Wind power is the most mature green energy source in electric power systems and is now a booming worldwide industry. The use of wind power is growing rapidly throughout the world to reduce environmental degradation. Due to global environmental concerns and public awareness, many power utilities around the world are considering wind energy as a substitute for conventional generation. Many governments already have energy plans and policies in place to ensure significantincrease in power generation using wind energy within designated time periods. The wind is variable, site specific and is an intermittent source of energy. It is therefore a complex task to analyze generating system capacity adequacy considering wind energy. The growing application of wind power dictates the need to develop methods to evaluate the system reliability and the capacity value of wind power. Wind is generally considered to be a source of energy, rather than a power source. It is equally important however, to consider the capacity credit of wind power as its penetration increases in electric power systems. It is very important for both electric power utilities and wind power developers to accurately assess wind capacity credit and therefore it is necessary to study and develop different methodologies for performing this task. The research presented in this thesis examines a range of methods used for the evaluation of wind capacity credit using data from four wind sites in Saskatchewan. The techniques, methods and results presented in this thesis should prove to be valuable for system planners assessing generating capacity adequacy evaluation incorporating wind energy.

Experimental research has been completed using a custom designed and built 4m diameter wind turbine in a university operated wind facility. The primary goals of turbine testing were to determine the power production of the turbine and to apply the particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique to produce flow visualization images and velocity vector maps near the tip of a blade. These tests were completed over a wide range of wind speeds and turbine blade rotational speeds. This testing was also designed to be a preliminary study of the potential for future research using the turbine apparatus and to outline it's limitations. The goals and results of other large scale turbine tests are also briefly discussed with a comparison outlining the unique aspects of the experiment outlined in this thesis. Power production tests were completed covering a range of mean wind speeds, 6.4 m/s to 11.1 m/s nominal, and rotational rates, 40 rpm to 220 rpm. This testing allowed the total power produced by the blades to be determined as a function of input wind speed, as traditionally found in power curves for commercial turbines. The coefficient of power, Cp, was determined as a function of the tip speed ratio which gave insight into the peak power production of the experimental turbine. It was found, as expected, that the largest power production occurred at the highest input wind speed, 11.1 m/s, and reached a mean value of 3080 W at a rotational rate of 220 rpm. Peak Cp was also found, as a function of the tip speed ratio, to approach 0.4 at the maximum measurable tip speed ratio of 8. Blade element momentum (BEM) theory was also implemented as an aerodynamic power and force prediction tool for the given turbine apparatus. Comparisons between the predictions and experimental results were made with a focus on the Cp power curve to verify the accuracy of the initial model. Although the initial predictions, based on lift and drag curves found in Abbot and Von Doenhoff (1959), were similar to experimental results at high tip speed ratios an extrapolation of the data given by Hoffman et al. (1996) was found to more closely match the experimental results over the full range of tip speed ratios. Finally PIV was used to produce flow visualization images and corresponding velocity maps of the chord-wise air flow over an area at a radius ratio of 0.9, near the tip of a blade. This technique provided insight into the flow over a blade at three different tip speed ratios, 4, 6 and 8, over a range of wind speeds and rotational rates. A discussion of the unique aspects and challenges encountered using the PIV technique is presented including: measuring an unbounded external flow on a rotating object and the turbulence in the free stream affecting the uniform seeding and stability of the flow.

As welfare and industry production gets higher the demand for electricity increases. Almost 90 % of the electricity generated in Brazil is from renewable sources, 85 % of the renewable energy comes from hydropower. Even if Latin America has a lot of potential for wind power their installed capacity in only 1 % of the worlds total installed capacity. Lately more and more wind turbines and wind farms are appearing along Brazil’s over 7500 kilometer long coastline. Osorio wind farm is the largest wind farm in Latin America with a total installed effect of 150 MW. In the same state, Rio Grande du Sul, a farmer has shown interest for using his property for wind power. The purpose of this project is to lay the foundation for a deeper investigation about using Aguapé farm’s property for wind power and to show the future possibilities for Brazilian wind power. The study is made on set in Brazil, divided into two parts, one theoretical research part and one practical part with a field trip to Aguapé farm. In 2002 The Brazilian Government launched the PROINFA program, Alternative Sources for Energy Incentive. This year, 2009, the first wind power projects auctions are held to increase the generation from renewable electricity sources. Wind power in Brazil has the highest production when the level in the hydropower dams are at the lowest, which by integrating the electrical generating wiht wind power makes it possible to save water and avoiding lack of electricity. Aguapé farm is located between one of the worlds biggest fresh water lakes, Lagao dos Patos, and the Atlantic Ocean. The location has very good wind potential, almost like offshore because of the closeness to large areas of water. Road connections to the farm are functional in good and dry weather conditions and not far away a 138kV power line passes through. Surrounding neighbors are positive to wind power which makes it easier with problem caused by wind turbines, for example noise. About 40 kilometers from the farm Lagoa do Peixe National Park is located. Suggestion from the Aguapé owner is to stop with the rice production, which is disturbing the park’s natural hydrological system, to use the property for wind turbines instead. Conclusions of the study shows that the potential for wind power at Aguapé farm is excellent and that wind power at Aguapé farm will help both the owner, Lagoa do Peixe National Park and Brazil to a better future.

