Reheat effect on the improvement in efficiency of the turbine driven by pulse detonation

Due to the strong unsteadiness of pulse detonation,large flow losses are generated when the detonation wave interacts with the turbine blades,resulting in low turbine efficiency.Considering that the flow losses are dissipated into the gas as heat energy,some of them can be recycled during the expansion process in subsequent stages by the reheat effect,which should be helpful to improve the detonationdriven turbine efficiency.Taking this into account,this paper developed a numerical model of the detonation chamber coupled with a two-stage axial turbine,and a stoichiometric hydrogen-air mixture was used.The improvement in turbine efficiency attributable to the reheat effect was calculated by comparing the average efficiency of the stages with the efficiency of the two-stage turbine.The research indicated that the first stage was critical in suppressing the flow unsteadiness caused by pulse detonation,which stabilized the intake condition of the second stage and consequently allowed much of the flow losses from the first stage to be recycled,so that the efficiency of the two-stage turbine was improved.At a 95%confidence level,the efficiency improvement was stable at 4.5%—5.3%,demonstrating that the reheat effect is significant in improving the efficiency of the detonation-driven turbine.

Vibration attenuation performance of wind turbine tower using a prestressed tuned mass damper under seismic excitation

With the rapid development of large megawatt wind turbines,the operation environment of wind turbine towers(WTTs)has become increasingly complex.In particular,seismic excitation can create a resonance response and cause excessive vibration of the WTT.To investigate the vibration attenuation performance of the WTT under seismic excitations,a novel passive vibration control device,called a prestressed tuned mass damper(PS-TMD),is presented in this study.First,a mathematical model is established based on structural dynamics under seismic excitation.Then,the mathematical analytical expression of the dynamic coefficient is deduced,and the parameter design method is obtained by system tuning optimization.Next,based on a theoretical analysis and parameter design,the numerical results showed that the PS-TMD was able to effectively mitigate the resonance under the harmonic basal acceleration.Finally,the time-history analysis method is used to verify the effectiveness of the traditional pendulum tuned mass damper(PTMD)and the novel PS-TMD device,and the results indicate that the vibration attenuation performance of the PS-TMD is better than the PTMD.In addition,the PS-TMD avoids the nonlinear effect due to the large oscillation angle,and has the potential to dissipate hysteretic energy under seismic excitation.

Aero-Hydro-Elastic-Servo Modeling and Dynamic Response Analysis of A Monopile Offshore Wind Turbine Under Different Operating Scenarios

This paper constructs a coupled aero-hydro-elastic-servo simulation framework for a monopile offshore wind turbine(OWT).In this framework,a detailed multi-body dynamics model of the monopile OWT including the gearbox,blades,tower and other components(nacelle,hub,bedplate,etc.)has been explicitly established.The effects of pile−soil interaction,controller and operational conditions on the turbine dynamic responses are studied systematically in time domain and frequency domain.The results show that(1)a comprehensive drivetrain model has the capability to provide a more precise representation of the complex dynamic characteristics exhibited by drivetrain components,which can be used as the basis for further study on the dynamic characteristics of the drivetrain.(2)The pile−soil interaction can influence the wind turbine dynamic responses,particularly under the parked condition.(3)The effect of the pile−soil interaction on tower responses is more significant than that on blade responses.(4)The use of the controller can substantially affect the rotor characteristics,which in turn influences the turbine dynamic responses.(5)The tower and blade displacements under the operational condition are much larger than those under the parked condition.The model and methodology presented in this study demonstrate potential for examining complex dynamic behaviors of the monopile OWTs.To ensure accuracy and precision,it is imperative to construct a detailed model of the wind turbine system,while also taking into account simulation efficiency.

