Wind Energy: Tutorial 02- Solution ESSA-Tlemcen 2023-2024

Wind Energy: Tutorial 02- Solution

Exercise 01
Consider a control volume, in which the control volume boundaries are the surface and two cross-
sections of a stream tube as shown in figure below. A disk is placed between positions 2 and 3.

1. Using the momentum conservation, prove that velocity U2 at the disk is the mean of velocities
U1 and U4 far away from the disk.
2. By introducing the axial induction factor as
U1 − U2
a=
U1
Calculate the power brought to the disk as function of ρ (density), U1 , A2 (swept area) and a.
3. We define the efficiency η as the ratio between the power took by the disk P to the power of
wind without disk
P
η=
P0
Give the values of a for which the efficiency is maximum and discuss. Deduce the Betz limit.
4. What are the expressions of U2 and U4 (as functions of U1 ) at Betz limit.

Solution
1. The axis of the stream tube is perpendicular to the swept area by the wind turbine blade and
the wind flows in the same direction as the axis. We assume a steady flow and a non-rotating
wake. We focus on four different positions : 1, 2, 3 and 4.

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(a) Positions 1 (at upwind) and 4 (at downwind) are very far from the turbine so they are not
affected by the existence of the wind turbine.
(b) Position 2 (upwind) and 3 (downwind) are immediately in front of the actuator disk.
By applying Bernoulli’s equation to positions 1 and 2 we get :
1 1
p1 + ρU12 = p2 + ρU22 ρ(density of air)
2 2
and to positions 3 and 4 :
1 1
p3 + ρU32 = p4 + ρU42
2 2
Pressures at far positions from the wind turbine are equal (atmospheric pressure)

p1 = p4

and the continuity equation implies the equality of wind speeds at 2 and 3

U2 = U3

Combining these equations we get the pressure difference between positions 2 and 3 as :
(U12 − U42 )
p2 − p3 = ρ
2
A net force is created on the actuator disk called thrust force given by
(U12 − U42 )
T = A2 (p2 − p3 ) = A2 ρ A2 = A3 (∗)
2
On the other hand, if we consider the entire stream tube as one body, then the force acting
on it is the net force given by two forces acting on points 1 and 4 such as :
d(m1 U1 ) ρA1 d`
F1 = = U1 = ρA1 U12
dt dt
and
d(m4 U4 ) ρA4 d`
F4 = = U4 = ρA4 U42
dt dt
Then
T = F1 − F4 = ρA1 U12 − ρA4 U42 = ρA1 U1 U1 − ρA4 U4 U4
Using the continuity equation
A1 U1 = A2 U2 = A4 U4
we can write the above equation as

T = ρA2 U2 (U1 − U4 ) (∗∗)

Finally, we have two expressions for the thrust force T , one from equation (∗) and the other
from (∗∗) ; by equating them we get :

(U12 − U42 )
A2 ρ = ρA2 U2 (U1 − U4 )
2
which gives U2 at the disk as the mean of wind speeds U1 and U4 .
U1 + U4
U2 =
2

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2. The power of the thrust force acting on the disk is given by

(U12 − U42 ) 1
P = T U2 = A2 U2 ρ = A2 U2 ρ (U1 + U4 ) (U1 − U4 )
2 2
We introduce the axial induction factor :
U1 − U2
a=
U1
so that
U2 = U1 (1 − a)
and from
U1 + U4
U2 = =⇒ U4 = U1 (1 − 2a)
2
Then, the power brought to the disk by the wind with speed U1 far from the wind turbine is
given by
1
P = ρA2 U13 4a(1 − a)2
 
2
3. The power in the wind that may pass through the area A2 if there is no disk is given by
1
P0 = ρA2 U13
2
Thus, the efficiency of power transfer from wind to disk is given by
P
η= = 4a(1 − a)2
P0
The maximum of efficiency is obtained by taking the derivative of η with respect to a and
then nullify it :
dη 1
= 12a2 − 16a + 4 = 0 =⇒ a = 1, a=
da 3
— For a = 1 we have η = 0 and U2 = 0, which means that the speed of wind is zero on front
of the turbine which acts as a blocker (no air passes and no power to the disk).
— For a = 0 −→ U2 = U1 , the wind speed does not decrease from its far away value : it is as
if there is no disk.
1
— For a = the efficiency is maximum and is equal to
3
 2
1 1 16
ηmax = 4 1− = w 0.593 (59.3%)
3 3 27

called the Betz limit.

