Autonomous wind power system for remote sheep farms

Autonomous wind power systems of small capacity are in demand for sheep farms of the North Caucasus Federal district of the Russian Federation. The nature of the production processes of such farms is associated with the parameters and modes of operation of wind power systems. The development of simplified models for calculating the dimensions of wind turbines and the choice of efficient energy converters is an urgent task for the autonomous power supply of the farm. Obtaining eco-friendly meat or high-quality sheep wool is provided by free-range sheep on pastures with a rich grass area. Sheep flocks are far from power lines. For the power supply of such remote sheep farms, an autonomous wind power system is needed. It must accumulate energy from the wind turbine to perform production processes. Such a farm has a specific daily schedule of electricity consumption, reflecting its use approximately equal to 4.2 kW per day. The functional scheme and parameters of the autonomous power supply system for sheep farms are presented in this article. The proposed method of calculation connects the aerodynamic parameters of the wind wheel (radius R = 1.6 m; linear velocity of wind flow 5 m sE−1) with the required electrical power of the generator 0.62 kW. Daily power generation from wind power plants provides charging of batteries with a capacity of 1300 Ah for power supply of the economy for 3 days. The whole system is calculated for a sheepfold with up to 1000 animals. The choice of an effective electromechanical converter for the wind power supply system is justified by the design of a synchronous generator with an original magnetic system. The insertion of ferromagnetic inserts into the magnetic system of the generator increases its output power by 62 %. As a confirmation, the article presents graphs of the experimental studies, which reflect the increase in power from the use of original ferromagnetic inserts in the magnetic system of the synchronous generator. Due to the new design features of the synchronous machine, the functional scheme of power supply is simplified and electrical characteristics are improved, which makes this system different from the others.