PS 7007 WIND ENERGY

CONVERSION SYSTEMS

VENKATA SUBRAMANIAN.M,
AP/EEE
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UNIT I INTRODUCTION

•Components of WECS
•WECS schemes
•Power obtained from wind
•simple momentum theory
•Power coefficient
•Sabinin’s theory
•Aerodynamics of Wind turbine

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Early wind energy engineer…
Of all the forces of nature, I should think the wind
contains the largest amount of motive power.

 All the power exerted by all the men, beasts,

running-water, and steam, shall not equal the one
hundredth part of what is exerted by the blowing of
the wind.

Quite possibly one of the greatest

discoveries, will be the taming and
harnessing of it.

– Abraham Lincoln -
1860

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Among renewable energy sources, wind energy
generation has been noted as the most rapidly
growing technology because it is one of the most
cost effective and environmental friendly means to
generate electricity from renewable sources.

FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPT

Wind energy conversion systems convert the kinetic

energy of the wind into electricity or other forms of
energy.
Flow diagram of the wind energy conversion system.

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There are huge variations in size, but all wind turbines
from the smallest to the largest work in the same way.
 The overall configuration is identical.
Each system consists of a rotor (blades) that converts the
wind’s energy into rotational shaft energy, a nacelle
(enclosure) containing a drive train, and a generator .
The energy that moves the wind (kinetic energy) moves
the blades.
This energy in turn moves the drive train (mechanical
energy) is then turned into electricity (electrical energy)
in the generators and then stored in batteries or
transferred to home power grids or utility companies for
use in the usual way.

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COMPONENTS OF A WIND TURBINE
SYSTEM

Typical wind turbines involve a set of rotor blades (usually

three) rotating around a hub. The hub is connected to a gearbox
and a generator, located inside the nacelle, which houses the
electrical components.

The basic components of a wind turbine system are shown

below and outlined

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The nacelle: Sits on top of the tower and contains the electrical
components—the gearbox, the brake, the wind speed and
director monitor, the yaw mechanism, and the generator.

Rotor blades: The diameter of the blades is a crucial element in

the turbine power; typically, the longer they are,the greater the
output.
But their design and the materials incorporated by
them are also key elements.
Blades are often made of fiberglass reinforced
with polyester or wood epoxy.
Vacuum resin infusion is a new material connected
to a technology presented by manufacturers like Suzlon.
Typically blades rotate at 10–30 revolutions per
minute, either at a constant speed (the more traditional
solution) or at a variable speed.
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Gearboxes and direct drives:
Most wind turbines use gearboxes, whose function is to
increase the rotational speed required by generators.
Some new technologies are exploring direct drives
generators to dispense with the expensive gears.

Brake: A disk used to stop the rotor blades in emergencies and to

ensure the safety of the turbine in case of very high damaging winds
or other exceptional situations.

Controller: A set of electrical components that controls

the starting, the stopping, and the turbine rotor blade
speed.
Typically, in the constant wind speed model the
controller
starts up the turbine at wind speeds around 8 to 14 miles per
hour
and stops the machine at around 55 miles/hr (to avoid the 11
The yaw mechanism of wind power generators:
In more typical wind
turbines, the yaw mechanism is connected to sensors
(e.g., anemometers) that monitor wind direction, turning the tower
head and lining up the blades with the wind.

Tower:
Supports the nacelle and rotor.
The electricity produced by the generator comes down cables
inside the tower and passes through a transformer into the
electricity network.

Base:
Large turbines are built on a concrete base foundation.
When a wind turbine ceases production, it is a simple task to
dig these out or cover them, leaving little trace behind.

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WECS- SCHEMES

Horizontal axis Horizontal axis Vertical axis

3-bladed 2-bladed
(HAWT) (VAWT)

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1.1 Wind Turbines Based on Axes
Vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT)

Horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT).

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1.2 Vertical Axis Wind Turbines
In the VAWT the generator shaft is positioned
vertically with the blades pointing up with the generator
mounted on the ground or a short tower.
There are two basic types of airfoils (blades): lift and drag:

1.2.1 Drag-type VAWT:

In drag-type, the blades are generally a
flat plate that the wind hits and causes to rotate. This type
of design is great for very low-wind areas and will
develop a lot of torque to perform an operation.
However, in medium to higher winds, their capabilities to
produce energy are limited.
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1.2.2 Lift-type VAWT:

The lifting style airfoil is seen in most modern

wind turbines.
A properly designed airfoil is capable of converting
significantly more power in medium and higher winds.
Actually, with this design, the fewer number of blades,
the more efficient this design can be.
Each blade sees maximum lift (torque) only twice per
revolution, making for a huge torque and sinusoidal
power output.
Two European companies actually produced a one-
bladed machine, but it is not commercially used
because of dynamic balance issues.
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1.2.3 The basic theoretical advantages of a vertical axis
wind turbine are,
1. The generator, gearbox, and so forth may be
placed on the ground, and a tower may not be needed for
the machine.
2. A yaw mechanism is not needed to turn the rotor
against the wind.

