Wind Turbines and Aerodynamics Energy Harvesters

Wind Turbines and Aerodynamics Energy Harvesters not only presents the most research-focused resource on aerodynamic energy harvesters, but also provides a detailed review on aeroacoustics characteristics. The book considers all developing aspects of 3D printed miniature and large-size Savonious wind harvesters, while also introducing and discussing bladeless and aeroelastic harvesters. Following with a review of Off-shore wind turbine aerodynamics modeling and measurements, the book continues the discussion by comparing the numerical codes for floating offshore wind turbines. Each chapter contains a detailed analysis and numerical and experimental case studies that consider recent research design, developments, and their application in practice. Written by an experienced, international team in this cross-disciplinary field, the book is an invaluable reference for wind power engineers, technicians and manufacturers, as well as researchers examining one of the most promising and efficient sources of renewable energy. Offers numerical models and case studies by experienced authors in this field Contains an overview and analysis of the latest research Explores 3D printing technology and the production of wind harvesters for real applications Includes, and uses, ANSYS FLUENT case files

This book provides the fundamental concepts required for the development of an efficient small-scale wind turbine. For centuries, engineers and scientists have used wind turbines of all shapes and sizes to harvest wind energy. Large-scale wind turbines have been successful at producing great amounts of power when deployed in sites with vast, open space, such as in fi elds or in offshore waters. For environments with limited space, such as dense urban environments, small-scale wind turbines are an attractive alternative for taking advantage of the ubiquity of wind. However, many of today’s tools for aerodynamic design and analysis were originally developed for large-scale turbines and do not scale down to these smaller devices. Arranged in a systematic and comprehensive manner, complete with supporting examples, Wind Energy Harvesting: Micro- To Small-Scale Turbines is a useful reference for undergraduate and graduate level classes on energy harvesting, sustainable energy, and fl uid dynamics, and an introduction to the field for non-technical readers.

As the demand for renewable energy sources has expanded exponentially, a renewed interest for modern wind turbines has been seen recently. In this study, an unsteady aerodynamic analysis of modern wind turbines i.e. 5-MW offshore horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT) and an innovative hybrid vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) is performed. Aerodynamic loadings from the 3D offshore HAWT are calculated. The flow physics around the rotors of the turbines and wake formation behind the wind turbine is studied. Energy harvesting efficiency of 89.02% of the Betz limit has been achieved for this 5-MW offshore wind turbine. Similarly, a 2D unsteady high fidelity computational fluid dynamics analysis approach is carried out to investigate the performance characteristics of an innovative Hybrid Darrieus Modified-Savonius (HDMS) VAWT. As a first step, the performance comparison of Darrieus, Savonius, modified-Savonius (MS) and HDMS VAWT is performed for better understanding of the unsteady flow physics. Then a systematic analysis on HDMS VAWT for torque and power coefficients is conducted for varied wind speeds and tip speed ratios (TSRs). Flow analysis for velocity, pressure and vorticity distribution is carried out, which provides deep insight into rotor performance.

Systematic Architectural Design for Optimal Wind Energy Generation is a handy reference on the aerodynamic architectural forms in buildings for optimizing wind energy conversion processes. Chapters of the book cover the basics of wind energy generation and building design that make them more conducive for generating wind power, and in line with sustainable energy design goals. Key Features: - 7 chapters organized in a simple, reader-friendly layout - A learning approach to the subject that highlights key concepts in architectural science and wind energy physics - Introduces readers to the application of computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) tools to visualize and simulate architectural forms under wind actions - An objective focus on architectural forms is presented, including the role of the form in optimizing wind energy conversion and the negative effects of wind on certain forms - Covers the building and positioning of different types of wind turbines - References for further reading Systematic Architectural Design for Optimal Wind Energy Generation is an essential reference for students of architecture at all levels, professional architects, as well as readers interested in green building design, renewable energy, and sustainability studies that pave the way towards proactive environment-friendly solutions.

Aerodynamics of Wind Turbines is the established essential text for the fundamental solutions to efficient wind turbine design. Now in its second edition, it has been entirely updated and substantially extended to reflect advances in technology, research into rotor aerodynamics and the structural response of the wind turbine structure. Topics covered include increasing mass flow through the turbine, performance at low and high wind speeds, assessment of the extreme conditions under which the turbine will perform and the theory for calculating the lifetime of the turbine. The classical Blade Element Momentum method is also covered, as are eigenmodes and the dynamic behaviour of a turbine. The new material includes a description of the effects of the dynamics and how this can be modelled in an ?aeroelastic code?, which is widely used in the design and verification of modern wind turbines. Further, the description of how to calculate the vibration of the whole construction, as well as the time varying loads, has been substantially updated.

