Wind Power and Wind

Turbines
BJ Furman
K Youssefi
13FEB2008
Outline
• Wind – causes?
• Wind Power – example
• Wind Turbine Design
– Aerodynamics
Wind – what causes it?
•Atmospheric ~31 km
(99% of mass)
pressure differences
– Where does the

Ea
r th
pressure come

’s
su
from?

r fa
ce
• Weight of air in
atmosphere Force
Pressure 
Area
• Avg. pressure at sea level
km

–
0

101325 Pa (Pascal)
80
2,

– 1013.25 mb (millibar)
~1

– 29.92 in. Hg (inches of mercury

– 1 atm (atmosphere)
– 14.7 psi (pound per square inch)
Pressure
Space (zero pressure)
Force
Pressure  (Definition) Edge of atmosphere
Area
Pressure  Density  g  depth
Earth’s surface

Check the formula by checking the units!


Pressure  mass
volume
 acceleration due to gravity depth

 m 
 
Pressure   kg 3   m 2  m
s
Units multiply and divide like numbers!
kg  m

 m 
 
Pressure   kg 2   1 2  m 
s m2
s2  N
m2
Okay!
Wind – what causes it?, cont.
• Pressure differences cause the flow of fluids (gases
and liquids)
– pressure is always measured relative to some
reference pressure
• Sometimes relative to vacuum  absolute
• Sometimes relative to atmospheric pressure

Fluid density Fluid height

PB    g  h   PA
h
PB PA Acceleration due to gravity

The higher pressure at B will cause fluid to flow out of the tank.

So, what causes pressure variations in the atmosphere?

Prevailing Winds
• Heating and cooling of the air

http://trampleasure.net/science/coriolis/coriolis.png
Wind – what causes it?, cont.
•Pressure maps
– Contours of
constant pressure
(usually 4 mb
between contours
– Close spacing
means stronger
winds
–In N.H., winds
circulate around a
low pressure region
in CCW direction
Weather Processor Symbols
•WXP Legend

http://virga.sfsu.edu/inline/legend.gif
Review Question 1
What causes wind?
A. Air pressure
B. Weight of the atmosphere
C. Pressure difference in
atmosphere
D. Low pressure
E. High pressure
Review Question 2
What are the units of pressure?
A. Force/Area
B. Pascals (Pa)
C. Pounds per square inch (psi)
D. Millirads
E. B and C
Wind Energy and Power
• Atmospheric pressure differences
accelerate and impart kinetic energy into
the air
• Wind energy conversion machines (WEC)
convert wind energy into electrical or
mechanical forms
• How much power can we extract?
K.E. 12 ( mass )  ( velocity ) 2
Power  
time time
mass
 density  area  velocity
time
AV 3
Power  1 2 ( density )  area  ( velocity )3 
2
Wind Power - Example
• Example:
V = 10 m/s
A = (2 m)2 = 4 m2
= 1.2 kg/m3
http://enneagon.org/footprint/jpg/dvc01w.jpg
http://z.about.com/d/gonewengland/1/0/5/C/leaf5.gif

AV 3
Power  1 2 ( density )  area  ( velocity )3 
2
Wind Power – Example, cont.

P

1.2 kg m 3 4m 2 10 m s 
3

2
kg  m 2 kg  m m m
 2400 3
 2400 2   2400 N 
s s s s
N m
P  2400  2400 W Theoretical Maximum
s
Betz Limit: 59.3% of the theoretical is the maximum amount
extractable by a wind energy conversion device (WEC)

PBetz  0.593 ( 2400W )  1423.2 W Practical Maximum

Wind Turbine Size-Power Comparison
 Wind Turbine Configurations

HAWT

VAWT

Boyle, G., Renewable Energy, 2nd ed., Oxford

University Press, 2004
Configuration Tradeoffs
• Factors
– Efficiency
• Power produced per unit cost
– Directionality
– Support configuration
– Speed of rotation
– Reliability
– Cost
– Maintainability

Which type is best, HAWT or VAWT?

Common HAWT Construction

Rotor

• Blades are connected to a hub, which is connected to a shaft

• Rotational speed will depend on blade geometry, number of blades,
and wind speed (40 to 400 revolutions per minute typical speed
range)
• Gear box needed to increase speed to 1200-1800 RPM for generator
Aerodynamics of Wind Turbine Blades
•Forces are transmitted from a moving
fluid to an object in the flow stream
–Lift = the force component perpendicular
to the original flow direction
–Drag = the force component in line with
the original flow direction

Lift

Drag

http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/newton3.html
Two Types of Turbine Designs
•Drag Designs
–Savonius

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Savonius_Querschnitt.png

•Lift Designs
–VAWT Darrieus
–Most HAWT
designs

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/Darrieus.jpg
Aerodynamics of HAWT Blade

r[L(sinD(cos)] = Torque

Torque x rotational speed= Power

Boyle, G., Renewable Energy, 2nd ed., Oxford University Press, 2004
Aerodynamics of HAWT Blade, cont.
Angle of attack,  (blade angle between chord and relative wind
direction)
•Has a large effect on the lift and drag
•Typical values between 1 and 15 degrees (what is optimum?)
Design of HAWT Turbine Blade
Blade size and shape
5-station design as seen from the tip
The blade twists to keep angle of attack constant
Design of HAWT Turbine Blade, cont.
•Number of blades
–Increasing the number
of blades tends to
increase the
aerodynamic efficiency
–Increasing the number
of blades increases the
cost (material and
manufacturing
–Turbines with fewer
blades
tend to run most
efficiently
at lower tip speed ratios
(ratio of tip speed to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_turbine_design

wind speed)
Review Question 3
The lift force on a wing or turbine
blade is:
A. In line with the relative wind
direction
B. Perpendicular to the relative
wind direction
C. Somewhere between in line and
perpendicular to the relative
wind direction
D. Varies
E. A and B
References
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/
• http://www.aos.wisc.edu/~hopkins/
aos100/sfc-anl.htm
• http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/
guides/mtr/prs/hghdef.rxml
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Wind_turbine_design
• http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-
12/airplane/short.html