A computational platform for considering the effects of aerodynamic and seismic load combination for utility scale horizontal axis wind turbines

The wide deployment of wind turbines in locations with high seismic hazard has led engineers to take into account a more comprehensive seismic design of such structures. Turbine specific guidelines usually use simplified methods and consider many assumptions to combine seismic demand with the other operational loads effecting the design of these structures. As the turbines increase in size and capacity, the interaction between seismic loads and aerodynamic loads becomes even more important. In response to the need for a computational tool that can perform coupled simulations of wind and seismic loads, a seismic module is developed for the FAST code and described in this research. This platform allows engineers working in this industry to directly consider interaction between seismic and other environmental loads for turbines. This paper details the practical application and theory of this platform and provides examples for the use of different capabilities. The platform is then used to show the suitable earthquake and operational load combination with the implicit consideration of aerodynamic damping by estimating appropriate load factors.

A nonlinear model for aerodynamic configuration of wake behind horizontal-axis wind turbine

Determination of the aerodynamic configuration of wake is the key to analysis and evaluation of the rotor aerodynamic characteristics of a horizontal-axis wind turbine. According to the aerodynamic configuration, the real magnitude and direction of the onflow velocity at the rotor blade can be determined, and subsequently, the aerodynamic force on the rotor can be determined. The commonly employed wake aerodynamic models are of the cylindrical form instead of the actual expanding one. This is because the influence of the radial component of the induced velocity on the wake configuration is neglected. Therefore, this model should be called a "linear model". Using this model means that the induced velocities at the rotor blades and aerodynamic loads on them would be inexact. An approximately accurate approach is proposed in this paper to determine the so-called "nonlinear" wake aerodynamic configuration by means of the potential theory, where the influence of all three coordinate components of the induced velocity on wake aerodynamic configuration is taken into account to obtain a kind of expanding wake that approximately looks like an actual one. First, the rotor aerodynamic model composed of axial (central), bound, and trailing vortexes is established with the help of the finite aspect wing theory. Then, the Biot-Savart formula for the potential flow theory is used to derive a set of integral equations to evaluate the three components of the induced velocity at any point within the wake. The numerical solution to the integral equations is found, and the loci of all elementary trailing vortex filaments behind the rotor are determined thereafter. Finally, to formulate an actual wind turbine rotor, using the nonlinear wake model, the induced velocity everywhere in the wake, especially that at the rotor blade, is obtained in the case of various tip speed ratios and compared with the wake boundary in a neutral atmospheric boundary layer. Hereby, some useful and referential conclusions are offered for the aerodynamic computation and design of the rotor of the horizontal-axis wind turbine.

Criterion of aerodynamic performance of large-scale offshore horizontal axis wind turbines

With the background of offshore wind energy projects, this paper studies aerodynamic performance and geometric characteristics of large capacity wind turbine rotors （1 to 10 MW）, and the main characteristic parameters such as the rated wind speed, blade tip speed, and rotor solidity. We show that the essential criterion of a high- performance wind turbine is a highest possible annual usable energy pattern factor and a smallest possible dimension, capturing the maximum wind energy and producing the maximum annual power. The influence of the above-mentioned three parameters on the pattern factor and rotor geometry of wind turbine operated in China＇s offshore meteoro- logical environment is investigated. The variation patterns of aerodynamic and geometric parameters are obtained, analyzed, and compared with each other. The present method for aerodynamic analysis and its results can form a basis for evaluating aerodynamic performance of large-scale offshore wind turbine rotors.

Analysis of Near-Wake Deflection Characteristics of Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine Tower under Yaw State

The yaw of the horizontal axis wind turbine results in the deflection of the wake flow field of the tower.The reasonable layout of wind farm can reduce the power loss of the downstream wind turbine generators due to the blocking effect of the upstream wake flow and increase the output power of the whole wind farm.However,there is still much space for further research.In this paper,experimental research is conducted on the near-wake deflection characteristics of wind turbine tower under yaw state,expecting the effect of throwing away a brick in order to get a gem.In the low-turbulence wind tunnel test,regarding the most unfavorable position where the rotating blades coincide with the tower,Particle image velocimetry(PIV)technology is used to test the instantaneous velocity field and output power and analyze experimental data at four different yaw angles,different inflow velocities and heights.Meanwhile,in order to quantitatively analyze the laws on wake deflection,the radon transformation is used to analyze the velocity contour for calculating the wake direction angle,and the results show high reliability.The comprehensive experimental results indicate that the near-wake flow field of the tower obviously deflects towards a side in the horizontal plane.With the increase of the yaw angle,the deflection angle of the wake flow field further increases,and the recovery of wake velocity accelerates.The closer to the blade root,the more complex the flow is,and the influence of the blade on the near wake of the tower is gradually weakened.The change laws on the wake direction angle with the yaw angle and the blade spanwise direction are obtained.The experiment in this paper can provide guidance for layout optimization of wind farm,and the obtained data can provide a scientific basis for the research on performance prediction of horizontal axis wind turbine.

