Mechanical Control of

Wind Turbine

Payal Gupta
Advisor: Dr. Ovidiu
Crisan
 Contents
 Objective
 Structure of wind turbine
 Predicting Power Output
 Calculation of Wind Power
 Limitations on Power Output of Wind
Turbine
 Control on Wind Turbine
 Future Work
 References
Objective
•To develop control system to enable the better
use of turbine capacity along with relieving the
aerodynamic and mechanical loads that reduces
the life of the turbine.
•To improve the power quality so as to properly
integrate with the network with no adverse effect.
• The main control goal for scheme design is to
maximize the energy capture taking account of
safe operation restriction like rated power, rated
speed and cut-out wind speed, etc.
 Orientation

Horizontal Axis Wind Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

Turbine
Structure Of Wind Turbine
Drive Train – 3MW
Connection of Wind Farm to Power System
 Rotor Solidity
Solidity is the ratio of total rotor
platform area to total swept area

Low solidity (0.10) = high speed, low torque

R
a

High solidity (>0.80) = low speed, high Solidity = 3a/A

torque
 Predicting Power Output
eWind Day-Ahead Hourly Forecast
Reported eWind Forecast

140
120
Power Output (MW)

100
80
60
40
20
0
2/5 2/6 2/7 2/8 2/9 2/10 2/11
Date
Turbine Power Limited By
• Power in the wind
• Betz limit (air can not be slowed to zero)
• Low speed losses - wake rotation
• Drag losses – aerodynamics and blade
geometry
• Generator and drivetrain inefficiencies
Betz Limit All wind power cannot be
captured by rotor or air
would be completely still
behind rotor and not
allow more wind to pass
through.
Theoretical limit of rotor
efficiency is 59%
Most modern wind
turbines are in the 35 –
45% range
 Lift & Drag Forces

 The Lift Force is α = low

perpendicular to the
direction of motion. We
want to make this force
BIG. α = medium
<10 degrees

 The Drag Force is parallel α = High

to the direction of motion. Stall!!
We want to make this force
small.
 Tip-Speed Ratio
Tip-speed ratio is the ratio of the ΩR
speed of the rotating blade tip to
the speed of the free stream wind. R
There is an optimum angle of attack
which creates the highest lift to
drag ratio.
Because angle of attack is dependant
on wind speed, there is an
optimum tip-speed ratio
ΩR
TSR =
Where,
V
Ω = rotational speed in radians /sec
R = Rotor Radius
V = Wind “Free Stream” Velocity
Calculation of Wind Power
Power in the Wind = ½ρAV3

Generator Torque; τc = K.
ω2

Cp(λ*,β*)
R
– Effect of swept area, A= πR2
– Effect of wind speed, V
– Effect of air density, 
 Performance Over Range of Tip Speed
Ratios
• Power Coefficient Varies with Tip Speed Ratio
• Characterized by Cp vs Tip Speed Ratio Curve

0.4
Cp
0.3

0.2

0.1

0.0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Tip Speed Ratio
 Energy Production Terms
• Power in the Wind =
1/2AV3
• Betz Limit - 59% Max
• Power Coefficient - Cp
• Rated Power – Maximum
power generator can
produce.
• Capacity factor
– Actual energy/maximum
energy
• Cut-in wind speed where
energy production begins
• Cut-out wind speed where Typical Power Curve
energy production ends.
Wind Turbine Control
 Control of
the power
of a wind
turbine
 Stall

control
 Pitch

control
 Yaw

Control
 Pitch Control vs. Stall Control
Pitch angle, β, – The rotation angle of
the whole blade measured from the
plane of rotation from the tip chord line.
 Pitch Control
 Blades rotate out of the wind
when wind speed becomes too
great
 Stall Control
 Blades are at a fixed pitch that
starts to stall when wind speed is
too great
 Pitch can be adjusted for
particular location’s wind regime
 Active Stall Control
 Many larger turbines today have
active pitch control that turns the
blades towards stall when wind
speeds are too great
Turbine Control Block Diagram
 References
 “Wind Turbine”,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_turbine.
 Fernando D. Bianchi, Hernan De Battista and
Ricardo J. Mantz, “Wind Turbine Control
Systems -Principles, Modeling and Gain
Scheduling Design”, Springer-Verlag London
Limited 2007.
 “Vestas - V 90 3.0 MW”, http
://www.vestas.com/en/media/brochures.aspx.
 Jason H. Laks, Lucy Y. Pao, and Alan D. Wright,
“Control of Wind Turbines: Past, Present, and
Future”
The Kidwind Project
www.kidwind.org

Thank You