Worcester

Polytechnic Institute

ECE 3501 Wind

Turbine Generator
Design
Travis Collins

ECEBox107
10/15/2009

Table of Contents
TableofFigures.........................................................................................................................................3
Introduction..............................................................................................................................................4
LiteratureReview......................................................................................................................................4
ComponentsofaTurbine.........................................................................................................................6
TurbineDesign..........................................................................................................................................9
GeneratorDesign....................................................................................................................................12
GeneralPower....................................................................................................................................12
StatorDesign.......................................................................................................................................12
Resistance...........................................................................................................................................16
RotorDimensionsandCoilInductance...............................................................................................16
FieldExcitation....................................................................................................................................18
GearRatio...........................................................................................................................................24
OverallSystem....................................................................................................................................24
Efficiency.............................................................................................................................................25
Economics...........................................................................................................................................25
Protection...........................................................................................................................................26
RideThrough.......................................................................................................................................26
WorksCited.................................................................................................................................................27
AppendixA..................................................................................................................................................28
AppendixB..................................................................................................................................................29
Simulations..................................................................................................................................................30

Table of Figures
Figure1PowerofWind................................................................................................................................5
Figure2WindVelocityDistribution..............................................................................................................9
Figure3LengthVS.TurnsforDifferentRadi..............................................................................................13
Figure4SingleConductorwithInsulation..................................................................................................14
Figure5SingleConductorwithoutInsulation............................................................................................14
Figure6ConductorwithinTeethLayout....................................................................................................15
Figure7CoilsRapsinStator........................................................................................................................16
Figure8DimensionsofRotorPoles............................................................................................................18
Figure9RotorPoleDimensions..................................................................................................................19
Figure10WidthoftheRotorShaftinRelationtoPoles.............................................................................20
Figure11FluxofftheRotorintoStator......................................................................................................20
Figure12YokeofStator..............................................................................................................................21
Figure13MagneticcharacteristicsofVacoflux50.....................................................................................22
Figure14AvailableAreainRotor...............................................................................................................23
Figure15AvailableAreainRotor...............................................................................................................24
Figure16OverallSystemDiagram..............................................................................................................25

Introduction
Theincreaseinthedemandforoilandotherfossilfuelsoverthepastfewyearshas
resultedinthedepletionofournaturalresources.Ournonrenewableenergysourcesarebeing
consumedfarfasterthantheyarebeingproducedduetothefactthatittakeshundredsof
millionsofyearstocreatefossilfuels.Ourneedforfossilfuelstopowerourliveshasdrivenup
thecostperbarrelofcrudeoilsignificantlyoverthepasttenyears.Greentechnologysuchas
windmillsandphotovoltaicpanelsactuallyproducepower,whilegreenroofsandmoreefficient
equipmentwillreduceenergyusageoverall.Manyofficesacrossthecountryarefindingways
toGoGreenandreducetheamountofwastedenergyandbecomemoreefficientand
environmentallyfriendlybuildings.Theobjectofourprojectisahighschoolbuildingthatis
planningonsubsidizingtheirentireenergyusagethroughtheuseofwindpower.Ourplanof
attackwillconsistofconductingananalysisofthecurrentwindconditionsaroundtheschool,
makedeterminationonpowerrequirementsoftheschool,andtodesignageneratorto
producethisnecessarypower.
Literature Review
Inordertoextractpowerfromthewindwewillbeexploringthepossibilityofseveral
Windturbinedesigns,thatallworkaroundthesameprincipleofenergyproduction.Rotors
thatcapturetheenergyofthewindspin,whichinternspinashaftwhichisconnectedtoan
electricalgenerator,usuallythroughsomegearingarrangement,whichinterncreateselectrical
energythroughinduction.Basedontheequationinfigure1wecanmaketheseassumptions
turnsofpowerproductionandthevelocityofthewind.Aswindspeedincreasesandincreases,
thefastertheturbinebladeswillspin,resultinginanincreaseofenergy.Wecanalsochoosea
largerrotorsizewhichwillincreaseourpowerparabolicly;unfortunatelythiscanalsohaveits
4

drawbacksduetothemassofthephysicalrotorsthewindwithhavetopush.Finallydensityof
theairalsoretainsthissamepropertybuttheeffectsarenotasdrasticandpowergainremains
linearwithchangesofairdensity.

