they are principally
insensitive to wind direction and that the load may be coupled at ground level. A
major disadvantage is that the turbine is not self-starting when the blade position
is fixed. At least three rotor blades are required to achieve a constant torque. The
centrifugal force causes large bending moments in vertical-axis turbines with
straight blades. The fluctuating lift with vertical-axis wind turbines impairs the
efficiency compared. to that of horizontal-axis turbines, as there is drag, even
with low lift. VAWTs typically run much slower than HAWTs and cannot be
limited in power by simple means. Machines with adjustable blade slope have
been proposed, but these are mechanically vulnerable and only applied for small
power.

10.3 Wind Turbine Performance Analysis

10.3.1 Momentum Analysis (Single Streamtube Analysis)

Figure 10.8 sketches the flow through the\r turbine. The simplest flow model
represents the rotor of a horizontal-axis wind turbine as a. uniform distribution
of flow parameters just upstream and just downstream. A streamtube though the
rotor is.considered with flow parameters which only change in the direction
perpendicular. to the disc, so that the flow is rendered one-dimensionally.

10.3 Wind Turbine Performance Analysis

10.3.2 Multiple Streamtube Analysis

Analysis of a wind turbine may be refined by considering a series of streamtubes

with an infinitesimal thickness and by writing the\r momentum and work
relations for each streamtube. At the position of the rotor disc, the axial velocity
is represented by (1− a)v0. There is no tangential velocity component for the
rotor at any point in its rotation. The pressure variation in the streamtube may be
assumed symmetrical.

10.3.3 Blade Element Analysis

Figure 10.11 represents the velocity triangle at the rotor, where the tangential
interference factor is b. The axial and. tangential components of the resulting
force exerted by the.\r blade elements may be expressed as functions of lift,
drag. and flow angle ϕ. Knowledge of the.interference factors enables
determination of the power.with a given rotor geometry, i.e. chord c and pitch
angle θ.

Figure 10.12 represents the result of the optimisation of a HAWT at lT = 6.45

(shaft power). The figure also shows the performance of a Darrieus rotor and a
Savonius. There are similar analysis techniques, based on multiple streamtubes,
for vertical-axis wind turbines.

10.4 Adaptation to a Wind Regime

Figure 10.14 sketches a histogram with 1 m/s velocity classes, which is typical
for the wind at 50 m height at a location on the West European seashores. The
shape of the wind energy distribution is completely different from the shape\r of
the wind velocity distribution, since the cubic power of the velocity has a strong
impact.

10.4 Adaptation to a Wind Regime 367

Figure 10.15 shows the variation of the power coefficient and the power of a 4.5
MW turbine as an example. In Fig. 10.14, this velocity is\r determined by
balancing the yield against the cost. Within the 3–6 m/s wind speed range, the
turbine turns at the minimum generator speed (generator speed) and the speed
ratio is optimal within the 6 – 10.5m/s range.