scholarly journals The Scoraig wind trials – In situ power performance measurements of locally manufactured small wind turbines

2020 ◽  
pp. 0309524X2093250
Author(s):  
Jon Leary ◽  
Hugh Piggott ◽  
Robert Howell
Keyword(s):  
Wind Turbines ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Wind Tunnel Test ◽  
Rural Electrification ◽  
Power Curve ◽  
Performance Measurements ◽  
Power Performance ◽  
Small Wind Turbines ◽  
Power Curves

This article presents new insight into the real-world performance of a range of open source locally manufactured small wind turbines designed to enable sustainable rural electrification. The power performance of seven machines was measured in situ and compared to wind tunnel, test site and other in situ data to produce a set of generic power curves. This article shows that the shape and size of the curve (and therefore the energy that will be generated) varies considerably. However, over-performance was just as likely as under-performance, validating the designer’s predicted energy yields. Nonetheless, optimising the power curve by tuning the small wind turbine increased energy yields by up to 156%. Developing low-cost practical tools that can enable rapid power curve measurements in the field could help reduce uncertainty when planning rural electrification programmes and ensure that small wind turbines are able to deliver vital energy services in off-grid regions of developing countries.

scholarly journals Nacelle power curve measurement with spinner anemometer and uncertainty evaluation

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giorgio Demurtas ◽  
Troels Friis Pedersen ◽  
Rozenn Wagner
Keyword(s):  
Wind Speed ◽  
Transfer Function ◽  
Probability Distribution ◽  
Wind Turbines ◽  
Energy Production ◽  
Power Curve ◽  
Power Performance ◽  
Mean Wind Speed ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Power Curves

Abstract. The objective of this investigation was to verify the feasibility of using the spinner anemometer calibration and nacelle transfer function determined on one reference turbine, to assess the power performance of a second identical turbine. An experiment was set up with a met-mast in a position suitable to measure the power curve of the two wind turbines, both equipped with a spinner anemometer. An IEC 61400-12-1 compliant power curve was then measured for both turbines using the met-mast. The NTF (Nacelle Transfer Function) was measured on the reference turbine and then applied to both turbines to calculate the free wind speed. For each of the two wind turbines, the power curve (PC) was measured with the met-mast and the nacelle power curve (NPC) with the spinner anemometer. Four power curves (two PC and two NPC) were compared in terms of AEP (Annual Energy Production) for a Rayleigh wind speed probability distribution. For each turbine, the NPC agreed with the corresponding PC within 0.10 % of AEP for the reference turbine and within 0,38 % for the second turbine, for a mean wind speed of 8 m/s.

scholarly journals Nacelle power curve measurement with spinner anemometer and uncertainty evaluation

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giorgio Demurtas ◽  
Troels Friis Pedersen ◽  
Rozenn Wagner
Keyword(s):  
Wind Speed ◽  
Transfer Function ◽  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Wind Turbines ◽  
Energy Production ◽  
Power Curve ◽  
Power Performance ◽  
Mean Wind Speed ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Power Curves

Abstract. The objective of this investigation was to verify the feasibility of using the spinner anemometer calibration and nacelle transfer function determined on one reference wind turbine, in order to assess the power performance of a second identical turbine. An experiment was set up with a met mast in a position suitable to measure the power curve of the two wind turbines, both equipped with a spinner anemometer. An IEC 61400-12-1-compliant power curve was then measured for both wind turbines using the met mast. The NTF (nacelle transfer function) was measured on the reference wind turbine and then applied to both turbines to calculate the free wind speed. For each of the two wind turbines, the power curve (PC) was measured with the met mast and the nacelle power curve (NPC) with the spinner anemometer. Four power curves (two PCs and two NPCs) were compared in terms of AEP (annual energy production) for a Rayleigh wind speed probability distribution. For each wind turbine, the NPC agreed with the corresponding PC within 0.10 % of AEP for the reference wind turbine and within 0.38 % for the second wind turbine, for a mean wind speed of 8 m s−1.

scholarly journals Evaluation of the global-blockage effect on power performance through simulations and measurements

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Sebastiani ◽  
Alfredo Peña ◽  
Niels Troldborg ◽  
Alexander Meyer Forsting
Keyword(s):  
Wind Turbines ◽  
Power Output ◽  
Numerical Results ◽  
Power Coefficient ◽  
Navier Stokes ◽  
Stream Velocity ◽  
Power Curve ◽  
Performance Measurements ◽  
Power Performance ◽  
Orthogonal Line

Abstract. Blockage effects due to the interaction of five wind turbines in a row are investigated through both Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes simulations and site measurements. Since power performance tests are often carried out at sites consisting of several turbines in a row, the objective of this study is to evaluate whether the power performance of the five turbines differs from that of an isolated turbine. A number of simulations are performed, in which we vary the turbine inter-spacing (1.8, 2 and 3 rotor diameters) and the inflow angle between the incoming wind and the orthogonal line to the row (from 0° to 45°). Different values of the free-stream velocity are considered to cover a broad wind speed range of the power curve. Numerical results show consistent power deviations for all the five turbines when compared to the isolated case. The amplitude of these deviations depends on the location of the turbine within the row, the inflow angle, the inter-spacing and the power curve region of operation. We show that the power variations do not cancel out when averaging over a large inflow sector (from −45° to +45°) and find an increase in the power output of up to +1 % when compared to the isolated case. We simulate power performance ‘measurements’ with both a virtual mast and nacelle-mounted lidar and find a combination of power output increase and upstream velocity reduction, which causes an increase of +4 % of the power coefficient. We also use measurements from a real site consisting of a row of five wind turbines to validate the numerical results. From the analysis of the measurements, we also show that the power performance is impacted by the neighboring turbines. Compared to when the inflow is perpendicular to the row, the power output varies of +1.8 % and −1.8 % when the turbine is the most downwind and upwind of the line, respectively.

