The main changes to the existing chapters are as follows:
Chapter 1: Introduction This chapter has been brought up to date to reflect the continuing increase in the size of wind turbines and wind farms.
Chapter 2: The Wind Resource Updated to include edition 4 of the IEC standard. An illustrative example of the Gumbel method for extreme winds has been added. The description of turbulence in wakes and wind farms has been replaced by a more comprehensive treatment in the new Chapter 9.
Chapters 3 and 4: Aerodynamics of Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines, and Further Aerodynamic Topics for Wind Turbines Chapters 3 and 4 continue the split, as in the second edition, between fundamentals in Chapter 3 and more advanced topics in Chapter 4. In Chapter 3, minor changes have been made to Section 3.8 dealing with the tip‐loss factor, and additions have been inserted on flat‐back aerofoils and low noise designs in Sections 3.17 and 3.19 with new sections on ‘add‐on’ devices to control separation, lift, and drag (3.18) and on aerodynamic noise and blade design (3.19). The appendix to chapter 3 has been shortened by abbreviating the section on drag. In Chapter 4, Section 4.3, the mathematical analysis of the Kinner circular wing, has been abbreviated, retaining the final results, the Section 4.6 on dynamic stall has been extended and a new Section 4.7 on applications of computational fluid dynamics to rotor aerodynamics and wakes has been added.
Chapter 5: Design Loads for HAWTs The changes are mainly minor. The description of IEC load cases has been updated as necessary. A structurally more efficient blade cross‐section has been adopted for the trial blade design, while retaining the existing plan‐form. New figures have been added showing effect of yaw and wind shear on blade root bending moments for a pitch‐regulated turbine.
Chapter 6: Conceptual Design of Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines New sections have been added covering high‐speed rotors, low induction rotors, multiple rotor structures, and the effect of the number of blades on CP. Also the initial sections on choice of machine size and rating have been amended to reflect the growth in turbine size. The section on generators has been expanded to include innovative approaches to drive trains and power conversion.
Chapter 7: Component Design The section on blade design has undergone major revision and expansion, including a more detailed treatment of the static and fatigue properties of laminates. A simplified example of the fatigue design of a blade with spar caps is presented to illustrate the steps involved. The manufacturing process is described in more detail and new sub‐sections on blade testing, leading edge erosion, and bend‐twist coupling have been added.
Chapter 8: The Controller New sections have been added to cover wind speed estimation and LiDAR‐assisted control.
Chapter 9: Wake Effects and Wind Farm Control – see above.
Chapter 10: Onshore Wind Turbine Installations and Wind Farms (previously Chapter 9) This chapter has been revised and updated to take account of important developments in understanding and managing the environmental impact of wind energy developments. Since the second edition, there has been a considerable increase in the literature on environmental impact and in the sophistication of software tools for the effective, sustainable development of wind farms.
Chapter 11: Wind Energy and the Electric Power System (previously Chapter 10) Wind energy is an increasingly important source of electricity generation, and practice for connecting turbines and wind farms to the network and integrating their operation is developing rapidly. The chapter has been revised and updated to address these important developments, including evolving Grid Code requirements and the increasing integration of wind energy into power system operation.
Chapter 12: Offshore Wind Turbines and Wind Farms (previously Chapter 11) The introductory section has been updated to chart recent growth of installed capacity and trends in levelised cost of energy, while the Contract for Difference support mechanism is explained in a new appendix. The section on the offshore wind resource has been extended to include recent research on wake losses, their spatial extent downwind, and the wind farm blockage effect.
Floating offshore wind turbines offer the opportunity to dramatically increase the exploitable resource, and the technology is now moving beyond the prototype stage, with several pilot wind farms already in operation. A new section on floating offshore wind turbine structures has therefore been added, encompassing different configurations, governing design criteria and design methods. Three case studies are also included.
The section on monopile design has been extended to include the new approach to geotechnical design made possible by the PISA research project. The description of different types of fixed support structure has been updated to reflect current developments and a new section added covering fatigue design curves.
Publicly funded monitoring programmes have enabled much to be learned about the environmental impacts of offshore wind farms, and some of these findings are reported in a new section on environmental monitoring. Finally, the section on power collection and transmission has been updated to describe the use of modular multi‐level convertors for HVdc transmission.
Acknowledgements for the First Edition
A large number of individuals have assisted the authors in a variety of ways in the preparation of this work. In particular, however, we would like to thank David Infield for providing some of the content of Chapter 4, David Quarton for scrutinising and commenting on Chapter 5, Mark Hancock, Martin Ansell, and Colin Anderson for supplying information and guidance on blade material properties reported in Chapter 7, and Ray Hicks for insights into gear design. Thanks are also due to Roger Haines and Steve Gilkes for illuminating discussions on yaw drive design and braking philosophy,