I personally do not like windy days. However, wind could be helping us more than we realize. We could be using the wind to produce energy. This is what wind turbines do and now I will be researching them to determine the physics involved with them and how they work, their history, along with some statistics from the United States. Then I will go in-depth for the wind turbines of Texas, Washington, and Kansas and compare them.
The Physics of Wind Turbines
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) .
The power passing through or created by the wind power is ½ pAv3. All the power cannot be captured though, because that would mean the wind had to be still, absolutely no wind, which is impossible when the wind starts the whole process. Thus, one needs to find the maximum theoretical power output. To find the power, take the kinetic energy in through the wind turbine minus the kinetic energy out. Then using three different areas one can find the constant rate of ...
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...issued on 2009 Aug 11, cited 2010 Oct 3]. [about 5 paragraphs]. Available from: http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/11/raising-wind-output-with-longer-blades/
American Wind Energy Association [Internet]. AWEA c 2009. U.S. Wind Energy Projects-Kansas [updated 2006 June 1, cited 2010 Oct 2]. [about 3 lines]. Available from: http://www.awea.org/projects/Projects.aspx?s=Kansas
Unrhuh C, Leiker D. [Internet]. cJ.S. S.W. Aber. Kansas wind power. [last update 2009 Nov, cited 2010 Oct 3]. [about 1 paragraph]. Available from: http://www.geospectra.net/kite/ks_wind/ks_wind.htm
McDermott M. [Internt]. TreeHugger.com:c 2010. Largest wind farm in Kansas. originally from Science and Technology [posted 2008 Oct 3, cited 2010 Oct 3]. [about 1 paragraph]. Available from: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/10/largest-wind-farm-kansas-built-by-italian-developer.php
These include the history of windmills and their role concerning the survival in the immense plains that range from east of the Rocky Mountains to the Mississippi River. The rise of the economic condition of those living around the wind farms along with the surge of investments from energy companies. Finally, the promising data relating to the amount of energy produced, and the consequences they will have on the environment. In the later and longer part of the article, the possible negative results or wind farms are brought up. Primarily, the points against wind farms have to do with the conservation of wildlife. This is separated into two sections, the first addresses the dangers wind turbines present to birds, the other on the dangers presented to bats.
As most people know, Kansas is a windy state. Every day the wind is blowing. So how can wind energy, be more beneficial than solar power? Taking a look at the difference between solar and wind energy in Kansas will help us see that Kansans can benefit more from wind energy than solar.
It is well known that nowadays wind power is one of the fast developing energy sources of the world. Thats why one of the GE’s Energy business maintain a strong focus on building the wind power facility and delivering the technology in its fields and benefiting the advantages of wind power. GE has over 12,000 wind turbine operating in all around world with the countries like USA, Canada, China and Spain.
The purpose of this lab is to see how many blades on a windmill will create the most voltage. Another purpose of this lab is to find out at what blade angle will the windmill create the most voltage. Wind energy has been used for thousands of years because it is a renewable source; therefore, the wind power will never run out. WInd energy had been put into use by 5000 BC ,and simple windmills in China were used for pumping water, and vertical-axis windmills were grinding grain in the Middle East. The new technology of wind energy was taken to the New World in the 19th century for pumping usage and to generate electricity for homes and
United States International Trade Commission (2009, June). Wind Turbine Industry and Trade Report. Retrieved, August 12, 2011 from http://www.usitc.gov/publications/332/ITS-2.pdf
In order to calculate such wind turbines, it depends on three main variables: the size of the turbine, the speed of the wind, and the efficiency of the turbine as well as the generator. The formula in order to calculate the wind power is: P=½ρAV³.
Now-a-days the handling of “Electricity” has been increased rapidly. Due to this the “Fossil Fuels” are getting extinguished day-to-day. So we need to choose for an alternate source of energy that is Renewable Source. Among the Renewable Sources “Wind Energy” is one of them.
During the last century, due to the rapid development of the power system, the use of wind energy experienced several stages. Firstly, the period of infancy, in the 1930s and 1940s, hundreds of thousands of electricity producing wind turbines were built in the U.S. These wind turbines provided electricity to farms beyond the reach of power lines and were typically used to charge storage batteries, operate radio receivers and power a light bulb or two [1].
“A wind turbine is a machine for converting the kinetic energy in wind into mechanical energy”. (1) The inventor of the first electric wind turbine was Clevelander Charles Brush, who ran his entire Euclid Avenue mansion off of one for 20 years, which later made the cover of Scientific American in 1888. (2) Although the use of alternate energy didn't rise a great deal afterward, this event did open the eyes for many environmentalists. Wind power is only one of our several “energy source[s] whose ‘fuel’ is free and will never be exhausted” (3) with the pros and cons not completely weighed out as to whether it will be truly beneficial or not. The two main issues regarding wind turbines are the environmental effects that they have and the cost effectiveness of building them.
Most wind turbines have 3 blades and can stand up to 80 feet tall or higher, because the higher up you go, the more wind is available, thus the more energy can be obtained. With modern advancements researchers have been able to develop many different and more effective wind turbines. These turbines co- exist with the different elements of the environment and are adaptive to the kind of wind produced in that environment. These types of turbines are those that pick up utility scale wind, distributed wind, and offshore wind, which is seen as the future of the alternative energy revolution, and the key to low cost
Wind is called a renewable energy source because wind will continually be produced as long as the sun shines on the earth. The sun’s contribution to wind energy deals with converting air into heat or cool wind. Wind is produced by the irregular heating of the earth’s surface by the sun. On land, the warm air spreads and goes up in the sky, in the water, heavier and cooler air moves in to take the warm air’s place, thus providing local winds. This power source should be used more often in the United States for its safer standards regarding the environment and finance.
A wind turbine is basically a very large inverse fan, where wind is the input and electricity is the output. Today there are hundreds of different wind turbine deigns, most of them range from around 40 – 80m in height; 50 – 85m in span and 850kW to 4.5MW in power. Most of these wind turbines have 3 blades and possess horizontal axis shafts.
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.
There are many different sources of energy that are naturally available throughout the world in different forms. There are two types of energy: renewable and non-renewable. Non-renewable is made from fossil fuels; which can include oil, coal and wood. They are non-renewable because they are not regenerated immediately, and it can take between 100-100,000 years to make a fossil fuel. They are important because they produce constant energy throughout the world. This is because of their high availability. The problem with non-renewable energy is that, when burned, they release harmful greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. Especially when the world, as a whole, is using too much too quickly; and therefore the earth cannot replenish the fuels naturally or quickly enough. Renewable sources of energy are obtained from different natural sources. A benefit about this kind of energy is that it can be replaced and it is sustainable. Renewable energy is important because it is used significantly in electricity generation and heating. It is also important because it can be replenished, and therefore it is better for the environment.
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=