Vertical axis wind turbines (VAWT) have many advantages over traditional Horizontalaxis wind turbines (HAWT).One of the more severe problem of VAWTs are the complicated aerodynamicbehavior inherent in the concept. Incontrast to HAWTs the blades experience varying angle of attack during its orbitalmotion. The unsteady flowleads to unsteady loads, and hence, to increased risk for problems with fatigue.A tool for aerodynamic analysis of vertical axis wind turbines has been developed.The model, a Discrete vortex method, relies on conformal maps to simplify the taskto finding the flowaround cylinders. After the simplified problem has been solved with Kutta condition,using the Fast Fouriertransform, the solution is transformed back to the original geometry yielding the flowabout the turbine.The program can be used for quick predictions of the aerodynamic blade loads fordifferent turbines allowing the method to be validated by comparing the predictionsto experimental data from realvertical axis wind turbines. The agreement with experiment is good.

The task in this project is to design a generator for a vertical axis wind turbine withpower rated to 20kW at a wind speed of 10m/s. The project is conducted at theDivision of Electricity at Uppsala University with collaboration from ElectricGeneration AB. The design has just a few moving parts, which decreases maintenancecosts and increases its toughness. The turbine absorbs wind from every direction butits rotation speed ratio is lower than horizontal axis wind turbines. It means that thegenerator must be bigger and therefore more expensive. Price is an importantcriterion for the generator. Neodymium magnets are expensive so the amount of thismaterial must be limited.Several designs have been simulated but one final design has proven the mostpromising. It fulfills all specifications such as efficiency above 95%, 20kW outputpower and it also has a relatively low amount of hard magnetic material.A design with a single row of cables per slot was decided upon to eliminate heatpockets between cable rows, which can occur in designs with two cable rows perslot. It would be interesting to study designs with two or more cable rows per slot, asit could lead to a smaller and more efficient machine.

Experimental research has been completed using a custom designed and built 4m diameter wind turbine in a university operated wind facility. The primary goals of turbine testing were to determine the power production of the turbine and to apply the particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique to produce flow visualization images and velocity vector maps near the tip of a blade. These tests were completed over a wide range of wind speeds and turbine blade rotational speeds. This testing was also designed to be a preliminary study of the potential for future research using the turbine apparatus and to outline it's limitations. The goals and results of other large scale turbine tests are also briefly discussed with a comparison outlining the unique aspects of the experiment outlined in this thesis. Power production tests were completed covering a range of mean wind speeds, 6.4 m/s to 11.1 m/s nominal, and rotational rates, 40 rpm to 220 rpm. This testing allowed the total power produced by the blades to be determined as a function of input wind speed, as traditionally found in power curves for commercial turbines. The coefficient of power, Cp, was determined as a function of the tip speed ratio which gave insight into the peak power production of the experimental turbine. It was found, as expected, that the largest power production occurred at the highest input wind speed, 11.1 m/s, and reached a mean value of 3080 W at a rotational rate of 220 rpm. Peak Cp was also found, as a function of the tip speed ratio, to approach 0.4 at the maximum measurable tip speed ratio of 8. Blade element momentum (BEM) theory was also implemented as an aerodynamic power and force prediction tool for the given turbine apparatus. Comparisons between the predictions and experimental results were made with a focus on the Cp power curve to verify the accuracy of the initial model. Although the initial predictions, based on lift and drag curves found in Abbot and Von Doenhoff (1959), were similar to experimental results at high tip speed ratios an extrapolation of the data given by Hoffman et al. (1996) was found to more closely match the experimental results over the full range of tip speed ratios. Finally PIV was used to produce flow visualization images and corresponding velocity maps of the chord-wise air flow over an area at a radius ratio of 0.9, near the tip of a blade. This technique provided insight into the flow over a blade at three different tip speed ratios, 4, 6 and 8, over a range of wind speeds and rotational rates. A discussion of the unique aspects and challenges encountered using the PIV technique is presented including: measuring an unbounded external flow on a rotating object and the turbulence in the free stream affecting the uniform seeding and stability of the flow.