Aerodynamic Performance and Vibration Analyses of Small Scale Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine with Various Number of Blades

The need to generate power from renewable sources to reduce demand for fossil fuels and the damage of their resulting carbon dioxide emissions is now well understood. Wind is among the most popular and fastest growing sources of alternative energy in the world. It is an inexhaustible, indigenous resource, pollution-free, and available almost any time of the day, especially in coastal regions. As a sustainable energy resource, electrical power generation from the wind is increasingly important in national and international energy policy in response to climate change. Experts predict that, with proper development, wind energy can meet up to 20% of US needs. Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines (HAWTs) are the most popular because of their higher efficiency. The aerodynamic characteristics and vibration of small scale HAWT with various numbers of blade designs have been investigated in this numerical study in order to improve its performance. SolidWorks was used for designing Computer Aided Design (CAD) models, and ANSYS software was used to study the dynamic flow around the turbine. Two, three, and five bladed HAWTs of 87 cm rotor diameter were designed. A HAWT tower of 100 cm long and 6 cm diameter was considered during this study while a shaft of 10.02 cm diameter was chosen. A good choice of airfoils and angle of attack is a key in the designing of a blade of rough surface and maintaining the maximum lift to drag ratio. The S818, S825 and S826 airfoils were used from the root to the tip and 4° critical angle of attack was considered. In this paper, a more appropriate numerical models and an improved method have been adopted in comparable with other models and methods in the literature. The wind flow around the whole wind turbine and static behavior of the HAWT rotor was solved using Moving Reference Frame (MRF) solver. The HAWT rotor results were used to initialize the Sliding Mesh Models (SMM) solver and study the dynamic behavior of HAWT rotor. The pressure and velocity contours on different blades surfaces were analyzed and presented in this work. The pressure and velocity contours around the entire turbine models were also analyzed. The power coefficient was calculated using the Tip Speed Ratio (TSR) and the moment coefficient and the results were compared to the theoretical and other research. The results show that the increase of number of blades from two to three increases the efficiency;however, the power coefficient remains relatively the same or sometimes decreases for five bladed turbine models. HAWT rotors and shaft vibrations were analyzed for two different materials using an applied pressure load imported from ANSYS fluent environment. It has proven that a good choice of material is crucial during the design process.

The Effects of Turbulence Intensity and Tip Speed Ratio on the Coherent Structure of Horizontal-Axis Wind Turbine Wake:A Wind Tunnel Experiment

The evolution laws of the large-eddy coherent structure of the wind turbine wake have been evaluated via wind tunnel experiments under uniform and turbulent inflow conditions.The spatial correlation coefficients,the turbulence integral scales and power spectrum are obtained at different tip speed ratios(TSRs)based on the time-resolved particle image velocity(TR-PIV)technique.The results indicate that the large-eddy coherent structures are more likely to dissipate with an increase in turbulence intensity and TSR.Furthermore,the spatial correlation of the longitudinal pulsation velocity is greater than its axial counterpart,resulting into a wake turbulence dominated by the longitudinal pulsation.With an increase of turbulence intensity,the integral scale of the axial turbulence increases,meanwhile,its longitudinal counterpart decreases.Owing to an increase in TSR,the integral scale of axial turbulence decreases,whereas,that of the longitudinal turbulence increases.By analyzing the wake power spectrum,it is found that the turbulent pulsation kinetic energy of the wake structure is mainly concentrated in the low-frequency vortex region.The dissipation rate of turbulent kinetic energy increases with an increase of turbulence intensity and the turbulence is transported and dissipated on a smaller scale vortex,thus promoting the recovery of wake.

