5.

Wind Energy System

1 04/10/23
 Outline - Lecture
 Introduction
 Wind Resource
 History Of Wınd Machines
 Siting
 Wind Energy Technology
 Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine
 Vertical Axis Wind Turbine
 Wind Turbine Aerodynamics
 Lift and Drag force
 Energy Conversion Efficiency of Wind Turbine
 For Drag type Savonius VAWT
 For Modern Lift type HAWT
 Available energy in the wind
 Ideal power output curve
 Power control mechanisms
 Pitch Regulation
 Stall Regulation
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 INTRODUCTION

Wind energy, the world's fastest growing energy source, is

a clean and renewable source of energy that has been
in use for centuries in Europe and more recently in the
United States and other nations.
And todays world wind is one of the cheapest and
cleanest energy source.

What Is Wind?
Wind is simply air in motion. It is caused by the uneven
heating of the earth's surface by the sun. Since the
earth's surface is made up of land, desert, water, and
forest areas, the surface absorbs the sun's radiation
differently.
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 Wind Resource
Where Wind Energy Comes From
 The earth’s wind is caused by pressure differences
across the earth’s surface due to uneven heating
 Local Winds: During the day the air over the land is
heated more than the air over the sea. Opposite during
the night
– Day pattern: Wind blows from sea to land
– Night pattern: Wind blows from land to sea
 Global Winds: Occur due to greater heating of the air
near the equator than the poles. Thus wind blows in the
direction from the poles to the equator
 Large ocean and land masses also affect the wind
pattern
 It is important to understand these wind patterns for the
evaluation of potential wind sites
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 The Siting Process (Location)!
Why do windmills need to be high in the sky??Turbulent wind is bad wind

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 Wind Energy Technology

 Windmill
 Wind turbine
 Windmill is a machine which converts the wind power into
mechanical power.
 The primary applications were to grind/mill grain and to pump water; they
became generally known as windmills.
 A wind turbine is a machine which converts the power in the wind
into Electricity.
 Modern wind machines, called wind turbines, tend to have a small
number of airfoil-shaped blades in contrast to the older windmills.

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 Classification of wind turbine
 Although there are several ways to categorize wind turbines, they are broadly
classified into horizontal axis machines and vertical axis machines, based on their axis
of rotation.
 Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines (HAWT)

• Horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWT) have their axis of rotation parallel to the
ground.
• Most commercial wind turbines fall under this category.
• Horizontal axis machines have some distinct advantages such as low cut-in wind
speed.
• In general, HAWT show relatively high power coefficient.
 Disadvantage:
• The generator and gearbox are placed over the tower which makes the design more
complex and expensive.

8 • Another disadvantage is the need for the tail or yaw drive to orient the turbine towards
the wind. 04/10/23
 Fig. 5.1. Three bladed horizontal axis wind turbines
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 Depending on the number of blades, horizontal axis wind
turbines are further classified as: single bladed, two bladed,
three bladed and multi bladed, as shown

10 04/10/23
 Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWT)

 The axis of rotation of a vertical axis wind turbines (VAWT) is

vertical to the ground.
 A VAWT, receives wind from any direction.

11 04/10/23 Fig. 5.3. Darrieus wind turbine

Con’t

HAWTs:
their drive train (the transmission, generator, and any shaft brake)
equipment located in a nacelle or enclosure mounted on a tower
their rotors must be oriented (yawed) so the blades are properly aligned
with respect to the wind.
readily placed on tall towers to access the stronger winds typically found
at greater heights.
VAWTs :
their drive train on the ground
blades do not experience cyclic gravitational stresses
do not require orientation with respect to the wind.
Wind speeds are very low close to ground level, so although you may save a
tower, your wind speeds will be very low on the lower part of your rotor.
The overall efficiency of the vertical axis machines is not impressive.
The machine is not self-starting (e.g. a Darrieus machine will need a "push" before
it starts. This is only a minor inconvenience for a grid.
Con’t

Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines

Wind power systems are
composed of:
Tower
Rotor with 2 or 3 blades
(fiberglass reinforced plastics,
epoxy laminates
Yaw Mechanism such as a tail
vane
gearbox (Mechanical Drive
Train)
Electrical generator
Speed sensors and control
Modern wind power systems also
include:
Power electronics
Control electronics
Batteries to improve the load
availability when in stand-alone
mode
Transmission link connecting to
the area grid
Energy Conversion Efficiency of Wind Turbine

Available Energy in Wind

The air has mass, and when this mass has velocity, the resulting wind has
kinetic energy which is expressed as; the kinetic energy of a unit mass of
flowing fluid is:
So the power per unit mass-flow would be:
Using the air density ρ; undisturbed flow velocity of wind V; and the area A
perpendicular to the flow, the mass-flow rate becomes:

ρ – air density is variable, can be taken 1.225 kg/m3

Then the total available power in the air flow is:

Power in the wind: Power = rate at which energy changes with time
P = d(KE)/dt = d(mv2/2)/dt, For steady (constant v) fluid flow:
P = (dm/dt)*v2/2 = (ρAv)v2/2 = (ρAv3)/2
Thrust force F=P/v = (ρAv3/v)/2 =1/2 (ρAv2)
 What is the mass-flow rateof moving air?
Mass flow rate = density (ρ) x Area x velocity

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 Calculation of Wind Power

•Power
Power in Wind
in the the wind
= ½ρAV3
– Effect of swept area, A
– Effect of wind speed, V
– Effect of air density,  R
Swept Area: A = πR2 Area of the circle
swept by the rotor (m2).

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 Power extraction from the wind

 The air has mass, and when this mass has velocity, the
resulting wind has kinetic energy which is expressed as;

 The mass of air passing in unit time is;

 Wind kinetic energy per area in unit time (power) is

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 Power extraction from the wind…Cont.

 As the air passes through the rotor disk (down stream),

there is a drop in static pressure
 The d/c in flow conditions b/n the far upstream and the far
wake is a decrease in KE, but there is no change in mass.
 Power produced by the turbine can be derived using
conservation of mass, Energy, axial momentum, and
Bernoulli equation at isothermal flow conditions.

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 Power extraction from the wind…Cont.

Figure . Schematic representation of the air mass going through a wind

turbine.
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Figure. Variations in the speed and pressure of the air mass that
goes through the wind turbine
rotor.

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 Power extraction from the wind…Cont.
 From the conservation of axial momentum, the thrust on the rotor, T,
is the reduction in momentum per unit time from the air mass flow
rate’

 The thrust may also be expressed in terms of the pressure drop

caused by the rotor:

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 Power extraction from the wind…Cont.

Where, Pu & Pd are just upwind pressure and just downwind

pressure of the rotor disk respectively.
Pressure at far upwind & downwind of the rotor is the
same.
 The velocity is the same just upwind and just downwind of
the rotor (V1).
The Bernoulli equation is applied just upwind of the rotor
and just downwind of the rotor, yields;

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From the above two equations we will have

Substitute (Pu-PD)

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 Power extraction from the wind…Cont.
That is, the velocity at the rotor disk is equal to the mean
of the free stream and wake velocities.
The power produced at the rotor is,

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 The interference factor a is the fractional wind speed
decrease at the turbine. Thus,

 Substitute (Vo + V2)/2 for V1

 Substitute V1 for PT,

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 Then, PT is correlated with PW

 CP is the fraction of power extracted, the power coefficient:

 The maximum value of CP occurs in the model when a = 1/3

Cpmax = 16/27= 0.593

 The criterion for maximum power extraction Cpmax = 16/27 is called

the Betz criterion.

