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The power coefficient [9] C P (= P/P wind) is the dimensionless ratio of the extractable power P to the kinetic power P wind available in the undistributed stream. [ citation needed ] It has a maximum value C P max = 16/27 = 0.593 (or 59.3%; however, coefficients of performance are usually expressed as a decimal, not a percentage).
Wind-turbine blades in laydown yard awaiting installation. The primary application of wind turbines is to generate energy using the wind. Hence, the aerodynamics is a very important aspect of wind turbines. Like most machines, wind turbines come in many different types, all of them based on different energy extraction concepts.
The power coefficient, , expresses what fraction of the power in the wind is being extracted by the wind turbine. It is generally assumed to be a function of both tip-speed ratio and pitch angle. Below is a plot of the variation of the power coefficient with variations in the tip-speed ratio when the pitch is held constant:
For a wind turbine, the power harvested is given by the following formula: = where is the aerodynamic power and is the density of the air. The power coefficient is a representation of how much of the available power in the wind is captured by the wind turbine and can be looked up in the graph above.
[99] [100] Ice accretion on turbine blades has also been found to greatly reduce the efficiency of wind turbines, which is a common challenge in cold climates where in-cloud icing and freezing rain events occur. [101] Deicing is mainly performed by internal heating or in some cases, by helicopters spraying clean warm water on the blades. [102]
When rotor power or torque coefficient is assumed constant, the weighing function is: = and the corresponding weighted solidity ratio is known as the power or torque-weighted solidity ratio. This solidity ratio is analogous to the activity factor used in propeller design and is also used in wind turbine analysis.
An example of a wind turbine, this 3 bladed turbine is the classic design of modern wind turbines Wind turbine components : 1-Foundation, 2-Connection to the electric grid, 3-Tower, 4-Access ladder, 5-Wind orientation control (Yaw control), 6-Nacelle, 7-Generator, 8-Anemometer, 9-Electric or Mechanical Brake, 10-Gearbox, 11-Rotor blade, 12-Blade pitch control, 13-Rotor hub
Whereas the streamtube area is reduced by a propeller, it is expanded by a wind turbine. For either application, a highly simplified but useful approximation is the Rankine–Froude "momentum" or "actuator disk" model (1865, [1] 1889 [2]). This article explains the application of the "Betz limit" to the efficiency of a ground-based wind turbine.