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The figure below shows a sketch a how the power output from a wind turbine
Cut-in speed.
At very low wind speeds, there is insufficient torque exerted by the wind on the
turbine blades to make them rotate. However, as the speed increases, the wind
turbine will begin to rotate and generate electrical power. The speed at which the
turbine first starts to rotate and generate power is called the cut-in speed and is
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As the wind speed rises above the cut-in speed, the level of electrical ouput power
per second, the power output reaches the limit that the electrical generator is
capable of. This limit to the generator output is called the rated power outputand
the wind speed at which it is reached is called the rated output wind speed. At
higher wind speeds, the design of the turbine is arranged to limit the power to this
maximum level and there is no further rise in the output power. How this is done
varies from design to design but typically with large turbines, it is done by
adjusting the blade angles so as to to keep the power at the constant level.
Cut-out speed.
As the speed increases above the rate output wind speed, the forces on the turbine
structure continue to rise and, at some point, there is a risk of damage to the rotor.
called the cut-out speed and is usually around 25 metres per second.
The available power in a stream of wind of the same cross-sectional area as the
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If the wind speed U is in metres per second, the density ρ is in kilograms per cubic
metre and the rotor diameter d is in metres then the available power is in watts. The
efficiency, μ, or, as it is more commonly called, the power coefficient, cp, of the
wind turbine is simply defined as the actual power delivered divided by the
available power.
There is a theoretical limit on the amount of power that can be extracted by a wind
turbine from an airstream. It is called the Betz limit. The limit is μ=16/27≈ 59%
The Betz limit - and the maximum efficiency for horizontal axis wind
turbines.
The simplest model of a wind turbine is the so-called actuator disc model where
the turbine is replaced by a circular disc through which the airstream flows with a
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velocity Ut and across which there is a pressure drop from P1 to P2 as shown in the
sketch. At the outset, it is important to stress that the actuator disc theory is useful
(as will be shown) in discussing overall efficiencies of turbines but it does not help
at all with how to design the turbine blades to achieve a desired performance.
From momentum conservation, the force exerted on the turbine is equal to the
momentum change between the flow far upstream of the disc to the flow far
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The final basic equations are Bernoulli's equation applied upstream and
where P∞ is the ambient pressure in the flow both far upstream and far downstream
whence
i.e. the velocity through the actuator disc is the mean of the upstream and
Finally, from equations (1), (5) and (3), the efficiency is given by
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The figure below shows the variation of efficiency (often referred to as the power
differentiating equation (7), it is easy to show that the maximum efficiency oocurs
when Ud/Uu=1/3 (i.e. when Ad/Au=3). The efficiency is then η=16/27 ≈ 59%. This
is the maximum achievable efficiency of a wind turbine and is known as the Betz
limit - after Albert Betz who published this result in 1920. There are assumptions
in the above anlysis such as the neglect of radial flow at the actuator disc but these
The point to note here is that as you reduce the downstream velocity in the
expectation of increasing the power extracted from the wind, the area of the
upstream stream tube that passes through the turbine reduces in size. In the limit as
the downstream velocity is reduced to zero, the area of the upstream stream tube
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that passes through the turbine is just half the turbine area and the efficiency is thus
50%.
5.1. According to the size of useful electrical power output [13 ]: (i) Small size
(up to 2 kW): These may be used for remote applications, or at places requiring
(ii) Medium size (2-100 kW): These turbines may be used to supply less than 100
(iii) Large size (100 kW and up): They are used to generate power for distribution
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the rotor is held constant by continuously adjusting the blade pitch and/or
speed is very rigid and only minor fluctuations of about 1% for short durations
As the wind fluctuates, a control mechanism becomes necessary to vary the pitch
of the rotor so that the power derived from the wind system is held fairly constant.
Such a control is necessary since wind power varies with the cube of the wind
velocity. During gusty periods, the machine is subjected to rapid changes in the
input power. The control mechanism must be sensitive enough to damp out these
transients so that the machine output does not become unstable. Such a mechanism
is expensive and adds complexity to the system. Induction generators with small
negative slip can also be considered as constant speed. An induction generator can
operate on an infinite bus bar at a slip of 1-5% above the synchronous speed.
Induction generators are simpler than synchronous generators. They are easier to
economical. The CSCF schemes that mostly employ synchronous generators [4]
tend to be more expensive because of the precise blade pitch control mechanisms
generators run at constant speed, and hence, require costly speed controls.
However, synchronous generators can supply reactive power to the system. If the
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electric power derived from wind is significant compared with the capacity of the
The variable speed operation of a wind electric system yields higher output for
both low and high wind speeds. This results in higher annual energy yields per
rated installed capacity. Both horizontal and vertical axis wind turbines (VAWT)
exhibit this gain under variable speed operation. The VSVF scheme mostly
employs an induction generator. In this scheme, the need for a costly blade control
10% in total system capital cost, and are maintenance free and most reliable.
