3.

WIND ENERGY

The Nature of Wind

The circulation of air in the atmosphere is caused by the non-uniform heating of the earth’s
surface by the sun. The air immediately above a warm area expands, it is forced upward by
cool, denser air which flows in from surrounding areas causing wind.

The nature of the terrain, the degree of cloud and the angle of the sun in the sky are all factors
which influences this process.

In general, during the day the air above the land mass tends to heat up more rapidly than the
air over water. In coastal regions, this manifests itself in a strong onshore wind. At night the
process is reversed because the air cools down more rapidly over the land and the breeze
therefore blows off shore.

Despite the wind’s intermittent nature, wind patterns at any particular site remain remarkably
constant year by year. Average wind speeds are greater in hilly and coastal areas than they
are well inland. The winds also tend to blow more consistently and with greater strength over
the surface of the water where there is less surface drag.

The Power in Wind (Wind energy conversion principles)

Wind possesses energy by virtue of its motion. Any device capable of slowing down the mass
of moving air, like a sail or propeller, can extract part of the energy and convert is into useful
work.

There are three factors determine the output power generated from the wind mill, they are

(1) The wind speed

(2) The cross section of wind swept by rotor, and

(3) The overall conversion efficiency of rotor, transmission system and generator or pump.

No device, however well-designed, can extract all of the wind’s energy because the wind
would have to be brought to a halt and this would prevent the passage of more air through the
rotor. The most that is possible is for the rotor to decelerate to whole horizontal column of
intercepted air to about one-third of its free velocity.

A 100% efficient aerogenerator would therefore only be able to convert up to a maximum of

around 60% of the available energy in wind into mechanical energy.

well-designed blades will typically extract 70% of the theoretical maximum, but losses
incurred in the gearbox, transmission system and generator or pump could decrease overall
wind turbine efficiency to 35% or less.

The power in the wind can be computed by using the concept of kinetics. The wind mill
works on the principle of converting kinetic energy of the wind to mechanical energy. We
know that power is equal to energy per unit time. The energy available is the kinetic energy
of the wind. The kinetic energy of any particle is equal to one-half its mass times the square
of its velocity, or

Kinetic Energy of particle = ½ mv2 -----(1)

Where,

M : Mass of particle (kg)

V : Velocity of particle (m/s)

The amount of air passing in unit time, through an area A, with velocity V, is A. V, and its
mass m is equal to its volume multiplied by its density p of air, or

m= ρAV -----(2)

Where m is the mass of air transversing the area ‘A’ swept by the rotating blades of a
windmill-type generator.

Substituting Equ (1) & (2)

Kinetic Energy= ½ ρAV3 --------(3)

Equation (3) tells us that the maximum wind available the actual amount will be somewhat
less because all the available energy is not extractable proportional to the cube of the wind
speed. It is thus evident that a small increase in wind speed can have a marked effect on the
power of the wind.

Equation (3) also tells us that the power available is proportional to air density (1.225 kg/m³
at sea level). It may vary 10-15% during the year because of pressure and temperature
change. It changes negligibly with water content. The equation also tells us that the wind
power is proportional to the intercept area. Thus an aero turbine C with a large swept area has
higher power than a smaller area machine, but there are added implications. Since the area is
normally circular of diameter D in horizontal axis aero turbines, then

π 2,
A= D sq.m ,
4

which when put in equation (3)gives,

1 π
Available wind power Pa= ρ D2V3 watts
2 4

1
Pa¿ ρπD2V3 -----(4)
8

The equation tells us that the maximum power available from the wind varies according to
the square of the diameter of the intercept area (or square of the rotor diameter), normally
taken to be the swept area of the aero turbine. Thus doubting the diameter of the rotor will
result in a four-fold increase in the available wind power. Equation (4) gives us insight into
why the designer of an aero turbine for wind electric use would place such great emphasis on
the turbine diameter. The combined effects of wind speed and rotor diameter variations are
shown in. Fig. 6.1. Wind machines intended for generating substantial amounts of power
should have large rotors and be located in areas of high wind speeds. Where low or moderate
powers are adequate, these requirements can be relaxed.

The power extracted by the rotor is equal to the product of the wind speed as it passes
through the rotor (i.e., V, in Fig. 6.2) and the pressure drop Ap. In order to maximize the
rotor power it would therefore be desirable to have both wind speed and pressure drop as
large as possible. However, as V is increased for a given value of the free wind speed (and air
density), Ap increases at first, passes through a maximum, and then decreases. Hence for the
specified free-wind speed, there is a maximum value of the rotor power.

