MIME3450 – Energy Laboratory – Lab 4 Wind Energy (last revised 3/14/2019)

Grading sheet (cover page)

Section #
Experiment time and date:

Names % Participation
1. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ___
2. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ___
3. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ___
4. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ___

Points Score

Calculate 𝐶𝑃 ; tabulate 35
Plot Power vs. wind speed for two pitch angles; discuss 20
Plot 𝐶𝑃 vs. wind speed for two pitch angles; discuss 20
Plot 𝐶𝑃 vs. yaw angle; discuss 20
Discuss effects of pitch angle on minimum operating 5
speed
Deductions: appearance, organization, spelling and (-10)
grammar, etc.
Include step by step calculations, tables with results (-25)
Total 100

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 MIME3450 – Energy Laboratory – Lab 4 Wind Energy (last revised 3/14/2019)
Data sheet (to be included with the report)

Group #: ________
Date of experiment: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Time of experiment: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

DATA SHEET FOR WIND TURBINE

Rotor diameter: 14 inch

Air temperature [degC]:

Low pitch
Dynamic Yaw angle Voltage:
pressure: [deg] 𝑉[𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑡]
𝑄[𝑝𝑠𝑓]

High pitch
Dynamic Yaw angle Voltage:
pressure: [deg] 𝑉[𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑡]
𝑄[𝑝𝑠𝑓]

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 MIME3450 – Energy Laboratory – Lab 4 Wind Energy (last revised 3/14/2019)

OBJECTIVE

Study the impact of variable wind speed, variable pitch, variable yaw for a wind turbine, as well as
minimum operating wind speeds.

BACKGROUND

A wind turbine converts the kinetic energy of the wind to electric energy. The following
schematic illustrates a means of quantifying the efficiency of the conversion process, called the
Betz model. This model assumes that the flow is one-dimensional. In optimal conditions, the
model shows that, for a wind velocity 𝑣𝑢 (unperturbed wind speed, at far distance upstream from
2
the turbine rotor), the velocity at the rotor location is one third lower, 𝑣𝑡 = 3 𝑣𝑢 , the downstream
1 16
velocity is two thirds lower, 𝑣𝑑 = 3 𝑣𝑢 , and the power coefficient is 𝐶𝑃 = 27 ≅ 59%.

Figure 1: Betz model

[Tester, Drake, Driscoll, Golay, and Peters, Sustainable Energy, 2005, MIT, pp. 625]

For the wind:

1) Anywhere in the flow tube, mass flow rate, 𝑚̇ = 𝜌𝐴𝑈
1
2) Kinetic energy per unit mass, 𝑘𝑒 = 2 𝑈 2
1
3) 𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 = 𝑚̇ × 𝑘𝑒 = 𝜌𝐴𝑈 3
2

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 MIME3450 – Energy Laboratory – Lab 4 Wind Energy (last revised 3/14/2019)
𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 1
4) = 𝜌𝑈 3
𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 2

For the turbine: actual power output

1
𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 = 𝐶𝑃 × 𝜌𝐴𝑈 3
2
where the power coefficient, 𝐶𝑃 , is
0.4 for modern machines
0.05 for old wind mills
Example: using 1.205 kg/m3 for the density, 40 meters for the diameter, 13 m/s for the wind velocity
and 0.3 for 𝐶𝑃 , the power produced is about 500 kW.

Blade geometry for a horizontal axis wind turbine

𝐹𝑁 is the normal component (perpendicular to the plane of rotation) aerodynamic force

𝑄 is the torque produced by the aerodynamic forces
𝐵 is the number of blades
𝑐 is the airfoil chord
𝐶𝑙 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐶𝑑 are the coefficients of lift and drag
𝑟 is radial coordinate (𝑟 = 0 at the hub, 𝑟 = 𝑅 at the blade tip)

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 MIME3450 – Energy Laboratory – Lab 4 Wind Energy (last revised 3/14/2019)
Figure 2: Blade element theory: geometry and aerodynamic forces
[Manwell, McGowan, and Rogers, Wind Energy Explained. Theory, Design and Application,
2009, Wiley, pp. 120-121]

Figure 3: Typical performance curves of a variable pitch horizontal axis wind turbine
[http://www.uwig.org/wind_turbine_tech_charac_draft_final.pdf].
𝑅Ω
The tip-speed ratio is defined as 𝜆 = 𝑈 .

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 MIME3450 – Energy Laboratory – Lab 4 Wind Energy (last revised 3/14/2019)
Figure 4: Variable pitch control

Figure 5: Generic wind turbine performance curve (www.elm.eru.rl.ac.uk)

LABORATORY PROCEDURE

1. Mount the wind turbine model near the center of the wind tunnel. If the turbine is already
mounted, check that it is secure; measure the rotor diameter.
2. Set the blade pitch angle at a chosen setting; make sure all blades are set at the same pitch angle.
3. Turn on the wind tunnel and observe the behavior of the wind turbine power output.
4. For 0-degree wind-angle (from the turbine axis), also known as yaw angle, record the dynamic
pressure and voltage output at 5 different wind speeds.
5. For the largest wind speed, record the voltage outputs at 0 to 30 degrees yaw angles in 10-degree
increment (3 new measurements: 10, 20 and 30 degrees yaw).
6. Repeat step 4 (zero yaw angle) for a different pitch angle setting.

For your report:

 For each case, calculate the power produced by the turbine, the wind speed, and the power
𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟
coefficient 𝐶𝑃 = 0.5𝜌𝐴𝑈 3. Tabulate your results.
The power is calculated from the measured voltage and knowing that the electrical resistance is
𝑅 = 47.7Ω
𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 2
𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 =
𝑅
For example, for a voltage of 5 volts, the power is close to 𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 = 0.524𝑊.
2𝑄
The wind speed is calculated from the measured dynamic pressure as 𝑈 = √ 𝜌 ; you will need to
convert the dynamic pressure to the metric system (Pascals) when doing your calculations; the air

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 MIME3450 – Energy Laboratory – Lab 4 Wind Energy (last revised 3/14/2019)
𝑃
density is found from the ideal gas law as 𝜌 = , where the pressure is assumed to be one
𝑅𝑇
𝑘𝐽
atmosphere 𝑃 ≅ 101𝑘𝑃𝑎, 𝑅 = 0.287 𝑘𝑔𝐾, and the temperature is in Kelvin.
 For each pitch angle, plot Power produced vs. Wind speed for zero yaw angle (two pitch angles
on one chart). Discuss the results.
 For each pitch angle, plot 𝐶𝑃 vs. Wind speed for zero yaw angle (two pitch angles on one chart).
Discuss the influence of the wind speed and of the pitch angle on the power coefficient; compare
this plot to the previous plot.
 Plot 𝐶𝑃 vs. Yaw angle for the largest wind speed for the initial pitch angle (4 data points: 0, 10,
20, and 30 degrees). Discuss the influence of the yaw angle on the power coefficient.
 Discuss how does the pitch angle affect the minimal operating speed and the efficiency of the
wind turbine.

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