Computational Fluid Dynamics Analysis of Multi-Bladed Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine Rotor

The principal objective of this work was to investigate the 3D flow field around a multi-bladed horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT) rotor and to investigate its performance characteristics. The aerodynamic performance of this novel rotor design was evaluated by means of a Computational Fluid Dynamics commercial package. The Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations were selected to model the physics of the incompressible Newtonian fluid around the blades. The Shear Stress Transport (SST) k-ω turbulence model was chosen for the assessment of the 3D flow behavior as it had widely used in other HAWT studies. The pressure-based simulation was done on a model representing one-ninth of the rotor using a 40-degree periodicity in a single moving reference frame system. Analyzing the wake flow behavior over a wide range of wind speeds provided a clear vision of this novel rotor configuration. From the analysis, it was determined that the flow becomes accelerated in outer wake region downstream of the rotor and by placing a multi-bladed rotor with a larger diameter behind the forward rotor resulted in an acceleration of this wake flow which resulted in an increase the overall power output of the wind machine.

Effect of Yaw Angle on Large Scale Three-blade Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines

Offshore Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines(HAWT)are used globally as a source of clean and renewable energy.Turbine efficiency can be improved by optimizing the geometry of the turbine blades.Turbines are generally designed in a way that its orientation is adjustable to ensure the wind direction is aligned with the axis of the turbine shaft.The deflection angle from this position is defined as yaw angle of the turbine.Understanding the effects of the yaw angle on the wind turbine performance is important for the turbine safety and performance analysis.In this study,performance of a yawed HAWT is studied by computational fluid dynamics.The wind flow around the turbine is simulated by solving the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes equations using software ANSYS Fluent.The principal aim of this study is to quantify the yaw angle on the efficiency of the turbine and to check the accuracy of existing empirical formula.A three-bladed 100-m diameter prototype HAWT was analysed through comprehensive Computational Fluid Dynamics(CFD)simulations.The turbine efficiency reaches its maximum value of 33.9%at 0°yaw angle and decreases with the increase of yaw angle.It was proved that the cosine law can estimate the turbine efficiency with a yaw angle with an error less 10%when the yaw angle is between-30°and 30°.The relative error of the cosine law increase at larger yaw angles because of the power is reduced significantly.

Decoupling Adaptive Sliding Mode Observer Design for Wind Turbines Subject to Simultaneous Faults in Sensors and Actuators

This paper proposes an adaptive sliding mode observer(ASMO)-based approach for wind turbines subject to simultaneous faults in sensors and actuators.The proposed approach enables the simultaneous detection of actuator and sensor faults without the need for any redundant hardware components.Additionally,wind speed variations are considered as unknown disturbances,thus eliminating the need for accurate measurement or estimation.The proposed ASMO enables the accurate estimation and reconstruction of the descriptor states and disturbances.The proposed design implements the principle of separation to enable the use of the nominal controller during faulty conditions.Fault tolerance is achieved by implementing a signal correction scheme to recover the nominal behavior.The performance of the proposed approach is validated using a 4.8 MW wind turbine benchmark model subject to various faults.Monte-Carlo analysis is also carried out to further evaluate the reliability and robustness of the proposed approach in the presence of measurement errors.Simplicity,ease of implementation and the decoupling property are among the positive features of the proposed approach.

Numerical Simulation of Wind Turbine Wake Characteristics in Uniform Inflow

Flow field around a two-bladed horizontal-axis wind turbine(HAWT)is simulated at various tip speed ratios to investigate its wake characteristics by analyzing the tip and root vortex trajectories in the nearwake,as well as the vertical profiles of the axial velocity.Results show that the pitch of the tip vortex varies inversely with the tip speed ratio.Radial expansion of the tip vortices becomes more obvious as the tip speed ratio increases.Tip vortices shed not exactly from the blade tip but from the blade span of 96.5%—99%radius of the rotor.The axial velocity profiles are transformed into V-shape from W-shape at the distance downstream of eight rotor diameters due to the momentum recovery.

NEAR WAKE OF A MODEL HORIZONTAL-AXIS WIND TURBINE

An experimental investigation on the properties of the near wake behind the rotor of a Horizontal-Axis Wind Turbine （HAWT） was carried out at model scale. Measurements were made with a stationary slanted hot-wire anemometer using the technique of phase-locked averaging. The primary aim is to study the formation and development of the three-dimensional wake. Five axial locations were chosen within four chord lengths of the blades over a range of tip speed ratios. The results show that during the downstream developmerit of the wake, the wake centre traces a helical curve with its rotation direction opposite to that of the rotor. The distribution of mean velocity behind the HAWT rotor reveals an expansion and a decay of the three-dimensional wake. The shapes of the mean velocity distribution are similar along the blades span at the same downstream axial location. It is shown that the turbulence levels in the wake are higher than those in the non-wake region. The circumferential component and the radial component of the turbulence intensity are higher than the axial component. Our study offers some food of thought for better understanding of the physical features of the flow field as well as the performance of HAWT.