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The energy extraction device (of any type) submersed in
air flowing stream and can convert only a certain amount
from the total available energy in the fluid stream, Not all
of it!!
Maximum power extraction (Pmax):

Power Coefficient
Power coefficient (CP), can define as the relation between
converted power to available power in the fluid flow:
Con’t

That means:
A maximum of 59.26% of the available wind power can be converted to
mechanical power at ideal conditions, whatever the energy conversion
device is.
But in practice, a maximum of about 45% of the available
wind power is harvested by the best modern horizontal axis
wind turbines or the range of maximum CP 25% - 45%.

Ifwe tried to extract all the energy from the wind, the air would move
away with the speed zero, i.e. the air could not leave the turbine. In that
case we would not extract any energy at all, since all of the air would
obviously also be prevented from entering the rotor of the turbine.
Con’t

Betz Limit
Albert Betz in 1926 was the first to publish these results for wind Turbines.
The theory in general shows the maximum possible energy conversion
efficiency by any device in any free-flowing stream, at ideal conditions.

The Betz Limit: 16/27 = 0.5926!!

 Highest theoretical efficiency for wind energy converters of any type.

Practical energy conversion efficiency of any real device would further be reduced by
various aerodynamics losses (Cp<CP,Max), as well as mechanical and electrical losses
(Ƞm, Ƞel)!, i.e. the overall turbine efficiency is a function of both the rotor power
coefficient and the mechanical (including electrical) efficiency of the wind
turbine:
The real power output from any energy conversion device in a free-flowing stream can
be expressed as flows:
 WIND TURBINE POWER AND TORQUE
 The power coefficient CP is the efficiency of extracting power
from the mass of air in the supposed stream tube passing
through the actuator disc, area A1.

 The maximum value of static pressure difference occurs as

V2 approaches zero.

 The axial trust centered at the turbine axis is given by;

04/10/23 By: Hunegnaw B 30

 Thrust force …

 The term would be the force given by this

model for wind hitting a solid disc.
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CP and Tip Speed Ratio

04/10/23 By: Hunegnaw B 33

• for a given turbine, there exists a tip speed ratio that optimizes the
Cp

Figure Power coefficient versus tip speed ratio for different wind turbine
models. Source:Plantas eólicas/ABB Cuaderno técnico.
04/10/23 By: Hunegnaw B 34
 Aerodynamic of Wind Turbine

 Aerodynamics deals with the motion of air or other gaseous fluids

and the forces acting on bodies moving through them.
 During the course of wind turbine development, theories are
specifically formulated for wind turbines which are further refined
and reinforced with the help of experimental techniques.
Airfoil
 For the efficient energy extraction, blades of modern wind turbine are made
with airfoil sections.
 Major features of such an airfoil are shown in Fig. below

35 04/10/23
Con’t

Fig: Sample airfoils

 Fig 5.4 Important parameters of an airfoil
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  When an airfoil is placed in a wind stream, air passes
through both upper and lower surfaces of the blade.

 Due to the typical curvature of the blade, air passing over the
upper side has to travel more distance per unit time than
that passing through the lower side.

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  Thus the air particles at the upper layer move faster.
 According to the Bernoulli’s theorem, this creates a low-pressure
region at the top of the airfoil.
 This pressure difference between the upper and lower surfaces of the
airfoil will result in a force F.
 The component of this force perpendicular to the direction of the
undisturbed flow is called the lift force L

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Fig 5.5. Airfoil lift and drag 39
 Lift & Drag force

 The Lift Force is perpendicular to the

direction of motion. We want to make α = low
this force BIG.
 The Drag Force is parallel to the
direction of motion. We want to make
this force small α = medium
<10 degrees

α = High
Stall!!

Fig. 5.6. illustrates the effect of angle of attack

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The lift force L is given by:
1
L  CL  a ATV 2
2

The drag force D is given by:

1
D  CD  a ATV 2
2

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• The angle between the undisturbed wind direction and the chord of the airfoil is

known as the angle of attack 

• Lift and drag forces experienced by an airfoil are influenced by angle of

attack .

• Fig. 5.6 illustrates the effect of angle of attack on the lift coefficient of an airfoil.

