Abstract
This paper presents an analysis on ways to improve the annual energy production (AEP) of a wind turbine utilizing a drivetrain that operates based on the hydrostatic transmission. The system configuration of such a drivetrain is explained in details and a comparison of operation and characteristics with existing drivetrains is provided. AEP was estimated for these configurations through appropriate dynamic modeling and operational efficiency optimization. Optimal selection of a number of design variables and system parameters contributed to the improvements in the AEP. Findings of this study demonstrate that the proposed hydrostatic drivetrain improves the AEP of a 750 kW turbine by up to +8% when compared with a geared wind turbine. The AEP improvements of the hydrostatic drive wind turbine were more than 10% for a 1.5 MW system over geared configuration. It is also demonstrated that the efficiency of power generation can be improved under various wind speeds. The suitable selection of synchronous speed of the generator directly improves the efficiency of operation by up to 35% at low wind speeds. An efficiency improvement was also observed under higher operating pressures and longer turbine blades.
Highlights
By 2030, the wind energy is planned to cover significant share of the US energy [1]
This work demonstrated that optimal selection of a number of design variables and system parameters is critical to enhancing the efficiency of a hydrostatic drive wind turbine
To achieve such efficiency improvement that would result in higher annual energy production (AEP), the synchronous speed of generators must be selected properly, the length of blades must be adjusted optimally, and the system operation must be optimized
Summary
By 2030, the wind energy is planned to cover significant share of the US energy [1]. Improving the performance of wind turbine operation results in a higher energy production over time. The system introduced in this paper is comprised of a fixed displacement pump coupled with the rotor within the nacelle and a variable displacement motor coupled with a generator on the ground level In this configuration controlling the displacement of motor adjusts the transmission ratio which sets the generator speed to a synchronous speed. Dutta [6] suggested an auxiliary pump to be used to store pressurized flow in an accumulator This stored energy can be released when wind speed is slightly lower than rated speed. The effect of system parameters such as the synchronous speed of the generator and the blade size as well as its operating conditions on the efficiency of hydrostatic wind turbines have not been studied before.
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