Energy Conversion

EPM 210

Dr. Ahmed Sobhy

 POWER IN WIND
1
• 𝑃𝑖𝑛𝑝𝑢𝑡 = 𝑃𝑤 = 𝜌𝐴𝑣 3 ………………………..(1)
2

• 𝑃𝑤 is the power in the wind (W);

• 𝜌 is the air density (kg/m3) at 15˚C and
1 atm, 𝜌 = 1.225 kg/m3;
• 𝐴 is the swept area (m2), 𝐴 = 𝜋/4 𝐷 2 =
𝜋𝑟 2 ; for horizontal wind turbine
• 𝐷 is the blade diameter (m), 𝑟 is the
blade radius or blade length (m);
• 𝑣 is wind speed (m/s)
Horizontal wind turbine

Vertical wind turbine (Darrieus rotor)

 POWER IN WIND
• A wind turbine is typically described by its
name, rated power (in kW), and rotor
diameter (in meters).
• For example:
➢ Vestas 600/42: A 600 kW turbine with a 42-
meter rotor diameter.
➢ NEG Micon 1000/54: A 1000 kW (1 MW)
turbine with a 54-meter rotor diameter.
➢ NEG Micon 1500/64: A 1500 kW (1.5 MW)
turbine with a 64-meter rotor diameter.
 POWER IN WIND
• The power per square meter of cross section is called
the specific power or power density.
• Specific power is a useful metric for assessing the
potential power available at a particular site.

Power (W/m2)
Wind speed (m/s)
 POWER IN WIND
Example 1: Compare the energy at 15˚C, 1 atm pressure, contained in 1 m2 of the
following wind regimes:
(a) 100 hours of 6-m/s winds;
(b) 50 hours at 3 m/s plus 50 hours at 9 m/s (i.e., an average wind speed of 6 m/s).
Solution:
First, at 15˚C, 1 atm pressure the air density 𝜌 = 1.225 kg/m3
(a) With 100 h at 6 m/s
1
E(6 m/s) = 2 𝜌𝐴𝑣 3 𝑡 = (0.5) (1.225) (1) (6)3 (100) = 13,230 Wh

(b) With 50 h at 3 m/s.

E(3 m/s) = (0.5) (1.225) (1) (3)3 (50) = 827 Wh
 POWER IN WIND
With 50 h at 9 m/s.
E(9 m/s) = (0.5) (1.225) (1) (9)3 (50) = 22,326 Wh
E(3 m/s) + E(9 m/s) = 827 + 22,326 = 23,152 Wh
• While both of the wind regimes had the same average wind speed, the
combination of 9-m/s and 3-m/s winds (average 6 m/s) produces 75% more energy
than winds blowing a steady 6 m/s.
• We can’t just use average windspeed in (1) to predict total energy available.
• The energy in the wind is typically almost twice the amount that would be found
by using the average wind speed in (1).
 AIR DENSITY
• It is often assumed that the air density is 1.225 kg/m3;
• 𝜌 = 1.225 × 𝐾𝑇
that is, it is assumed that air temperature is 15˚C and
pressure is 1 atmosphere.
• The air density under other conditions can easily
determined by:
𝑃×M.W.×10−3
𝜌= …………………………………………….(4)
𝑅𝑇

P is the absolute pressure (atm);

M.W. is the molecular weight of air = 28.97;
R is the ideal gas constant = 8.2 × 10−5;
T is the absolute temperature (K), where K = (˚ C + 273)
 AIR DENSITY
Example 2: Find the density of air at 1 atm and 30˚C.
Solution:
𝑃×M.W.×10−3 1×28.97×10−3
• 𝜌= = 8.2×10−5 ×(30+273) = 1.165 kg/m3
𝑅𝑇