Semi-supervised surface defect detection of wind turbine blades with YOLOv4

Timely inspection of defects on the surfaces of wind turbine blades can effectively prevent unpredictable accidents.To this end,this study proposes a semi-supervised object-detection network based on You Only Looking Once version 4(YOLOv4).A semi-supervised structure comprising a generative adversarial network(GAN)was designed to overcome the difficulty in obtaining sufficient samples and sample labeling.In a GAN,the generator is realized by an encoder-decoder network,where the backbone of the encoder is YOLOv4 and the decoder comprises inverse convolutional layers.Partial features from the generator are passed to the defect detection network.Deploying several unlabeled images can significantly improve the generalization and recognition capabilities of defect-detection models.The small-scale object detection capacity of the network can be improved by enhancing essential features in the feature map by adding the concurrent spatial and channel squeeze and excitation(scSE)attention module to the three parts of the YOLOv4 network.A balancing improvement was made to the loss function of YOLOv4 to overcome the imbalance problem of the defective species.The results for both the single-and multi-category defect datasets show that the improved model can make good use of the features of the unlabeled images.The accuracy of wind turbine blade defect detection also has a significant advantage over classical object detection algorithms,including faster R-CNN and DETR.

Comparisons of Wave Force Model Effects on the Structural Responses and Fatigue Loads of a Semi-Submersible Floating Wind Turbine

The selection of wave force models will significantly impact the structural responses of floating wind turbines.In this study,comparisons of wave force model effects on the structural responses and fatigue loads of a semi-submersible floating wind turbine(SFWT)were conducted.Simulations were performed by employing the Morison equation(ME)with linear or second-order wave kinematics and potential flow theory(PFT)with first-or second-order wave forces.A comparison of regular waves,irregular waves,and coupled wind/waves analyses with the experimental data showed that many of the simulation results and experimental data are relatively consistent.However,notable discrepancies are found in the response amplitude operators for platform heave,tower base bending moment,and tension in mooring lines.PFT models give more satisfactory results of heave but more significant discrepan-cies in tower base bending moment than the ME models.In irregular wave analyses,low-frequency resonances were captured by PFT models with second-order difference-frequency terms,and high-frequency resonances were captured by the ME models or PFT models with second-order sum-frequency terms.These force models capture the response frequencies but do not reasonably predict the response amplitudes.The coupled wind/waves analyses showed more satisfactory results than the wave-only analyses.However,an important detail to note is that this satisfactory result is based on the overprediction of wind-induced responses.

Dynamic Analysis of a 10 MW Floating Offshore Wind Turbine Considering the Tower and Platform Flexibility

Recently,semisubmersible floating offshore wind turbine technologies have received considerable attention.For the coupled simulation of semisubmersible floating offshore wind energy,the platform is usually considered a rigid model,which could affect the calculation accuracy of the dynamic responses.The dynamic responses of a TripleSpar floating offshore wind turbine equipped with a 10 MW offshore wind turbine are discussed herein.The simulation of a floating offshore wind turbine under regular waves,white noise waves,and combined wind-wave conditions is conducted.The effects of the tower and platform flexibility on the motion and force responses of the TripleSpar semisubmersible floating offshore wind turbine are investigated.The results show that the flexibility of the tower and platform can influence the dynamic responses of a TripleSpar semisubmersible floating offshore wind turbine.Considering the flexibility of the tower and platform,the tower and platform pitch motions markedly increased compared with the fully rigid model.Moreover,the force responses,particularly for tower base loads,are considerably influenced by the flexibility of the tower and platform.Thus,the flexibility of the tower and platform for the coupled simulation of floating offshore wind turbines must be appropriately examined.

Experimental Study on the Sinking and Leveling of A Large-Capacity Offshore Wind Turbine Five-Bucket Foundation in Sand

As offshore wind farms expand into deeper and farther ocean regions and the unit capacity of offshore wind turbines(OWTs)increases,there is a pressing need for a new foundation structure that can accommodate deep-sea conditions and support large capacities while maintaining economical and safe.To meet this goal of integrated transportation and one-step installation,a novel five-bucket jacket foundation(FBJF),with its suction installation and leveling methods in sand,has been proposed,analyzed and experimentally studied.First,seepage failure experiments of the FBJF at various depths were conducted,and a formula for calculating the critical suction of seepage failure suitable for the FBJF in sand was chosen and recommended for use with a range of values for the permeability coefficient ratio.Second,through leveling experiments of the FBJF at different depths,the maximum adjustable leveling angle during the sinking process was defined using seepage failure and the adjustable leveling angle of the foundation as control criteria.Various leveling control strategies were proposed and verified.Finally,an automatic sinking and leveling control system for the FBJF was developed and experimentally verified for feasibility.

