Technical Note

Design optimization and site matching of direct-drive permanent magnet

wind power generator systems
H. Li
a, b,
*
, Z. Chen
a
a
Institute of Energy Technology, Aalborg University, Aalborg East DK-9220, Denmark
b
State Key Laboratory of Power Transmission Equipment and System Security and New Technology, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China
a r t i c l e i n f o
Article history:
Received 18 July 2007
Accepted 2 April 2008
Available online 22 October 2008
Keywords:
Wind turbines
Direct-drive
Permanent magnet generator
Design optimization
Site matching
a b s t r a c t
This paper investigates the possible site matching of the direct-drive wind turbine concepts based on the
electromagnetic design optimization of permanent magnet (PM) generator systems. Firstly, the analytical
models of a three-phase radial-ux PM generator with a back-to-back power converter are presented.
The optimum design models of direct-drive PM wind generation system are developed with an improved
genetic algorithm, and a 500-kW direct-drive PM generator for the minimal generator active material
cost is compared to demonstrate the effectiveness of the design optimization. Forty-ve PM generator
systems, the combinations of ve rated rotor speeds in the range of 1030 rpm and nine power ratings
from 100 kW to 10 MW, are optimally designed, respectively. The optimum results are compared
graphically in terms of the generator design indexes. Next, according to the design principle of the
maximum wind energy capture, the rotor diameter and the rated wind speed of a direct-drive wind
turbine with the optimum PM generator are determined. The annual energy output (AEO) is also pre-
sented using the Weibull density function. Finally, the maximum AEO per cost (AEOPC) of the optimized
wind generator systems is evaluated at eight potential sites with annual mean wind speeds in the range
of 310 m/s, respectively. These results have shown the suitable designs for the optimum site matching
of the investigated PM generator systems.
2008 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
1. Introduction
Most cost-effective and reliable large wind energy conversion
systems are becoming the main focus of wind energy technology
development in order to make wind energy to be competitive with
the other more traditional sources of electrical energy like coal, gas
and nuclear generation. Various wind turbine concepts and wind
generators have been developed during last two decades. Accord-
ing to the construction of drive trains, these wind turbine concepts
may be classied into the geared drives and the direct-drive con-
cepts. Compared to the geared drive concepts, direct-drive concepts
may be more attractive due to the advantages of simplied drive
train and higher overall efciency, reliability and availability by
omitting the gearbox [119]. Especially, most of larger machines are
intended for offshore use where the trend has been toward very
low maintenance designs. On the other hand, in various wind
power generators, permanent magnet (PM) machines have higher
ratio of power to weight, reliability, and efciency than electrically
excited machines. In addition, the use of PM machines becomes
attractive than before, because the performance of PM materials is
improving and the cost of PM materials is decreasing in recent
years. Therefore, these advantages and trends may make direct-
drive PM wind generator systems more attractive for wind turbine
concepts, especially for offshore applications [610]. Currently,
Zephyros (currently Harakosan) and Mitsubishi are using this
concept, and the largest capacity is up to 2 MWon the market [11].
Fig. 1(a) is a scheme of grid connection of the direct-drive concept,
and Fig. 1(b) illustrates a sketch of a wind turbine nacelle of
a direct-drive PM synchronous generator (PMSG) conguration.
Withrapiddevelopment of technologyandwithsignicant growth
of wind power capacity installed worldwide, one of the trends of wind
turbines is to increase the scale of direct-drive wind turbine concepts
with the maximumenergy yield and the minimumcost, especially for
offshore wind power applications. However, the energy production of
wind turbines depends upon many factors, for example wind climates
of a potential site, the hub height, the rated wind speed, the cut-in and
cut-out windspeedof windturbines andthegenerator design[1218].
In addition, direct-drive PM generator costs are mainly dependent on
the chosen generator diameter. Larger generator diameters decrease
the necessarygenerator lengthandactive magnetic material costs, but
increase the generator structural costs, technical difculties of
* Corresponding author. Institute of Energy Technology, Aalborg University,