Power Coefficient:

The fraction of the free-flow wind power that can be extracted by the rotor is called the
power co-efficient; Thus,

Power of wind rotor

Power coefficient =
Power available∈the wind
Where, power available is calculated from the air density, rotor diameter and free wind speed
as discussed earlier. The maximum theoretical power coefficient is equal to 16/27 or 0.593.
This value cannot be exceeded by a rotor in a free-flow wind stream.

An ideal rotor, with propeller-type blades of proper aerodynamic design, would have a power
co-efficient approaching 0.59. But such a rotor would not be strong enough to withstand the
stresses to which it is subjected when rotating at a high rate in a high-speed wind stream.

Instantaneous Wind Power

‘V’, in actuality, is not constant but is represented by a statically ‘Noisy’ wind speed time
curve, V(t) then the instantaneous power, in the wind would be,

1
Pa(t)= ρA[V(t)]3Watts -----(5)
2

Since, we are normally more interested in average power, we must take the time average of
both sides Equ. (5), signified by the bar, and written as,

1
Pa(t) = ρA[V (t)]3--------(6)
2

Equ. (6) tells us that for a non-steady state wind, it is necessary to cube the measured wind
speeds and take the average to find the average wind power available.

It is immediately obvious that this non-steady state case is more complex than the simple
steady-state case, and it is why for the former case such great emphasis is placed on
anemometry data at a proposed Wind Energy Conversion System (WECS) site.

P a(t) 1
= ρ[V (t)]3 Watts\m2 --------(7)
A 2

Transposing Equ. (7) results in Average wind power density, it is given by,

Equ. (7) says that the average available wind power per unit area is directly related to the
average of wind speed cubed. This is one useful method to characterizing the potential
specific power in the wind over a geographic area.

In practice, a wind turbine’s output will vary. There will be periods when there is insufficient
wind for the machine to generate any power at all, and times when the wind speeds are so
high that the machine has to be shut down to prevent damage.

Wind Energy Conversion

Traditional windmills were used extensively in the Middle Ages to mill grain and lift water
for land drainage and watering cattle. Wind energy converters are still used for these
purposes today in some parts of the world, but the main focus of attention now lies with their
use to generate electricity. There is also growing interest in generating heat from the wind for
space and water heating and for glass houses. Still, the potential market is much smaller than
for electricity generation.

The term "windmill" is still widely used to describe wind energy conversion systems;
however, it is hardly an opt. description any more. Modern wind energy conversion systems
are more correctly referred to as 'WECS', 'aerogenerators', 'wind turbine generators', or
simply 'wind turbines.

However, for many of the uses to which electricity is put, the interruption of supply may be
highly inconvenient. Operators or users of wind turbines must ensure that there is some form
of backup to cover periods when there is insufficient (or too much) wind available. For small
producers, backup can take the form of:

(i) battery storage;

(ii) connection with the local electricity distribution system; or
(iii) a stand-by generator powered by liquid or gaseous fuels.
Small Producers
Private citizens in several countries have won to right to operate wind generator and other
renewable energy systems and to export power to the grid. For most small wind generators
this requires that the output is conditioned, so that in the frequency and phase of the mains
supply. Only few small units are designed to maintain a constant rotational rate, so that can
be synchronized to the mains frequency and feed electricity directly into the grid. Most
current (DC) or variable output Alternating current (AC).
Power conditioning is readily achieved using an electronic black-box called a “Synchronous
Inverter” and although this is an expensive item of equipment, it does eliminate the need for
batteries and for conversion of home appliances to run on DC.
Large Producers
Large and medium-sized wind generators are designed to give a stable and constant electrical
output over a wide range of wind speeds and to feed current directly into the grid, they
operate primarily as fuel savers, reducing the utility’s total fuel burn.
The choice of generator type depends on the size of the local distribution grid and its
associated generating capacity.
Lift and Drag Force
The extraction of power, and hence energy, from the wind depends on creating certain forces
and applying them to rotate (or to translate) a mechanism. There are two primary mechanisms
for producing forces from the wind: Lift and Drag.
By definition of Lift forces act perpendicular to the air flow, while drag forces act in the
direction flow.
Lift forces are produced by changing the velocity of the air stream flowing over either side of
the lifting surface. Speeding up the air flow causes the pressure to drop, while slowing the air
stream down leads to increase in pressure.