1
2

Figure1 PowerofWind

PossiblewindrotorDesigns

Therearetwogeneraltypesofwindturbinedesigns.Theyaredeterminedbythe

orientationoftheturbinesblades,whichareeitherverticalorhorizontal.Eachdesigntypehas
theredrawbacksandbenefits.VerticalwindturbinesaremostlyvisibleoverseasinEurope
whiletheUnitedStatesfocushasremainonHorizontalaxisturbines.
Verticalaxiswindturbinesmaindesignattributeisthatmainrotorshaftismounted
vertically.ThisallowstheVerticalaxisturbinesgearboxtobeplaceclosetothegroundinstead
ofsuspendedhighintheair.ThemostobviousbenefitofVerticalturbineisthattheydont
needtobeorientedtowardstowindbecausetheycancapturewindenergyfromalldirections.
Unfortunatelytheverticaldesignshaveweaknessduetopulsatorytorque,whichoccursduring
everyrotationandthelargeflexingmomentsofthebladesthemselves.Thispulsatorytorque
createsunwantedvibrationsontherotoroftheturbineandthisstresscanresultindamageto
theturbine.
HorizontalAxisturbinesmainattributeisthatthererotatingshaftrunsparallelwiththe
ground.Thebenefitsofhavingahorizontalaxisisthatyouhavecancontrolbladepitchgiving
5

theturbinebladestheoptimumangleinrelationtothewind.Theygenerallyhaveverytall
towerswhichallowthemaccesstohighwindspeedsatthehigheraltitudes.Thisispossible
becauseofaneffectcalledwindshear,creatingalmost20%increaseinwindspeedper10
meters.Finallythefacesoftheirbladesarestruckbythewindataconsistentangleregardless
ofthepositioninitsrotation.Thiscreatesconsistentwindloadingthroughentirerevolutionsof
theblade.Thiswillalsoreducevibration,creatingmuchneedstabilitywhichisneededinthese
talltowers.

Horizontalaxisturbinesalsohavedrawsoftheirown,whichisaresultoftheirunique

constructionandsize.Firstofall,thetalltowersandblades,whichcanreach90meterslong
canbeextremelydifficultandcostlytotransport.Theyaredifficulttoinstallbecauseofthe
largemasswhichisretainintheheadortowertopoftheturbine.Themaindrawbackofthese
turbinesisthattheymustbefacingthewindtobeefficient,meaningthattheyrequireyaw
controlfororientation.Thesecontrolsaddtothecostandcomplexityoftheturbines
construction.

Components of a Turbine

Aroundtheworldtherearemanydifferentarrangementandsetuponhowtheturbine
shouldoperate,buttheyareshareseveralcharacteristicsofconstruction.Mostimportantly,all
turbineshavesometypeofrotorthattheyusetocapturethewind.Thebladescanrangein
size,numberandarrangementdependingonapplication.Theorientationofthesebladescan
alsodifferamongdesign,usuallydependingonlocation.Thedesignofthesebladesdirect
effectthefutureoutputmaximumandefficiencyoftheturbine.Allthesedesignsintheend

aregovernedbylawsofaerodynamicsanddependinwhatyouarelookingforinshaftspeeds
andtorquepossibilities,youwillneedtodeterminecertaindragandliftcharacteristicsofthese
blades.

