LECTURE 3

FACTORS AFFECTING WIND POWER OUTPUT

 Wind power is calculated mathematically, so what these equations tell you ideal values.
Without going into equations, I can tell you that wind power depends on these factors:
1. Area of rotor

2. Wind velocity

3. Air density

1. Rotor Area
 Wind power output is directly proportional to rotor area.
 If rotor area is doubled, turbine output also doubles. Rotor area is the area swept by the
blades of the wind turbine.
 So, the larger the turbine blades, the greater is the power output. This is clear by the data
shown here.

Rotor Size and Maximum Power Output

Rotor Diameter (meters) Power Output (kW)
10
25
17 100

27 225

33 300

40 500

44 600

48 750

2. Wind Speed
  Wind power is exponentially proportional to wind speed. If wind speed doubles, power
generation becomes eight times greater. So, wind speed study of any proposed site is done
extensively to ensure good returns on investment.
 Typically wind speeds are measured for a year at the site before any decision is taken.

3. Height of Tower
 Wind speed depends on height of the turbine from the ground.
 At ground level, there are many obstructions in the form of buildings, houses, trees, etc.
They obstruct smooth flow of wind and hence decrease its speed.
 Doubling the height of tower almost doubles wind power output

4. Air Density
 Wind power is directly proportional to air density.
 Air density is maximum at sea level.
 That is the reason why we have so many wind farms near or in seas or oceans.
 At higher altitude, air density decreases significantly, so wind farms cannot be made in the
mountains.
 Also, making the turbine taller and taller will not give more power.

5. Betz Limit
 It would be good to mention Betz limit here. German physicist Albert Betz calculated in
1919 that the maximum power that a wind turbine can extract from wind is 59%.
 He derived his calculation from the conservation of momentum principle because wind is
nothing but air that has momentum (i.e. motion).
 His calculations were independent of turbine design.
 Practically, wind turbines achieve 70-80% of the Betz Limit.

HOW TO CALCULATE THE POWER GENERATED BY A WIND TURBINE.

 To calculate wind turbine power, you need to estimate two values: the available wind
power and the efficiency of the wind turbine.
 Multiplying these two values produces an estimate of the output power of the wind
turbine. Below you can find the whole procedure:

1. Sweep area of the turbine

Before finding the wind power, you need to determine the swept area of the turbine
according to the following equations:

For HAWT: A = π * L²
 For VAWT: A = D * H

where:

o L is the blade length - the radius of the horizontal-axis turbine

o D is the diameter
o H is the turbine height

2. Calculate the available wind power

Once you know the sweep area, you can find the available wind power according to this
formula:

Pwind = 0.5 * ρ * v³ * A

where:

o A is the sweep area

o ρ is the air density, assumed to be 1.225 kg/m³ by default (you can change it in advanced
mode)
o v is the wind speed - the typical usable range is approximately 3-25 m/s
o Pwind is the available wind power
3. Finding the efficiency of the turbine

 You can find the total efficiency of the turbine as follows:

μ = (1 - kₘ) * (1 - kₑ) * (1 - ke,t) *(1 - kt) * (1 - kw) * Cₚ

where:

o Cₚ is the turbine efficiency. It must be lower than the Betz limit (59.3%), and is typically
between 30-40%
o kw are the wake losses due to neighboring turbines and the terrain topography, typically 3-
10%
o kₘ are the mechanical losses of the blades and gearbox, typically 0-0.3%
o kₑ are the electrical losses of the turbine, typically 1-1.5%
o ke,t are the electrical losses of transmission to grid, typically 3-10%
o kt is the percentage of time out of order due to failure or maintenance, typically 2-3%
o μ is the real efficiency

 Efficiency is usually expressed as a percentage, but you input it into the formula
as a fraction (for example, 30% = 0.3).
 4. Calculating the output power

To find the wind turbine power, simply multiply the efficiency by the wind power
available:

Poutput = μ * Pwind

Therefore, the wind energy formula is given by,

Where,
P = power,
ρ = air density,
A = swept area of blades given by
where r is the radius of the blades.
V = velocity of the wind.
Example 1
Determine the power in the wind if the wind speed is 20 m/s and blade length is 50 m.
Solution:
Given:
Wind speed v = 20 m/s,
Blade length l = 50 m,
Air density ρ = 1.23 kg/m.
The area is given by,
A = π × 2500
= 7850 m
The wind power formula is given as,

P = 38622 W
Example 2
A wind turbine travels with the speed is 10 m/s and has a blade length of 20 m. Determine wind
power.
Solution:
Given:
Wind speed v =10 m/s,
 Blade length l = 20 m,
air density ρ = 1.23 kg/m3,
area ,
= π × 400
= 1256
The wind power formula is given as,

= 0.5 × 1.23 × 1256 × 1000

P = 772440 W.