Cross section area A-A

Basic Components of a WECS (Wind Energy Conversion System)

The main components of a WECS are shown in Fig (6.12), in block diagram form. The
summary of the system operation is as follows:
Aero turbines convert energy in moving air to rotary mechanical energy. In general, they
require pitch control and yaw control (only in the case of horizontal or wind axis machines)
for proper operation. A mechanical interface consisting of a step-up gear and a suitable
coupling transmits the rotary mechanical energy to an electrical generator. The output of this
generator is connected to the load or power grid as the application warrants.
Yaw control. For localities with the prevailing wind in one direction, the design of a turbine
can be greatly simplified. The rotor can be in a fixed orientation

In the small turbines, yaw action is controlled by a tail vane, similar to that in a typical
pumping windmill. In larger machines, a servomechanism operated by a wind-direction
sensor controls the yaw motor that keeps the turbine properly oriented.
The purpose of the controller is to sense wind speed, wind direction, shaft speed and torques
at one or more points, output power and generator temperature as necessary and appropriate
control signals for matching the electrical output to the wind energy input and protect the
system from extreme conditions brought upon by strong winds electrical faults, and the like.
The physical embodiment of such an areo-generator is shown in a generalized form in Fig.
(6.13). The sub-components of the windmill are:
 wind turbine or rotor
 windmill head
transmission and control and supporting structure
Such a machine typically is a large impressive structure.
Rotors: Rotors are mainly of two types: (i) Horizontal axis rotor and (ii) Vertical axis
rotor.
One advantage of vertical axis machines is that they operate in all wind directions and thus
need no yaw adjustment.
The rotor is only one of the important components. For an effective utilization, all the
components need to he properly designed and matched with the rest of the components.
The windmill head: supports the rotor, housing the rotor bearings. It also houses any
control mechanism incorporated like changing the pitch of the blades for safety devices
and tail vane to orient the rotor to face the wind. The latter is facilitated by mounting it on
the top of the supporting structure on suitable bearings.

