Development of Novel Wind Turbines Hybridized between Permanent Magnet Disks and Additional Motor/Generator for Extending Operating Range and Enhancing Conversion Efficiency

Abstract

We implement and evaluate a novel wind turbine setup, which consists of a conventional wind turbine and a pair of coupled disks. The disks are coupled by permanent magnets (PMs) and the distance between the coupling disk pair can be varied. The force between disks has been simulated as a function of disk distance and magnetic field strength. The strongest repulsive force is produced when the PM disks are in-line but when the PM disks are interdigitated, the coupled force is changed to attractive force and the coupling is maximized. Our testing experiment shows that when the wind speed is too low, the coupled disks can transfer angular speed to the turbine in order to maintain the turbine movement. With these added parts, we can avoid the rotational barrier from static friction when the wind speed is increased again. Without the coupled disks, the turbine will completely stop when the wind speed is too low. The static turbine needs stronger wind to start the movement again. Extension of the utilization of the turbine to the high-wind-speed situation has also been proposed. This work enhances the usage of wind turbine for producing renewable energy in low-wind-speed regions.