which is a 5% decrease in density compared to the reference 1.225 kg/m3; since power is
proportional to density, it is also a 5% decrease in power in the wind.
• From table at 30˚C, the KT equal to 0.95, so:
𝜌 = 1.225 × 𝐾𝑇 = 1.225 × 0.95 = 1.164 ≅ 1.165 kg/m3
 AIR DENSITY
• The pressure at the bottom of the slice: • Assume T is constant at 15˚C, then:
𝑃 𝑧 = 𝑃 𝑧 + 𝑑𝑧 + 𝜌𝑔𝑑𝑧 𝑑𝑃 9.8 × 28.97 × 10−3
=− .𝑃
𝑑𝑃 = 𝑃 𝑧 + 𝑑𝑧 − 𝑃 𝑧 = −𝜌𝑔𝑑𝑧 𝑑𝑧 8.2 × 10−5 × (15 + 273)
𝑑𝑃
= −𝜌𝑔
𝑑𝑧
• Substituting 𝜌 from (4):
𝑑𝑃 𝑔 × M. W.× 10−3
=− .𝑃
𝑑𝑧 𝑅. 𝑇
 AIR DENSITY
𝑑𝑃
= −1.185 × 10−4 × 𝑃
𝑑𝑧
𝑃 𝐻
𝑑𝑃
න = න −1.185 × 10−4 𝑑𝑧
𝑃
𝑃0 0
−4 𝐻
𝑃 = 𝑃0 𝑒 −1.185×10 ………...…………………...(5)
• P0 is the reference pressure of 1 atm and H is in
meters.
• 𝜌 = 1.225 × 𝐾𝑇 × 𝐾𝐴
 AIR DENSITY
Example 3: Find the air density (a) at 15˚C, at an elevation of 2000 m. Then (b) find it
assuming an air temperature of 5˚C at 2000 m.
Solution:
−4 𝐻 −4
(a) 𝑃 = 𝑃0 𝑒 −1.185×10 = 1 × 𝑒 −1.185×10 ×2000 = 0.789 atm
𝑃×M.W.×10−3 0.789×28.97×10−3
𝜌= 𝑅𝑇
= 8.2×10−5 ×(15+273)
= 0.967 kg/m3

𝜌 = 1.225 × 𝐾𝑇 × 𝐾𝐴 = 1.225 × 1 × 0.789 = 0.967 kg/m3

(b) At 5˚C and 2000 m, the air density would be:
0.789×28.97×10−3
𝜌= 8.2×10−5 ×(5+273)
= 1 kg/m3

𝜌 = 1.225 × 𝐾𝑇 × 𝐾𝐴 = 1.225 × 1.04 × 0.789 = 1 kg/m3

 AIR DENSITY
Example 4: Find the power density (W/m2) in 10 m/s wind at an elevation of 2000 m and a
temperature of 5˚C.
Solution:
At 5˚C and 2000 m, the air density would be:
−4 𝐻 −4 ×2000
✓ 𝑃 = 𝑃0 𝑒 −1.185×10 = 1 × 𝑒 −1.185×10 = 0.789 atm
𝑃×M.W.×10−3 0.789×28.97×10−3
✓ 𝜌= = = 1 kg/m3
𝑅𝑇 8.2×10−5 ×(5+273)

✓ 𝜌 = 1.225 × 𝐾𝑇 × 𝐾𝐴 = 1.225 × 1.04 × 0.789 = 1 kg/m3

𝑃 1 1 3
= 𝜌𝑣 3 = × 1 × 10 =500 W/m2
𝐴 2 2
 IMPACT OF TOWER HEIGHT
• Wind speed increases with height • The friction coefficient 𝛼 is a function
above the ground due to reduced of the terrain over which the wind
surface friction, which this impact can
blows.
be defined as follows:
𝑣 𝐻 𝛼
𝑣0
= 𝐻0
……………………………….(6)

𝑣 is the wind speed at height 𝐻;

𝑣0 is the wind speed at height 𝐻0 (often a
reference height of 10 m);
𝛼 is the friction coefficient.
 IMPACT OF TOWER HEIGHT
• As can be seen from the figure, the impact of
friction coefficient on wind speed assuming a
reference height of 10 m, which is a commonly
used standard elevation for an anemometer.
• For a smooth surface (𝛼 = 0.1), the wind at 100
m is only about 25% higher than at 10 m, while
for a site in a “small town” (𝛼 = 0.3), the wind at
100 m is estimated to be twice that at 10 m.
Anemometer for wind
speed measurement

