STUDY

OF WIND MACHINES
07 : MG : 26

 PRINCIPLE OF WIND GENERATION: AIR IN MOTION ARISES DUE TO

PRESSURE GRADIENT caused by the non-uniform heating of earth surface by the sun. EXAMPLE: WIND FLOW AT THE SEA-SHORE [DUE TO SOLAR RADIATION], AROUND AND ABOVE THE MOUNTAINS.

IT IS TO BE NOTED THAT THERE EXISTS FRICTIONAL EFFECTS BETWEEN THE MOVING AIR AND THE EARTHS SURFACE.
AS ALTITUDE INCREASES, THERE IS CONSIDERABLE CHANGE IN AIR VELICITY. COMPARED TO NEAR THE SURFACE, THERE IS A 20-25% INCREASE IN WIND SPEEDS AFTER TEN METRES.

PLANETARY WINDS
Solar radiation heats the air near the equator, thus this low density heated air buoyed up and thus causing winds to flow from the poles towards the equator by convective circulation.
Due to earths rotation, the net effect is a large counter-clockwise circulation of air in northern Hemisphere and clockwise in southern Hemisphere. The strength and direction of the planetary winds change with seasons as the solar input varies.

LOCAL WINDS
LOCAL WINDS are caused due to two mechanisms: 1) Differential heating of land and water 2) Hills and mountain sides.

Winds blow more consistently and with greater strength over the water surface where there is less surface drag.

POWER IN THE WIND

Any sort of wind energy converter has capability of slowing down the mass of moving air, extracting part of energy and converting into useful work. FACTORS: 1) Wind speed 2) C/S of wind swept by rotor 3) overall conversion efficiency of rotor, transmission system and generator of the pump. At most, only one-third of its free velocity can be extracted. 100% efficient aero generator can only convert 60% of kinetic energy to mechanical energy. Well designed Blades can produce 70% to the maximum. We know that, Kinetic Energy = 0.5 x Mass x Velocity2

But, Mass/sec (kg/s) = Velocity (m/s) x Area (m2) x Density (kg/m3) The above two eqautions when merged gives us the formula for Power of wind: Power = 0.5 x Swept Area x Air Density x Velocity3 sfasfasdf

PITCH CONTROL
Pitch control in a wind machine means to control the pitch or angle of attack that that a rotor airfoil presents to the wind stream. In earlier times, pitch control was done mechanically using a spring system. Higher rotational speeds generates the centrifugal forces which compress a spring. Force the weight rotates the blades to vary the blade angle.

Nowadays, electronic controller senses the power outputs at intervals and accordingly sends a elec. signal to vary the pitch of the blade .

YAW POWER CONTROL

Yaw control is getting control over rotational speed and power output by rotating the whole rotor mechanism out of the wind direction.

This technique is used for small wind turbines of 1 KW rated power or less.
It may subject large wind turbines to cyclic stresses that can lead to the fatigue failure of the entire structure.

BASIC COMPONENTS OF A WIND MACHINE

 AERO TURBINES convert energy in moving air to rotary mechanical energy. It requires pitch control and yaw control. It transmits power to the generator through mechanical interface consisting of a step up gear and coupling. Sub-Components: 1) Wind Rotor 2) Windmill Head 3) Transmission and control 4) Supporting Structure

Wind Rotor may be of horizontal axis or vertical axis. Vertical axis rotors operate in all wind directions and need no yaw adjustments.

 Windmill Head supports the rotor, housing, the rotor bearings and the control mechanisms incorporated.
Transmission. Rotation rate produced by the rotor are very low while the rate needed for power generation in very large. Transmission options are mechanical systems involving fixed ratio gears, and chains, singly or in combination or hydraulic systems involving fluid pumps and motors.

Controls needed for 1. Startup/cut in of equipment 2. Power variations 3. Generator output monitoring 4. Shutdown due to high winds 5. Auxiliary power

 Towers. Four types of supporting towers deserve consideration:

1. 2. 3. 4.

The reinforced concrete tower The pole tower The built up shell tube tower The truss tower

Minimum tower height should generally be 10 m while the max. practical height is 60 m.

 The rotor on an UPWIND turbine is in the front of the unit, positioned similar to a propeller driven airplane. This is the most common type of small turbines operating in the U.S. To keep it oriented into the wind, a yaw mechanism such as a tail is needed.

Its advantage is the reduced tower shading. The air will start to bend around the tower before it passes it so there is some loss of power from the interference, just not the degree as in the downwind turbine.
But due to repeated changes in

wind forces on the tower, it will tend to generate vibrations and may eventually get damaged.

 The DOWNWIND turbine has its rotor on the back side of the turbine. The nacelle typically is designed to seek the wind, thus negating the need for a separate yaw mechanism. Advantage: Such turbines may be less expensive and can relieve stress on the tower during high or gusty wind conditions since the flexing allows the wind load to act directly on the blades instead of the tower. Tower shadow is problem with a downwind machine since the rotor blade actually passed behind the tower. This can cause turbulence and increased fatigue on the unit.