Transmissions. The rate of rotation of large wind turbine generators operating at rated
capacity or below, is conveniently controlled by varying the pitch of the rotor blades, but
it is low, about 40 to 50 revolutions per minute (rpm). Because optimum generator output
requires much greater rates of rotation, such as 1800 r.p.m, it is necessary to increase
greatly the low rotor rate of turning. Among the transmission options are mechanical
systems involving fixed ratio gears, belts, and chains, singly or in combination or
hydraulic systems involving fluid pumps and motors. Fixed ratio gears are recommended
for top mounted equipment because of their high efficiency, known cost, and minimum
system risk. For bottom mounted equipment which requires a right angle drive,
transmission costs might be reduced substantially by using large diameter bearings with
ring gears mounted on the hub to serve as a transmission to increase rotor speed to
generator speed. Such a combination offers a high degree of design flexibility as well as
large potential savings.
Generator. Either constant or variable speed generators are a possibility, but variable
speed units are expensive and/or unproved. Among the constant speed generator
candidates for use are synchronous induction and permanent magnet types. The generator
of choice is the synchronous unit for large aerogenerator systems because it is very
versatile and has an extensive data base. Other electrical components and systems are,
however, under development.
Controls. The modern large wind turbine generator requires a versatile and reliable
control system to perform the following functions:
(1) the orientation of the rotor into the wind (azimuth of yaw);
(2) start up and cut-in of the equipment;
(3) power control of the rotor by varying the pitch of the blades;
(4) generator output monitoring-status, data computation, and storage;
(5) shutdown and cut out owing to malfunction or very high winds;
(6) protection for the generator, the utility accepting the power and the prime mover;
(1) sensor-mechanical, electrical, or pneumatic:
(2) decision elements-relays, logic modules, analog circuits, a micropro- cessor, a
fluidics, units, or a mechanical unit; and
(3) actuators-hydraulic, electric, or pneumatic. Arecommended combination of
electronic transducers feeding into a micro-processor which, in turn, signals electrical
actuators and provides protection through electronic circuits, although a pneumatic slip
clutch may be required.
Towers. Four types of supporting towers deserve consideration, these are:
(1) the reinforced concrete tower,
(2) the pole tower,
(3) the built up shell-tube tower, and
(4) the truss tower.
Among these, the truss tower is favoured because it is proved and widely adaptable, cost
is low, parts are readily available, it is readily transported, and it is potentially stiff. Shell-
tube towers also have attractive features and may prove to be competitive with truss
towers.
The type of the supporting structure and its height is related to cost and the transmission
system incorporated. It is designed to withstand the wind load during gusts (even if they
occur frequently and for very short periods). Horizontal axis wind turbines are mounted
on towers so as to be above the level of turbulence and other ground-related effects. The
minimum tower height for a small WECS is about 10 m, and the maximum practical
height is estimated to be roughly 60 m.
Classification of WEC Systems
1. First, there are two broad classifications:
(i) Horizontal Axis Machines. The axis of rotation is horizontal and the aeroturbine plane
is vertical facing the wind.
(ii) Vertical Axis Machines. The axis of rotation is vertical. The sails or blades may also
be vertical, as on the ancient Persian windmills, or nearly so, as on the modern Darrievs
rotor machine.
2. Then, they are classified according to size as determined by their useful electrical
power output.
(iii) Large Scale or Large Size Machines (100 kW and up). Large wind turbines are those
of 100 kW rated capacity or greater. They are used to generate power for distribution in
central power grids. There are two sub-classes:
(a) Single generator at a single site.
(b) Multiple generators sited at several places over an area.
3. As per the type of output power, wind aerogenerators are classified as:
(i) DC output: (a) DC generator (b) Alternator rectifier
(ii) AC output: (a) Variable frequency, variable or constant voltage AC.
(b) Constant frequency, variable or constant voltage AC.
4. As per the rotational speed of the aero turbines, these are classified as:
(i) Constant Speed with variable pitch blades. This made implies use of a synchronous
generator with its constant frequency output.
(ii) Nearly Constant Speed with fixed pitch blades. This mode implies an induction
generator.
(iii) Variable Speed with fixed pitch blades. This mode could imply, for con- stant
frequency output:
(a) Field modulated system
(b) AC-DC-AC link
(c) Double output induction generator
(d) AC commutator generators
(e) Other variable speed constant frequency generating systems.
5. Wind turbines are also classified as per how the utilization of output is made:
(i) Battery storage.
(ii) Direct connection to an electromagnetic energy converter.
(iii) Other forms (thermal potential etc.) of storage.
(iv) Interconnection with conventional electric utility grids.
The system engineer seeking to integrate WECS will, naturally be most interested in the
latter case but should be aware that WECS offer other options as
well.
1. Define Wind.

Wind results from air motion. Air in motion arises from a pressure gradient. The
circulation of air in the atmosphere is caused by the non-uniform heating of the earth’s
surface by the Sun.

2. Why utilization of wind is considered as part of solar technology?

The major forcing function causing surface winds from the poles toward the equator is
convective circulation. Solar radiation heats the air near the equator, and this low density
heated air is buoyed up. At the surface it is displaced by cooler more dense higher
pressure air flowing from the poles. In the upper atmosphere near the equator, the air thus
tends to low back toward the poles and away from the equator. The net result is a global
convective with surface winds from north to south in the northan hemisphere.

It is clear from the above over simplified model that the wind is basically caused by the
Solar Energy irradiating the Earth. This is why wind utilization is considered part solar
technology.

3. What are the different causes of Local Winds?

Local winds are caused by two mechanisms. They are

i. Differential heating of land and water, and
ii. Air heating in hills and mountainsides

4. Give the relationship between wind speed and height

Wind speeds increase with height. They have traditionally been measures at a standard
height of 10m where they are found to be 20-25% greater than close to the surface. At
height of 60m they may be 30-60% higher because of the reduction in the day effect of
Earth’s surface.

5. What are the factors determine the output from a wind energy converter:

i. The wind speed,

ii. The cross-section of wind swept by rotor, and
iii. The overall conversion efficiency of the rotor, transmission system and generator or
pump.

6. What are the conversion losses available wind energy conversion system.

A 100% efficient aerogenerator would able to convert upto a maximum 60% o the
available energy in wind into mechanical energy. Well-designed blades will typically
extract 70% of the theoretical maximum, but losses incurred in the gearbox, transmission
system and generator or pump could decrease overall wind turbine efficiency to 35% or
less.

