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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 55 records · Page 3
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1979

Preliminary analysis of performance and loads data from the 2-megawatt mod-1 wind turbine generator

Preliminary test data on output power versus wind speed, rotor blade loads, system dynamic behavior, and start-stop characteristics on the Mod-1 wind turbine generator are presented. These data were analyzed statistically and are compared with design predictions of system performance and loads. To date, the Mod-1 wind turbine generator has produced up to 1.5 MW of power, with a measured power versus wind speed curve which agrees closely with design. Blade loads were measured at wind speeds up to 14 m/s and also during rapid shutdowns. Peak transient loads during the most severe shutdowns are less than the design limit loads. On the inboard blade sections, fatigue loads are approximately equal to the design cyclic loads. On the outboard blade sections, however, measured cyclic loads are significantly larger than design values, but they do not appear to exceed fatigue allowable loads as yet.

Spera, D. A.↗
NASA NTRS1980

The energy coupling function and the power generated by the solar wind-magnetosphere dynamo

A solar wind parameter epsilon, known as the energy coupling function, has been shown to correlate with the power consumption in the magnetosphere. It is shown in the present paper that the parameter epsilon can be identified semi-quantitatively as the dynamo power delivered from the solar wind to an open magnetosphere. This identification not only provides a theoretical basis for the energy coupling function, but also constitutes an observational verification of the solar wind-magnetosphere dynamo along the magnetotail. Moreover, one can now conclude that a substorm results when the dynamo power exceeds 10 to the 18th erg/s.

Kan, J. R.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Mars vertical axis wind machines: The design of a tornado vortex machine for use on Mars

Ever since Viking 1 and 2 landed on the surface of Mars in the summer of 1976, man has yearned to go back. But before man steps foot upon the surface of Mars, unmanned missions such as the Martian Soft Lander and Martian Subsurface Penetrator will precede him. Alternative renewable power sources must be developed to supply the next generation of surface exploratory spacecraft, since RTG's, solar cells, and long-life batteries all have their significant drawbacks. One such alternative is to take advantage of the unique Martian atmospheric conditions by designing a small scale, Martian wind power generator, capable of surviving impact and fulfilling the long term (2-5 years), low-level power requirements (1-2 Watts) of an unmanned surface probe. After investigation of several wind machines, a tornado vortex generator was chosen based upon its capability of theoretically augmenting and increasing the available power that may be extracted from average Martian wind speeds of approximately 7.5 m/s. The Martian Tornado Vortex Wind Generator stands 1 meter high and has a diameter of 0.5 m. Martian winds enter the base and shroud of the Tornado Vortex Generator at 7.5 m/s and are increased to an exit velocity of 13.657 m/s due to the vortex that is created. This results in a rapid pressure drop of 4.56 kg/s(exp 2) m across the vortex core which aids in producing a net power output of 1.1765 Watts. The report contains the necessary analysis and requirements needed to feasibly operate a low-level powered, unmanned, Martian surface probe.

Carlin, Daun↗
NASA NTRS1983

Wind turbine generator interaction with diesel generators on an isolated power system

The results of a dynamic interaction investigation to characterize any disturbances caused by interfacing the Mod 0A wind turbine (150 kW configuration) with the Block Island utility diesel generator grid are reported. The tests were run when only two diesel generators were on line, and attention was given to power, frequency, and voltage time profiles. The interconnected system was examined in the start-up and synchronization phase, normal shutdown and cut-out of the wind turbine, during fixed pitch generation, and during variable pitch operation. Governors were installed on the diesel generators to accommodate the presence of wind-derived electricity. The blade pitch control was set to maintain power at 150 kW or below. Power and voltage transients were insignificant during start-up and shutdown, and frequency aberrations were within the range caused by load fluctuations. It is concluded that wind turbine generation can be successfully implemented by an isolated utility, even with a significant penetration to the total grid output.