This book provides the fundamental concepts required for the development of an efficient small-scale wind turbine. For centuries, engineers and scientists have used wind turbines of all shapes and sizes to harvest wind energy. Large-scale wind turbines have been successful at producing great amounts of power when deployed in sites with vast, open space, such as in fi elds or in offshore waters. For environments with limited space, such as dense urban environments, small-scale wind turbines are an attractive alternative for taking advantage of the ubiquity of wind. However, many of today’s tools for aerodynamic design and analysis were originally developed for large-scale turbines and do not scale down to these smaller devices. Arranged in a systematic and comprehensive manner, complete with supporting examples, Wind Energy Harvesting: Micro- To Small-Scale Turbines is a useful reference for undergraduate and graduate level classes on energy harvesting, sustainable energy, and fl uid dynamics, and an introduction to the field for non-technical readers.

Wind power plants teaches the physical foundations of usage of Wind Power. It includes the areas like Construction of Wind Power Plants, Design, Development of Production Series, Control, and discusses the dynamic forces acting on the systems as well as the power conversion and its connection to the distribution system. The book is written for graduate students, practitioners and inquisitive readers of any kind. It is based on lectures held at several universities. Its German version it already is the standard text book for courses on Wind Energy Engineering but serves also as reference for practising engineers.

There is planet-wide a huge potential for clean energy from small wind turbines with a swept area of 200 m2 or less. There are key similarities in principles and technology to small hydrokinetic turbines for hydropower. This hands-on research monograph provides an in-depth overview of these types of turbines.

Focusing on Aerodynamics of Wind Turbines with topics ranging from Fundamental to Application of horizontal axis wind turbines, this book presents advanced topics including: Basic Theory for Wind turbine Blade Aerodynamics, Dynamics-Based Health Monitoring and Control of Wind Turbine Rotors, Experimental Testing of Wind Turbines Using Wind Tunnels with an Emphasis on Small-Scale Wind Turbines Under Low-Reynolds Numbers, Computational Methods, Ice Accretion for Wind Turbines and Influence of Some Parameters, and Special Structural Reinforcement Technique for Wind Turbine Blades. Consequently, for these reasons, analysis of wind turbines will attract readers not only from the wind energy community but also in the gas turbines heat transfer and fluid mechanics community.

Wind turbine aerodynamics is one of the central subjects of wind turbine technology. To reduce the levelized cost of energy (LCOE), the size of a single wind turbine has been increased to 12 MW at present, with further increases expected in the near future. Big wind turbines and their associated wind farms have many advantages but also challenges. The typical effects are mainly related to the increase in Reynolds number and blade flexibility. This Special Issue is a collection of 21 important research works addressing the aerodynamic challenges appearing in such developments. The 21 research papers cover a wide range of problems related to wind turbine aerodynamics, which includes atmospheric turbulent flow modeling, wind turbine flow modeling, wind turbine design, wind turbine control, wind farm flow modeling in complex terrain, wind turbine noise modeling, vertical axis wind turbine, and offshore wind energy. Readers from all over the globe are expected to greatly benefit from this Special Issue collection regarding their own work and the goal of enabling the technological development of new environmentally friendly and cost-effective wind energy systems in order to reach the target of 100% energy use from renewable sources, worldwide, by 2050

This the fifth volume of five from the 28th IMAC on Structural Dynamics and Renewable Energy, 2010, brings together 19 chapters on the Dynamics of Bridges. It presents early findings from experimental as well as computational investigations on the Dynamics of Bridges, including studies on Modeling Environmental Effects on the Dynamic Characteristics of the Tamar Suspension, Structural Health Monitoring of Bridges, Structural Assessment of Damaged Bridges Using Ambient Vibration Testing, and Development of a Tamar Bridge Finite Element Model.

Modeling and Control Aspects of Wind Power Systems emphasizes on recent development and progress of the wind energy conversion system. In recent years, the energy production by wind turbines has been increasing, because its production is environmentally friendly; therefore, the technology developed for the production of energy through wind turbines brings great challenges in the investigation. The processes of industrialization and economic development require energy. With the development of electric power, wind power found new applications in lighting buildings remote from centrally-generated power. Throughout the 20th century parallel paths developed small wind stations suitable for farms or residences, and larger utility-scale wind generators that could be connected to electricity grids for remote use of power. Today wind powered generators operate in every size range between tiny stations for battery charging at isolated residences, up to near-gigawatt sized offshore wind farms that provide electricity to national electrical networks. This book is focused on the recent advances of the wind turbine modeling with the aerodynamic power and the wind turbine control with the nonlinear, fuzzy, and predictive techniques. A wind energy conversion system, or wind energy harvester is a machine that, powered by the energy of the wind, generates mechanical energy that can be used to directly power machinery or to power an electrical generator for making electricity. The term can thus refer to windmills, windpumps as well as wind turbines. The conversion of the energy of the wind into more useful forms can be done using a rotor fitted with blades or sails. Wind energy is gaining increasing importance worldwide. The book covers topics on grid integration issues, modern control theories applied in wind energy conversion system, and dynamic and transient stability studies.

