MA4819_Wind_Energy_2324_Part1_class

MA4819- Energy Technologies For
Sustainability
Wind Energy
Dr. IDAPALAPATI Sridhar

Associate Professor, MAE
Office: N3 – 02b -37
Telephone: 6790 4784
Email: msridhar@ntu.edu.sg
Compiled from various resources (main references are Chapter 7 Wind Power Systems, Renewable and
Efficient Electric Power Systems, By GM Masters, John Wiley & Sons, Inc) E-book available via NTU Library
Renewable and efficient electric power systems - Nanyang Technological University (exlibrisgroup.com) &
Fundamental Concepts of Wind Energy Ecourse (Anuj Bhatia)
Wind. It means the world to us. – Vestas ® 1
Topic Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the course, you should be able to:
 analyse the power generation aspects, basic aerodynamics and

design aspects of wind turbines with factors influencing the
performance
 analyse the structural loading on wind turbines,
 discuss the advantages and limitations of wind turbine technology,
Dr. Sridhar Idapalapati MA4819 Wind Energy Lecture 2

Background
www.tva.gov
www.dailymail.co.uk
www.clemson.edu
Dr. Sridhar Idapalapati MA4819 Wind Energy Lecture

3
Energy Transformation in Wind Turbine
Wind energy is a special form of kinetic energy in air as it flows.
Wind energy can be either converted into electrical energy by

power converting machines (ie generators) or directly used as
mechanical power for pumping water, sailing ships, or grinding gain.
Wind to electricity in a wind turbine

• Mechanical Energy (moving air)  Mechanical Energy (rotating
blades, gears, shaft, etc.)  Electrical Energy (generator) or
mechanical power

Warm-up Quiz: Fill in the blanks
1. The ___________
sun shines on the Earth. The __________heats
land up
faster than the water. The warm air over the land ___________.rises The
cool
____________ air over the water moves in to take its place. This
Moving air
_____________ is wind.
2. The renewable
Sun will always shine; the wind will blow. We call wind a
_______________ energy source.
Wind turbine
3. A __________________ can capture the energy in the wind.generator
rotor
4. The spinningelectricity
blades, _______, of a wind turbine turn a ____________
to make _____________.
5. Sometimes there are many wind turbines together to make electricity.
Wind farm
This is called a _________________.

https://www.need.org/Files/curriculum/infobookactivities/Elementary/WindFillintheBlank.html
World net electricity generation from renewable
power, 2012-40 (trillion kWh)
Wind Energy is the world’s

fastest growing renewable
energy source. This trend is
expected to continue,
 with falling costs of
technology,
 energy security
concerns,
 the need to address
environmental issues.
Others include biomass, waste recover, ocean/tidal resources

Wind Power Global
capacity Additions
 In 2021, of the total 830 GW of

wind capacity installed, 93%
were onshore systems, with the
remaining 7% offshore wind
farms.
 Onshore wind is a developed
technology, present in 115
countries around the world
 Offshore wind is expanding, with
capacity present in over 19
countries.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0301421513013190?via%3Dihub

Largest wind farm –
Gansu
The project is one of six
national windpower
megaprojects approved by the
Chinese government. It is
expected to grow to 20
gigawatts by 2020, at an
estimated cost of 120 billion
Chinese yuan ($17.5 billion).
The project is being built by
more than 20 developers in two
localities in Guazhou County
and also near Yumen City.
(www.Wikipedia.com)

Advantages and Disadvantages of Wind Energy
• Clean • The probabilistic nature of

