WorldWideScience

Sample records for rigid blade-element rotor

  1. Active twist of model rotor blades with D-spar design

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Kovalovs

    2007-03-01

    Full Text Available The design methodology based on the planning of experiments and response surface technique has been developed for an optimum placement of Macro Fiber Composite (MFC actuators in the helicopter rotor blades. The baseline helicopter rotor blade consists of D-spar made of UD GFRP, skin made of +45o/–45o GFRP, foam core, MFC actuators placement on the skin and balance weight. 3D finite element model of the rotor blade has been built by ANSYS, where the rotor blade skin and spar “moustaches” are modeled by the linear layered structural shell elements SHELL99, and the spar and foam - by 3D 20-node structural solid elements SOLID186. The thermal analyses of 3D finite element model have been developed to investigate an active twist of the helicopter rotor blade. Strain analogy between piezoelectric strains and thermally induced strains is used to model piezoelectric effects. The optimisation results have been obtained for design solutions, connected with the application of active materials, and checked by the finite element calculations.

  2. Is blade element momentum theory (BEM) enough for smart rotor design

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Yu, W.; Simao Ferreira, C.J.; van Kuik, G.A.M.

    2014-01-01

    Smart rotor emerges as an innovation technique to reduce the impact of dynamic loading on wind turbines. Local movements of distributed aerodynamic devices will enhance the non-uniformity and dynamic effects of loading, which will challenge the applicability of the blade element momentum theory

  3. Refined Betz limit for rotors with a finite number of blades

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Okulov, Valery; Sørensen, Jens Nørkær

    2008-01-01

    The criterion of Betz for optimum rotors with a finite number of blades is revisited and used to determine the performance of wind turbines. The Betz criterion states that ideal efficiency is obtained when the distribution of circulation along the blade produces a rigidly helicoid wake that moves...... model is consistent with the general momentum theory and enables for the first time to determine the theoretical maximum efficiency of rotors with an arbitrary number of blades....

  4. Redesign of steam turbine rotor blades and rotor packages – Environmental analysis within systematic eco-design approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baran, Jolanta

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Systematic approach to eco-design of steam turbine rotor blades was applied. • Eco-innovative solutions are based on structural and technological change. • At the stage of detailed design the variants were analyzed using LCA. • Main achieved benefits: energy and material savings, lower environmental impact. • Benefits related to the possible scale of the solution practical application. - Abstract: Eco-design of steam turbine blades could be one of the possibilities of decreasing the environmental impact of energy systems based on turbines. The paper investigates the eco-design approach to elaboration of the rotor blades and packages. The purpose is to present the course of eco-design of the rotor blades and the rotor packages taking account of eco-design assumptions, solutions and the concept itself. The following eco-design variants of the rotor blades and the rotor packages are considered: elements of the rotor blades made separately (baseline variant of the rotor blades); elements of the rotor blades made of one piece of material; blades in packages made separately and welded (baseline variant of the rotor packages); packages milled as integral elements. At the stage of detailed design, the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is performed in relation to a functional unit – the rotor blades and packages ready for installation in a steam turbine, which is the stage of the turbine. The obtained results indicate that eco-innovative solutions for the turbine blades and packages could be achieved through structural and technological changes. Applying new solutions of the rotor blades may produce the following main benefits: 3.3% lower use of materials, 29.4% decrease in energy consumption at the manufacturing stage, 7.7% decrease in the environmental impact in the life cycle. In relation to the rotor packages, the following main benefits may be achieved: 20.5% lower use of materials, 25.0% decrease in energy consumption at the production stage, 16

  5. Aeroelastic response and stability of tiltrotors with elastically-coupled composite rotor blades. Ph.D. Thesis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nixon, Mark W.

    1993-01-01

    There is a potential for improving the performance and aeroelastic stability of tiltrotors through the use of elastically-coupled composite rotor blades. To study the characteristics of tiltrotors with these types of rotor blades it is necessary to formulate a new analysis which has the capabilities of modeling both a tiltrotor configuration and an anisotropic rotor blade. Background for these formulations is established in two preliminary investigations. In the first, the influence of several system design parameters on tiltrotor aeroelastic stability is examined for the high-speed axial flight mode using a newly-developed rigid-blade analysis with an elastic wing finite element model. The second preliminary investigation addresses the accuracy of using a one-dimensional beam analysis to predict frequencies of elastically-coupled highly-twisted rotor blades. Important aspects of the new aeroelastic formulations are the inclusion of a large steady pylon angle which controls tilt of the rotor system with respect to the airflow, the inclusion of elastic pitch-lag coupling terms related to rotor precone, the inclusion of hub-related degrees of freedom which enable modeling of a gimballed rotor system and engine drive-train dynamics, and additional elastic coupling terms which enable modeling of the anisotropic features for both the rotor blades and the tiltrotor wing. Accuracy of the new tiltrotor analysis is demonstrated by a comparison of the results produced for a baseline case with analytical and experimental results reported in the open literature. Two investigations of elastically tailored blades on a baseline tiltrotor are then conducted. One investigation shows that elastic bending-twist coupling of the rotor blade is a very effective means for increasing the flutter velocity of a tiltrotor, and the magnitude of coupling required does not have an adverse effect on performance or blade loads. The second investigation shows that passive blade twist control via

  6. Piezoelectric actuation of helicopter rotor blades

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lieven, Nicholas A. J.

    2001-07-01

    The work presented in this paper is concerned with the application of embedded piezo-electric actuators in model helicopter rotor blades. The paper outlines techniques to define the optimal location of actuators to excite particular modes of vibration whilst the blade is rotating. Using composite blades the distribution of strain energy is defined using a Finite Element model with imposed rotor-dynamic and aerodynamics loads. The loads are specified through strip theory to determine the position of maximum bending moment and thus the optimal location of the embedded actuators. The effectiveness of the technique is demonstrated on a 1/4 scale fixed cyclic pitch rotor head. Measurement of the blade displacement is achieved by using strain gauges. In addition a redundant piezo-electric actuator is used to measure the blades' response characteristics. The addition of piezo-electric devices in this application has been shown to exhibit adverse aeroelastic effects, such as counter mass balancing and increased drag. Methods to minimise these effects are suggested. The outcome of the paper is a method for defining the location and orientation of piezo-electric devices in rotor-dynamic applications.

  7. Flapping inertia for selected rotor blades

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berry, John D.; May, Matthew J.

    1991-01-01

    Aerodynamics of helicopter rotor systems cannot be investigated without consideration for the dynamics of the rotor. One of the principal properties of the rotor which affects the rotor dynamics is the inertia of the rotor blade about its root attachment. Previous aerodynamic investigation have been performed on rotor blades with a variety of planforms to determine the performance differences due to blade planform. The blades tested for this investigation have been tested on the U.S. Army 2 meter rotor test system (2MRTS) in the NASA Langley 14 by 22 foot subsonic tunnel for hover performance. This investigation was intended to provide fundamental information on the flapping inertia of five rotor blades with differing planforms. The inertia of the bare cuff and the cuff with a blade extension were also measured for comparison with the inertia of the blades. Inertia was determined using a swing testing technique, using the period of oscillation to determine the effective flapping inertia. The effect of damping in the swing test was measured and described. A comparison of the flapping inertials for rectangular and tapered planform blades of approximately the same mass showed the tapered blades to have a lower inertia, as expected.

  8. Demonstration of an elastically coupled twist control concept for tilt rotor blade application

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lake, R. C.; Nixon, M. W.; Wilbur, M. L.; Singleton, J. D.; Mirick, P. H.

    1994-01-01

    The purpose of this Note is to present results from an analytic/experimental study that investigated the potential for passively changing blade twist through the use of extension-twist coupling. A set of composite model rotor blades was manufactured from existing blade molds for a low-twist metal helicopter rotor blade, with a view toward establishing a preliminary proof concept for extension-twist-coupled rotor blades. Data were obtained in hover for both a ballasted and unballasted blade configuration in sea-level atmospheric conditions. Test data were compared with results obtained from a geometrically nonlinear analysis of a detailed finite element model of the rotor blade developed in MSC/NASTRAN.

  9. Design optimization for active twist rotor blades

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mok, Ji Won

    This dissertation introduces the process of optimizing active twist rotor blades in the presence of embedded anisotropic piezo-composite actuators. Optimum design of active twist blades is a complex task, since it involves a rich design space with tightly coupled design variables. The study presents the development of an optimization framework for active helicopter rotor blade cross-sectional design. This optimization framework allows for exploring a rich and highly nonlinear design space in order to optimize the active twist rotor blades. Different analytical components are combined in the framework: cross-sectional analysis (UM/VABS), an automated mesh generator, a beam solver (DYMORE), a three-dimensional local strain recovery module, and a gradient based optimizer within MATLAB. Through the mathematical optimization problem, the static twist actuation performance of a blade is maximized while satisfying a series of blade constraints. These constraints are associated with locations of the center of gravity and elastic axis, blade mass per unit span, fundamental rotating blade frequencies, and the blade strength based on local three-dimensional strain fields under worst loading conditions. Through pre-processing, limitations of the proposed process have been studied. When limitations were detected, resolution strategies were proposed. These include mesh overlapping, element distortion, trailing edge tab modeling, electrode modeling and foam implementation of the mesh generator, and the initial point sensibility of the current optimization scheme. Examples demonstrate the effectiveness of this process. Optimization studies were performed on the NASA/Army/MIT ATR blade case. Even though that design was built and shown significant impact in vibration reduction, the proposed optimization process showed that the design could be improved significantly. The second example, based on a model scale of the AH-64D Apache blade, emphasized the capability of this framework to

  10. Utilization of fiber reinforced plastics in rotor blades of wind turbines. WF Information

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1980-01-01

    In order to produce wind power plants of the future with high power (1-5 MW), the wind turbines are constructed with large rotor diameters (up to 145 m). The rotor blade has to be designed for a service life of at least 25 years. The fiber bonded or hybrid structure (metal + fiber composite material) is certainly attractive, especially in corrosive environment, compared to conventional metal constructions (steel or aluminum in welded, riveted, or bolted form). Light, rigid, and dynamically high-strength rotor blades can be built with fiber reinforced plastics. The present report gives a survey of the material problems arising in such plants.

  11. Application of a system modification technique to dynamic tuning of a spinning rotor blade

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spain, C. V.

    1987-01-01

    An important consideration in the development of modern helicopters is the vibratory response of the main rotor blade. One way to minimize vibration levels is to ensure that natural frequencies of the spinning main rotor blade are well removed from integer multiples of the rotor speed. A technique for dynamically tuning a finite-element model of a rotor blade to accomplish that end is demonstrated. A brief overview is given of the general purpose finite element system known as Engineering Analysis Language (EAL) which was used in this work. A description of the EAL System Modification (SM) processor is then given along with an explanation of special algorithms developed to be used in conjunction with SM. Finally, this technique is demonstrated by dynamically tuning a model of an advanced composite rotor blade.

  12. A bistable mechanism for chord extension morphing rotors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Terrence; Frecker, Mary; Gandhi, Farhan

    2009-03-01

    Research efforts have shown that helicopter rotor blade morphing is an effective means to improve flight performance. Previous example of rotor blade morphing include using smart-materials for trailing deflection and rotor blade twist and tip twist, the development of a comfortable airfoil using compliant mechanisms, the use of a Gurney flap for air-flow deflection and centrifugal force actuated device to increase the span of the blade. In this paper we explore the use of a bistable mechanism for rotor morphing, specifically, blade chord extension using a bistable arc. Increasing the chord of the rotor blade is expected to generate more lift-load and improve helicopter performance. Bistable or "snap through" mechanisms have multiple stable equilibrium states and are a novel way to achieve large actuation output stroke. Bistable mechanisms do not require energy input to maintain a stable equilibrium state as both states do not require locking. In this work, we introduce a methodology for the design of bistable arcs for chord morphing using the finite element analysis and pseudo-rigid body model, to study the effect of different arc types, applied loads and rigidity on arc performance.

  13. Modeling and Design of a Full-Scale Rotor Blade with Embedded Piezocomposite Actuators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kovalovs, A.; Barkanov, E.; Ruchevskis, S.; Wesolowski, M.

    2017-05-01

    An optimization methodology for the design of a full-scale rotor blade with an active twist in order to enhance its ability to reduce vibrations and noise is presented. It is based on a 3D finite-element model, the planning of experiments, and the response surface technique to obtain high piezoelectric actuation forces and displacements with a minimum actuator weight and energy applied. To investigate an active twist of the helicopter rotor blade, a structural static analysis using a 3D finite-element model was carried out. Optimum results were obtained at two possible applications of macrofiber composite actuators. The torsion angle found from the finite-element simulation of helicopter rotor blades was successfully validated by its experimental values, which confirmed the modeling accuracy.

  14. Reference Model 2: "Rev 0" Rotor Design

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Barone, Matthew F. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Berg, Jonathan Charles [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Griffith, Daniel [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

    2011-12-01

    The preliminary design for a three-bladed cross-flow rotor for a reference marine hydrokinetic turbine is presented. A rotor performance design code is described, along with modifications to the code to allow prediction of blade support strut drag as well as interference between two counter-rotating rotors. The rotor is designed to operate in a reference site corresponding to a riverine environment. Basic rotor performance and rigid-body loads calculations are performed to size the rotor elements and select the operating speed range. The preliminary design is verified with a simple finite element model that provides estimates of bending stresses during operation. A concept for joining the blades and support struts is developed and analyzed with a separate finite element analysis. Rotor mass, production costs, and annual energy capture are estimated in order to allow calculations of system cost-of-energy. Evaluation Only. Created with Aspose.Pdf.Kit. Copyright 2002-2011 Aspose Pty Ltd Evaluation Only. Created with Aspose.Pdf.Kit. Copyright 2002-2011 Aspose Pty Ltd

  15. Comparison of composite rotor blade models: A coupled-beam analysis and an MSC/NASTRAN finite-element model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hodges, Robert V.; Nixon, Mark W.; Rehfield, Lawrence W.

    1987-01-01

    A methodology was developed for the structural analysis of composite rotor blades. This coupled-beam analysis is relatively simple to use compared with alternative analysis techniques. The beam analysis was developed for thin-wall single-cell rotor structures and includes the effects of elastic coupling. This paper demonstrates the effectiveness of the new composite-beam analysis method through comparison of its results with those of an established baseline analysis technique. The baseline analysis is an MSC/NASTRAN finite-element model built up from anisotropic shell elements. Deformations are compared for three linear static load cases of centrifugal force at design rotor speed, applied torque, and lift for an ideal rotor in hover. A D-spar designed to twist under axial loading is the subject of the analysis. Results indicate the coupled-beam analysis is well within engineering accuracy.

