Running Head: Noise Reduction In Wind Turbines
Noise Reduction In Wind Turbines
Johnaton McAdam; Leandro Caponong; Safee Bazmi;Saif Allahabi
The City College of New York
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Author’s Note
This paper was prepared for English 210, taught by Professor Susan Delamare.
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Running Head: Noise Reduction In Wind Turbines
Table of Contents
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Running Head: Noise Reduction In Wind Turbines
Summary (Brief description of the project, cost and timeline (250 words single spaced) Saif
In the space allotted, it should outline the problem, the objectives and the expected
outcomes, project activities, and the audience to be addressed. This part is more
important than it seems. You want to convince readers of the importance of your
proposal. Similar to memo. Should be written last.
Introduction (500 words) (4 sources) Saif
Background or introduction section provides a description of the basic facts and
importance of the research area – What is your research area, the motivation of
research, and how important is it for the industry practice/knowledge
advancement?
The introduction will introduce “the need for this innovation or the void that this
innovation fulfills or the need for an engineering-based improvement on an already
existent innovation, AND all the existent circumstances of ‘the technical environment’
that are effected by or effect the innovation.”
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Running Head: Noise Reduction In Wind Turbines
Objectives Safee
Problem statement provides a clear and concise description of the issues that need to
be addressed – What is the specific problem in that research area that you will address
(e.g. lack of understanding of a subject, low performance …)?
Noise from wind turbines have been one of the most serious blockades in the
development of energy for a number of reasons. The noise from them doesn’t come just
from one source; one is mechanical and another is aerodynamically (Shamshirband,
Shahaboddin, et al. 2014). The mechanical noise is caused from how the turbine was
constructed. These mechanical sounds can come from cooling fans, generators,
gearbox, yaw drives, and auxiliary equipment. Aerodynamic noise is cause when the
turbine is rotating and the speed they rotate at. The noise itself comes from the air
around the fans. These noises aren’t just one type, they are four. tonal, broadband, low
frequency, and impulsive. As such they can contribute to some disturbances which can
be classified more than just “annoyance”. As a result companies try to put them in
secluded areas, but what happens when you can’t do that? These disturbances can be
very bad one’s health. They can lead to lack of sleep, stress, tinnitus, and changes in
blood pressure. It can also lead to more changes in heart health as well as
cardiovascular disease. We can’t just get rid of these turbines without a replacement;
we also need to have our power supply, so we must do our best to reduce or rid the
noise from these vital turbines, or we must come up with a substitute can do as much of
a good job. For instance, there is a design that eliminates noise from these turbines. It’s
by former Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT) professor David Wilson; he made
a concept where one doesn’t need a gearbox to generate power; he made it so
electricity would be generated at the tips of the turbine blades. The main thought behind
making this turbine was rather than using rotor speed to produce electricity, it would be
blade tip speed. “The optimum blade-tip speed for a two or three-bladed turbine is about
five times the wind speed.”(Leland Vol 84 issue 7 2012). If wind speed is 10 meters per
second, the blade tip speed would be approximately 50 meters per second. The need
for a gearbox mainly is because of the diameter of an average wind turbine; it can
one-tenth maybe even one-twentieth.
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Running Head: Noise Reduction In Wind Turbines
Preliminary Literature Review of Other engineering innovations Safee
Preliminary literature review: provide a summary of previous related research on the research
problem and their strength and weakness and a justification of your research – What is
known/what have been done by others? And, why your research is still necessary?
Other engineering innovations (Preliminary Literature Review) that have been proposed but would
not have worked, or innovations that are in effect but do not work (or work as well as they could be
expected to). Basically, you will have to put yourself in the position to shoot down other proposals or
similar, but deficient, innovations in the field. Think of faulty bridge designs for example… This section
of the proposal is somewhat elastic. Not every group will have the same need for this section, obviously.
But at least try to some kind of comparison of your innovation with others.
Technical description of Innovation
Rotor
Blades
Blade Pitch Control System
Hub
Gearbox
Bearings
Brake System
Generator
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Running Head: Noise Reduction In Wind Turbines
Flexible Coupling
Yaw System
Tower
Nacelle
Anemometer, Wind Vane and Lightning Rod
Lightning Protection
Wind Turbine Control System
Power Converter
Budget
When estimating the value of the budget, many factors have to come into consideration including
manpower, materials, and the various methods used to reduce the noise pollution of wind
turbines. Methods of interest range from an active damping system to serrated edge blades to use
of carbon fiber builds.
To begin we start with the base value of a standard commercial wind turbine. According to
windustry.org, the costs for utility wind turbines, as opposed to the smaller economy of scale
farm and residential turbines, range from $1.3 million to $2.2 million per megawatt of capacity
and with most commercial turbines being roughly 2 MW in size, the average costs amount to $3
to $4 million each. This is confirmed by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)
in their Renewable Energy Technologies: Cost Analysis Series.
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Running Head: Noise Reduction In Wind Turbines
With the installation of an active damping system, an additional $65,000 per turbine should be
factored in. This is a rough estimation when looking at other large scale uses of active damping
systems. The Hotel Stockton in Stockton, California had viscous dampers installed in 2003 to
counter the effects of seismic events, with 20 dampers installed at a cost of $1.3 million. From
this, it can be reasoned that possibly only one damper is needed to counter the noise generated
from a wind turbine at an estimated value of $65,000.
With the use of carbon fiber in the build to reduce weight and noise, limited to the blades of the
turbine, excluding the tower and the nacelle, at least $700,000 is added to the cost of the turbine.
This is determined by taking the weight of the blade assembly, approximately 36,000 lbs in a 1.5
MW turbine and converting them into carbon fiber. With the average cost of non-aerospace
grade Polyacrylonitrile-based carbon fiber at $21.50 per kg, the new converted carbon fiber
blade assembly should cost around $700,000 per turbine.
.
References
chrome-extension://oemmndcbldboiebfnladdacbdfmadadm/https://www1.eere.energy.go
v/wind/pdfs/birds_and_bats_fact_sheet.pdf
chrome-extension://oemmndcbldboiebfnladdacbdfmadadm/http://www.nexteraenergycan
ada.com/pdf/durham/139-100_Turbine_Spec.pdf
https://www.masterresource.org/wind-turbine-noise-issues/wto-wind-turbine-noise-as-a-h
ealth-hazard/
Academic OneFile,
https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A417148464/AONE?u=cuny_ccny&sid=AONE&
xid=ab5823d0. Accessed 1 Dec. 2018.
Teschler L. Better alternatives for wind power. (Cover story). Machine Design.
2012;84(7):42-50.
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Running Head: Noise Reduction In Wind Turbines
http://ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx
?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=79552656&site=ehost-live. Accessed December 3, 2018.
Appendixes – include any details that only need to be briefly mentioned in the project
such as the Task Schedule

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