Piezoelectric Power Harvesting via Acoustic-Pressure Driven by Low-Speed Wind-Force with Resonating-Tube and Wind-Collector

Wind-driven power harvestings attract attentions since their target wind speeds are quite low less than the so-called cut-in wind speed, which is generally recognized as around 3 m/s. The extant power harvestings driven by wind-induced-air-column-resonations (i.e. acoustic-pressures) are still lacking simplicity, scale flexibility and solid strategies for practical applications. Therefore, the piezoelectric power harvesters via acoustic-pressures driven by low-speedwind-forces with resonating-tubes and wind-collectors were invented so as to complement all the lacks. The wind-collector as well as the resonating-tube contributed to upraise the power harvesting density. The champion power harvesting density of 19.5 nW/dm2 could be procured at 2.3 m/s of an artificial wind and the optimal resonating-tube and wind-collector. Power harvesting proofs from the natural wind with low mean speeds down to about 0.6 m/s were successfully obtained. The cut-in wind speed of the prototype piezoelectric power harvester was found to be quite low as about 0.4 m/s, signifying its ubiquity. Finally, a multi-bundle pendant-type piezoelectric power harvester was specifically presented together with professing the solid and multiple strategies for practical applications.

Real-Time Wind Speed Analysis at Wind-Damaged Tower of a Transmission Line

Affected by the Super Typhoon“Mangkhut,”a total of five base towers of a transmission line in the mountainous area of China collapsed.In this paper,a mathematical model is established based on the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission(SRTM)data near the accident tower.The measured wind speed in the plain area under the mountain is used as the calculation boundary condition.The wind speed at the top of the mountain is calculated by using a numerical simulation method.The design wind speed and calculated wind speed at the tower site are compared,and the influence of wind speed on tower position in this wind disaster accident is analyzed.

Experiment about Drag Reduction of Bionic Non-smooth Surface in Low Speed Wind Tunnel

The body surface of some organisms has non-smooth structure, which is related to drag reduction in moving fluid. To imitate these structures, models with a non-smooth surface were made. In order to find a relationship between drag reduction and the non-smooth surface, an orthogonal design test was employed in a low speed wind tunnel. Six factors likely to influence drag reduction were considered, and each factor tested at three levels. The six factors were the configuration, diameter/bottom width, height/depth, distribution, the arrangement of the rough structures on the experimental model and the wind speed. It was shown that the non-smooth surface causes drag reduction and the distribution of non-smooth structures on the model, and wind speed, are the predominant factors affecting drag reduction. Using analysis of variance, the optimal combination and levels were obtained, which were a wind speed of 44 m/s, distribution of the non-smooth structure on the tail of the experimental model, the configuration of riblets, diameter/bottom width of i mm, height/depth of 0.5 mm, arranged in a rhombic formation. At the optimal combination mentioned above, the 99% confidence interval for drag reduction was 11.13% to 22.30%.

Performance analysis of 20 Pole 1.5 KW Three Phase Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator for low Speed Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

This paper gives performance analysis of a three phase Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator (PMSG) connected to a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT). Low speed wind condition (less than 5 m/s) is taken in consideration and the entire simulation is carried in Matlab/Simulink environment. The rated power for the generator is fixed at 1.5 KW and number of pole at 20. It is observed under low wind speed of6 m/s, a turbine having approximately1 mof radius and2.6 mof height develops 150 Nm mechanical torque that can generate power up to 1.5 KW. The generator is designed using modeling tool and is fabricated. The fabricated generator is tested in the laboratory with the simulation result for the error analysis. The range of error is about 5%-27% for the same output power value. The limitations and possible causes for error are presented and discussed.

A Statistical Analysis of Wind Speed and Power Density Based on Weibull and Rayleigh Models of Jumla, Nepal

In the present study, wind speed data of Jumla, Nepal have been statistically analyzed. For this purpose, the daily averaged wind speed data for 10 year period (2004-2014: 2012 excluded) provided by Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM) was analyzed to estimate wind power density. Wind speed as high as 18 m/s was recorded at height of 10 m. Annual mean wind speed was ascertained to be decreasing from 7.35 m/s in 2004 to 5.13 m/s in 2014 as a consequence of Global Climate Change. This is a subject of concern looking at government’s plan to harness wind energy. Monthly wind speed plot shows that the fastest wind speed is generally in month of June (Monsoon Season) and slowest in December/January (Winter Season). Results presented Weibull distribution to fit measured probability distribution better than the Rayleigh distribution for whole years in High altitude region of Nepal. Average value of wind power density based on mean and root mean cube seed approaches were 131.31 W/m2/year and 184.93 W/m2/year respectively indicating that Jumla stands in class III. Weibull distribution shows a good approximation for estimation of power density with maximum error of 3.68% when root mean cube speed is taken as reference.