• Renewable wind availability
• Availability in remote areas • Capacity factor low
• Cost-effective • Can be noisy
• Harmful to wildlife, especially
• Green Jobs creation
birds
- As per International Renewable
Energy Agency (IRENA), it • High initial cost, though the
employs more than 1.37 million payback period can be short
people in 2021
• Large areal requirement (not in
my backyard!)
Wind Energy | Trends A380
 Currently highest penetration form of renewable

energy
 Highest level of annual growth (~30% ) in RE
Generation
 Trend 1: Getting larger
 Currently at 200+ meter diameter
 10-15MW turbines are being installed
 Trend 2: Architecturally integrated
 For Urban environment
 Trend 3: Moving Offshore
Various websites
Wind Power : pros and cons
• Will wind power continue to diffuse?
• Advantages
o It has lower carbon and other environmental emissions
o Wind energy dollar cost per watt is less than PV solar based technology
• Disadvantages
o Wind is unpredictable (actual output about 1/3 of rated output)
o Wind firms are often far from large population centers, so power transmission costs are
high due to grid connections
o Concept of Not in my backyard
o Wind power is still more expensive than fossil fuels
• But will wind power become cheaper than fossil fuels?
o Will countries continue to subsidize wind power or implement a carbon tax?
o Are wind turbines becoming cheaper on an cost per Watt basis?

© srikanth
Wind Turbines (MW) | Research Opportunities
Materials & Coatings Turbine Blade
• Multifunctional Optimize design of turbine blade while
coatings minimizing material cost through:
• Enhanced bulk Computational & Structural
material. structural Exp. Aerodynamic Dynamics, Fatigue
strength/ stiffness to Analysis Characterization
weight through the use Maximize wind- Maximize fatigue
of advanced materials mechanical life & predictability
• Enhance adhesives to energy conversion of rotor blades
promote modularity
• Enhance environmental Electrical Systems, Controls, &
resistance Condition Monitoring
• Enhanced offshore • Maximize power availability,
tribology: bearing & networked control system,
lubricants. condition monitoring, fault
diagnostic and control.
Offshore Structure & Foundation • Torque & speed regulation.
Maximize structural stability and • Smart grid for generator / grid
reliability while minimizing materials power flow, flow over blades
and installation costs through hydro- manipulation.
aero-structural analysis • Maximize efficiency thru
advanced power electronics,
generators, control schemes.
Reasons for Wind Generation
Uneven Coriolis Local

Solar force geography
Heating
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-ND

Wind Energy
• A wind turbine extracts energy from

moving air by slowing the wind down,
and transferring this energy into a
spinning shaft, which usually turns a
generator to produce electricity.
• The power in the wind that is available to
harvest depends on both the wind
speed and the area that is swept by
the turbine blades.
http://www.energy.gov/eere/videos/ energy-101-wind-turbines-2014- update

Wind Power Plant types : based on location
• On-shore Wind Power • Off-shore Wind Power

Station Station

Off-shore windfirms
 Higher wind speeds

 Less noise pollution
 Less visual impact
 Difficult to install and
maintain
 Higher Energy losses due
long distance transport
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-ND

Wind Turbine Types: based on turbine capacity
Micro Small Medium Large Ultra-large
• Capacity • Power • These • Greater • These
lower capacity will be than 1 are
than of 100 from 100 MW to beyond
several kW kW to 10 MW 10 MW
kW 1MW
(most
common)
• Micro and small ones are suitable for street lighting, water pumping, remote residential areas.
• Medium turbines can be used for either on-grid or off-grid systems for village power, hybrid
systems, distributed power.
• Large turbines are the mainstream of international wind power market, mostly used in off-shore
wind forms.
• Ultra-large are a few installed
Type of wind turbines: based on the design
Vertical axis wind turbines (VAWT),
Horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWT): accept the wind from any direction (c).
upwind and downwind turbines

A Typical HAWT
The main rotor shaft and

electrical generator are at the
top of a tower and may be
pointed into or out of the wind.
A rotor rotates the generator
(which is protected by a
nacelle).
The gear box, situated directly
between the rotor and the
generator, amplifies the energy
output of the rotor.
Principal Subsystems of HAWTs
• Rotor
o Rotor blades, rotor hub that capture KE from moving wind
• Power Train
o Mechanical and electrical components to convert mechanical power received
from rotor hub to electrical power
• Nacelle Structure
o Steel structure enclosing the power train
• Tower
o Support structure to raise rotor and power train to specific elevation
• Ground Equipment Station
o Interface HAET with electric utility

