CHAPTER 2

BACKGROUND THEORY OF WIND POWER SYSTEM

2.1. Introduction to Renewable Energy Source

Renewable sources of energy are independent, naturally and not artificially

existing and they are already being economically exploited or will become so in the
near future.

Renewable energy sources have their basic origin as the sun. The radiation
from the sun that reaches the Earth’s ground, apart from the vital contribution in the
creation. Growth and maintenance of life of the planet, provides earth planet with
energy in various forms. Moreover, solar radiation heats directly and evaporates large
quantities of marine water and it maintains the natural cycle of the water, creating
lakes and rivers that constitute an additional source of energy (Hydroelectric energy).
Solar radiation puts in movement the air masses of the atmosphere (Wind energy) and
it creates waves (Wave energy). Finally, it is absorbed from combined materials and
produces the electricity (Photovoltaic effect) and it contributes in the growth of flora
via the photosynthesis phenomenon and with the combustion of plants produces
energy (Biomass).

Renewable sources are safe and unlimited in the sense that there is no
possibility of reserves being run down. With some exceptions, proposed renewable
energy sources are local and so cannot be exploited by a foreign power has happened
with oil over many years. Furthermore, renewable sources can add diversity to energy
supply and almost none of them releases gaseous or liquid pollutants during the
operation.

Renewable energy sources presently provide significant amount of energy in

many countries. Renewable energy sources currently supply about 10 % of the world
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energy demand. These energy sources will become increasingly important in the
future.

There are many types of renewable energy in a good situation among the
energy types like Wind Energy System (WES), Biomass energy systems and
Photovoltaic Energy System (PVES). Much more experience is needed to predict the
future economics and markets for the emerging technologies. The renewable is
environmental friendly compared to the current level of Co2 emission associated
with electricity generation. Renewable energy sources by year 2020 could reduce the
emission of carbon dioxide (Co2). Such a contribution from renewable energy
systems would also reduce substantially the low level of other pollutants that cause
acid rain, smog and other local environmental hazards.

The renewable energy has many other benefits such as; create significant new
employment opportunities in energy infrastructure, manufacturing, installation, and
Contribute to the securing of long term, cost-effective environmentally sustainable
energy supplies and offers low operation costs. The major types of renewable energy
sources can be summarized as follows:

1. Wind Energy,

2. Solar Energy,

3. Hydro Energy,

4. Tidal Energy, and

5. Biomass Energy.

2.2. Types of Wind Power System

There are two major types of wind power system, and it depends on the
connection of the system if it is connected to the main grid or it stands alone without
any connection, these types are:

1. Off-grid systems, and

2. Grid-tied systems.
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2.2.1. Off-grid System

Off-grid system is so called stand-alone systems although they are most

common in remote locations without utility grid service, off-grid wind electric system
can work anywhere. These systems operate independently from the grid to provide
loads with electricity, and there are many types of off-grid system. Interest in off-grid
renewable energy system is on the rise, both in developed and developing countries.
A decentralized system requires less land than a utility-scale renewable project,
experiences less distance-related transmission losses, and provides the electricity likes
a traditional grid connection.

Furthermore, off-grid system systems are able to support the integration of

decentralized renewable power generation into the grid and provide power reliability
and stability, evidenced in reduced outages and massive economic impacts upon
related economic activities.

Figure 2.1. Off-grid wind power system [1]

2.2.2. Grid-tied System (On-grid System)

This system is also called on-grid or utility interactive grid-tied systems are
designed to operate in parallel with and interconnected with the electric utility grid.
Grid-tied system is mostly use where national grid available to supply the lager
amount of electricity such as villages, rural area.
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Figure 2.2. On-grid wind power system [2]

2.2.3. Wind Turbine Technology

Major components of horizontal axis wind turbine include the rotor blades,
generator aerodynamic power regulation, yaw mechanism, and the tower. The rotor
blade is critical, as it captures the wind energy and converts it into the torque required
to spin the generator. One measure of an aerodynamically efficient blade design is the
weight/swept area ratio; this parameter can be used to compare efficiency across
machines of similar design and capacity. Blade lengths increase with the size of the
wind turbines; as longer lengths result in more energy capture. Longer blades require
higher strength and lower mass, leading to common use of composite materials
including carbon epoxy and fiber-reinforced plastic.