Aalborg East DK-9220, Denmark.
E-mail addresses: cqulh@163.com (H. Li), zch@iet.aau.dk (Z. Chen).
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Renewable Energy
j ournal homepage: www. el sevi er. com/ l ocat e/ renene
0960-1481/$ see front matter 2008 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
doi:10.1016/j.renene.2008.04.041
Renewable Energy 34 (2009) 11751184
transport and assembly. Furthermore, according to Ref. [13],
experience with the existing wind farms has shown that some of the
wind power plants have failed completely or performed poorly espe-
cially insome developing countries because the installedwindturbine
system do not match the wind site. Consequently, the problem of op-
timum site matching of a suitable wind generator system for higher
energy yield and lower cost needs to be investigated.
Though some comparisons and choices of suitable wind tur-
bines at a specic site have been researched, comparisons are done
usually upon collecting the commercial wind turbines data so that
it is difcult to understand the interrelationship between design
and economical performances [12,13]. In addition, the often used
capacity factor (CF) for assessing the optimum site matching of
wind turbine generators may be not reasonable without consider-
ing the system costs. Moreover, some optimum designs of PMwind
generators at different power levels are mainly based on the
comparison of the generator design indexes [510], the character-
istics of wind turbines and wind distribution have been seldom
considered. Therefore, in order to assess the site matching of the
direct-drive wind generator under various combinations of rated
rotor speeds and rated power levels, the electromagnetic optimi-
zation of direct-drive PM generators is necessary, and the index of
annual energy output per cost (AEOPC) can be taken into consid-
eration to select the most cost-effective PM synchronous generator
(PMSG) system for a potential site. The contribution of this paper
investigates the optimum potential site matching of large direct-
drive PM wind power generator systems by considering both the
electromagnetic optimization and the maximizing wind energy
capture characteristics.
In this paper, rstly, the electromagnetic design models of
a three-phase radial-ux surface mounted PM generator with
a back-to-back power electronic converter are presented. The
electromagnetic design optimization is developed with an im-
proved genetic algorithm and demonstrated by the electromag-
netic design of a 500-kW direct-drive PM generator system. Next,
design optimization of 45 PM generator systems with various
rated power levels and rated rotational speeds is obtained and
compared graphically based on the generator design indexes,
including the generator system cost, the generator outer di-
ameter, the torque density and the torque per cost. Furthermore,
according to the design principle of the maximum wind energy
capture, the rotor diameter and the rated wind speed of the
corresponding direct-drive wind turbine with the optimum PM
generator are determined. Finally, by using the performance
index of the maximum AEOPC, the optimum potential site
matching is analyzed for each annual mean wind speeds ranging
310 m/s, respectively.
2. Design optimization of PM generator systems
Though various topologies of PM machines are possible to be
used for direct-drive wind turbines, the radial-ux PM (RFPM)
machine with surface mounted magnets seems to be a better choice
for low-speed, direct-drive large wind turbines due to its simple
structure and reliability [59]. In this paper, a three-phase RFPM
machine with a back-to-back power electronic converter is
investigated.
Considering the rotor speed range of a medium or large wind
turbine is typical in the range of 1030 rpm [14,15], 45 direct-drive
PMSG systems with the combinations of ve rated rotor speeds
from10 rpmto 30 rpmand nine rated power levels from100 kWto
10 MWare designed. At each given rated rotational speed and rated
power, the direct-drive PMSG with a back-to-back power converter
is optimally designed for the minimum generator system cost by
using an improved genetic algorithm.
2.1. Design modeling of RFPM machines
The machine parameters are calculated based on well-known
analytical methods using equivalent circuit models. This subsection
describes the key analytical models used to determine the
dimensions of the active parts and the important equations used to
determine the parameters of the equivalent circuit.
Fig. 2 illustrates one pole of an RFPM machine. The slots and
teeth are characterized by the slot height (h
s
), the slot pitch (s) and
the tooth width (b
d
).
The stator yoke heights h
ys
is determined by the allowed ux
densities in the stator
h
ys

