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Recommended: Wind turbines essays
Introduction:
Wind turbines capture the energy of wind and transform it into kinetic energy that is then converted to electricity. Turbines are available in a range of sizes and designs and can either be free-standing, mounted on a building or integrated into a building structure (Pennycook, 2008).
System types:
There are basically two sorts of wind turbines: horizontal-axis design and vertical-axis design. Horizontal-axis wind turbines are the most common type used and can have various sizes. This type of turbine has a horizontal rotor shaft and generator usually located at the top of a tower. The propeller-type blades are used to capture wind thus are oriented into the wind, for instance for small turbines a wind vane is used, or if it is a larger turbines a wind sensors will be used in conjunction with servomotors. A turbine system include the following: a rotor, or blades, which convert the wind’s energy into rotational shaft energy; a nacelle containing a drive train, usually including a gearbox ( some wind turbines can even work without the gearbox), a tower which is meant to support the rotor and the drive train. There is electronic equipment such as controls, electrical cables, ground support equipment, and inter-connection equipment (Pennycook, 2008).
Fig 1: The following image shows the some components of a horizontal wind turbine.
Source: (Alexander, 2008)
Usually, vertical-axis turbines are known to have a rotor shaft oriented vertically. This eludes the necessity for a tower and the generator is located at ground level. It also has the advantage to have no need for a yaw mechanism in order to turn the rotor into wind. The principle disadvantages of vertical-axis turbines are that the efficiencies are lowe...
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...enerates 1 to 5KW (kilowatts) of energy. However if the development is outside a covered or off-grid area where it will depend only to wind turbine for power, that will increase the needs intensely (Cooper, 2010).
In sizing wind turbine for a dwelling, first of all you determine how much energy you need to supply for your home. There is another option which is to use an energy calculator; there is one that is on the website: www.thesolarguide.com . This demonstrates how you obtain the total kilowatt hours you need. According to the American Wind Energy Association, homes use approximately 9,400 kilowatt-hours (KWh) of electricity per year (about 780Kwh per month). To make a substantial contribution in order to meet the demand depending on the average wind speed in the area, a wind turbine rated in the range of 5 to 15 kilowatts would be needed (Cooper, 2010).
You’ll almost always find these wind turbines in open fields and they are usually called wind farms. Because these wind turbines create so much turbulence they have to be so far apart from each other and they can’t be right behind each other (Gipe). These wind turbines have to be 200-300 feet in the air because the blades on these wind turbines are 65-130 feet long (Gipe). Also these wind turbines have to have a 17 miles per hour wind to start spinning, because a wind smaller than that won’t create enough energy
There is physics involved in these wind turbines as they change wind into mechanical energy and then into electricity. The energy produced depends on the volume of the air, the density, and the wind speed. The mass per unit time is the mass times the density times the wind speed or m = mass, p = density, A = area, and v = wind speed; m = pAV. Because the function of the wind turbine is to transform the wind’s kinetic energy into electricity the equation for kinetic energy is needed; KE = ½ mv2 or kinetic energy equals one half the mass times the velocity squared. Then, using substitution, the power in the wind depends on the density of the air, area swept out by rotors, and the cube of the velocity or ½ pAV3. Using Betz’ law the theoretical energy model for extracting 59% of the energy is power = 16/27(½ pAV3) .
Wind turbines, by nature, must be sited in highly visible areas to give them enough space to produce the amount of energy desired. However, many of the sites for wind turbine farms are now located in areas that are ...
The aerofoil of the blade also very significant, the shape of the aerofoil that has been used would affect the result of the wind turbine performance. The CFD analysis result, such as pressure and velocity distribution, flow streamlines and calculation results such as rotational speed, torque, power, lift and drag coefficient , effect of TSP and angle of attack can be done. Regards for the shroud reviews, found that the differences between the bare wind turbine and the augmented shroud wind turbine affect the efficiency of power production
The average wind on the entire site is approximately 9m/s. Wind speeds of 7.5m/s are deemed economically viable. The wind speed can vary dramatically onsite. The wind speed was very low at 3m/s when we were there and we were told on our site visit that there have being wind speeds up to 50m/s experienced on the site. To prevent any damage the turbines cut out at a certain wind speed. This is typically 25m/s for the turbines on site.
In everyday life, there are things that one needs to survive. And sustainability problems arise every day. One such problem is energy loss. The world is using up a lot of energy and new ideas need to be formed to help the rest of the world and the future of the generations that are to follow, to survive. With that the problem is that people use up energy and they do not use it efficiently. Therefore scientists are needed to find ways to deal with the sustainability problem that is arising. That is where wind turbines are used to generate this energy but the actual wind-turbines are very large, loud and they kill birds, thus new designs need to be found in order to help energy usage and to bring the size and structure of the wind turbines to a smaller scale to prevent injuries to nature and the species around it.