scholarly journals Feasibility of Small Wind Turbines in Ontario: Integrating Power Curves with Wind Trends

Resources ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 44
Author(s):  
Masaō Ashtine ◽  
Richard Bello ◽  
Kaz Higuchi
Keyword(s):  
Wind Turbines ◽  
Small Wind Turbines ◽  
Power Curves

Design and Evaluation of a Rooftop Wind Turbine Rotor With Untwisted Blades

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sayem Zafar ◽  
Mohamed Gadalla
Keyword(s):  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Wind Turbines ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Turbine Blades ◽  
Angle Of Attack ◽  
Turbine Rotor ◽  
Wind Turbine Blades ◽  
Wind Speeds ◽  
Small Wind Turbines ◽  
Wind Turbine Rotor

A small horizontal axis wind turbine rotor was designed and tested with aerodynamically efficient, economical and easy to manufacture blades. Basic blade aerodynamic analysis was conducted using commercially available software. The blade span was constrained such that the complete wind turbine can be rooftop mountable with the envisioned wind turbine height of around 8 m. The blade was designed without any taper or twist to comply with the low cost and ease of manufacturing requirements. The aerodynamic analysis suggested laminar flow airfoils to be the most efficient airfoils for such use. Using NACA 63-418 airfoil, a rectangular blade geometry was selected with chord length of 0.27[m] and span of 1.52[m]. Glass reinforced plastic was used as the blade material for low cost and favorable strength to weight ratio with a skin thickness of 1[mm]. Because of the resultant velocity changes with respect to the blade span, while the blade is rotating, an optimal installed angle of attack was to be determined. The installed angle of attack was required to produce the highest possible rotation under usual wind speeds while start at relatively low speed. Tests were conducted at multiple wind speeds with blades mounted on free rotating shaft. The turbine was tested for three different installed angles and rotational speeds were recorded. The result showed increase in rotational speed with the increase in blade angle away from the free-stream velocity direction while the start-up speeds were found to be within close range of each other. At the optimal angle was found to be 22° from the plane of rotation. The results seem very promising for a low cost small wind turbine with no twist and taper in the blade. The tests established that non-twisted wind turbine blades, when used for rooftop small wind turbines, can generate useable electrical power for domestic consumption. It also established that, for small wind turbines, non-twisted, non-tapered blades provide an economical yet productive alternative to the existing complex wind turbine blades.

scholarly journals An Induction Curve Model for Prediction of Power Output of Wind Turbines in Complex Conditions

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 891 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohsen Vahidzadeh ◽  
Corey D. Markfort
Keyword(s):  
Wind Turbines ◽  
Sonic Anemometer ◽  
Wind Farms ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Power Curve ◽  
Power Prediction ◽  
Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine ◽  
Scada System ◽  
Proposed Model ◽  
Power Curves

Power generation from wind farms is traditionally modeled using power curves. These models are used for assessment of wind resources or for forecasting energy production from existing wind farms. However, prediction of power using power curves is not accurate since power curves are based on ideal uniform inflow wind, which do not apply to wind turbines installed in complex and heterogeneous terrains and in wind farms. Therefore, there is a need for new models that account for the effect of non-ideal operating conditions. In this work, we propose a model for effective axial induction factor of wind turbines that can be used for power prediction. The proposed model is tested and compared to traditional power curve for a 2.5 MW horizontal axis wind turbine. Data from supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system along with wind speed measurements from a nacelle-mounted sonic anemometer and turbulence measurements from a nearby meteorological tower are used in the models. The results for a period of four months showed an improvement of 51% in power prediction accuracy, compared to the standard power curve.

scholarly journals Techno-Economic Feasibility Study of Small Wind Turbines in the Valley of Mexico Metropolitan Area

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 890 ◽  
Author(s):  
Osvaldo Rodriguez-Hernandez ◽  
Manuel Martinez ◽  
Carlos Lopez-Villalobos ◽  
Hector Garcia ◽  
Rafael Campos-Amezcua
Keyword(s):  
Wind Turbines ◽  
Metropolitan Area ◽  
Alternative Energy ◽  
Net Present Value ◽  
Flow Analysis ◽  
Economic Feasibility ◽  
Social Penetration ◽  
Small Wind Turbines ◽  
The Cost

The use of small wind turbines (SWTs) is an alternative energy strategy with increasing potential for satisfying in situ electrical demands and should be studied to promote social penetration. The Valley of Mexico Metropolitan Area (VMMA) has air pollution issues that need to be addressed. This has resulted in programs for monitoring atmospheric variables, such as wind speed. By selecting and using 3 years’ worth of available data, we developed a methodology to study the technical and economic feasibility of using SWTs in the VMMA. To this end, 28 SWT models were assessed at 18 locations to estimate annual energy production. In light of certain data characteristics, an adjustment to the power production was proposed for the specific case of using SWTs. Cash flow analysis and annualized net present value (ANPV) were used to determine economic feasibility for each location; furthermore, electric home feeds in the VMMA were considered to model local economic conditions. Similar wind conditions were observed within the VMMA; however, only two wind turbine and location models provided positive ANPV values. The extra annual benefit for each project was calculated by associating the cost per mitigation of CO2 emissions, which may provide an economic strategy for promoting the penetration of this technology.

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