Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 4-6. The rotor of this two-bladed Aerostar 6-Meter 0-kW wind turbine is locat-
ed downwind of the tower, providing passive yaw control.
(
Courtesy of Aerostar, Inc.
)
Trends in the Design of Small-Scale HAWTs
Compared to large- and medium-scale machines, small-scale wind turbines offer much
lower development and manufacturing costs. However, because the market size is much
smaller, the small-scale systems are often tailored to niche markets such as remote sites and
severe climate applications. In addition, market channels are more diverse for the small-
scale turbines in that they are sold to a wide variety of customers such as research labora-
tories, home and boat owners, and offshore oil rigs. It is expected that a variety of design
approaches will continue with support from these niche markets. A common design driver
will be the requirement for very high reliability to compensate for the fact that these small-
scale systems often operate remotely with minimal maintenance and support systems and
quiet operation due to proximity to residences.
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