• At lower angles of attack, the lift force increases with

• The lift reaches its maximum at a certain  airfoil (

for an in this

 increase in angle
example) and then decreases rapidly with further 12of attack.

• This is because, at high angles of attack, the airflow enters an excessively

turbulent region and the boundary layers get separated from the airfoil.

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 …

 At this region, lift force decreases and drag force is rapidly built
up, resulting in the stall of the blade.
 In a given flow, it is very important to place the airfoil at an optimum
angle of attack so that the CD/CL ratio is the minimum.

44 04/10/23
Cou’t

Lift and Drag Coefficients

 Analysis of wind system

 The most critical factor influencing the power developed by a

wind energy conversion system is the wind velocity.
 Due to the cubic relationship between velocity and power, even
a small variation in the wind speed may result in significant
change in power.

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 Analysis of wind system…

 Wind is stochastic in nature. Speed and direction of wind at a

location vary randomly with time.
 Hence, the behavior of the wind at a prospective site should be
properly analyzed and understood.
 Realizing the nature of wind is important for a designer, as he
can design his turbine and its components in tune with the wind
characteristics expected at the site.

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 Wind shear

 The flow of air above the ground is retarded by frictional

resistance offered by the earth surface (boundary layer
effect).
 The wind speed at a certain height above ground level is
determined from the expression:
 Z 
Vref ln 
V  ZO 
Z
ln( ref )
ZO

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 …

Exercise. The wind velocity measured at 10 m height at a

meteorological observatory is 7 m/s. Find out the velocity at 40
m height at a wind turbine site having similar wind profile. The
roughness heights at the site 0.03 m

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 Analysis of wind data
• For estimating the wind energy potential of a site, the wind data
collected from the location should be properly analyzed and
interpreted.
Average wind speed
• One of the most important information on the wind system
available at a location is its average velocity. In simple terms, the
average velocity (Vm) is given by:
1 n
Vm   Vi (5.2)
2 i 1

where V is the wind velocity and

n is the number of wind data.

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• However, for wind power calculations, averaging the velocity
using Eq. (3.2) is often misleading.
• For example, 1 hour wind data from a site collected at 10
minutes interval are shown in Table 5.1. As per Eq.
(3.1), the hourly average wind velocity is 6.45 m/s.
• Taking the air density as 1.24 kg , the corresponding
m3

average power is: 166.37 w

m2

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Table 5.1 . Wind velocity at 10 minutes interval

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• If we calculate the power corresponding to individual velocities and then
take the average, the result would be 207 W per meter square.
• This means that, by calculating the average using Eq. (5.1), we are
underestimating the wind power potential by 20 per cent.
• For wind energy calculations, the velocity should be weighed for its power
content while computing the average.
• Thus, the average wind velocity is given by:

1
1 
n 3
Vm   Vi 
 n i 1 

(5.2)

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 …

 If we use Eq. (5.2), the average velocity in the previous

example is 6.94 m/s and the corresponding power is 207 W
per meter square .
 This shows that due to the cubic velocity-power relationship,
the weighted average expressed in Eq. (5.2) should be used
in wind energy analysis.

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 Fig. Comparison of wind distribution at two sites
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• Suppose we install a wind turbine with power curve as shown in Fig. (A) at these sites.
• The turbine will start generating power at its cut-in wind speed of 4 m/s and the
generation will be cut-off at 25 m/s.
• The highest power of 250 kW will be produced at 15 m/s, which is the rated wind speed of
the systems.
• When the turbine is put to work at the first site, as the wind velocity is 15m/s throughout
the day, the system will efficiently work at its rated capacity for all the time, delivering us
6000 kWh.
• However, in the second case, the turbine will be idle throughout the day as the
velocity is 30 m/s in the first half (which is well above the cut-off speed of 25 m/s)
and 0 in the second half.

• The example given here is hypothetical. The real cases would be some where in
between the above extreme cases.