B
g0
b
m
L
e
2

B
ys
L
u
(1)
where b
m
is the magnet width,

B
ys
is the peak stator yoke ux
density, L
e
is the equivalent core length, and L
u
is the available iron
stack length. In this case, the stator and rotor yoke heights are
assumed as the same value.
The magnet thickness h
m
as a function of air gap ux density is
given by [2]
h
m

B
g0
m
rm
g
eff
B
rm
(2)
where B
rm
is the remanent ux density of the magnets (1.2 T), m
rm
is
the relative permeability of the permanent magnet material, and
g
eff
is the effective air gap, which can be given as
Grid
PMSG
Converter
b
a
Fig. 1. Congurationof adirect-drivePMwindgenerator system. (a) Scheme of agrid-connectedPMgenerator systemand(b) sketchof a direct-drivePMwindturbines of Zephyros [11].
H. Li, Z. Chen / Renewable Energy 34 (2009) 11751184 1176
g
eff
k
c
_
g
h
m
m
rm
_
(3)
where k
c
is the Carter factor for the stator slots [16] and g is the
mechanical air gap.
As the machine has PM poles on the rotor, the magnetizing
inductance can be given by [2,16]
L
sm

6m
0
L
e
r
s
k
w
N
s

p p
2
g
eff
2
(4)
where m
0
is the constant of the permeability of vacuum, r
s
is the
stator radius, N
s
is the number of turns of the phase winding, k
w
is
the winding factor, and p is the number of pole pairs. The leakage
inductance L
sl
has to be added to complete the synchronous
inductance expression. Slot, air gap, and end-winding leakage in-
ductances are calculated as given in Refs. [9,16]. The fundamental
harmonic of the air gap ux density can be calculated as
B
g1
B
rm
h
m
m
rm
g
eff
4
p
sin
_
pb
m
2s
p
_
(5)
where s
p
is the pole pitch.
The no-load voltage induced by this ux density in a stator
winding can be calculated as [2]
E
p

2
p
k
w
N
s
u
m
r
s
L
e
B
g1
(6)
where u
m
is the mechanical angular speed of the rotor.
The copper losses are calculated from the currents and the
resistance. The phase resistance is calculated as
R
s

r
cu
L
cu
A
cu
(7)
where r
cu
is the resistivity of copper, L
cu
is the length of the con-
ductor of the phase winding and A
cu
is the cross-sectional area of
the conductor, which can be given as [2]
A
cu
k
fills
pqb
s
h
s
h
w

N
s
(8)
where q is the number of slots per pole per phase, k
lls
is the slot ll
factor, and h
w
is the slot wedge thickness.
The iron losses are approximated with Steinmetz formula
[2,10,16]
p
Fe
2p
Fe0h
_
f
e
f
0
_
_

B
Fe

B
0
_
2
2p
Fe0e
_
f
e
f
0
_
2
_

B
Fe

B
0
_
2
(9)
where f
e
is the frequency of the eldinthe iron, p
Fe0h
andp
Fe0e
are the
specic hysteresis loss and the specic eddy-current loss (in W/kg)
inthe laminatedstator core for a givenfrequencyf
0
(50 Hz) anda ux
density

B
0
(1.5 T).
Table 1 gives the specic parameters of the investigated PM
generators.
2.2. Power electronic converter modeling
In direct-drive wind turbine concepts, a back-to-back PWM full
power converter can be used as the interface between the stator of
PM generator and grids in order to ensure that the generator cur-
rents and the grid currents are sinusoidal [5,17]. Fig. 3 shows a main
circuit topology of a back-to-back PWM power converter, which is
composed of a generator side converter, a grid side converter and
a dc-link capacitor. A cost estimate is given in Table 1. By using the
full power converter, variable speed operation of PM generator
systems can be controlled so that the wind turbine can operate at
its maximum efciency.
In order to reduce saturation and to get a compromise between
the converter rating and generator rating, the controller can adjust
the phase angle between generator angle and current, so that the
amplitude of the stator terminal voltage equals the internal in-
duced voltage. This mode of operation introduces the lowest power
rating requirements on both generator and rectier, so that it can
utilize the PMSG and converter best. According to the investigation
by Ref. [5], the type of rectier to be selected is strongly dependent
on the machine synchronous reactance X
s
. For values of X
s
between
0.5 pu and 1.5 pu, the IGBT PWM rectier can be used, and the DC
voltage can be kept constant for all generator rotational speeds.
However, for values of X
s
above 1.5 pu, even with a PWM rectier,
the power factor is very low, and the generator and rectier rating
must be increased strongly. Therefore, the synchronous reactance is
limited to 0.51.5 pu in the design optimization as a constraint
There are various ways of modeling converter losses [2,9,16,17]. In
this case, the losses in the power electronic converter p
conv
are
modeled as [2]
p
conv

p
convN
31
_
1 10
I
s
I
sN
5
I
2
s
I
2
sN
10
I
g
I
gN
5
I
2
g
I
2
gN
_
(10)
where p
convN
is the dissipation in the converter at the rated power
(3% of the rated power of the converter), I
s
is the generator side
converter current, I
sN
is the generator side converter rated current,
I
g
is the grid side converter current, and I
gN
is the grid side con-
verter rated current.

