Wind energy

Winds are caused because of two factors.

(1) The absorption of solar energy on the earth’s surface and in the
atmosphere.
(2) The rotation of the earth about its axis and its motion around the sun.

Because of these factors, alternate heating and cooling cycles occur, differences in pressure are obtained, and
the air is caused to move. The potential of Wind energy as a source of power is large. This can be judged from
the fact that energy available in the wind over the earth’s surface is estimated to be 1.6x10 7 K.W Besides the
energy available is free and clean.
The problems associated with Utilizing wind energy are that:
(i) The energy is available in dilute form, because of this conversion machines have to be necessarily large.
(ii) The availability of the energy varies considerably over a day and with the seasons.

For this reason some Means of storage have to be devised if a continuous supply of power is required.

Wind is slowed by the surface roughness and obstacles. When dealing with wind energy, we are concerned with surface
winds. A wind turbine obtains its power input by converting the force of the wind into a torque (turning force) acting on the
rotor blades. The amount of energy which the wind transfers to the rotor depends on the density of the air, the rotor area,
and the wind speed. The kinetic energy of a moving body is proportional to its mass (or weight). The kinetic energy in the
wind thus depends on the density of the air, i.e. its mass per unit of volume. In other words, the "heavier" the air, the more
energy is received by the turbine at 15° Celsius air weighs about 1.225 kg per cubic meter, but the density decreases
slightly with increasing humidity.
Types of winds:

(1) Planetory winds:

 Differential solar heating of locations at the equator and poles

 Coriolis force due to earth‘s rotation
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W E

S
(2) Local winds:

 differential heating of the land mass and nearby sea surface water creates local winds
 During day land heats up faster rapidly compared with nearby sea water. Hence there tends to

be surface wind flow from the water to the land

 During night wind reverses because land surface cools faster than the water
 Second mechanism of local winds is caused by hills and mountain sides. The air above the
slopes heats up during the day and cools down at night, more rapidly than the air above the low

lands. This causes heated air in the day to raise along the slopes and relatively heavy air to flow
down at night.
Wind turbine:
A wind turbine is a device that converts kinetic energy from the wind into mechanical energy. If the
mechanical energy is used to produce electricity, the device may be called a wind generator or wind
charger. If the mechanical energy is used to drive machinery, such as for grinding grain or pumping
water, the device is called a windmill or wind pump.

Types of Wind turbines:

Horizontal-Axial Machines
The common wind turbine with a horizontal (or almost horizontal) axis, is simple in principle, but the design of a complete
system, especially a large one that will produce electric power economically, is complex. Not only must be individual
components, such as the rotor, transmission, generator, and tower, be as efficient as possible, but these components
must function effectively in combination. Some of the horizontal axis type wind machines are briefly described below:

The horizontal axis types generally have better performance, They have been used for various applications, but the two
major areas of interest are electric power generation, and pumping water. The latter introduces some complexity into
the design as the mechanical energy has to be transmitted over a distance. Also in some cases the rotor motion has to
be converted to reciprocating motion. The common wind turbine with a horizontal (or almost horizontal) axis is simple in
principle, but the design of a complete system, especially a large one that will produce electric power economically, is
complex.
1. Horizontal axis using two aerodynamic blades.
In this type of design, rotor drives a generator through a step up
gear box. The design, rotor drives a generator through a step up
gear box. The blade rotor is usually designed to be oriented
downwind of the tower. The components are mounted on a bed
plate which is attached on a pintle at the top of the tower. This
arrangement is shown schematically in Fig. The rotor blades are
continuously flexed by unsteady aerodynamic, gravitational and
inertia loads, when the machine is in operation. If the blades are
made of metal, flexing reduces their fatigue life with rotor the tower
is also subjected to above loads, which may cause serious damage.
If the vibrational modes of the rotor happen to coincide with one of
the natural mode of the vibration of the tower, the system may
shake itself to pieces. Because of the high cost of the blade rotors
with more than two blades are not recommended.
2. Horizontal axis propeller type using single blade.
In this arrangement, a long blade is mounted on a rigid hub (Fig. 6.8.2). Induction generator and gear box are also
shown. If extremely long blades (above say 60 m) are mounted on rigid hub, large blade root bending moment may
occur due to tower shadow, gravity and sudden shifts in wind directions. To reduce rotor cost, use of low cost counter
weight is recommended which balance long blade centrifugally.

