Reconfiguration of a wind turbine with hydrostatic drivetrain to improve annual energy production

Abstract

Hydrostatic transmission systems (HTS) have shown potential in replacing gearbox in conventional wind turbines. However, the general perception about these systems is that they suffer from low efficiencies, specifically at low wind speeds. This paper presents a novel technique that can improve the annual energy production (AEP) beyond that of a conventional wind turbine. By optimizing the operating conditions and the design of the wind turbine, the performance and efficiency of a HTS can be improved. A side-by-side comparison with the conventional wind turbines is provided to highlight the benefits of the proposed methodology. One of the findings of this research is that, rotor, hydrostatic pump, motor and their operations' planning must be optimized together to achieve higher AEP. The reconfigured turbines are shown to provide up to 8 percent AEP increase for a 750 kW plant and up to 10 percent increase for 1500 kW plants using the proposed drivetrain configurations.