#windenergycourse

This is the second article in Wind Power Plants Course. This article discusses the development and early history of wind turbine. Wind turbines have gone tremendous change from crude wind trubines to the modern horizontal axis wind turbine. Human existence without technology is unthinkable. Already in primaeval times, humans discovered how to adapt and exploit what nature had to offer, and started producing tools to satisfy their needs. Humans learnt how to modify materials in order to produce items such as ceramic pots, steel articles, plastic parts, medicines and much more. They also came up with possibilities of communication ranging, for instance, from cave paintings 20,000 years old through Greek torch telegraphy right up to modern cellular phones. So is the history of the wind turbine. Not least of all, humans learned to harness the energy of fire, water and wind.

Development and History of Wind Turbine

This section describes important stages in the evolution of wind power plants The first windmill Utilization of wind energy began with sailing boats and ships more than 5000 years ago. As early as the 7th century A.D. the first windmills were built in Persia, or modern-day Iran, for the purpose of grinding grain.

First Wind Turbine in History A perspective of the mill from above (top view) reveals its operating principle.

Flow of Wind in Early Wind Turbines The force of the wind turns the fabric-lined rotor horizontally, causing the vertical shaft to drive the millstone directly. The wind collecting walls guide the wind toward one half of the rotor wheel while the other half is in the lee. This prevents the wheel from blocking itself. The wind wheel's position is fixed, i.e. suitable only for one particular wind direction. Tower windmill

Tower Wind Mill This also applies to the more advanced tower windmills. Present in the Mediterranean region for the last 1000 years or so, these windmills have operated in regions with prevailing winds. In some countries, such windmills remain in use to this day. Furnished with sails, the wind wheel rotates on a brick tower and moves the millstone via a gear mechanism. German windmill

German Wind Turbine From the Middle Ages to the 18 century, German windmills were the most commonly found type of windmill in central and eastern Europe. This design was able to follow changes in wind direction, the entire mill house being rotated via the tail. The mill house is mounted on a substructure or base. Dutch windmill

Dutch Wind Turbine Windmills reached their most advanced stage in the 17th century with the development of the Dutch windmill which incorporated an elegant solution for following changes in wind direction. Only the roof crown on which the windmill vanes are mounted turns on rollers installed along the tower's edge. As in the case of the German windmill, a tail is used to turn the superstructure, with a wind rose serving as orientation. The mill house as such remains fixed, which makes it more stable and capable of enlargement. History of Modern Wind Turbine So far, wind wheels have supplied energy for driving: mills of various typesirrigation and drainage systemshammer, stamp and saw millselectric generators

Modern Wind Turbine for Wind to Electrical Energy Conversion Development of high-speed wind turbines with aerodynamically shaped vanes began about 50 years ago. These turbines achieve higher efficiencies than conventional, low-speed wind wheels. The development of wind turbines is by no means over: Research projects involving wind power plants of various capacities are in progress worldwide.

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Introduction to Wind Power Plants

Welcome to the course titled Wind Energy Conversion Systems. The EE Power School team wishes you lots of fun and success in working through the course topics and understanding the basic concepts that lie behind the renewable energy resources. This course will provide you with a basic understanding of the functioning and working of the basic wind turbine and the grid interconnection of the wind power plants to the national power grid. The general prospects for the global wind-energy market are bright: Due to their rapidly growing energy needs, emerging economies such as China and India also need to rely on renewables if they want to catch up with industrialized nations in times of rising raw material shortages. At the end of February 2005, for instance, China passed a law promoting renewable energies. According to the Danish management consultancy BTM, annual growth in the wind power sector may rise to 115,000 MW by 2025. And a Windforce 12 study by Greenpeace and GWEC forecasts a market volume of 160,000 MW of newly installed capacity by 2020.

Wind Turbines

Wind Turbine for Wind to Electrical Energy Conversion This course on wind turbines systems describes the design and function of modern wind power plants. The control of variable-speed wind turbines is studied using a doubly-fed asynchronous generator or induction generator as an example. Wind Plant emulation tools are also discussed which can be used to emulate the behaviour of the plant realistically with a servo-machine test stand and "WindSim" software.

Learning objectives of the Wind Power Plants Course

Understanding the design and operation of wind power plantsLearning about the physical principles whereby wind power is transformed into shaft powerLearning about various wind power plant concepts Studying the design and operation of a doubly-fed asynchronous (induction) generatorInvestigating generator operation at various wind intensities, as well as control of output voltage and frequencyDetermining optimal operating points under various wind conditions

The Course Contents

This course on wind power plants cover: History of wind power plantsWind power plants in Energy MixWind power plant designComponents of a wind power plantConstant and Variable speed wind turbinesOperation of a Doubly Fed Induction Generator (DFIG)Regions of High and Low Wind ProfileThe mechanism behind wind blowingWind Speed ProfilesPhysical Principles of a Wind TurbineOperation and Power conversion of a Wind TurbinePower Calculation and Mathematical Relations

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