How to calculate torque in an HAWT or a VAWT turbine

The torque (or the force causing the rotation of the blades) is calculated from the Tip Speed
Ratio (TSR) of the turbine. You can find it using the following formula:

τ = (Poutput / RPM) * (30 / π)

where:

 RPM are the revolutions per minute

 τ is the torque

To calculate the number of revolutions per minute, use these equations:

For HAWT: RPM = 60 * v * TSR / (π * 2 * L)

For VAWT: RPM = 60 * v * TSR / (π * D)

REVENUE FROM THE WIND TURBINE POWER

 Let's assume you also want to know the revenue you can expect from your wind
turbine. It depends mostly on the electricity tariff - that is, how much you will
earn per one kWh generated by the turbine.
 Once you know that value, the calculation is straightforward:

Revenue = tariff * Poutput

 LECTURE 4

WIND TURBINE PARTS AND FUNCTIONS

 The major parts are the tower, rotor, nacelle, generator, and foundation or base. Without all
of these, a wind turbine cannot function.

1. Foundation
 The foundation is under the ground for the onshore turbines; it cannot be seen because it
is covered by soil. It is a large and heavy structured block of concrete that must hold the
whole turbine and the forces that affect it.
 For offshore turbines, the base is under the water and cannot be seen. In offshore turbines
that are well into the sea the base is floating, but it is of sufficient mass to support the turbine
weight and all the forces exerted on it and to hold it upright.

2. Tower
 The tower in most modern turbines is round tubular steel of a diameter of 3–4 m (10–13
ft), with a height of 75–110 m (250–370 ft), depending on the size of the turbine and its
location.
 The rule of thumb for a turbine tower is that it has the same height as the diameter of the
circle its blades make when rotating.
 Normally, the taller a turbine is, it is subject to more of the wind with higher speed.
 This is because the farther we are from the ground, the faster the wind (wind does not
have the same speed at various distances from the ground).

3. Rotor
 The rotor is the rotating part of a turbine; it consists of (mostly) three blades and the
central part that the blades are attached to, the hub.
 A turbine does not necessarily have to have three blades; it can have two, four, or another
number of blades. But the three-blade rotor has the best efficiency and other advantages.
 Blades are not solid; they are hollow and are made of composite material to be light and
strong.
 The trend is to make them larger (for more power), lighter, and stronger. The blades have
the form of an airfoil (same as the wings of an airplane) to be aerodynamic.
 As well, they are not flat and have a twist between their root and their tip. The blades can
rotate up to 90° about their axes. This motion is called blade pitch.

4. Hub
 The function of the hub is to hold the blades and make it possible for them to rotate with
respect to the rest of the turbine body.

5. Nacelle
 The nacelle is housing on top of the tower that accommodates all the components that
need to be on a turbine top.
 There are quite a number of components for the proper and healthy operation of a
complicated electromechanical system that a turbine is.
 A major turbine part among these components is the generator and the turbine shaft that
transfers the harvested power from wind to the generator through a gearbox.
 The gearbox is a vital component of wind turbines; it resides in the nacelle.
 A gearbox increases the main shaft speed from around 12–25 rpm* (for most of today’s
turbines) to a speed suitable for its generator. For this reason, the shaft on the generator
side is called “high-speed shaft.”

6. Generator
 The generator is the component that converts the mechanical energy of the rotor,
harnessed from wind to electrical energy. A generator has the same structure as
an electric motor.
 At the commercial production level, all electricity generation is in the three-phase
alternative current. In general, the choice of generator, therefore, is synchronous or
asynchronous (induction) generator.
Principal components of a wind turbine: tower, rotor, nacelle, and foundation (underground).

 In general, the use of power electronic converters is essential to maintaining efficient

operation of the generator.

 The four types of wind turbine generators are as follows:

Type 1) Squirrel-cage induction machine (nearly fixed-speed).

Type 2) Wound-rotor induction machine with variable resistance (wider speed/torque range).
Type 3) Wound-rotor induction machine with power electronics (Doubly-fed, widest range).

Type 4) Full-converter interfaced machine (typically PMSG or other synchronous constructions).

 An example of each type is pictured in Fig. 1 below

Figure 1: Types of machines used in wind turbines. (a) Type 1 squirrel-cage machine. (b) Type 2
and 3 wound-rotor induction machine. (c) Type 4 external-field synchronous machine. (d) Type 4
permanent magnet machine.