Advantages of one bladed rotor:

Simple blade controls-lower blade weight and cost- lower gear box cost
Counter weight costs less than a second blade.
Counter weight can be inclined to reduce blade coning.
Pitch bearings do not carry centrifugal force.
Blade root spar can be large diameter i.e. more rugged.

Disadvantages:
(i) Vibration produced, due to aerodynamic torque.
(ii) Unconventional appearance.
(iii) Large blade root bending moment.
(iv) Starting-torque reduced by ground boundary layer.
3. Horizontal axis multi bladed type.

This type of design for multiblades as shown in Fig. (6.8.3), made from sheet metal or aluminium. The rotors have high
strength to weight ratios and have been known to service hours of freewheeling operation in 60 km/hrwinds. They have
good power coefficient, high starting torque and added advantage of simplicity and low cost.
4. Horizontal axis wind mill-Dutch type.

It is shown in Fig. (6.8.4), is one of the oldest designs. The blade surfaces are made from an array of wooden slats which
'feather' at high wind speeds.
5. Sail type.

It's blade are shown in Fig. (6.8.5). It is of recent origin. The blade surfaces is made from cloth, nylon or plastic arranged
as mast and pole or sail wings. There is also variation in the number of sails used.
Vertical axis (or VAWTs)
They have the main rotor shaft arranged vertically. Key advantages of this arrangement are that the
turbine does not need to be pointed into the wind to be effective. This is an advantage on sites where
the wind direction is highly variable, for example when integrated into buildings.

The Savonius Rotor:

Perhaps the simplest of the modern types of wind energy conversion systems is the Savonius rotor which works like a
cup anemometer. This type was invented by S.J. Savonius in the year 1920. This machine has become popular since it
requires relatively low velocity winds for operation. It consists of two-half-cylinders facing opposite directions in such a
way as to have almost an S-shaped cross section.
These two-semi circular drums are mounted on a
vertical axis perpendicular to the wind direction with
a gap at the axis between the two drums.
Irrespective of the wind direction the rotor rotates
such as to make the convex sides of the bucket head
into the wind. From the rotor shaft we can tape
power for use like water-pumping, battery charging,
grain winnowing etc. However, instead of having two
edges together to make an S-shaped they overlap to
leave a wide space between the two inner edges,
so that each of these edges is near the central axis of the opposite half cylinder, as shown in the figure. The main action of
the wind is very simple ; the force of the wind is greater on the cupped face than on the rounded face. In detail it is a bit
more complicated. The wind curving around the back side of the cupped face exerts a reduced pressure much as the wind
does over the top of an air-foil and this helps to drive the rotation. The wide slot between the two inner edges of the half
cylinders, lets the air whip around inside the forward-moving cupped face, thus pushing both in the direction of the
rotation.
Characteristics of Savonius Rotor
• Self starting
• Low speed
• Low efficiency.