  16. Dynamic response characteristics of dual flow-path integrally bladed rotors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beck, Joseph A.; Brown, Jeffrey M.; Scott-Emuakpor, Onome E.; Cross, Charles J.; Slater, Joseph C.

    2015-02-01

    New turbine engine designs requiring secondary flow compression often look to dual flow-path integrally bladed rotors (DFIBRs) since these stages have the ability to perform work on the secondary, or bypassed, flow-field. While analogous to traditional integrally bladed rotor stages, DFIBR designs have many differences that result in unique dynamic response characteristics that must be understood to avoid fatigue. This work investigates these characteristics using reduced-order models (ROMs) that incorporate mistuning through perturbations to blade frequencies. This work provides an alternative to computationally intensive geometric-mistuning approaches for DFIBRs by utilizing tuned blade mode reductions and substructure coupling in cyclic coordinates. Free and forced response results are compared to full finite element model (FEM) solutions to determine if any errors are related to the reduced-order model formulation reduction methods. It is shown that DFIBRs have many more frequency veering regions than their single flow-path integrally blade rotor (IBR) counterparts. Modal families are shown to transition between system, inner-blade, and outer-blade motion. Furthermore, findings illustrate that while mode localization of traditional IBRs is limited to a single or small subset of blades, DFIBRs can have modal energy localized to either an inner- or outer-blade set resulting in many blades responding above tuned levels. Lastly, ROM forced response predictions compare well to full FEM predictions for the two test cases shown.

  17. Mach number scaling of helicopter rotor blade/vortex interaction noise

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leighton, Kenneth P.; Harris, Wesley L.

    1985-01-01

    A parametric study of model helicopter rotor blade slap due to blade vortex interaction (BVI) was conducted in a 5 by 7.5-foot anechoic wind tunnel using model helicopter rotors with two, three, and four blades. The results were compared with a previously developed Mach number scaling theory. Three- and four-bladed rotor configurations were found to show very good agreement with the Mach number to the sixth power law for all conditions tested. A reduction of conditions for which BVI blade slap is detected was observed for three-bladed rotors when compared to the two-bladed baseline. The advance ratio boundaries of the four-bladed rotor exhibited an angular dependence not present for the two-bladed configuration. The upper limits for the advance ratio boundaries of the four-bladed rotors increased with increasing rotational speed.

  18. Aeroelastic modeling of composite rotor blades with straight and swept tips

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yuan, Kuo-An; Friedmann, Peretz P.; Venkatesan, Comandur

    1992-01-01

    This paper presents an analytical study of the aeroelastic behavior of composite rotor blades with straight and swept tips. The blade is modeled by beam type finite elements. A single finite element is used to model the swept tip. The nonlinear equations of motion for the FEM are derived using Hamilton's principle and based on a moderate deflection theory and accounts for: arbitrary cross-sectional shape, pretwist, generally anisotropic material behavior, transverse shears and out-of-plane warping. Numerical results illustrating the effects of tip sweep, anhedral and composite ply orientation on blade aeroelastic behavior are presented. It is shown that composite ply orientation has a substantial effect on blade stability. At low thrust conditions, certain ply orientations can cause instability in the lag mode. The flap-torsion coupling associated with tip sweep can also induce aeroelastic instability in the blade. This instability can be removed by appropriate ply orientation in the composite construction. These results illustrate the inherent potential for aeroelastic tailoring present in composite rotor blades with swept tips, which still remains to be exploited in the design process.

  19. Genetic fuzzy system for online structural health monitoring of composite helicopter rotor blades

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pawar, Prashant M.; Ganguli, Ranjan

    2007-07-01

    A structural health monitoring (SHM) methodology is developed for composite rotor blades. An aeroelastic analysis of composite rotor blades based on the finite element method in space and time and with implanted matrix cracking and debonding/delamination damage is used to obtain measurable system parameters such as blade response, loads and strains. A rotor blade with a two-cell airfoil section and [0/±45/90]s family of laminates is used for numerical simulations. The model based measurements are contaminated with noise to simulate real data. Genetic fuzzy systems (GFS) are developed for global online damage detection using displacement and force-based measurement deviations between damaged and undamaged conditions and for local online damage detection using strains. It is observed that the success rate of the GFS depends on number of measurements, type of measurements and training and testing noise level. The GFS work quite well with noisy data and is recommended for online SHM of composite helicopter rotor blades.

  20. An Experimental Analysis of the Effect of Icing on Wind Turbine Rotor Blades

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Raja, Muhammad Imran; Hussain, Dil muhammed Akbar; Soltani, Mohsen

    2016-01-01

    Wind Turbine is highly nonlinear plant whose dynamics changes with change in aerodynamics of the rotor blade. Power extracted from the wind turbine is a function of coefficient of power (Cp). Wind turbine installed in the cold climate areas has an icing on its rotor blade which might change its...... aerodynamics. This paper is an experimental investigation of the aerodynamic changes occur due to effect of ice accumulated on the rotor blades of wind turbine. We have tested three small scale model of the NREL's 5MW rotor blade with same profile but simulated different icing effect on them. These models...... are printed with 3D printer and tested one by one in a Wind Tunnel. Lift, drag and moment coefficients are calculated from the measured experimental data and program WT-Perf based on blade-element momentum (BEM) theory is used to predict the performance of wind turbine. Cp curves generated from the test...

  1. Modeling the Elastic and Damping Properties of the Multilayered Torsion Bar-Blade Structure of Rotors of Light Helicopters of the New Generation 2. Finite-Element Approximation of Blades and a Model of Coupling of the Torsion Bar with the Blades

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paimushin, V. N.; Shishkin, V. M.

    2016-01-01

    A rod-shape finite element with twelve degrees of freedom is proposed for modeling the elastic and damping properties of rotor blades with regard to their geometric stiffness caused by rotation of the rotor. A model of coupling of the torsion bar with blades is developed based on the hypothesis of linear deplanation of the connecting section of the torsion bar and a special transition element to ensure the compatibility of displacements of the torsion bar and blades upon their vibrations in the flapping and rotation planes. Numerical experiments were carried out to test and assess the validity of the model developed. Suggestions are made for ensuring unconditional stability of the iteration method in a subspace in determining the specified number of modes and frequencies of free vibrations of the torsion bar-blade structure.

  2. Performance improvement of small-scale rotors by passive blade twist control

    OpenAIRE

    Lv, Peng; Prothin, Sebastien; Mohd Zawawi, Fazila; Bénard, Emmanuel; Morlier, Joseph; Moschetta, Jean-Marc

    2015-01-01

    A passive twist control is proposed as an adaptive way to maximize the overall efficiency of the small-scale rotor blade for multifunctional aircrafts. Incorporated into a database of airfoil characteristics, Blade Element Momentum Theory is implemented to obtain the blade optimum twist rates for hover and forward flight. In order to realize the required torsion of blade between hover and forward flight, glass/epoxy laminate blade is proposed based on Centrifugal Force Induced Twist concept. ...

  3. Composite hub/metal blade compressor rotor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yao, S.

    1978-01-01

    A low cost compressor rotor was designed and fabricated for a small jet engine. The rotor hub and blade keepers were compression molded with graphite epoxy. Each pair of metallic blades was held in the hub by a keeper. All keepers were locked in the hub with circumferential windings. Feasibility of fabrication was demonstrated in this program.

  4. Aeroelastic behavior of composite rotor blades with swept tips

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yuan, Kuo-An; Friedmann, Peretz P.; Venkatesan, Comandur

    1992-01-01

    This paper presents an analytical study of the aeroelastic behavior of composite rotor blades with straight and swept tips. The blade is modeled by beam type finite elements. A single finite element is used to model the swept tip. The nonlinear equations of motion for the finite element model are derived using Hamilton's principle and based on a moderate deflection theory and accounts for: arbitrary cross-sectional shape, pretwist, generally anisotropic material behavior, transverse shears and out-of-plane warping. Numerical results illustrating the effects of tip sweep, anhedral and composite ply orientation on blade aeroelastic behavior are presented. It is shown that composite ply orientation has a substantial effect on blade stability. At low thrust conditions, certain ply orientations can cause instability in the lag mode. The flap-torsion coupling associated with tip sweep can also induce aeroelastic instability in the blade. This instability can be removed by appropriate ply orientation in the composite construction.

  5. Wind turbine rotor blade with in-plane sweep and devices using the same, and methods for making the same

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wetzel, Kyle Kristopher

    2014-06-24

    A wind turbine includes a rotor having a hub and at least one blade having a torsionally rigid root, an inboard section, and an outboard section. The inboard section has a forward sweep relative to an elastic axis of the blade and the outboard section has an aft sweep.

  6. Helicopter Rotor Load Prediction Using a Geometrically Exact Beam with Multicomponent Model

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lee, Hyun-Ku; Viswamurthy, S.R.; Park, Sang Chul

    2010-01-01

    In this paper, an accurate structural dynamic analysis was developed for a helicopter rotor system including rotor control components, which was coupled to various aerodynamic and wake models in order to predict an aeroelastic response and the loads acting on the rotor. Its blade analysis was based...... rotor-blade/control-system model was loosely coupled with various inflow and wake models in order to simulate both hover and forward-flight conditions. The resulting rotor blade response and pitch link loads are in good agreement with those predicted byCAMRADII. The present analysis features both model...... on an intrinsic formulation of moving beams implemented in the time domain. The rotor control system was modeled as a combination of rigid and elastic components. A multicomponent analysis was then developed by coupling the beam finite element model with the rotor control system model to obtain a complete rotor-blade/control...

  7. Rotor blade boundary layer measurement hardware feasibility demonstration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clark, D. R.; Lawton, T. D.

    1972-01-01

    A traverse mechanism which allows the measurement of the three dimensional boundary layers on a helicopter rotor blade has been built and tested on a full scale rotor to full scale conditions producing centrifugal accelerations in excess of 400 g and Mach numbers of 0.6 and above. Boundary layer velocity profiles have been measured over a range of rotor speeds and blade collective pitch angles. A pressure scanning switch and transducer were also tested on the full scale rotor and found to be insensitive to centrifugal effects within the normal main rotor operating range. The demonstration of the capability to measure boundary layer behavior on helicopter rotor blades represents the first step toward obtaining, in the rotating system, data of a quality comparable to that already existing for flows in the fixed system.

  8. Rotor blade online monitoring and fault diagnosis technology research

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tesauro, Angelo; Pavese, Christian; Branner, Kim

    Rotor blade online monitoring and fault diagnosis technology is an important way to find blade failure mechanisms and thereby improve the blade design. Condition monitoring of rotor blades is necessary in order to ensure the safe operation of the wind turbine, make the maintenance more economical...... of the rotor, icing and lightning. Research is done throughout the world in order to develop and improve such measurement systems. Commercial hardware and software available for the described purpose is presented in the report....

  9. A preliminary investigation of finite-element modeling for composite rotor blades

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lake, Renee C.; Nixon, Mark W.

    1988-01-01

    The results from an initial phase of an in-house study aimed at improving the dynamic and aerodynamic characteristics of composite rotor blades through the use of elastic couplings are presented. Large degree of freedom shell finite element models of an extension twist coupled composite tube were developed and analyzed using MSC/NASTRAN. An analysis employing a simplified beam finite element representation of the specimen with the equivalent engineering stiffness was additionally performed. Results from the shell finite element normal modes and frequency analysis were compared to those obtained experimentally, showing an agreement within 13 percent. There was appreciable degradation in the frequency prediction for the torsional mode, which is elastically coupled. This was due to the absence of off-diagonal coupling terms in the formulation of the equivalent engineering stiffness. Parametric studies of frequency variation due to small changes in ply orientation angle and ply thickness were also performed. Results showed linear frequency variations less than 2 percent per 1 degree variation in the ply orientation angle, and 1 percent per 0.0001 inch variation in the ply thickness.

  10. On the performance analysis of Savonius rotor with twisted blades

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Saha, U.K.; Rajkumar, M. Jaya [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati-781 039 (India)

    2006-09-15

    The present investigation is aimed at exploring the feasibility of twisted bladed Savonius rotor for power generation. The twisted blade in a three-bladed rotor system has been tested in a low speed wind tunnel, and its performance has been compared with conventional semicircular blades (with twist angle of 0{sup o}). Performance analysis has been made on the basis of starting characteristics, static torque and rotational speed. Experimental evidence shows the potential of the twisted bladed rotor in terms of smooth running, higher efficiency and self-starting capability as compared to that of the conventional bladed rotor. Further experiments have been conducted in the same setup to optimize the twist angle. (author)

  11. Aeroelasticity and structural optimization of composite helicopter rotor blades with swept tips

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yuan, K. A.; Friedmann, P. P.

    1995-01-01

    This report describes the development of an aeroelastic analysis capability for composite helicopter rotor blades with straight and swept tips, and its application to the simulation of helicopter vibration reduction through structural optimization. A new aeroelastic model is developed in this study which is suitable for composite rotor blades with swept tips in hover and in forward flight. The hingeless blade is modeled by beam type finite elements. A single finite element is used to model the swept tip. Arbitrary cross-sectional shape, generally anisotropic material behavior, transverse shears and out-of-plane warping are included in the blade model. The nonlinear equations of motion, derived using Hamilton's principle, are based on a moderate deflection theory. Composite blade cross-sectbnal properties are calculated by a separate linear, two-dimensional cross section analysis. The aerodynamic loads are obtained from quasi-steady, incompressible aerodynamics, based on an implicit formulation. The trim and steady state blade aeroelastic response are solved in a fully coupled manner. In forward flight, where the blade equations of motion are periodic, the coupled trim-aeroelastic response solution is obtained from the harmonic balance method. Subsequently, the periodic system is linearized about the steady state response, and its stability is determined from Floquet theory.

  12. AERFORCE: Subroutine package for unsteady blade-element/momentum calculations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bjoerck, Anders

    2000-05-01

    A subroutine package, called AERFORCE, for the calculation of aerodynamic forces of wind turbine rotors has been written. The subroutines are written in FORTRAN. AERFORCE requires the input of airfoil aerodynamic data via tables as function of angle of attack, the turbine blade and rotor geometry and wind and blade velocities as input. The method is intended for use in an aeroelastic code. Wind and blade velocities are given at a sequence of time steps and blade forces are returned. The aerodynamic method is basically a Blade-Element/Momentum method. The method is fast and coded to be used in time simulations. In order to obtain a steady state solution a time simulation to steady state conditions has to be carried out. The BEM-method in AERFORCE includes extensions for: Dynamic inflow: Unsteady modeling of the inflow for cases with unsteady blade loading or unsteady wind. Extensions to BEM-theory for inclined flow to the rotor disc (yaw model). Unsteady blade aerodynamics: The inclusion of 2D attached flow unsteady aerodynamics and a semi-empirical model for 2D dynamic stall.

