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Problem sheet No 3

Question No 1
a. Calculate power/area when density of air = 1.1 kg/m 3 for wind speeds of 5, 10,
15, 20, 30, and 50 m/s.
b. Calculate the wind speed at 100 m if the wind speed at 50 m is 8 m/s and the
shear exponent is 0.21.

Question No 2
a. A 120-MW wind farm produces around 347,000 MWh/yr. What is the capacity
factor (CF) for the wind farm?
b. A wind power plant has 100 turbines, each one rated for 1.5 MW. The capacity
factor is 35%. What is the plants annual energy yield?
Question No 3
The turbines in large wind power plants are typically positioned in a rectangular grid
configuration, which is oriented to face the prevailing wind direction. The distance
between turbines is measured in terms of their rotor diameter. In onshore plants,
typical grid dimensions are 35 diameters apart perpendicular to the prevailing wind
and 510 rotor diameters apart parallel to the prevailing wind. In offshore plants,
turbines are placed 78 diameters apart, equally in both directions. This distance is
selected to minimize the interference between turbines, and maximize the energy
obtained. In this problem, we are interested to evaluate the land usage of wind
farms. (Of course, offshore wind power does not use land per se, but you get the
point.)
(a) Estimate the average power per unit of land area, where averageimplies an
averaging process over time. Your answer should be x W/m 2
This involves a few back-of-the-envelope-type calculations. Make all necessary
assumptions that you need, but justify each one adequately. Provide two answers:
one for onshore, and one for offshore wind power plants.
(b) Explain why land usage is more or less independent of turbine size.
(c) Compare your answer to the land usage of solar energy plants.

Question No 4
Based on average speed data only, estimate the annual energy production from a
horizontal axis wind turbine with a 12 m diameter operating in a wind regime with
an average wind speed of 8 m/s. Assume that the wind turbine is operating under
standard atmospheric conditions ( = 1.225 kg/m 3 ). Assume a turbine efficiency of
0.4.
Question No 5
A 40 m diameter, three bladed wind turbine produces 700 kW at a wind speed (hub
height) of 14 m/s. The air density is 1.225 kg/m3. Find:
a) The rotational speed (rpm) of the rotor at a tip-speed ratio of 5.0.
b) What is the tip-speed (m/s)?
c) If the generator turns at 1800 rpm, what gear ratio is needed to match the rotor
speed to the generator speed.
d) What is the efficiency of the wind turbine system (including blades, transmission,
shafts, and generator) under these conditions?
Question No 6
A man in a fine Italian suit comes to your door offering to sell you a wind turbine to
go on your roof. He says that you will be able to produce all of the electricity
required for your home because his WindMaster 5,000 turbine has reached an
efficiency of 73%. How would you respond to this salesman? Would you buy this
turbine?
Question No 7
a. You made a homemade wind turbine that has 3 blades that are one meter long
each. You live at sea level so the air density is about 1.23 kilograms per meter
cubed. The wind is blowing at 12 meters per second. What is the theoretical power
output in this wind?
b. You hook your turbine up to a multimeter and find that it is pumping out 12 amps
and 33 volts. What is your actual power output?
c. Now calculate the coefficient of power for the turbine.

Short Questions
Besides being nondepletable, what are the other advantages of wind power?
Why are wind turbines on tall towers?
For the latest data available, list the top five countries with wind turbines installed
and their capacity.

How wind turbines are classified?


What are the main components in nacelle, write their function as well.
Why gear box is used in nacelle of horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT)?

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