Advantages of Savonius Rotor

(1) A Savonius wind energy conversion system has a vertical axis which eliminates the expensive power transmission
system from the rotor to the axis. Since it is a vertical axis machine it does not matter much about the wind direction. The
machine performs even at low-wind velocity ranges.
2) It has its low cut in speed it produces power effectively in winds as slow as 8 km/hour. This means that it is useful more of
the time and is thus less dependent on storage of supplementary power.
(3) In common with all vertical-axis machines, the Savonius rotor has the advantage that the weight of the electric
generator may be carried at ground level without the use of level gears. This is, however not a very important advantage.
(4) Cost of vertical axis wind turbine may be significantly lower than that of standard wind turbines.
(5) It has simple structure, hence easy to manufacture.
(6) Yaw and pitch controls are not needed to bring it into the wind or operate in high winds. A constant speed vertical axis
wind turbine, automatically stalls at high wind speeds.
Disadvantages:
(i) This type of machine is too solid, having so much metal or other material surface compared with the amount of wind
intercepted. This not only leads to excessive weight for a large installation but also leaves the machine of the mercy of
severe storm, since there is no way to reduce the effective area.
(ii) It is not useful for a very tall installation because a long driveshaft problems and also the bracing of the topmost
bearing above the rotor of a very tall vertical-axis machine is awkward, requiring very long guy wires. In a
conventional horizontal-axis wind electric machine with the generator a loft, the strength of the structure required to
carry the added weight of the generator is small compared with that needed to servive a severe storm and the
generator housing adds little to the area presented to the storm.
b) The Darrieus type machine (High velocity wind). This
machine was invented originally and patented in 1925 by
G.J.M. Darrieus, a French engineer. In India at BHEL,
Hyderabad and NAL Bangalore research and development of
the Darrieus wind energy conversion systems are in progress.
An additional advantage is that it supports its blades in a way
that minimizes bending stresses in normal operation.
It has two or three thin, curved (egg beater) blades with airfoil
cross section and constant chord length (Fig. 6.8.9). Both ends
of blades are attached to a vertical shaft. Thus the force in the
blade due to rotation is pure tension. This provides a stiffness
to help withstand the wind forces it experiences. The blades
can thus be made lighter than in the propeller type. When rotating, these airfoil blades provide a torque about the central
shaft in response to a wind stream. This shaft torque is being transmitted to a generator at the base of the central shaft for
power generation.
Darrieus rotors can also be combined with various types of auxiliary rotors to increase their starting torques. However
such additions increase the weight and cost of the system, so trade-offs in thesecharacteristics must be considered in
developing an optimum design fora given application.

Characteristics of Darrieus Rotor

(i) Not self starting
(ii) High speed
(iii) High efficiency
(iv) Potentially low capital cost.

Darrieus-type rotors are lift devices, with air foil cross-section. They have relatively low solidity and low starting torque,
but high tip to wind speeds and, therefore, relatively high power outputs per given rotor weight and cost.
Lift/Drag Forces Experienced by Turbine Blades
The two primary aerodynamic forces at work in wind-turbine rotors are

lift, which acts perpendicular to the direction of wind flow;

drag, which acts parallel to the direction of wind flow.

Blade Design
Wind turbine blades have an airfoil-type cross section and a variable pitch
(Fig. 6.8.6 a), They are slightly twisted from the outer tip to the root (i.e.
where the blade is attached to the hub) to reduce the tendency for the rotor
to stall. In a few devices, the blades had a constant chords length i.e.
constant distance from edge to the other). As a general rule, however better
performance is obtained with blades that are narrower at the tip than at the
root.
Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine (HAWT)

•Horizontal axis machines have emerged as the most successful type of turbines. These are being used for commercial
energy generation in many parts of the world.
•They have low cut-in wind speed, easy furling and, in general, show a high power coefficient.
•However, their design is more complex and expensive as the generator and gearbox are to be placed at the top of the
tower. Also, a tailor yaw drive is to be installed to orient them in the wind direction.
•Main components:
[Link] blades
[Link]
[Link]
[Link] transmission system
[Link]
[Link] control
[Link]
[Link]
Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT)

•Vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) is also known as cross-wind axis machines.
•In these machines, the axis of rotation is perpendicular to the direction of the wind.
•The main advantages of a VAWT compared to HAWT are
•The vertical axis wind turbine receives wind from any direction, and hence the yawing system is not required.
•The generator, gearbox, etc. can be installed at the bottom of the tower, hence their tower design and installation is
simple.
•Inspection and maintenance is easier.
•They are lighter in weight and cheaper in cost.
•VAWTs are generally not self-starting and have a low power coefficient, these are the major disadvantages. They require
a mechanism to start from the stationary position. Additionally, there is a possibility of running the blades at a very high
speed and causing damage to the system.
•Main components:
[Link] shaft or Tower
[Link]
[Link] structure
HAWT • The generator and
• Electrical generator gearbox can be
at the top of the tower placed near the
ground
•Lift force is more • Drag force is more
dominating dominating

