In this chapter, the relevance and potential of micro-sized wind turbines (μSWTs) have been discussed and the following facts have been stated In wide areas of developing countries with a poor grid power supply, μSWTs can be an important factor of social, economic and technological development. From an educational point of view, μSWTs can be a valuable source of motivation, helping to provide a practical presentation of basic and advanced mechatronical principles. Moreover, μSWTs can also be an excellent field for cooperative and project-based learning, allowing to define a wide variety of experimental projects with a direct real-life application. From a research perspective, μSWTs constitute a unique opportunity to perform full-scale physical experimentation on advanced research topics at a very low cost and with very limited resources. To provide a practical demonstration of the μSWTs potential in academic and research experimentation, a low-cost platform for active magnetic bearing vibration control has been presented.

Chapter Contents:

• 9.1 Introduction
• 9.2 Small wind turbines characteristics
• 9.3 Micro-sized wind turbines: challenges and opportunities
• 9.4 Experimental platform for AMB vibration control
• 9.4.1 Active magnetic bearings and vibration control
• 9.4.2 Experimental platform design
• 9.5 Conclusions and final remarks
• Acknowledgements
• Appendix
• References

Inspec keywords: shafts; magnetic bearings; vibration control; wind turbines; power grids; prototypes; electric generators

Other keywords: power grid supply; active magnetic bearing; mechatronical principles; microsized wind turbines; rotary shaft; wind turbine power generator shaft; AMB vibration control; μSWT; emulator prototype design

Subjects: Power and plant engineering (mechanical engineering); Vibrations and shock waves (mechanical engineering); Mechanical variables control; Wind power plants; Project and design engineering; Mechanical components; Control of electric power systems