Applications throughout the World - Hybrid Anisotropic Materials for Wind Power Turbine Blades - page 3

the.wind.when.using.a.wind.turbine..Imagine.this.image:.We.have.the.wind.
coming. from. the. right. and. we. use. a. device. to. capture. part. of. the. kinetic.
energy. in. the. wind.. (In. this. case,. we. use. a. three-bladed. rotor,. but. it. could.
be.some.other.mechanical.device)..The.wind.energy.turns.the.kinetic.wind.
energy.into.operational.energy,.e.g.,.electricity.and/or.heat..The.converter.is.
based.on.a.rotor.driven.by.the.wind,.thereby.extracting.the.power.of: 3

. P.=.arAv 3 . (1.1)

where
a.is.an.aerodynamic.eficiency.constant;.(a.=..50.-..59)
r. the. density. of. air,. (at. sea. level. and. at. 15 ° C,. according. to. International.
Standard.Atmosphere,.air.has.a.density.of.approximately.1.29.kg/m 3 ,.
at.200C.density.1,204.kg/m 3 ).
A.is.the.area.of.rotor.plane,.(A.=.pD 2 ).and.v.is.the.wind.velocity.(in.a.storm,.
it.can.reach.20-25.m/sec.)..If.rotor.diameter.equals.30m,.P.=.15.MW

Wind.is.a.form.of.solar.energy.and.is.caused.by.the.uneven.heating.of.the.
atmosphere.by.the.sun,.the.irregularities.of.the.Earth's.surface,.and.rotation.
of.the.planet..Wind.low.patterns.are.modiied.by.the.Earth's.terrain,.bodies.
of.water,.and.vegetation..Humans.use.this.wind.low,.or.motion.energy,.for.
many.purposes:.sailing,.lying.a.kite,.and.even.generating.electricity.
The. terms. wind energy . or. wind power . describe. the. process. by. which. the.
wind.is.used.to.generate.mechanical.power.or.electricity..Wind.turbines.con-
vert.the.kinetic.energy.in.the.wind.into.mechanical.power..This.mechanical.
power. can. be. used. for. speciic. tasks,. such. as. grinding. grain. or. pumping.
water,.or.a.generator.can.convert.this.mechanical.power.into.electricity.
So,.how.do.wind.turbines.make.electricity?.Simply.stated,.a.wind.turbine.
works.just.the.opposite.of.a.fan..Instead.of.using.electricity.to.make.wind,.
like.a.fan,.wind.turbines.use.wind.to.make.electricity..The.wind.turns.the.
blades,.which.spin.a.shaft,.which.connects.to.a.generator.and.this.generates.
electricity..To.take.a.look.inside.a.wind.turbine.to.see.the.various.parts,.go.to.
www1.eere.energy.gov..View.the.wind.turbine.animation.to.see.how.a.wind.
turbine.works. 4
This.aerial.view.of.a.wind.power.plant.(Figure 1.1).shows.how.a.group.of.
wind.turbines.can.make.electricity.for.the.utility.grid..The.electricity.is.sent.
through.transmission. and.distribution. lines.to.homes,.businesses,.schools,.
and.so.on..More.speciic.details.are.described.in.Chapter.7.
Many.wind.farms.have.sprung.up.in.the.Midwest.in.recent.years,.gener-
ating.power.for.utilities..Farmers.beneit.by.receiving.land.lease.payments.
from.wind.energy.project.developers.(Figure 1.2).
GE.Wind.Energy's.3.6.MW.wind.turbine.is.one.of.the.largest.prototypes.
ever.erected..Larger.wind.turbines.are.more.eficient.and.cost.effective.