18th International Energy & Environment Fair and

Conference
SESSION 31: Domestic Design & Production in Energy

Wind Turbine Design Approaches

Assoc. Prof. Mahmut F. Akit
27.4.2012

Faculty Member at Sabanc University

Manager of MILRES (National Wind Turbine Development Project)
1

Wind Turbines - History

Early Uses of Wind Power

Persian windmill for grain
processing (500 900 A.D.)
Dutch tower mills for
grain processing and
water pumping (1300
1900 A.D.)
Brush postmill for electric
power generation. 17 m,
12 kW (1888)
Mechanical water
pumping for livestock
(1850 Present A.D.)

Wind Turbines - Power

c
Power = A
2
Energy = Power Time

Wind Turbines - Power

Larger Turbines More MW
How Large? Logistics ?
Inland vs Offshore

General Construction HAWT or VAWT?

Wind Turbine Designs

Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine
(HAWT)

Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

(VAWT)

General Construction HAWT or VAWT?

Other VAWT Designs

H VAWT

Screen VAWT

V VAWT

Darrieus VAWT

What kind of HAWT?

Other HAWT Designs

Upwind/
Downwind ?
Wind seeking
Oscillations
CG vs Tower
moments

Number of
Blades?

What kind of HAWT?

Blades

at
of
e

a
e

Coefficient of Performance (Cp)

ncy

Tip Speed Ratio (TSR) = 2 RN/60/V

BRT wor elgnis owT

SKF Engineering Handbook Wind

FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY

Gearbox or Direct Drive ?

Figure 8: Direct drive wind turbine with 2-point suspension.

1.4.1.2

1-point suspension with Nautilus

Figure 9: Direct drive wind turbine with 1-point suspension.

isuoh etarapes 2 htiw noisnepsus tniop -2 :1 er ugiF

eirepxe evahtah
t srerutcafunam enibrut niaM
Efficiency
xe evisnetxe e
h asemaG dna satseV
vaRelability
.WM 3 naht rellams senibrut

Cost

M 6.3 rieht no BRS owt sesu snemeiS

.WM 5 rieht

Turbine Size?
Generator speed vs Number of Gearbox stages
Compramise
10

Gearbox or Direct Drive ?

Wind Turbine

Turbines with
gearbox

Hybrid Turbines

Gearless Turbines
(Direct Drive)

Generator speeds [rpm]

1200 1800

150 - 400

12-30

BRAC dna BRS

sBRTrain
S owTConstruction
Power
BRC dna BRTRD

2-Point
BRT wor elgnis owT
Suspension

sgnisuoh etarapes 2 htiw noisnepsus tniop -2 :1 er ugiF

cneirepxe evah Classical

taht sreruwind
tcafun
am enidesign
brut nia
M gearbox
turbine
with
pxe evisnetxe eMain
vah ashaft
semais
G supported
dna satseVwith two bearings at two ends
.W
3 naht ris
ellsupported
ams senibrseparately
ut
MGearbox
by two bushings that
WM 6.3 rieht no
BRS otorque
wt seschanges
u snemeiS
absorb
.WM 5 rieht
12

However, the trend on larger turbines is the t

weight
becomes increasingly important.
Power Train
Construction

3-Point
Suspension

2&3 Support
Bushings

GE (1.5 MW and 3.6 MW),

NEG-Micon,
Siemens-Bonus,
Nordex,
RePower

1- Main Bearing

Shorter shaft
Shrink disk coupling
Reduced torsional mass-spring
Main shaft is supported with
a bearing at front and rigidly
Figure 2: 3-point suspension.
attached to gear box ot the aft end
Gearbox and shaft are integral
1.2.1.3
1-point suspension with Nautil
Gearbox is supported separately by two bushings that absorb
The Nautilus of an integrated main bearing de
torque changes
at the same time certain components of the g
13

SKF Engineering Handbook Wind

FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY

Power Train Construction

Figure 8: Direct drive wind turbine with 2-point suspension.

1.4.1.2

1-point suspension with Nautilus

1-Point
Suspension
1.2.1.3.1

Nautilus separate from the gearbox

Figure 9: Direct drive wind turbine with 1-point suspension.

Vestas V90-3MW
WinWind WWD3
Multibrid
Figure 3: Nautilus separate from the gearbox.

1.2.1.3.2

Nautilus integrated in the gearbox design

Main shaft is supported through one large bearing that supports

all axial and radial loads as well as bending moments
Compact nacelle
Reduced weight

2011 AB SKF

5 of 10

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Other Technologies

Modular designs
High-speed many blades
Tower oscillation damping system
Realtime health monitoring
Composite or concrete towers
Segmented blades
....

15

Milres

16

THANKS !

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