Kinetic energy captured by the rotor blades is transferred to the generator

through the transmission shaft. The shaft is coupled directly or via a gearbox
mechanism to the armature of either an asynchronous (induction) or synchronous
generator. A wind turbine with an induction generator comes with gearbox, which
converts the cut-in to cut-out speed variations to one, two, or three speeds of the
generator. In an induction generator, the generator revolutions increase or decrease
with the wind speed. For example, a two-speed generator has four poles at one
thousand and five hundred revolutions per minutes (rpm) and six poles at one
thousand rpm. Wind turbines configured with synchronous generators have
continuous speed variation according to the speed of the wind. Synchronous machines
have no gear box and can be connected to the grid at almost any wind speed.
Synchronous machines provide great operational flexibility and good power quality,
but are expensive because of the need for power electronics. Both asynchronous and
synchronous machines can operate over a significant range of wind speeds.
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Wind turbine technology continues to evolve, with the doubly-fed induction

generator (DFIG) Direct Drive (DD) synchronous machines under development. The
DFIG incorporates most of the benefits of the variable speed drive system and has the
advantage of minimum losses because of the fact that only a third of the power passes
through the converter. Direct Drive synchronous machines have multi pole design for
a wind speed range. Power electronics facilitates such wide speed ranges. All these
generator developments rely on power electronics to control power quality. The cost
of power electronics is falling, resulting in reduction of capital cost of the variable
speed drives and thus lower generation costs for electricity produced by the wind. The
other major improvement is the increasing size and performance of the wind turbines.

Aerodynamic power regulation is a common feature of modern wind turbines

allowing control of output power by mechanical adjustment of the rotational speed,
especially at higher wind speeds. In a pitch controlled wind turbine several times per
second. When the power output becomes too high, it sends a signal to the blade pitch
mechanism, which immediately pitches (turns) the rotor blades slightly out of the
wind. Conversely, the blades are turned back into the wind whenever the wind drops
again. Stall, or passive control through the blade design itself, requiring no moving
parts.

The profile of the rotor blade is aerodynamically designed to ensure that the
moment the wind speed becomes too high; it creates turbulence on the side of the
rotor blade, which is not facing the wind. Although power regulation through stall
control avoids complex control systems, it represents a very complex aerodynamic
design problem, including avoided the problem of stall-induced vibrations in the
structure of the turbine.

Finally, an active stall control mechanism is being used in larger (one MW and
above) wind turbines. At low wind speeds, the machines will usually be programmed
to pitch their blades much like a pitch-controlled machine. However, when the
machine reaches its rated power and the generator is about to be overloaded, the
machine will pitch its blades in the opposite direction from what a pitch-controlled
machine does. This is similar to normal stall power control, except that the whole
blade can be rotated backwards (in the opposite direction as is the case with pitch
control) by a few (three-five) degrees at the nominal speed range in order to give
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better rotor control. In other words, it will increase the angle of attack of the rotor
blades in order to make the blades go into a deeper stall, thus wasting the excess
energy in the wind. The result is known as the ‘deep stall’ effect, which leads to the
power curve bending sharply to a horizontal output line at nominal power and keeping
this constant value for all wind speeds between nominal and cut-out.

The wind tower is another critical wind turbine component, as it must provide
the structural frame necessary to accommodate the external forces due both to the
wind and the motions of the various components of a wind turbine. The tower must be
designed to withstand vibration as well as static and dynamic loads. The most
important consideration in tower design is to avoid natural frequencies near rotor
frequencies. The two most tower designs are lattice and tubular. A lattice tower is
cheaper compared to the tubular tower and, being usually a bolted structure, is easier
to transport. However, tubular towers have several advantages over lattice tower. Not
only is a tubular tower stiffer than a lattice tower, thus better able to withstand
vibration, it also avoids the many bolted connections of a lattice tower that requires
frequent checking and tightening. Moreover, tubular tower allows full internal access
to the nacelle.

