Course Title: Wind Energy Technology

Course No: ESE 6109

Course teacher : Nibir Mondol
Assistant Professor
Department of ESE , KUET.
 Syllabus of This Course:

Introduction to wind energy;

Wind resource estimation: Methodologies for resource
assessment and sources of uncertainty;

Different types of wind turbine: Darrious, horizontal and vertical

axis wind turbine;

Effect of different angles on moments of wind turbine;

fundamental of wind turbine design and operation;

Generation of power: mechanism for integrating wind
energy developments for electricity generation and
distribution;

Efficiency and performance of wind turbine. Tower,

alignment of turbine shaft. Recent development of wind
turbine;

Hybrid systems: solar and wind turbine.

 The wind

The earth receives around of power from the sun in the form
of solar radiation. This radiation heats up the atmospheric air. The
intensity of this heating will be more at the equator (degree latitude) as
the sun is directly overhead. Air around the poles gets less warm, as the
angle at which the radiation reaches the surface is more acute. The
density of air decreases with increase in temperature. Thus, lighter air
from the equator rises up into the atmosphere to a certain altitude and
then spreads around. This causes a pressure drop around this region,
which attracts the cooler air from the poles to the equator. This
movement of air causes the wind.
Thus, the wind is generated due to the pressure gradient resulting from the uneven heating
of earth’s surface by the sun. As the very driving force causing this movement is derived
from the sun, wind energy is basically an indirect form of solar energy. One to two per cent
of the total solar radiation reaching the earth’s surface is converted to wind energy in this
way.

The wind described above, which is driven by the temperature difference, is called the
geostrophic wind, or more commonly the global wind. Global winds, which are not affected
by the earth surface, are found at higher altitudes. The rotation of earth leads to another
phenomenon near its surface called the Coriolis effect, named after the famous
mathematician Gustave Gaspard Coriolis. Due to the Coriolis effect, the straight movement
of air mass from the high pressure region to the low pressure region is diverted.
 wind energy conversion system
Energy available in wind is basically the kinetic energy of large masses of air moving over
the earth’s surface. A wind turbine is a rotating machine that can converts kinetic energy
from the wind into mechanical energy. This mechanical energy can later be converted into
electricity to supply to the grid . This conversion is mainly done between the rotor and the
generator of the wind turbine. it should have three different parts:

 Aerodynamic part

 Mechanical part

 Electrical part
Fig. General Scheme of a Wind Turbine and Energy Conversion
 Wind energy conversion system
Wind energy conversion system mainly consists of different mechanical and
electrical components which include a wind turbine, a generator, power conversion
components, and controllers.

The most common wind turbines are three blades turbines that rotate and transmit
the rotation to an electrical generator throughout a gear box velocity conversion
system.
Generators have different types such as synchronous generators, permanent magnet
and induction generators. The power conversion components are responsible for
conversion of the unregulated AC power coming from the turbine generator to DC
power throughout a energy storage system and then from Dc power to a regulated
Ac source to meet the load current and voltage requirements. Fig. shows the wind
power conversion system general components.
Figure : wind power conversion system general components.
Different components of wind turbine system connected to power grid
 Kinetic energy
Kinetic energy, form of energy that an object or a particle has by reason of its motion. If work,
which transfers energy, is done on an object by applying a net force, the object speeds up and
thereby gains kinetic energy. Kinetic energy is a property of a moving object or particle and
depends not only on its motion but also on its mass. The kind of motion may be translation (or
motion along a path from one place to another), rotation about an axis, vibration, or any
combination of motions.
Translational kinetic energy of a body is equal to one-half the product of its mass, m, and the square
of its velocity, v,

Potential Energy:
Potential Energy: The term potential energy was introduced by the 19th-century Scottish engineer
and physicist William Rankine. There are several types of potential energy, each associated with a
distinct type of force. It is the energy by virtue of an object’s position relative to other objects.
Potential energy is the energy held by an object because of its position relative to other objects,
stresses within itself, its electric charge, or other factors.
W = m×g×h = mgh
Where, m is the mass in kilograms, g is the acceleration due to gravity, h is the height in meters
 Mechanical Energy
Mechanical Energy: Mechanical energy is the sum of kinetic energy and potential energy in an
object that is used to do a particular work. In other words, it describes the energy of an object
because of its motion or position, or both.
KE + PE = constant