CLASSIFICATION OF WEC SYSTEMS

1. According to selection of AXIS: - Horizontal Axis Machines - Vertical Axis Machines
2. According to SIZE: - Small Scale ( up to 2KW) - Medium Size Machines ( 2-100 KW) - Large Scale (above 100 KW) 3. According to the OUTPUT POWER: - DC output - AC output 4. According to the ROTATIONAL SPEED - Constant Speed - Nearly Constant Speed (with fixed pitch blades) - Variable Speed (with fixed pitch blades)

 Utilization of the output power may be in different forms like

Battery storage Direct connection to an electromagnetic energy converter

Other forms (thermal potential etc.) of storage

Interconnection with conventional electric utility grids

HORIZONTAL - AXIAL MACHINES

The common with turbines with a horizontal axis may be simple in principle,

but the design of a complete system (esp. a large one) is complex.

Some of the horizontal axis type wind machines are as follows: 1. Horizontal axis using two aerodynamic blades 2. Horizontal axis propeller type using single blade 3. Horizontal axis multibladed type

4. Horizontal axis wind mill Dutch type

5. Sail type
All the above types mentioned are briefly explained in the following slides.

 Horizontal Axis using two aerodynamic blades has a rotor with two blades which drives a generator through a step up gear box. The blade rotor is usually designed to be oriented downwind of the tower. The rotor blades are constantly flexed by unsteady aero-dynamic, gravitational and inertia loads when the machine is in operation. Because of high cost of blades of blades, rotors more than two blades are not recommended. Though, rotors with more than two blades(say 3 or 4) have a slightly higher power coefficient.

 Horizontal Axis Propeller type using single blade has a long blade mounted on a rigid hub. The system includes induction generator and (planetary) gear box. In extremely long blades on rigid hub, large blade root bending moments may occur occur due to tower shadow, gravity and sudden shifts in wind directions. To reduce rotor cost, use of low cost counterweight is recommended which balances long blade centrifugally. Its simple blade controls, low cost and rugged structure is opposed by the vibration produced due to aerodynamic torque, blade bending and its unconventional appearance.

 Horizontal Axis Multibladed type machines have multi-blades made of sheet metal or aluminium, on rotor.

The rotors have high strength to weight ratios and work steadily even at 60 km/hr winds.

The wind-engaging end of each blade is arc-shaped and is turned about 120 degrees to maximize efficiency. They have good power coefficient, high starting torque along with simplicity and low cost.

 Horizontal Axis wind mill Dutch type has one of the oldest designs. The blade surfaces are made from array of wooden scale which feather at high wind speeds.

Sail type Blades are the recent origin.

The blade surfaces is made from cloth, nylon or plastics arranged as mast and pole or sail wings . Horizontal axis types have better performance and their general applications include electric power generation and pumping water.

VETRICAL AXIS MACHINES

Vertical-axis machines so called panemones are the wind energy converters that predominantly use DRAG forces to rotate the rotors.
They have:

1. 2. 3. 4.

High starting torques compared to lift devices Relatively low top-to-wind speeds Lower power coefficients at high TSR Difficult to be controlled in strong winds

Though lower efficient, panemones offer simpler design and low construction and maintenance costs. Moreover, the transmission and generator are the ground .

 Vertical axis machines react to the wind from any direction so no yawing equipment required to turn the rotor. As the blades do not turn end over end, the rotor is not subjected to cyclic gravity loads; a major benefit in design considerations. Vertical axis machines are less known compared to horizontal axis machines. The two types of vertical axis machines are: 1. THE SAVONIUS TYPE ROTOR OR S TYPE

2.

DARRIEUS TYPE MACHINE

SAVONIUS TYPE ROTOR

Savonius Rotor is the simplest of the modern types of wind energy conversion systems which works like a cup-anemometer. Two half cylinders facing opposite to each other mounted on vertical axis normal to wind. Wind dashes cupped face and reduces pressure on its back sides; both help to drive the rotation. That is due to the wide slot between inner edges.

 Characteristics of Savonius Rotor: 1. Self starting 2. Low Speed 3. Low efficiency Advantages of Savonius Rotor: 1. As it is vertical, it eliminates the cost of expensive transmission system 2. Wind flow intensity and Direction not an issue 3. Simple structure 4. Yaw / Pitch controls not needed 5. Over all reduced weight Disadvantages of Savonius Rotor: 1. Machine becomes too solid with unnecessary extra weight 2. Not much useful for tall installations

Darrieus Rotor
The Darrieus rotor wind machine was originally invented and patented in 1925 by G.J.M. Darrieus, a French engineer.

The machine makes use of an efficient airfoil, which effectively intercepts large area wind with a small blade area.
Along with the advantages a vertical-axis machine, it also minimizes the bending stresses in normal operation. It has 2 or 3 thin, curved blades of airfoil c/s, and constant chord length.

 Pure tension on the blades due to rotation provides stiffness to help withstand the wind forces. Characteristics of Darrieus Rotor:

1. 2. 3. 4.

Low starting torque High Speeds High efficiency Potentially low capital cost

Darrieus Rotors can also be combined with various auxiliary rotors to increase their starting torque.

 Advantages of Darrieus Rotor: 1. Accepts wind from any direction

2. It can be operated on ground level

3. It eliminated Yaw control and provides a simple structure 4. Airfoil manufacture costs are quite less than conventional rotor blades. Absence of pitch control reduces further costs.

Disadvantages of Darrieus Rotor: 1. Requires initial Mechanical Aid for start up 2. Rotor efficiency lesser than conventional horizontal rotors 3. As at the ground level, it experiences lower wind speeds 4. Vibratory stresses encountered due to varied local flow conditions per revolution

PERFORMANCE CURVES OF WIND MACHINE

C(p)

TSR

C(t)

TSR