Energy Harvesting Autonomous Sensor Systems: Design, Analysis, and Practical Implementation provides a wide range of coverage of various energy harvesting techniques to enable the development of a truly self-autonomous and sustainable energy harvesting wireless sensor network (EH-WSN). It supplies a practical overview of the entire EH-WSN system from energy source all the way to energy usage by wireless sensor nodes/network. After an in-depth review of existing energy harvesting research thus far, the book focuses on: Outlines two wind energy harvesting (WEH) approaches, one using a wind turbine generator and one a piezoelectric wind energy harvester Covers thermal energy harvesting (TEH) from ambient heat sources with low temperature differences Presents two types of piezoelectric-based vibration energy harvesting systems to harvest impact or impulse forces from a human pressing a button or switch action Examines hybrid energy harvesting approaches that augment the reliability of the wireless sensor node’s operation Discusses a hybrid wind and solar energy harvesting scheme to simultaneously use both energy sources and therefore extend the lifetime of the wireless sensor node Explores a hybrid of indoor ambient light and TEH scheme that uses only one power management circuit to condition the combined output power harvested from both energy sources Although the author focuses on small-scale energy harvesting, the systems discussed can be upsized to large-scale renewable energy harvesting systems. The book goes beyond theory to explore practical applications that not only solve real-life energy issues but pave the way for future work in this area.

With its inclusion of the fundamentals, systems and applications, this reference provides readers with the basics of micro energy conversion along with expert knowledge on system electronics and real-life microdevices. The authors address different aspects of energy harvesting at the micro scale with a focus on miniaturized and microfabricated devices. Along the way they provide an overview of the field by compiling knowledge on the design, materials development, device realization and aspects of system integration, covering emerging technologies, as well as applications in power management, energy storage, medicine and low-power system electronics. In addition, they survey the energy harvesting principles based on chemical, thermal, mechanical, as well as hybrid and nanotechnology approaches. In unparalleled detail this volume presents the complete picture -- and a peek into the future -- of micro-powered microsystems.

This book provides in-depth coverage of the latest research and development activities concerning innovative wind energy technologies intended to replace fossil fuels on an economical basis. A characteristic feature of the various conversion concepts discussed is the use of tethered flying devices to substantially reduce the material consumption per installed unit and to access wind energy at higher altitudes, where the wind is more consistent. The introductory chapter describes the emergence and economic dimension of airborne wind energy. Focusing on “Fundamentals, Modeling & Simulation”, Part I includes six contributions that describe quasi-steady as well as dynamic models and simulations of airborne wind energy systems or individual components. Shifting the spotlight to “Control, Optimization & Flight State Measurement”, Part II combines one chapter on measurement techniques with five chapters on control of kite and ground stations, and two chapters on optimization. Part III on “Concept Design & Analysis” includes three chapters that present and analyze novel harvesting concepts as well as two chapters on system component design. Part IV, which centers on “Implemented Concepts”, presents five chapters on established system concepts and one chapter about a subsystem for automatic launching and landing of kites. In closing, Part V focuses with four chapters on “Technology Deployment” related to market and financing strategies, as well as on regulation and the environment. The book builds on the success of the first volume “Airborne Wind Energy” (Springer, 2013), and offers a self-contained reference guide for researchers, scientists, professionals and students. The respective chapters were contributed by a broad variety of authors: academics, practicing engineers and inventors, all of whom are experts in their respective fields.

This book presents basic and advanced concepts for energy harvesting and energy efficiency, as well as related technologies, methods, and their applications. The book provides up-to-date knowledge and discusses the state-of-the-art equipment and methods used for energy harvesting and energy efficiency, combining theory and practical applications. Containing over 200 illustrations and problems and solutions, the book begins with overview chapters on the status quo in this field. Subsequent chapters introduce readers to advanced concepts and methods. In turn, the final part of the book is dedicated to technical strategies, efficient methods and applications in the field of energy efficiency, which also makes it of interest to technicians in industry. The book tackles problems commonly encountered using basic methods of energy harvesting and energy efficiency, and proposes advanced methods to resolve these issues. All the methods proposed have been validated through simulation and experimental results. These “hot topics” will continue to be of interest to scientists and engineers in future decades and will provide challenges to researchers around the globe as issues of climate change and changing energy policies become more pressing. Here, readers will find all the basic and advanced concepts they need. As such, it offers a valuable, comprehensive guide for all students and practicing engineers who wishing to learn about and work in these fields.