Thenextcomponentinlinewiththerotoristhegearbox,orgearratio.Thisgearbox

providescertainmechanicaladvantageswhicharedesirablebecauseofthegenerallowvelocity
ofthewind.Inordertogainasuitableelectricalenergyoutputfromourgeneratorwewill
needsarelativelyhighsustainedrotorspeed.Thegearratioallowsthelowexternalrotor
speedtobeincreasedinsacrificeofavailabletorque;thereisalsosomeefficiencylosswithin
thegearratiothemselves,buttheyaregenerallyratedabove95%efficiency.

Thenextelementinlineistheelectricalgeneratoritself.Thisgeneratorisusually

connectedtoaclutchingorbrakingsystemthatprotectsthegenerator.Therearetwopossible
generatordesignsforconvertingmechanicalenergytoelectricalenergy.Theyarethe
synchronousgeneratorandtheasynchronousorsquirrelcagedesign.

Thesynchronousgeneratoroperatesontheconceptthatasamagnet,orusuallyan

electromagnet,rotatesinthepresenceofacoilofwire;thischangingmagneticfieldinducesa
currentinthecoil,resultinginavoltageinthecoil.Inourcase,theelectromagnetisonthe
shaftoftherotorinsidethegenerator.Thismagnetisencircledbycoilsofwire.Astherotor
rotatestheelectromagnetcreatesachangingmagneticfieldinthepresenceofthecoils,which
aresurroundingit.Thisinducesacurrentinthesecoilswhichinternproducestheelectrical
energyontheoutputofthegenerator.Synchronousgeneratorsarethemoreexpensiveofthe
twobutprovidethebestpowerfactorandthebestefficiency.

TheAsynchronousgeneratordiffersfromthesynchronousdesignbecauseinsteadof

usingapermanentmagnetorelectromagnetinitscoreitusesasquirrelcage.Thiscageis
madeofbarsarrangedinacylindricalpatternandshortedacrosseachotherattheirends.The
statorremainssimilartothesynchronousmotor;inthatfactthisitsurroundsthesquirrelcage
withcoilsofwirecalledpoles.Thedownsidetothesegeneratorsisthattheymustbestarted
bythegridbecausetheycannotproducethenecessarymagneticforceswithinthesquirrelcage
atlowornowindspeeds.Asthecurrentfromthegridpassesthroughthecoilsstator,a
currentisinducedinthecagerotoritself;causingopposingmagneticfieldsinthecage,andasa
resultturningtherotor.Powergenerationoccurswhenthewindcausestherotationalspeed
oftherotortoincreaseabovethisidlespeedcausedbythegrid.Thiswillsurprisinglycreate
largevoltageincreasinginthereceivingstator.Sincethismachinemustoperateatrelative
constantwindspeedsaboveacertainthreshold,itinstallationlocationscanbeverylimited.
Comparativelywiththesynchronousmotoritisrelativelylessexpensivetoproduce,butisntas
energyefficient.

Turbine
e Design
Thefirstobjectiveofftheprojectwastodete
erminewinddspeedbaseedonourgivvenwind
mofthechaartshownbeelowinFigurre2.
distributiions.Ourdaatawasgivenintheform

Figure2Win
ndVelocityDistrribution

Tobetterunderstandtthisarrangem
mentIsplitthisgraphinto fourseparateegraphs,oneeforeachseaason.
nvertedthem
mtobargraph
hforevery2m
m/swindspeeedchange.TThesegraphsareseenbelo
ow.
ThenIcon

Fall
20
15
10

Fall

5
0
0

10

112

14

16

18

20

Summer
20
15
10

Summer

5
0
0

10

12

14

16

18

20

Winter
15
10
Winter

5
0
0

10

12

14

16

18

20

Spring
20
15
10

Spring

5
0
0

10

12

14

16

18

20

Eachwindvelocitywasbrokendownaccordingtopercentage.Nextwecombinedallofourspeed
intervalstimesthewindspeedofthatintervaloverthecombinedaveragespeedpercentage
distribution.Thisgaveusouraveragewindspeedperseason.Finallywefoundtheaverageofour
seasonalspeedsbycombiningthemanddividingbythenumberofseasons
Average Seasonal Wind Speed

