Wind Energy Technology - Questions Bank

Determine whether each statement is true or false.

1. Pressure gradient force is one of the main forces acting on the air to make it
move as wind.

2. The turbine blade on a wind generator is called an airfoil.

3. A higher lift value and a lower drag value provide a lower lift- to-drag ratio.

4. Generally, the pressure gradient force is directed from high- pressure toward
low-pressure zones, which causes wind to move from high-pressure areas
toward low-pressure areas.

5. Wind turbulence is a condition in which the wind blows in a straight line and
blows continually at the same speed.

6. The angle at which the wind strikes the turbine blade is called the angle of
attack.

7. Stall occurs when the turbine blade no longer has lift.

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8. Tip speed is defined as the measured speed at the blade tip as it rotates through
the air.

9. Drag is the force that opposes the motion of the airfoil as it moves through the
air.

10. Single-blade wind turbines are the most used of all the horizontal-axis wind
turbines.

11. Two-blade wind turbines yield the same energy output as three-blade wind
turbines (when blade size and speed are the same).

12. When the wind turbine blade rotates, the tip of a wind turbine blade travels at
the same speed as the base of the blade where it is connected to the rotor.

13. Gradient wind blows at a constant speed and flows parallel to imaginary
curved isobars just above the earth's surface.

14. The Darrieus wind turbine is a horizontal-axis wind turbine

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 MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUIZ

Complete each statement by selecting the one correct answer.

1. What is the angle of attack in reference to a wind turbine blade?

a. The speed at which the turbine blades are turning

b. The number of turbine blades divided by the speed at which they are turning
c. The angle at which the wind strikes the blade

2. Betz's law and the efficiency of energy conversion for a wind turbine indicates that
the maximum amount of wind energy that an ideal wind turbine can harvest is

a. approximately 50%
b. approximately 59%
c. approximately 75%
d. approximately 99%

3. Small residential wind turbine systems may need an electronic inverter if

a. the wind turbine generator is used to charge batteries in the home, and all the
loads in the home require ac voltage
b. the wind turbine generator produces de voltage, which needs to be converted
to ac voltage
c. the wind turbine blade speed is usually not controlled and can turn the generator
shaft at any speed; an inverter can control the frequency of the ac voltage output
d. all of these are true

4.What is the difference between active and passive stall control of wind turbines?

a. Active stall control uses the design of the blades to create the stall condition;
passive stall control uses a hydraulic or mechanical system to change the pitch and
thus cause the stall condition.
b. Active stall control uses a hydraulic or mechanical system to change the pitch;
passive stall control uses the design conditions of the blade to create the stall
condition.
c. Both active and passive stall control use hydraulic or me- chanical systems to cause
the stall condition.

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4. A wind power curve shows the

a. wind speed in miles per hour or meters per second and the amount of electrical
power that is produced at that speed
b. speed of the blades and the frequency for the output at any speed
c. torque on the blades at any given wind speed

5. Which type of wind turbine blades need counterbalances?

a. Three-blade wind turbines

b. Two-blade wind turbines
c. Single-blade wind turbines
d. None of the horizontal-axis wind turbines

7.Lift is produced on the wind turbine blade

a. when the wind blows across the blade from the leading edge to the trailing edge
b. when the wind blows across the blade from the trailing edge to the leading edge
c. when the blade is set to the furled condition
d. any time the wind blows, regardless of the direction from which it blows against
the turbine blade

8. When the wind speed increases across a wind turbine blade, the

a. lift and drag forces increase.

b. lift and drag forces decrease
c. lift increases and the drag decreases
d. lift decreases and the drag increases

9. Atmospheric pressure is approximately

a. 100 psi at sea level

b. 14.7 psi at sea level
c. 20 psi at sea level

9. A sea breeze

a. blows in toward the land

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b. blows away from the land and toward the sea
c. may blow away from the land or toward the land at night

11. Which way do the prevailing winds blow in the United States?

a. from east to west

b. from north to south
c. from west to east
d. from south to north

12.Wind turbulence occurs when

a. the wind blows in a straight line

b. wind swirls and does not blow in a straight line
c. wind blows more strongly in the winter

13. The three parts of the formula for determining the amount of power a wind
turbine can create are the wind,

a. wind velocity, the density of the air in ameter of the turbine blades
b. wind direction, the density of the air in the wind, and the diameter of the turbine
blades
c. wind velocity, the humidity of the air in the wind, and the diameter of the turbine
blades

14. What does SCADA stand for?

a. supervisory control and data acquisition

b. service center and data acquisition
c. supervisory control and data applications

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 QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS

1. What is the difference between turbulent and laminar flow?

2. What is boundary-layer wind?

3. Explain how a sea breeze is created.

4. Explain what causes a land breeze.

5. Explain how lift is created when wind blows across the blade of a wind turbine.

6. What is the lift-to-drag ratio?

7. Name two advantages of locating wind turbines over water.

8. What happens to wind power when the density of the air increases?

9. What is the effect on a wind turbine when the air becomes denser?

10. What is a power curve for a wind turbine and how is it used?

11. What is Betz's law and why is it important?

12. How is the energy in the wind related to wind speed?

13. How is available energy in the wind related to the length of the blades in a
wind turbine?

14. Why is the constant rotational speed of the generator shaft important for certain
wind turbines?

15. Why does the addition of an inverter or power electronic frequency converter
allow a wind turbine to rotate at various speeds?

