wind turbines

Basics of Wind Turbines

Since early recorded history, people have harnessed the energy of the wind. Wind energy propelled boats along the Nile River as early as 5000 B.C. By 200 B.C., simple windmills in China were pumping water, while vertical-axis windmills with woven reed sails were grinding grain in Persia and the Middle East.

{Turbine Parts}

Anemometer:
Measures the wind speed and transmits wind speed data to the controller.
Blades:
Lifts and rotates when wind is blown over them, causing the rotor to spin. Most turbines have either two or three blades.
Brake:
Stops the rotor mechanically, electrically, or hydraulically, in emergencies.
Controller:
Starts up the machine at wind speeds of about 8 to 16 miles per hour (mph) and shuts off the machine at about 55 mph. Turbines do not operate at wind speeds above about 55 mph because they may be damaged by the high winds.
Gear box:
Connects the low-speed shaft to the high-speed shaft and increases the rotational speeds from about 30-60 rotations per minute (rpm), to about 1,000-1,800 rpm; this is the rotational speed required by most generators to produce electricity. The gear box is a costly (and heavy) part of the wind turbine and engineers are exploring "direct-drive" generators that operate at lower rotational speeds and don't need gear boxes.
Generator:
Produces 60-cycle AC electricity; it is usually an off-the-shelf induction generator.
High-speed shaft:
Drives the generator.
Low-speed shaft:
Turns the low-speed shaft at about 30-60 rpm.
Nacelle:
Sits atop the tower and contains the gear box, low- and high-speed shafts, generator, controller, and brake. Some nacelles are large enough for a helicopter to land on.
Pitch:
Turns (or pitches) blades out of the wind to control the rotor speed, and to keep the rotor from turning in winds that are too high or too low to produce electricity.
Rotor:
Blades and hub together form the rotor.
Tower:
Made from tubular steel (shown here), concrete, or steel lattice. Supports the structure of the turbine. Because wind speed increases with height, taller towers enable turbines to capture more energy and generate more electricity.
Wind direction:
Determines the design of the turbine. Upwind turbines—like the one shown here—face into the wind while downwind turbines face away.
Wind vane:
Measures wind direction and communicates with the yaw drive to orient the turbine properly with respect to the wind.
Yaw drive:
Orients upwind turbines to keep them facing the wind when the direction changes. Downwind turbines don't require a yaw drive because the wind manually blows the rotor away from it.
Yaw motor:
Powers the yaw drive. How they all work together

Now that we know how Wind Turbines are made, lets talk about, what they are made of.

The majority of current commercialized wind turbine blades are made from fiber-reinforced polymers, which are composites consisting of a polymer matrix and fibers.

Based on the data I collected i concluded that this is the best turbine design that I have come up with

Blade Size
45 meters
General Thickness
Thin
Length of dowel
4.5 meters
Tower Height
120 meters
Blade Warp
Yes
Pitch
3 Degrees
General Tip Thickness
Thin/Point

What location was it most efficent, and how many homes does each location power?

Shore side 812 Homes Plains 648 Homes Mountains/Valleys 516 Homes

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Pros and Cons of shore side

PROS
They generate the most electricty
They power the most homes
lots of people live near the sea so less leakage of power lines

CONS
Soil can be moist thus making the soil weak
shore lines are not common
owning land on the water is expensive

Pros and Cons of the plains

PROS
easy to manage
land is cheap (for land)
Wind is decent

CONS
Powers less homes anually
Decent wind speed
Bird strike is more common

Pros and Cons of mountains/valleys

PROS
lots of wind
high elevation
less birds

CONS
hard to matience
land is expensive
few stable locations for wind turbine placement

Why we often dont use mountians for wind turbines