4
10

neededtoanaalyzeourpow
werconsumpttionbargrap hgiven.Thegraphshown
nbelowshow
wthe
Nextwen
powerusaageofthesch
hooloveraye
earsperiodb
basedonMeggawattsHourrs.

ol.Thiswasd
donebyaddin
ng
Thefirstsstepwastofindtheaveraggepowerperrmonthused bytheschoo
togetheraallthepowerrusagesandd
dividingthem
mbythetime period12mo
onths.Fromthisvaluewee
wereable
etocalculatetheinstantan
neouspowerusageforanyygivenmoment.Thiswassdonebydivviding
ourMegaawattHoursp
permonthbytheamounto
ofhourinon emonth.

.
.

1832
292

Oncewehavetheinstantaneouspo
owerneededwecandete rmineourrottorbladesizee.Thisisfoun
ndby
assumingtheaveragewinddensityis1.225

.Weusedtheeequationbeelowtosolvetoourrotorssize

at35%effficiency,whicchisconservaative.

11

83292
2 18

5 5.6
. 35 1.225

39.37

Genera
ator Design
n
General Power

Th
hefirststepsinourgeneraatordesignw
weretomake severaldeterrminationsorrassumptions.
ThisbeganwiththeassumptionofPowerFactorrUnity
1.0 andfro
ommycalculaationsaboutthe
powerIneedtoproductinstantane
eouslyis1832
292 .Mye xpectedLinetoLinevoltageis550Vwh
hich
wouldmaakemyLineto
oneutralmaxxvoltage=449V.Since roughlyequ
ualtoVlinetolinewemake
theassum
mptionthatth
heyareequal.Finallywed
determinedoour
,wh
hichisquiteeeasybecauseof
ourunitypowerfactorr.
18329
92
550

1.0

550
0

550
449

449

Stator De
esign

Webeginours
W
statordesignsimilarlybym
makingseverraldeterminations.Firsto
ofall,ourassu
umed
fluxdensityinthegapis1.0T.Myd
designwillbe
etakingadvanntageof12Po
olesatafrequencyof60H
Hz.
12

12

60

720

75.4

Basedontheequationabovefor
,wecanmakethefollowinggraphwhichweseedipaswe
changeourvaluesforourstatorradius.

LengthVS.Turns
3

Length(m)

2.5
2
R=0.3mlm

1.5

R=0.8m

R=0.5m

0.5
0
0

10

15

20

25

Turns

Figure3LengthVS.TurnsforDifferentRadi

Nowwecanmakeadeterminationofourcurrentinourstatorbasedonourlinetolinevoltageand
expectedpower.

. StatorCurrent

Afterweknowthecurrentthroughthestatorwemustarrangeourconductorswithintheteeth.Based
onthematerialofmystatorandcurrentinstatorIchosea
1.924.Thiswillgivemeacrosssectional
areaof100
.BasedonthisdimensionIdecidedtogowithanarrangementof3by9of25Parallel
conductors.IfIhave25conductorstheywillbe2mmby2mm,butsinceareonly25conductorsIwill
have2holestofillwithinsulation.
1.924

192.4
1.924

100
2 2

13


Figure4Sin
ngleConductorw
withInsulation

Figure5Sin
ngleConductorw
withoutInsulation

Ifurtherccontinuechoo
osingvaluesssuchasgapsiize11.95
,whichallow
wsmetodeteerminemytoo
oth
pitch
26.18
.TThesenumbe
erstakeintoaaccountthenneededinsulaationthatrapsaroundeach
conductor,thebundleofconductorrsandthesizeofthecondductorsthemsselves.FromthisIcan
determine
emycompletteconductorslotsorall72
2teeththataareinmystattor.
3

2
2.5
1.0
0

2.5

2

5.7

2.5

14.2

11.95

ecannowdettermineourR
RotorRadiuswhichisbaseedontheabo
ovepitchweffound.SinceI
Finallywe
decidethaatIaminstalling2turnspercoilIcann
nowdeterminnethelengthoftherotoraalso,whichw
willbe
thelength
hofthestatoraswell.Fro
omthisIfoun
ndthatmylenngthis1.405 ,whichcorrrelateswithm
my
graphfrom
mfigure3.