Wind vane for wind

direction indication
 IMPACT OF TOWER HEIGHT
• Since power in the wind varies as the cube of
wind speed, we can rewrite (6) to indicate the
relative power of the wind at height 𝐻 versus
the power at the reference height of 𝐻0 :
𝑃 𝑣 3 𝐻 3𝛼
= = ……………………………...(7)
𝑃0 𝑣0 𝐻0
• For a smooth surface ( 𝛼 = 0.1), the power
doubles when the height increases from 10 m to
100 m.
• For a rougher surface (𝛼 = 0.3), the power
doubles when the height is raised to just 22 m.
 IMPACT OF TOWER HEIGHT
• While the power law given in (6) is very often
used in the United States, there is another
approach that is common in Europe.
• The alternative formulation is
𝑣 ln 𝐻/𝑧
= ln 𝐻 ……………………………………….(8)
𝑣0 0 /𝑧
 IMPACT OF TOWER HEIGHT
Example 5: An anemometer mounted at a height of 10 m above a surface with crops,
hedges, and shrubs shows a wind speed of 5 m/s. Estimate the wind speed and the specific
power in the wind at a height of 50 m. Assume 15˚C and 1 atm of pressure.
Solution:
✓ (𝛼 = 0.2) for surface with crops, hedges, and shrubs;
✓ 𝐻0 = 10 m, 𝑣0 = 5 m/s, 𝐻 = 50 m;
𝑣 𝐻 𝛼 50 0.2
✓ = ⇒ 𝑣50𝑚 = 5 = 6.9 m/s;
𝑣0 𝐻0 10

✓ At 15˚C and 1 atm ⇒ 𝜌 = 1.225 kg/m3;

𝑃 1 1
✓ 𝐴 50𝑚
= 2 𝜌𝑣 3 = 2 × 1.225 × 6.9 3
= 201 W/m2
 IMPACT OF TOWER HEIGHT
Example 5: An anemometer mounted at a height of 10 m above a surface with crops,
hedges, and shrubs shows a wind speed of 5 m/s. Estimate the wind speed and the specific
power in the wind at a height of 50 m. Assume 15˚C and 1 atm of pressure.
Another solution to calculate the specific power at height 50 m:
𝑃 1 1
✓ = 2 𝜌𝑣 3 = 2 × 1.225 × 5 3 = 76.5 W/m2
𝐴 10𝑚

𝑃 𝐻 3𝛼
✓ 𝑃0
= 𝐻0

𝑃 50 3×0.2
✓ = 76.5 ≅ 201 W/m2
𝐴 50𝑚 10
 IMPACT OF TOWER HEIGHT
Example 6: A wind turbine with a 30-m rotor diameter is mounted with its hub at 50 m
above a ground surface that is characterized by shrubs and hedges. Estimate the ratio of
specific power in the wind at the highest point that a rotor blade tip reaches to the lowest
point that it falls to.
Solution:
✓ (𝛼 = 0.2) for surface with crops, hedges, and shrubs;
𝑃 𝐻 3𝛼
✓ =
𝑃0 𝐻0
𝑃65 65 3×0.2
✓ = = 1.45
𝑃35 35
✓ The power in the wind at the top tip of the rotor is
45% higher than it is when the tip reaches its lowest
point.
 MAXIMUM ROTOR EFFICIENCY
• The power extracted by the blades or • Betz assume that the velocity of the
the mechanical power is: wind through the plane of the rotor
1 is just the average of the upwind
𝑃𝑚 = 2 𝜌𝐴𝑣 3 . 𝐶𝑃 …………………………………..…..(9) and downwind speeds.
• 𝐶𝑃 is the coefficient of performance or
rotor efficiency in converting the
power in the wind into the power of a
𝑃
rotating generator shaft; 𝐶𝑃 = 𝑃𝑚
𝑤 Pw 𝑃𝑚
• The maximum theoretical efficiency of
a 𝐶𝑃 is 59%, is called the Betz limit.
• Under the best operating conditions,
the range of 𝐶𝑃 is about 45% to 50%.
 MAXIMUM ROTOR EFFICIENCY
• For a given wind speed, rotor efficiency 𝐶𝑃 is a
function of the rate at which the rotor turns.
• The usual way to illustrate rotor efficiency is
to present it as a function of its tip-speed ratio
(TSR). The tip-speed-ratio is the speed at which
the tip of the blade is moving divided by the
windspeed:
𝑅𝑜𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑡𝑖𝑝 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝜔(rad/s) . 𝑟 𝜔(rpm) 𝜋𝐷
𝑇𝑆𝑅 = = = ...(10)
𝑊𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑣 60𝑣

𝜔 is the rotor speed in rad/s.