Wind turbines can be very useful in bringing energy into your home. They are especially useful when solar panels aren't working. They take the wind speed from oceans, lakes, dugouts, or rivers and turn it into energy. To use the wind turbines most efficiently you should set up a wind power system.
Just as long as wind continues to blow and the sun shines, then wind power can produce energy to send to many different areas. There aren’t many locations that have continuous wind. And because of that, the widespread development of wind power isn’t as great as it could be. Although there are more advantages than disadvantages when it comes to this energy source, the disadvantages should be taken just as seriously. Wind power can harm animals, there was a study that stated birds were coming in contact with turbines and dying.
Urban area has been defined as a terrain with a population of 50,000 or a bunch of 2,500 to 50,000 people according to the US Census Bureau. Rural is later defined as anything external to that definition. Particular challenges are faced by rural areas when matter is of energy and water usage. For instance, utilities have to pay higher costs to modernize their energy groundwork and often find it stiffer to implement cleaner technologies because of the great distances between customers and crooked patchwork of reliable resources. Moreover, many system organizers and thought leaders for ground breaking energy know how live in suburban or urban areas and may discover it tougher to relate to the particular challenges of rural locations.
First and foremost, unlike power plants that rely on combustion of fossil fuels, wind turbines do not produce atmospheric emissions. Strangely enough, wind is a form of solar energy. Winds are caused by the irregular heating of the atmosphere by the sun, the variations of the earth 's surface, and rotation of the earth. This wind flow, or kinetic energy, when "harvested" by modern wind turbines, can be used to generate electricity. There is an abundance of wind to meet our needs, “the potential of [the total] wind power [in the world] is… 20 times more than what the entire human population needs” (Maehlum). Currently, wind power is one of the lowest-priced renewable energy technologies available, costing between four and six cents per kilowatt-hour, depending upon the wind
Offshore wind turbines will provide more jobs, cut pollution, stop warming on our planet, and save us energy costs. These wind turbines can generate enough energy offshore to power about 500,000 homes. However, many people disagree with this idea because they believe it is too expensive. Offshore wind turbines have been a topic of discussion for a while now, and people just simply can’t agree. There are the supporters and there are the problem makers, as well as the advantages and disadvantages to this idea.
The Wind Turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of the wind into kinetic energy of turbines. The turbines turn to generate electricity but they work only when there is wind. The efficiency is 30-40%. The environmental impacts are needs many large turbines to generate electricity which can be noisy and unsightly. Turbines may endanger birds and bats.
Wind power is one of the most sustainable ways of generating electricity as no toxic emissions are produced; it does not add to global warming and is one of the most available sources of renewable energy and theoretically it is an infinite source of energy. On sufficiently windy areas, wind turbines are one of the most economical methods of generating electricity, which makes it appealing to many individuals, governments and organizations. Due to this it is the fastest growing source of electricity in the world (Union of Concerned Scientists, 2014) with a 10% increase in yearly additions installed in 2012 compared with 2011 (Global Wind Energy Council, 2012). However the proportion of energy that can be harnessed through wind power is restricted by the cost of the infrastructure needed, construction, the amount of wind that occurs and that there are only a narrow number of sites within the UK that are windy enough for the wind turbines to be worth installing.
Wind is a form of solar energy. The term wind energy describes the process by which the wind is used to generate electricity or mechanical power. Wind turbines convert mechanical energy from the wind into electrical power. Wind turbines usually have three main parts. There are blades that connect to a central hub, a box behind the blades that contains the generator, and a long stem that connects to the ground. The way how it works is that the wind turns the blades, which spins a shaft that connects to a generator making electricity. After the electricity is produced it is sent through transmission lines to a substation that is sent to business and homes. For the sake of our planet, we must promote a renewable energy economy. Wind power can be a foundation of that sustainable energy future because it provides jobs in states that are building wind turbines, is a renewable energy source, and does not damage our environment. The environment will not be damaged by the pollution, the natural resources will not be used up, and there won’t be generating of hazardous wastes. Welcoming wind energy today will lay the foundation for a healthy tomorrow that will affect everyone in the United States. There are obstacles and challenges that will make it more difficult, but the environmental impact is well worth it to invest more money into wind energy.
Deal, W. (n.d.). Wind power: An emerging energy resource.Technology & Engineering Teacher, 70(1), 9-15. Retrieved from http://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=a747d6c4-9f9f-4066-be3e-d7d26a427ef2@sessionmgr115&vid=1&hid=114&bdata=JkF1dGhUeXBlPWNvb2tpZSxpcCxjcGlkJmN1c3RpZD1zc2Mmc2l0ZT1laG9zdC1saXZlJnNjb3BlPXNpdGU=