  13. Multidisciplinary Optimization of Tilt Rotor Blades Using Comprehensive Composite Modeling Technique

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chattopadhyay, Aditi; McCarthy, Thomas R.; Rajadas, John N.

    1997-01-01

    An optimization procedure is developed for addressing the design of composite tilt rotor blades. A comprehensive technique, based on a higher-order laminate theory, is developed for the analysis of the thick composite load-carrying sections, modeled as box beams, in the blade. The theory, which is based on a refined displacement field, is a three-dimensional model which approximates the elasticity solution so that the beam cross-sectional properties are not reduced to one-dimensional beam parameters. Both inplane and out-of-plane warping are included automatically in the formulation. The model can accurately capture the transverse shear stresses through the thickness of each wall while satisfying stress free boundary conditions on the inner and outer surfaces of the beam. The aerodynamic loads on the blade are calculated using the classical blade element momentum theory. Analytical expressions for the lift and drag are obtained based on the blade planform with corrections for the high lift capability of rotor blades. The aerodynamic analysis is coupled with the structural model to formulate the complete coupled equations of motion for aeroelastic analyses. Finally, a multidisciplinary optimization procedure is developed to improve the aerodynamic, structural and aeroelastic performance of the tilt rotor aircraft. The objective functions include the figure of merit in hover and the high speed cruise propulsive efficiency. Structural, aerodynamic and aeroelastic stability criteria are imposed as constraints on the problem. The Kreisselmeier-Steinhauser function is used to formulate the multiobjective function problem. The search direction is determined by the Broyden-Fletcher-Goldfarb-Shanno algorithm. The optimum results are compared with the baseline values and show significant improvements in the overall performance of the tilt rotor blade.

  14. Stiffness Characteristics of Composite Rotor Blades With Elastic Couplings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Piatak, David J.; Nixon, Mark W.; Kosmatka, John B.

    1997-01-01

    Recent studies on rotor aeroelastic response and stability have shown the beneficial effects of incorporating elastic couplings in composite rotor blades. However, none of these studies have clearly identified elastic coupling limits and the effects of elastic couplings on classical beam stiffnesses of representative rotor blades. Knowledge of these limits and effects would greatly enhance future aeroelastic studies involving composite rotor blades. The present study addresses these voids and provides a preliminary design database for investigators who may wish to study the effects of elastic couplings on representative blade designs. The results of the present study should provide a basis for estimating the potential benefits associated with incorporating elastic couplings without the need for first designing a blade cross section and then performing a cross-section analysis to obtain the required beam section properties as is customary in the usual one-dimensional beam-type approach.

  15. Aircraft rotor blade with passive tuned tab

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campbell, T. G. (Inventor)

    1985-01-01

    A structure for reducing vibratory airloading in a rotor blade with a leading edge and a trailing edge includes a cut out portion at the trailing edge. A substantially wedge shaped cross section, inertially deflectable tab, also with a leading edge and a trailing edge is pivotally mounted in the cut out portion. The trailing edge of the tab may move above and below the rotor blade. A torsion strap applies force against the tab when the trailing edge of the tab is above and below the rotor blade. A restraining member is slidably movable along the torsion strap to vary torsional biasing force supplied by the torsion bar to the tab. A plurality of movable weights positioned between plates vary a center of gravity of the tab. Skin of the tab is formed from unidirectional graphite and fiberglass layers. Sliders coupled with a pinned degree of freedom at rod eliminate bending of tab under edgewise blade deflection.

  16. In-plane inertial coupling in tuned and severely mistuned bladed disks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crawley, E. F.

    1982-01-01

    A model has been developed and verified for blade-disk-shaft coupling in rotors due to the in-plane rigid body modes of the disk. An analytic model has been developed which couples the in-plane rigid body modes of the disk on an elastic shaft with the blade bending modes. Bench resonance test were carried out on the M.I.T. Compressor Rotor, typical of research rotors with flexible blades and a thick rigid disk. When the rotor was carefully tuned, the structural coupling of the blades by the disks was confined to zero and one nodal diameter modes, whose modal frequencies were greater than the blade cantilever frequency. In the case of the tuned rotor, and in two cases where severe mistuning was intentionally introduced, agreement between the predicted and observed natural frequencies is excellent. The analytic model was then extended to include the effects of constant angular rotation of the disk.

  17. Adaptor assembly for coupling turbine blades to rotor disks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garcia-Crespo, Andres Jose; Delvaux, John McConnell

    2014-09-23

    An adaptor assembly for coupling a blade root of a turbine blade to a root slot of a rotor disk is described. The adaptor assembly includes a turbine blade having a blade root and an adaptor body having an adaptor root. The adaptor body defines a slot having an open end configured to receive the blade root of the turbine blade such that the adaptor root of the adaptor body and the blade root of the turbine blade are adjacent to one another when the blade root of the turbine blade is positioned within the slot. Both the adaptor root of the adaptor body and the blade root of the turbine blade are configured to be received within the root slot of the rotor disk.

  18. Aeroelastic response and blade loads of a composite rotor in forward flight

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Edward C.; Chopra, Inderjit

    1992-01-01

    The aeroelastic response, blade and hub loads, and shaft-fixed aeroelastic stability is investigated for a helicopter with elastically tailored composite rotor blades. A new finite element based structural analysis including nonclassical effects such as transverse shear, torsion related warping and inplane elasticity is integrated with the University of Maryland Advanced Rotorcraft Code. The structural dynamics analysis is correlated against both experimental data and detailed finite element results. Correlation of rotating natural frequencies of coupled composite box-beams is generally within 5-10 percent. The analysis is applied to a soft-inplane hingeless rotor helicopter in free flight propulsive trim. For example, lag mode damping can be increased 300 percent over a range of thrust conditions and forward speeds. The influence of unsteady aerodynamics on the blade response and vibratory hub loads is also investigated. The magnitude and phase of the flap response is substantially altered by the unsteady aerodynamic effects. Vibratory hub loads increase up to 30 percent due to unsteady aerodynamic effects.

  19. Composite rotor blades for large wind energy installations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kussmann, A.; Molly, J.; Muser, D.

    1980-01-01

    The design of large wind power systems in Germany is reviewed with attention given to elaboration of the total wind energy system, aerodynamic design of the rotor blade, and wind loading effects. Particular consideration is given to the development of composite glass fiber/plastic or carbon fiber/plastic rotor blades for such installations.

  20. Composite rotor blades for large wind energy installations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kussmann, A; Molly, J P; Muser, D

    1979-06-01

    The design of large wind power systems in Germany is reviewed with attention given to elaboration of the total wind energy system, aerodynamic design of the rotor blade, and wind loading effects. Particular consideration is given to the development of composite glass fiber/plastic or carbon fiber/plastic rotor blades for such installations.

  1. Preliminary Aerodynamic Investigation of Fan Rotor Blade Morphing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tweedt, Daniel L.

    2012-01-01

    Various new technologies currently under development may enable controlled blade shape variability, or so-called blade morphing, to be practically employed in aircraft engine fans and compressors in the foreseeable future. The current study is a relatively brief, preliminary computational fluid dynamics investigation aimed at partially demonstrating and quantifying the aerodynamic potential of fan rotor blade morphing. The investigation is intended to provide information useful for near-term planning, as well as aerodynamic solution data sets that can be subsequently analyzed using advanced acoustic diagnostic tools, for the purpose of making fan noise comparisons. Two existing fan system models serve as baselines for the investigation: the Advanced Ducted Propulsor fan with a design tip speed of 806 ft/sec and a pressure ratio of 1.294, and the Source Diagnostic Test fan with a design tip speed of 1215 ft/sec and a pressure ratio of 1.470. Both are 22-in. sub-scale, low-noise research fan/nacelle models that have undergone extensive experimental testing in the 9- by 15-foot Low Speed Wind Tunnel at the NASA Glenn Research Center. The study, restricted to fan rotor blade morphing only, involves a fairly simple blade morphing technique. Specifically, spanwise-linear variations in rotor blade-section setting angle are applied to alter the blade shape; that is, the blade is linearly retwisted from hub to tip. Aerodynamic performance comparisons are made between morphed-blade and corresponding baseline configurations on the basis of equal fan system thrust, where rotor rotational speed for the morphed-blade fan is varied to change the thrust level for that configuration. The results of the investigation confirm that rotor blade morphing could be a useful technology, with the potential to enable significant improvements in fan aerodynamic performance. Even though the study is very limited in scope and confined to simple geometric perturbations of two existing fan

  2. Resonant vibration control of three-bladed wind turbine rotors

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Krenk, Steen; Svendsen, Martin Nymann; Høgsberg, Jan Becker

    2012-01-01

    Rotors with blades, as in wind turbines, are prone to vibrations due to the flexibility of the blades and the support. In the present paper a theory is developed for active control of a combined set of vibration modes in three-bladed rotors. The control system consists of identical collocated...... to influence of other nonresonant modes. The efficiency of the method isdemonstrated byapplication to a rotor with 42 m blades, where the sensor/actuator system is implemented in the form of an axial extensible strut near the root of each blade. The load is provided by a simple but fully threedimensional...... correlated wind velocity field. It is shown by numerical simulations that the active damping system can provide a significant reduction in the response amplitude of the targeted modes, while applying control moments to the blades that are about 1 order of magnitude smaller than the moments from the external...

  3. Study of the capacitance technique for measuring high-temperature blade tip clearance on ceramic rotors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barranger, John P.

    1993-01-01

    Higher operating temperatures required for increased engine efficiency can be achieved by using ceramic materials for engine components. Ceramic turbine rotors are subject to the same limitations with regard to gas path efficiency as their superalloy predecessors. In this study, a modified frequency-modulation system is proposed for the measurement of blade tip clearance on ceramic rotors. It is expected to operate up to 1370 C (2500 F), the working temperature of present engines with ceramic turbine rotors. The design of the system addresses two special problems associated with nonmetallic blades: the capacitance is less than that of a metal blade and the effects of temperature may introduce uncertainty with regard to the blade tip material composition. To increase capacitance and stabilize the measurement, a small portion of the rotor is modified by the application of 5-micron-thick platinum films. The platinum surfaces on the probe electrodes and rotor that are exposed to the high-velocity gas stream are coated with an additional 10-micron-thick protective ceramic topcoat. A finite-element method is applied to calculate the capacitance as a function of clearance.

  4. Multidisciplinary Aerodynamic Design of a Rotor Blade for an Optimum Rotor Speed Helicopter

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiayi Xie

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The aerodynamic design of rotor blades is challenging, and is crucial for the development of helicopter technology. Previous aerodynamic optimizations that focused only on limited design points find it difficult to balance flight performance across the entire flight envelope. This study develops a global optimum envelope (GOE method for determining blade parameters—blade twist, taper ratio, tip sweep—for optimum rotor speed helicopters (ORS-helicopters, balancing performance improvements in hover and various freestream velocities. The GOE method implements aerodynamic blade design by a bi-level optimization, composed of a global optimization step and a secondary optimization step. Power loss as a measure of rotor performance is chosen as the objective function, referred to as direct power loss (DPL in this study. A rotorcraft comprehensive code for trim simulation with a prescribed wake method is developed. With the application of the GOE method, a DPL reduction of as high as 16.7% can be achieved in hover, and 24% at high freestream velocity.

  5. Sweep-twist adaptive rotor blade : final project report.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ashwill, Thomas D.

    2010-02-01

    Knight & Carver was contracted by Sandia National Laboratories to develop a Sweep Twist Adaptive Rotor (STAR) blade that reduced operating loads, thereby allowing a larger, more productive rotor. The blade design used outer blade sweep to create twist coupling without angled fiber. Knight & Carver successfully designed, fabricated, tested and evaluated STAR prototype blades. Through laboratory and field tests, Knight & Carver showed the STAR blade met the engineering design criteria and economic goals for the program. A STAR prototype was successfully tested in Tehachapi during 2008 and a large data set was collected to support engineering and commercial development of the technology. This report documents the methodology used to develop the STAR blade design and reviews the approach used for laboratory and field testing. The effort demonstrated that STAR technology can provide significantly greater energy capture without higher operating loads on the turbine.

  6. Design of a fibrous composite preform for wind turbine rotor blades

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Jens Zangenberg; Brøndsted, Povl; Kofoed, M.

    2014-01-01

    The present work addresses the different factors and challenges one must cope with in the design process of a composite preform used for the load-carrying main laminate of a wind turbine rotor blade. The design process is split up into different key elements, each of which are presented...... and discussed separately. The key elements are all interconnected, which complicate the design process and involves an iterative procedure. The aim is to provide an overview of the process that governs the design of composite preforms for wind turbine blades. The survey can be used as an information source...... on composite preform manufacturing. Basic knowledge on wind turbine blade technology and composites is assumed. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved....

  7. Optimal Design and Acoustic Assessment of Low-Vibration Rotor Blades

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. Bernardini

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available An optimal procedure for the design of rotor blade that generates low vibratory hub loads in nonaxial flow conditions is presented and applied to a helicopter rotor in forward flight, a condition where vibrations and noise become severe. Blade shape and structural properties are the design parameters to be identified within a binary genetic optimization algorithm under aeroelastic stability constraint. The process exploits an aeroelastic solver that is based on a nonlinear, beam-like model, suited for the analysis of arbitrary curved-elastic-axis blades, with the introduction of a surrogate wake inflow model for the analysis of sectional aerodynamic loads. Numerical results are presented to demonstrate the capability of the proposed approach to identify low vibratory hub loads rotor blades as well as to assess the robustness of solution at off-design operating conditions. Further, the aeroacoustic assessment of the rotor configurations determined is carried out in order to examine the impact of low-vibration blade design on the emitted noise field.

  8. Helicopter Rotor Blade Computation in Unsteady Flows Using Moving Overset Grids

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmad, Jasim; Duque, Earl P. N.

    1996-01-01

    An overset grid thin-layer Navier-Stokes code has been extended to include dynamic motion of helicopter rotor blades through relative grid motion. The unsteady flowfield and airloads on an AH-IG rotor in forward flight were computed to verify the methodology and to demonstrate the method's potential usefulness towards comprehensive helicopter codes. In addition, the method uses the blade's first harmonics measured in the flight test to prescribe the blade motion. The solution was impulsively started and became periodic in less than three rotor revolutions. Detailed unsteady numerical flow visualization techniques were applied to the entire unsteady data set of five rotor revolutions and exhibited flowfield features such as blade vortex interaction and wake roll-up. The unsteady blade loads and surface pressures compare well against those from flight measurements. Details of the method, a discussion of the resulting predicted flowfield, and requirements for future work are presented. Overall, given the proper blade dynamics, this method can compute the unsteady flowfield of a general helicopter rotor in forward flight.