b
d
h
ys
h
s
r
s
b
m

p
h
yr
h
m
g
Fig. 2. Basic dimension of one radial-ux PMSG pole.
Table 1
Loss modeling and cost modeling parameters
Main performance constants
Peak teeth ux density B
t0
(T) 1.6
Remanent ux density of PM B
r
(T) 1.2
Loss modeling
Hysteresis losses at 1.5 T and 50 Hz p
Fe0h
(w/kg) 2
Eddy-current losses at 1.5 T and 50 Hz p
Fe0e
(w/kg) 0.5
Cost modeling
Specic cost of laminated iron c
Fe
[Euro/kg] 3
Specic cost of copper c
cu
[Euro/kg] 15
Specic cost of NdFeB magnets c
m
[Euro/kg] 30
Specic cost of reference generator structure c
str
[Euro] 15,000
Specic cost of power electronics c
con
[Euro/kW] 40
Specic cost of sub electrical system c
subsystem
[Euro/kW] 38
H. Li, Z. Chen / Renewable Energy 34 (2009) 11751184 1177
2.3. Optimization models of PM generator systems
In order to investigate the most cost-effective PM wind gener-
ator system, the generator system cost is used as the optimized
objective function.
C
w
C
g act
C
g str
C
con
C
subsystem
(11)
where
C
g_act
c
cu
G
cu
c
Fe
G
Fe
c
m
G
m
is the active generator material
cost; c
cu
, c
Fe,
c
m
are the unit costs of the copper, the active iron
and the permanent magnets; G
cu
, G
Fe
, G
m
are the weight of the
copper, the active iron and the permanent magnets,
respectively.
C
g_str
is the generator structure cost, which is approximated as
C
g str
c
str
1=2D
1
=2
3
L
tot

3
and c
str
is the cost of a ref-
erence structure of 2 m diameter and 1 m length [9].
C
con
is the cost of power electronic converter.
C
subsystem
is the other electrical subsystem cost, which includes
transformer, cable, switchgear and so on.
As the basis for this criterion, the different specic component
cost is given in Table 1, respectively.
In order to optimize the machines to the criterion (11), six var-
iables are chosen to vary within a certain range, including the air
gap radius (r
s
), the stator length (L), the slot height (h
s
), the pole
pitch (s
p
), the peak air gap ux density

B
go
and the peak stator
yoke ux density

B
ys
. The following assumptions are used in the
optimization program.
(1) The number of slots per pole per phase is q 1. A two-layer
winding with two conductors per slot (N
slot
2) is used to
make the end-windings simple due to an integer slot winding.
The stator slots are open and a non-magnetic wedge thickness
is h
w
5 mm. The slot lling factor is set to 0.65 for the outer
diameter larger than 2 m, and is set to 0.45 below 2 m outer
diameter. The slot width b
s
is 45% of the slot pitch and the
stator slots are skewed by one slot pitch, so that the torque
ripple can be reduced [8,16].
(2) For mechanical reasons, the ratio of slot depth to slot width is
limited over the range of 410, which prevents excessive tooth
mechanical vibrations from occurring. The air gap is equal to
0.001 of the air gap diameter.
(3) The magnet width b
m
is kept at 70% of the pole pitch, but the
minimum value is limited to be larger 3 times the air gap
thickness to reduce the tangential fringing ux of the PMs in
the air gap [16]. The magnet material is NdFeB with a rema-
nent magnet ux density of 1.2 T. To avoid demagnetization of
the magnets, the peak ux density generated by the stator
winding

B
s
is limited to be smaller than

B
g0
(0.71.0 T). Dur-
ing normal operation,

B
s
depends on the peak value of the
stator magnet-motive force (mmf)

V
s
and the effective air gap
length g
eff
, which is given as

B
s
m
0

V
s
=g
eff
. In addition,
since the PM cover a pole arc of 126

(b
m
7.0s
p
), the ratio of
leakage inductance to magnetizing inductance is also limited
to be larger than 1.27 to avoid the risk of demagnetization at
a short circuit at the generator terminals [9].
(4) The maximum ux density in the stator and rotor yoke is set to
1.2 T, in order to reduce the drop in mmf in those parts. This
also reduces iron losses in the stator yoke.
(5) The current density in the stator windings is limited to 36 A/
mm
2
, and the current loading is limited to 4060 kA/m to
prevent excessive and avoid critical cooling requirements.
2.4. Optimization approach
The genetic algorithm (GA) belongs to the group of probabilistic
searching methods, which have high probability of locating the
global optimum in the multidimensional searching space discard-
ing all existing local optimal solutions. The idea of genetic opti-
mization is to imitate evolution in nature. A standard GA is
described by the following steps [20]:
Step (1) Initialize a population of solutions.
Step (2) Evaluate each solution in the population.
Step (3) Create new solutions by mating current solutions: apply
mutations and recombination as the parents mate.
Step (4) Delete members of the population to make room for the
new solutions.
Step (5) Evaluate the new solutions and insert them into the
population.
Step (6) If the available generations have expired, halt and return
to the best solution; otherwise go to step [20].
The aim of the algorithm is to nd the right genes for a pop-
ulation member thrive in the environment described by the
objective functions and the constraints. The feasibility of the design
is guaranteed by adding a penalty to the objective function f(X) (e.g.
cost) due to constraint violations.
FX f X

