Tip Speed Ratio

Tip Speed Ratio

The tip-speed ratio, λ (lambda), or TSR for wind turbines is the ratio between the rotational speed of the tip of a blade and the actual velocity of the wind. If the velocity of the tip is exactly the same as the wind speed, the tip-speed ratio is 1.0. The tip-speed ratio is related to efficiency, with the optimum varying with blade design. Higher tip speeds result in higher noise levels and require stronger blades due to large centrifugal forces.

The tip speed of the blade can be calculated as times R, where is the rotor rotational speed in radians/second, and R is the rotor radius in meters. Therefore we can also write:

when wind speed is specified in meters/second. –

Read more about Tip Speed Ratio:  Cp - λ Curves

Famous quotes containing the words tip, speed and/or ratio:

    Panache upon panache, his tails deploy
    Upward and outward, in green-vented forms,
    His tip a drop of water full of storms.
    Wallace Stevens (1879–1955)

    The terror of the atom age is not the violence of the new power but the speed of man’s adjustment to it—the speed of his acceptance.
    —E.B. (Elwyn Brooks)

    A magazine or a newspaper is a shop. Each is an experiment and represents a new focus, a new ratio between commerce and intellect.
    John Jay Chapman (1862–1933)