Wind Turbine Technology - How it works?
Wind turbines have become more and more popular in these years as a new energy. Most of people know a little about the wind turbines technology. In this news, Aeolos will tell you how wind turbine works?
Types of wind turbines
Modern wind turbines could be divided into horizonal axis and vertical axis wind turbines.
Sizes of wind turbines
Small wind turbines are from 300w to 100kw. Mid wind turbines are from 100kw to 1Mw. Large wind turbines are more than 1Mw.
Components of wind turbine
Anemometer: Measures the wind speed and transmits wind speed data to the controller.
Blades: Most turbines have either two or three blades. Wind blowing over the blades causes the blades to "lift" and rotate.
Brake: A disc brake, which can be applied mechanically, electrically, or hydraulically to stop the rotor in emergencies.
Controller: The controller starts up the machine at wind speeds of about 8 to 16 miles per hour (mph) and shuts off the machine at about 55 mph. Turbines do not operate at wind speeds above about 55 mph because they might be damaged by the high winds.
Generator: Usually an off-the-shelf induction generator that produces 60-cycle AC electricity.
Pitch: Blades are turned, or pitched, out of the wind to control the rotor speed and keep the rotor from turning in winds that are too high or too low to produce electricity.
Rotor: The blades and the hub together are called the rotor.
Tower: Towers are made from tubular steel (shown here), concrete, or steel lattice. Because wind speed increases with height, taller towers enable turbines to capture more energy and generate more electricity.
Wind direction: This is an "upwind" turbine, so-called because it operates facing into the wind. Other turbines are designed to run "downwind," facing away from the wind.
Wind vane: Measures wind direction and communicates with the yaw drive to orient the turbine properly with respect to the wind.
Yaw drive: Upwind turbines face into the wind; the yaw drive is used to keep the rotor facing into the wind as the wind direction changes. Downwind turbines don't require a yaw drive, the wind blows the rotor downwind.
These components maybe different in the small wind turbines and large wind turbines. Large wind turbine has more components than the small one.