i
a
i
max0; g
i
X
2
(12)
where a
i
is the scaling parameter, g
i
(X) is the constraint function
and X is the vector of the optimal design variables.
In this study, an improved genetic algorithm (IGA) is used to
optimize the direct-drive PM generator system, which has been
developed and applied to the design optimization of induction
machines and power transformers in our previous works [21,22]. In
the IGA model, each string (chromosome) is expressed by the real
number code for the chosen optimal design variable; the stochastic
crossover method incorporating the arithmetic crossover tech-
nique and the uniform crossover scheme is developed to increase
the solution space and speed up the convergence of optimization;
Fig. 3. Main circuit topology of a back-to-back PWM full power converter for PMSG.
H. Li, Z. Chen / Renewable Energy 34 (2009) 11751184 1178
the crossover rate and mutation rate can be dynamically regulated
with the processing of optimization.
Forty-ve PM generators with the combinations of ve rated
rotational speeds from 10 rpm to 30 rpm and nine rated power
levels from 100 kW to 10 MW are designed optimally by using the
above mentioned IGA. Fig. 4 depicts the ow chart of the main
computation procedure for a PM generator system at a given rotor
speed. Firstly, for a given rated rotational speed and a rated power,
the initial population is randomly generated by the six variables
within a specic range. Next, according to the described procedures
of the IGA and the analytical models of PMgenerator, the radial-ux
PM generator with a back-to-back power converter is optimized to
obtain the minimal generator system cost. The above mentioned
assumptions of mechanical limitations and performance con-
straints are applied in the optimization. Once the best design is
obtained, the program will update the rated power and repeat
the optimization in the specic range of rated power levels. After
the optimal design in a given range of rated powers is nished, the
program will update the rated rotational speed to repeat the opti-
mization. Finally, when all of the combinations in the ranges of
rated rotational speeds and rated power levels are implemented,
the optimal design procedure will stop. The optimal results with
the combinations of rated rotor speeds and rated power levels can
be obtained.
2.5. Test of design optimization
In order to demonstrate the electromagnetic designs and the
optimization models, the 500-kW direct-drive PM generator sys-
temwith a rated speed 32 rpm has been chosen. Table 2 shows the
detailed comparison of the IGA and the numerical optimization by
Grauers [9].
From the optimum results presented in Table 2, it can be seen
that the good agreement exists with respect to the generator
dimensions and performance. Also a lower total active material
weight can be obtained by using the IGA.
2.6. Comparisons of generator design indexes
The comparisons of the optimized results of 45 PM generators
with different rated rotational speeds and rated power levels are
given in three-dimensional graphical format. Including the gener-
ator system cost, the criteria used for comparisons are the stator
outer diameter, the torque density and the torque per cost, which
are the key design indexes of PM machines.
Figs. 5 and 6 depict three-dimensional representations in terms
of the generator system cost (criterion) and the stator outer di-
ameter for the optimized PM generator system. The results show
the cost of the generator systembecomes higher as the rated power
Fig. 4. The ow chart of the optimal design procedure by using IGA.
H. Li, Z. Chen / Renewable Energy 34 (2009) 11751184 1179
increases and the required rotational speed decreases. In addition,
when the power rating is larger than 3 MW and the rated speed is
in the range of 1025 rpm, the stator outer diameters of the opti-
mized generator systems may exceed 5 m, which may lead to have
more difculties of transport and assembly.
Figs. 7 and 8 depict three-dimensional representations in terms
of the torque density (torque per active weight) and the torque per
cost for the optimized PM generator system.
For the same rated power level, it can be seen that the torque
density is almost similar at the different rated rotation speed,
because it is independent of the choice of rotation speed in a certain
speed range. Furthermore, both the torque per weight and the
torque per cost become larger as the rated power increases. This is
also a reason that the modern direct-drive wind turbines will
become larger and larger in term of rating powers. From the
viewpoint of the torque per cost, the larger PM wind generators
with lower rated rotational speed may be more suitable, however,
the cost of the generator system is inevitable to be more expensive,
and the outer diameter also become larger. So it is necessary to
further consider wind climates to choose a suitable direct-drive PM
generator systems.
3. Site matching of the optimized PM wind generator systems
3.1. Wind turbine modeling
Most large three-bladed horizontal axial wind turbines are
designed to operate at the maximumaerodynamic efciency, C
p max
at the optimal tip speed ratio ranges between l
opt
68 [15]. The
maximum aerodynamic efciencies typically vary between 0.4 and
0.5 [15]. The available rated shaft power, P
T
can be usually calcu-
lated as a function of the rated wind speed as
P
T