VAWT
Advantages of Wind energy
(1) The wind energy is free, inexhaustible and does not need transportation.
(2) Wind mills will be highly desirable and economical to the rural areas
which are far from existing grids.
(3) Wind power can be used in combination with hydroelectric plants. Such
that the water level in the reservoir can be maintained for longer periods.
Disadvantage of Wind energy
(1) Wind power is not consistent and steady, which makes the complications
in designing the whole plant.
(2) The wind is a very hazard one. Special and costly designs and controls
are always required.
(3) The cost factor, which has restricted the development of wind power in
large scale for feeding to the existing grid .
(4) It has low power coefficient.
(5) Careful survey is necessary for plant location.
Modern Wind Turbine
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
 Low-speed shaft, high-speed shaft, and 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
 Main Components of a wind-mill :
Rotor:
The portion of the wind turbine that collects energy from the
wind is called the rotor. The rotor usually consists of two or
more wooden, fiberglass or metal blades which rotate about
an axis (horizontal or vertical) at a rate determined by the wind
speed and the shape of the blades. The blades are attached to
the hub, which in turn is attached to the main shaft.

Drag Design:
Blade designs operate on either the principle of drag or lift. For the drag design, the wind literally pushes the blades out
of the way. Drag powered wind turbines are characterized by slower rotational speeds and high torque capabilities. They
are useful for the pumping, sawing or grinding work. For example, a farm-type windmill must develop high torque at
start-up in order to pump, or lift, water from a deep well.
Lift Design:
The lift blade design employs the same principle that enables airplanes, kites and birds to fly. The blade is essentially an
airfoil, or wing. When air flows past the blade, a wind speed and pressure differential is created between the upper and
lower blade surfaces. The pressure at the lower surface is greater and thus acts to "lift" the blade. When blades are
attached to a central axis, like a wind turbine rotor, the lift is translated into rotational motion. Lift-powered wind turbines
have much higher rotational speeds than drag types and therefore well suited for electricity generation.
Tip Speed Ratio:
The tip-speed is the ratio of the rotational speed of the blade to the wind speed. The larger this ratio, the faster the
rotation of the wind turbine rotor at a given wind speed. Electricity generation requires high rotational speeds. Lift-type
wind turbines have maximum tip-speed ratios of around 10, while drag-type ratios are approximately [Link] the high
rotational speed requirements of electrical generators, it is clear that the lift-type wind turbine is most practical for this
application.
The number of blades that make up a rotor and the total area they cover affect wind turbine performance. For a lift-type
rotor to function effectively, the wind must flow smoothly over the blades. To avoid turbulence, spacing between blades
should be great enough so that one blade will not encounter the disturbed, weaker air flow caused by the blade which
passed before it. It is because of this requirement that most wind turbines have only two or three blades on their rotors.
Generator:
The generator is what converts the turning motion of a wind turbine's blades into electricity. Inside this component, coils
of wire are rotated in a magnetic field to produce electricity. Different generator designs produce either alternating current
(AC) or direct current (DC), and they are available in a large range of output power ratings. The generator's rating, or size, is
dependent on the length of the wind turbine's blades because more energy is captured by longer blades.
It is important to select the right type of generator to match intended use. Most home and office appliances operate on
240 volt, 50 cycles AC. Some appliances can operate on either AC or DC, such as light bulbs and resistance heaters, and
many others can be adapted to run on DC. Storage systems using batteries store DC and usually are configured at voltages
of between 12 volts and 120 volts.