  9. Inspection of helicopter rotor blades with the help of guided waves and "turning modes": Experimental and finite element analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barnard, Daniel; Chakrapani, Sunil Kishore; Dayal, Vinay

    2013-01-01

    Modern helicopter rotor blades constructed of composite materials offer significant inspection challenges, particularly at inner structures, where geometry and differing material properties and anisotropy make placement of the probing energy difficult. This paper presents an application of Lamb waves to these structures, where mode conversion occurs at internal geometric discontinuities. These additional modes were found to successfully propagate to the targeted regions inside the rotor and back out, allowing evaluation of the structure. A finite element model was developed to simulate wave propagation and mode conversion in the structure and aid in identifying the signals received in the laboratory experiment. A good correlation between numerical and experimental results was observed.

  10. A new aeroelastic model for composite rotor blades with straight and swept tips

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yuan, Kuo-An; Friedmann, Peretz P.; Venkatesan, Comandur

    1992-01-01

    An analytical model for predicting the aeroelastic behavior of composite rotor blades with straight and swept tips is presented. The blade is modeled by beam type finite elements along the elastic axis. A single finite element is used to model the swept tip. The nonlinear equations of motion for the finite element model are derived using Hamilton's principle and based on a moderate deflection theory and accounts for: arbitrary cross-sectional shape, pretwist, generally anisotropic material behavior, transverse shears and out-of-plane warping. Numerical results illustrating the effects of tip sweep, anhedral and composite ply orientation on blade aeroelastic behavior are presented. Tip sweep can induce aeroelastic instability by flap-twist coupling. Tip anhedral causes lag-torsion and flap-axial couplings, however, its effects on blade stability is less pronounced than the effect due to sweep. Composite ply orientation has a substantial effect on blade stability.

  11. Measurements of blade aerodynamics on a rotor in the field

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Graham, J.M.R. [Imperical College, Dept. of Aeronautics, London (United Kingdom)

    1997-12-31

    This contribution describes the field test measurements undertaken on an instrumented rotor at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Oxfordshire, UK, during the period 1994 - 97. The programme was directed at improving the prediction of the steady and unsteady rotor blade loading, particularly the loads arising from the stalling of the blade. The measured data consisted of blade surface pressure distributions sampled at 50Hz at 6 sections along the span of one blade of the 17m diameter, 3 bladed, fixed pitch, upwind H.A.W.T., together with measurements of the incident velocity. (au)

  12. Unified continuum damage model for matrix cracking in composite rotor blades

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pollayi, Hemaraju; Harursampath, Dineshkumar [Nonlinear Multifunctional Composites - Analysis and Design Lab (NMCAD Lab) Department of Aerospace Engineering Indian Institute of Science Bangalore - 560012, Karnataka (India)

    2015-03-10

    This paper deals with modeling of the first damage mode, matrix micro-cracking, in helicopter rotor/wind turbine blades and how this effects the overall cross-sectional stiffness. The helicopter/wind turbine rotor system operates in a highly dynamic and unsteady environment leading to severe vibratory loads present in the system. Repeated exposure to this loading condition can induce damage in the composite rotor blades. These rotor/turbine blades are generally made of fiber-reinforced laminated composites and exhibit various competing modes of damage such as matrix micro-cracking, delamination, and fiber breakage. There is a need to study the behavior of the composite rotor system under various key damage modes in composite materials for developing Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) system. Each blade is modeled as a beam based on geometrically non-linear 3-D elasticity theory. Each blade thus splits into 2-D analyzes of cross-sections and non-linear 1-D analyzes along the beam reference curves. Two different tools are used here for complete 3-D analysis: VABS for 2-D cross-sectional analysis and GEBT for 1-D beam analysis. The physically-based failure models for matrix in compression and tension loading are used in the present work. Matrix cracking is detected using two failure criterion: Matrix Failure in Compression and Matrix Failure in Tension which are based on the recovered field. A strain variable is set which drives the damage variable for matrix cracking and this damage variable is used to estimate the reduced cross-sectional stiffness. The matrix micro-cracking is performed in two different approaches: (i) Element-wise, and (ii) Node-wise. The procedure presented in this paper is implemented in VABS as matrix micro-cracking modeling module. Three examples are presented to investigate the matrix failure model which illustrate the effect of matrix cracking on cross-sectional stiffness by varying the applied cyclic load.

  13. Unified continuum damage model for matrix cracking in composite rotor blades

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pollayi, Hemaraju; Harursampath, Dineshkumar

    2015-01-01

    This paper deals with modeling of the first damage mode, matrix micro-cracking, in helicopter rotor/wind turbine blades and how this effects the overall cross-sectional stiffness. The helicopter/wind turbine rotor system operates in a highly dynamic and unsteady environment leading to severe vibratory loads present in the system. Repeated exposure to this loading condition can induce damage in the composite rotor blades. These rotor/turbine blades are generally made of fiber-reinforced laminated composites and exhibit various competing modes of damage such as matrix micro-cracking, delamination, and fiber breakage. There is a need to study the behavior of the composite rotor system under various key damage modes in composite materials for developing Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) system. Each blade is modeled as a beam based on geometrically non-linear 3-D elasticity theory. Each blade thus splits into 2-D analyzes of cross-sections and non-linear 1-D analyzes along the beam reference curves. Two different tools are used here for complete 3-D analysis: VABS for 2-D cross-sectional analysis and GEBT for 1-D beam analysis. The physically-based failure models for matrix in compression and tension loading are used in the present work. Matrix cracking is detected using two failure criterion: Matrix Failure in Compression and Matrix Failure in Tension which are based on the recovered field. A strain variable is set which drives the damage variable for matrix cracking and this damage variable is used to estimate the reduced cross-sectional stiffness. The matrix micro-cracking is performed in two different approaches: (i) Element-wise, and (ii) Node-wise. The procedure presented in this paper is implemented in VABS as matrix micro-cracking modeling module. Three examples are presented to investigate the matrix failure model which illustrate the effect of matrix cracking on cross-sectional stiffness by varying the applied cyclic load

  14. Boundary Layer Transition Detection on a Rotor Blade Using Rotating Mirror Thermography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heineck, James T.; Schuelein, Erich; Raffel, Markus

    2014-01-01

    Laminar-to-turbulent transition on a rotor blade in hover has been imaged using an area-scan infrared camera. A new method for tracking a blade using a rotating mirror was employed. The mirror axis of rotation roughly corresponded to the rotor axis of rotation and the mirror rotational frequency is 1/2 that of the rotor. This permitted the use of cameras whose integration time was too long to prevent image blur due to the motion of the blade. This article will show the use of this method for a rotor blade at different collective pitch angles.

  15. Investigation of Blade-row Flow Distributions in Axial-flow-compressor Stage Consisting of Guide Vanes and Rotor-blade Row

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahoney, John J; Dugan, Paul D; Budinger, Raymond E; Goelzer, H Fred

    1950-01-01

    A 30-inch tip-diameter axial-flow compressor stage was investigated with and without rotor to determine individual blade-row performance, interblade-row effects, and outer-wall boundary-layer conditions. Velocity gradients at guide-vane outlet without rotor approximated design assumptions, when the measured variation of leaving angle was considered. With rotor in operation, Mach number and rotor-blade effects changed flow distribution leaving guide vanes and invalidated design assumption of radial equilibrium. Rotor-blade performance correlated interpolated two-dimensional results within 2 degrees, although tip stall was indicated in experimental and not two-dimensional results. Boundary-displacement thickness was less than 1.0 and 1.5 percent of passage height after guide vanes and after rotor, respectively, but increased rapidly after rotor when tip stall occurred.

  16. A multi-frequency fatigue testing method for wind turbine rotor blades

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Eder, Martin Alexander; Belloni, Federico; Tesauro, Angelo

    2017-01-01

    Rotor blades are among the most delicate components of modern wind turbines. Reliability is a crucial aspect, since blades shall ideally remain free of failure under ultra-high cycle loading conditions throughout their designated lifetime of 20–25 years. Full-scale blade tests are the most accurate...... means to experimentally simulate damage evolution under operating conditions, and are therefore used to demonstrate that a blade type fulfils the reliability requirements to an acceptable degree of confidence. The state-of-the-art testing method for rotor blades in industry is based on resonance...... higher modes contribute more significantly due to their higher cycle count. A numerical feasibility study based on a publicly available large utility rotor blade is used to demonstrate the ability of the proposed approach to outperform the state-of-the-art testing method without compromising fatigue test...

  17. Helicopter Rotor Blade Monitoring using Autonomous Wireless Sensor Network

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sanchez Ramirez, Andrea; Loendersloot, Richard; Tinga, Tiedo; Basu, B.

    2013-01-01

    The advancement on Wireless Sensor Networks for vibration monitoring presents important possibilities for helicopter rotor health and usage monitoring. While main rotor blades account for the main source of lift for helicopters, rotor induced vibration establishes an important source for

  18. The effect of forward skewed rotor blades on aerodynamic and aeroacoustic performance of axial-flow fan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Jun; Zhong, Fangyuan

    Based on comparative experiment, this paper deals with using tangentially skewed rotor blades in axial-flow fan. It is seen from the comparison of the overall performance of the fan with skewed bladed rotor and radial bladed rotor that the skewed blades operate more efficiently than the radial blades, especially at low volume flows. Meanwhile, decrease in pressure rise and flow rate of axial-flow fan with skewed rotor blades is found. The rotor-stator interaction noise and broadband noise of axial-flow fan are reduced with skewed rotor blades. Forward skewed blades tend to reduce the accumulation of the blade boundary layer in the tip region resulting from the effect of centrifugal forces. The turning of streamlines from the outer radius region into inner radius region in blade passages due to the radial component of blade forces of skewed blades is the main reason for the decrease in pressure rise and flow rate.

  19. Equations of motion for a rotor blade, including gravity, pitch action and rotor speed variations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kallesøe, Bjarne Skovmose

    2007-01-01

    This paper extends Hodges-Dowell's partial differential equations of blade motion, by including the effects from gravity, pitch action and varying rotor speed. New equations describing the pitch action and rotor speeds are also derived. The physical interpretation of the individual terms...... in the equations is discussed. The partial differential equations of motion are approximated by ordinary differential equations of motion using an assumed mode method. The ordinary differential equations are used to simulate a sudden pitch change of a rotating blade. This work is a part of a project on pitch blade...

  20. Preliminary structural design of composite main rotor blades for minimum weight

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nixon, Mark W.

    1987-01-01

    A methodology is developed to perform minimum weight structural design for composite or metallic main rotor blades subject to aerodynamic performance, material strength, autorotation, and frequency constraints. The constraints and load cases are developed such that the final preliminary rotor design will satisfy U.S. Army military specifications, as well as take advantage of the versatility of composite materials. A minimum weight design is first developed subject to satisfying the aerodynamic performance, strength, and autorotation constraints for all static load cases. The minimum weight design is then dynamically tuned to avoid resonant frequencies occurring at the design rotor speed. With this methodology, three rotor blade designs were developed based on the geometry of the UH-60A Black Hawk titanium-spar rotor blade. The first design is of a single titanium-spar cross section, which is compared with the UH-60A Black Hawk rotor blade. The second and third designs use single and multiple graphite/epoxy-spar cross sections. These are compared with the titanium-spar design to demonstrate weight savings from use of this design methodology in conjunction with advanced composite materials.

  1. Geometrically exact nonlinear analysis of pre-twisted composite rotor blades

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Li'na SHANG

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Modeling of pre-twisted composite rotor blades is very complicated not only because of the geometric non-linearity, but also because of the cross-sectional warping and the transverse shear deformation caused by the anisotropic material properties. In this paper, the geometrically exact nonlinear modeling of a generalized Timoshenko beam with arbitrary cross-sectional shape, generally anisotropic material behavior and large deflections has been presented based on Hodges’ method. The concept of decomposition of rotation tensor was used to express the strain in the beam. The variational asymptotic method was used to determine the arbitrary warping of the beam cross section. The generalized Timoshenko strain energy was derived from the equilibrium equations and the second-order asymptotically correct strain energy. The geometrically exact nonlinear equations of motion were established by Hamilton’s principle. The established modeling was used for the static and dynamic analysis of pre-twisted composite rotor blades, and the analytical results were validated based on experimental data. The influences of the transverse shear deformation on the pre-twisted composite rotor blade were investigated. The results indicate that the influences of the transverse shear deformation on the static deformation and the natural frequencies of the pre-twisted composite rotor blade are related to the length to chord ratio of the blade. Keywords: Geometrically exact, Nonlinear, Pre-twisted composite blade, Transverse shear deformation, Variational asymptotic, Warping

  2. THE EFFECT OF DIFFERENT OPTIONS OF BLADES MAIN ROTOR ON THE X-SHAPED TAIL ROTOR OF THE MI-171 LL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Valery A. Ivchin

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper describes the effect of different rotor blades on the X-shaped tail rotor of the Mi-171 LL, observed conducting flight tests. The tests were carried out on the same helicopter in the similar atmospheric conditions.The objective of the tests was the comparison of flight performance of two sets of rotor blades of the helicopter Mi-171 LL. However, materials test revealed a difference in the angles of the tail rotor at different MRs with the same takeoff weight.The authors are grateful to I.G. Peskov, S.R. Zamula and A.I. Orlov for assistance in carrying out this work and the preparation of this article.Noted that the helicopter takeoff weight when hovering out of ground effect in ISA with blades from polymer composite materials (PCM exceeds the takeoff weight of the helicopter with the serial blades in the nominal mode of the engine operation at ~ 750kg, in the takeoff mode at ~ 700kg.Knowing the altitude and climatic characteristics of the engine, the obtained dependence allows to determine the balancing value of jрв on hovering at different combinations of pressure altitude and outside air temperature for a given speed of the main rotor (MR.It follows from the work that when the same value Nпр(95/nнвпр3 or Nfact the balancing values of jрв for the helicopter with the main rotor blades from the PCM is less than for the helicopters with serial blades by 0.5…0.9°. The difference in the angles of the tail rotor increases with growing of Nепр(95/nнвпр3 (Nfact. Perhaps this is caused by different induction effect of the main rotor on the tail rotor to the MR from PCM and the serial ones.As follows from the materials, the thrust of the main rotor with blades from PCM with the same engine power is more in comparison with the serial blades. Consequently inductive speeds of the main rotor are more and the angles of the tail rotor are less. It can be assumed that a large induced velocity of the main rotor increases the thrust

  3. Hover Testing of the NASA/Army/MIT Active Twist Rotor Prototype Blade

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilbur, Matthew L.; Yeager, William T., Jr.; Wilkie, W. Keats; Cesnik, Carlos E. S.; Shin, Sangloon

    2000-01-01

    Helicopter rotor individual blade control promises to provide a mechanism for increased rotor performance and reduced rotorcraft vibrations and noise. Active material methods, such as piezoelectrically actuated trailing-edge flaps and strain-induced rotor blade twisting, provide a means of accomplishing individual blade control without the need for hydraulic power in the rotating system. Recent studies have indicated that controlled strain induced blade twisting can be attained using piezoelectric active fiber composite technology. In order to validate these findings experimentally, a cooperative effort between NASA Langley Research Center, the Army Research Laboratory, and the MIT Active Materials and Structures Laboratory has been developed. As a result of this collaboration an aeroelastically-scaled active-twist model rotor blade has been designed and fabricated for testing in the heavy gas environment of the Langley Transonic Dynamics Tunnel (TDT). The results of hover tests of the active-twist prototype blade are presented in this paper. Comparisons with applicable analytical predictions of active-twist frequency response in hovering flight are also presented.