Generation schemes involving variable speed rotors are more complicated than
speed [18-21]. For this purpose, self-excited induction generators (SEIG) can be
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conveniently used. This scheme is gaining importance for stand alone wind power
applications.
Since resistive heating loads are essentially frequency insensitive, the a.c generator
For this purpose capacitor excited squirrel caze induction machines can be
Choice of generators
turbine applications because they are expensive and require regular maintenance
[22]. Nowadays, for most d.c. applications, for example, it is more common to
employ an a.c. generator to generate a.c., which is then converted to d.c. with
that its reactive power characteristic can be controlled, and therefore such
machines can be used to supply reactive power to other items of power systems
that require reactive power. It is normal for a stand alone wind-Diesel system to
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Synchronous generators, when fitted to a wind turbine, must be controlled
failures.
unit cost, ruggedness, brushless (in squirrel cage construction), reduced size,
severe overloads and short circuits are the main advantages [18-21]. Further,
induction generators are loosely coupled devices, i.e. they are heavily damped and,
therefore, have the ability to absorb slight changes in rotor speed, and drive train
generators are closely coupled devices and when used in wind turbines, are
couplings in the drive train or mounting the gearbox assembly on springs and
dampers. Reactive power consumption and poor voltage regulation under varying
speed are the major drawbacks of the induction generators, but the development of
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static power converters has facilitated control of the output of voltage of the
Choice between two and three blade rotors Blades are one of the most critical
components of a wind turbine rotor. Initially, blades were made from wood.
Wooden blades were replaced by galvanized steel blades. Later, steel blades were
also replaced by aluminium, which is lighter and stronger. In recent years, fiber
glass as rotor blades is becoming very popular [6]. Light weight, highly flexible
turbines are usually two bladed and have a teeter hinge, coning hinges or flex
beams to allow blade motion to relieve the flap load, whereas structurally stiff and
robust turbines are usually the three blade, upwind yaw driven type. The structural
dynamic difference between two and three blades is the rotor moment of inertia.
The three bladed rotor mass movement has polar symmetry, whereas the two
bladed rotor mass movements do not have the same, so the structural dynamic
equations for the two bladed turbine system are significantly more complex and
have periodic coefficients [23]. The three bladed system governing equations have
constant coefficients making them easier to solve and most importantly making the
noise.The design of wind energy conversion systems is a very complex task and
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A permanent magnet synchronous generator is a generator where the excitation
refers here to the fact that the rotor and magnetic field rotate with the same speed,
because the magnetic field is generated through a shaft mounted permanent magnet
They are commonly used to convert the mechanical power output of steam
turbines, gas turbines, reciprocating engines and hydro turbines into electrical
power for the grid. Some designs of Wind turbines also use this generator type.
In the majority of designs the rotating assembly in the center of the generator—the
"rotor"—contains the magnet, and the "stator" is the stationary armature that is
component of the stator field affects the torque while the parallel component
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affects the voltage. The load supplied by the generator determines the voltage. If
the load is inductive, then the angle between the rotor and stator fields will be
are accustomed to see on transmission lines. The phases are wound such that they
are 120 degrees apart spatially on the stator, providing for a uniform force or
torque on the generator rotor. The uniformity of the torque arises because the
magnetic fields resulting from the induced currents in the three conductors of the
field of a single, rotating magnet. This stator magnetic field or "stator field"
appears as a steady rotating field and spins at the same frequency as the rotor when
the rotor contains a single dipole magnetic field. The two fields move in
"synchronicity" and maintain a fixed position relative to each other as they spin.[1]
They are known as synchronous generators because f, the frequency of the induced
directly proportional to RPM, the rotation rate of the rotor usually given in
revolutions per minute (or angular speed). If the rotor windings are arranged in
such a way as to produce the effect of more than two magnetic poles, then each
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physical revolution of the rotor results in more magnetic poles moving past the
always an even number), and the factor of 120 comes from 60 seconds per minute
The power in the prime mover is a function of RPM and torque. where is
mechanical power in Watts, is the torque with units of , and RPM is the
By increasing the torque on the prime mover, a larger electrical power output can
be generated.
In practice, the typical load is inductive in nature. The diagram above depicts such
voltage and the current in the load respectively and is the angle between them.
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Here, we can see that the resistance, R, and the reactance, , play a role in
determining the angle . This information can be used to determine the real and
Breaking the apparent power into Real and Reactive power, we get:
magnetic field in a rotor winding. The direct current in the rotor field winding is
shaft.
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Permanent magnet generators (PMGs) or alternators (PMAs) do not require a DC
supply for the excitation circuit, nor do they have slip rings and contact brushes. A
key disadvantage in PMAs or PMGs is that the air gap flux is not controllable, so
the voltage of the machine cannot be easily regulated. A persistent magnetic field
imposes safety issues during assembly, field service or repair. High performance
permanent magnets, themselves, have structural and thermal issues. Torque current
MMF vectorially combines with the persistent flux of permanent magnets, which
leads to higher air-gap flux density and eventually, core saturation. In this
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