Characteristic of wind

Hartono BS
 How Winds are Created
The earths winds are caused by pressure differences
across the earths surface due to uneven heating
Local Winds: During the day the air over the land is
heated more than the air over the sea. Opposite
during the night
Day pattern: Wind blows from sea to land
Night pattern: Wind blows from land to sea
 How Winds are created
Global Winds: Occur due to greater heating of the air
near the equator than the poles. Thus wind blows in
the direction from the poles to the equator
Large ocean and land masses also affect the wind
pattern
It is important to understand these wind patterns for
the evaluation of potential wind sites
 Classes of Wind Power Density at 10 m and 50 m(a)

. 10 m (33 ft) 50 m (164 ft)

Wind Wind Speed(b) Wind Speed(b)

Power Power m/s (mph) Power m/s (mph)
Class Density Density
(W/m2) (W/m2)

1 <100 <4.4 (9.8) <200 <5.6 (12.5)

2 100 - 150 4.4 (9.8)/5.1 (11.5) 200 - 300 5.6 (12.5)/6.4 (14.3)

3 150 - 200 5.1 (11.5)/5.6 (12.5) 300 - 400 6.4 (14.3)/7.0 (15.7)

4 200 - 250 5.6 (12.5)/6.0 (13.4) 400 - 500 7.0 (15.7)/7.5 (16.8)

5 250 - 300 6.0 (13.4)/6.4 (14.3) 500 - 600 7.5 (16.8)/8.0 (17.9)

6 300 - 400 6.4 (14.3)/7.0 (15.7) 600 - 800 8.0 (17.9)/8.8 (19.7)

7 >400 >7.0 (15.7) >800 >8.8 (19.7)

 Beaufort Scale
Force Strength km/h Effect

0 Calm 0-1 Smoke rises vertically

1 Light air 1-5 Smoke drifts slowly

2 Light breeze 6-11 Wind felt on face; leaves rustle

3 Gentle breeze 12-19 Twigs move; light flag unfurls

4 Moderate breeze 20-29 Dust and paper blown about; small branches move

5 Fresh breeze 30-39 Wavelets on inland water; small trees move

6 Strong breeze 40-50 Large branches sway; umbrellas turn inside out

7 Near gale 51-61 Whole trees sway; difficult to walk against wind

8 Gale 62-74 Twigs break off trees; walking very hard

9 Strong gale 75-87 Chimney pots, roof tiles and branches blown down

10 Storm 88-101 Widespread damage to buildings

11 Violent Storm 102-117 Widespread damage to buildings

12 Hurricane Over 119 Devastation

Velocity with Height
Power vs. Velocity
 What is Wind Energy?
Wind energy is energy from moving air, caused by
temperature (and therefore pressure) differences in the
atmosphere. Irradiance from the sun heats up the air,
forcing the air to rise.
Conversely, where temperatures fall, a low pressure
zone develops. Winds (i.e. air flows) balance out the
differences. Hence, wind energy is solar energy
converted into kinetic energy of moving air.
The Power of the Wind: Cube of
Wind Speed

The energy content of the wind varies with the

cube (the third power) of the wind speed, e.g.
if the wind speed is twice as high it contains
eight times as much energy.
AIR DENSITY
How much power is in wind energy?
Wind Speed Measurement:
Anemometers & Wind Vanes
The measurement of wind speeds is usually done using a cup
anemometer. The cup anemometer has a vertical axis and three
cups which capture the wind. The number of revolutions per
minute is registered electronically in a data logger located at the
base of the tower.

Quality Anemometers are a necessity for wind energy

measurement. Inexpensive anemometers are not usable for wind
speed measurement since they may be very inaccurate and
calibrated poorly, A measurement error of 5 or 10 % from a poor
anemometer can result in energy estimate errors as high at 30%.

The typical monitoring station is also fitted with a wind vane to

detect the wind direction.

Wind speed and direction data is stored on a memory chip and

removed monthly or sent via cell phone.
Wind Speed Variability
Energy output from a wind turbine will vary as the wind
speed varies due to changes in weather and local surface
conditions, Much of the very short duration rapid
variations will be dampened by the inertia of the wind
turbine rotor. Across a large project individual turbine
variations will be averaged at the common point of grid
connection by the many turbines.

Diurnal (Night and Day) and Seasonal Variations

Energy output will also vary with longer term trends of
hours, days and seasons. Measuring and documenting
these variation is important in understanding the value of
a particular wind resource location.
Describing Wind Variations:
Weibull Distribution
The Weibul graph is key to understanding the wind
speed distribution for a particular site and for the
selection of the most efficient and cost effective turbine
configuration (IEC Class) for a particular project
location.

Power of the Wind

The energy potential (the power) varies in proportion to
the cube (the third power) of the wind speed, and in
proportion to the density of the air. (Its weight per unit
of volume).

Gray: Total Potential Wind Power

Blue, Usable Power (Betz Law)
Red: Turbine Power Output
Mode, Mean, and rmc Wind Speed
Mode speed is defined as the speed
corresponding to the hump in the distribution
function.
Mean speed over the period is defined as the
total area under the h-v curve integrated from
v = 0 to , divided by the total number of
hours in the period (8,760 if the period is one
year).
 rmc Wind Speed
Define the root mean cube or the rmc
speed in the manner similar to the root mean
square (rms) value in the alternating current
circuits

The rmc speed is useful in quickly estimating

the annual energy potential of the site
 Wind Rose
A wind rose is a diagram showing the
temporal distribution of wind direction and
azimuthal distribution of wind speed at a
given location.
Wind Shear
Wind Shear
Turbulence
Importance of Micro-Siting