Generators that produce AC are generally equipped with features to produce the correct voltage of 240 V and constant
frequency 50 cycles of electricity, even when the wind speed is fluctuating.
DC generators are normally used in battery charging applications and for operating DC
appliances and machinery. They also can be used to produce AC electricity with the use of an inverter, which converts DC
to AC.
Transmission:
The number of revolutions per minute (rpm) of a wind turbine rotor can range between 40 rpm and 400 rpm, depending
on the model and the wind speed. Generators typically require rpm's of 1,200 to 1,800. As a result, most wind turbines
require a gear-box transmission to increase the rotation of the generator to the speeds necessary for efficient electricity
production. Some DC-type wind turbines do not use transmissions. Instead, they have a direct link between the rotor and
generator. These are known as direct drive systems. Without a transmission, wind turbine complexity and maintenance
requirements are reduced, but a much larger generator is required to deliver the same power output as the AC-type wind
turbines.
Tower:
The tower on which a wind turbine is mounted is not just a support structure. It also raises the wind turbine so that its
blades safely clear the ground and so it can reach the stronger winds at higher elevations. Maximum tower height is optional
in most cases, except where zoning restrictions apply. The decision of what height tower to use will be based on the cost of
taller towers versus the value of the increase in energy production resulting from their use. Studies have shown that the
added cost of increasing tower height is often justified by the added power generated from the stronger winds. Larger wind
turbines are usually mounted on towers ranging from 40 to 70 meters tall.
Operating Characteristics of wind mills:
All wind machines share certain operating characteristics, such as cut-in, rated and cutout wind speeds.
Cut-in Speed:
Cut-in speed is the minimum wind speed at which the blades will turn and generate usable power. This wind speed is
typically between 10 and 16 kmph.
Rated Speed:
The rated speed is the minimum wind speed at which the wind turbine will generate its designated rated power. For
example, a "10 kilowatt" wind turbine may not generate 10kilowatts until wind speeds reach 40 kmph. Rated speed for
most machines is in the range of 40 to 55 kmph. At wind speeds between cut-in and rated, the power output from a wind
turbine increases as the wind increases. The output of most machines levels off above the rated speed. Most
manufacturers provide graphs, called "power curves,“ showing how their wind turbine output varies with wind speed.
Cut-out Speed:
At very high wind speeds, typically between 72 and 128 kmph, most wind turbines cease power generation and shut down.
The wind speed at which shut down occurs is called the cut-out speed. Having a cut-out speed is a safety feature which
protects the wind turbine from damage. Shut down may occur in one of several ways. In some machines an automatic
brake is activated by a wind speed sensor. Some machines twist or "pitch" the blades to spill the wind. Normal wind turbine
operation usually resumes when the wind drops back to a safe level.
Characteristic of Wind Turbines
• Variations in wind speed causes fluctuations in the amount of power produced
•  Short Term: Gusts and Turbulence

•  Long Term: Seasonal Changes

• WTs have a cut-in, cut-out and a peak power output for a given wind velocity
• Power from the wind is proportional to the area swept by the rotors
• In practice, the max power efficiency is 45%

Wind turbine operating regions and power performance

______standard characteristics; requiring exact blade pitch
control

_ _ _ _ _actual operating characteristics of many machines,

including
stall regulation.
 Calculation of Wind Power:
Power in the Wind = ½ρAV3
– Effective swept area, A
– Effective wind speed, V
– Effective air density, 

The dependence of the power coefficient on the tip speed ratio for some common rotor types is indicated in Fig. It is seen
that the two-bladed propeller type of rotor can attain a much higher power coefficient (i.e. it is more efficient) than the
American multi-blade windmill and the classical Dutch four-bladed windmill. In practice two-bladed propeller (horizontal
axis) rotors are found to attain a maximum power coefficient of 0.40 to 0.45 at a tip speed ratio in the range a roughly 6 to
10.
Major factors that have lead to accelerated development of the wind power are as follows:
 Availability of high strength fiber composites for constructing large low-cost rotor blades.
 Falling prices of power electronics
 Variable speed operation of electrical generators to capture maximum energy
 Improved plant operation, pushing the availability up to 95%
 Economy of scale, as the turbines & plants are getting larger in size.