Design and Parametric Investigation of Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine

This research focuses on design and calculations for the horizontal axis wind turbine to fulfill energy demands at small scales in Pakistan. This is the design to produce about 5 kilowatts of electricity to share the load of average home appliances. Area chosen for this research is Pasni, Balochistan in Pakistan to build the wind turbine for electricity. Design values are approximated by appropriate formulas of wind energy design. In current research, turbine blade profile is designed by blade element momentum(BEM) theory. Warlock wind turbine calculator is used to verify the design parameters like wind speed, tip speed ratio(TSR) and efficiency factor.Effects of wind speed, wind power, TSR, pitch angle, blade tip angle, number of blades, blade design and tower height on power coefficient are analyzed in this research. Maximum power coefficient is achieved at a designed velocity of 6 m/s. Design analysis is also performed on simulation software ANSYS Fluent. It is observed that designed velocity parameter of this research is very suitable for the turbine blade, so blade designing is perfect according to wind speed range.

IDDES方法模拟风切变下大型水平轴风力机流场特性

为研究风切变条件下大型水平轴风力机流场特性,以NH 1500 kW大型水平轴风力机为研究对象,运用计算流体力学中模拟流场精度较高的IDDES(改进延迟分离涡)方法,分析流场内瞬时速度分量、脉动速度和风力机输出功率。结果表明:风轮平面周围流场速度波动大,轴向速度在风轮旋转边界以外的区域会增大,在旋转边界以内的区域会亏损;脉动风速频谱特性在低频区与风轮转频的整数倍相关,风力机功率呈余弦形式输出并满足湍流谱特性。

叶片旋向对风力机尾流特性影响的试验研究

采用一种简单、有效的方法来改善风力机尾流效应,提升下游风力机功率。进行叶片旋向对风力机尾流特性的试验研究,利用低频粒子图像测速(PIV)系统对NACA4415翼型的叶片进行扰流流场测试并采集风力机的尾流数据。当2台串列排布的风力机旋向不同时,首先在下游风力机前1D(D为风轮直径)处,叶尖涡涡核位置向中央尾迹区偏移,而外部主流区的流体在叶尖涡诱导区的输运和卷吸作用下持续进入中央尾迹区并与之掺混使得轴向速度恢复得更佳;进而分析下游风力机后1D的流场数据,结果显示:虽然下游风力机叶尖涡几何结构被“打碎”,但涡核能量却未降低;最后探讨影响风力机功率特性的因素,下游风力机入流角的增大促使下游风力机捕获更多风能,在风轮间距为2D时,逆向旋转的功率比比同向旋转时高4.70%,且功率比随间距增加其增幅逐渐减小。

塔影效应下风轮仰角对风力机气动特性的影响

考虑风力机塔影效应的影响,针对风轮仰角导致风力机气动特性更为复杂的问题,文章对不同仰角水平轴风力机流场进行了数值模拟,分析了风力机叶片截面压力分布、涡量以及塔筒表面压力随相位角的变化规律,探究了风轮仰角对风力机输出功率的影响。结果表明:增大风轮仰角会降低叶片表面压力,减小叶尖部分压差,使得叶片表面高涡量区域减小;添加风轮仰角会使叶片对塔筒影响减小,塔筒表面高涡量区域随着风轮仰角的增大逐渐减小,降低塔筒表面压力波动。当叶片经过塔筒时,塔影效应对风力机影响较大,风力机输出功率降低;当叶片竖直向上时,风力机输出功率达到最大。为风力机添加仰角后,随着风轮仰角的增大,风力机的输出功率与输出功率波动均呈现先增大后减小的趋势;风力机输出功率在风轮仰角为3°时最大,输出功率波动在风轮仰角为6°时最小。