16. What is blade tip speed and why is it important?

17. What is the function of the gearbox in a horizontal-axis wind turbine?

18. What is an advantage of a vertical-axis wind turbine for a residential area?

19. Determine the sweep area of a wind turbine whose blades are 60 ft in diameter.

20. Determine the sweep area of a wind turbine whose blades are 40 m in
diameter.

21. Determine the power output of a wind turbine whose blades are 12 m in
diameter and when the wind speed is 6 m/s, the air density at sea level is about 1.2
kg/m³, and the maximum power coefficient for this wind turbine is 0.35.

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 TRUE/FALSE QUIZ

Determine whether each statement is true or false.

1. The speed of a wind turbine is controlled primarily by the yaw motor.

2. The words pitch and yaw are synonymous.

3. A major advantage to a variable-speed turbine is that it can operate with the

optimum efficiency for producing power.

4. The direct-drive wind turbine uses a transmission and between the blades and
the generator. Gears

5. Generally, direct-drive turbines use a dc generator.

6. Passive stall control is important for very large wind turbines.

7. Smaller downwind turbines do not require a yaw drive.

8. The maximum speed that a wind turbine rotates can be controlled with active stall
control.

9. An advantage of a downwind turbine is that it does not have as much tower shading
as an upwind turbine.

10. Blade stiffness is more important for upwind turbines than downwind turbines.

10. The gearbox ratio is the ratio of generator speed to the low speed shaft speed.

11. The anemometer is a device that measures barometric pressure.

.14. The supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system can be used to
start, stop, or reset wind turbine generators remotely, either individually or for groups
of wind turbines in a wind farm.

15.Larger wind turbines have three basic places that brakes are applied: the yaw
brakes, the rotor brakes, and the high-speed shaft brakes.

16.Dynamic braking is a process that uses rotors and brake pads for yaw brakes.

17. On wind turbines that use hydraulic systems to control the brakes, the brakes
are set by hydraulic pressure.

18. The yaw mechanism on a wind turbine rotates the blades to control the speed at
which the blades are rotating.

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 MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUIZ

Complete each statement by selecting the one correct answer

1. Pich control determines the

a. speed at which the turbine blades are turning

b. direction the nacelle is pointing
c. output voltage from the generator
d. all of these

2. Pitch is adjusted to

a. slow the turbine when the wind is too strong

b. feather the blades for maintenance
c. optimize turbine speed
d. all of these

3. Active stall control uses

a. brakes to lock the blades

b. a hydraulic or mechanical system to change the pitch
c. an electrical motor to change the yaw
d. none of these

4. A gearbox is not used on

a. upwind turbines
b. downwind turbines
c. direct-drive turbines
d. small turbines

5.An advantage of a direct-drive turbine is that it

a. requires less maintenance than other types of turbines

b. rotates much faster than other types of turbines
c. has a self-lubricating gearbox
d. all of these

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6. The drive train does not include the

a. rotor
b. yaw motor
c. gearbox
d. generator

7. Drive train compliance

a. minimizes vibrations
b. maximizes power output
c. synchronizes the ac
d. does all of these

8. An anemometer is used to determine

a. wind speed
b. wind direction
c. both (a) and (b)
d. none of these

9.The SCADA system can

a. collect data for a single turbine turbines

b. remotely start, stop, or reset

c. track maintenance issues

d. do all of these

10. In a direct-drive wind turbine, the rotor is connected to the

a. high-speed shaft
b. gearbox
c. Generator
d. inverter

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11. The yaw drive motor needs to be

a. high-speed, low-torque
b. low-speed, high-torque
c. high-speed, high-torque
d. low-speed, low-torque

12. The primary purpose of hydrodynamic coupling of a yaw motor is to avoid

a. vibration
b. unneeded movements
c. motor stall
d. alignment issues

13. An upwind turbine is designed so that the wind blows over the

a. blades and then the nacelle

b. nacelle and then the blades
c. sometimes the blades first and sometimes the nacelle first

14. The direct-drive type wind turbine

a. has blades, a rotor, a low-speed shaft, a gearbox, a high-speed shaft, and a generator
b. uses a gearbox between the blades and the rotor generator
c. has the rotor connected directly to the generator

15. The purpose of the inverter in a direct-drive turbine is to convert

a. unregulated ac to regulated dc
b. unregulated dc to regulated dc
c. unregulated dc to regulated ac
d. none of these

16. Three brake systems on a turbine are the

a. rotor, yaw, and high-speed shaft brakes

b. rotor, pitch, and low-speed shaft brakes

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c. pitch, low-speed shaft, and yaw brakes
d. low-speed shaft, high-speed shaft, and gearbox brakes

QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS

1. Why is constant rotational speed of the generator shaft important for many
wind turbines?
2. Explain how pitch control regulates the speed of a turbine.

6. What happens to the air over a wing or turbine blade when it is positioned to stall?
7. How does active stall control adjust power in high winds?
8. What are two problems with tower wind shading?
9. Explain why blades are tapered and twisted
10. Identify the places on a horizontal wind turbine where brakes are used.
11. Explain the difference between active stall control and passive stall control.
12. Explain why some smaller wind turbines do not need control. yaw
13. Explain why the yaw position of a wind turbine may need to be changed.
14. What data are important for analyzing wind turbine performance?
16. Explain how an anemometer determines the speed at which the wind is blowing.
17. What happens if all the components in the drive train are not in compliance?
18. Describe the components you expect to find inside the nacelle of a typical
horizontal-axis wind turbine and explain the func- tion of each.
19. Explain how a direct-drive type wind turbine can provide electrical power at the
correct frequency to match the grid.
20. Explain how SCADA can be used for a wind farm

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