Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
more-detailed discussions of the wind characteristics and wind turbine performance that ap-
pear later in this topic. A bibliography of publications recommended for additional introduc-
tory information on modern wind turbines is given in Appendix A.
Two early large-scale prototype wind turbines will be described here to illustrate the
antecedents of modern horizontal-axis and vertical-axis conigurations. These noteworthy
machines are the DOE/NASA Mod-5B HAWT (Fig. 2-1) and the DOE/SNL 34-meter VAWT
(Fig. 2-2). At the time of their construction, each represented an advanced stage in the design
evolution of its coniguration. Many of the features of these two prototype machines are now
common to modern wind turbines of various sizes.
The Mod-5B, with its 97.5-m rotor, 3.2-MW rating, and variable-speed generating sys-
tem, was at one time the largest wind turbine in the world. Designed and built by the Boeing
Figure 2-1. The coniguration of the 3.2-MW DOE/NASA Mod-5B prototype wind tur-
bine contains many of the features typical of modern HAWTs. With its swept area of
7,470 m 2 , it was the largest wind turbine in the world when constructed in 1988. ( Courtesy of
NASA Glenn Research Center; photograph by R. Ensign )
Search WWH ::




Custom Search