  4. Blade-Element/Momentum Technique for Rotors operating in Wind Tunnels

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Jens Nørkær; Sørensen, Dan Nørtoft

    2003-01-01

    small, since important properties of the blade boundary layer otherwise cannot be captured correctly. On the other hand, severe problems with wind tunnel blockage may be the result if the ratio between the areas of the rotor and the wind tunnel cross section is too big. In all cases, wind tunnel...... wallcorrections are needed in order that measured data corresponds to unconstrained flow conditions. The present work is based on a model for ducted axial fans by Sørensen and Sørensen [5], modified to account for free (unbounded) turbines [6]. Here, we extend the model to acount for wind turbines placed in wind...

  5. Simple theoretical models for composite rotor blades

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valisetty, R. R.; Rehfield, L. W.

    1984-01-01

    The development of theoretical rotor blade structural models for designs based upon composite construction is discussed. Care was exercised to include a member of nonclassical effects that previous experience indicated would be potentially important to account for. A model, representative of the size of a main rotor blade, is analyzed in order to assess the importance of various influences. The findings of this model study suggest that for the slenderness and closed cell construction considered, the refinements are of little importance and a classical type theory is adequate. The potential of elastic tailoring is dramatically demonstrated, so the generality of arbitrary ply layup in the cell wall is needed to exploit this opportunity.

  6. The prediction of rotor rotational noise using measured fluctuating blade loads

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hosier, R. N.; Pegg, R. J.; Ramakrishnan, R.

    1974-01-01

    In tests conducted at the NASA Langley Research Center Helicopter Rotor Test Facility, simultaneous measurements of the high-frequency fluctuating aerodynamic blade loads and far-field radiated noise were made on a full-scale, nontranslating rotor system. After their characteristics were determined, the measured blade loads were used in an existing theory to predict the far-field rotational noise. A comparison of the calculated and measured rotational noise is presented with specific attention given to the effect of blade loading coefficients, chordwise loading distributions, blade loading phases, and observer azimuthal position on the predictions.

  7. Assessment Report on Innovative Rotor Blades (MAREWINT WP1,D1.3)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    McGugan, Malcolm; Leble, Vladimir; Pereira, Gilmar Ferreira

    The offshore wind energy industry faces many challenges in the short to medium term if it is to meet the ambitions of the global community for sustainable energy supply in the future. Not least among these challenges is the issue of rotor blades. Innovative design for “smart” rotor blades...... the innovative concept development for wind turbine blades. This covers models and experiments with damage measurement systems embedded within the composite material/structure and numerical methods investigating the effects of leading and trailing edge flaps on modifying the aerodynamic loads on the operating...... rotor....

  8. Summary of Full-Scale Blade Displacement Measurements of the UH- 60A Airloads Rotor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abrego, Anita I.; Meyn, Larry; Burner, Alpheus W.; Barrows, Danny A.

    2016-01-01

    Blade displacement measurements using multi-camera photogrammetry techniques were acquired for a full-scale UH-60A rotor, tested in the National Full-Scale Aerodynamic Complex 40-Foot by 80-Foot Wind Tunnel. The measurements, acquired over the full rotor azimuth, encompass a range of test conditions that include advance ratios from 0.15 to 1.0, thrust coefficient to rotor solidity ratios from 0.01 to 0.13, and rotor shaft angles from -10.0 to 8.0 degrees. The objective was to measure the blade displacements and deformations of the four rotor blades and provide a benchmark blade displacement database to be utilized in the development and validation of rotorcraft prediction techniques. An overview of the blade displacement measurement methodology, system development, and data analysis techniques are presented. Sample results based on the final set of camera calibrations, data reduction procedures and estimated corrections that account for registration errors due to blade elasticity are shown. Differences in blade root pitch, flap and lag between the previously reported results and the current results are small. However, even small changes in estimated root flap and pitch can lead to significant differences in the blade elasticity values.

  9. Numerical simulation of turbulent flows past the RoBin helicopter with a four-bladed rotor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xu, H.; Mamou, M.; Khalid, M. [National Research Council, Inst. for Aerospace Research, Ottawa, Ontario (Canada)]. E-mail: Hongyi.Xu@nrc.ca

    2003-07-01

    The current paper presents a turbulent flow simulation study past a generic helicopter RoBin with a four-bladed rotor using the Chimera moving grid approach. The aerodynamic performance of the rotor blades and their interactions with the RoBin fuselage are investigated using the k - {omega} SST turbulence model contained in the WIND code. The rotor is configured as a Chimera moving grid in a quasisteady flow field. The rotor blades are rectangular, untapered, linearly twisted and are made from NACA 0012 airfoil profile. The blade motion (rotation and cyclic pitching) schedule is specified in the NASA wind tunnel testing of a generic helicopter RoBin. The aerodynamic radial load distributions in the rotor plane are generated by integrating the pressure on each blade surfaces along the blade chordwise direction. The rotor flow interacts strongly with the flow coming off from the fuselage and thus has a significant impact on helicopter aerodynamic performance. (author)

  10. An innovative medium speed wind turbine rotor blade design for low wind regime (electrical power generation)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abas Abd Wahab; Chong Wen Tong

    2001-01-01

    This paper describes the preliminary study of a small-scale wind turbine rotor blade (a low wind speed region turbine). A new wind turbine rotor blade (AE2 blade) for stand alone system has been conceptualized, designed, constructed and tested. The system is a reduced size prototype (half-scaled) to develop an efficient (adapted to Malaysian wind conditions)and cost effective wind energy conversion system (WECS) with local design and production technique. The blades were constructed from aluminium sheet with metal blending technique. The layout and design of rotor blade, its innovative features and test results are presented. Results from indoor test showed that the advantages of AE2 blade in low speed, with the potential of further improvements. The best rotor efficiency, C P attained with simple AE2 blades rotor (number of blade = 3) was 37.3% (Betz efficiency = 63%) at tip speed ratio (TSR) = 3.6. From the fabrication works and indoor testing, the AE2 blade rotor has demonstrated its structural integrity (ease of assembly and transportation), simplicity, acceptable performance and low noise level. (Author)

  11. Design of an Advanced Wood Composite Rotor and Development of Wood Composite Blade Technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stroebel, Thomas; Dechow, Curtis; Zuteck, Michael

    1984-01-01

    In support of a program to advance wood composite wind turbine blade technology, a design was completed for a prototype, 90-foot diameter, two-bladed, one-piece rotor, with all wood/epoxy composite structure. The rotor was sized for compatibility with a generator having a maximum power rating of 4000 kilowatts. Innovative features of the rotor include: a teetering hub to minimize the effects of gust loads, untwisted blades to promote rotor power control through stall, joining of blades to the hub structure via an adhesive bonded structural joint, and a blade structural design which was simplified relative to earlier efforts. The prototype rotor was designed to allow flexibility for configuring the rotor upwind or downwind of the tower, for evaluating various types of teeter dampers and/or elastomeric stops, and with variable delta-three angle settings of the teeter shaft axis. The prototype rotor was also designed with provisions for installing pressure tap and angle of attack instrumentation in one blade. A production version rotor cost analysis was conducted. Included in the program were efforts directed at developing advanced load take-off stud designs for subsequent evaluation testing by NASA, development of aerodynamic tip brake concepts, exploratory testing of a wood/epoxy/graphite concept, and compression testing of wood/epoxy laminate, with scarf-jointed plies.

  12. Parametric Blade Study Test Report Rotor Configuration. Number 4

    Science.gov (United States)

    1988-11-01

    Figure 2. The rotor shaft is mounted on an oil-damped roller bearing at the forward location and a ball bearing at the aft location; radial runout does...thermodynamic properties. 22 d. Corrections were made to measured compressor temperatures and pressures, facility flowrate, and rotor wheel speed to...1152 .Z660 .1024 STRM- BLADE BLADE WHEEL LINE SECT. LEAN SPEED NUMBER ANGLE ANGLE 1 -55.15 7.32 1497.9 2 -53.85 8.09 1434.7 3 -52.96 7.11 1372.1 4

  13. Anisotropic piezoelectric twist actuation of helicopter rotor blades: Aeroelastic analysis and design optimization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilkie, William Keats

    1997-12-01

    An aeroelastic model suitable for control law and preliminary structural design of composite helicopter rotor blades incorporating embedded anisotropic piezoelectric actuator laminae is developed. The aeroelasticity model consists of a linear, nonuniform beam representation of the blade structure, including linear piezoelectric actuation terms, coupled with a nonlinear, finite-state unsteady aerodynamics model. A Galerkin procedure and numerical integration in the time domain are used to obtain a soluti An aeroelastic model suitable for control law and preliminary structural design of composite helicopter rotor blades incorporating embedded anisotropic piezoelectric actuator laminae is developed. The aeroelasticity model consists of a linear, nonuniform beam representation of the blade structure, including linear piezoelectric actuation terms, coupled with a nonlinear, finite-state unsteady aerodynamics model. A Galerkin procedure and numerical integration in the time domain are used to obtain amited additional piezoelectric material mass, it is shown that blade twist actuation approaches which exploit in-plane piezoelectric free-stain anisotropies are capable of producing amplitudes of oscillatory blade twisting sufficient for rotor vibration reduction applications. The second study examines the effectiveness of using embedded piezoelectric actuator laminae to alleviate vibratory loads due to retreating blade stall. A 10 to 15 percent improvement in dynamic stall limited forward flight speed, and a 5 percent improvement in stall limited rotor thrust were numerically demonstrated for the active twist rotor blade relative to a conventional blade design. The active twist blades are also demonstrated to be more susceptible than the conventional blades to dynamic stall induced vibratory loads when not operating with twist actuation. This is the result of designing the active twist blades with low torsional stiffness in order to maximize piezoelectric twist authority

  14. Design Of Rotor Blade For Vertical Axis Wind Turbine Using Double Aerofoil

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chougule, Prasad; Ratkovich, Nicolas Rios; Kirkegaard, Poul Henning

    Nowadays, small vertical axis wind turbines are receiving more attention compared to horizontal wind turbines due to their suitability in urban use because they generate less noise, have bird free turbines and lower cost. There is few vertical axis wind turbines design with good power curve....... However, the efficiency of power extraction has not been improved. Therefore, an attempt has been made to utilize high lift technology in practice for vertical axis wind turbines in order to improve power efficiency. High lift is obtained by double aerofoil elements mainly used in aeroplane wing design....... In this current work two aerofoils are used to design a rotor blade for a vertical axis wind turbine to improve the power efficiency on the rotor. Double aerofoil blade design consists of a main aerofoil and a slat aerofoil. The parameters related to position and orientation of the slat aerofoil with respect...

  15. Design, fabrication, and test of a composite material wind turbine rotor blade

    Science.gov (United States)

    Griffee, D. G., Jr.; Gustafson, R. E.; More, E. R.

    1977-01-01

    The aerodynamic design, structural design, fabrication, and structural testing is described for a 60 foot long filament wound, fiberglass/epoxy resin matrix wind turbine rotor blade for a 125 foot diameter, 100 kW wind energy conversion system. One blade was fabricated which met all aerodynamic shape requirements and was structurally capable of operating under all specified design conditions. The feasibility of filament winding large rotor blades was demonstrated.

  16. Aeromechanical stability of helicopters with composite rotor blades in forward flight

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Edward C.; Chopra, Inderjit

    1992-01-01

    The aeromechanical stability, including air resonance in hover, air resonance in forward flight, and ground resonance, of a helicopter with elastically tailored composite rotor blades is investigated. Five soft-inplane hingeless rotor configurations, featuring elastic pitch-lag, pitch-flap and extension-torsion couplings, are analyzed. Elastic couplings introduced through tailored composite blade spars can have a powerful effect on both air and ground resonance behavior. Elastic pitch-flap couplings (positive and negative) strongly affect body, rotor and dynamic inflow modes. Air resonance stability is diminished by elastic pitch-flap couplings in hover and forward flight. Negative pitch-lag elastic coupling has a stabilizing effect on the regressive lag mode in hover and forward flight. The negative pitch-lag coupling has a detrimental effect on ground resonance stability. Extension-torsion elastic coupling (blade pitch decreases due to tension) decreases regressive lag mode stability in both airborne and ground contact conditions. Increasing thrust levels has a beneficial influence on ground resonance stability for rotors with pitch-flap and extension-torsion coupling and is only marginally effective in improving stability of rotors with pitch-lag coupling.

  17. Crack modeling of rotating blades with cracked hexahedral finite element method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Chao; Jiang, Dongxiang

    2014-06-01

    Dynamic analysis is the basis in investigating vibration features of cracked blades, where the features can be applied to monitor health state of blades, detect cracks in an early stage and prevent failures. This work presents a cracked hexahedral finite element method for dynamic analysis of cracked blades, with the purpose of addressing the contradiction between accuracy and efficiency in crack modeling of blades in rotor system. The cracked hexahedral element is first derived with strain energy release rate method, where correction of stress intensity factors of crack front and formulation of load distribution of crack surface are carried out to improve the modeling accuracy. To consider nonlinear characteristics of time-varying opening and closure effects caused by alternating loads, breathing function is proposed for the cracked hexahedral element. Second, finite element method with contact element is analyzed and used for comparison. Finally, validation of the cracked hexahedral element is carried out in terms of breathing effects of cracked blades and natural frequency in different crack depths. Good consistency is acquired between the results with developed cracked hexahedral element and contact element, while the computation time is significantly reduced in the previous one. Therefore, the developed cracked hexahedral element achieves good accuracy and high efficiency in crack modeling of rotating blades.

  18. Design of helicopter rotor blades with actuators made of a piezomacrofiber composite

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glukhikh, S.; Barkanov, E.; Kovalev, A.; Masarati, P.; Morandini, M.; Riemenschneider, J.; Wierach, P.

