An Exploration of Wind Energy

Authors

Bianca De Haan, University of South Florida

Publication Year

2020

Abstract

Wind energy is renewable energy extrapolated from the wind that has the potential to revolutionize our power supply in the near future as fossil fuels become outdated. Wind turbines capture the energy as the wind spins the blades of the turbine, transforming wind energy into mechanical energy and then into electrical energy through a generator. One of the techniques utilized to understand wind energy is to manipulate various variables in the formula for wind power. These variables such as the power coefficient, wind velocity, number and length of blades are explored to find its optimal value. The variable of turbine efficiency is explored by deriving Betz limit from the known physics formulas, in order to understand one of the limitations of the wind energy formula. It can be deduced that turbine design is also valuable for the efficiency of wind turbines. This is where the length and the number of blades are explored through the tip speed ratio in order to understand how to achieve maximum efficiency.

Recommended Citation

De Haan, Bianca (2020) "An Exploration of Wind Energy," Undergraduate Journal of Mathematical Modeling: One + Two: Vol. 10: Iss. 2, Article 4.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5038/2326-3652.10.2.4917
Available at: https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/ujmm/vol10/iss2/4

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