2
14

72
2 26.18
2

3
30

.30

. 84
43
. 30 2

1.405

Figure6Condu
uctorwithinTeeethLayout

15

nce
Resistan

Nowthatweh
haveourstato
orsdimensio
onsdownwe canbegintolookattheco
oilsthatrap
aroundth
heteethofthestator.Sinccewehave2rapsperphaasewecandeeterminethattallthreephaases
willcoverr6teeth.Now
wwecancalcculatethelen
ngthofourcoompletewind
dingwhichrap
psaroundall6
teeth,and
deventuallyd
determinethe
eresistanceo
ofthesecoils .Thesecalcu
ulationsareprimarilybaseedup
thelength
hourstatorw
whichwascalculatedabovetobe1.405
5 ,andtheaassumeresisttanceofairatt
0.0216

75C

1.4
405
6

.02

1.445

6 . 02618 1.2
1.445

..02

0.021
16

0.1885 2 2 6

39.204
100

0.1885
39.204m

0.008468

Baseonth
hisresistance
eandtheprevviouslycalculatedstatorc urrentwecandetermineourpowerlo
osses
intheWin
ndings.

3 0.00
08468 192..4

940.4

Figure7 CoilsRapsinStaator

Rotor Dimensions and Coil Indu

uctance

Nowthatoursstatordesigniscompletew
wecanbegin tolookatthedesignofth
herotor.Thee
nchronousrottordesigns,ccontaininganelectromagn
netpoweredbyan
designourrotorwithffollowthesyn
excitercu
urrent.Theon
nlytwodeterrminationsab
boutofrotor wehavemad
desofarareo
ourRadiusoffthe
16

rotor0.30 andournumberofPoles12.Wewillcontinuebydesigningthephysicaldimensionsour
rotoranddetermineitsmagneticcharacteristics.Thefirstwewillbeginbyfindingtheareaofthetooth
thatfluxwillbeenteringorexitingthestatorfrom.Thenwewilldetermineourreluctanceinairbased
onthisarea,andfinallydeterminetheinductanceofourcompletecoils.

360
12

30

30

180

3 .02618 1.405

30
180

. 30

.1103

0.157

0.000439

10 . 00045
4 . 1103

10
4

2.858 192.4

4
3165.8

6 0.001263

377 .007581

3165.8
0.001263

0.007581

2.858

550

550

4 48

24

26.18

.10472m

26.18

0.052

.0415

0.07

17

.10472

.07

0.052

.087


Figure8Dim
mensionsofRotoorPoles

Field Exccitation

Th
henextparto
ofthedesignistodetermiinethemost appropriateffieldexcitatio
onVoltagean
nd
Current.TTheentirepaastofthefluxxwhichiscreaatedinthepoolesoftherotorfollowthrroughtheNp
pole
oftherotor,throughtheairgap,th
hroughthetee
ethofthestaator,thenthrroughtheyokkeofthestato
or,
backthroughtheteeth
hofthestator,backacrossstheairgap, thenfinallyintoaSouthp
poleofthero
otor.
Thislongandcomplexpathmakesiitpossibletothegeneratoortoproduceecurrentandasaresultpo
ower.
TocalculaatethenecesssaryAmpereTurnforthefieldweneeddtodetermin
netheFluxdeensityinevery
partofthefluxpathan
ndthedistanccethatfluxneedstotraveel.Theseden
nsitiesarebasseduponthe
ptherotoran
ndstator.Ich
hoseamater ialcalledVaccoflux50,whiichhasaveryyhigh
materialtthatmakesup
maximum
mfluxdensityat2.2T,andanexceptionalDensityverrsesInductan
ncecurve.To
obeginImustt
solvetoallthefluxden
nsitiesanddistancesasfollows.

