Wind Energy

Renewable It can be renew by

energy nature again and
resources again.

Wind Energy

Non-
conventional
resources
 The Earth’s Wind Systems

• Like all gases, air expands when heated, and contracts when cooled.

• Thus warm air is less dense than cold air and will rise to high altitudes when strongly

heated by solar radiation.

Heated
AIR Expand
Less Dense

Cooled
AIR Contract
High Dense
 Origin of Winds

Less heating:

• Global Winds: The primary force for

global winds is produced due to
differential heating of the earth surface at
equator (0 degree longitudes) and polar
regions (about More heating:
• Cold winds move from polar to equatorial
Figure: Global winds and their circulations.
regions.
• These air currents are also called trade winds as sailing ships in the past used these air
currents for ship movement and trading.
 Origin of Winds cont.. Local Winds

• Local winds are generated due to uneven heating.

• Uneven heating occurs on land surface and water bodies due to solar radiation.
 Wind Energy
• Sun is the main source of wind, and hence, wind is considered a form of solar energy.

• Winds are caused by the uneven heating of the atmosphere by the sun, the irregularities

of the earth’s surface, and rotation of the earth.

• Heating and cooling of the atmosphere which generates convection currents.

• The wind flow or motion energy is ‘harvested’ by modern wind turbines.

Due to different
heat capacities of
land and ocean.

(a) Wind from ocean to land during daytime, and (b) Wind from land to ocean during night.
 Wind Energy cont.

• During daytime, the air over the land mass heats up faster than the air over the oceans.
• Hot air expands and rises while cool air from oceans rushes to fill the space, creating local
winds.
• At night the process is reversed as the air cools more rapidly over land than water over
off-shore land, causing breeze.
 Advantages of Wind Energy

 Freely and abundantly available in nature.

 It is a renewable energy source.
 It does not cause pollution to environment.
 It require minimal maintenance and operating cost.

Disadvantages of Wind Energy

 It can not produce steady and consistent power.
 It can generate only low power.
Renewable:-Resources which can be renewed by nature again and again so that their supply
is not adversely affected by the rate of their consumption. Examples are:
 Wind
 Solar
 Hydel
 Geothermal
 Wind Energy Conversion System (WECS)
• If the mechanical energy is used directly by machinery, such as for a pump or grinding
stones, the machine is usually called a windmill.
• Wind turbines are also sometimes referred to as WECS.
 Wind Energy Conversion System (WECS) cont.
• Wind turbines deliver their power through a revealing shaft, and in this respect, they are
similar to other prime movers such as diesel engine and stream turbines.
• A generator can be coupled to this shaft and the electrical power delivered can be used to
serve the multitude of different purposes for which electricity is required today.
• In practice, an important difference between the wind turbine and the power delivered
by engines and stream turbines is that the power delivered by wind turbines to the same
extent uncontrolled and unpredictable over very short periods of time.
• In most applications for electricity, power is normally required on demand and not
whenever available. Therefore, it is important to have some storage or reserve supply.
This requirement has been one of the main limitations.
• If the mechanical energy is then converted to electricity, the machine is called a wind
generator.
 Air Mass Density
From the universal gas equation,

Where,
is the density of in kg/m3

P is the air pressure in Pascal i.e., N/m3

R is the specific gas constant for air i.e., 287 J/kg.K
T is the air temperature in degree Kelvin (K = °

An approximate value of based on altitude only is given by

𝟒 .z,
Where z = elevation in meters
For design purpose, it is quite common to use = 1.2 kg/m3
 Energy and Power in the Wind

• The energy contained in the wind is its kinetic energy.

𝟏 𝟐
• Kinetic energy =
𝟐

Where, m = Mass of the air , kilograms

V = Velocity of the air, m/s

That is:

Substituting for m in (1) above gives:

𝟑
Kinetic energy per second = 0.5 (joules per second)
 Energy and Power in the Wind cont..

Density of air = 1.2256 kg 𝟑

The power in the wind is proportional to:

• The density of the air
• The area through which the wind is passing (i.e. through a wind turbine rotor),
• The cube of the wind velocity.

𝑷𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝟑
𝑨
 Energy and Power in the Wind cont..

Energy is defined as (power x time)

Wind energy density over time 0 to t,

𝑬𝒘 𝒕 𝑷𝒘
𝟎 𝑨
.dt
𝑨

𝑬𝒘 𝟑 dt
𝑨

𝒘 𝟑
indicates time in hours
 Wind Potential

• In order for a wind energy system to be feasible, there must be an adequate wind supply.

• A wind energy system usually requires an average annual wind speed of at least 15 km/h.

• Table represents a guideline of different wind speeds and their potential in producing

electricity.

• A wind generator will produce lesser power in summer than in winter at the same wind

speed as air has lower density in summer than in winter.

• Similarly, a wind generator will produce lesser power in higher altitudes—as air pressure

as well as density is lower—than at lower altitudes.