    2008-01-01

    For reducing the vibration and noise of helicopter rotor blades, the method of their controlled twisting by using built-in deformation actuators is employed. In this paper, the influence of various design parameters of the blades, including the location of actuators made of a piezomacrofiber material, on the twist angle is evaluated. The results of a parametric analysis performed allowed us to refine the statement of an optimization problem for the rotor blades.

  19. Efficient Beam-Type Structural Modeling of Rotor Blades

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Couturier, Philippe; Krenk, Steen

    2015-01-01

    The present paper presents two recently developed numerical formulations which enable accurate representation of the static and dynamic behaviour of wind turbine rotor blades using little modeling and computational effort. The first development consists of an intuitive method to extract fully...... by application to a composite section with bend-twist coupling and a real wind turbine blade....

  20. Structural modelling of composite beams with application to wind turbine rotor blades

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Couturier, Philippe

    The ever changing structure and growing size of wind turbine blades put focus on the accuracy and flexibility of design tools. The present thesis is organized in four parts - all concerning the development of efficient computational methods for the structural modelling of composite beams which...... will support future growth in the rotor size.The first part presents a two-node beam element formulation, based on complementary elastic energy, valid for fully coupled beams with variable cross-section properties.The element stiffness matrix is derived by use of the six equilibrium states of the element...

  1. Numerical investigation of turbulent flow past a four-bladed helicopter rotor using k - ω SST model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xu, H.; Khalid, M.

    2002-01-01

    In a previous study of the laminar flow over a four-bladed helicopter rotor, abnormal Cp distributions were observed on the upper surfaces of the blades. To address this problem, the aerodynamic performance of the same rotor is investigated using the k - ω SST turbulence model, as contained in the WIND code. The rotor is configured as a Chimera moving grid in a quasi-steady flow field. The rotor rotation schedule and the blade twisting are implemented as specified in the wind tunnel testing of a RoBin generic helicopter. More realistic Cp distributions on the blade surfaces are thus obtained. The aerodynamic load distributions in the radial direction of the rotor plane are generated by integrating the pressure on each blade surfaces along the blade chordwise direction. The analyses of these load distributions in the azmuthal direction provide a critical insight into the rotor model, which is based on the actuator-disc assumption. Also, some preliminary results for the flow past a full helicopter configuration, including the rotor and the RoBin fuselage, are presented. The current paper demonstrates the Chimera grid topologies and the Chimera grid generation technique for both blade and fuselage configuration. This would provide a powerful tool to simulate flow past an entire helicopter and to study the rotor-fuselage flow interaction. (author)

  2. The effect of blade pitch in the rotor hydrodynamics of a cross-flow turbine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Somoano, Miguel; Huera-Huarte, Francisco

    2016-11-01

    In this work we will show how the hydrodynamics of the rotor of a straight-bladed Cross-Flow Turbine (CFT) are affected by the Tip Speed Ratio (TSR), and the blade pitch angle imposed to the rotor. The CFT model used in experiments consists of a three-bladed (NACA-0015) vertical axis turbine with a chord (c) to rotor diameter (D) ratio of 0.16. Planar Digital Particle Image Velocimetry (DPIV) was used, with the laser sheet aiming at the mid-span of the blades, illuminating the inner part of the rotor and the near wake of the turbine. Tests were made by forcing the rotation of the turbine with a DC motor, which provided precise control of the TSR, while being towed in a still-water tank at a constant Reynolds number of 61000. A range of TSRs from 0.7 to 2.3 were covered for different blade pitches, ranging from 8° toe-in to 16° toe-out. The interaction between the blades in the rotor will be discussed by examining dimensionless phase-averaged vorticity fields in the inner part of the rotor and mean velocity fields in the near wake of the turbine. Supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, Grant BES-2013-065366 and project DPI2015-71645-P.

  3. 100-kW hingeless metal wind turbine blade design, analysis and fabrication

    Science.gov (United States)

    Donham, R. E.; Schmidt, J.; Linscott, B. S.

    1975-01-01

    The design, fabrication and analysis of aluminum wind turbine rotor blades is discussed. The blades are designed to meet criteria established for a 100-kilowatt wind turbine generator operating between 8 and 60-mile-per-hour speeds at 40 revolutions per minute. The design wind speed is 18 miles per hour. Two rotor blades are used on a new facility which includes a hingeless hub and its shaft, gearbox, generator and tower. Experience shows that, for stopped rotors, safe wind speeds are strongly dependent on blade torsional and bending rigidities which the basic D spar structural blade design provides. The 0.25-inch-thick nose skin is brake/bump formed to provide the basic 'D' spar structure for the tapered, twisted blades. Adequate margins for flutter and divergence are predicted from the use of existing, correlated stopped rotor and helicopter rotor analysis programs.

  4. Flow performance of highly loaded axial fan with bowed rotor blades

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, L.; Liu, X. J.; Yang, A. L.; Dai, R.

    2013-12-01

    In this paper, a partial bowed rotor blade was proposed for a newly designed high loaded axial fan. The blade was positively bowed 30 degrees from hub to 30 percent spanwise position. Flows of radial blade and bowed blade fans were numerically compared for various operation conditions. Results show that the fan's performance is improved. At the designed condition with flow coefficient of 0.52, the efficiency of the bowed blade fan is increased 1.44% and the static pressure rise is increased 11%. Comparing the flow structures, it can be found that the separated flow in the bowed fan is reduced and confined within 20 percent span, which is less than the 35 percent in the radial fan. It means that the bowed blade generates negative blade force and counteracts partial centrifugal force. It is alleviates the radial movements of boundary layers in fan's hub region. Flow losses due to 3D mixing are reduced in the rotor. Inlet flow to downstream stator is also improved.

  5. Classification of defects in honeycomb composite structure of helicopter rotor blades

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Balasko, M.; Svab, E.; Molnar, Gy.; Veres, I.

    2005-01-01

    The use of non-destructive testing methods to qualify the state of rotor blades with respect to their expected flight hours, with the aim to extend their lifetime without any risk of breakdown, is an important financial demand. In order to detect the possible defects in the composite structure of Mi-8 and Mi-24 type helicopter rotor blades used by the Hungarian Army, we have performed combined neutron- and X-ray radiography measurements at the Budapest Research Reactor. Several types of defects were detected, analysed and typified. Among the most frequent and important defects observed were cavities, holes and or cracks in the sealing elements on the interface of the honeycomb structure and the section boarders. Inhomogeneities of the resin materials (resin-rich or starved areas) at the core-honeycomb surfaces proved to be an other important point. Defects were detected at the adhesive filling, and water percolation was visualized at the sealing interfaces of the honeycomb sections. Corrosion effects, and metal inclusions have also been detected

  6. Classification of defects in honeycomb composite structure of helicopter rotor blades

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balaskó, M.; Sváb, E.; Molnár, Gy.; Veres, I.

    2005-04-01

    The use of non-destructive testing methods to qualify the state of rotor blades with respect to their expected flight hours, with the aim to extend their lifetime without any risk of breakdown, is an important financial demand. In order to detect the possible defects in the composite structure of Mi-8 and Mi-24 type helicopter rotor blades used by the Hungarian Army, we have performed combined neutron- and X-ray radiography measurements at the Budapest Research Reactor. Several types of defects were detected, analysed and typified. Among the most frequent and important defects observed were cavities, holes and/or cracks in the sealing elements on the interface of the honeycomb structure and the section boarders. Inhomogeneities of the resin materials (resin-rich or starved areas) at the core-honeycomb surfaces proved to be an other important point. Defects were detected at the adhesive filling, and water percolation was visualized at the sealing interfaces of the honeycomb sections. Corrosion effects, and metal inclusions have also been detected.

  7. A numerical analysis of the British Experimental Rotor Program blade

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duque, Earl P. N.

    1989-01-01

    Two Computational Fluid Dynamic codes which solve the compressible full-potential and the Reynolds-Averaged Thin-Layer Navier-Stokes equations were used to analyze the nonrotating aerodynamic characteristics of the British Experimental Rotor Program (BERP) helicopter blade at three flow regimes: low angle of attack, high angle of attack and transonic. Excellent agreement was found between the numerical results and experiment. In the low angle of attack regime, the BERP had less induced drag than a comparable aspect ratio rectangular planform wing. At high angle of attack, the blade attained high-lift by maintaining attached flow at the outermost spanwise locations. In the transonic regime, the BERP design reduces the shock strength at the outer spanwise locations which affects wave drag and shock-induced separation. Overall, the BERP blade exhibited many favorable aerodynamic characteristics in comparison to conventional helicopter rotor blades.

  8. Process Modeling of Composite Materials for Wind-Turbine Rotor Blades: Experiments and Numerical Modeling

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Birgit Wieland

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available The production of rotor blades for wind turbines is still a predominantly manual process. Process simulation is an adequate way of improving blade quality without a significant increase in production costs. This paper introduces a module for tolerance simulation for rotor-blade production processes. The investigation focuses on the simulation of temperature distribution for one-sided, self-heated tooling and thick laminates. Experimental data from rotor-blade production and down-scaled laboratory tests are presented. Based on influencing factors that are identified, a physical model is created and implemented as a simulation. This provides an opportunity to simulate temperature and cure-degree distribution for two-dimensional cross sections. The aim of this simulation is to support production processes. Hence, it is modelled as an in situ simulation with direct input of temperature data and real-time capability. A monolithic part of the rotor blade, the main girder, is used as an example for presenting the results.

  9. Process Modeling of Composite Materials for Wind-Turbine Rotor Blades: Experiments and Numerical Modeling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wieland, Birgit; Ropte, Sven

    2017-10-05

    The production of rotor blades for wind turbines is still a predominantly manual process. Process simulation is an adequate way of improving blade quality without a significant increase in production costs. This paper introduces a module for tolerance simulation for rotor-blade production processes. The investigation focuses on the simulation of temperature distribution for one-sided, self-heated tooling and thick laminates. Experimental data from rotor-blade production and down-scaled laboratory tests are presented. Based on influencing factors that are identified, a physical model is created and implemented as a simulation. This provides an opportunity to simulate temperature and cure-degree distribution for two-dimensional cross sections. The aim of this simulation is to support production processes. Hence, it is modelled as an in situ simulation with direct input of temperature data and real-time capability. A monolithic part of the rotor blade, the main girder, is used as an example for presenting the results.

  10. Experimental and numerical study of the British Experimental Rotor Programme blade

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brocklehurst, Alan; Duque, Earl P. N.

    1990-01-01

    Wind-tunnel tests on the British Experimental Rotor Programme (BERP) tip are described, and the results are compared with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) results. The test model was molded using the Lynx-BERP blade tooling to provide a semispan, cantilever wing comprising the outboard 30 percent of the rotor blade. The tests included both surface-pressure measurements and flow visualization to obtain detailed information of the flow over the BERP tip for a range of angles of attack. It was observed that, outboard of the notch, favorable pressure gradients exist which ensure attached flow, and that the tip vortex also remains stable to large angles of attack. On the rotor, these features yield a very gradual break in control loads when the retreating-blade limit is eventually reached. Computational and experimental results were generally found to be in good agreement.

  11. Design and optimization for strength and integrity of tidal turbine rotor blades

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, Pengfei; Veitch, Brian

    2012-01-01

    Tidal turbine rotor blade fractures and failures have resulted in substantial damage and hence cost of repair and recovery. The present work presents a rotor blade design and optimization method to address the blade structural strength design problem. The generic procedure is applicable to both turbine rotors and propellers. The optimization method seeks an optimum blade thickness distribution across the span with a prescribed constant safety factor for all the blade sections. This optimization procedure serves two purposes: while maintaining the required structural strength and integrity for an ultimate inflow speed, it aims to reduce the material to a minimum and to maintain power generation efficiency or improve the hydrodynamic efficiency. The value of the chosen minimum safety factor depends on the actual working conditions of the turbine in which the sectional peak loading and frequency are used: the harsher the environment, the larger the required safety factor. An engineering software tool with both hydrodynamic and structural capabilities was required to predict the instantaneous loading acting on all the blade sections, as well as the strength of a local blade section with a given blade geometry and chosen material. A time-domain, 3D unsteady panel method was then implemented based on a marine propeller software tool and used to perform the optimization. A 3-blade 20-m tidal turbine that was prototyped in parallel with the current work for the Bay of Fundy was used as an example for optimization. The optimum thickness distribution for a required safety factor at the ultimate possible inflow speed resulted in 37.6% saving in blade material. The blade thickness and distribution as a function of a maximum inflow speed of 6 m/s is also presented. The blade material used in the example was taken as nickel–aluminium–bronze (NAB) but the procedure was developed to be applicable to propeller or turbine blades of basically any material. -- Highlights: ► A

  12. Structural analysis of wind turbine rotors for NSF-NASA Mod-0 wind power system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spera, D. A.

    1976-01-01

    Preliminary estimates are presented of vibratory loads and stresses in hingeless and teetering rotors for the proposed NSF-NASA Mod-0 wind power system. Preliminary blade design utilizes a tapered tubular aluminum spar which supports nonstructural aluminum ribs and skin and is joined to the rotor hub by a steel shank tube. Stresses in the shank of the blade are calculated for static, rated, and overload operating conditions. Blade vibrations were limited to the fundamental flapping modes, which were elastic cantilever bending for hingeless rotor blades and rigid-body rotation for teetering rotor blades. The MOSTAB-C computer code was used to calculate aerodynamic and mechanical loads. The teetering rotor has substantial advantages over the hingeless rotor with respect to shank stresses, fatigue life, and tower loading. The hingeless rotor analyzed does not appear to be structurally stable during overloads.

  13. Air and ground resonance of helicopters with elastically tailored composite rotor blades

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Edward C.; Chopra, Inderjit

    1993-01-01

    The aeromechanical stability, including air resonance in hover, air resonance in forward flight, and ground resonance, of a helicopter with elastically tailored composite rotor blades is investigated. Five soft-inplane hingeless rotor configurations, featuring elastic pitch-lag, pitch-flap and extension-torsion couplings, are analyzed. Elastic couplings introduced through tailored composite blade spars can have a powerful effect on both air and ground resonance behavior. Elastic pitch-flap couplings (positive and negative) strongly affect body, rotor and dynamic inflow modes. Air resonance stability is diminished by elastic pitch-flap couplings in hover and forwrad flight. Negative pitch-lag elastic coupling has a stabilizing effect on the regressive lag mode in hover and forward flight. The negative pitch-lag coupling has a detrimental effect on ground resonance stability. Extension-torsion elastic coupling (blade pitch decreases due to tension) decreases regressive lag mode stability in both airborne and ground contact conditions. Increasing thrust levels has a beneficial influence on ground resonance stability for rotors with pitch-flap and extension-torsion coupling and is only marginally effective in improving stability of rotors with pitch-lag coupling.

