1. Wind Power and Wind Turbines BJ Furman K Youssefi 13FEB2008

2. Outline Wind – causes? Wind Power – example Wind Turbine Design –Aerodynamics

3. Wind – what causes it? Atmospheric pressure differences – Where does the pressure come from? Weight of air in atmosphere ~12,800 km ~31 km (99% of mass) Earth’s surface Avg. pressure at sea level –101325 Pa (Pascal) –1013.25 mb (millibar) –29.92 in. Hg (inches of mercury –1 atm (atmosphere) –14.7 psi (pound per square inch)

4. Pressure (Definition) Earth’s surface Check the formula by checking the units! Units multiply and divide like numbers! Space (zero pressure) Edge of atmosphere Okay!

5. Wind – what causes it?, cont. Pressure differences cause the flow of fluids (gases and liquids) –pressure is always measured relative to some reference pressure Sometimes relative to vacuum  absolute Sometimes relative to atmospheric pressure h PBPB PAPA The higher pressure at B will cause fluid to flow out of the tank. So, what causes pressure variations in the atmosphere? Fluid density Acceleration due to gravity Fluid height

6. Prevailing Winds Heating and cooling of the air http://trampleasure.net/science/coriolis/coriolis.png

7. Wind – what causes it?, cont. Pressure maps – Contours of constant pressure (usually 4 mb between contours – Close spacing means stronger winds –In N.H., winds circulate around a low pressure region in CCW direction

8. Weather Processor Symbols WXP Legend http://virga.sfsu.edu/inline/legend.gif

9. Review Question 1 What causes wind? A.Air pressure B.Weight of the atmosphere C.Pressure difference in atmosphere D.Low pressure E.High pressure

10. Review Question 2 What are the units of pressure? A.Force/Area B.Pascals (Pa) C.Pounds per square inch (psi) D.Millirads E.B and C

11. Wind Energy and Power Atmospheric pressure differences accelerate and impart kinetic energy into the air Wind energy conversion machines (WEC) convert wind energy into electrical or mechanical forms How much power can we extract?

12. Wind Power - Example Example: V = 10 m/s A = (2 m) 2 = 4 m 2  = 1.2 kg/m 3 http://z.about.com/d/gonewengland/1/0/5/C/leaf5.gif http://enneagon.org/footprint/jpg/dvc01w.jpg

13. Wind Power – Example, cont. Theoretical Maximum Betz Limit: 59.3% of the theoretical is the maximum amount extractable by a wind energy conversion device (WEC) Practical Maximum

14. Wind Turbine Size-Power Comparison

15. Wind Turbine Configurations HAWT VAWT Boyle, G., Renewable Energy, 2 nd ed., Oxford University Press, 2004

16. Configuration Tradeoffs Factors –Efficiency Power produced per unit cost –Directionality –Support configuration –Speed of rotation –Reliability –Cost –Maintainability Which type is best, HAWT or VAWT?

17. Common HAWT Construction Rotor Blades are connected to a hub, which is connected to a shaft Rotational speed will depend on blade geometry, number of blades, and wind speed (40 to 400 revolutions per minute typical speed range) Gear box needed to increase speed to 1200-1800 RPM for generator

18. Aerodynamics of Wind Turbine Blades Forces are transmitted from a moving fluid to an object in the flow stream –Lift = the force component perpendicular to the original flow direction –Drag = the force component in line with the original flow direction Lift Drag http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/newton3.html

19. Two Types of Turbine Designs Drag Designs –Savonius Lift Designs –VAWT Darrieus –Most HAWT designs http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/Darrieus.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Savonius_Querschnitt.png

20. Aerodynamics of HAWT Blade Boyle, G., Renewable Energy, 2 nd ed., Oxford University Press, 2004 r[L(sin  D(cos  )] = Torque Torque x rotational speed= Power

21. Aerodynamics of HAWT Blade, cont. Angle of attack,  (blade angle between chord and relative wind direction) Has a large effect on the lift and drag Typical values between 1 and 15 degrees (what is optimum?)

22. Design of HAWT Turbine Blade 5-station design as seen from the tip The blade twists to keep angle of attack constant Blade size and shape

23. Design of HAWT Turbine Blade, cont. Number of blades –Increasing the number of blades tends to increase the aerodynamic efficiency –Increasing the number of blades increases the cost (material and manufacturing –Turbines with fewer blades tend to run most efficiently at lower tip speed ratios (ratio of tip speed to wind speed) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_turbine_design

24. Review Question 3 The lift force on a wing or turbine blade is: A.In line with the relative wind direction B.Perpendicular to the relative wind direction C.Somewhere between in line and perpendicular to the relative wind direction D.Varies E.A and B

25. References http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/ http://www.aos.wisc.edu/~hopkins/a os100/sfc-anl.htm http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/g uides/mtr/prs/hghdef.rxml http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_tur bine_design http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K- 12/airplane/short.html