Expt.

No : 04
Date : 30/1/2020

POWER CURVE FOR AN WIND TURBINE SYSTEM :

DETERMINATION OF CUT-IN WIND SPEED

Aim

Draw the turbine Power versus wind speed curve by determining the cut-in speed of wind
turbine experimentally.
Equipment Required
Wind Energy simulation setup having Power generation unit and Power conditioning
unit with necessary accessories such as Tachometer and Anemometer.

Background and Theory

The wind systems that exist over the earth’s surface are a result of variations in air pressure.
These are in turn due to uneven solar heating. Warm air rises and cooler air rushes in to take
its place. Wind is merely the movement of air from one place to another. There are global
wind patterns related to large scale solar heating of different regions of the earth’s surface and
seasonal variations in solar incidence. Also Coriolis Effect will impact the complexity of the
wind flow and its direction. There are also localized wind patterns due the effects of
temperature differences between land and seas, or mountains and valleys. Wind speed
generally increases with height above ground. This is because the roughness of ground
features such as vegetation and houses cause the wind to be slowed. Wind speed data can be
obtained from wind maps or from the meteorology office. Unfortunately the general
availability and reliability of wind speed data is extremely poor in many regions of the world.
However, significant areas of the world have mean annual wind speeds of above 4-5 m/s
which makes small-scale wind powered electricity generation an attractive option.
The power in the wind can be derived from the Kinetic energy equation for wind flow. The
power in the wind is proportional to:
• The area swept by the rotor
• The cube of the wind speed
• The air density - which varies with altitude

The formula used for calculating the power in the wind is:
(density of air x swept area x [velocity]3)
Power =
2

P = ½.ρ.A.V3

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Where, P is power in watts (W), ρ is the air
density (kg/m3),
A is the swept rotor area (m2),
V is the wind speed (m/s)
Terminology of Wind Energy
• Power curve: This curve gives an idea of the power output that can be obtained at
different wind speeds.
• Cut-in speed: the wind speed at which a wind turbine begins to generate electricity.
• Rated speed: The wind speed at which the turbine starts to operate at its rated power
output
• Cut-out wind speed: the high wind speed at which the turbine must shut down and
turn perpendicular to the wind to protect itself from being overpowered.
• Variable blade pitch: many turbines can change the angle of their blades to optimize
performance.

This training system is made of three parts viz. artificial wind generation unit, Wind turbine
and control unit or measuring unit. There are three units in this system viz. wind generating
unit, Wind turbine and control unit. Wind generating unit consists of an induction motor with
a fan-hub sub unit and Variable frequency drive (VFD). This unit will generate different wind
speed with the change in frequency of motor input supply (with the help of VFD). This unit
consists of a fan (of 7 blades) which generates the wind for turbine movement. Wind turbine
unit consists of three rotor blades fixed on the hub and a small PMSG generator. This unit
will generate 3 phase electrical power of variable frequency. Control unit consists of different
meters viz. voltmeters, ammeters, power analyzers, tachometer and anemometer. This unit
also consists of charge controller, battery and inverter. This unit can measure voltages,

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currents, wind speed, rpm and other power parameters at the different branches of system.
Wind generating unit and wind turbine are placed in an enclosure and fix onto the pillars.
These pillars are fixed with the base of enclosure. Anemometer and tachometer sensors are
placed near the turbine for measuring the wind speed and rotor RPM. Control unit can be
attached and detached from the turbine unit as it is connected with the turbine components
(generator) with the help of banana connectors. This control unit can be moved here and there
as it is having wheels. This small system consists of different components viz. battery, charge
controller, inverter and generator. These components are connected as shown in following
figure.

Wind turbine generator generates 3 phase power in delta connection which is connected to
charge controller. Charge controller converts the variable frequency power to the variable

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amplitude of DC power. This DC power is converted into AC power with the help of inverter.
Battery will supply the power to load when there is shortage of power at generation point.
Different voltmeters and ammeter are placed with these components to measure the AC and
DC power and its quality.
In this system AC power quality can be analyzed at two points: turbine output and inverter
output but turbine output can be measured at high frequency (corresponding to high wind
speed). Voltages and currents can be measured at charge controller output for load, battery
terminals, inverter input and inverter output. Other than these measurements wind speed and
rotor speed can be measured with the help of anemometer and tachometer. System layout will
be same for each experiment but there are some changes in procedure of this experimentation.
In some experiments, we need power quality while in some we need wind speed, power and
rpm only. For performing the experiment we need to connect the control unit with wind
turbine unit and required load at the output of inverter. After making this simple arrangement,
position of anemometer and tachometer sensors will be set with the help of levers (present in
turbine enclosure).

Procedure:
For this experiment, anemometer and tachometer will be placed at right position and readings
will be noted down with these meters at different wind velocities. Wind speed and shaft rpm
corresponding to starting of turbine shaft rotation and power generation is noted. These wind
velocities will be called start-up speed and cut-in speed.

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Tabular Column

S.No Wind Rotational Battery Battery DC load DC load Inverter Inverter Wind
Speed Speed (RPM) Current Voltage Current Voltage Input Input power
(m/s) (Amps) (V) (A) (V) current Voltage (Watt)
(A) (V)

0 0 -0.17 12.7 0 - - - 0
1

2 1.7 360 -0.17 12.7 4.5 - - - 2.22

3 2 440 0.08 12.86 6 - - - 3.61

Cut in
speed
4 2.3 470 0.4 13.09 6.5 - - - 5.50

5 3.4 500 0.7 17.41 7 - - - 17.7

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Graph

Performance Curves includes

1. Wind speed Vs Turbine power and wind power

Plotted At

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Calculations

1. Battery power = battery current*battery voltage

2. Load power = load current*load voltage
3. Turbine power = √3*current*voltage*power factor
4. Charge controller efficiency with battery only = (load power/battery power)*100
5. Charge controller efficiency with battery as well as turbine = 100*(battery power + load power)/turbine power
6. DC power at output of charge controller (DC power) = (DC load voltage*DC load current) + (battery voltage*battery current)
OR
7. DC power at output of charge controller (DC power) = (inverter i/p current*inverter i/p voltage) + (battery voltage*battery current)
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8. Power output from wind turbine, P = AV 3 C p
2
9. Power generated by wind turbine = DC power/ Charge controller efficiency
10. Start-up speed and Cut-in speed are found as follows:
• Start-up speed =.........1.7... m/s (at which turbine starts to rotate)
• Cut-in speed = .........2.........m/s (at which turbine starts to generate some power)
Note: Battery current will be used with negative sign if battery will supply the power to the load.

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Results and discussions
Write about the theoretical power and wind speed
Write about the actual power delivered by wind turbine versus wind speed
Write about the cut-in, rated and cut-off wind speed.

ATTESTATION

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