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Slides Lecture13 2012

This document discusses wind turbines and wind power. It covers several topics: 1. Wind turbine size is increasing due to longer blades that generate more power per turbine, access to higher wind speeds, and overall power increases of up to 60 times. 2. Turbine efficiency is highest at optimal blade tip speed ratios of around 5-6. This helps determine blade rotation rates. 3. Wind power cannot be extracted at all wind speeds - it is ineffective at low speeds and risks damage at very high speeds, so turbines have mechanisms to adjust based on wind conditions. 4. Getting power from a wind turbine to the electrical grid requires converting the variable rotational speed to a constant 60Hz AC current,

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18 views

Slides Lecture13 2012

This document discusses wind turbines and wind power. It covers several topics: 1. Wind turbine size is increasing due to longer blades that generate more power per turbine, access to higher wind speeds, and overall power increases of up to 60 times. 2. Turbine efficiency is highest at optimal blade tip speed ratios of around 5-6. This helps determine blade rotation rates. 3. Wind power cannot be extracted at all wind speeds - it is ineffective at low speeds and risks damage at very high speeds, so turbines have mechanisms to adjust based on wind conditions. 4. Getting power from a wind turbine to the electrical grid requires converting the variable rotational speed to a constant 60Hz AC current,

Uploaded by

haashill
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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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  

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