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Basic Components and Principle of Wind Energy Conversion

The document summarizes the basic components and principle of wind energy conversion. It explains that wind turbines use wind to generate electricity by turning blades attached to a rotor that spins a generator. The rotor is mounted on a tower and connected to gearing that spins the generator faster to produce electricity. Key components include blades, a gear box, generator, and controller to start and stop the turbine based on wind speed.

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NIKHIL SOLOMON P URK19CS1045
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139 views11 pages

Basic Components and Principle of Wind Energy Conversion

The document summarizes the basic components and principle of wind energy conversion. It explains that wind turbines use wind to generate electricity by turning blades attached to a rotor that spins a generator. The rotor is mounted on a tower and connected to gearing that spins the generator faster to produce electricity. Key components include blades, a gear box, generator, and controller to start and stop the turbine based on wind speed.

Uploaded by

NIKHIL SOLOMON P URK19CS1045
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Basic Components of Wind

Energy Conversion and its


Principle
Principle of wind energy conversion:
Wind turbines harness the power of the wind and use it to generate
electricity. Simply stated, wind turbines work the opposite of a fan.
Instead of using electricity to make wind like a fan, wind turbines use
wind to make electricity. The wind turns the blades, which in turn spins a
generator to create electricity.
Energy in the wind turns two or three propeller-like blades around a
rotor. The rotor is connected to the main shaft, which spins a generator
to create electricity. Wind turbines are mounted on a tower to capture
the most energy. At 100 feet (30 meters) or more above ground, they can
take advantage of faster and less turbulent wind. Wind turbines can be
used to produce electricity for a single home or building, or they can be
connected to an electricity grid for more widespread electricity
distribution.
This illustration provides a detailed view of the inside of a wind turbine,
its components, and their functionality.
Made from tubular steel, concrete,
or steel lattice. Supports the
structure of the turbine. Because
wind speed increases with height,
taller towers enable turbines to
capture more energy and generate
more electricity
Generator:
Produces 60-cycle AC electricity; it is usually an off-the-shelf
Low speed shaft induction generator.

Generator High-speed shaft:


Drives the generator.

Low-speed shaft:
Turns the low-speed shaft at about 30-60 rpm.
High speed shaft
Gear box:
Connects the low-speed shaft to the high-
speed shaft and increases the rotational
speeds from about 30-60 rotations per minute
(rpm), to about 1,000-1,800 rpm; this is the
Gear box rotational speed required by most generators
to produce electricity. The gear box is a
costly (and heavy) part of the wind turbine
and engineers are exploring "direct-drive"
generators that operate at lower rotational
speeds and don't need gear boxes.
Brake:
Stops the rotor mechanically, electrically, or
hydraulically, in emergencies.

Controller:
Starts up the machine at wind speeds of about 8
to 16 miles per hour (mph) and shuts off the
machine at about 55 mph. Turbines do not
Controller operate at wind speeds above about 55 mph
because they may be damaged by the high
winds.
Break
Anemometer:
Measures the wind speed and transmits wind speed
data to the controller.
Nacelle:
Sits atop the tower and contains the gear box,
low- and high-speed shafts, generator,
controller, and brake. Some nacelles are large
Anemometer enough for a helicopter to land on.
Wind vane:
Measures wind direction and communicates
with the yaw drive to orient the turbine
properly with respect to the wind.

Wind Vane
Nacelle
Yaw drive:
Orients upwind turbines to keep them
facing the wind when the direction
changes. Downwind turbines don't
require a yaw drive because the wind
manually blows the rotor away from it.
Yaw motor:
Pitch System Powers the yaw drive.
Pitch:
Turns (or pitches) blades out of the
Yaw Drive wind to control the rotor speed, and to
keep the rotor from turning in winds
Yaw Motor that are too high or too low to produce
electricity.
Blades:
Lifts and rotates when wind is blown over
them, causing the rotor to spin. Most
turbines have either two or three blades.
Rotor
Blades Rotor:
Blades and hub together form the
rotor.
Wind direction:
Determines the design of the turbine.
Upwind turbines—like the one shown
Wind Direction here—face into the wind while
downwind turbines face away.

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