Let us consider the example of an ideal simple pendulum (friction-less). We can see that the mechanical energy of this system is a
combination of its kinetic energy and gravitational potential energy. As the pendulum swings back and forth, a constant exchange
between the kinetic energy and potential energy takes place.
When the bob attains its maximum height, the potential energy of the system is the highest, whereas the kinetic energy is zero. At
the mean position, the kinetic energy is the highest, and the potential energy is zero. Between these two extreme points, we see that
the system possesses both kinetic and potential energy, the sum of which is constant. These observations tell us a lot about the
conservation of mechanical energy. But how can we prove it for every other system? In the next section, we shall learn more about
the conservation of mechanical energy using a suitable example.
Converting velocity to mass flow rate
 Converting wind energy to kinetic energy
To convert energy from wind to kinetic, wind blades of a wind turbine is used. There
are various types of wind blades with different coefficient performance for each.
When the wind passes through the wind blades, the blades will rotate. The wind
itself contains a high amount of kinetic energy caused by the movement of the wind.
Once it passes through the wind blades, the kinetic energy in the wind is reduced
significantly. The turbine will rotate and the rotation of the blades will generate its
own kinetic energy.
 Wind power extraction principle

Wind turbine blades capture the wind and convert the energy in the wind into a rotational energy
that rotates a generator shaft which is responsible for producing energy. The kinetic energy E in air
of an object of mass m moving with speed V is represented by the following equation
 The kinetic energy E in air of an object of mass m moving with speed V is represented by the
following equation (1)

The mass of air is derived from the mass flow rate equation for air

Replacing equation into equation will give us the available energy in wind

Since the relationship between power and energy is known, the theoretical power available in the wind can be
calculated by dividing the equation with time. P = E/t
the factors influencing the power available in the wind stream are the air density, area of the
wind rotor and the wind velocity. Effect of the wind velocity is more prominent owing to its
cubic relationship with the power.

The most prominent factor deciding the power available in the wind spectra is its velocity.
When the wind velocity is doubled, the available power increases by 8 times. In other words,
for the same power, rotor area can be reduced by a factor of 8, if the system is placed at a site
with double the wind velocity. The advantages are obvious.
Factors like temperature, atmospheric pressure, elevation and air constituents affect
the density of air. Dry air can be considered as an ideal gas. According to the ideal
gas law,

density is given by
 Wind turbine power and torque
1
Theoretical power available in a wind stream is given by Eq 𝑃 = 2 𝜌 𝐴 𝑉 3

However, a turbine cannot extract this power completely from the wind. When the wind stream passes the turbine, a
part of its kinetic energy is transferred to the rotor and the air leaving the turbine carries the rest away.
Actual power produced by a rotor would thus be decided by the efficiency with which this energy transfer from wind
to the rotor takes place.

This efficiency is usually termed as the power coefficient (Cp). Thus, the power coefficient of the rotor can be
defined as the ratio of actual power developed by the rotor to the theoretical power available in the wind.
Hence
pT 2PT
The power coefficient (Cp) is expressed as the equation 𝐶𝑝 = =
P 𝜌 𝐴 𝑉3

where PT is the power developed by the turbine. The power coefficient of a turbine depends on many factors such as
the profile of the rotor blades, blade arrangement and setting etc. A designer would try to fix these parameters at its
optimum level so as to attain maximum Cp at a wide range of wind velocities.
where R is the radius of the rotor. This is the maximum theoretical torque and in practice the rotor
shaft can develop only a fraction of this maximum limit.

The ratio between the actual torque developed by the rotor and the theoretical torque is termed as the
torque coefficient (CT). Thus, the torque coefficient is given by
The co-efficient of performance is not constant, but varies with the wind speed, the rotational speed of the
turbine, and turbine blade parameters like angle of attack and pitch angle. Generally, it is said that power
co-efficient, C_p, is the function of the tip speed ratio, λ (lamda), and blade pitch angle, β [degree].
The power developed by a rotor at a certain wind speed greatly depends on the
relative velocity between the rotor tip and the wind.

For example, consider a situation in which the rotor is rotating at a very low speed
and the wind is approaching the rotor with a very high velocity. Under this
condition, as the blades are moving slow, a portion of the air stream approaching the
rotor may pass through it without interacting with the blades and thus without
energy transfer.

Similarly if the rotor is rotating fast and the wind velocity is low, the wind stream
may be deflected from the turbine and the energy may be lost due to turbulence and
vortex shedding. In both the above cases, the interaction between the rotor and the
wind stream is not efficient and thus would result in poor power coefficient.
The most critical factor influencing the power developed by a wind energy conversion
system is the wind velocity. Due to the cubic relationship between velocity and power, even
a small variation in the wind speed may result in significant change in power.
Speed and direction of wind at a location vary randomly with time. Apart from the daily and
seasonal variations, the wind pattern may change from year to year, even to the extent of 10
to 30 per cent. Hence, the behavior of the wind at a prospective site should be properly
analyzed and understood.
Average wind velocity gives us a preliminary indication on a site’s wind energy potential. A
location having good average wind speed - say for example with a minimum of 7 m/s - is
expected to be suitable for wind electric generation. However, for a detailed planning, apart
from the average strength of the wind spectra, its distribution is also important. Statistical
models are being successfully used for defining the distribution of wind velocity in a
regime, over a given period of time.
 The wind

The earth receives around of power from the sun in the form
of solar radiation. This radiation heats up the atmospheric air. The
intensity of this heating will be more at the equator (0o latitude) as the
sun is directly overhead. Air around the poles gets less warm, as the
angle at which the radiation reaches the surface is more acute. The
density of air decreases with increase in temperature. Thus, lighter air
from the equator rises up into the atmosphere to a certain altitude and
then spreads around. This causes a pressure drop around this region,
which attracts the cooler air from the poles to the equator. This
movement of air causes the wind.
Thus, the wind is generated due to the pressure gradient resulting from the uneven heating
of earth’s surface by the sun. As the very driving force causing this movement is derived
from the sun, wind energy is basically an indirect form of solar energy. One to two per cent
of the total solar radiation reaching the earth’s surface is converted to wind energy in this
way.