 Accumulated field experience (the learning curve effect) improving the capacity factor.
 Short energy payback ( or energy recovery) period of about year,
 The main considerations in selection of site for WECS are
a) Located where the high average wind velocities available are in the range of 6 m/s to 30 m/s throughout the year since
power developed is proportional to cube of wind velocity.
b) The WECS must be located for away from cities and forests since the buildings and forests offer resistance to the air
movement. There should be not all structures in 3 km radius from the installation.
c) The wind farms are located in flat open areas, deserts , seas, shores and off shores site since wind velocities are of high
in these locations.
d) Historical data of wind mean wind speed must be collected for average velocities during the year to select the site for
availability of wind velocities needed for installation of wind farms.
e) Ground surface should have high soil strength to reduce the cost of foundation.
f) If small trees exists at a particular location then it would need to increase the height of tower since any obstruction
reduce the wind velocity. It causes the increase in cost of installation.
g) It should be installed away from localities so that the sound pollution caused by wind mills does not affect the
habitants in near areas.
h) It is well known, the wind tend to have higher velocities at higher altitudes. One must be carefully to distinguish
altitude from height above ground. They are not the same except for a sea level WECS site.
i) Distance to road or railways:
This is another factor the system engineer must consider for heavy machinery, structure, materials, blades and other
apparatus will have to be moved into any choosen WECS site.
j) Nearness of site to local centre/users:
This obvious criterion minimizes transmission line length and hence losses and cost. After applying all the previous string
criteria, hopefully as one narrows the proposed WECS sites to one or two they would be relatively near to the user of the
generated electric energy.
k) Local Ecology
If the surface is base rock it may mean lower hub height hence lower structure cost. If trees or grass or vegetation are
present, all of which tend to destructure the wind, the higher hub heights will be needed resulting in larges system costs
that the bare ground case.

l) Favourable land cost:

Land cost should be favourable as this along with other siting costs, enters into the total WECS system cost.

• Other conditions such as icing problem, salt spray or blowing dust should not present at the site, as they may affect
aeroturbine blades or environmental is generally adverse to machinery and electrical apparatus.
The power in wind:
Wind possesses energy by virtue of its motion. There are 3 factors determine the output from a wind
energy converter,
1] the wind speed,
2] The cross section of wind swept by rotor
3] The overall conversion efficiency of the rotor, transmission system & generator or pump.

 Only 1/3rd amount of air is decelerating by the rotors & 60% of the available energy in wind into
mechanical energy.

 Well designed blades will typically extract 70% of the theoretical max, but losses incurred in the
gear box, transmission system & generator or pump could decrease overall wind turbine efficiency to
35%
 The power in the wind can be computed by using the concept of kinetics. The wind mill works on
the principle of converting kinetic energy of the wind to mechanical energy.
Maximum Power.
As stated above, that the total power cannot be converted to mechanical power. Consider a horizontal-axis, propeller-
type windmill, which is the most common type used today. Assume that the wheel of such a turbine has thickness a b, as
shown in Fig. 6.2.3. Let Pi and V; are the wind pressure and velocity at the upstream of the turbine, and P e, and Ve, are
pressure and velocity at downstream of the turbine. Ve, is less than Vi because kinetic energy is extracted by the turbine.

Considering the incoming air between i and a as a thermo

dynamic system, and assuming that the air density remains
constant (since changes in pressure and temperature are very
small compared to ambient)
Forces on blades and thrust on turbines:
There are two types of forces that acting on the blades
1. Circumferential force acting in the direction of wheel rotation that provide torque.
2. Axial force acting in the wind stream that provides axial thrust that must be counteracted by
the proper mechanical design The circumferential force, or torque T can be obtained from,

Where
T=Torque in Newton
ω=angular velocity in m/s
D=diameter of the turbine wheel N= wheel revolution per unit time