A final mechanical design feature is yaw control. The yaw control

continuously orients the rotor in the wind direction. Large wind turbines mostly have
active yaw control, in which the yaw bearing includes gear teeth around its
circumference. A pinion gear on the yaw drive engages with those teeth, so that it can
be driven in any direction. The yaw drive normally consists of electric motors, speed
reduction gears, and a pinion gear. This is controlled by an automatic yaw control
system with its wind direction sensor usually mounted on the nacelle of the wind
turbine.

Wind turbine technology is being continuously improved worldwide, resulting

in improved performance, more effective land utilization, and better grid integration.
Technology development in the form of larger size wind turbines, larger blades,
improved power electronics, and taller tower in noteworthy resulting in dramatic
improvement. Averaging 25 kW just 20 years ago, the commercial range sold today is
typically from 600 up to 2,500 kW.
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2.2.4. Types of On-shore Wind Turbines

Wind is caused by uneven heating of the earth from the sun making wind a
renewable and free source of energy. Wind turbines are an alternate source of energy
that harness this renewable wind power to make electricity. Since wind turbines run
solely on wind, they cause no pollution making them environmentally friendly.
Basically, wind turns blades that are connected to a generator, the generator then
makes electricity. There are two main types of wind turbines, horizontal and vertical
axis. All three types of wind turbines have varying designs, and different advantages
and disadvantages.

2.2.5. Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines

Horizontal axis wind turbines are the most common type used. All of the
components (blades, shaft, and generator) are on the top of a tall tower, and the blades
face into the turbine. The shaft is horizontal to the ground. The wind hits the blade of
the turbine that are connected to a shaft causing rotation. The shaft has a gear on the
end which turns a generator. The generator produces electricity and sends the
electricity into the consumer.

The wind turbine also has some key element that adds to efficiency. Inside the
Nacelle or (head) is an anemometer, wind vane, and controller that read the speed and
direction of the wind. As the wind changes direction, a motor (yaw motor) turns the
nacelle so the blades are always facing the wind. The power source also comes with
the safety feature. In case of extreme winds the turbine has a break that can slow the
shaft speed. This is to inhibit any damage to the turbine in extreme conditions.

Figure 2.3. Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines [3]

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2.2.6. Vertical Axis Wind Turbines

In the vertical axis wind turbines, the shaft and the blades are connected to
vertical to the ground. All of the main components are close to the ground. Also, the
wind turbine itself is near the ground, unlike horizontal where everything is on a
tower. There are two types of vertical axis wind turbines; lift based and drag based.
Lift based designs are2, generally much more efficient than drag, or paddle designs.

Figure 2.4. Vertical Axis Wind Turbines [4]

2.2.7 Types of Off-shore Wind Turbines

Off-shore wind turbines can be installed both in ocean waters and inland lakes
and are typically around 80-100 meters high with a rotor blade diameter of 20-50
meters. There are two types of off-shore wind turbines.

2.2.8 Fixed-bottom Turbines

Fixed-bottom turbines are similar in design to onshore wind turbines where

the turbine tower is built up from the ground. Fixed-bottom turbines are limited by the
depth of the water because the turbine tower has to be built into the sea-floor; are only
viable in depths up to 50 m. Suitable construction sites are relatively limited and have
the potential to interfere with other industries such as shipping or fishing. Fixed-
bottom turbines are currently the industry standard for offshore wind farms.
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Figure 2.5. Fixed-bottom Turbines [5]

2.2.9. Floating Turbines

Floating turbines are of interest because potential development sites would no

longer be limited to shallow water. Floating turbines could be positioned in areas with
the strongest winds without being limited by water depth. In addition, some areas
such as the Mediterranean and Arctic that is too deep to allow fixed-bottom turbine
construction to be suitable for development. The challenge of floating turbines is to
create structures that are capable of withstanding the forces of high wind speeds and
open-ocean waves without a foundation built into the sea-floor. Technological
development is currently focused on improving the substructure, which is the floating
platform the tower is constructed on. The substructure must be capable to holding the
tower steady and upright while remaining in the same location via a system of cables
anchored to the sea floor. To date, several floating turbines have been designed but
are still limited to a water depth of around 200 m because of the necessity for an
anchoring system to hold the turbine in place [8]. The importance of floating wind
turbine is the location of the wind turbine where the tide must not rush. The floating
wind turbines are built can wind stand in storm and breakdown the electricity
generation.
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Figure 2.6. Floating Turbines [6]

