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Sheffield Hallam University
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Sheffield
S1 1WB
Phone 0114 225 5000
Fax 0114 225 3524
E-mail business@shu.ac.uk
Wind turbine performance increased as a result of our investigation
The Coney Green Business Centre of North East Derbyshire District Council installed a wind turbine in 2005 with a 20 kW capacity. However the turbine was only supplying 5% of the power demand, which was insufficient to offset its maintenance costs.
We conducted a series of appraisals to investigate the energy and environmental performance of the site and identify a way of increasing output.
We examined the factors limiting the power generation performance through analysing a combination of wind data for the site and using Computational Fluid Dynamics modelling plus a range of recognised engineering techniques. We also liaised with the manufacturers of the turbine.
The investigation showed wind shadowing and inductance of turbulence as causes limiting the performance. We found that the site was in fairly close proximity to two storey residential properties, which were at a higher elevation and in line with the prevailing wind direction.
These investigations enabled us to offer a solution for realising the potential of the turbines. We recommended the extension of pylon from a height of 13m to 20m, resulting in an improvement to the turbine’s power generation performance.
We examined the factors limiting the power generation performance through analysing a combination of wind data for the site and using Computational Fluid Dynamics modelling plus a range of recognised engineering techniques. We also liaised with the manufacturers of the turbine.
The investigation showed wind shadowing and inductance of turbulence as causes limiting the performance. We found that the site was in fairly close proximity to two storey residential properties, which were at a higher elevation and in line with the prevailing wind direction.
These investigations enabled us to offer a solution for realising the potential of the turbines. We recommended the extension of pylon from a height of 13m to 20m, resulting in an improvement to the turbine’s power generation performance.