 Wind Turbine Performance with Wind Speed

• Obstructions such as trees or hills can interfere with the wind supply to the rotors. To
avoid this, rotors are placed on top of towers to take advantage of the strong winds that
blow high above the ground.
• The towers are generally placed 100 m away from the nearest obstacle. The middle of the
rotor is placed 10 m above any obstacle that is within 100 m.
Installation of wind turbine (simple rule of thumb)
Wind Turbine Siting
Q. Wind speed is 10 m/s at the standard atmospheric pressure. Calculate (i) the total power
density in wind stream, (ii) the total power produced by a turbine of 100 m diameter with an
efficiency of 40%.
𝟏 𝟑
𝑻𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝑷𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝟐𝝆𝑨𝑽 𝟏 𝟑
Solution: (i) Total Power density = =
𝑨𝒓𝒆𝒂 𝑨 𝟐
𝟑 613 𝑾 𝒎𝟐

𝑫𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒑𝒖𝒕
(ii) Efficiency =
𝑹𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒑𝒖𝒕

𝑷𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒆𝒅
0.40 = 𝝅
𝟔𝟏𝟑× ×𝟏𝟎𝟎𝟐
𝟒

Power produced = 1924820 W 1924.82 kW

 Principle of Power Generation or Betz model of expanding airstream tube
Airstream tube Law of continuity
𝟎 𝟎 𝟐 𝟐= constant

Where,
𝟎
𝟏
𝟐

• The rotor of the wind turbine collects wind from the whole area swept by the rotor.
• Air mass flow rate should be same everywhere within the stream tube.
 Bernoulli’s Principle

• It is based on the principle of conservation of energy.

• In a steady flow the sum of all forms of mechanical energy in a fluid along a streamline is

the same at all points on that streamline.

 DESIGN OF WIND TURBINE ROTOR
Axial Thrust Acts in the same direction
Two forces that operate on as that of the flowing wind
the blades of a propeller stream.
type wind turbine
Circumferential
force Acting in the direction of
wheel rotation that
provides the torque.
 Mechanical Power

𝑻
 Numerical Problems
Q1. Wind at one standard atmospheric pressure and 15°C has a speed of 10 m/s. A 10-m
diameter wind turbine is operating at 5 rpm with maximum efficiency of 40%. Calculate
(i) The total power density in wind stream,
(ii)The maximum power density,
(iii) The actual power density,
(iv) The power output of the turbine, and
(v) The axial thrust on the turbine structure.
 Numerical Problems
Q2. A WEG generates 1500 watts at rated speed of 24 kmph at the atmospheric pressure and
temperature of 20°C. Calculate the change in output if the wind generator is operated at an
altitude of 1800 m, temperature 10°C, wind speed 30 kmph, and air pressure 0.88 atmosphere.
 AERODYNAMIC OPERATION OF WIND TURBINES

Aerodynamics
deals

Movement of solid bodies

through the air

In wind turbines,
aerodynamics provides a method to explain the
relative motion between airfoil and air

Airfoil is the cross-section of the wind turbine blade.

 Some Examples of Streamlined Shapes

Ellipse
Air flow Streamlined objects
experience a smaller
drag force than that
Fish
Water flow experienced by blunt
objects

Airship
Air flow

Air flow Aerofoil

 PRINCIPLES OF WIND ENERGY CONVERSION
(AERODYNAMICS) cont..

Blunt object

Streamlined airfoil
Figure: Relative magnitudes of lift and drag
forces on a blunt object and a streamlined
airfoil.
Figure: (a) Aerodynamic lift force on blade cross-section of wind turbine, and (b) the
basic operating principle of wind turbine aerodynamic lift.
 Drag force

• Drag : It is the resistance which a body experiences when a fluid moves over it.
• The force that a flowing fluid exerts on a body in the direction of flow is called ‘drag
force’.
• Streamlined objects experience a smaller drag force than that experienced by blunt
objects.
• Generation of lift always creates a certain amount of drag force.
• Friction acts to help us as a ‘life saver’ in brakes of automobiles. Similarly, the drag force
is useful in safe landing with a parachute.
• Reduction of drag is the basic engineering approach, associated with the reduction in fuel
consumption in automobiles, aircraft and submarines.
 Lift force
• When a body is immersed in a standstill fluid, only the normal pressure force is exerted
on it.
• A flowing fluid in addition exerts tangential shear forces on the surface. Both these forces
have two components, one is drag in the flow direction, the other is perpendicular to the
fluid flow called ‘lift’.
• It causes the body to move in the upward direction. The relative magnitudes of drag and
lift forces depend completely on the shape of the object.
• Airfoils of a wind turbine are especially shaped to produce lift force on coming in contact
with the moving air.
• It is achieved by fabricating the top surface of the airfoil as curved and the bottom surface
nearly flat.
 PRINCIPLES OF WIND ENERGY CONVERSION
(AERODYNAMICS)
• There are two primary physical principles by which energy can be extracted from the
wind.
• These are through the creation of either lift or drag force (or through a combination of the
two), as shown in Figure.