2.2.10. Domestic Wind Turbines

Domestic wind turbines are used for stand-alone power system on coastal and
mountain region, also called small wind turbine (SWT). According to IEC61400-2
standard, SWTs are characterized by a rotor area of <200 m2 and rated power below
50 kW. The cut-in speed is around 3-4 m/s for most turbines and cut-out speed at 23
m/s. The design is simple to use and control, so more reliability for home electricity.
In 2012, the total number of such devices was approximately 800,000 worldwide. The
domestic wind turbine can be identified as beneficial, both as stand-alone applications
and in combination with other energy conversion technologies such as photovoltaic,
small hydro or diesel engines.

Wind turbines are available at different powers ratings varying between low to
medium level to meet the needs for almost all kinds of applications. They are also
available at both types of voltages, ac and dc voltages, at levels varying between 12
and 48-Vdc and between 110 and 240-Vac for domestic applications. Wind turbines
vary in their shapes and dimensions and designed to produce rated power at a certain
wind speed. However, a wind turbine produces less power at lower wind speeds and
no power at a certain cut-in wind speed. It also produces more power at higher wind
speeds and stopped at a certain maximum speed to prevent any damage of the
gearbox. Wind turbines are usually supported on the top of turbine towers that have to
be at least 6 meters above any surrounding objects within a radius of 150 meters.
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Figure 2.7. Domestic Wind Turbines [7]

2.3. Main Components of Wind Turbine

The main components for a wind turbine illustrate in Figure 2.5. These
components are rotor hub, blades, pitch control, nacelle, brake, yaw drive & yaw
motor, tower, low-speed shaft, gear box, generator, controller, anemometer and wind
vane.

2.3.1. Rotor and Hub

Rotor consists of the blade and the hub which connects the blades to the low
speed shaft. Hubs are rigid, hinged or teetering. The most common one is the rigid
type.

2.3.2. Blades

Blades are the main components of the rotor. Most turbines used in electricity
generation have either two or three blades. They are used to catch the wind
energy and convert it into mechanical energy to force the rotor to rotate.
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2.3.3. Pitch Control

The blades are turned in/out of the wind to keep the rotor from rotating in the
wind that are too high or too low. Also, pitch control is important to maintain a nearly
constant speed of rotation for the low speed shaft, or to limit the power generation at
the rated value for variable speed mode of operation.

2.3.4. Nacelle

The nacelle contains the gearbox, low-speed and high-speed shafts, generator,
controller, and brake. The nacelle is installed at the top of the tower and its cover
protects the components inside the nacelle from different weather conditions.

2.3.5. Brake

Brake is used to stop the rotor in emergencies; ad can be achieved

mechanically, electrically, or hydraulically.

2.3.6. Yaw Drive and Yaw Motor

The upwind turbine requires a Yaw Drive to keep the rotor facing into the
wind as the wind direction changes. The downwind depends on aerodynamics to align
the rotor of the turbine. Yaw motor is used to activate the yaw drive.

2.3.7. Tower

Towers are used to raise the turbine to the upper air levels (with higher wind
speeds) to catch as much wind energy as possible. They are made from steel of
concrete in the case or larger turbines. The tower height ranges from 1 to 1.5 times the
rotor diameter and usually it is not less than 20 m high.

2.3.8. Low-speed Shaft

It is considered the main shaft of the turbine. The rotor turns the low-speed
shaft at 30 to 60 rpm.