Bootstrapped Multi-Model Neural-Network Super-Ensembles for Wind Speed and Power Forecasting

The bootstrap resampling method is applied to an ensemble artificial neural network (ANN) approach (which combines machine learning with physical data obtained from a numerical weather prediction model) to provide a multi-ANN model super-ensemble for application to multi-step-ahead forecasting of wind speed and of the associated power generated from a wind turbine. A statistical combination of the individual forecasts from the various ANNs of the super-ensemble is used to construct the best deterministic forecast, as well as the prediction uncertainty interval associated with this forecast. The bootstrapped neural-network methodology is validated using measured wind speed and power data acquired from a wind turbine in an operational wind farm located in northern China.

CFD-Based Performance Analysis and Experimental Investigation of Design Factors of Vertical Axis Wind Turbines under Low Wind Speed Conditions in Thailand

This paper presents effects of design factors on mechanical performance of Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWTs), and an experimental investigation of optimal VAWT performance under low wind speed conditions in Thailand. Design factors include types of wind turbines, number of blades, types of materials, height-to-radius ratios, and design modifications. Potential VAWT models with different design factors are numerically analyzed within a virtual wind tunnel at various wind speeds by utilizing XflowTM?Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software. The performance curves of each VAWT are obtained as plots of power coefficients against tip speed ratios. It is found that the type of wind turbine, number of blades, and height-to-radius ratio have significant effects on mechanical performance whereas types of materials result in shifts of operating speeds of VAWTs. Accordingly, an optimal VAWT prototype is developed to operate under actual low speed wind conditions. The performance curve from experimental results agrees with the CFD results. The proposed methodology can be used in the computer design of VAWTs to improve mechanical performance before physical fabrication.

Performance Assessment of Darrieus Turbine with Modified Trailing Edge Airfoil for Low Wind Speeds

Darrieus wind turbines are simple lift based machines with exceptionally high efficiencies in terms of power coefficient compared to similar drag based vertical axis turbines. However, in low Reynolds numbers, a notable performance loss was reported. As a potential solution, truncated NACA 0018 airfoil (NACA 0018TC-39) has been introduced with baseline cavity modification to achieve better start-up characteristics and to enhance the low wind speed performance. The baseline cavity will provide an additional benefit of reverse drag at low TSR which is obligatory for low wind speed start-up. Numerical optimization has been carried out on the conceived airfoil NACA 0018TC-39 to find out the effective truncation percentage in terms of the chord. The numerical study has been extended to compare NACA 0018 and NACA 0018TC-39 airfoil for their aerodynamic performances in terms of lift, drag coefficients and separation characteristics. The NACA 0018TC-39 airfoil was incorporated within a non-swept straight bladed Darrieus turbine miniature to experimentally evaluate the performance in terms of dynamic power coefficient, dynamic torque coefficient and static torque coefficient and compared with conventional NACA 0018 airfoil at six different Reynolds numbers 178917, 193827, 208737, 223646, 238556 and 268376. The experimental contrast implied that NACA 0018TC-39 airfoil turbine yielded almost double power coefficients at low Reynolds number compared to conventional NACA 0018 airfoil without hampering its performance at higher Reynolds number.

Near-Surface Wind-Speed Stilling in Alaska during 1984-2016 and Its Impact on the Sustainability of Wind Power

Based on wind-speed records of Alaska’s 19 first-order weather stations, we analyzed the near-surface wind-speed stilling for January 1, 1984 to December 31, 2016. With exception of Big Delta that indicates an increase of 0.0157 m·s–1·a–1, on average, all other first-order weather stations show declining trends in the near-surface wind speeds. In most cases, the average trends are less then?–0.0300?m·s–1·a–1. The strongest average trend of?–0.0500?m·s–1·a–1 occurred at Homer, followed by?–0.0492?m·s–1·a–1 at Bettles, and?–0.0453?m·s–1·a–1 at Yakutat, while the declining trend at Barrow is marginal. The impact of the near-surface wind-speed stilling on the wind-power potential expressed by the wind-power density was predicted and compared with the wind-power classification of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the Alaska Energy Authority. This wind-power potential is, however, of subordinate importance because wind turbines only extract a fraction of the kinetic energy from the wind field characterized by the power efficiency. Since wind turbine technology has notably improved during the past 35 years, we hypothetically used seven currently available wind turbines of different rated power and three different shear exponents to assess the wind-power sustainability under changing wind regimes. The shear exponents 1/10, 1/7, and 1/5 served to examine the range of wind power for various conditions of thermal stratification. Based on our analysis for January 1, 1984 to December 31, 2016, Cold Bay, St. Paul Island, Kotzebue, and Bethel would be very good candidates for wind farms. To quantify the impact of a changing wind regime on wind-power sustainability, we predicted wind power for the periods January 1, 1984 to December 31, 1994 and January 1, 2006 to December 31, 2016 as well. Besides Big Delta that suggests an increase in wind power of up to 12% for 1/7, predicted wind power decreased at all sites with the highest decline at Annette (≈38%), Kodiak (≈30%), King Salmon (≈26%), and Kotzebue (≈24%), where the effect of the shear exponents was marginal. Bethel (up to 20%) and Cold Bay (up to 14%) also show remarkable decreases in predicted wind power.

