Turbines II: Hydro and Wind

GEOS 24705/ ENST 24705

Copyright E. Moyer 2012

Wind  turbine  size  also  increasing    
What  drives  that  change?  
• Longer  blades  –  more  power  per  
turbine  built  
• Higher  wind  speeds  
• Power  increase  by  a  factor  of  60    

Image  (plane):   Image:  EWEA  via  

Jeffrey  Millstein   Terra  Magne7ca  
But  max  efficiency  only  occurs  for  high  blade  speeds  
(tsr  =  “7p  speed  ra7o”,  vblade/vwind)  
With ideal turbine tsr
should be as high as
possible.. In practice
tsr of about 5-6 gives
Betz’s  law  limit  only   best performance
achievable  if  
turbine  goes  fast  –  
but  not  too  fast  


Wind  flow  has  to  
readjust  aNer  blade  
passes  through  it…  
 
…but  wait  too  long  
and  can’t  extract  
energy.  
 
TSR  guidelines  set  rota@on  rates  of  blades  
(tsr  =  “7p  speed  ra7o”,  vblade/vwind)  
With ideal turbine tsr
should be as high as
possible.. In practice
tsr of about 5-6 gives
tsr  =  vblade/vwind   best performance
 
vblade  =  ω R  =  2  π  f  R  
 
tsr  =  ω  R/vwind  
 
or  f  =  tsr  vwind/(2π  R)  
 
For  40  m  blades,    
f  ~60/240  ~  (1/4)  1/s  
or  ~  15  rpm.  
 
i.e.  big  wind  turbines  
take  ~  4  s  per  
revolu7on  
Can’t  extract  wind  power  at  all  wind  speeds  
Too  low  and  you’re  a  motor,  not  a  generator  
Too  fast  and  the  turbine  shakes  apart.  

• In  low-­‐wind  regime  
adjust  blade  pitch  for  op7mal  torque  (op7mal  power  
genera7on)  
• In  high-­‐wind  regime  
protect  turbine  from  too  much  torque  with  sub-­‐op7mal  
blade  pitch  
• In  very  high-­‐wind  regime  
feather  blades,  disconnect  from  the  grid,  and  apply  brake.  
Can’t  extract  wind  power  at  all  wind  speeds  

 Note  that  “rated”  wind  is  >  typical  wind  -­‐  produces  maximum  power  
 Note  also  average  wind  doesn’t  give  average  power  (power  depends  on  
v3,  so  turbines  are  designed  for  higher-­‐than-­‐average  winds).    
             
(Image  from  Partnerships  for  Renewables)  
 …so  actual  power  is  less  than  rated  power  
(and  rated  power  is  itself  less  than  power  in  wind)  

Betz  law:  59%,  or  ~  50%  in  prac7ce  recoverable  (this  is  rated  power)  
….  Then  capacity  factor  ~  30%  (of  rated  power)  
Total  recoverable  from  wind  kine7c  power  ~  15%  
(Image  from  Partnerships  for  Renewables)  
How  to  meet  AC  grid  requirements  with  wind?  

• Constant  high  rota;onal  velocity  matched  to  60  Hz  grid  ,  with  
no  gearbox?  No  –  would  require  too  many  poles  on  generator  
Can’t  go  from  4  s  rota;on  ;me  to  1/60th  s  electrical  oscilla;on  
 
• Constant  low  velocity  matched  to  grid  via  gearbox  
…how  it  mostly  used  to  be  done  

•  Dual-­‐speed  velocity  with  2  switchable  rotor  electromagnets  

..  occasionally  used  

•    “Wild”  AC  converted  to  DC  then  back  to  AC  via  inverter  
(“variable-­‐speed”  wind).  New  common  strategy.  Important  side  
benefit:    no  need  to  maintain  constant  turbine  speed.  
What  are  constraints  of  having  a  very  high  turbine?  
• No  mechanical  linkages  up  the  tower  –  whole  generator  
must  be  on  top  of  tower.  
Generator mounted in nacelle

Diagram source: Nordex

 Generator mounted in nacelle

Diagram source: Nordex

Generator mounted in nacelle:

Diagram source: Nordex

Generator mounted in nacelle:
What  are  constraints  of  having  a  very  high  turbine?  
• No  mechanical  linkages  up  the  tower  –  whole  generator  
must  be  on  top  of  tower  
• Therefore  want  minimal  maintenance,  so  need  very  simple  
generators  –  minimize  chance  of  breakage  
• No  electrical  connec7on  to  rotor  
• Induc@on  generators  –  no  brushes  on  rotor    
       Drawback  –  asynchronous  (power  is  out  of  phase)  
• Permanent  magnet  generators  –  must  use  neodynium    
       Drawbacks  –  heavy,  +  exacerbates  shortage  of  rare  earth  elements.  

• No  gearbox    
• New  trend  toward  direct-­‐drive  generators.    
       Drawback  –  generators  must  be  even  bigger  (ca.  4  m  diameter),    
       so  nacelle  is  even  heavier.  
“Wind  belt”  runs  through  the  middle  of  the  U.S.  
Illinois  is  only  a  middling  state  for  wind    
(outside  Lake  Michigan)  
Illinois  wind  is  topographically  controlled  
Grand  Ridge  really  is  a  ridge

Image:  
Wind  growth  not  driven  by  (unsubsidized)  cost  alone    
Turbine  install  cost  is  actually  rising  slightly  and  elect.  prices  are  down  

Image:  NREL  

Image:  NREL  
Wind  growth  not  driven  by  (unsubsidized)  cost  alone    
Turbine  install  cost  is  actually  rising  slightly  and  elect.  prices  are  down  

Note:  this  is  

RATED  power,  not  
actual  power  

Image:  
Slide:  
NREL  
NREL  
Even  rela@vely  bad  on-­‐shore  wind  is  more  cost-­‐
effec@ve  than  almost  all  offshore  wind  

Image:  NREL  
Floa@ng  wind  turbines  s@ll  expensive,  but  hope  is  
that  costs  will  drop  

Tension-­‐leg  mooring   Catenary  cable  mooring  

First  opera7onal  deep-­‐water  high-­‐capacity  turbine  opera7onal  Sept.  2009  

(Hywind,  2.3  MW  rated  turbine,  North  Sea,  220  m  deep  water).  
 

Install  cost  is  $26/W  rated  ($90/W  actual)      

Compare  to  ~$2/W  rated  ($6/W  actual)  for  onshore  wind