For thousands of years, in addition to the muscular power of humans and animals, wind has been the most important source of natural mechanical energy. But after the appearance of the steam engine, it was widely used because it was not affected by weather conditions, but the value of inexhaustible wind power was forgotten by people.
In the past, as the price of ordinary energy remained low, the use of wind power equipment was not economically feasible. Today the situation has changed: the cost of thermal and atomic power plants is becoming higher and higher and the environmental pollution caused by them has become a new problem, which is why people thought about using the wind energy to produce electricity. The former Federal Ministry of Development, Science and Technology allocated 100 million marks for the construction of an experimental wind turbine at grande scale called Grovian.
Three electrical companies from the former Federal Republic of Germany established a construction company in 1977 under the management of the Jülich Nuclear Research Center and began carrying out a large amount of measuring and eventually determined that it would be located in Germany's famous Wind Valley ——Blumbottel, in Schleswig-Holstein, built the world's largest electricity-producing windmill. The entire wind turbine is 150 meters high (the “Mode 2” wind power plant in the United States is only 105 meters high). Each blade of the windmill is 40 meters long, weighs 18 tonnes and is made of fiberglass. It took over two years to make just two paddles. The windmill tower consists entirely of a steel pipe structure with a diameter of 3.5 meters and is fixed by three steel cables arranged in a star shape. Elevators, stairs mMechanical and cables are installed inside, for a total weight of 310 tonnes. The engine room at the top of the tower can rotate at a speed of 0.5 meters per second, so the windward side of the windmill can be adjusted depending on the wind direction. When the wind speed reaches 6.3 meters/second, the wind turbine starts to work; when the wind speed reaches 12 meters/second, it can generate 3,000 kilowatts of electricity, which is the designed power generation capacity when the wind speed reaches 24 meters/second; Second, the generator shuts down to ensure safe operation (although it can actually withstand hurricane force winds of 60 m/s). To ensure consistent power generation as much as possible, the generator can balance wind speed changes of 15%. This power plant can provide electricity (including heating) to up to 250 residencesives - its electricity production is equivalent to the energy of 350 liters of fuel oil.
At present, although wind power plants are not popular due to their expensive equipment, they have actually been used to supply electricity to Antarctic scientific research stations because they do not pollute the environment.
The windmill that produces electricity is called a wind turbine. The principle of wind power generation is to use wind energy to rotate the blades of the wind turbine, then use a speed multiplier to increase the rotation speed to induce the generator to produce electricity. Wind power converts wind energy into mechanical work, which causes the rotor to rotate and ultimately produces alternating current. Wind turbines can be divided into two categories. One is the horizontal axis wind turbine, where the rotation axis of the wind wheelis parallel to the direction of the wind.
Wind turbines that produce electricity are called wind turbines. The principle of wind power generation is to use wind energy to rotate the blades of the wind turbine, then use a speed multiplier to increase the rotation speed to induce the generator to produce electricity. Wind power converts wind energy into mechanical work, which causes the rotor to rotate and ultimately produce it.Excluding mains power. Wind turbines can be divided into two categories. One is the horizontal axis wind turbine, where the rotation axis of the wind wheel is parallel to the wind direction. One is a vertical axis wind turbine, in which the rotation axis of the wind wheel is perpendicular to the ground or the direction of air flow.