Introduction to

Wind Energy
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 Wind
 Wind is the natural movement of air of any velocity on the surface
of earth due to difference in pressure.
 The difference in pressure is generated by the uneven heating of
Earth’s surface by the Sun
 The air moves from area of high pressure to area of lower pressure.
Wind
Land Breeze and Sea Breeze
 Wind Energy or Power
 Wind energy is the process of converting this motion into
mechanical or electrical power.
First Wind Turbine for Electricity Generation
Size and Application of Wind Turbines
Evolution of the US Commercial Wind Turbines
Onshore and Offshore Wind Farms
Onshore Wind Farms
Offshore Wind Farm
Future Expectation of Wind Turbines
Types of Wind
Turbines
Types of Wind Turbines
 Vertical axis wind turbines (VAWT).
 Horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWT).
 These are classified by the axis of the main
axle that the blades are attached to, if the axe
is horizontal then HAWT, if it is vertical then
VAWT.
 Vertical Axis
Wind Turbines
Vertical axis wind turbines
(VAWT)
 The axis of rotation of the blades is vertical.
Advantages of the VAWT
 Omnidirectional (VAWT operates in all wind
directions).
 Components including the generator are
mounted on the ground, this leads to low
maintenance cost and light weight towers.
 Uses less materials to capture the same amount
of wind compared to the HAWT.
Disadvantages of the VAWT
 The blades are close to the ground, in which the wind
speeds are low leading to low generation of electricity.
 They do not take advantage of the higher wind speeds at
higher elevations above the ground as well as horizontal
axis turbines.
 Poor self-starting capabilities due to heavy weight.
 Requires the rotor to be completely removed to replace
the bearings.
 Requires support at the top of the rotor.
 Not successful commercially.
 Overall poor performance and reliability.
Horizontal Axis
Wind Turbines
Horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWT)
 The axis of rotation of the blades is horizontal.
 There are two types of HAWT, the upwind and the downwind.
 The upwind faces the wind and there is no shadowing effect.
 The downwind is behind the wind and it is affected by shadowing
effect.
Advantages of the HAWT
 High efficiency.
 HAWTs are formed of large towers, leading to exposure to high wind
speed, hence more power is generated.
 Self starting.
Disadvantages of the HAWT
 Components are placed on the top of the tower leading to difficulty
in maintenance.
 Difficulty in installation.
 Interference with radio waves.
 Tall towers lead to environmental problems.
Conclusion
 The Vertical Axis Turbine or VAWT is easier to design and maintain
but offers lower performance than the horizontal axis types due to
the high drag of its simple rotor blade design.
 Most wind turbines generating electricity today either commercially
or domestically are horizontal axis machines so it is these types of
wind turbine design we will look at in this wind energy course.
Number of Rotor
Blades and Rotor
Solidity
Rotor Solidity
𝐵𝑙𝑎𝑑𝑒 𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 3𝑎
 Rotor solidity = 𝑆𝑤𝑒𝑝𝑡 𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 = 𝐴

 Low solidity (0.1) leads to small

number of blades, light weight of
blades, high speed, and low starting
torque.
 High solidity (>0.8) leads to large
number of blades, large weight of
blades, low speed, and large starting
torque.
 Low solidity used in electricity
generation.
 High solidity used in water pumping
systems.
Rotor Solidity

 Low solidity used in electricity  High solidity used in water pumping

generation. systems.
Even or Odd Number of Blades?
 Modern wind turbine engineers avoid building large machines with an even
number of rotor blades.
 A rotor with an even number of blades causes stability problems for a
machine with a stiff structure.
 This is because each rotor blade has an exact and opposite blade which is
located 180 degrees in the opposite direction. As the rotor rotates, the very
moment the uppermost blade is pointing vertically upwards (12 o’clock
position) the lower most blade is pointing straight down in front of the
turbine support tower.
 The result is that the uppermost blade bends backwards, because it receives
the maximum force from the wind, called “thrust loading”, while the lower
blade passes into the wind free area directly in front of the supporting tower.
 A rotor with an odd number of blades can be like a disc when calculating
the dynamic properties of it.
 A wind turbine design which has an “ODD” number of rotor blades (at least
three blades) rotates smoother than even number of blades because the
forces are more evenly balanced across the blade leading to increasing of
the stability of the turbine.
Number of Odd Blades?
 The one-bladed type of wind turbines does exist and saves the cost of
extra rotor blades with a higher rotational speed, but they are not
widespread as they have the same problems of the even blades.
 They have noise and visual problems; they require a counterweight to be
placed on the opposite side of the hub from the rotor blade in order to
balance the rotor.
 So, there is no weight-savings compared to a two-bladed design.
 The most common odd bladed wind turbine design is that of the three
bladed turbine.
 The power efficiency of a three bladed rotor is slightly above that of a
similar sized two bladed rotor.
 Other advantages of three bladed rotors include smoother operation, less
noise and fewer bird strikes which compensate for the disadvantage of
the higher material costs.
Conclusion
 Most modern wind turbines use three-bladed designs with the rotor
position maintained upwind by using electrical motors in their yaw
mechanism.
 Most of the turbines manufactured today have this design.
Gearbox
 Gearbox
 A wind turbine turns wind energy into electricity using
the aerodynamic force from the rotor blades
 A gearbox is used in a wind turbine to increase
rotational speed from a low-speed rotor to a higher
speed electrical generator.
 A common ratio is about 90:1, with a rate 16.7 rpm
input from the rotor to 1,500 rpm output for the
generator.
 Some multimegawatt wind turbines known as the
direct-drive machines without a gearbox, the generator
rotor turns at the same speed as the turbine rotor.
 Other wind turbines on the market sit in-between, with
gearbox ratios of about 30:1
Power Available in
the Wind Spectra
Factors Affecting Wind Power
 Amount of air (volume).
 Speed of air (velocity).
 Mass and density of air flowing through the area.
 The kinetic energy of a stream of air with mass m and
moving with a velocity V is

