ImanThe windkit is a Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine (HAWT) and consists of the following components:
- Rotor - Like most wind turbines today, windkit has a three-bladed rotor that converts the kinetic energy of the wind into rotational energy.
- Alternator - We use a self-built Axial Flux Permanent Magnet Generator (AFPMG) to convert the rotational energy into electricity. It is a simple setup and consists of two magnetic rotors bonded to steel discs and a stator consisting of a resin-cast coil circle placed between the magnetic discs. Once the magnet discs spin a voltage is induced in the coils. This voltage is variable and depends on the speed of rotation and thus on the wind conditions. The dimensioning of coils and magnets is modelled after Hugh Piggotts 2F 24 volt system.
As we do not use a gearbox, our wind turbine can be described as a direct-drive system. Direct-drive means that the rotor is directly coupled to the generator with no gearbox in between. The alternator consists of two components:
- Alternator Rotor - double-sided rotor disc with a simple permanent magnet arrangement
- Alternator Stator - one stator disc with non-overlapping copper windings
- Shaft - A metal shaft to which the rotor is attached to and clamped in the bearing.
- Nacelle - Is the frame to which the other components are attached: the alternator bearing with the rotor, the stator, the Vane and the yaw bearing.
- Yaw bearing - Located at the top of the tower, it is connected to the nacelle and allows the turbine to point in any horizontal direction. It consists of two pipes of different diameters:
- a thinner one which is the top of the tower
- a thicker one which slides on top of the other and is attached to the nacelle
- WindVane - The vane is a common way of turning small turbines into the wind.
With the exception of the yaw bearing and shaft, we call the different aforementioned elements "sub-assemblies" to distinguish them from the main-assembly and the individual components that make up the sub-assemblies.
The main-assembly links the sub-assemblies together:
For a better understanding we recommend having a look at the CAD model!