Design Wind Power Turbine - Hybrid Anisotropic Materials for Wind Power Turbine Blades - page 17

Rotor blades:

Shown feathered
Length, 37 m

Nacelle enclosing:

Rotor hub

Low-speed shaft
Gearbox
Generator, 1.5 MW
Electrical controls

Tower, 80 m

Minivan

FIGURE 2.1
Modern. wind. turbines.. (From. TPI. Composites,. Inc.. 20 percent energy by 2030 .. Online. at.
www.20percentwind.org..With.permission.)

In. general,. the. speed. of. the. wind. increases. with. the. height. above. the.
ground,. which. is. why. engineers. have. found. ways. to. increase. the. height.
and. the. size. of. wind. turbines. while. minimizing. the. costs. of. materials..
But.land-based.turbine.size.is.not.expected.to.grow.as.dramatically.in.the.
future. as. it. has. in. the. past.. Larger. sizes. are. physically. possible;. however,.
the.logistical.constraints.of.transporting.the.components.via.highways.and.
of. obtaining. cranes. large. enough. to. lift. the. components. present. a. major.
economic.barrier.that.is.dificult.to.overcome..Many.turbine.designers.do.
not. expect. the. rotors. of. land-based. turbines. to. become. much. larger. than.
about.100.m.in.diameter,.with.corresponding.power.outputs.of.about.3.to.5.
MW..Rotor.Hub.Tower,.80.m.Minimum.Power.approximately.equal.to.the.
length . squared.(W.≈.L 2 .[L.is.length.of.blade]). 1.

2.3 RotorDesign

Typically,.a.modern.turbine.will.cut.in.and.begin.to.produce.power.at.a.wind.
speed.of.about.5.m/sec..It.will.reach.its.rated.power.at.about.12.to.14.m/sec.,.