 m=ρAx
 Where ρ : the density of air, A : cross-sectional area, and X
is the distance traveled.
1
 E = ρ A x 𝑉2
2
𝑑𝐸 1 1 𝑑𝑥 1
 P= = 𝑚. 𝑉 2 = 2 ρ A 𝑑𝑡 𝑉 2 = 2 ρ A 𝑉 3
𝑑𝑡 2
Wind Measuring Device (anemometer)
Wind Power Density VS Velocity of Wind
 Power Extracted
From Wind Turbines
Power Extracted From Wind Turbines
 The turbine can’t extract all the power available in the wind stream.
 When the wind stream passes through the turbine, only a fraction of its kinetic
energy is passed to the rotor and the air leaving the turbine carries the rest.
 The power coefficient of a turbine depends on many factors such as the profile of
the rotor blades, blade arrangement and setting etc.
Power Extracted from Wind Turbines
Maximum Rotor
Efficiency
Maximum Rotor Efficiency CPmax

 Consider a wind turbine with rotor of area AT, placed in a wind

stream as shown in Fig.
 V is the upwind velocity of the stream.
 Vd is the downwind velocity of the stream.
 Vb is the wind speed at the rotor blades. Wind stream tube (Betz model)
 Vb = ½ (V+Vd ).
(V – Vb)
 a= .
V
 CP = 4 a (1- a)2.

𝑚. = ρ A 𝑉
Maximum Rotor Efficiency CPmax
(V – Vb)
 Vb = ½ (V+Vd ), a = , CP = 4 a (1- a)2
V
 Maximum value of CP (CPmax) is obtained by differentiating the coefficient of
performance with respect to a and equating it with zero:
𝑑cP 1
 = 0 , the solution will be equal to a = .
𝑑𝑎 3
 In other words, the blade efficiency will be a maximum if it slows the wind to one-third
of its upstream velocity.
2 1
 Therefore, at maximum extracted power : Vb = V, Vd = V.
3 3
 CPmax = 4(1/3)(2/3)2 = 16/27 = 0.593 (Betz Limit )
 59% efficiency is the BEST a conventional wind turbine can do in extracting power from
the wind
Maximum Rotor Efficiency CPmax
Factors Affecting
Wind Speed and
Density
Height of Tower
Factor 1: Height of Tower
Factor 1: Height of Tower
 Winds move more slowly at ground level due to friction.
 The reason is that there are surface objects such as trees, rocks, houses, etc. slow the air as it collides into them.
 The influence of this friction is less with height above the ground, so the friction decreases with height, so wind speed
increases as the height increases.
Factor 1: Height of Tower
Factor 1: Height of Tower
Factor 1: Height of Tower
Factor 1: Height of Tower
Factor 1: Height of Tower at Least 2H of the Obstacle
Factor 1: Height of Tower
Air Density
Factor 2: Air Density – Ideal Gas Law
Factor 2: Air Density – Ideal Gas Law
Example
Example
 An anemometer mounted at a height of 10 m above a surface with friction coefficient of 0.2 , shows a wind
speed of 5 m/s.
 Estimate the wind speed and the specific power in the wind at a height of 50 m. Assume 15◦C and 1 atm of
pressure.

Solution

50
 V = 5·( )0.2 = 6.9 m/s.
10
1
 Specific power = P/A = ρ 𝑉 3
2
1∗28.97∗10−3
 ρ= = 1.225 kg/ m3
8.2∗10−5 ∗(273+15)
1
 Power density at 50 m= ρ 𝑉 3 = 0.5 × 1.225 × 6.93 = 201 W/m2
2
 Power density at 10 m = 76.5 W/m2
Example
Example
 A wind turbine with a 30-m rotor diameter is mounted with its hub at 50 m above the ground surface (α = 0.2).
 Estimate the ratio of specific power in the wind at the highest point that a rotor blade tip reaches to the lowest
point that it falls to.