Wind power is the most mature green energy source in electric power systems and is now a booming worldwide industry. The use of wind power is growing rapidly throughout the world to reduce environmental degradation. Due to global environmental concerns and public awareness, many power utilities around the world are considering wind energy as a substitute for conventional generation. Many governments already have energy plans and policies in place to ensure significantincrease in power generation using wind energy within designated time periods. The wind is variable, site specific and is an intermittent source of energy. It is therefore a complex task to analyze generating system capacity adequacy considering wind energy. The growing application of wind power dictates the need to develop methods to evaluate the system reliability and the capacity value of wind power. Wind is generally considered to be a source of energy, rather than a power source. It is equally important however, to consider the capacity credit of wind power as its penetration increases in electric power systems. It is very important for both electric power utilities and wind power developers to accurately assess wind capacity credit and therefore it is necessary to study and develop different methodologies for performing this task. The research presented in this thesis examines a range of methods used for the evaluation of wind capacity credit using data from four wind sites in Saskatchewan. The techniques, methods and results presented in this thesis should prove to be valuable for system planners assessing generating capacity adequacy evaluation incorporating wind energy.

During the past decade, the demand for clean renewable energy continues to rise drastically in Europe, the US, and other countries. Wind energy in the ocean can possibly be one of those future renewable clean energy sources as long it is economically feasible and technologically manageable. So far, most of the offshore wind farm research has been limited to fixed platforms in shallow-water areas. In the water depth deeper than 30m, however, floating-type wind farms tend to be more feasible. Then, the overall design and engineering becomes more complicated than fixed platforms including the coupled dynamics of platforms, mooring lines, and blades. In the present study, a numerical time-domain model has been developed for the fully coupled dynamic analysis of an offshore floating wind turbine system including blade-rotor dynamics and platform motions. As a test case, the TLP-type floater system with 3 blades of 70-m diameter designed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is selected to analyze the dynamic coupling effects among floating system, mooring lines, and wind turbine. The performance of the selected system in a typical wind-wave-current condition has been simulated and analyzed. A similar study for the floater and rotor coupled dynamic analysis was conducted by MIT and NREL. However, in the present case, the dynamic coupling between platform and mooring lines are also considered in addition to the rotor-floater dynamic coupling. It is seen that the rotor-floater coupling effects increase with wind velocity and blade size. The increased coupling effects tend to increase the dynamic tension of TLP tethers. The developed technology and numerical tool are applicable to the new offshore floating wind farms planned in the future.

Two bottom-mounted ADCPs were deployed in the coastal waters off the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium at southwestern Taiwan coast from June 5, 2004 to December 20, 2005. The long-term observational dataset of wind, currents, water level and drifters were analyzed here to investigate the mechanism and seasonal variations of tidal and subtidal flows. Diurnal tidal constituent of K dominates the tidal energy in this area. The calculated form ratio is 1.53, indicating that the tide is of the diurnal type. Tidal current direction is consistent with the local coastal line, with the principal axis in the NNE-SSW orientation. The tidal waves of two major constituents¡]K an M ¡^are found to exist in the form of propagating waves in this region, rather than the form of standing waves as was found in the east coast of central Taiwan Strait. The subtidal currents flow toward the south with a speed of about 20-50 cm/s during the winter northeastern monsoon. On the other hand, subtidal flow speed is smaller but still toward the south during the summer southwestern monsoon. Current speed in the surface layer is larger than that in the mid and bottom layers. The persistent southward flow in this region is also found to correlate with the wind stress curl. When the wind stress curl reaches a maximum negative value in winter, an anticyclonic eddy develops and the flow in the study area is toward the south. Analysis of Argos drifter data reveal the existence of anticyclone off the southwestern Taiwan coast. Surface drifters were also deployed in this area, and the trajectories indicate that general flow patterns are toward the south. This finding is consistent with the progressive vector diagram from the moored ADCP current data. To summarize, a persistent southward flow exists in the study region all year round. However, the flow intensifies in winter and decays in summer. The southward flow is also associated with the anticyclonic eddy driven by the negative wind stress curl in winter. The intrusion of Kuroshio water from the Luzon Strait into the northern South China Sea is the possible source of water mass for this phenomenon.

Thesis (D.M.A.)--Conservatory of Music and Dance. University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2008. / "A dissertation in music composition." Advisor: James Mobberley. Typescript. Vita. Title from "catalog record" of the print edition Description based on contents viewed Nov. 25, 2009. Online version of the print edition.