1
8
rC
p max
pD
2
v
3
r
(13)
where r (kg/m
3
) is the air density, v
r
(m/s) is the rated wind speed
and D (m) is the rotor diameter of a wind turbine.
In this study, PM wind generator systems for different rated
power and rated wind speed are assumed to have the same max-
imum aerodynamic efciencies and the optimum tip speed ratio at
rated loads. The system efciency is also assumed to be 90% at the
rated load for each design. The rotor diameter D and the rated wind
Table 2
Comparison of the optimized 500 kW PM direct-drive generator system
IGA Optimization in Ref. [9]
Design specication
Air gap radius r
s
[m] 1.13 1.08
Stator length L [m] 0.54 0.55
Stator slot height h
s
[mm] 60 64
Pole pitch T
p
[mm] 61.1 68.3
Peak air gap ux density B
g0
[T] 0.78 0.77
Peak stator yoke ux density B
ysm
[T] 1.13 1.2
Main dimensions
Air gap [mm] 2.26 2.15
Stator slot width b
s
[mm] 9.2 11.7
Stator tooth width b
d
[mm] 11.2 11.1
Stator yoke height h
ys
[mm] 14.2 15.9
Rotor yoke height h
yr
[mm] 14.2 15.4
Magnet height h
m
[mm] 5.8 6.3
Magnet width b
m
[mm] 42.4 47.8
Performance parameters and material weight
Generator output frequency [Hz] 30.9 26.5
Current density [A/mm
2
] 4.02 3.6
Stator yoke losses [W] 784 760
Stator teeth losses [W] 2510 1950
Full load efciency [%] 94.15 94.2
Magnet weight [kg] 121 124
Copper weight [kg] 630 779
Core weight [kg] 1860 1786
Total active material weight [ton] 2611 2690
Fig. 5. Three-dimensional representation of the optimized system cost.
Fig. 6. Three-dimensional representation of the stator outer diameter.
Fig. 7. Three-dimensional representation of the torque density.
H. Li, Z. Chen / Renewable Energy 34 (2009) 11751184 1180
speed v
r
of wind turbines can be rewritten as a function of the rated
rotor speed and the rated power
D

8P
N
=0:9
p
4
rC
p max
_
60l
opt
n
r
_
3
5

(14)
v
r

n
1
pD
60l
opt
(15)
where P
N
(W) is the rated output power of wind generator systems
and n
r
(rpm) is the rated operating shaft speed.
According to the various combinations of the rated power levels
and the rated rotational speeds, Figs. 9 and 10 show the rotor
diameter of wind turbine blades and the rated wind speed with
C
p max
0.45 and l
opt
7, respectively.
For a given rated rotational speed, it can be seen that both the
rotor diameter and the rated wind speed increase as the required
output power of the generation system increases. Additionally at
the same rated power level, the rated wind speed increases as the
rated rotor speed increases in order to keep a constant of the op-
timum tip speed ratio, however, the corresponding rotor diameter
of wind turbines has to decrease to keep the same rated power.
3.2. Calculation of annual energy output
The production of electricity by a wind turbine at a specic site
depends on many factors. These factors include the annual mean
wind speed of a potential site and the wind speed characteristics of
wind turbines, namely, the cut-in wind speed (v
i
), the rated wind
speed (v
r
) and the cut-out wind speed (v
c
) and the hub height (H).
Fig. 11 shows a typical power characteristic of a wind turbine.
In this case, the typical cut-inwind speed (v
i
) is chosen to be 25%
of its rated wind speed. The cut-out wind speed (v
c
) is set to be
a constant (25 m/s) independent of the rated wind speed. The
relationship of the output power and wind speed can be described
as
Pv
_