2

10
4

0.000
0439

698..7

1
1 1.405 0
0.10472
0.14
471
. 07 1.405

1.50

18

0. 1471


Figure9Ro
otorPoleDimennsions

Thenextffluxdensityto
ocalculateisthatoftheR
Rotorshaftitsself.Thisparttofisdirectlyyconnecttotthe
gearboxo
ofmyturbine
eandsupplytthetorqueto
oturnthepoleesofthegenerator.

0.07 12
2

.3

0.134

0.14
471
0.134 1.405

0.134
4

.166
0.7
781
0.07

19


Figure10Widthofthe
eRotorShaftin RelationtoPolees

ethofthesta torthemselvves.Forourd
designthereaareat
Nowweccanmoveonttothefluxthroughthetee
least4tee
ethovereach
hpoleatanyggiventime.TThismeansthhattherearetwoteethalw
waysinthegaap
betweenttherotorheaads.
.

0.03
32

1.84 Under2.22TlimitofVa coflux50

Figure11FluxofftheRotorinntoStator

20

OurLastffluxdensitypathweneedtocalculateisthatoftheyyoke,whichiisthethickneessofthealloy
thattheteethinthesttatorareattachedtoo.Th
heyokeallowthecurrentttoflowbetweeentheteeth
hand
thenbackkintotheroto
or.
1.6 Assumed

2

0.14
471
1.6 1.405
.5
5

0.0
065
2

0.3

.0
032
12

0.032 5

0.065

0.256

Figure12YokeofStatoor

Wecanno
owreorganizethefluxde
ensitiesandfluxpathdista ncecalculateedabove.Weewillthen
determine
etheinductanceproduced
ddudetothe
echosenVacooflux50mateerial.Allourffluxdensitiess
correlatetocertHvalu
uesonourBvvs.Hcurvere
eceivedbytheemanufacturrer.Afurtherrdatasheeto
onthe
materialV
Vacofluxcanbefoundintheappendix.

21


Figu
ure13Magneticcharacteristics ofVacoflux50

B(T)

H(A
A/m)

Lenggth
(m )

Hl(ATTurns)

GAP

796
6000

0.000 439

349..444

POLE

1.5

29
92

0.1116

33.8872

ROTOR

0.781

18
80

0.0335

6..3

TOOTH

1.84

49
98

0.0332

15.9936

YOKE

1.6

32
20

0.1228

40..96
446..512

eneedan
Fromthistableabovewecandeterrminethatwe

447

.Wemu
ustchosean

ncurrentwhicchwillthenallowustodeterminetheaamountoftu
urnsneededp
perpole.Weare
excitation
3

assumingthatour

,andb
basedonourmaterialwesshouldhaveeenoughroom
mforthecoilsto

ndthepoles.
raparoun
3

10

44.7

22

44.7 2.0
06

10
3

189.7

1.897

3.33
4 3.33
3

2.06

2 1.897
7

3.794
4

Figure14A
AvailableAreainnRotor

Duetoou
urimpressiveallowthatmakesupourggeneratorweeonlyneed444.7turnsperpolearoundour
rotor.Thisshouldleaveusmorethaanenoughsp
paceforleftooverifweneeedmoreinsulation.