1
4. For a = we have
3
2U1 U1
U2 = (at the disk), U4 = (far away)
3 3
Recalling that
A1 U1 = A2 U2 = A4 U4

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Exercise 02
Speed of the wind is 15 m/s and the air density can be approximated to be 1, 2 kg/m3 . What is
the power density of the air ? In a wind turbine the length of the blades is 60 m. What is the power
of the wind within this area ? What is the maximum theoretical power of the blades ?

Solution
Kinetic energy of a moving element of air mass dm at velocity U is
1 1
dT = dm U 2 = Aρd` U 2
2 2
where A is the cross-section of the element and ρ the air density. Then the power density is given by
P 1 dT 1 d` 1 1
= = ρ U 2 = ρU 3 = 1, 2(15)3 = 2025 W/m2
A A dt 2 dt 2 2
and the power of the wind within this area is
P
P = × πr2 = 2025 × π × 602 = 22.95 M W
A
The power transferred to the blades depends on blade geometry and tip speed ratio. Even in theory
this cannot be higher than 0,5926, which is so called Betz limit. Therefore, the maximum possible
power in the blades is
Pblade,max = P × 0.5926 = 13.57 M W

Exercise 02
In a wind turbine the gear ratio is 200 and its cut in speed is 910 rpm. The length of the blades
is 5 m and the tip speed ratio is variable. Calculate TSR when wind speed is 10 m/s.

Solution
Angular velocity of the rotor at cut in speed (lowest) is
910
n= = 4.55 rpm
200
Speed of the blade tip is then
4.55
vtip = ωR = 2π × 5 = 2.38 m/s
60
And tip speed ratio is
vtip 2.38
T SR = = = 0.238
U 10

Exercise 02
We want to size the blades of a fixed speed wind turbine to obtain a mechanical
power of 750 kW for a wind speed of 13.8 m/s. We consider a power coefficient Cp equal
to 0.2. What will be the length of our blade or the radius of the surface swept by the
turbine ?

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Solution
From the formula for the power coefficient Cp :

2 Pw 2 × 750 × 103
A= = = 2239.5 m3
Cp ρU 3 0.2 × 1.25 × (13.8)3

The radius is equal to r r

A 2239.5
R= = = 26.7 m
π π

Exercise 03
We give some parameters of a 300 kW wind turbine :
— Blade diameter : 28 m
— Surface swept by the rotor : 615 m2
— Nominal wind speed : 14 m/s
— Rated rotor rotation speed : 43 rpm
— Multiplier Ratio : 35
— Rated speed of the generator : 1515 rpm
Furthermore, the density of air is 1.225 kg/m3 .

Solution
1. What percentage of wind energy is recovered at the rated operating point ?
We calculate the power coefficient of the wind turbine :

Pw 300 × 103
Cp = = = 0.29
1 1
ρAU 3 1, 225 × 615 × (143
2 2
2. What type of wind turbine is it : slow wind turbine or fast wind turbine ?
We calculate the tip speed ration λ of the wind turbine :
RΩ
λ=
U
with
43.2 × π
Ω= = 4.5 rad/s
60
and
D 28
R= = = 14 m
2 2
Which gives
14 × 4.5
λ= = 4.5 > 3
14
so according to convention, it is a fast wind turbine.
3. What is the rated speed N of the generator rotor ? ?
We use the multiplier ratio : 35 and the nominal rotation speed of the rotor : 43 rpm. The
rated speed of the generator sought is therefore :