Study on Hydraulic Transmission of Offshore Low-speed Wind Energy Generator

For offshore hydraulic drive wind turbines,the problems of unsatisfactory speed control and low efficiency at low wind speeds are targeted.A low-speed high-torque radial piston pump is designed to replace the traditional fixed pump with a particular focus on its low-speed performance.The pump is characterized by small internal leakage at low wind speeds and high volumetric efficiency,which is beneficial to improve the power generation efficiency of the system.A new linear control method based on the PID algorithm and feedforward compensation was proposed to obtain the constant speed output control of variable motor at low wind speed.With the model for wind turbine and fixed pump-variable motor main drive system,the system was simulated and experimentally proved to verify the feasibility and anti-interference performance of the system control method at low wind speeds.A promising outcome was obtained on the response characteristics of system power and efficiency at low wind speeds.This can be a powerful technical support for the normal ustility of hydraulic drive wind turbines.

Direct Power Control of Variable Wind Speed Based on the Doubly Fed Asynchronous Machine

In this work, the authors propose the study of a wind speed variable based on the DFAM （double fed asynchronous machine）. The model of the turbine is drawn from the classical equations describing the operation of a variable wind speed. The torque generated by the turbine is applied to the DFAM directly connected on the network side and the stator via a bidirectional converter side rotor. This configuration allows velocity variations of ±30% around the synchronous speed and the converter is then sized to one third of the rated power of the machine. The DFAM is controlled by a control vector ensuring operation of the wind turbine power coefficient maximum.

Effect of photovoltaic panel electric field on the wind speed required for dust removal from the panels

Methods to remove dust deposits by high-speed airflow have significant potential applications,with optimal design of flow velocity being the core technology.In this paper,we discuss the wind speed required for particle removal from photovoltaic(PV)panels by compressed air by analyzing the force exerted on the dust deposited on inclined photovoltaic panels,which also included different electrification mechanisms of dust while it is in contact with the PV panel.The results show that the effect of the particle charging mechanism in the electric field generated by the PV panel is greatly smaller than the effect of the Van der Waals force and gravity,but the effect of the particle charged by the contact electrification mechanism in the electrostatic field is very pronounced.The wind speed required for dust removal from the PV panel increases linearly with the PV panel electric field,so we suggest that the nighttime,when the PV electric field is relatively small,would be more appropriate time for dust removal.The above results are of great scientific importance for accurately grasping the dust distribution law and for achieving scientific removal of dust on PV panels.

Reactive Current Allocation and Control Strategies Improvement of Low Voltage Ride Though for Doubly Fed Induction Wind Turbine Generation System

为满足风电机组低电压穿越（low voltage ride through,LVRT）的测试要求及其电气模型一致性评估需要,提出考虑向电网注入无功电流的双馈风电机组LVRT的控制策略。在阐述风电机组LVRT测试要求及控制原理的基础上,推导双馈发电机（doubly fed induction generator,DFIG）定子侧及网侧变流器输出无功电流极限表达式,研究电网电压跌落深度和发电机总输出有功功率对其无功电流极限值的影响规律,进而提出DFIG在LVRT期间的无功电流分配算法和改进的有功、无功功率控制策略。最后,以某实际2 MW双馈风电机组为例,分别对风速为5和12 m/s、电网电压对称跌落至20%和50%工况下的LVRT运行性能进行仿真比较和样机测试。与传统LVRT控制方法的对比表明,所提改进控制策略能更好地满足风电机组LVRT的测试要求。样机测试结果进一步证明了改进控制策略和仿真模型的有效性。