This volume presents a collection of rail orientated research articles, covering a variety of topics on rail operations research and management of rail systems as well as innovation, particularly focusing on sustainability aspects. The material consists of the most recent research work of the authors. The authorship is international, which makes it an interesting read for rail academics and professionals around the world. Although the material has a rail research focus the material is also excellent for preparation and delivery of rail, transport and logistics orientated courses and programmes. The target audience primarily comprises research experts in transport research, but the book may also be beneficial for graduate students alike.

Floating Offshore Wind Turbines (FOWT) is a technology that stands to spearhead the rapid growth of the offshore wind energy sector and allow the exploration of vast high quality wind resources over coastal and offshore areas with intermediate and large water depths. This generates the need for a new generation of Wind Turbine control systems that take into account the added complexity of the dynamics and wave-induced motions of the specific floater. The present work presents a simulation study of advanced controls for Tension Leg Platform (TLP) FOWT that attempts to enhance the power output of the Wind Turbine by conversion of the surge kinetic energy of the TLP into wind energy. The public access data of the NREL 5MW offshore wind turbine have been used to perform the study. After establishing a theoretical upper bound for the possible wave energy extraction using frequency-domain methods, a time-domain state-space dynamic model of the FOWT with coupled dynamics of platform surge motion and turbine rotation has been developed that includes both a simplified model of the turbine aerodynamics and the floater surge hydrodynamics. This simulation model has then been used to implement advanced controls that maximize energy extraction by the Wind Turbine in the below rated power region. The proposed controllers are variations of a Linear-Quadratic Regulator (LQR), considering both a steady-state case and a non-stationary, finite horizon LQR case. The latter requires wave-elevation forecasting to be implemented and therefore two different forecasting algorithms have also been developed according to existing literature. While the wave-induced annual energy yield enhancement of the studied FOWT in the two considered locations is small (around 0.02% the baseline annual energy yield of the studied turbine in the two locations) the study is not exhaustive and other FOWT topologies might achieve better results. The present results clearly indicate, however, that the existing correlation between strong wind and waves makes FOWTs a sub-optimal choice as energy extraction mechanism for ocean wave energy harvesting.

Wind turbines are one of the most promising renewable energy technologies, and this motivates fertile research activity about developments in power optimization. This topic covers a wide range of aspects, from the research on aerodynamics and control design to the industrial applications about on-site wind turbine performance control and monitoring. This Special Issue collects seven research papers about several innovative aspects of the multi-faceted topic of wind turbine power optimization technology. The seven research papers deal respectively with the aerodynamic optimization of wind turbine blades through Gurney flaps; optimization of blade design for large offshore wind turbines; control design optimization of large wind turbines through the analysis of the competing objectives of energy yield maximization and fatigue loads minimization; design optimization of a tension leg platform for floating wind turbines; innovative methods for the assessment of wind turbine optimization technologies operating on site; optimization of multiple wake interactions modeling through the introduction of a mixing coefficient in the energy balance method; and optimization of the dynamic stall control of vertical-axis wind turbines through plasma actuators. This Special Issue presents remarkable research activities in the timely subject of wind turbine power optimization technology, covering various aspects. The collection is believed to be beneficial to readers and contribute to the wind power industry.

This textbook is intended for an audience with little or no power engineering or renewable energy background. The book covers electric energy from alternative energy sources, including solar, wind, water, hydropower, geothermal, and ocean energy. Core issues discussed include wind and solar resource estimates and analysis, solar thermal systems, solar collectors, photovoltaics, wind turbines, geothermal energy, energy small hydropower, wave, tide and ocean energy, and characteristics of energy conversion, control, and electrical aspects. This is one of the most comprehensive textbooks for students, engineers, and professionals who study renewable energy. There are several questions and problems, presented with increasing difficulty, most of which focus on practical applications. The materials and problems are drawn from the author’s extensive experience in renewable energy analysis, assessment, design, control, and the power electronics of wind and solar energy conversion systems. Each section of the book contains several solved examples, as well as practical and advanced discussions, that instill critical thinking and apply to industrial applications. The book is divided into eight chapters and covers the most important aspects of renewable energy sources and technologies.