Scott, G. W.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Wind Turbine Dynamics

Recent progress in the analysis and prediction of the dynamic behavior of wind turbine generators is discussed. The following areas were addressed: (1) the adequacy of state of the art analysis tools for designing the next generation of wind power systems; (2) the use of state of the art analysis tools designers; and (3) verifications of theory which might be lacking or inadequate. Summaries of these informative discussions as well as the questions and answers which followed each paper are documented in the proceedings.

Thresher, R. W.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Effect of vortex generators on the power conversion performance and structural dynamic loads of the Mod-2 wind turbine

Applying vortex generators from 20 to 100 percent span of the Mod-2 rotor resulted in a projected increase in annual energy capture of 20 percent and reduced the wind speed at which rated power is reached by nearly 3 m/sec. Application of vortex generators from 20 to 70 percent span, the fixed portion of the Mod-2 rotor, resulted in a projected increase in annual energy capture of about half this. This improved performance came at the cost of a small increase in cyclic blade loads in below rated power conditions. Cyclic blade loads were found to correlate well with the change in wind speed during one rotor revolution.

Sullivan, T. L.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Control of large wind turbine generators connected to utility networks

This is an investigation of the control requirements for variable pitch wind turbine generators connected to electric power systems. The requirements include operation in very small as well as very large power systems. Control systems are developed for wind turbines with synchronous, induction, and doubly fed generators. Simulation results are presented. It is shown how wind turbines and power system controls can be integrated. A clear distinction is made between fast control of turbine torque, which is a peculiarity of wind turbines, and slow control of electric power, which is a traditional power system requirement.

Hinrichsen, E. N.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Measured effect of wind generation on the fuel consumption of an isolated diesel power system

The Block Island Power Company (BIPCO), on Block Island, Rhode Island, operates an isolated electric power system consisting of diesel generation and an experimental wind turbine. The 150-kW wind turbine, designated MOD-OA by the U.S. Department of Energy is typically operated in parallel with two diesel generators to serve an average winter load of 350 kW. Wind generation serves up to 60 percent of the system demand depending on wind speed and total system load. Results of diesel fuel consumption measurements are given for the diesel units operated in parallel with the wind turbine and again without the wind turbine. The fuel consumption data are used to calculate the amount of fuel displaced by wind energy. Results indicate that the wind turbine displaced 25,700 lbs. of the diesel fuel during the test period, representing a calculated reduction in fuel consumption of 6.7 percent while generating 11 percent of the total electric energy. The amount of displaced fuel depends on operating conditions and system load. It is also shown that diesel engine throttle activity resulting from wind gusts which rapidly change the wind turbine output do not significantly influence fuel consumption.

Stiller, P. H.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Wind energy developments in the 20th century

Wind turbine systems for generating electrical power have been tested in many countries. Representative examples of turbines which have produced from 100 to 1250 kW are described. The advantages of wind energy consist of its being a nondepleting, nonpolluting, and free fuel source. Its disadvantages relate to the variability of wind and the high installation cost per kilowatt of capacity of wind turbines when compared to other methods of electric-power generation. High fuel costs and potential resource scarcity have led to a five-year joint NASA-NSF program to study wind energy. The program will study wind energy conversion and storage systems with respect to cost effectiveness, and will attempt to estimate national wind-energy potential and develop techniques for generator site selection. The studies concern a small-systems (50-250 kW) project, a megawatt-systems (500-3000 kW) project, supporting research and technology, and energy storage. Preliminary economic analyses indicate that wind-energy conversion can be competitive in high-average-wind areas.

Vargo, D. J.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Amplified wind turbine apparatus

An invention related to the utilization of wind energy and increasing the effects thereof for power generation is described. Amplified wind turbine apparatus is disclosed wherein ambient inlet air is prerotated in a first air rotation chamber having a high pressure profile increasing the turbulence and Reynolds number thereof. A second rotation chamber adjacent and downstream of the turbine has a low pressure core profile whereby flow across the turbine is accelerated and thereafter exits the turbine apparatus through a draft anti-interference device. Interference with ambient winds at the outlet of the turbine apparatus is thus eliminated. Pivotable vanes controlled in response to prevailing wind direction admit air to the chambers and aid in imparting rotation. A central core may be utilized for creating the desired pressure profile in the chamber.