Assessment of Wind Power Potential at Eastern-Jerusalem, Palestine

Due to the energy demand and lack of supplied energy of Palestinian cities, wind resource assessment is important and necessary. The objective of the work is to analyze the wind speed data characteristics and wind power potential at eastern Jerusalem that are collected at 10 m above ground level from 2008 to 2018. The variations of monthly, seasonal, and annual wind speed are analyzed, and the measured maximum, minimum, and mean values are presented in this study. Wind speed characteristics have been analyzed by the well-known Weibull distribution function, and used to evaluate the wind power of the proposed site. Moreover, the relationship between wind power and mean wind speed is fitted by a second-order polynomial. The shape parameter moderate values showed that wind speed was relatively steady at the site. The highest average maximum value was found to be 5.7 m/s in June-2008, whereas the mean maximum values ranged from 5.4 m/s in June to 3.8 m/s in November. The highest mean power value was found to be 31.66 w/m2 in July with a maximum value of 23.18 w/m2 in 2013. R2 of the polynomial fit provides values of 95% for monthly mean and 96% for annual mean.

Assessment of Wind Energy Potential as a Power Generation Source in Five Locations of South Western Nigeria

In this study, the wind speed characteristics and energy potential in five selected locations in the southwestern part of Nigeria were investigated using monthly mean wind speed data of 51 years obtained from the Nigeria Meteorological Agency. The data were subjected to the 2-parameter-Weibull and other statistical analyses. The outcome showed that the wind speed measured at a height of 10 m ranged from 1.3 to 13.2 m/s while the modal wind speed ranges from 3.0 to 5.9 m/s. 83.6% of the data were found to be greater than 3.0 m/s. The average monthly wind speed ranged from 2.72 to 7.72 m/s. Seasonally, average wind speeds ranged between 3.47 to 6.55 m/s and 3.83 to 6.94 m/s for dry (October to March) and wet (April to September) seasons, respectively. The two parameters of the Weibull statistics were found to lie between 2.99 ≤ k ≤ 5.32 and 3.02 ≤ c ≤ 8.57, respectively. The annual mean power densities are 65.09, 145.07, 176.96, 387.07 and 87.34 W/m2 for Abeokuta, Akure, Ibadan, Ikeja and Oshogbo respectively. It was further shown that the respective mean annual values of the most probable wind speed are 3.82, 4.97, 5.23, 7.03 and 4.01 m/s, while the annual values of the wind speed carrying maximum energy are 4.12, 5.48, 5.87, 7.50 and 4.55 m/s. These results indicate that wind speed has the viable potential for wind-to-electricity at height of 10 m for most of the locations assessed but it will be more viable in all the stations at a height above 10 m.

Comparative Performance of Fixed-Speed and Variable-Speed Wind Turbine Generator Systems

In the early development of the wind energy, the majority of the wind turbines have been operated at constant speed. Subsequently, the number of variable-speed wind turbines installed in wind farms has increased. In this paper, a comparative performance of fixed and variable speed wind generators with Pitch angle control has been presented. The first is based on a squirrel cage Induction Generator （IG） of 315 kW rated power, connected directly to the grid. The second incorporated a Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator （PMSG） of 750 kW rated power. The performances of each studied wind generator are evaluated by simulation works and variable speed operation is highlighted as preferred mode of operation.

Self-Similar Characteristic for the Ramp Structures of Wind Speed

Time series of wind speed are composed of large and small ramp structures. Data analysis reveals a power law relation between the linear slope of ramp structures and the time scale. This suggests that these ramp structures of wind speed have a self-similar characteristic. The lower limit of the self-similar scale range was 2 s. The upper limit is unexpectedly large at 27 rain. Data are collected from grassland, city, and lake areas. Although these data have different underlying surfaces, all of them clearly show a power law relation, with slight differences in their power exponents.

Investigations into Some Simple Expressions of the Gamma Function in Wind Power Theoretical Estimate by the Weibull Distribution

The Weibull distribution is a probability density function (PDF) which is widely used in the study of meteorological data. The statistical analysis of the wind speed v by using the Weibull distribution leads to the estimate of the mean wind speed , the variance of v around and the mean power density in the wind. The gamma function Γ is involved in those calculations, particularly Γ (1+1/k), Γ (1+2/k) and Γ (1+3/k). The paper reports the use of the Weibull PDF f(v) to estimate the gamma function. The study was performed by looking for the wind speeds related to the maximum values of f(v), v2 f(v) and v3 f(v). As a result, some approximate relationships were obtained for Γ (1+1/k), Γ (1+2/k) and Γ (1+3/k), that use some fitting polynomial functions. Very good agreements were found between the exact and the estimated values of Γ (1+n/k) that can be used for the estimation of the mean wind speed , the variance σ2 of the wind speed v;around the mean speed and the average wind power density.