Figure: Principles of wind turbine aerodynamics

 TERMS USED IN WIND ENERGY
Airfoil (Aerofoil): A streamlined curved surface designed for air to flow around it in order to
produce low drag and high lift forces.
Angle of attack: It is the angle between the relative air flow and the chord of the airfoil.

Blade: An important part of a wind turbine that extracts wind energy.

Leading edge: It is the front edge of the blade that faces towards the direction of wind flow
[Figure].
Trailing edge: It is the rear edge of the blade that faces away from the direction of wind flow
[Figure].
 TERMS USED IN WIND ENERGY cont.

Mean line: A line that is equidistant from the upper and lower surfaces of the airfoil.
Camber: It is the maximum distance between the mean line and the chord line, which
measures the curvature of the airfoil.
Rotor: It is the prime part of the wind turbine that extracts energy from the wind. It
constitutes the blade-and-hub assembly.
Hub: Blades are fixed to a hub which is a central solid part of the turbine.
 TERMS USED IN WIND ENERGY cont.
Propeller: It is the turbine shaft that rotates with the hub and blades and is called the
propeller. Blades are twisted as per design. The outer profile of the blades conforms to
aerodynamic performance while the inner profile meets the structural requirements.
Tip speed ratio: It is the ratio of the speed of the outer blade tip to the undisturbed natural
wind speed.
Swept area: This is the area covered by the rotating rotor.
Solidity: It is the ratio of the blade area to the swept area.

The fraction of the swept area

that is solid.
 TERMS USED IN WIND ENERGY cont.

𝟐𝝅×𝟐𝟎
Rad/sec
𝟔𝟎
𝟐.𝟎𝟗×𝟑
𝟒

Drag force: It is the force component which is in line with the velocity of wind.
Lift force: It is the force component perpendicular to drag force.
 TERMS USED IN WIND ENERGY cont.
Yaw control: As the direction of the wind changes frequently, the yaw control is provided to
steer the axis of the turbine in the direction of the wind.
• It keeps the turbine blades in the plane perpendicular to the wind, either in the upward
wind direction or in the downward wind direction.
 Lift Type and Drag Type Wind Turbines
• Two important aerodynamic principles are used in wind turbine operations, i.e., lift and
drag.
• Wind can rotate the rotor of a wind turbine either by lifting (lift) the blades or by simply
passing against the blades (drag).
• Wind turbines can be identified based on their geometry and the manner in which the
wind passes over the blades.
• Drag force: It is the force component which is in line with the velocity of wind.
• Lift force: It is the force component perpendicular to drag force.
Chord:- Width of
the blade from one
edge to the other
edge.
 Parts of a Wind Turbine

1. The nacelle contains the key components of the wind turbine, including the gearbox and

the electrical generator.

2. The tower of the wind turbine carries the nacelle and the rotor. Generally, it is an

advantage to have a high tower, since wind speeds increase farther away from the ground.

3. The rotor blades capture wind energy and transfer its power to the rotor hub.

4. The generator converts the mechanical energy of the rotating shaft to electrical energy.

5. The gearbox increases the rotational speed of the shaft for the generator.
 CLASSIFICATION AND DESCRIPTION
OF WIND MACHINES
• The basic wind energy conversion device is the wind turbine.
• Although various designs and configurations exist, these turbines are generally grouped
into two types depending on the position of the rotor axis.
• Figure illustrates the two types of turbines and typical subsystems for an electricity
generation application.

Figure : Wind rotor configurations (a) Vertical axis

(b) Horizontal axis
 CLASSIFICATION AND DESCRIPTION
OF WIND MACHINES cont..
• For a horizontal-axis turbine, the rotor axis is kept horizontal and aligned parallel in the
direction of the wind stream.
• In a vertical-axis turbine, the rotor axis is vertical and fixed, and remains perpendicular
to the wind stream.
 Parts of a Wind Turbine cont.
Increases the
Gearbox rotational speed of
the shaft
Nacelle
Electrical
generator

Nacelle
and the
Rotor
Tower of
the wind
turbine
Figure: Horizontal-axis wind turbine
Mechanical
Electrical
energy of the Generator
energy
rotating shaft
 Parts of a Horizontal Axis Type Wind Turbine cont.

• Blades have aerofoil type cross section to extract energy from wind.
• Hub, helps in the attachment of all blades.
 Numerical Problem

Figure: Three-bladed wind rotor

Solution
 Reference books

• Non-Conventional Energy Resources - G.S. Sawhney

• Renewable Energy Resources and Emerging Technologies – D. P. Kothari, K. C. Singal,

and Rakesh Ranjan

• Non-Conventional Energy Resources – Shobh Nath Singh

• Renewable Energy – M. K. Ghosh Roy