2.3.9. Gear Box

Gears connect the low-speed shaft to the high-speed shaft of the generator. It
increases the rotational speeds from about few hundred rpm (or even less) to about
1000 or 1800 rpm. The gearbox is the most expensive and heaviest component of the
wind turbine.
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Figure: 2.8. Main Components of Wind Turbine [8]

2.3.10. Generator

The generator is used to convert the mechanical power into electrical power.
The most commonly used generators with wind turbines are the induction or a
synchronous AC generator that produce 50 or 60 Hz electricity. The induction
generator has been more widely adopted because they offer several advantages over
conventional synchronous generators for operation in large power grids.

These advantages are the reduced unit cost, brushless rotor construction,
absence of separate source for excitation, ruggedness, and ease of maintenance.
Induction generators used in wind turbines are either squirrel cage or doubly fed
machine. In addition, permanent magnet generators and switched reluctance
generators are sometimes used.

2.3.11. Controller

The controller starts up the machine at its cut in speed and shuts off the
machine at its cut out speed. Turbines cannot operate at wind speeds above the cut out
speed to avoid overheating in their generators and or mechanical damage of the rotor
shaft.
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2.3.12. Anemometer

It is a sensor to measure the wind speed and sends this information to the
controller. The most commonly used anemometers are the cup anemometer and the
propeller anemometer.

2.3.13. Wind Vane

It is a sensor for the direction of the wind. Typical wind vanes create a signal
by using contacts or potentiometers. It communicates with the yaw drive to align the
turbine properly in the direction of the wind. This is not present in downwind
turbines.

2.4. Upwind Versus Downwind Small Wind Turbine

One of the fundamental distinguishing factors in horizontal wind turbines is
the rotor position in relation to the tower. Today market is dominated by upwind
rotors: while downwind rotors are behind the tower (leeward) (Figure 2.9 (b)).

(a) (b)

Figure: 2.9. Upwind (a) and Downwind (b) Wind Turbines [9]

In upwind design solution, the rotor is in the front of the unit (facing the wind)
and it is characterized by higher efficiency due to the reduced tower impact on wind
inducted at the working section. Unlike upwind, the downwind turbines experience a
different inlet wind profile effectively changed by the development of a boundary
layer on a nacelle and by the formation of wakes in the aerodynamic trail behind the
mast. In upwind designs, the rotor needs to be made rather inflexible and placed at
some distance from the tower to avoid collision. What is more, those are not self-
aligning in the direction of the wind, and therefore, they need a tail vane or a yaw
system to keep the rotor facing the wind.
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In downwind turbines, the rotor is on the back side of the turbine (the lee side
of the tower). Their main advantages are that they may be built without a yaw
mechanism and the rotor may be made more flexible (since there is no danger of a
tower strike). This may be an advantage both in regards to weight and the structural
dynamics of the machine. Therefore, the basic advantage of the downwind machine is
that theoretically, it may be built simpler and lighter than an upwind machine.
Downwind turbines generally have lower aerodynamic efficiency, and the
fluctuation in the wind power due to the rotor passing through the wind shade of the
tower may give more fatigue loads on the turbine than those with an upwind design.
Although the upwind type is more popular than the other one, the advantage that the
downwind configuration can face the wind automatically makes them much more
promising for Small Wind Turbine (SWT) due to its simplicity.
Using the methodology of aero-, servo-, elastic-coupled numerical analyses,
the authors carried out analysis of small wind turbine behavior in terms of upwind
versus downwind SWT comparison. It is worth pointing out that the relative low cost
of such research methods is a great advantage in comparison to real experiments (e.g.,
wind tunnel tests). The first set of the obtained results concerns the dynamic response
of the simulated variants in terms of rapidly changing wind speed conditions. Case
one are here the IEC 61400–1 direction-change condition. Both considered turbine
variants have proved to be capable of quick and precise nacelle turn during the
changing direction, event and it can be stated that both design solutions work properly
and similarly in this case. The upwind variant of the small wind turbine proves to
have 5% higher efficiency than the downwind variant, which in turn resulted in a 13%
higher energy output in economic analysis.
The biggest disadvantage of the downwind design variant is the presence of
significant fluctuations of momentums in rotor blades and forces on the top of turbine
tower, which may cause a real danger of fatigue damage in the turbine construction as
well as the risk of resonance.