Hein, L. A.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Solar power

This paper describes categories of solar technologies and identifies those that are economic. It compares the private costs of power from solar, wind, nuclear, coal, oil, and gas generators. In the southern United States, the private costs of building and generating electricity from new solar and wind power plants are less than the private cost of electricity from a new nuclear power plant. Solar power is more valuable than nuclear power since all solar power is available during peak and midpeak periods. Half of the power from nuclear generators is off-peak power and therefore is less valuable. Reliability is important in determining the value of wind and nuclear power. Damage from air pollution, when factored into the cost of power from fossil fuels, alters the cost comparison in favor of solar and wind power. Some policies are more effective at encouraging alternative energy technologies that pollute less and improve national security.

Walton, A. L.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Parameterization of spectrum

Many radars used for wind sounding generate Doppler power spectra as output. For compact data archiving purposes, as well as for data analysis, several parameters were produced to characterize each spectrum. The parameters chosen were noise level, echo signal strength, velocity, and width. Because the derived parameters may be the only quantities available for future analysis, it was important that they did not contain biases imposed by the derivation techniques. This consideration led to a processing scheme in which the parameters were derived independently for each spectrum.

Riddle, A. C.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Effect of accuracy of wind power prediction on power system operator

This research project proposed a modified unit commitment that schedules connection and disconnection of generating units in response to load. A modified generation control is also proposed that controls steam units under automatic generation control, fast responding diesels, gas turbines and hydro units under a feedforward control, and wind turbine array output under a closed loop array control. This modified generation control and unit commitment require prediction of trend wind power variation one hour ahead and the prediction of error in this trend wind power prediction one half hour ahead. An improved meter for predicting trend wind speed variation is developed. Methods for accurately simulating the wind array power from a limited number of wind speed prediction records was developed. Finally, two methods for predicting the error in the trend wind power prediction were developed. This research provides a foundation for testing and evaluating the modified unit commitment and generation control that was developed to maintain operating reliability at a greatly reduced overall production cost for utilities with wind generation capacity.

Schlueter, R. A.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Aeroacoustics of large wind turbines

This paper reviews published information on aerodynamically generated noise from large horizontal axis wind turbines operated for electric power generation. Methods are presented for predicting both the discrete frequency rotational noise components and the broadband noise components, and results are compared with measurements. Refraction effects that result in the formation of high-frequency shadow zones in the upwind direction and channeling effects for the low frequencies in the downwind direction are illustrated. Special topics such as distributed source effects in prediction and the role of building dynamics in perception are also included.

Hubbard, Harvey H.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Synchronization of the ERDA-NASA 100 kW wind turbine generator with large utility networks

The synchronizing of a wind turbine generator against an infinite bus under random conditions is studied for the first time. With a digital computer, complete solutions for rotor speed, generator power angle, electromagnetic torque, wind turbine torque, wind turbine blade pitch angle, and armature current are obtained and presented by graphs. Experiments have been recently performed on the ERDA-NASA 100 kW wind turbine. Experimental results matched computer study results very closely and confirmed that the synchronization can be accomplished by means of the existing speed control system and an automatic synchronizer.

Hwang, H. H.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Synchronization of wind turbine generators against an infinite bus under gusting wind conditions

Studies of synchronizing a wind turbine generator against an infinite bus are performed on a digital computer. In the digital simulation, wind gusts of different magnitudes and durations are hypothesized. Prior to the synchronization, differences of the frequency and phase position between voltages of the alternator and the bus are also included in the simulation. Solutions for rotor speed, generator power angle, electromagnetic torque, wind turbine torque, wind turbine blade pitch angle, and armature current are simulated and presented graphically. The ERDA-NASA 100-kW wind turbine is used as a case study. The results so obtained will thus have immediate applications.

Hwang, H. H.↗