ABSTRACT

In todays world increasing demand for the energy puts a lot of pressure on the
given conventional resources. In such circumstances wind energy is beneficial
and wind power is the most strategic choice to solve the problem of increasing
energy demand. Most of Indian regions specially cities in India have an average
wind speed less than 4m/s. In such cases implanting a vertical axis wind turbine
will be a boon. But the existing vertical axis wind turbine consists of mechanical
bearings which require more starting torque to overcome its own frictional
resistance, which makes their use in cities quite inefficient. Magnetic bearings
have no physical contact hence n friction and less vibration, this enables the
starting up of the wind turbine at low wind speeds. So, a MAGLEV WIND TURBINE
will be very efficient. This paper introduces the literature review and
methodology of the analysis and design of MWT.

KEYWORDS: WIND TURBINE; MAGNETIC LEVITATION; ROTOR DYNAMIC; VERTICAL TYPE.

INTRODUCTION

Given that the price for the energy resource and the demand for the same is increasing day by day
we need to consider the alternatives for these exhaustible resources. Wind energy is a kind of energy
with the most prominent prospects of development and utilization.
The worlds wind resource is rich, and has great development potential, but in the traditional wind
turbine the mechanical friction resistance between the bearings is too large, due to low wind speed in
the city, and usually it cant start up when the wind speed is not big enough. So, reduced starting
torque, wind turbine can start in low wind speed which improves the utilization ratio of wind energy.
This is largely due to two reasons for torque in wind turbine: one is the starting torque of permanent
magnet generator; another is the friction torque of bearing. Magnetic Bearing is a mechanical and
electrical integration bearing which stability suspends the rotor with the electromagnetic force,
compared with the traditional bearings, it has the features of no mechanical contact near the air gap,
wear-free, no friction, non-lubricating, maintenance-free, controllable and adjustable stiffness and
damping in a certain range etc.
It can work in harsh environments for a large range of temperature, humidity, and load. The power
consumption is about 1/10 ~ 1/100 of the traditional bearings, this makes the starting of the wind
turbine at low wind speed and in high speeds also.

LITERATURE REVIEW:

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:

Wind power is not a new concept. The concept of the use of the windmill dates to tenth
centuries in Persia. Today there are millions of wind turbines all over the world. Nowadays
theyre called wind turbines because of their similarity in terms of function of generating
energy with the steam and thermal plants and to partly distinguish them from their
conventional function.
Wind energy was the fastest growing energy technology in the 1990s, in terms of percentage
of yearly growth of installed capacity per technology source. The growth of wind energy,
however, is not evenly distributed around the world. By the end of 1999, around 69% of the
worldwide wind energy capacity was installed in Europe, a further 19% in North America and
10% in Asia and the Pacific.
The development of wind power in India began in the 1986 with first wind farms being set
up in coastal areas of Maharasahtra (Ratnagiri), Gujarat (Okha) and Tamil Nadu with 55 kW
Vestas wind turbines. These demonstration projects were supported by MNRE. The capacity
has significantly increased in the last few years. Although a relative newcomer to the wind
industry compared with Denmark or the United States, India has the fourth largest installed
wind power capacity in the world. In 2009-10 India's growth rate was highest among the other
top four countries.

COST OF THE WIND TURBINE:

In the 1990s, the cost for manufacturing wind turbines declined by about 20% every time the
number of manufactured wind turbines doubled. Currently, the production of large-scale, gridconnected wind turbines doubles almost every 3 years. A similar cost reduction was achieved
during the first years of oil exploitation about 100 years ago. The Danish Energy Agency
predicts that a further cost reduction of 50% can be achieved until 2020, and the EU
Commission estimates in its White Book that energy.

TECHINICAL BACKGROUND:

Types of wind turbine:

There are two great classes of wind turbines: those whose rotors spin about a horizontal axis
and those whose rotors spin about a vertical axis. Vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWT) can be
divided into two major groups: those that use aerodynamic drag to extract power from the
wind and those that use lift. The advantages of the VAWTs are that they can accept the wind
from any direction. This simplifies their design and eliminates the problem imposed by
gyroscopic forces on the rotor of a convectional machine as the turbine tracks the wind. The
vertical axis of rotation also permits mounting the generator and drive train at ground level.
The disadvantages of this type of rotors is that it is quite difficult to control power output by
pitching the rotor blades, they are not self starting and they have low tip-speed ratio.
Horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWT) are convectional wind turbines and unlikely the
VAWT are not omnidirectional. As the wind changes direction, HAWTs must change direction

with it. They must have some means for orienting the rotor with respect to the wind. In a
HAWT the generator converts directly the wind which is extracted from the rotor. The rotor
speed as well as the power output can be controlled by pitching the rotor blades along their
longitudinal axis. A mechanical or an electronic blade pitch control mechanism can be used to
achieve this. An important advantage for HAWT is that blade pitching acts as a form of
protection against extreme wind conditions and over speed.

MAGLEV WIND TURBINE:

Unlike the maglev vehicle, the vertically oriented blades of the wind turbine are suspended in
the air above the base of the machine by using permanent magnet which produces magnetic
force to lift the blades. This system does not require the electricity to operate because no
electromagnets are involved. Since the turbine blades are suspended by magnetic force
produce by the permanent magnet, there is no need of ball bearing to retain the blades. This
allows the friction between the blades and ball bearing can be reduced significantly and thus,
minimizes the energy loss. This also helps reduce maintenance costs and increases the
lifespan of the generator. The Maglev wind turbine, which was first unveiled at the Wind
Power Asia exhibition in Beijing, is expected to take wind power technology to the next level
with magnetic levitation.