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•This shows that, along with the mean wind velocity, the distribution
of velocity within the regime is also an important factor in the wind
energy analysis.
•One measure for the variability of velocities in a given set of wind
data is the standard deviation.
•Standard deviation tells us the deviation of individual velocities from
the mean value. Thus
n

 i m
V  V 2

V  i 1
n

Lower values of standard deviation indicate the uniformity of the

data set.
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• For a better understanding on wind variability, the data are
often grouped and presented in the form of frequency
distribution.
• This gives us the information on the number of hours for
which the velocity is within a specific range.
• For developing the frequency distribution, the wind speed
domain is divided into equal intervals (say 0-1, 1-2, 2-3, etc.)
and the number of times the wind record is within this interval
is counted. An example for the monthly frequency distribution
of wind speed is given in Table 5.2.

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 Table 5.2. Frequency distribution of monthly wind velocity

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If the velocity is presented in the form of frequency
distribution, the average and standard deviation are given
by

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Ideal Power Output Curve
Con’t

 The curves are derived

from field tests, using
standardized testing
methods and it can
normally be obtained
from the manufacturer.

Fig: Typical wind turbine power curve

Con’t

The power output of a wind turbine varies with wind speed and every
wind turbine has a characteristic power performance curve.
With such a curve it is possible to predict the energy production of a wind
turbine without considering the technical details of its various components.
The performance of a given wind turbine generator can be related to
three key points on the velocity scale:
Cut-in speed: the minimum wind speed at which the machine will
deliver useful power.
Rated wind speed: The "rated wind speed" is the wind speed at which
the "rated power" is achieved and generally corresponds to the point at
which the conversion efficiency is near its maximum.
- In
most cases, the power output above the rated wind speed is
maintained at a constant level.
Cut-out speed: the maximum wind speed at which the turbine is allowed
to deliver power (usually limited by engineering design and safety
constraints).
 Components of wind turbine
The main parts of wind turbines are
Tower: carries the drive train and ranges in height from 40m up
to more than 100m.
Rotor Blades: are much like a wing of airplane designed capture
the wind and transfer its power to the rotor hub. The length
varies up to more than 60 meters.
Rotor Hub: made from cast iron, the hub holds the blades in
position as they turn.

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 Components of wind turbine….Cont.
 Main shaft: transfers the rotation force of the rotor to gear
box.
 Gear box: gear increase the low rotational speed of the rotor
shaft into the high speed shaft needed to drive the generator.
 Pitch system: adjusts the angle of the blades to make best use
of the prevailing wind

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 Components of wind turbine…Cont.
 Generator: converts mechanical energy into electrical energy.
 Yaw system: mechanism that rotates the nacelle to face the
changing wind directions.
 Transformer: convert the electricity from the turbine to higher
voltage required by the grid.
 Nacelle housing: light weight glass fiber box covers the turbine
drive train.

04/10/23 66
 Components of wind turbine

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 Components of wind turbine…Cont.

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 Environmental aspects of wind energy

 Wind turbines do some cause an impact on the

environment.
 Wind turbines require a lot of land, but only about 5% of
that land is used for turbine foundations, roads, electrical
substations, and other applications.
 The remaining 95% of the land is available for farming or
livestock grazing.

04/10/23 69
 Environmental aspects of wind energy…

 Wind turbines do generate noise as well as electricity

 The noise level due to a typical, large, modern wind turbine, 300 m
distant, is roughly comparable to the typical noise level in the
reading room of a library.
 The visual impact of wind turbines is extremely subjective. Visual
impact can be minimized through careful design of a wind farm.
 Bird and Bat Collisions: one of the greatest environmental issues
that the wind industry has had to face is the issue of bird deaths
due to collisions with wind turbines.
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Quiz 5%
• Using wind data presented in table 5.2 :
a)Calculate average wind velocity (1pt)
b)Velocity standard deviation (1pt)
c)Possible power produced per meter square, if turbine starts
generating at 4m/s wind velocity and cut off generation at
25m/s. (3pts)
Take air density = 1.24kg/m^3

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