新型水平轴螺旋风力机气动性能分析

为了拓展水平轴风力机的适用范围,采用计算流体力学对2种具有不同旋叶倾角的新型水平轴螺旋风力机及其加装导管后的气动性能进行了三维数值模拟研究.结果表明:相比定角螺旋风力机,变角螺旋风力机在较小尖速比(TSR)时具有更大的功率系数(C_(P));同时,变角螺旋风力机在全TSR范围内具有更小的推力系数(C_(T)),且2种螺旋风力机C_(T)的差异随着TSR的增大而增大;2种螺旋风力机运行时高压区主要集中在轮毂前端、一阶和二阶旋叶的迎风端,低压区主要集中在三阶旋叶的背风端和轮毂后端;变角螺旋风力机前端旋叶的阻塞度相对较低,使其尾流恢复比定角螺旋风力机快;此外,导管可以显著增大2种螺旋风力机的C_(P)和C_(T),并拓宽C_(P)的TSR范围.研究结果揭示了水平轴螺旋风力机的气动特点,为该型风力机的优化设计和推广应用提供了一定的参考依据.

山区湍流特征及其对风力机功率的影响

为研究山地地形大气湍流关键特征参数的变化规律及其对风力机功率的影响,以云南某山地风电场山脊处一大型风力发电机组为研究对象,采用遥感技术研究风力机来流的风速、风向、湍流强度、湍动能和湍流耗散率的分布特征,并分析上述参数对机组功率的影响。结果表明:山地地形中来流参数昼夜特征明显;在垂直于来流方向,地形的影响区域集中在距离地面79 m的范围内,湍动能与湍流耗散率在垂直方向成反比;风速与湍流耗散率具有良好的正相关性;来流特征参数在不同风速区间对风力机功率的影响存在较大差异,湍动能对风力机功率的影响程度最低,为1.49%,但湍流强度对风力机功率的影响程度高达4%。

侧风角动态变化对风力机叶片应变影响的试验研究

通过在风洞中搭建动态偏航试验台,利用无线应变测试系统对水平轴风力机叶片应变进行测试,探究侧风角动态变化过程中水平轴风力机叶片所受载荷的变化规律.在侧风角由0°到45°连续变化时,对风力机叶片展向各测点应变数据进行处理分析,获得叶片叶根至叶尖位置的应变变化规律,揭示了侧风角的变化速度对风力机叶片所受应变的影响.在侧风角动态变化下,叶片所受应变出现迟滞现象,迟滞作用范围为10°;在侧风角变化速度为0.5°/s和1.0°/s时,叶根位置较叶尖位置对侧风角的变化更为敏感;在相同侧风角下,造成叶根位置应变在不同侧风角变化速度工况之间存在差异的原因是离心力载荷不同.

基于吸气控制的风力机叶片性能提升研究

为改善风力机叶片气动性能,提高风能利用系数,提出在叶片吸力面开槽施加吸气控制,采用计算流体力学(CFD)方法,研究不同来流风速下开槽叶片性能。结果表明,开槽叶片输出扭矩及风能利用系数相较于原始叶片实验值大幅增加,在较高风速(10m/s)时表现更为明显,风能利用系数提升32.2%,故吸气控制可有效提升叶片功率。分析开槽和原始叶片表面压力分布,发现低风速(5m/s)时,吸力面压力分布类似,叶片输出扭矩相差不明显,风速增加后会有差异。在10m/s风速下,吸气控制对吸力面的压力分布影响较大,靠近叶尖位置前缘处的负压峰值显著增大且低压区分布更广,吸力面与压力面的压差进一步增加,叶片输出扭矩更高。研究结果可为风力机叶片设计提供参考,对降低风电成本、促进风电技术的发展具有重要意义。

俯仰角对水平轴风力机气动噪声影响研究

由于俯仰角的存在,水平轴风力机在运行时可避免叶片与塔筒的碰撞,但这也对风力机气动噪声的产生及传播带来影响。为探究不同俯仰角对风力机气动噪声的影响规律,文章采用大涡模拟(LES)结合声学方程(FW-H)对不同俯仰角下的风力机声场进行数值模拟。模拟结果表明:随着俯仰角的增大,风轮输出功率先增大后减小,当风轮处在3°俯仰角时,风力机输出功率最大,能量有一个明显扩散,声压级整体有所上升,气动噪声上升幅度变大;存在俯仰角时,气动噪声沿轴向与展向的传播规律与未俯仰时相似,随着俯仰角的增加,最大声源位置从叶中向叶尖移动;A计权下风轮在3°俯仰角时声压级幅值增幅最小,因此3°俯仰角为最佳俯仰角。