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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.
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.
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).
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
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. The torque, Q {\displaystyle Q} , on the rotor shaft is given by the ratio of the power extracted to the rotor speed:
By extension, the efficiency of the wind turbine is a function of the tip-speed ratio. Ideally, one would like to have a turbine operating at the maximum value of C p at all wind speeds. This means that as the wind speed changes, the rotor speed must change as well such that C p = C p max .
[100] [101] 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. [102] Deicing is mainly performed by internal heating or in some cases, by helicopters spraying clean warm water on the blades. [103]
A typical hydroelectric plant's operators can bring it from a stopped condition to full power in just a few minutes. Wind farms are variable, due to the natural variability of the wind. For a wind farm, the capacity factor is determined by the availability of wind, the swept area of the turbine and the size of the generator. Transmission line ...