How Wind Turbines Really Work: The Hidden Secrets

□This video took a long time to make if you would like to buy Paul a coffee to say thanks, link below: ☕ PayPal: www.paypal.me/TheEngineerinMindset Channel membership: youtube.com/channel/UCk0fGHsCEzGig-rSzkfCjMw/join Patreon: www.patreon.com/theengineeringmindset

As an electrician, some of what you say does go over my head when it's outside my field, but i love to learn the things I can grasp. Great channel!!!

I just understood from u a whole chapter of fluid mechanics better than an entire semester in the faculty of engineering. Thank you very much fellow engineer

Great explanation of doubly fed induction wind turbines. These are referred to as type 3 wind turbines. Another method like the one used in your small scale wind turbine is too rectify and invert the variable frequency power from an induction or permeant magnet generator to the grid frequency. This is what the newer type 4 wind turbines do but they require higher capacity power electronics to do this because they are converting 100% of the wind power as opposed to only a small proportion that is being back fed into the doubly fed induction machine like in a type 3 wind turbine. The reduced cost of power electronics and lack of brushes and gears however is making type 4 more popular.

17:17 this electrical load can also be used to vary the power output and breaking of the wind turbine as opposed to mechanical and aerodynamic breaks. Allot of smaller wind turbines use a maximum power point tracking algorithm via the the voltage on the inverter to vary the current and hence torque of the generator which can control the rotation and power output of the turbine. Small scale wind turbines can also use large variable resistors as dump loads but this is less efficient.

Thank you for making this video! I am a wind turbine technician and I watch this channel all the time. When i was in school this channel was great for helping me understand the basics of 3 phase electricity and power generation. Your content is very easy to understand and entertaining with all the animations. I always send people to your videos that has trouble understanding anything electrical. Its great to rewatch videos to brush up on the theory and basics from time to time. Thanks and keep up the great content

9 out of 10 as a windturbine technician i can confirm everything mentioned in the video. Ignoring shadow cast, lubrication and cooling of the gear, main converter. Everything else is very precise. Some Companys run there Windturbines with electric motors but some only use hydrolics to pitch or yaw the turbine.

I think they're beautiful, and have no problem with them....

The way the frequency is regulated by adding/subtracting the frequency of the exciter coil is brilliant. I never realized the turbine output was synced to grid I assumed they went into some kind of controller and then that synced to the grid.

I grew up in imperial valley, and in great weather conditions, from the valley, you could see the silhouette of the turbine field near acorn casino. Just dozens of em, backlit by the sun easily noticeable. Now, if you go to imperial valley, many of the farms have been replaced with solar farms, and at the base of the mountains going to san diego, there is a massive wind turbine farm. Coupled with the areas numerous geo plants, the area is a hotbead of renewable energy. Thank you for finally answering one of dozens of questions i had about my homes renewble energies. This was a great video!!

I love this channel, just straight to the point, very informative without all the BS and opinions. Much more in depth than any other videos usually.

i just started as a windturbine technician 8 months ago and its a really interesting job. Also most wings with variable pitch are hydraulik controlled and not with elektrik motors

Your stuff has really reached a new level recently. Fantastic

I never knew such a thing as a doubly fed induction motor existed, and I found that absolutely fascinating and brilliant

I am reviewing my 5 years of engineering courses from this channel and to be honest I understood many things from “The Engineering Mindset” which I never understood during my full university years. Love this channel ❤

It takes a lot of effort and time to create such a comprehensive video about wind turbines. Much appreciated ❤

This video should go in the education hall of fame. Had to pause many times because it was moving fast, but holy cow I learned everything. Great job and keep doing it just like this!!

Wind turbines have been my comfort structure ever since i was a kid. I was a bit of a nerd who was into building/engineering

I'm currently studying this topic during my master's, and I cannot express enough how spot-on this video is. Thanks so much for the great content; please keep it up; you are really making a difference to students!

This is a great video and it explains the inner workings of these towers quite well. I actually work on the larger 1.5-4 MW wind turbine platforms for a career but never really know how the generator worked till now. The larger towers use a 2 stage planetary gearbox vs a single stage like what was shown in the video.