Principal Subsystems of VAWTs
• Rotor
o Typically contain 2-3 blades, symmetrical in cross-section
o Rotor height is usually 15-30% larger than diameter (not a strict
guideline)
• Power Train
o Mechanical and electrical components to convert mechanical power
received from rotor hub to electrical power.
• Tower
o Support structure to hold the rotor and also has power train at the ground
• Ground Equipment Station
o Interface VAWT with electric utility

Main
Components
in Terms of
Costs

Wind Turbine Rotor Failures
• Cyclic stresses that fatigue the blades, axle, and bearing have been a
major concern for turbine failure for years
http://www.responsiblewind.org/docs/wind_turbine_accidents_in_pictures.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hornslet_wind-turbine_collapse
http://www.responsiblewind.org/docs/wind_turbine_accidents_in_pictures.pdf

Wind Turbine Tower Failures
Design defect of wind turbine

operating in typhoon activity
zone led to tower failure.
The violent wind, drastic
turbulence and sudden change
of wind direction are major
factors of wind turbine failures,
in which exposes the design
defects of wind turbine
operating.
Engg Failure analysis, 26 , 2013: 165-172.
Wind turbine failure in Cumbria, UK. Source CLOUD.

HAWT versus VAWT
HAWT VAWT
• The turbine need to be • Can be operated from any

aligned with the wind direction of wind flow,
direction • Turbine is symmetric about its
• Capture wind energy at high vertical axis
power • Don’t require Yaw control
• Power-train equipment • Power-train system is at the
located above the ground ground level
• Costly for maintenance • Easy to maintain

How Does the Rotor Turn?
Turbine blades are shaped (like airfoil) such that air
moving over top of airfoil has more distance to
travel and travels faster than the lower side, as
per the Bernoulli’s principle,
Air pressure on top is lower than under airfoil
The difference in
pressure on the opposite
sides of the blade causes
the blade to be lifted
upward.
→ “Lift” is created

Rotor Speed Along the Blade
• For a constant rotational Rotor Axis

speed, the speed of the rotor
along the blade is proportional
to the distance from the hub. Tower
• The nearer to the tip (further

from the hub), the stronger the
apparent wind is.
• Blade must be twisted to keep
the anges right to maximise
the lift-to-drag force ratio.

Wind Power
• Consider a “packet” of air with mass m moving at a speed v.

• Its kinetic energy K.E., is given by,
• The wind power (energy per unit time ) can be obtained by differentiating
the kinetic energy in wind with respect to time, i.e
• The wind mass flow-rate in a cross-section of area, A, can be expressed

in terms of wind density, r, as
• Hence, wind power can be expressed, as
A is also known
as “Blade
swept area”
Remarks on wind power equation
• Given wind power, , power increases with

 air density
 a longer length of blades for gaining a larger swept area, increases
with the square of the blade radius for HAWT
 wind speed, v
• Further, power increases with

 Cube of the wind speed
Swept area, A, with square of the rotor size, R, in HAWT

Power in the wind, per square meter of cross
section, at 15◦C and 1 atm pressure
• Even a small
increase in wind
speed results in a
large increase in
power.
The power shown
here is per square
meter of cross
section, a quantity
that is called the
specific power or
power density.
Power versus Air Density - 1
•Power in the wind depends on,

– Air density,
• The density of dry air can be calculated using the ideal gas law,
expressed as a function of temperature and pressure
𝑃 where ρ is the air density, P is Absolute Pressure, R is the

𝜌= Specific gas constant for dry air, and T is Absolute
𝑅𝑇
Temperature.
• This means that air density depends on atmospheric pressure (P) and
temperature (T).
• At 15°C and 1 atmosphere, r = 1.225 kg/m³.

