Optimal Rotors for Distributed Wind Turbines

Small wind turbines deployed for distributed generation require careful design to maximize their eectiveness, both economically and from an energy payback perspective. The rotors of these machines are critical to their performance, however systematic optimization taking into account the actual operating prole of the rotor and the application of lessons from larger scale machines are currently lacking. This paper begins with a recognition that distributed wind turbines must be sited in adequate wind resources to be a viable proposition. A design optimization procedure is presented next, taking into account shape denition, structural and Low Frequency Noise (LFN) constraints, and specically targeting the design of a rotor for a specic Permanent Magnet Generator (PMG) with and without active speed control and associated Power Electronics (PE). Variations of the procedure are applied to design optimal rotors for commercial 300 W, 600 W and 6 kW machines. Experimental test results are also compared to performance predictions.