2.5. System Description Components for Domestic Wind Turbine

A Wind-energy system is composed of a variety of equipment in addition to

the wind turbine, a Balance-of-System, that wired together to form the entire fully
functional system capable of supplying electric power and these components are as
follows.
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2.5.1. Wind Turbine

Wind turbine represents the fundamental power conversion unit. It transforms

the kinetic energy of the wind into mechanical energy that turns an electric generator
to produce electric energy. Wind turbines are available at different powers ratings
varying between low to medium level to meet the needs for almost all kinds of
applications. They are also available at both types of voltages, ac and dc voltages, at
levels varying between 12 and 48-Vdc and between 110 and 240-Vac for domestic
applications. Wind turbines vary in their shapes and dimensions and designed to
produce rated power at a certain wind speed. However, a wind turbine produces less
power at lower wind speeds and no power at a certain cut-in wind speed. It also
produces more power at higher wind speeds and stopped at a certain maximum speed
to prevent any damage of the gearbox. Wind turbines are usually supported on the top
of turbine towers that have to be at least 6 meters above any surrounding objects
within a radius of 150 meters.

2.5.2. Battery

A storage medium, battery bank, which is involved in the system to make the
energy available at low wind speeds or at days-of-autonomy, sometimes called no-
wind-days, when the wind speed is less than the cut-in speed or not high enough to
turn the turbine blades. The standard batteries that are used in wind-energy system are
lead-acid batteries because of their high performance, long life time and cost
effectiveness. It is recommended though to buy high quality batteries because you get
what you pay for. Good deep-cycle batteries can be expected to last 15 years, and
sometimes more while cheap batteries can give you trouble in half that time.

2.5.3. Controller

A voltage regulator or charge controller is an essential part of nearly all power

systems that charge batteries, whether the power source is wind turbine or utility grid.
Its purpose is to keep your batteries properly fed and safe for the long term. The basic
functions of a controller are quite simple. Charge controllers block reverse current and
prevent battery from getting overcharged. Some controllers also prevent battery from
getting under discharged, protect from electrical overload, and/or display battery
status and the flow of power. Wind generators are active electricity producers. If the
wind is blowing, they will produce current whether the battery bank needs the charge
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or not. In order to prevent damage to the wind turbine, all of the electricity it produces
must be used in some way. Built-in load diversion regulator is usually included with
the wind turbine and if not external arrangement must be used.

2.5.4. Inverter

An inverter is a device that changes a low dc-voltage into usable 230V ac

voltage. It is one of the wind energy system's main elements, because the wind
turbines generate power that is stored it in low dc-voltage batteries. Inverters differ by
the output wave format, output power and installation type. It is also called power
conditioner because it changes the form of the electric power. There are two types of
output wave format: modified sine-wave (MSW) and pure sine-wave. The MSW
inverters are economical and efficient, while the sine wave inverters are usually more
sophisticated, with high-end performance and can operate virtually any type of load.
There are also two types of inverters for installation: off-grid installation and grid-
connected installation.

2.5.5. Balance of System

Balance-of-system such as protection devices that keep the system

components safe during their operation such as lightning-protection that includes
devices to protect the sensitive electronic components from the high voltage
transients, and ground faults. Additional devices that used to ensure proper operation
such as monitoring, metering, and disconnect devices. Wiring is also an important
component. It is the mean through which the components of a wind-energy system are
connected together. You will need to use correct wire sizes to ensure low loss of
energy and to prevent overheating and possible damage or even fire. Selecting the
correct size and type of wire will enhance the performance and reliability of your
wind system. The size of the wire must be large enough to carry the maximum current
expected without undue voltage losses because the wire resistance causes a drop in
the voltage from the source to the load.

2.5.6. Load

AC and DC loads which are the appliances such as lights and radios, and the
equipment such as fridges, water pumps, washing machines and microwaves which
consume the relatively high power generated by the wind turbine.
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Figure 2.10. System Description Components for Domestic Wind Turbine