Power versus Air Density - 2
• Air pressure itself is a function of altitude

 Earth's atmospheric pressure does not
decrease linearly with increasing altitude
because air is compressible. The
temperature changes dramatically with
elevation too.
• The air is most dense at sea level
and thins with increased altitude.
• During the winter, the turbine should
produce more power than in the summer
at the same average wind speed.
Graph shows relationship between Air
Density and Temperature (°C) at a
constant pressure.
http://www.engineerstudent.co.uk/density_of_air.php
Power versus density - 3
• Air density is a function of atmospheric pressure, temperature,
humidity, elevation and acceleration due to gravity. One of the
empirical formula used is:
𝑃𝑟 ( − 𝑔h / 𝜇 𝑇 ) 353 ( − h/ 29.3 𝑇 )
𝜌= 𝑒 = 𝑒
𝜇𝑇 𝑇
• where, r, is density in kg/m3, T is air temperature in degree
kelvin, m is specific gas constant for air, (287 Ws/(kg kelvin)), h
is the elevation above sea level in m, g is acceleration due to
gravity, 9.81 m/s2 , Pr is the standard atmospheric pressure at
sea level (0.1 MPa)

Power Extracted From Wind: Albert Betz’s
Formulation
 Betz derivation explains the
constraint that limits the ability of a
wind turbine to convert kinetic energy
in the wind to mechanical power.
Control down stream
 Turbine blades remove energy from volume
wind, hence wind is slowed down as Up stream
a portion of its kinetic energy is Less
More
extracted. Kinetic V
Kinetic
Vo 1 V2
energy
 The wind leaving the turbine is of energy
lower pressure than the incident wind,
and therefore its volume
expands. rotor disk

Upper Limit for Wind Turbine Power Efficiency
• Mass flow rate is constant far upstream (0), at the rotor (1) and
far downstream (2)
• The force or thrust acting on the rotor disc is given by the rate of
change of momentum
• The power extracted by the rotor is given by the rate of change

of kinetic energy

• At the rotor, the force does work at speed V1, generating power
• Equating the expressions for power and rate of work, we get:
• Define downstream velocity factor, b, as

• Then, the thrust force and turbine power can be expressed as
and

• Then, the thrust force and turbine power can be expressed as
and
Now define the rotor efficiency as , , for maximum efficiency,

• Taking the +1/3 for b,
• we get the efficiency as:
The max. efficiency of the rotor occurs when the

downstream velocity is slowed to ⅓ of its upwind velocity.
Betz’s Law
• Maximum theoretical efficiency of a rotor is

59.3%.
𝐵𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑧 𝐿𝑖𝑚𝑖𝑡 , 𝐶 𝑝
• This is known as the Betz efficiency or Betz’s
law.
• Most of the current day HAWTs work around
80% of the limit, 45-50%
• To produce maximum power as per Betz’s
limit (to approximate the Betz curve as much
as possible), several types of control
𝑏 =𝑉 / 𝑉
strategies are applied, such as pitch angle 2 0
control, generator torque control and yaw

control,

Tip-speed ratio (TSR)
• For a given wind speed, the rotor efficiency depends on the speed of rotation of the
blades.
• TSR is the speed at rotor tip divided by the wind speed.
• Where, v is wind speed, w is the rotational speed of the rotor
–If TSR is high, it means that the blade spins too fast, and that the blade will
experience turbulent wind.
–If TSR is low, it means that the blade spins too slowly, and it can not efficiently
capture wind energy.
An optimal TSR gives the maximum efficiency that a turbine can extract wind energy

Optimal TSR
The optimal TSR depends on the number of rotor blades “n”, for maximum
power, it was empirically proven that optimum TSR as
Where n is the number of blades. For n = 2, the optimal TSR is calculated to

be 6.28,
for n = 3, it is 4.19 and it reduces to 3.14 for n = 4.
The aerofoil design profile of the blade increases the rotational speed of the blade, and
thus generate more power.
A too low TSR would cause the wind turbine to exhibit a tendency to slow and stall. On
the other hand, if the TSR is too high, the turbine will rotate very rapidly, and will
experience larger stresses. It may lead to catastrophic failure, if uncontrolled.

Rotor Efficiency vs TSR
• For a given wind speed, rotor efficiency is a

function of the rate at which a rotor turns.
–If Rotor turns too slow letting too much wind to

pass
=> efficiency drops.
–If Rotor turns too fast causing turbulence

=> efficiency drops.

