Como funcionam as TURBINAS EÓLICAS? Entenda a ENERGIA EÓLICA! Gerar energia elétrica com VENTO?

How do wind turbines work? What's up Engineering Lovers, my name is Igor Felipe and today we are going to talk about wind turbines. This is a very requested theme here on the channel, and I would like to thank everyone who has already requested this theme.

In recent years we have seen a change in thinking about the use of the world's energy matrix. Starting to use less and less energy from fossil fuels and looking for new sources of renewable energy. We have here on the channel some videos that talk about the use of solar energy, and I will leave a card with some of these videos at the end of these here.

But today's theme is about the use of wind energy, that is, using the wind to generate electricity. Every 24 hours, the wind generates enough kinetic energy to produce about 35 times more electricity than humanity uses each day. And unlike natural gas, coal or oil, this resource is completely renewed every day.

So, how can we take advantage of this incredible amount of energy? Is it possible to create a world moved entirely by the wind? The basic principle of wind energy is simple.

A set of sails or blades mounted around a rotor receives the wind and transforms its kinetic energy into rotational energy. And this is a concept that has been used in history at various times. Traditional windmills used this rotational energy and were used to grind wheat or pump water in various civilizations.

In modern wind turbines, however, the wind is used as a driving force to generate electrical energy through a generator. That is, it converts kinetic energy from the wind to rotational energy and finally converts it into electrical energy through a generator. There are three main factors that determine how much energy they can produce: the size and orientation of the blades, or blades, their aerodynamic design and the amount of wind that rotates the rotor.

First, let's talk about the orientation of the blade or blade. Wind turbines can be designed with their rotor on a vertical or horizontal axis. Vertical axis blades can catch wind from any direction, but with much less efficiency than horizontal axis rotors.

Horizontal designs allow the blades to capture all the force of the wind by tracking the wind direction and turning to always be perpendicular to that direction. And this process of rotating the blades to maximize the air flow of the winds is nothing new, since older windmills achieved this through manual monitoring. Today, wind sensors and computer systems automatically adjust the blades precisely to capture as much energy as possible.

Another important point is the design of the blades, because the blades themselves need to be shaped to maximize efficiency. The first designs used flat blades, while modern blades are curved like airplane wings. The wind travels faster on the curved surface, creating a low pressure pocket above the blade that forces it to move upwards.

We see this in the video that we talked about aerodynamics, and you can check it out on a card at the end of the video. Since the amount of lift depends on the angle at which the wind is moving in relation to the blade, modern blades also incorporate a slight twist, thus optimizing how much of the blade can cut in the wind. They are usually made of fiberglass and layers of resin, and they are strong enough to operate in the rain, receive rays and intense sunlight for more than 20 years.

Even with aerodynamic blades and a horizontal rotor, a wind turbine can only capture the wind if it is in a windy environment. The wind speed usually increases the higher in the atmosphere you are, as at lower elevations there can be several obstacles such as trees, buildings or the relief itself. So, today, most turbines are well over 100 meters high, with rotor diameters and equally large blades.

A turbine of this height and size can capture a large amount of wind and is enough to generate enough electricity every year to supply an average of 750 homes. A wind farm with 200 turbines of similar size could supply more than 150,000 homes. Offshore wind farms contain an even greater number of turbines.

And, although they bring additional installation difficulties because they are done on the high seas, they have the benefit of having almost no obstacles. The largest wind turbine in the world, it has a rotor of 220 meters in diameter, a height of 250 meters and its blades are 107 meters. To give you an idea, only one of these turbines can meet the annual energy needs of 16,000 homes.

Despite its incredible potential, wind power still faces challenges. The wind can be a free and unlimited fuel, but no matter how big and efficient a turbine is, there will always be a mathematical limit to the amount of wind it can convert into electricity. And, on average, a wind turbine can only capture 59.

3% of the wind energy and convert it into electrical energy. In addition, the intermittent availability of wind energy can make it difficult to interact with electrical networks. But this is a challenge that solar energy also shares, after all, there is no sun at all times of the day.

Despite these challenges, modern wind turbines make wind energy the most efficient and cheapest source of electricity today Wind turbines already provide essential energy to communities around the world. With continuous improvements in wind forecasting, power grid infrastructure and energy storage , wind power can end all of our energy problems. In combination with other forms of renewable energy, we can change the shape of our energy matrix.

I separated here two videos that talk about the topic, and the video that talks about solar energy and aerodynamics is here on the side. If you made it this far, be sure to click the like button and share this video with your friends. That's it my friends, all the best and see you in the next video.