WIND TURBINE TYPES

Taking about classification of wind turbine, they can be classified in verity of ways, some classified them only on their axis of rotation, some classified them upon their capacity and some classified them on place they are installed. I have classified them in verity of ways shown below

• Types Of Wind Turbine
• Vertical and Horizontal axis wind turbines
• Upwind and Downwind turbines
• Constant and Variable speed wind turbines  
• Capacity of wind turbines
• Direct-Drive and Gear-Drive wind turbines
• ON-Grid and Off-Grid wind turbines
• ON-Shore and Off-Shore wind turbines

Vertical and Horizontal axis wind turbines

Horizontal-axis wind turbine are one in which the rotating axis of blades is parallel to the wind stream. The vertical-axis wind turbines is one in which the blades rotate with respect to their vertical axes that are perpendicular to the ground

Upwind and Downwind turbines

Upwind turbines are one in which the wind rotors face the wind. Downwind turbine are one in    which wind blows first through the nacelle and tower and then the rotor blades.

Constant and Variable speed wind turbines

Constant speed wind turbine produce electricity on special constant speed. This happen with the help of gear system. Variable speed wind turbine  achieve maximum energy conversion efficiency over a vied range of wind speed.Can adjust its rotational speed according to wind speed

Capacity of wind turbines

  There are five capacity ranges in which wind turbines are classified

•    micro wind turbines:-  Turbine with the rated power less than several kilowatts can be categorised as micro  wind turbine

•     small wind turbines:-  The turbines with the output power less than 100 kW


•     medium wind turbines:- The turbines with the  power ratings  from 100 kW to 1 MW    
                                         
•     large wind turbines:-  Wind turbines up to 10 MW may be classified as large wind turbines


•     ultra-large wind turbines:-  Ultra-large wind turbines are referred to wind turbines with the capacity more than 10 MW.

Direct-Drive and Gear-Drive wind turbines

To increase the generator rotor rotating speed to gain a higher power output, a regular geared drive wind turbine typically uses a multi-stage gearbox to take the rotational speed from the low-speed shaft of the blade rotor and transform it into a fast rotation on the high-speed shaft of the generator rotor. In direct drive wind turbine the multi-stage gearbox  is eliminating from a generator system and the generator shaft is directly connected to the blade rotor

ON-Grid and Off-Grid wind turbines
Living “off grid” means you are not connected to a utility company power line, the electrical grid. You must produce your own electrical power to meet your needs, In on-grid system electricity produce by turbine is given to grid station which further distribute it to houses

ON-Shore and Off-Shore wind turbine

The wind turbine which are installed on dry land are called on-shore wind turbines and the turbines installed on water bodies are called off-shore wind turbine.