HARVESTING THE WIND, THE PHYSICS OF WIND TURBINES
Introduction
Wind turbines across the world generate clean electricity that is used to serve for several purposes, currently in The United States of America wind turbines have become a common thing for power generation. The wind power in the USA is enough to generate power to more than 20 million homesteads which creates the way for the future to produce clean electricity. In the modern world, the turbines turn the energy which is kinetic that comes from the wind and makes it useful into the mechanical energy that will aid in the provision of electricity. This can be a greater back up to the current form of electricity that is used widely across the globe.
Zhu, W. (2019).Reiterates that the wind harnessing process began back in the 5000BC and it was initiated by the Egyptians who used it to propel their boats across the River Nile. Also, the colonist relied heavily on the windmills to perform some tasks such as cutting of firewood, the grinding process of the grains, and also in the pumping of water from the boreholes and rivers Just like how the Egyptians used to pump water from River Nile. Currently, the Wind turbines process the energy that comes from the kinetic objects into acceptable electricity that is renewable globally.
How the turbines work
Majority of the wind turbines consist of three or more blades that are scaled to the pillar that is made of steel. They attract the wind through the blades that are made like the airscrew which behaves and plays a role just like the aircraft wings. When the air currents are blowing low pressure is formed which in return plays the role of pulling it making the rotation of the rotor. Several gears during this process increase the rotation process of the rotor, hence increasing the speed of the turbines which generates the electricity.
The turbine has a controller that aids the rotor to move at a higher speed, and the high speed makes it able to protect itself from the destruction that may arise when the levels of wind are high, at this stage, there is an anemometer that is responsible for measuring the wind and sends a signal to the control tower. However, it also contains brakes that are in the nacelle which can stop the rotor when there is an emergency Kainkwa, R. M. R. (2000).
Wind Turbines Types
Classified into how they look:
The ones with a horizontal alignment which move across horizontally
The ones with vertical alignment are the turbines that tend to move vertically, however, they are further classified into lift-based and drag-bases
Peng, J. (2015, March). Explains that to guarantee that the wind turbines expand globally, the governments should come up with measures that will ensure there is a growth of the wind turbines. The United States of America the responsible departments have been incorporation with the relevant industries to ensure that there is an efficiency and improved reliability of the wind turbine technology. The wind energy costs have been reduced, this measure is to help in the growth and expansion of this technology in areas that have good resources.
They also offer a perfect opportunity that eases the harnessing process in the areas that have the required resources, this includes the areas along the coastline to assist deliver the renewable electricity to the marginalized areas. To create electricity then the turbines should be attached to the generator, electromagnetic induction is then developed when the rotors keep rotating in the core resulting to the generation of the renewable and clean electricity, then this electricity is taken to the transformers to help in controlling the voltage levels that are safe and then supply it across the borders.
Harvesting of the wind by using the turbines then converting it into electricity is preferred to be cost-effective because they utilize and maximize the natural resources, however, the power from the wind is normally sold at a fixed price(there is no room for inflation of the prices of this form of electricity). Wind power has also attracted many people to use it mainly because it does not pollute the environment.
However the air current power faces several challenges that have hindered its growth and expansion, most favourable air current sites are located in the interior regions which are far away from the developed towns and this makes it more expensive to transmit the electricity as they have to build the transmission lines. The turbines also might kill the local wildlife that is flying near the blades, and some bads might also destroy the turbines.
Application of the wind turbines
According to Grogg, K. (2005) Huge turbines can be used to supply power grids that range from 101 kilowatts and above. These type of turbines are scaled to ensure high levels of electricity are produced to serve more homes while the small turbines generate power that is used in the nearby homes, these type of turbines need to be connected to the generators.
Wind turbines that are near the shores tend to harness more energy because of the high levels of winds that are experienced and they seem to be consistent, they supply more than 4000 kilowatts of the electricity, this gives the wind power a chance to provide power to the highly populated areas along the coastal regions.
Conclusion
This paper tells us that the government and the relevant stakeholders should take the necessary steps and measures that will help expand this industry and invest more to ensure high levels of renewable energy are produced, the electricity that can serve most parts of a country without facing major challenges.
REFERENCES
Dabiri, J. O., Greer, J. R., Koseff, J. R., Moin, P., & Peng, J. (2015, March). A new approach to wind energy: opportunities and challenges. In AIP Conference Proceedings (Vol. 1652, No. 1, pp. 51-57). American Institute of Physics
Grogg, K. (2005). Harvesting the wind: the physics of wind turbines. Physics and Astronomy Comps Papers, 7.
Kainkwa, R. M. R. (2000). Wind speed pattern and the available wind power at Basotu, Tanzania. Renewable energy, 21(2), 289-295.
Liu, K., Yu, M., & Zhu, W. (2019). Enhancing wind energy harvesting performance of vertical axis wind turbines with a new hybrid design: A fluid-structure interaction study. Renewable energy, 140, 912-927.
Li, S., & Lipson, H. (2009, September). Vertical-stalk flapping-leaf generator for wind energy harvesting. In ASME 2009 Conference on Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures and Intelligent Systems (pp. 611-619). American Society of Mechanical Engineers Digital Collection.
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