7. Give the expression for available wind power.

8. Draw the curve a shows the combined effects of wind Speed and Rotor Diameter
on wind power generation.

9. Define Power Co-efficient.

The fraction of the free-flow wind power that can be ectracted by a rotor is a called the
power co-efficient. Thus

Power Coefficient = Power of wind rotor / Power available in the wind

Where, power available is calculated from the air density, rotor diameter and free wind
speed as discussed earlier. The maximum theoretical power coefficient is equal to 16/27
or 0.593. This value cannot be exceeded by a rotor in free-flow wind-stream.

10. What are the advantage o selecting sites with annual mean wind speeds and
building larger rather than smaller wind generator?
i . The power available in the wind increases as cube o the wind speed; doubling the wind
speed increases the power available by eight old and

ii. Doubling the diameter of the turbine’s rotor quadruples the swept area and hence the
power output from the device. (This law only applies to horizontal axis machines, for
vertical axis machines the changes in power output with diameter will be determined by
the geometry of the rotor).

11. Write the general Energy Equation for Steady State Flow.

The general energy for steady state flow for unit mass (for a control volume) is:

12. Write the energy flow equation in terms of wind energy conversion.

Considering the incoming air between ‘i’ and ‘a’ as a thermodynamic system, and
assuming that the air density remains constant (since changes in pressure and temperature
are very small compared to ambient), that the potential energy is zero, and no heat or
work are added or removed between ‘i’ and ’a’, the general energy equation reduces to
the kinetic and low energy-terms. Thus,

13. Write down the condition for maximum power generation in wind conversion
system.
The condition for maximum power generation from wind conversion system is given by,
14. Write down the expression or maximum power generated from an ideal wind
turbine with horizontal axis.

15. What are the different types o forces acting on propeller type wind turbine.

There are two types of forces which are acting on the blades. They are

(1) Circumferential force acting in the direction of wheel rotation that provides the
torque, and

(2) Axial force acting in the wind stream that provides an axial thrust that must be
countered by proper mechanical design.

16. Write down the expression for Circumferential and Axial Thrust Force.

17. What is the function of back-up in small producers?

For small producers, back-up can take the form of

(1) Battery storage

(2) Connection with the local electricity distribution systems, or
(3) A stand by generator powered by liquid or gaseous fuels Drag force

18. What are the mechanisms for producing forces from wind?

There are two primary mechanism for producing forces from the winds. They are

i. Lift force, and ii. Drag force When life force

19. Define Air foil

Lift forces are produced by changing the velocity of the air stream flowing over either
side of the lifting surface. Speeding up the airflow causes the pressure to drop, while
slowing the air stream down leads to increase in pressure.

This pressure difference produces a force that begins to act on the high-pressure side and
moves towards the low pressure side of the lifting surface which is called an air foil.

20. Define Magnus Effect

Magnus Effect, caused by spinning a cylinder in an air stream at a high-speed of rotation.

The spinnings slows down the air speed on the side where the cylinder is moving into
wind and increases it on the other side; the result is similar to an airfoil. This principle has
been put to practical use in one or two cases but is not generally employed.

21. Define Thwaits Slot

To blow air through narrow slots in a cylinder, so that it emerges tangentially; this is
known as a Thwaits Slot.

Thwaits Slots also creates a rotation (or circulation) of airflow, which in turn generate lift.
Because the lift drag ratio of airfoils is generally much better than those of rotating or
slotted cylinders, the latter techniques probably have little practical potential.

22. Define Stalling.

When lift decreases and the drag increases quite substantially; this phenomenon is known
as Stalling. For efficient operation, a wind turbine blade needs to function with as much
lift and as little drag as possible because drag dissipates energy.

23. Give some important factor consider for side selection of WECS

1. High annual average wind speed:

2. Availability of anemometry data:
3. Availability of wind V(t) Curve at the proposed site:
4. Wind structure at the proposed site:
5. Altitude of the proposed site:
6. Terrain and its aerodynamic:
7. Local Ecology
8. Distance to road or railways:
9. Nearness of site to local centre/users:
10. Nature of ground:
11. Favourable land cost:

24. What are the major broad classification of WECS?

There are two broad classification of WECS. They are

i. Horizontal Axis machines and ii. Vertical Axis machines

25.What are the different types of vertical axis wind turbines.

i. Savonius Rotor type machines ii. Darrieus type machines