Research on Leading Edge Erosion and Aerodynamic Characteristics of Wind Turbine Blade Airfoil

The effects of the erosion present on the leading edge of a wind turbine airfoil(DU 96-W-180)on its aerodynamic performances have been investigated numerically in the framework of a SST k–ωturbulence model based on the Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes equations(RANS).The results indicate that when sand-induced holes and small pits are involved as leading edge wear features,they have a minimal influence on the lift and drag coefficients of the airfoil.However,if delamination occurs in the same airfoil region,it significantly impacts the lift and resistance characteristics of the airfoil.Specifically,as the angle of attack grows,there is a significant decrease in the lift coefficient accompanied by a sharp increase in the drag coefficient.As wear intensifies,these effects gradually increase.Moreover,the leading edge wear can exacerbate flow separation near the trailing edge suction surface of the airfoil and cause forward displacement of the separation point.

Optimization of a Pipeline-Type Savonius Hydraulic Turbine

This study focuses on a DN50 pipeline-type Savonius hydraulic turbine.The torque variation of the turbine in a rotation cycle is analyzed theoretically in the framework of the plane potential flow theory.Related numerical simulations show that the change in turbine torque is consistent with the theoretical analysis,with the main power zone and the secondary power zone exhibiting a positive torque.In contrast,the primary resistance zone and the secondary resistance zone are characterized by a negative torque.Analytical relationships between the turbine’s internal flow angleθ,the deflector’s inclination angleα0,and the coverage angleαof the power zone are introduced,and a method for calculating the optimal number of blades is proposed to maximize the power zone.Results are presented about performance tests conducted on five groups of hydraulic turbines with the blade number ranging from 3 to 7.Such results indicate that both the turbine’s recovery power and efficiency attain the highest values when the blade number is 4,which is in agreement with the number of blades calculated by the proposed method.Additionally,the study examines the effects of the flow rate on turbine parameters and the projected energy generation and cost savings for a specific pipeline configuration.

Influence of Surface Ice Roughness on the Aerodynamic Performance of Wind Turbines

The focus of this research was on the equivalent particle roughness height correction required to account for the presence of ice when determining the performances of wind turbines.In particular,two icing processes(frost ice and clear ice)were examined by combining the FENSAP-ICE and FLUENT analysis tools.The ice type on the blade surfaces was predicted by using a multi-time step method.Accordingly,the influence of variations in icing shape and ice surface roughness on the aerodynamic performance of blades during frost ice formation or clear ice formation was investigated.The results indicate that differences in blade surface roughness and heat flux lead to disparities in both ice formation rate and shape between frost ice and clear ice.Clear ice has a greater impact on aerodynamics compared to frost ice,while frost ice is significantly influenced by the roughness of its icy surface.

Influence of Trailing-Edge Wear on the Vibrational Behavior of Wind Turbine Blades

To study the impact of the trailing-edge wear on the vibrational behavior of wind-turbine blades,unworn blades and trailing-edge worn blades have been assessed through relevant modal tests.According to these experiments,the natural frequencies of trailing-edge worn blades-1,-2,and-3 increase the most in the second to fourth order,thefifth order increases in the middle,and thefirst order increases the least.The damping ratio data indi-cate that,in general,thefirstfive-order damping ratios of trailing-edge worn blades-1 and trailing-edge worn blades-2 are reduced,and thefirstfive-order damping ratios of trailing-edge worn blades-3 are slightly improved.The mode shape diagram shows that the trailing-edge worn blades-1 and-2 have a large swing in the tip and the blade,whereas the second-and third-order vibration shapes of the trailing edge-worn blade-3 tend to be improved.Overall,all these results reveal that the blade’s mass and the wear area are the main fac-tors affecting the vibration characteristics of wind turbine blades.

Structure Optimization of a Tesla Turbine Using an Organic Rankine Cycle Technology

The so-called ORC(Organic Rankine Cycle)heat recovery technology has attracted much attention with regard to medium and low temperature waste heat recovery.In the present study,it is applied to a Tesla turbine.At the same time,the effects of the disc speed,diameter and inter-disc gap on the internal flow field and output power of the turbine are also investigated by means of CFD(Computational Fluid Dynamics)numerical simulation,by which the pressure,velocity,and output efficiency of the internal flow field are obtained under different internal and external conditions.The highest efficiency(66.4%)is obtained for a number of nozzles equal to 4,a disk thickness of 1 mm,and a gap of 1 mm between the disks.The results of the study serve as a theoretical basis for the structural design and optimization of Tesla turbines.

