Study of output parameters of horizontal axis wind turbines using experimental test setup

Abstract

Energy has turned to be one of the most basic needs of the humans. Wind energy has been a major source of energy for the society for the past thousand years. Wind energy is a clean and pollution free energy source which can be relied up on for the long-term future. A wind turbine creates cost-effective, pollution free, reliable sources of energy. A single wind turbine is sufficient for the generation of energy which is required by a household. Wind turbines generates power without the usage of fossil fuels, neither have they produced greenhouse gases nor they generate radioactive or toxic waste. There is always a significant need for better sources of energy that is long term reliable. The dependence on conventional sources of energy must be reduced, better and renewable sources of energy must be investigated and should be brought into use. There are various factors affecting the energy generation using wind turbines such as wind parameters which are natural and the turbine parameters. The wind turbine design and its dimensions are one of the major factors affecting the output voltage generated by the wind turbines. The wind turbine blades design includes the pitch angle, the blade length, the width of the blade, weight and the aerodynamic modeling of the blades. Therefore it is necessary to study the effect of all these parameters on the output voltage generated by the conventional type of horizontal axis wind turbines. The paper describes the study of various parameters affecting the working of wind turbines and their effect on the output voltage.