PRODUCTS - OUR TURBINE DESIGN
Westwind turbines enjoy the reputation as one of the most heavy duty and robust turbines available. This makes them the ideal choice for remote area applications where maintenance is expected to be infrequent and or costly.
The turbines are designed for strength, simplicity, and low maintenance as the major design criteria
All Westwind wind turbines consist of three blades, up wind of the tower on a horizontal axis and attached directly to a sealed permanent magnet generator.
Rotor over speed protection is achieved via auto furling. The turbine can also be manually furled at the base of the tower. Furling describes the action of the tailboom pivoting around to be at right angles to the axis of rotation. This action turns the blades out of the wind and thereby reduces power output.
Previous Westwind designs in the 2.5 to 10KW range utilised pitch weights as an additional control measure. The new blade profile used in the mk2 machines as well as being more efficient is mechanically much stiffer. This means the pitch weights are no longer necessary. They contributed significantly to the aerodynamic noise of the blades so now our machines are barely audible.
The complete turbine is hot dipped galvanised and spray-painted white for maximum corrosion protection.
The benefits of the Westwind design are as follows:
Auto furl high wind protection |
The centre of rotation is slightly offset from the yaw axis, so that in high winds the turbines will turn out of the wind and autofurl. This is an effective protection mechanism that has been used successfully in water pumping windmills for decades. The weight of the tailboom provides a restoring force to turn the turbine back into the wind as the gust passes. |
Three Blades |
Greater dynamic stability in free yaw than two blades, minimising the vibrations associated with normal operation, resulting in longer life of all components. |
Blades up wind of the tower |
The blades don’t pass through the turbulence induced by the wind passing the tower. This results in less noise and vibrations. |
Direct Drive |
Having no gearbox means less parts to wear and less friction to be overcome by the blades. This results in earlier start up in light winds, more power produced, and lower maintenance than designs using gearboxes. With no gearbox our generators run silently this combined with other design features means our turbines can barely be heard. |
Permanent Magnet Generator |
Our specifically designed Permanent Magnet generators combine high efficiency with simplicity. With the magnets rotating around a fixed stator there is no need for troublesome high-speed slip rings and brushes. A permanent magnet generator also allows the rotor to be stopped and locked in light to moderate winds to enable servicing to be performed. |
A Sealed Generator |
The generator is sealed to stop the ingress of foreign particles. This reduces corrosion (especially in coastal locations) but also stops the magnets attracting airborne particles. |
Manual Furl Mechanism |
A lever or winch at the base of the tower can be used to manually furl the turbine. This pulls the tailboom and fin around to 90 degrees and so the blades become side on to the wind. Manual furling enables output to be reduced if necessary and also slows the blades to enable the rotor to be stopped for servicing |
Hot Dip Galvanised and Painted White |
All steel components are hot dip galvanised during manufacture. This severely reduces corrosion. An optional powder coated white finish is available in addition to the standard galvanising. |
Lightwind or Standard Option
Design improvements associated with the Mk2 generator design with greater efficiency and lower start-up torque has removed the need for a light wind option.
STD or Low Temperature Option
Westwind turbines can also be made to suit low temperatures. The STD models are suited to temperatures 0 to 50 Deg C and the low temp versions -30 to 50 Deg C.
Daily Energy Output
For design purposes a graph of the daily energy outputs for the various Westwind turbines are available by clicking on the thumbnail above. This can be used for design purposes but should be viewed as an estimation only. The values were theoretically derived from the power curves. Power curves and individual daily Energy Outputs are available on each turbines page (see tabs above). |