Ice-Induced Vibrational Response of Single-Pile Offshore Wind-Turbine Foundations

Important challenges must be addressed to make wind turbines sustainable renewable energy sources.A typical problem concerns the design of the foundation.If the pile diameter is larger than that of the jacket platform,traditional mechanical models cannot be used.In this study,relying on the seabed soil data of an offshore wind farm,the m-method and the equivalent embedded method are used to address the single-pile wind turbine foundation problem for different pile diameters.An approach to determine the equivalent pile length is also proposed accordingly.The results provide evidence for the effectiveness and reliability of the model based on the equivalent embedded method.

Retraction:Optimized Design of Bio-inspired Wind Turbine Blades

The published article titled“Optimized Design of Bio-inspired Wind Turbine Blades”has been retracted from Fluid Dynamics&Materials Processing.

Novel Method for Evaluating the Aging of Aviation Turbine Engine Oils via High-Temperature Bearing Deposit Tests

Aviation turbine engine oils require excellent thermal-oxidative stability because of their high-temperature environments.High-temperature bearing deposit testing is a mandatory method for measuring the thermal-oxidative performance of aviation lubricant oils,and the relevant apparatus was improved in the present study.Two different commercial aviation turbine engine oils were tested,one with standard performance(known as the SL oil)and the other with high thermal stability,and their thermal-oxidative stability characteristics were evaluated.After 100 h of high-temperature bearing testing,the SL oil was analyzed by using various analytical techniques to investigate its thermal-oxidative process in the bearing test,with its thermal-oxidative degradation mechanism also being discussed.The results indicate that the developed high-temperature bearing apparatus easily meets the test requirements of method 3410.1 in standard FED-STD-791D.The viscosity and total acid number(TAN)of the SL oil increased with the bearing test time,and various deposits were produced in the bearing test,with the micro-particles of the carbon deposits being sphere-like,rod-like,and sheet-like in appearance.The antioxidant additives in the oil were consumed very rapidly in the first 30 h of the bearing test,with N-phenyl-1-naphthylamine being consumed faster than dioctyldiphenylamine.Overall,the oil thermal-oxidative process involves very complex physical and chemical mechanisms.

Research on the Icing Diagnosis ofWind Turbine Blades Based on FS–XGBoost–EWMA

In winter,wind turbines are susceptible to blade icing,which results in a series of energy losses and safe operation problems.Therefore,blade icing detection has become a top priority.Conventional methods primarily rely on sensor monitoring,which is expensive and has limited applications.Data-driven blade icing detection methods have become feasible with the development of artificial intelligence.However,the data-driven method is plagued by limited training samples and icing samples;therefore,this paper proposes an icing warning strategy based on the combination of feature selection(FS),eXtreme Gradient Boosting(XGBoost)algorithm,and exponentially weighted moving average(EWMA)analysis.In the training phase,FS is performed using correlation analysis to eliminate redundant features,and the XGBoost algorithm is applied to learn the hidden effective information in supervisory control and data acquisition analysis(SCADA)data to build a normal behavior model.In the online monitoring phase,an EWMA analysis is introduced to monitor the abnormal changes in features.A blade icing warning is issued when themonitored features continuously exceed the control limit,and the ambient temperature is below 0℃.This study uses data fromthree icing-affected wind turbines and one normally operating wind turbine for validation.The experimental results reveal that the strategy can promptly predict the icing trend among wind turbines and stably monitor the normally operating wind turbines.