Wind speed variation
Wind speed near the ground is
greatly affected by the friction that
air experiences.
• Smooth surface, such as sea -->
less friction.
• Rough surface, such as city with
tall buildings --> more friction.
• Wind speed as a function of,
– Height,
– Earth’s surface.
One way to get more power output from a wind system is to increase
Dr. Sridharthe height to which the blades
Idapalapati are
MA4819 Wind exposed.
Energy Lecture 42
Power in the Wind – Impact of Tower Height
( )( )
𝛼
𝑣 𝐻
=
𝑣𝑜 𝐻𝑜
where, v, vo are the windspeed at height H, Ho

and a is the friction coefficient
• Since power in the wind varies as the cube of
wind speed, we can rewrite above eqn to
indicate the relative power of the wind at
height H v/s the power at the reference height
( )
1
of H0 as: 𝜌 𝐴𝑣
3
( 𝑃 )= ( 𝑣 ) =( 𝐻 )
3 3𝛼
𝑃 2 𝑣 𝐻
=
1
𝑜
𝜌 𝐴 𝑣 3𝑜 𝑜 𝑜
2
These are just approximation, actual site measurements is most preferred !!
https://sinovoltaics.com/learning-center/basics/location-factor-for-wind-and-solar/
Friction Coefficient &
Roughness Class
• The friction coefficient, α, depends on the terrain
over which the wind is blowing. For open terrain, a
value of 1/7 = 0.14 is often used.
Terrain Characteristics Friction coefficient, a
Smooth hard ground, clam water 0.1
Tall grass on level ground 0.15
High crops, hedges and shrubs 0.2
Wooded countryside, many trees 0.25
Small town with trees and shrubs 0.30
Large city with tall buildings 0.40
https://www.greenspec.co.uk/building-design/small-wind-turbines/

Effect of Rotor Swept Area
• The rotor
swept area,
A, is
important
because the
rotor is the
part of the
turbine that
captures the
wind energy.

Power versus swept area
• The larger the diameter of its blades, the more power it is capable of extracting from the
wind  for HAWT, the power is proportional to square the diameter  bigger the better 
this explains the economics of scale of wind turbines.
=

Power in the Wind – Effect of Turbine Diameter
2
HAWT 𝐴= 𝜋 𝑅
2
VAWT 𝐴≅
3
𝐷𝐻
Doubling the • The aspect ratio (H/D)

diameter range also differs to
increases their rated power of
the power turbine,
available by
a factor of 4. • for ~500 W-10 kW
(H=D or even D>H)
The cost of a turbine increases
roughly in proportion to blade • for 10 kW> the range
diameter, but power is proportional to is usually (1-4)H = D.
diameter squared, so bigger There is no one aspect
machines have proven to be more ratio. Increase in Diameter causes only a
cost effective. linear increase in the power available

Definitions of other performance characteristics
• Availability factor
o It is defined as the fraction of time during a given period that the turbine is
actually operating.
• Capacity factor
o It is the net yield from the wind farms. Defined as the ratio of the total energy
generated during a given period to the total rated generation capacity during
the same period.
o Usually, over a period of one year, a wind turbine usually generates about
25% of the rated maximum output power in onshore forms, due to
intermittency of wind, maintenance etc; whereas this is of the order of 40%
from offshore turbines.
o For conventional gas power plants, the Capacity factor is of the order of 80 to
90%.
Home-work Problem (assume any missing data appropriately)
The following table shows a typical wind turbine operation duration
and velocity of wind. This turbine has a cut-in wind speed of 5 m/s, a
rated wind speed of 14 m/s at which it produces rated output of 5 MW
and a stall wind speed of 20 m/s. The turbine operates at variable
speed between cut-in and rated wind speeds to maintain its optimum
tip-speed ratio (TSR) of 10, at which the power coefficient is 0.45.
Determine, Wind Speed (m/s) Number of Days
a. turbine diameter; Less than 5 30
7 135
b. rotational speed of the turbine at its rated 12 120
wind speed; 17 60
c. annual energy produced; Greater than 20 20
d. capacity factor.
Conclusions - 1
Understood the mechanism of power generation and different
classifications of turbines
A wind turbine obtains power by converting the force of the wind into a
torque on the rotor blades. Power varies (for a typical HAWT) with
Air density
Cube of the wind velocity
Depends on altitude
Square of the blade radius
Betz Limit of power capacity is about 59%, which is still difficult to
achieve!

