skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Laboratory Testing of Drivetrain Component Efficiencies for Constant-Speed and Variable-Speed Wind Turbines: 4 November 1997 --3 November 2000

Abstract

Under a subcontract with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Electronic Power Conditioning, Inc., (EPC) designed, built, and tested variable-speed generator systems (VSGS) as retrofits for two different existing fixed-speed turbine designs. The VSGS were tested in the laboratory and in the field. EPC lab testing included both the original P3 induction generator at fixed speed and the doubly-fed generator / power converter VSGS system that EPC designed for variable-speed operation of P3. The fixed-speed induction generator had higher efficiency than the VSGS at all power levels.

Publication Date:
Research Org.:
National Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO. (US)
Sponsoring Org.:
US Department of Energy (US)
OSTI Identifier:
15000160
Report Number(s):
NREL/SR-500-30117
TAM-8-17228-01; TRN: US200325%%150
DOE Contract Number:
AC36-99-GO10337
Resource Type:
Technical Report
Resource Relation:
Other Information: PBD: 1 Jan 2002; Related Information: Work performed by Global Energy Concepts, LLC, Kirkland, Washington
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
14 SOLAR ENERGY; 17 WIND ENERGY; EFFICIENCY; INDUCTION GENERATORS; NATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY LABORATORY; TESTING; TURBINES; VELOCITY; WIND TURBINES; DRIVETRAIN COMPONENT EFFICIENCY; CONSTANT-SPEED WIND TURBINES; VARIABLE-SPEED WIND TURBINES; WIND TECHNOLOGY; TURBINE RETROFITS; WIND ENERGY

Citation Formats

Not Available. Laboratory Testing of Drivetrain Component Efficiencies for Constant-Speed and Variable-Speed Wind Turbines: 4 November 1997 --3 November 2000. United States: N. p., 2002. Web. doi:10.2172/15000160.
Not Available. Laboratory Testing of Drivetrain Component Efficiencies for Constant-Speed and Variable-Speed Wind Turbines: 4 November 1997 --3 November 2000. United States. doi:10.2172/15000160.
Not Available. Tue . "Laboratory Testing of Drivetrain Component Efficiencies for Constant-Speed and Variable-Speed Wind Turbines: 4 November 1997 --3 November 2000". United States. doi:10.2172/15000160. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/15000160.
@article{osti_15000160,
title = {Laboratory Testing of Drivetrain Component Efficiencies for Constant-Speed and Variable-Speed Wind Turbines: 4 November 1997 --3 November 2000},
author = {Not Available},
abstractNote = {Under a subcontract with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Electronic Power Conditioning, Inc., (EPC) designed, built, and tested variable-speed generator systems (VSGS) as retrofits for two different existing fixed-speed turbine designs. The VSGS were tested in the laboratory and in the field. EPC lab testing included both the original P3 induction generator at fixed speed and the doubly-fed generator / power converter VSGS system that EPC designed for variable-speed operation of P3. The fixed-speed induction generator had higher efficiency than the VSGS at all power levels.},
doi = {10.2172/15000160},
journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 2002},
month = {Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 2002}
}

Technical Report:

Save / Share:
  • This patient-based section 337 investigation was conducted by the Commission in 1995 and 1996 based on a complaint filed by Kenetech Windpower, Inc., of Livermore, California (`Kenetech`) to determine whether there was a violation of section 337 in the importation, sale for importation, and/or the sale within the United States after importation, of certain variable speed wind turbines and components thereof by reason of infringement of claim 131 of the U.S. Letters Patent 5,083,039 (`the `039 patent`) and claim 51 of U.S. Letters Patent 5,225,712 (`the 712`), both owned by Kenetech. Enercon GmbH of Aurich, Germany (`Enercon`) and The Newmore » World Power Corporation of Lime Rock, Connecticut were named as respondents (collectively `respondents`).« less
  • The project began under a corporative agreement between Mack Trucks, Inc and the Department of Energy starting from September 1, 2005. The major objective of the four year project is to demonstrate a 10% efficiency gain by operating a Volvo 13 Litre heavy-duty diesel engine at a constant or narrow speed and coupled to a continuously variable transmission. The simulation work on the Constant Speed Engine started on October 1st. The initial simulations are aimed to give a basic engine model for the VTEC vehicle simulations. Compressor and turbine maps are based upon existing maps and/or qualified, realistic estimations. Themore » reference engine is a MD 13 US07 475 Hp. Phase I was completed in May 2006 which determined that an increase in fuel efficiency for the engine of 10.5% over the OICA cycle, and 8.2% over a road cycle was possible. The net increase in fuel efficiency would be 5% when coupled to a CVT and operated over simulated highway conditions. In Phase II an economic analysis was performed on the engine with turbocompound (TC) and a Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT). The system was analyzed to determine the payback time needed for the added cost of the TC and CVT system. The analysis was performed by considering two different production scenarios of 10,000 and 60,000 units annually. The cost estimate includes the turbocharger, the turbocompound unit, the interstage duct diffuser and installation details, the modifications necessary on the engine and the CVT. Even with the cheapest fuel and the lowest improvement, the pay back time is only slightly more than 12 months. A gear train is necessary between the engine crankshaft and turbocompound unit. This is considered to be relatively straight forward with no design problems.« less
  • This document reports accomplishments on variable speed control, furling analysis, and health monitoring of wind turbines. There are three parts, prepared by Song, Bikdash, and Schulz, respectively. The first part discusses variable-speed control of wind turbines, exploring a memory-based method for wind speed prediction and wind turbine control. The second part addresses the yaw dynamics of wind turbines, including modeling, analysis, and control. The third part of the report discusses new analytical techniques that were developed and tested to detect initial damage to prevent failures of wind turbine rotor blades.
  • Kilowatt ratings of modern wind turbines have progressed rapidly from 50 kW to 1,800 kW over the past 25 years, with 3.0- to 7.5-MW turbines expected in the next 5 years. The premise of this study is simple: The rapid growth of wind turbine power ratings and the corresponding growth in turbine electrical generation systems and associated controls are quickly making low-voltage (LV) electrical design approaches cost-ineffective. This report provides design detail and compares the cost of energy (COE) between commercial LV-class wind power machines and emerging medium-voltage (MV)-class multi-megawatt wind technology. The key finding is that a 2.5% reductionmore » in the COE can be achieved by moving from LV to MV systems. This is a conservative estimate, with a 3% to 3.5% reduction believed to be attainable once purchase orders to support a 250-turbine/year production level are placed. This evaluation considers capital costs as well as installation, maintenance, and training requirements for wind turbine maintenance personnel. Subsystems investigated include the generator, pendant cables, variable-speed converter, and padmount transformer with switchgear. Both current-source and voltage-source converter/inverter MV topologies are compared against their low-voltage, voltage-source counterparts at the 3.0-, 5.0-, and 7.5-MW levels.« less
  • This fact sheet describes a subcontract with Behnke, Erdman & Whitaker Engineering, Inc. to test the feasibility of applying medium-voltage variable-speed drive technology to low wind speed turbines.