 MAXIMUM ROTOR EFFICIENCY
• As can be seen from the figure, a typical
efficiency for various rotor types versus TSR.
• The American multiblade spins relatively
slowly, with an optimal TSR of less than 1 and
maximum efficiency just over 30%.
• The two- and three-blade rotors spin much
faster, with optimum TSR in the 4–6 range
and maximum efficiencies of roughly 40–50%.
• A line corresponding to an “ideal efficiency,”
which approaches the Betz limit as the rotor
speed increases.
MAXIMUM ROTOR EFFICIENCY

Generator speed
Gear ratio =
Rotor speed

1
𝑃𝑜𝑢𝑡 = 𝜌𝐴𝑣 3 . 𝐶𝑃 . 𝜂𝑔𝑒𝑎𝑟 . 𝜂𝑔𝑒𝑛
2
𝑃𝑀 𝑃𝑚
 MAXIMUM ROTOR EFFICIENCY
Example 7: A 40-m, three bladed wind turbine produces 600 kW at a wind speed of 14 m/s. Air
density is the standard 1.225 kg/m3. Under these conditions, (a) At what rpm does the rotor turn
when it operates with a TSR of 4.0? (b) What is the tip speed of the rotor? (c) If the generator
needs to turn at 1800 rpm, what gear ratio is needed to match the rotor speed to the generator
speed? (d) What is the efficiency of the complete wind turbine (blades, gear box, generator)
under these conditions?
Solution:
𝑇𝑆𝑅×60𝑣 4×60×14
(a) 𝜔 = = = 26.7 r.p.m
𝜋𝐷 𝜋×40
𝜔(rpm) 𝜋𝐷 26.7×40𝜋
(b) Rotor tip speed = = = 55.9 m/s
60 60

(c) Gear ratio = generator speed/ rotor speed = 1800/26.7 = 67.4

1 1 𝜋
(d) 𝑃𝑤 = 𝜌𝐴𝑣 3 =
2 2
× 1.225 × 4 × (40)2 × (14)3 = 2112 kW
 MAXIMUM ROTOR EFFICIENCY
𝑃 600
𝜂𝑊𝑇 = 𝑃𝑜𝑢𝑡 = = 28.4%
𝑖𝑛 2112

Or
From Figure, the 𝐶𝑃 for three-blade wind
turbine is about 43%, and low shaft mechanical
power is
1
𝑃𝑀 = 𝜌𝐴𝑣 3 𝐶𝑃 = 2112 × 0.43 = 908.2 kW
2
𝑃𝑜𝑢𝑡 600
𝜂𝑔𝑒𝑎𝑟 × 𝜂𝑔𝑒𝑛 = = = 66%
𝑃𝑀 908.2
𝜂𝑊𝑇 = 𝐶𝑃 × 𝜂𝑔𝑒𝑎𝑟 × 𝜂𝑔𝑒𝑛 = 43% × 66% = 28.4%
 WIND TURBINE POWER CURVE
• A typical power curve is characterized by three wind speeds: cut-in wind speed, rated
wind speed, and cut-out wind speed, as described in the Figure.
• Pout is the generator electrical output power and vw is the wind speed.
• The cut-in wind speed, is the wind speed at which the turbine starts to operate and
deliver power (3-4 m/s).
• The blade should be able to capture
enough power to compensate for the
turbine power losses.
• The rated wind speed is the speed at
which the system produces nominal
power (12-15 m/s), which is also the
rated output power of the generator.
 WIND TURBINE POWER CURVE
• The power delivered by the generator is a cubic function of wind speed until the
wind speed reaches its rated value.
• The wind generator should be properly controlled with variable speed operation to
deliver maximum power to the grid at different wind speeds.
• As the wind speed increases beyond
the rated speed, aerodynamic power
control (pitch control) of blades is
required to keep the power at the
rated value.
• For wind speeds above the cut-out
speed (20-25 m/s), the turbine must be
stopped (braked), preventing
damage from excessive wind.