  14. A finite element-based algorithm for rubbing induced vibration prediction in rotors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Behzad, Mehdi; Alvandi, Mehdi; Mba, David; Jamali, Jalil

    2013-10-01

    In this paper, an algorithm is developed for more realistic investigation of rotor-to-stator rubbing vibration, based on finite element theory with unilateral contact and friction conditions. To model the rotor, cross sections are assumed to be radially rigid. A finite element discretization based on traditional beam theories which sufficiently accounts for axial and transversal flexibility of the rotor is used. A general finite element discretization model considering inertial and viscoelastic characteristics of the stator is used for modeling the stator. Therefore, for contact analysis, only the boundary of the stator is discretized. The contact problem is defined as the contact between the circular rigid cross section of the rotor and “nodes” of the stator only. Next, Gap function and contact conditions are described for the contact problem. Two finite element models of the rotor and the stator are coupled via the Lagrange multipliers method in order to obtain the constrained equation of motion. A case study of the partial rubbing is simulated using the algorithm. The synchronous and subsynchronous responses of the partial rubbing are obtained for different rotational speeds. In addition, a sensitivity analysis is carried out with respect to the initial clearance, the stator stiffness, the damping parameter, and the coefficient of friction. There is a good agreement between the result of this research and the experimental result in the literature.

  15. Aeroelastic Analysis of Helicopter Rotor Blades Incorporating Anisotropic Piezoelectric Twist Actuation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilkie, W. Keats; Belvin, W. Keith; Park, K. C.

    1996-01-01

    A simple aeroelastic analysis of a helicopter rotor blade incorporating embedded piezoelectric fiber composite, interdigitated electrode blade twist actuators is described. The analysis consists of a linear torsion and flapwise bending model coupled with a nonlinear ONERA based unsteady aerodynamics model. A modified Galerkin procedure is performed upon the rotor blade partial differential equations of motion to develop a system of ordinary differential equations suitable for dynamics simulation using numerical integration. The twist actuation responses for three conceptual fullscale blade designs with realistic constraints on blade mass are numerically evaluated using the analysis. Numerical results indicate that useful amplitudes of nonresonant elastic twist, on the order of one to two degrees, are achievable under one-g hovering flight conditions for interdigitated electrode poling configurations. Twist actuation for the interdigitated electrode blades is also compared with the twist actuation of a conventionally poled piezoelectric fiber composite blade. Elastic twist produced using the interdigitated electrode actuators was found to be four to five times larger than that obtained with the conventionally poled actuators.

  16. Flow performance of highly loaded axial fan with bowed rotor blades

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, L; Liu, X J; Yang, A L; Dai, R

    2013-01-01

    In this paper, a partial bowed rotor blade was proposed for a newly designed high loaded axial fan. The blade was positively bowed 30 degrees from hub to 30 percent spanwise position. Flows of radial blade and bowed blade fans were numerically compared for various operation conditions. Results show that the fan's performance is improved. At the designed condition with flow coefficient of 0.52, the efficiency of the bowed blade fan is increased 1.44% and the static pressure rise is increased 11%. Comparing the flow structures, it can be found that the separated flow in the bowed fan is reduced and confined within 20 percent span, which is less than the 35 percent in the radial fan. It means that the bowed blade generates negative blade force and counteracts partial centrifugal force. It is alleviates the radial movements of boundary layers in fan's hub region. Flow losses due to 3D mixing are reduced in the rotor. Inlet flow to downstream stator is also improved

  17. Numerical simulations of unsteady flows past two-bladed rotors in forward-flight conditions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xu, H.; Mamou, M.; Khalid, M. [National Research Council, Inst. for Aerospace Research, Ottawa, Ontario (Canada)]. E-mail: Hongyi.Xu@nrc.ca

    2004-07-01

    The current paper presents time-accurate numerical simulations of compressible flows past two-bladed rotor configurations using a Chimera moving grid approach. The simulations are performed for a variety of flow conditions and various blade aspect ratios. The rotor blades are rectangular, untapered and untwisted planforms. Their cross-sections are built using the NACA 0012 airfoil profile. The aerodynamic performance of the rotor is investigated using the Euler equations. The CFD-FASTRAN code was used for the computations. The pressure distributions are benchmarked against the experimental data from Caradonna and Tung and a number of previous Euler calculations by Agarwal and Deese and Chen et al. The comparisons indicate that the current simulations for the forward flight conditions can reproduce the pressure distributions on the blade surfaces and the prediction of shockwave locations with reasonably good accuracy. (author)

  18. Numerical simulations of unsteady flows past two-bladed rotors in forward-flight conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xu, H.; Mamou, M.; Khalid, M.

    2004-01-01

    The current paper presents time-accurate numerical simulations of compressible flows past two-bladed rotor configurations using a Chimera moving grid approach. The simulations are performed for a variety of flow conditions and various blade aspect ratios. The rotor blades are rectangular, untapered and untwisted planforms. Their cross-sections are built using the NACA 0012 airfoil profile. The aerodynamic performance of the rotor is investigated using the Euler equations. The CFD-FASTRAN code was used for the computations. The pressure distributions are benchmarked against the experimental data from Caradonna and Tung and a number of previous Euler calculations by Agarwal and Deese and Chen et al. The comparisons indicate that the current simulations for the forward flight conditions can reproduce the pressure distributions on the blade surfaces and the prediction of shockwave locations with reasonably good accuracy. (author)

  19. RESEARCH OF THE HIGH HARMONICS INDIVIDUAL BLADE CONTROL EFFECT ON VIBRATIONS CAUSED BY THE HELICOPTER MAIN ROTOR THRUST

    OpenAIRE

    2016-01-01

    The paper presents numerical results analysis of main rotor vibration due to helicopter main rotor thrust pulsation.The calculation method, the object of research and numerical research results with the aim to reduce the amplitude of the vibrations transmitted to the hub from the helicopters main rotor by the individual blade control in azimuth by the installation angle of blades cyclic changes are set out in the article. The individual blades control law for a five-blade main rotor based on ...

  20. Updated Assessment of an Open Rotor Airplane Using an Advanced Blade Design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hendricks, Eric S.; Berton, Jeffrey J.; Haller, William J.; Tong, Michael T.; Guynn, Mark D.

    2013-01-01

    Application of open rotor propulsion systems (historically referred to as "advanced turboprops" or "propfans") to subsonic transport aircraft received significant attention and research in the 1970s and 1980s when fuel efficiency was the driving focus of aeronautical research. Recent volatility in fuel prices and concern for aviation's environmental impact have renewed interest in open rotor propulsion, and revived research by NASA and a number of engine manufacturers. Over the last few years, NASA has revived and developed analysis capabilities to assess aircraft designs with open rotor propulsion systems. These efforts have been described in several previous papers along with initial results from applying these capabilities. The initial results indicated that open rotor engines have the potential to provide large reductions in fuel consumption and emissions. Initial noise analysis indicated that current noise regulations can be met with modern baseline blade designs. Improved blades incorporating low-noise features are expected to result in even lower noise levels. This paper describes improvements to the initial assessment, plus a follow-on study using a more advanced open rotor blade design to power the advanced singleaisle transport. The predicted performance and environmental results of these two advanced open rotor concepts are presented and compared.

  1. Simulation of unsteady flows through stator and rotor blades of a gas turbine using the Chimera method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakamura, S.; Scott, J. N.

    1993-01-01

    A two-dimensional model to solve compressible Navier-Stokes equations for the flow through stator and rotor blades of a turbine is developed. The flow domains for the stator and rotor blades are coupled by the Chimera method that makes grid generation easy and enhances accuracy because the area of the grid that have high turning of grid lines or high skewness can be eliminated from the computational domain after the grids are generated. The results of flow computations show various important features of unsteady flows including the acoustic waves interacting with boundary layers, Karman vortex shedding from the trailing edge of the stator blades, pulsating incoming flow to a rotor blade from passing stator blades, and flow separation from both suction and pressure sides of the rotor blades.

  2. On the impact of multi-axial stress states on trailing edge bondlines in wind turbine rotor blades

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noever Castelos, Pablo; Balzani, Claudio

    2016-09-01

    For a reliable design of wind turbine systems all of their components have to be designed to withstand the loads appearing in the turbine's lifetime. When performed in an integral manner this is called systems engineering, and is exceptionally important for components that have an impact on the entire wind turbine system, such as the rotor blade. Bondlines are crucial subcomponents of rotor blades, but they are not much recognized in the wind energy research community. However, a bondline failure can lead to the loss of a rotor blade, and potentially of the entire turbine, and is extraordinarily relevant to be treated with strong emphasis when designing a wind turbine. Modern wind turbine rotor blades with lengths of 80 m and more offer a degree of flexibility that has never been seen in wind energy technology before. Large deflections result in high strains in the adhesive connections, especially at the trailing edge. The latest edition of the DNV GL guideline from end of 2015 demands a three-dimensional stress analysis of bondlines, whereas before an isolated shear stress proof was sufficient. In order to quantify the lack of safety from older certification guidelines this paper studies the influence of multi-axial stress states on the ultimate and fatigue load resistance of trailing edge adhesive bonds. For this purpose, detailed finite element simulations of the IWES IWT-7.5-164 reference wind turbine blades are performed. Different yield criteria are evaluated for the prediction of failure and lifetime. The results show that the multi-axial stress state is governed by span-wise normal stresses. Those are evidently not captured in isolated shear stress proofs, yielding non-conservative estimates of lifetime and ultimate load resistance. This finding highlights the importance to include a three-dimensional stress state in the failure analysis of adhesive bonds in modern wind turbine rotor blades, and the necessity to perform a three-dimensional characterization

  3. Improved blade element momentum theory for wind turbine aerodynamic computations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sun, Zhenye; Chen, Jin; Shen, Wen Zhong

    2016-01-01

    Blade element momentum (BEM) theory is widely used in aerodynamic performance predictions and design applications for wind turbines. However, the classic BEM method is not quite accurate which often tends to under-predict the aerodynamic forces near root and over-predict its performance near tip....... for the MEXICO rotor. Results show that the improved BEM theory gives a better prediction than the classic BEM method, especially in the blade tip region, when comparing to the MEXICO measurements. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved....

  4. Comparison of classical methods for blade design and the influence of tip correction on rotor performance

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Jens Nørkær; Okulov, Valery; Mikkelsen, Robert Flemming

    2016-01-01

    The classical blade-element/momentum (BE/M) method, which is used together with different types of corrections (e.g. the Prandtl or Glauert tip correction), is today the most basic tool in the design of wind turbine rotors. However, there are other classical techniques based on a combination...

  5. RESEARCH OF THE HIGH HARMONICS INDIVIDUAL BLADE CONTROL EFFECT ON VIBRATIONS CAUSED BY THE HELICOPTER MAIN ROTOR THRUST

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper presents numerical results analysis of main rotor vibration due to helicopter main rotor thrust pulsation.The calculation method, the object of research and numerical research results with the aim to reduce the amplitude of the vibrations transmitted to the hub from the helicopters main rotor by the individual blade control in azimuth by the installation angle of blades cyclic changes are set out in the article. The individual blades control law for a five-blade main rotor based on the blade frequencies is made. It allows reducing the vibration from thrust. Research takes into account the main rotor including and excluding the blade flapping motion. The minimal vibrations regime is identified.Numerical study of variable loads caused by unsteady flow around the main rotor blades at high relative speeds of flight, which transmitted to the rotor hub, is made. The scheme of a thin lifting surface and the rotor vortex theory are used for simulation of the aerodynamic loads on blades. Non - uniform loads caused by the thrust, decomposed on the blade harmonic and its overtones. The largest values of deviation from the mean amplitude thrust are received. The analysis of variable loads with a traditional control system is made. Algorithms of higher harmonics individual blade control capable of reducing the thrust pulsation under the average value of thrust are developed.Numerical research shows that individual blade control of high harmonics reduces variable loads. The necessary change in the blade installation is about ± 0,2 degree that corresponds to the maximum displacement of the additional con- trol stick is about 1 mm.To receive the overall picture is necessary to consider all six components of forces and moments. Control law with own constants will obtained for each of them. It is supposed, that each of six individual blade control laws have an impact on other components. Thus, the problem reduces to the optimization issue. The

  6. The Evolution of Rotor and Blade Design

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tangler, J.

    2000-08-01

    The objective of this paper is to provide a historical perspective of the evolution of rotor and blade design during the last 20 years. This evolution is a balanced integration of economic, aerodynamic, structural dynamic, noise, and aesthetic considerations, which are known to be machine type and size dependent.

  7. A Study of Active Rotor-Blade Vibration Control using Electro-Magnetic Actuation - Part II: Experiment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christensen, Rene Hardam; Santos, Ilmar

    2004-01-01

    . The remaining two sets of actuators are applied to act directly onto the hub, working as an active radial bearing controlling the rotor lateral movement. The rig is equipped with sensors measuring blade and rotor vibrations. Actuators and sensors are connected to a digital signal processor running the control......This is the second paper in a two-part study on active rotor-blade vibration control. This part presents an experimental contribution into the work of active controller design for rotor-blade systems. The primary aim is to give an experimental validation and show the applicability...... algorithm. Measurement signals and actuator control signals from the sensors and actuators fixed in the rotating disc are transmitted to the control unit through a slip-ring device. Various measured responses of both the controlled and the non-controlled system with identical blades and with deliberately...

  8. Truncated exponential-rigid-rotor model for strong electron and ion rings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Larrabee, D.A.; Lovelace, R.V.; Fleischmann, H.H.

    1979-01-01

    A comprehensive study of exponential-rigid-rotor equilibria for strong electron and ion rings indicates the presence of a sizeable percentage of untrapped particles in all equilibria with aspect-ratios R/a approximately <4. Such aspect-ratios are required in fusion-relevant rings. Significant changes in the equilibria are observed when untrapped particles are excluded by the use of a truncated exponential-rigid-rotor distribution function. (author)

  9. Radial Flow Effects On A Retreating Rotor Blade

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-05-01

    birds , marine life and even insect wings. In some cases such as helicopters, wind turbines and compres- sors, dynamic stall becomes the primary...on dynamic stall and reverse flow as applied to a helicopter rotor in forward flight and a wind turbine operating at a yaw angle. While great...occurring on a retreating blade with a focus on dynamic stall and reverse flow as applied to a helicopter rotor in forward flight and a wind turbine

  10. Stress analysis of advanced attack helicopter composite main rotor blade root end lug

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baker, D. J.