1.2.4 The basic disadvantages are,

1. Wind speeds are very low close to ground level,
so although a tower may be saved wind speeds will be
very low on the lower part of the rotor.
2. The overall efficiency of the vertical axis turbines
is not impressive.
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1.3 Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines (HAWT):
An HAWT rotates around a horizontal axis and has the
main rotor shaft and electrical generator mounted at the top of
a tower. There are two types of HAWT:

1.3.1 Horizontal upwind:

The generator shaft is positioned horizontally,
and the wind hits the blade before the tower.

Turbine blades are made stiff to prevent the blades

from being pushed into the tower by high winds, and the
blades are placed at a considerable distance in front of
the tower and are sometimes tilted up a small amount.

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1.3.2 Horizontal downwind:
 The generator shaft is positioned horizontally,and the wind hits the tower first
and then the blade.
Horizontal downwind doesn’t need an additional mechanism for keeping it in
line with the wind, and in high winds the blades can be allowed to bend, which
reduces their swept area and thus their wind resistance.
Horizontal downwind turbine is also free of turbulence problems.

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1.4 Wind Turbine Power Scales
According to the size of the wind turbine and the
annual mean wind speed, there are three types of wind
turbines :
1. Small-scale wind turbines: Their power range
is 0.025 Kw to 10 Kw. Annual mean wind speed range
of 2.5 to 4.0 m/s is needed for this type of wind
turbine.
2. Medium-scale wind turbines: Need 4.0 to 5.0
m/s annual wind speed to produce power. Output
power range is 10 KW to 100 KW.
3. Large-scale wind turbines: Annual mean wind
speed needed is more than 5 m/s, and output power is
greater than 100 KW. They are usually connected to
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1.5 Wind Turbine Installation Location
Depending on installation locations, there are two types of wind
turbines:the onshore wind farm and the offshore wind farm. There are
several advantages of the offshore turbines:
(1) higher and more constant wind speeds; and, consequently,
(2) higher efficiencies. Onshore wind farms are often subject to
restrictions and objections: objections based on their negative visual
impact or noise; restrictions associated with obstructions (e.g.,
buildings, mountains), land-use disputes, or limited availability of
lands. However, onshore wind systems may also have some advantages
over offshore wind farms:
• Cheaper foundations
• Cheaper integration with the electrical-grid network
• Cheaper installation and access during the construction phase
• Cheaper and easier access for operation and maintenance

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• Aerofoil design
Leading
Edge L F

Trailing
Wind D Edge

Angle
of
Attack

• Air flow over the blade develops lift force

and causes the blade to rotate
 • Connects the low speed shaft of the rotor to the
high sped shaft of the generator.
Low Speed Gear - Speed of a typical rotor may be
Lower
speed shaft
30 rpm to 50 rpm.
- Generator speed may be around
Higher
Speed
1000 rpm to 1500 rpm.
shaft
-Need gear trains in the transmission
High Speed line to manipulate the speed
Gear
according the requirements of the
• May need multiple generator.
stages to achieve the
speed ratio.
• As the wind speed changes (15 m/s to 20
m/s for example over the rated power
range, the rotor speed also changes (30
rpm to 50 rpm for example).

• Need to address the rapid acceleration.

• Turbine power is regulated.
• Pitch control
- blade pitch and blade angle of attack is decreased
with wind speed greater than rated speed.
- Wind speed and power output and power out put are
continuous monitored by sensors
- Need sophisticated control mechanism
• Stall control
- blades are designed in such a that with increase in
wind speed, the angle of attack increases.
- Pressure variation at the tp and bottom surface
changes causing flow separation and vortex shedding
- kills lift forces and leads to blades stalling
- Need very sophisticated blade aerodynamic design
• Active stall-Controlled power regulation
- The blades are pitched to to attain its best
performance.
- As the wind speed exceeds the rated velocity, the
blades are turned in the opposite direction to
increase
the angle of attack and forces the blade to stall
region.
• Yaw Control
- The rotor is partly pushed away from the wind
direction at higher wind speeds.
- The rotor spin axis is pushed to an angle to the
incoming wind direction