_
0 0 v < v
i
vv
i

3
vr v
i

3
P
N
v
i
v < v
r
P
N
v
r
v < v
c
0 v
c
v
(16)
The annual energy output (AEO) can be approximately estimated by
integrating the product of the output power and the probability
density function of wind speed for a specic site [13,14], which can
be described as
AEO 8760
_
vc
v
i
Pvf vdv
8760P
N
_
_
1
v
r
v
i

3
_
vr
v
i
v v
i

3
f vdv
_
vc
vr
f vdv
_
_
(17)
where f(v) is Weibull density distribution, which is given as
Fig. 8. Three-dimensional representation of the torque per cost.
Fig. 9. Rotor diameters versus rated powers and rated rotor speeds.
Fig. 10. Rated wind speeds versus rated powers and rated rotor speeds.
v
r
v
i
P
N
v
c
Wind speed
Output power
Fig. 11. Power characteristic of a wind turbine.
H. Li, Z. Chen / Renewable Energy 34 (2009) 11751184 1181
f v
k
c
_
v
c
_
k1
e
v=c
k

k > 0; c > 1 (18)

where k is the shape parameter and c is the scale parameter.
The wind speed of candidate sites is usually measured at
10 m anemometer height [14]. If these heights do not match the
hub height of a wind turbine, it is necessary to extrapolate the
wind speeds to the hub height of the turbine. The extrapolated
wind speed, v
H
corresponding to the hub height is given by
[13,14]
v
H
v
0
H=H
0