12.45
5

8.7
2

54.16

23


Figure15A
AvailableAreainnRotor

onsabovewe
ecandetermiinethatwehhaveamassivveamountofspaceavailab
ble
Basedonourcalculatio
ngs.Evenifth
heinsulation onthewindingswasabso
olutelymassivve,
comparewiththespacceourwindin
omleftbetwe
eenthepoless.Theonlycaalculationsleffttomakearredodetermiine
therestillwouldberoo
hofthecoilin
nthefield(arroundthepolles),itsresistaance,andtheefieldvoltagee.
thelength
44
4.7
44.7
7 1.405

0.02
0

10.54 10

. 07

.02 2

12 0.0216

2
1
135.4
13
35.4
3
3.33

54
10.5

105.4

Gear Rattio
Tokeepo
ourmotoratttheappropriaatespeedwewillneedauuniquegearraatiobecauseoftheslowsp
peed
atwhichaareturbineblladesarespin
nning.Windtturbinesgeneerallyrotateffrom16to22
2RPM,soIwill
assumebasedonblade
elengththatImspinningat18RPManndmyrotorissspinningat6
600RPM.Asa
00.
resultIwiillneedagearratioof3:10

18
600

1
100

Overall S
System
Theoveraallsystemofo
ourwindturb
binewillcontaainarectifyinngmodule,in
nverter,andaasixpole
controlled
drectifier.De
ependingontthedesignso
omeofthese components mayremaininthehousin
ngof
theturbin
neatoptheto
ower,ormaybeplaceclossertoagrounndingsource,attheground.Thecomp
plete
systemsh
houldlookasfollowsbelow
w.

24


Figure16OvverallSystemD iagram

Efficienccy

Th
hereareman
nydifferentw
waystoimproveefficiency forawindtu
urbinedesign.Oneofthemost
importaspectsispowe
erfactor.The
ecloseyoucaanremaintow
wardsapoweerfactorof1..0,themore
poweryoucanreceive
efromyourge
enerator.Anothermoreddifficultoptiontoexamineeisthepossib
bility
ofastead
dywindspeed
d.Sincethisisalmostimpossibletodettermine,weccanlooktoalternativessu
uchas
CTV(conttinuouslyvariabletransmisssion)gearinggsystems.Thhesesystemsarebasicallyyinfinitelygeaars
andinsteaadoflineargainsinspeedduetoasimplegearratioowithyourtu
urbine,youcaandetermineeyour
slopeofyyourspeedinccreasewithth
hissimpleconcept.Unforrtunatelytheyyhavelimited
dtorque
capabilityyandmakebe
eunusableattcertainturbiinesizes.

Oneoftheeas
O
siestwaysofincreaseefficcienciesisby decreasingyo
ourpowerlossseswithinth
he
generatorritself.Thisccanbedoneb
bydecreasingglengthofco ils,changingalloytypewitthinthegeneerator
itself,and
dlengthsthatfluxmusttraaveltocompleteacircuit. Unfortunateelytheseoptionscanbeco
ome
quicklyve
eryfast,especciallyifyoudecidedtobuildyougeneraateoutoftheesamematerrial(Vacoflux50)
asIdecide
edon.Especciallyatmych
hosenrotorsizethecostw
wouldbeastro
onomical.
Economiics

Dependingonthewinddisttributioninyo
ourareaatu rbinecanbeveryeconom
mical.Especially
sinceitisapopulargre
eentechnologgyfundsareaavailablefrom
mtheDepartmentofEnerrgyandlocallyythe
usettsTechno
ologyCollaborative,whichsupplygranttsforsuchpro
ojects.Unforrtunatelybecause
Massachu
ofmydessignofmygen
nerator,thisd
devicecouldneverpayits elfoff.Thisisduetothem
materialitis
constructedof,butifIdidchooseaacheapermatterialsuchas anironcore,,whichbased
donminor
wouldbeecon
nomical.Theeaveragepayyoffperiodisttypicallybetw
ween
calculationisdefinitelyypossibleitw
0years.(Streu
ubel,2006)
10and20

25

Protection

Therearemanydangeroussituationsthatcanoccurtoawindturbine,butthemainfearitover
spin,whichcanthroughbladeanddamagealargeamountofequipment.BasedonmyresearchIhave
determinedthreesolutionstothisproblem.Thefirstandmostobviouswouldbeasimplebraking
system.Brakeswouldberelativelycheap,andallowforthemostuserinteractionwiththeturbine.The
secondoptionIwasexploringistoinstallasynchronousclutchbetweenthegearboxandtheexternal
turbineshaft.Thiswoulddisengagetheclutchwhentheturbinewasspinningtofast,whichwouldstop
damagefromoccurringtothegeneratorandgearbox.Unfortunatelysynchronousclutchusuallyrequire
alargeamountofmaintenance,arerelativeexpensiveandwillbeinconstantuse.