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MA4819- Energy Technologies For

Dr. IDAPALAPATI Sridhar

 analyse the power generation aspects, basic aerodynamics and

 analyse the structural loading on wind turbines,

 discuss the advantages and limitations of wind turbine technology,

Dr. Sridhar Idapalapati MA4819 Wind Energy Lecture 2

Dr. Sridhar Idapalapati MA4819 Wind Energy Lecture

Wind energy can be either converted into electrical energy by

Wind to electricity in a wind turbine

Dr. Sridhar Idapalapati MA4819 Wind Energy Lecture 4

Dr. Sridhar Idapalapati MA4819 Wind Energy Lecture 5

Wind Energy is the world’s

Dr. Sridhar Idapalapati MA4819 Wind Energy Lecture 6

 In 2021, of the total 830 GW of

Dr. Sridhar Idapalapati MA4819 Wind Energy Lecture 7

Dr. Sridhar Idapalapati MA4819 Wind Energy Lecture 8

• Clean • The probabilistic nature of

 Currently highest penetration form of renewable

Dr. Sridhar Idapalapati MA4819 Wind Energy Lecture 11

Uneven Coriolis Local

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-ND

Dr. Sridhar Idapalapati MA4819 Wind Energy Lecture 13

• A wind turbine extracts energy from

Dr. Sridhar Idapalapati MA4819 Wind Energy Lecture 14

• On-shore Wind Power • Off-shore Wind Power

Dr. Sridhar Idapalapati MA4819 Wind Energy Lecture 15

 Higher wind speeds

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-ND

Dr. Sridhar Idapalapati MA4819 Wind Energy Lecture 16

Dr. Sridhar Idapalapati MA4819 Wind Energy Lecture 18

The main rotor shaft and

Dr. Sridhar Idapalapati MA4819 Wind Energy Lecture 20

Dr. Sridhar Idapalapati MA4819 Wind Energy Lecture 21

Dr. Sridhar Idapalapati MA4819 Wind Energy Lecture 22

Dr. Sridhar Idapalapati MA4819 Wind Energy Lecture 23

Design defect of wind turbine

Wind turbine failure in Cumbria, UK. Source CLOUD.

Dr. Sridhar Idapalapati MA4819 Wind Energy Lecture 24

• The turbine need to be • Can be operated from any

Dr. Sridhar Idapalapati MA4819 Wind Energy Lecture 25

Dr. Sridhar Idapalapati MA4819 Wind Energy Lecture 26

• For a constant rotational Rotor Axis

• The nearer to the tip (further

Dr. Sridhar Idapalapati MA4819 Wind Energy Lecture 27

• Consider a “packet” of air with mass m moving at a speed v.

• The wind mass flow-rate in a cross-section of area, A, can be expressed

• Given wind power, , power increases with

• Further, power increases with

Dr. Sridhar Idapalapati MA4819 Wind Energy Lecture 29

•Power in the wind depends on,

𝑃 where ρ is the air density, P is Absolute Pressure, R is the

Dr. Sridhar Idapalapati MA4819 Wind Energy Lecture 31

• Air pressure itself is a function of altitude

Dr. Sridhar Idapalapati MA4819 Wind Energy Lecture 33

Dr. Sridhar Idapalapati MA4819 Wind Energy Lecture 34

• The power extracted by the rotor is given by the rate of change

Dr. Sridhar Idapalapati MA4819 Wind Energy Lecture 35

• Equating the expressions for power and rate of work, we get:

• Define downstream velocity factor, b, as

Dr. Sridhar Idapalapati MA4819 Wind Energy Lecture 36

The max. efficiency of the rotor occurs when the

• Maximum theoretical efficiency of a rotor is

control, generator torque control and yaw

Dr. Sridhar Idapalapati MA4819 Wind Energy Lecture 38