N = 35 × 43 = 1505 tr/min

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Exercise 04
Consider a wind turbine designed to operate at variable angular speeds in order to maximize the
energy extracted from the wind (Cp = Cp,max ) between the cut-in speed (Vcut−in = 5 m/s) and the
rated speed (Vrated ), the power remaining then constant (rated power) up to the maximal admissible
cut-out speed (Vcut−out = 17 m/s). The diameter of the wind turbine is 34 m and its rated power 310
kW ; the Cp variation with tip speed ratio λ is given in figure below with Cp,max = Cp (λ = 10) = 0.42
The exploited wind regime (5-17 m/s, operating hours) is given below.

V(m/s) 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

t(h/yr) 1212 1200 1092 948 780 600 480

V(m/s) 12 13 14 15 16 17

t(h/yr) 312 240 144 96 60 36

Table 1 –

1. Determine the rated speed (Cp = Cp,max at the rated power) when air density is ρ =
1.22 kg/m3 .
2. Complete the table below (T is the couple (Torque) obtained from the wind) by following the
steps hereafter
1. Maintain Cp constant (maximal, 0.42) from 5 to 11 m/s then compute P
2. Since (1), λ too is constant from 5 to 11 m/s
3. Power P is kept constant in the range from 11 to 17 m/s then compute Cp
4. Compute λ from 12 to 17 m/s by interpolating its value from the Cp − λ curve, choosing
the lower λ values (power is limited by reducing the turbine rotation speed)
5. Compute ω from the tip speed ratio formula for the whole range 5-17 m/s.
6. Compute Torque from P and ω.

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7. Compute W from P times t.

3. Calculate the total energy extracted by the turbine over a year.
4. Discuss the results.

V(m/s) Cp P(kW) ω (rad/s) λ T(kN.m) W(kWh)

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

Table 2 –

Solution
1. The rated speed of the turbine is
1/3  1/3
310 × 103

Prated
Urated = 1 = = 11.0 m/s
2
ρπR2 Cp 0.5 × 1.22 × π × (17)2 × 0.42

2. By following the steps indicated above, with T = P/ω, the table is completed.
3. The total energy extracted by the turbine over a year is

W = 991, 282 kW h

4. Here are some observations

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V(m/s) Cp P(kW) ω (rad/s) λ T(kN.m) W(kWh)

5 0,420 29,08 2,94 10,00 9,89 35,240

6 0,420 50,24 3,53 10,00 14,24 60,292

7 0,420 79,78 4,12 10,00 19,38 87,125

8 0,420 119,10 4,71 10,00 25,31 112,903

9 0,420 169,57 5,29 10,00 32,03 132,266

10 0,420 232,61 5,88 10,00 39,54 139,566

11 0,420 309,60 6,47 10,00 47,85 148,609

12 0,324 310,00 5,15 7,30 60,17 96,720

13 0,255 310,00 5,01 6,60 61,91 74,400

14 0,204 310,00 4,97 6,05 62,32 44,640

15 0,166 310,00 4,99 5,70 62,09 29,760

16 0,137 310,00 5,05 5,40 61,38 18,600

17 0,114 310 5,14 5,14 60,32 11,160

Table 3 –

— The turbine rotation speed ω stays constant in the constant power range at 310 kW
(11-17 m/s) – and thus also the torque. At speeds above the rated one (11 m/s), the
power coefficient Cp is below maximum (mainly tip and drag losses), and turbine power is
maintained constant.
— At wind speeds v below the nominal one, the turbine rotation speed ω is reduced from the
nominal one, to maintain λ constant (10) at max Cp (0.42).
— Over the whole range, w varies between 3 and 6.5 rad/s, i.e. between roughly 0.5 and 1
full rotation/sec. (1 rotation = 2.π = 6.28 rad/s)
— Most energy (W) is extracted at the nominal wind speed, or just below (9-11 m/s).

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