a
(19)
where v
0
is the wind speed at height H
0
10 m above the ground
level and a is the power index constant. In this case, a is assumed to
be 1/7. The hub height of wind turbine is approximately calculated
with 1.2 times of turbine blades diameter.
3.3. Site matching of the optimized PM generators
Since the minimumrequired wind speed for a typical wind farm
is about 2.54 m/s at 10 m anemometer height [14], eight different
sites with annual mean wind speeds in the range of 310 m/s at
10 m height are used to determine the suitable PM generator sys-
tems. The majority of wind farm sites around the world have the
annual mean wind speeds in the range of 58 m/s [15], sites with
the wind speed ranges of 34 m/s and 910 m/s are taken into
consideration as the low and high speed regions, respectively.
According to the main wind data provided in Refs. [1214], the
wind distribution parameters of the investigated eight potential
sites can be estimated by Weibull statistical model, which are
presented in Table 3, respectively.
For each potential site, the AEO is calculated for the 45 opti-
mized PMgenerator systems, then the performance indexes of AEO
per cost (AEOPC) are determined and compared, respectively, in
which the cost is referred to the investigated generator systemcost.
At a given rated power, the maximum AEOPC (kWh/Euro) for each
potential wind site is obtained, as shown in Table 4. Fig. 12 depicts
a three-dimensional representation according to the results shown
in Table 4.
In Table 4, the bold face represents the maximum AEOPC at
a give mean wind speed. As it can be seen that the performance of
AEOPC increases for the same rated power machine as the annual
mean wind speed of a potential site increases, it is beyond doubt
that the wind turbine is more cost-effective when it is installed at
a site with higher mean wind speed. In addition, at any site, the
AEOPC is different for the wind turbines with different rated power
levels. When the rated power is larger than 3 MW, the optimized
direct-drive PM generator systems have a decreasing in AEOPC as
the power ratings increase, this may be a reason that the cost of the
direct-drive generator structure could rise more rapidly than the
energy production for the system, because these generators have
an optimum outer diameter that is larger than 5.0 m. Furthermore,
though the AEOPC decreases as the MW wind turbines sizes
increase, the decrease trend may be rather small as the annual wind
speed increase of the installed sites. Fig. 13 depicts the AEOPC of the
optimized PM generator systems in typical wind sites with annual
mean wind speeds of 58 m/s at 10 m height. The results show that
the PMgenerator systems with rated powers of 500 kW, 1 MW, and
1.5 MW have highest AEOPC in the typical wind sites. Moreover it
could be concluded that the rated powers ranging from 500 kW up
Table 3
Wind distribution parameters of potential sites at 10 M height
Classications of
wind speed
Sites no. Annual mean wind
speed v
0
[m/s]
Shape parameter k Scale
parameter c
Low 1 3 1.52 3.33
2 4 1.95 4.52
Medium 3 5 1.96 5.64
4 6 2 6.78
5 7 2.1 7.91
6 8 2.15 9.05
High 7 9 2.3 11.35
8 10 2.4 12.57
Table 4
The maximum AEOPC (kWh/Euro) of each potential site for a given rated power
Mean wind
speed [m/s]
100 kW 500 kW 1 MW 1.5 MW 3 MW 5 MW 7.5 MW 8.5
MW
10
MW
3 9.89 11.21 11.09 10.97 10.07 8.55 7.65 7.17 6.74
4 15.55 18.37 17.76 17.94 16.99 13.341 13.34 12.56 11.86
5 19.84 25.07 24.53 24.36 24.362 21.97 20.70 19.72 18.91
6 24.30 30.54 30.82 30.18 30.09 28.14 27.24 26.17 25.36
7 27.91 36.54 36.90 36.78 34.83 33.14 32.63 31.53 30.78
8 30.43 42.34 42.37 42.52 39.36 37.63 36.97 36.66 35.51
9 32.16 46.47 46.48 46.69 43.26 42.07 40.66 40.47 39.38
10 33.44 49.62 50.19 50.26 46.33 45.58 43.22 43.13 42.12
Fig. 12. Three-dimensional representation of the AEOPC.
Fig. 13. The AEOPC variation in typical wind regions.
H. Li, Z. Chen / Renewable Energy 34 (2009) 11751184 1182
to 1.5 MW may be more suitable to match some potential sites of
low, medium and high mean wind speed in term of AEOPC.
Table 5 shows the corresponding rated rotor speeds and rated
wind speeds of the optimum wind turbines with the maximum
AEOPC in Table 4. The bold face represents the corresponding
values with the maximum AEOPC at a give mean wind speed.
As it can be seen in Table 5, the rated rotational speed or
designed wind speed of a wind turbine may be different at the
different sites in order to obtain the better AEOPC for a given rated
power. That is, it is not possible to keep the most cost-effectiveness
for all wind climates for any one optimumwind turbines. Moreover,
when the rated power is larger than 3 MW, the range of rated
rotational speed with the better AEOPC is about 1015 rpm in the
typical annual mean wind speed range of 58 m/s.
It should be mentioned that the presented design in this study is
mainly limited to the generator part. In addition, the generator
system cost is roughly estimated, and the specic costs of power
electronics converter and generator active materials may vary
depending onthe market. These factors may have a signicant effect
on the optimization results, so that the obtained indexes may not be
necessarily toreect exactly practical performances. Inaddition, the
most cost-effective wind turbine size may be affected with site-
specic wind resources, transportation logistics, and construction
and erection issues. However, the developed optimal design pro-
cedures and the optimized results may still be useful as a guide for
designandchoice of the suitable direct-drive PMgenerator systems.
4. Conclusions
In order to investigate the performances of large direct-drive
wind turbines with PM generators and the site matching at some
potential sites in terms of the AEOPC, the optimal design models of
the radial-ux PM generator have been developed with an
improved genetic algorithm, and have been demonstrated with
a 500-kW direct-drive PM wind generator. Forty-ve PM generator
systems with combinations of rated power ranges of 100 kW to
10 MW and rated rotational speed ranges of 1030 rpm have been
designed for the minimum generator system cost. The optimum
results have been presented and compared by using the generator
design indexes including the generator systemcost, the stator outer
diameter, the torque density and the torque per cost. The results
have shown the PMmachines with the lower rated rotational speed
and the higher rated power level have much better performance of
the torque density and the torque per cost, however, these gener-
ator also become more expensive and larger outer diameters. In
addition, based on the design principle of the maximum wind
energy capture of wind turbines and the optimized PM generators,
the site matching of direct-drive wind turbines have been in-
vestigated for eight potential wind sites. According to the perfor-
mance of AEOPC, the direct-drive PM generator systems with the
rated power of 500 kW, 1 MWand 1.5 MW may be more suitable to
respectively match some potential sites of low, medium and high
annual mean wind speed. From the cost-effective viewpoint of
energy capture and costs, the wind generator system that has the
highest AEOPC may be the best matched turbine by considering the
information of the potential sites, wind turbine characteristics and
generator design, though the decision of choosing the best wind
generator system depends on the various factors, including utility
loads, installation costs and grid requirements. Furthermore, the
developed procedure could be used to choose the cost-effective
direct-drive PM generator system for the wind power developer or
the power utilities carrying out the planning of wind power station
installation.
Acknowledgements
The research was supported by a grant from the EU sixth
framework program UP-WIND project. The authors are grateful for
the support.
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speed [m/s]
100 kWrpm
(m/s)
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10 30(7.63) 30(10.53) 30(12.09) 25(12.19) 20(12.81) 20(14.19) 15(13.71) 15(14.06) 15(14.52)
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