○ Overview

○ Synchronous Power-train

● Windflow™ 500

Executive Flyer

Power-train Brochure

The Windflow™ 500

Proven mid-size turbine design for a wide range of applications. Our wind turbines are cost-effective, because they have a world-leading ratio of energy output to turbine weight, and they eliminate the need for power electronics.

SyncWind. will work with established or start-up wind turbine manufacturers who are interested to build the Windflow™ 500 turbine. Please see the photo gallery and the details below.

2.  Windflow™ 500 Track Record

See our project gallery
for more photos.

New Zealand, Te Rere Hau

Ninety-seven Windflow™ 33-500 turbines were installed at the Te Rere Hau wind farm near Palmerston North, New Zealand between 2006 and 2011. This site exhibits some of the most challenging wind conditions in the world, with greater than 10 m/s average annual wind speed. Some of the turbines on site see monthly-average wind speed above 15 m/s. Many of the turbines experience significant hill effects, and extreme turbulence and wind shear. Despite these challenging conditions, the Windflow™ 33-500 has proven itself by accumulating more than 1000 turbine-years of operation at higher than 95% availability.

See our project gallery
for more photos.

United Kingdom

From 2013 to 2016, seven Windflow™ 33-500 turbines and one Windflow™ 45-500 were installed in Scotland’s Highlands and Islands. Despite the remote locations, all are grid-connected turbines feeding power into the local utility grid. Most of the turbines see complex terrain effects and high turbulence.

Independent Type Certification

3.  Proven 500 kW Wind Turbines, IEC Certified Design

SyncWind. currently offers two wind turbine products: the proven Windflow™ 33-500 for high wind speed sites and the Windflow™ 45-500 for medium wind speed sites.

The Windflow™ 33-500 wind turbine has been designed for a 20-year life at a Class 1A site in accordance with IEC 61400-1:2005 (Edition 3). It is a robust machine designed for sites with up to 10 m/s average annual wind speed, and storms gusting up to approximately 70 m/s. Independent Type Certification was awarded in September 2010 by Lloyd's Register.

The Windflow™ 45-500 has been designed for a 20-year life at a Class 2A site in accordance with IEC 61400-1:2005. It is designed for sites with up to 8.5 m/s average annual wind speed, and storms gusting up to approximately 60 m/s. Prototype Windflow™ 45-500s have been installed and site commissioned in Texas, USA in early 2015, and Scotland in late 2016.

Windflow™ 45-500 Turbine

4.  SyncWindi's Proprietary Technology

SyncWindi utilizes several cutting-edge technologies to enable lightweight but high-performing and extremely robust wind turbine designs. These include:

• Two-bladed rotor, with SyncWindi's proprietary Teeter Control System™, which combines passive load shedding with improved stability and energy capture.

• The patented Torque Limiting Gearbox™, which enables the use of a synchronous generator directly on line without the need for expensive and unreliable power electronics.

• SyncWindi's proprietary Low Variable Speed System™ reduces blade tip noise in low wind conditions and improves energy capture.

On all wind turbines turbulence, wind shear, tower shadow, pitch imbalance and yaw error cause an imbalance of loads on the rotor. Three-bladed machines have no simple means of mitigating these loads, and without sophisticated controls they are transmitted into the drivetrain and gearbox causing substantial design and reliability problems.

Two-bladed rotors lend themselves to the use of a teeter hinge, a well-tested and understood technology that passively relieves most of the imbalanced loads on the rotor. Loads simulation comparisons indicate a 50%+ reduction in main shaft bending fatigue loads for teetering two-bladed machines versus comparably-sized three-bladed machines. This translates into substantial reductions in weight and cost throughout the turbine.

Teeter Control System™

Torque Limiting Gearbox™ Diagram

b)   Torque Limiting Gearbox™ (TLG)

Just as the Teeter Control System™ provides a passive means of mitigating rotor imbalance loads, so does SyncWindi's patented Torque Limiting Gearbox™ (TLG) provide a passive mechanical means of removing torque transients from the drivetrain. The TLG provides near-instantaneous response to torque transients, whether induced by the wind or by electrical grid disturbances, thereby reducing torsional fatigue and impact loads throughout the power-train. This results in a highly reliable, low maintenance turbine.

The TLG has two output shafts. The majority of the wind power captured by the rotor is transmitted through to the main output shaft, which drives a synchronous generator, synchronized to the grid at 1500/1800 RPM.

The second output shaft drives a low-inertia torque limiting pump. This pump energizes a proprietary hydraulic subsystem which manages any rapid fluctuations in the input wind power by a combination of storage and dissipation means.

The TLG protects the power-train from torsional impact and fatigue and enables the use of a synchronous generator directly on line. Synchronous generators eliminate the need for power electronic frequency conversion, saving both upfront and maintenance costs. They also enable abundant reactive power support for weak or unstable grids. This is a major advantage in the markets seeking to maximise renewable energy capture.

5.  Intellectual Property

The intellectual property SyncWindi has available for manufacturing partners includes:

• 600+ turbine component drawings.

• 150+ drawings of special-purpose tooling.

• 50+ procedure drawings for nacelle assembly and erection processes.

• 20+ detailed specification documents.

• Detailed factory commissioning and field commissioning procedures.

• Operating manuals, maintenance manuals and various repair procedures.

• Bladed software models of the turbines for mechanical loads analysis and performance simulations.

• 4000+ pages of detailed calculations to achieve IEC Type Certification.

• Comprehensive Type Testing reports for the Windflow™ 33-500.

• PLC turbine control software.

• Turbine and wind farm SCADA software.

• Extensive team know-how in 2-bladed wind turbine design and control.