Solution
 Radius = D/2 = 30/2 = 15 m.
 The ratio of power at the top of the blade swing (65 m)
to that at the bottom of its swing (35 m) =
Applied Force on
Wind Turbine
and Torque
Applied Force on Wind Turbine and Torque
 The thrust force experienced by the rotor (F) can be expressed as
1
𝑃 ρ A 𝑉3 1
 F= = 2
= ρ A 𝑉2
𝑉 𝑉 2
1
 Torque = F*R = ρ A 𝑉 2 R, this torque is a theoretical torque,
2
and the actual torque is
1
 T= ρ A 𝑉 2 R CT
2
T
 CT is the torque coefficient, and it is equal to 1
2
ρ A 𝑉2R
Applied Force on Wind Turbine and Torque

 Where Ω or ω is the angular velocity, N is the rotational speed of the rotor

(revolutions per second).
 The tip speed ratio (TSR) or (λ) is the ratio between the velocity of the
rotor tip and the wind velocity.
Applied Force on Wind Turbine and Torque

 TSR: High value leads to low Cp because

at high speed of the turbine, this will lead to
more turbulences that will lead to reduction
of the efficiency.
 TSR: Low value leads to low Cp because at
low speed of rotor, too much wind will pass
without taking advantage of it, leading to
power losses.
Applied Force on Wind Turbine and Torque
Effect of Number of Blades on TSR

 Large number of blades lead to large weight

of blades leading to low rotational speed
and low TSR.
 Small number of blades lead to small
weight of blades leading to high rotational
speed and high TSR.
Example
Example
 Consider a wind turbine with 5 m diameter rotor. Speed of the rotor at 10 m/s wind velocity is 130 r/min and its
power coefficient at this point is 0.35.
 Calculate the tip speed ratio and torque coefficient of the turbine.
 What will be the torque available at the rotor shaft? Assume the density of air to be 1.24 kg/m3.

Solution

1
T= ρ A 𝑉 2 R CT
2
 Wind Turbine
Generator
Characteristics
Wind turbine power output as a function of wind speed.
 The generator does not start producing electricity until the available
power in the wind exceeds the power needed to overcome the windage
and friction losses in the whole system.
 The wind speed at which the generator starts producing electricity is
called cut-in wind speed (Vcut-in).
 As the wind turbine speed increases, the power output of the generator
increases until the generator produces its rated power output.
 The wind speed at which the generator produces its rated output is
called rated wind speed (Vrated).
 When the wind speed reaches a point where the wind turbine is
rotating at a dangerously high speed, with the possibility of
destruction, the wind turbine is furled, and the generator is stopped.
 The wind speed at which the generator is stopped is called cut off wind
speed, Vcut-off.
 Furling prevents a wind turbine from spinning too quickly by turning
the blades away from the direction of the wind.
Important Note
 Between the cut-in and rated velocities (Vcut-in to
Vrated), the power increases with the wind velocity.
Though, theoretically, this increase should be cubic in
nature, in practice it can be linear, quadratic, cubic and
even higher powers and its combinations, depending
upon the design of the turbine.

For Vci ≤ V ≤ VR
Example
 A 2 MW wind turbine has cut-in, rated and cut-out velocities 3.5 m/s, 13.5 m/s and 25 m/s respectively.
 For 13.5 m/s < V < 25 m/s, the turbine develops its rated power of 2 MW.
 When V >25, the turbine produces no power as it is shut down.

For Vci ≤ V ≤ VR

For 3.5m/s ≤ V ≤ 13.5 m/s

Example
Example
 Assume that we have a 250-kW wind turbine with the following characteristics:
 Vci = 5 m/s, Vrated = 8 m/s, and Vco = 14 m/s
 The curve between Vci and Vrated is designed to be linear.
 Find the amount of energy generated by the turbine per month, the following figure shows the wind velocity and how many
hours it exists in a month.
Solution
 Vci = 5 m/s, Vrated = 8 m/s, and Vco = 14 m/s and the curve between Vci and Vrated is designed to be linear.
Solution
Conclusion
 To calculate energy generated from a wind turbine, we need two curves:

 1- Generator Power Curve

 2- Wind Speed Duration Curve

 Effect of Rotor
Diameter and
Generator Size on
Power
Effect of Rotor Diameter on Power
 Increasing the rotor diameter, while keeping the same generator, shifts the power curve upward so that rated
power is reached at a lower wind speed.
 This strategy increases output power for lower wind speeds.
Effect of Generator Size on Power
 Keeping the same rotor but increasing the generator size allows the power curve to continue upward to the new rated
power.
 For lower-speed winds, there isn’t much change and no noticeable effect.
 In an area with higher wind speeds, increasing the generator rated power is a good strategy.
Wind Turbines
Spacing
Wind Turbines Spacing
 When several turbines are installed in
clusters, the turbulence due to the
rotation of blades of one turbine may
affect the nearby turbines.
 In order to minimize the effect of this
rotor induced turbulence, a spacing of
3 DT to 4 DT is provided within the
rows, where DT is the rotor diameter.
 Similarly, the spacing between the
rows may be around 10 DT.
Different Types of
Towers
Different Types of Wind Turbine Towers
 Wind turbine tower is a key part of a complete wind turbine.
 Due to its huge size, the wind farm investors must pay special attention to the tower selection.
 From its material and appearance, there are 3 main types of wind turbine tower on the market.
 They are the tubular steel wind turbine tower, the lattice tower, and the concrete tower.
Tubular Steel Wind Turbine Tower
 The steel wind turbine tower is the most commonly seen tower
types in the world.
 Most large tubular steel wind turbines rely on steel for its towers,
manufactured in sections of 20 to 40 meters.
 Each section has flanges at either end.
 Workers bolt these sections together on site.
 Tubular steel towers are conical, with their diameter increasing
toward the base.
 This increases the tower’s strength and saves materials.
Advantages of Tubular Steel Wind Turbine Tower
 The advantage of steel in this tower is to provide a strong enough
base to support the height and the heavy weight of the turbine.
 Steel is also a flexible enough material to allow for the conical
shape of a tubular steel tower without breaking or resisting
pressure.
 Because it’s made from rolled steel plate, the tower is robust.
 Because of its closed structure, the internal parts are well
protected.
 The installation takes only 1-2 days to finish.
Disadvantages of Tubular Steel Wind Turbine Tower
 Due to its size, the steel wind tower requires a large and tall
factory to manufacture.
 High skill requirement to the manufacturing engineers, especially
the welding level and deformation control.
 The transportation is hard, and the cost is high. The transportation
is limited to the vehicle size and the road condition.
 The corrosion resistance can be expensive. Due to its size, you
can only add antirust cost and paint coat by spraying. In most
cases, this job is done manually, increasing the cost further.
 The installation can be painful. Apparently, you need a very big
crane which can carry at least 100 tons.
 The wind area is huge and so is the wind resistance. It needs extra
consideration during project design.
Lattice Wind Turbine Tower
 The lattice wind turbine tower is made from hundreds of steel material.
 It looks just like the traditional telecommunication tower.
 That’s also the reason why some of the lattice tower manufacturers are
also manufacturing electric transmission tower.
 They have the experience to make sure the quality is stable.
Advantages of Lattice Wind Turbine Tower
 Lattice towers provide the advantage of a smaller cost investment
compared to others.
 They use about half as much material as tubular towers and still provides
similar stiffness and reliability as tubular towers.
 Lattice towers allow wind to pass through the base and tower sections,
decreasing the pressure and resistance on the structure.
 Less welding job needed.
 The design is more flexible. By changing the steel material and by
enlarging the space, different lattice wind turbine tower can be produced
to meet different needs.
 The transportation is easier. The cost is lower.
 Hot-dip galvanizing corrosion resistance can be performed for a longer
function period, usually 30-50 years.
Disadvantages of Lattice Wind Turbine Tower
 One disadvantage according to some people is the appearance of lattice towers.
 Several complaints have led to a marketed decrease in the use of lattice towers for
modern wind turbines.
 The parts are many.
 The quantities shall be confirmed before delivery.
 The cabling and other supporting mechanism need extra protection.
Concrete Wind Turbine Tower
 In wind turbine construction, large precast concrete
parts are usually delivered to the construction site. the
precast concrete wind turbine tower is also
manufactured in sections.
 These are then assembled into a tower and then fixed to
one another.
Advantages of Concrete Wind Turbine Tower
 Large carrying capacity. The concrete structure allows
the tower to bear larger turbine and blades.
 The length of each concrete section is no longer than
4m, suitable for more roads for transportation.
 There are no fastening parts, the repair and maintenance
cost is reduced largely.
Disadvantages of Concrete Wind Turbine Tower
 Lack of tensile strength.
 This method is quite fast, but the costs associated with
the special transportation of large precast parts can
often be high.
Hybrid Wind Turbine Tower
 Steel and concrete hybrid towers are ideal for taller
turbines, as they bring the best of both materials.
 Taller towers do not need as great a diameter, reducing
the number of trees that must be cut down.
 Many experts in the industry believe that concrete-steel
hybrids are the future.
 Concrete bottom sections with tubular steel upper
sections can deliver the greatest height and stability.
 Steel provides effective protection from corrosion, a
strong and reliable way to seal towers, and a solution to
building taller and more-efficient wind turbines.