The wind described above, which is driven by the temperature difference, is called the
geostrophic wind, or more commonly the global wind. Global winds, which are not affected
by the earth surface, are found at higher altitudes. The rotation of earth leads to another
phenomenon near its surface called the Coriolis effect, named after the famous
mathematician Gustave Gaspard Coriolis. Due to the Coriolis effect, the straight movement
of air mass from the high pressure region to the low pressure region is diverted.
 Wind direction and speed affected by the following causes

1.Local effects
2.Wind shear
3.Turbulence
4.Acceleration effect
 Time variation

Velocity and direction of wind change rapidly with time. In tune with these changes, the power and
energy available from the wind also vary. The variations may be short time fluctuation, day-night
variation or the seasonal variation.

Wind speed at a location may also change from season to season as shown in Fig. In this case, the
period between July to October is more or less lean for wind energy conversion. The root cause for
seasonal variation is changes in daylight during the year due to the earth’s tilt and elliptical orbit. This
effect is more prominent near the poles. Knowledge of these time variations of velocity at a potential
wind site is essential to ensure that the availability of power matches with the demand.
 Analysis of wind data
For estimating the wind energy potential of a site, the wind data collected from the
location should be properly analyzed and interpreted. Long term wind data from the
meteorological stations near to the candidate site can be used for making
preliminary estimates. This data, which may be available for long periods, should be
carefully extrapolated to represent the wind profile at the potential site. After this
preliminary investigation, field measurements are generally made at the prospective
location for shorter periods. One year wind data recorded at the site is sufficient to
represent the long term variations in the wind profile within an accuracy level of 10
per cent
 Average wind speed: One of the most important information on the wind spectra
available at a location is its average velocity. In simple terms, the average velocity
(Vm) is given by

For wind energy calculations, the velocity should be weighed for its power content while computing the average. Thus, the
average wind velocity is given by
 Distribution of wind velocity

Wind turbines installed at two sites with the same average wind speed may yield
entirely different energy output due to differences in the velocity distribution. For
example, consider two sites with a daily wind pattern as shown in Fig. (B&C). For
the first location, the wind velocity is 15 m/s throughout the day. At the second site,
velocity is 30 m/s for the first 12 hours and 0 for the rest of the day. In both the
cases, the daily average wind velocity is 15 m/s.
The turbine will start generating power at its cut-in wind speed of 4 m/s and the
generation will be cut-off at 25 m/s. The highest power of 250 kW will be produced
at 15 m/s, which is the rated wind speed of the systems.
the velocity is presented in the form of frequency distribution, the average and
standard deviation are given by

Here fi is the frequency and V is the mid value of the corresponding interval.
 Statistical models for wind data analysis

Weibull distribution

Weibull Analysis is a methodology used for performing life data analysis. Life data is the result of
measurements of a product's life. Weibull Analysis is an effective method of determining reliability
characteristics and trends of a population using a relatively small sample size of field or laboratory
test data.

Weibull distribution is a special case of Pierson class III distribution. In Weibull distribution, the
variations in wind velocity are characterized by the two functions;
(1) The probability density function and
(2) The cumulative distribution function.
Average wind velocity of a regime, following the Weibull distribution is given by

Taking
Substituting for dV in
the Weibull parameters k and c. The common methods for determining k and c are:
1. Graphical method
2. Standard deviation method
3. Moment method
4. Maximum likelihood method and
5. Energy pattern factor method
Weibull probability density function for different shape factors

Weibull cumulative distribution function for different shape

factors
 Graphical method

In the graphical method, we transform the cumulative distribution function in to a

linear form, adopting logarithmic scales . The expression for the cumulative
distribution of wind velocity can be rewritten as
 Standard deviation method

The Weibull factors k and c can also be estimated from the mean and standard
deviation of wind data. Consider the expressions for average and standard deviation
given

In a simpler approach, an acceptable approximation for k is

 Moment method

If M1 and M2 are the first and second moments, c can be solved as

Similarly,
 Maximum likelihood method

In the maximum likelihood method, the shape and scale factors are given as
 Energy pattern factor method

Energy pattern factor (EPF) is the ratio between the total power available in the wind and the power
corresponding to the cube of the mean wind speed

Once the energy pattern factor for a regime is found from the wind data, an approximate solution for k is