A wind turbine is a system of systems. Each has a particular function, and can be generally
classified according to Table below

Table 1.1: Subsystems of a typical wind turbine generator

System Function
Yaw Track incoming wind direction

Pitch Control blade position

Drivetrain Shift torque and speed characteristic

Generator Convert from mechanical to electrical energy

Power system interconnection Interface generator with load or power grid

SCADA Monitor performance, control set-points, human interface

a) Yaw
 To keep the wind turbine pointed into the wind, signals from a wind vane (or other wind
direction measuring device) are monitored to check incoming wind direction.
 With this information, the controller can actuate yaw motors to turn the nacelle as necessary.
However, many turbine designs are restricted in their yaw movement.
 Cables that carry power and/or control signals from down-tower to up-tower are generally
bundled together, and allowed to twist a specified amount as the nacelle rotates.
 Yaw system components of a utility-scale wind turbine are pictured in Fig. below.

b) Pitch
 Wind turbine blades provide lift and drag forces, similar to an airplane.
  As air passes around the blades a torque is applied to the main shaft making it
accelerate. If no energy were extracted from the system via the generator, and the
entire system were lossless, the turbine shaft would accelerate indefinitely.
 In a real system, turbulence is created around the blades as they cut through the
flowing air mass. As the rotor speed increases, the blades will begin to cut into the
turbulent air
 Some of the internal hub components of a hydraulic pitch system are pictured in Fig.
below

c) Drive train
 The drivetrain consists of all components attached to energy-transmitting shafts.
 This includes the main bearing and low-speed shaft, all gearbox shafts and bearings,
and the generator shaft assembly which includes a flexible coupling to allow slight
shaft misalignment.
 The gearbox increases the speed of the shaft connected to the generator. The
generators torque and speed characteristics will influence the choice of gear ratio,
so that the desired operating wind speed range aligns with a desired generator
d) Power system interconnection
 Wind turbines can be operated as part of an existing power distribution network or in a
standalone island power system.
 Both require use of controllers, transformers, filters, relays, and other sensors and
protective devices. A portion of a DFIG power system interface, including overcurrent
and synchronization hardware, is pictured in Fig. below
 e) Supervisory control and data acquisition
 Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems are an important item to consider.
SCADA systems collect information from wind turbines, substations, loads, and system
operators, and can control turbine set-points to maintain reliable operation.
 When power generation signals are provided by a system operator, such as Mid-Continental
Independent Service Operator (MISO), the SCADA system receives those and adjusts set-
points of individual turbines.
 It can also shut down turbines in case of excess energy production and emergency operations
WIND SITE ASSESSMENT FOR WIND INSTALLATION
 The wind site assessment (or "wind and site" assessment) is one of the most important steps
in the development of a wind farm and Installation
 Basically is an in depth analysis of the site conditions of the area where a wind farm could
be built.
 The purpose of assessment is to calculate energy production and suitability to the local
conditions.
 Such study is usually performed by different stakeholders – external consultancies
(possibly on behalf of financial institutions), wind turbines manufacturers and even
developers (if they are big enough to have a wind & site department in house).
Therefore, the suitability of your site will depend on a number of factors:
 Wind data includes usually raw data from one or more met masts. Measurement period
should be sufficiently long, ideally several years. Key data are the wind rose (from where
the wind is blowing), the distribution of the wind speeds (it follows a Weibull distribution)
and the normal and extreme wind speeds.
 Topography & Roughness conditions have an impact on turbulence, flow inclination and
local speed up effects that can be key in the selection of the correct wind turbine.
 The wind speed in your area (this can be assessed from wind maps that are available
online. Whether the site is open to prevailing winds. Turbulence can significantly reduce
turbine output if the turbine is downwind from buildings, trees or other obstacles
 Size of site – ideally the turbine should be over 50m from your house or from neighbouring
houses.
 Planning – there is an exemption, provided that the turbine base is more than 14m from
any boundary, and meets other conditions
 Shadow flicker – You need to position the turbine in such a way that the sun rising or
setting at any time of the year does not cause a flickering shadow on windows in yours or
your neighbour’s house. If there are days on which this occurs, we can programme your
inverter to stop the turbine at such times, but there is a small additional charge for doing
this work.
 Ground conditions – our tower and foundation are designed for installation in clay. If
your site has very deep topsoil, bog, or solid rock, we will need to quote for a suitably
engineered solution to meet your needs.
 Other environmental conditions include parameters such as temperature (both very high
and very low temperature will need a special “package” and usually leads to decreased
energy production), air density (will change the loads, and if very high or low could lead
to a derating) and seismic actions (will the tower withstand earthquakes?).
 All this data is cross checked against standard wind classes. These classes have been
defined by the IEC, an international committee of experts, and are often used to categorize
a wind turbine model.
 For instance, wind turbine A could be certified for wind class I (strong wind) while wind
turbine II could be certified for wind class III (weak wind