ThethirdandfinallyoptionthatIwasexaminingisthepossibilityofusingaCTV(continuously
variabletransmission)toprotectthegenerator.TheCTVcouldbesetupinanarrangementthatits
velocityslopebecomeveryflataroundacertainpeakspeed,preventingthegeneratorfrom
accelerating.

Otherhazardsthatcanoccurtowindturbinearelightningandovervoltage.Thesearerelatively
simpleproblemtoovercome.Alargecapacitancecanbeplaceinserieswiththegroupthatwould
preventdamagetoelectricalcomponentduringalightningstrike.Overvoltageprotectionisacommon
tooledusedinpowergeneration.Atypicalsolutionwouldbetoprotectinstrumentsandcomponents
withfuses,orsometypeofbreakersystem.
Ride Through

Whenthevoltageinthegridistemporarilyreducedbecauseofafaultorloadchange
thatoccurinthegrid.InridethroughvoltagesmaydropinoneorseveralphaseofthegridsAC
voltageandthiscancausedamagetothecomponents,especiallyinasynchronousmotors.The
harshnessofthevoltagedropisdefinedbythevoltagelevelduringdropandthedurationof
thevoltagedrop.Therearethreewaystoovercomethis.Oneistodisconnecttemporarily
fromthegrid,thenreconnectonethedrophaspassed(seenthiscurrenttransformer).The
turbinecanremainconnectedtothegridandstayatoperation,butitisntrecommended.
Finallyyoucanremainconnectedtothegridandtrytopushoutthedropwithyourownpower
product;dependingonthesizeofyourturbineyoumaynotbepowerfulenoughtodothis
effectively.

26

Works Cited
Akagi,H.,&EdsonHirokazuWatanabe,M.A.(2007).Instantaneouspowertheoryandapplicationsto
powerconditioning.IEEEPressSeriesofPowerEngineering.
DanishWindIndustry.(2009,112).RetrievedOctober14,2009,fromWindPower:
http://www.windpower.org/en/tour/design/horver.htm
Holdsworth,B.(2009).OptionsforMicroWindGeneration.renewableenergyfocus,63.
Lowvoltageridethrough.(2009,March1).RetrievedOctober15,2009,fromWikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_voltage_ride_through
Meyers,T.F.(1978).PatentNo.3,970,907.UnitedStates.
Streubel,S.(2006,January25).WindPowerPaybackPeriod.RetrievedOctober14,2009,fromArticle
Dashboard:http://www.bestglobalwarmingarticles.com/article.php?id=1800&act=print
Verticalaxiswindturbine.(2009,October9).RetrievedOctober15,2009,fromWikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verticalaxis_wind_turbine
WindTurbine.(2009,October15).RetrievedOctober15,2009,fromWikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_Turbine
Young,A.,Jensen,H.,Forbes,T.,&Foley,B.(2006).WindpowerfeasibilitystudyforHolyNameHigh
School.Worcester:WorcesterPolytechnicInstitute.

27

Appendix A

28


Appendix B

29


Simulations

30


(WindTurbine,2009)
(Verticalaxiswindturbine,2009)
(Young,Jensen,Forbes,&Foley,2006)(DanishWindIndustry,2009)(Holdsworth,2009)(Meyers,1978)
(Streubel,2006)(Streubel,2006)(Verticalaxiswindturbine,2009)(WindTurbine,2009)(Young,Jensen,
Forbes,&Foley,2006)(Akagi&EdsonHirokazuWatanabe,2007)(Lowvoltageridethrough,2009)

31