Surprising spin offs of slowing down wind turbines
Dr Rey Chin
School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering discovers how to improve cost effectiveness of wind farms.
The cost effectiveness of wind farms could be significantly improved by reducing the speed of wind turbines that are clustered together, which could improve their longevity and also reduce noise pollution.
A team of researchers from the University of Adelaide led by Dr Rey Chin looked at the operation conditions of wind turbines, investigated those conditions relative to power output and performance, and how turbines interact with each other.
"We have found that the efficiency of wind turbines arranged in wind farms in which turbines are clustered together can be improved by reducing the rotational speed of wind turbines at the front of the group,"said Dr Chin, Senior Lecturer, School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, University of Adelaide.