Optimized Design of Bio-Inspired Wind Turbine Blades

To enhance the aerodynamic performance of wind turbine blades,this study proposes the adoption of a bionic airfoil inspired by the aerodynamic shape of an eagle.Based on the blade element theory,a non-uniform extraction method of blade elements is employed for the optimization design of the considered wind turbine blades.Moreover,Computational Fluid Dynamics(CFD)is used to determine the aerodynamic performances of the eagle airfoil and a NACA2412 airfoil,thereby demonstrating the superior aerodynamic performance of the former.Finally,a mathematical model for optimizing the design of wind turbine blades is introduced and a comparative analysis is conducted with respect to the aerodynamic performances of blades designed using a uniform extraction approach.It is found that the blades designed using non-uniform extraction exhibit better aerodynamic performance.

Study on the Relationship between Structural Aspects and Aerodynamic Characteristics of Archimedes Spiral Wind Turbines

A combined experimental and numerical research study is conducted to investigate the complex relationship between the structure and the aerodynamic performances of an Archimedes spiral wind turbine(ASWT).Two ASWTs are considered,a prototypical version and an improved version.It is shown that the latter achieves the best aerodynamic performance when the spread angles at the three sets of blades areα_(1)=30°,α_(2)=55°,α3=60°,respectively and the blade thickness is 4 mm.For a velocity V=10 m/s,a tip speed ratio(TSR)=1.58 and 2,the maximum CP values are 0.223 and 0.263 for the prototypical ASWT and improved ASWT,respectively,and the maximum C_(P) enhancement is 17.93%.For V=10 m/s and TSR=2,the CP values of the prototypical ASWT and improved ASWT are 0.225 and 0.263,respectively,with an aerodynamic performance enhancement of 16.88%.Through mutual verification of the test outcomes and numerical results,it is concluded that the proposed approach can effectively lead to aerodynamic performance improvement.

Impact of Blade-Flapping Vibration on Aerodynamic Characteristics of Wind Turbines under Yaw Conditions

Although the aerodynamic loading of wind turbine blades under various conditions has been widely studied,the radial distribution of load along the blade under various yaw conditions and with blade flapping phenomena is poorly understood.This study aims to investigate the effects of second-order flapwise vibration on the mean and fluctuation characteristics of the torque and axial thrust of wind turbines under yaw conditions using computational fluid dynamics(CFD).In the CFD model,the blades are segmented radially to comprehensively analyze the distribution patterns of torque,axial load,and tangential load.The following results are obtained.(i)After applying flapwise vibration,the torque and axial thrust of wind turbines decrease in relation to those of the rigid model,with significantly increased fluctuations.(ii)Flapwise vibration causes the blades to reciprocate along the axial direction,altering the local angle of attack and velocity of the blades relative to the incoming wind flow.This results in the contraction of the torque region from a circular shape to a complex“gear”shape,which is accompanied by evident oscillations.(iii)Compared to the tangential load,the axial load on the blades is more sensitive to flapwise vibration although both exhibit significantly enhanced fluctuations.This study not only reveals the impact of flapwise vibration on wind turbine blade performance,including the reduction of torque and axial thrust and increased operational fluctuations,but also clarifies the radial distribution patterns of blade aerodynamic characteristics,which is of great significance for optimizing wind turbine blade design and reducing fatigue risks.

Turbine Passage Secondary Flow Dynamics and Endwall Heat Transfer Under Different Inflow Turbulence

This study presents endwall hydrodynamics and heat transfer in a linear turbine cascade at Re 5×105 at low and high intensities of turbulence.Results are numerically predicted using the standard SST model and Reθ-γtransition model as well as using the high-resolution LES separately.The major secondary flow components,comprising the horseshoe,corner,and passage vortices are recognized and the impact on heat or mass transfer is investigated.The complicated behavior of turbine passage secondary flow generation and establishment are impacted by the perspective of boundary layer attributes and inflow turbulence.The passage vortex concerning the latest big leading-edge vane is generated by the enlargement of the circulation developed at the first instance adjacent to the pressure side becomes powerful and mixes with other vortex systems during its migration towards the suction side.The study conclusions reveal that substantial enhancements are attained on the endwall surface,for the entire spanwise blade extension on the pressure surface,and in the highly 3-D region close to the endwall on the suction surface.The forecasted suction surface thermal exchange depicts great conformity with the measurement values and precisely reproduces the enhanced thermal exchange owing to the development and lateral distribution of the secondary flows along the midspan of the blade passage downstream.The impacts of the different secondary flow structures on the endwall thermal exchange are described in depth.