    1982-01-01

    Stress analysis of the Advanced Attack Helicopter (AAH) composite main rotor blade root end lug is described. The stress concentration factor determined from a finite element analysis is compared to an empirical value used in the lug design. The analysis and test data indicate that the stress concentration is primarily a function of configuration and independent of the range of material properties typical of Kevlar-49/epoxy and glass epoxy.

  11. Design, Test, and Evaluation of a Transonic Axial Compressor Rotor with Splitter Blades

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-09-01

    INTRODUCTION A. MOTIVATION Over the course of turbomachinery history splitter vanes have been used extensively in centrifugal compressors . Axial...TEST, AND EVALUATION OF A TRANSONIC AXIAL COMPRESSOR ROTOR WITH SPLITTER BLADES by Scott Drayton September 2013 Dissertation Co...AXIAL COMPRESSOR ROTOR WITH SPLITTER BLADES 5. FUNDING NUMBERS 6. AUTHOR(S) Scott Drayton 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES

  12. On Rotor-Blade Deterioration and Pressure Losses in a Gas-Turbine ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    blade deterioration and pressure losses in a gas-turbine plant. This was achieved ... Rotor-blade deterioration result in 1.2 percent drop in pressure ratio across the compressor, with a corresponding drop in isentropic efficiency from 0.83 to 0.72.

  13. Active Control of Parametric Vibrations in Coupled Rotor-Blade Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christensen, Rene Hardam; Santos, Ilmar

    2003-01-01

    of modes. The designed control scheme is applied to a coupled rotor-blade system and dynamic responses are numerically evaluated. Such responses show that the vibrations are efficiently reduced. Frequency response diagrams demonstrate that both basis and parametric vibration modes are significantly...... the model becomes periodic-variant. In order to reduce basis as well as parametric vibrations by means of active control in such systems a time-variant control strategy has to be adopted. This paper presents a methodology for designing an active controller to reduce vibrations in a coupled rotor......-blade system. The main aim is to control blade as well as hub vibrations in such a system by means of active control with focus on reducing the parametric vibration. A periodic state feedback controller is designed by transforming the system into a linear time-invariant form. Using this a controller...

  14. Development of a Highly Stressed Bladed Rotor Made of a CFRP Using the Tailored Fiber Placement Technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uhlig, K.; Spickenheuer, A.; Bittrich, L.; Heinrich, G.

    2013-05-01

    Increasing the rotational frequency of bladed rotors used in turbomachinery leads to their increased efficiency and performance. Especially for turbomolecular pumps, this would allow either higher compression rates or smaller pump dimensions. The maximal rotational frequency is focused on the structural strength of the construction and the material used. Due to their high density, specific strength, and stiffness in the fiber direction, carbon-fiberreinforced plastics (CFRPs) seem to be ideal for such an application. The highly orthotropic material behavior of CFRPs demands new approaches in terms of their manufacturing and dimensioning. As a new approach, a rotor with 17 blades in a blade-integrated disk construction (BLISK) made of a CFRP, allowing a 35% higher burst speed than a bladed rotor made of a high-strength aluminum alloy, was developed. An appropriate fiber layout has to reflect the rotational symmetry, which demands either a radial or tangential fiber orientation. Therefore, the Tailored Fiber Placement (TFP) technology was used, which allows a high flexibility for the fiber layout. For consolidation, resin infiltration was performed using a modified vacuum-assisted process, and the final geometry was generated employing a milling machine. A radius-dependent layer setup of tangential and radial fibers was chosen to maximize the burst speed by using an adapted finite-element analysis. Additionally, a numerical modal analysis and a numerical failure analysis were performed. Finally, the theoretical results were verified on manufactured rotors by an experimental modal analysis and burst tests, where experimental data showed a good coincidence with numerical results.

  15. Advanced grid-stiffened composite shells for applications in heavy-lift helicopter rotor blade spars

    Science.gov (United States)

    Narayanan Nampy, Sreenivas

    existing state-of-the-art and newly developed model to predict the torsion, bending, and axial stiffness of grid and grid-stiffened structures with various stiffening configurations. These predictions were compared to results generated using finite element analysis (FEA) to observe excellent correlation (within 6%) for a range of parameters for grid and grid-stiffened structures such as grid density, stiffener angle, and aspect ratio of the stiffener cross-section. Experimental results from cylindrical grid specimen testing were compared with analytical prediction using the new analysis. The new analysis predicted stiffness coefficients with nearly 7% error compared to FEA results. From the parametric studies conducted, it was observed that the previous state-of-the-art analysis on the other hand exhibited errors of the order of 39% for certain designs. Stability evaluations were also conducted by integrating the new analysis with established stability formulations. A design study was conducted to evaluate the potential weight savings of a simple grid-stiffened rotor blade spar structure compared to a baseline monocoque design. Various design constraints such as stiffness, strength, and stability were imposed. A manual search was conducted for design parameters such as stiffener density, stiffener angle, shell laminate, and stiffener aspect ratio that provide lightweight grid-stiffened designs compared to the baseline. It was found that a weight saving of 9.1% compared to the baseline is possible without violating any of the design constraints.

  16. Turbine engine rotor blade fault diagnostics through casing pressure and vibration sensors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cox, J; Anusonti-Inthra, P

    2014-01-01

    In this study, an exact solution is provided for a previously indeterminate equation used for rotor blade fault diagnostics. The method estimates rotor blade natural frequency through turbine engine casing pressure and vibration sensors. The equation requires accurate measurements of low-amplitude sideband signals in the frequency domain. With this in mind, statistical evaluation was also completed with the goal of determining the effect of sampling time and frequency on sideband resolution in the frequency domain

  17. Design and initial testing of a one-bladed 30-meter-diameter rotor on the NASA/DOE mod-O wind turbine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corrigan, R. D.; Ensworth, C. B. F.

    1986-01-01

    The concept of a one-bladed horizontal-axis wind turbine has been of interest to wind turbine designers for many years. Many designs and economic analyses of one-bladed wind turbines have been undertaken by both United States and European wind energy groups. The analyses indicate significant economic advantages but at the same time, significant dynamic response concerns. In an effort to develop a broad data base on wind turbine design and operations, the NASA Wind Energy Project Office has tested a one-bladed rotor at the NASA/DOE Mod-O Wind Turbine Facility. This is the only known test on an intermediate-sized one-bladed rotor in the United States. The 15.2-meter-radius rotor consists of a tip-controlled blade and a counterweight assembly. A rigorous test series was conducted in the Fall of 1985 to collect data on rotor performance, drive train/generator dynamics, structural dynamics, and structural loads. This report includes background information on one-bladed rotor concepts, and Mod-O one-bladed rotor test configuration, supporting design analysis, the Mod-O one-blade rotor test plan, and preliminary test results.

  18. Re-analysis of exponential rigid-rotor astron equilibria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lovelace, R.V.; Larrabee, D.A.; Fleischmann, H.H.

    1978-01-01

    Previous studies of exponential rigid-rotor astron equilibria include particles which are not trapped in the self-field of the configuration. The modification of these studies required to exclude untrapped particles is derived

  19. Multiple piece turbine rotor blade

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Russell B; Fedock, John A

    2013-05-21

    A multiple piece turbine rotor blade with a shell having an airfoil shape and secured between a spar and a platform with the spar including a tip end piece. a snap ring fits around the spar and abuts against the spar tip end piece on a top side and abuts against a shell on the bottom side so that the centrifugal loads from the shell is passed through the snap ring and into the spar and not through a tip cap dovetail slot and projection structure.

  20. Blade tip, finite aspect ratio, and dynamic stall effects on the Darrieus rotor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paraschivoiu, I.; Desy, P.; Masson, C.

    1988-02-01

    The objective of the work described in this paper was to apply the Boeing-Vertol dynamic stall model in an asymmetric manner to account for the asymmetry of the flow between the left and right sides of the rotor. This phenomenon has been observed by the flow visualization of a two-straight-bladed Darrieus rotor in the IMST water tunnel. Also introduced into the aerodynamic model are the effects of the blade tip and finite aspect ratio on the aerodynamic performance of the Darrieus wind turbine. These improvements are compatible with the double-multiple-streamtube model and have been included in the CARDAAV computer code for predicting the aerodynamic performance. Very good agreement has been observed between the test data (Sandia 17 m) and theoretical predictions; a significant improvement over the previous dynamic stall model was obtained for the rotor power at low tip speed ratios, while the inclusion of the finite aspect ratio effects enhances the prediction of the rotor power for high tip speed ratios. The tip losses and finite aspect ratio effects were also calculated for a small-scale vertical-axis wind turbine, with a two-straight-bladed (NACA 0015) rotor.

  1. A multi-frequency fatigue testing method for wind turbine rotor blades

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eder, M. A.; Belloni, F.; Tesauro, A.; Hanis, T.

    2017-02-01

    Rotor blades are among the most delicate components of modern wind turbines. Reliability is a crucial aspect, since blades shall ideally remain free of failure under ultra-high cycle loading conditions throughout their designated lifetime of 20-25 years. Full-scale blade tests are the most accurate means to experimentally simulate damage evolution under operating conditions, and are therefore used to demonstrate that a blade type fulfils the reliability requirements to an acceptable degree of confidence. The state-of-the-art testing method for rotor blades in industry is based on resonance excitation where typically a rotating mass excites the blade close to its first natural frequency. During operation the blade response due to external forcing is governed by a weighted combination of its eigenmodes. Current test methodologies which only utilise the lowest eigenfrequency induce a fictitious damage where additional tuning masses are required to recover the desired damage distribution. Even with the commonly adopted amplitude upscaling technique fatigue tests remain a time-consuming and costly endeavour. The application of tuning masses increases the complexity of the problem by lowering the natural frequency of the blade and therefore increasing the testing time. The novel method presented in this paper aims at shortening the duration of the state-of-the-art fatigue testing method by simultaneously exciting the blade with a combination of two or more eigenfrequencies. Taking advantage of the different shapes of the excited eigenmodes, the actual spatial damage distribution can be more realistically simulated in the tests by tuning the excitation force amplitudes rather than adding tuning masses. This implies that in portions of the blade the lowest mode is governing the damage whereas in others higher modes contribute more significantly due to their higher cycle count. A numerical feasibility study based on a publicly available large utility rotor blade is used to

  2. A new sensitivity analysis for structural optimization of composite rotor blades

    Science.gov (United States)

    Venkatesan, C.; Friedmann, P. P.; Yuan, Kuo-An

    1993-01-01

    This paper presents a detailed mathematical derivation of the sensitivity derivatives for the structural dynamic, aeroelastic stability and response characteristics of a rotor blade in hover and forward flight. The formulation is denoted by the term semianalytical approach, because certain derivatives have to be evaluated by a finite difference scheme. Using the present formulation, sensitivity derivatives for the structural dynamic and aeroelastic stability characteristics, were evaluated for both isotropic and composite rotor blades. Based on the results, useful conclusions are obtained regarding the relative merits of the semi-analytical approach, for calculating sensitivity derivatives, when compared to a pure finite difference approach.

  3. Fault diagnosis of a Wind Turbine Rotor using a Multi-blade Coordinate Framework

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Henriksen, Lars Christian; Niemann, Hans Henrik; Poulsen, Niels Kjølstad

    2012-01-01

    Fault diagnosis of a wind turbine rotor is considered. The faults considered are sensor faults and blades mounted with a pitch offset. A fault at a single blade will result in asymmetries in the rotor, which can be applied for fault diagnosis. The diagnosis is derived by using the multiblade...... coordinate (MBC) transformation also known as the Coleman transformation together with active fault diagnosis (AFD). This transforms the setup from rotating to fixed frame coordinates. The rotor speed acts as the auxiliary input for the active diagnosis. The applied method take the varying rotor speed...... into account. Operation at different mean wind speeds is examined and it is discussed how to exploit the findings acquired by the investigation of the various faults....

  4. The Influence of Shaft’s Bending on the Coupling Vibration of a Flexible Blade-Rotor System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chao-feng Li

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The influence of shaft bending on the coupling vibration of rotor-blades system is nonignorable. Therefore, this paper analyzed the influence of shaft bending on the coupling vibration of rotor-blades system. The vibration mode function of shaft under elastic supporting condition was also derived to ensure accuracy of the model as well. The influence of the number of blades, the position of disk, and the support stiffness of shaft on critical speed of system was analyzed. The numerical results show that there were two categories of coupling mode shapes which belong to a set where the blade’s first two modes predominate in the system: shaft-blade (SB mode and interblade (BB mode due to the coupling between blade and shaft. The BB mode was of repeated frequencies of (Nb-2 multiplicity for number blades, and the SB mode was of repeated frequencies of (2 multiplicity for number blades. What is more, with the increase of the number of blades, natural frequency of rotor was decreasing linearly, that of BB mode was constant, and that of SB mode was increasing linearly. Natural frequency of BB mode was not affected while that of rotor and SB mode was affected (changed symmetrically with the center of shaft by the position of disk. In the end, vibration characteristics of coupling mode shapes were analyzed.

  5. A smart segmented blade system for reducing weight of the wind turbine rotor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lu, Hongya; Zeng, Pan; Lei, Liping; Yang, Yabin; Xu, Yuejie; Qian, Lingyun

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • A segmented blade system to light the wind turbine rotor is proposed. • The experiments in the wind tunnel and the numerical calculation are combined to validate the effectiveness of the design. • The moment of the blade below the hinged location are alleviated. • The mounting locations of the hinged rods significantly affect the moment distribution on the blade. • The gross weight of the blade can be reduced by 35.4%. - Abstract: The paper proposes a novel design concept for the wind turbine rotors. The design is composed of the segmented blades and a hinged-rods support structure (SBHR) as a means of reducing weight through alleviating the moment on the blade. A prototype of the design is manufactured. Focusing on the hinged-rods support structure (HRSS), a method combining the experiments and numerical calculation is developed to analyze its feasibility. The experiments in the wind tunnel platform were conducted to measure the loads at the root of the isolated blade and in the rods. A numerical model was developed to describe the designed wind turbine rotor using the measured loads in experiments. In the model, the mounting locations of the hinged rods significantly affected the moment distribution on the blade. Thus, two dimensionless indexes were determined to analyze its influences. The model perfectly explain the characteristics of the novel structure under different configurations. The results demonstrated that the moment of the blade below the hinged location were alleviated, which reduced the requirements for the material. A 43.1% reduction of the maximum moment can be achieved in the design. In addition, the gross reduced weight of the blade was estimated to be 35.4% based on the blade mass distribution along the span

  6. An aeroelastic analysis of helicopter rotor blades incorporating piezoelectric fiber composite twist actuation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilkie, W. Keats; Park, K. C.

    1996-01-01

    A simple aeroelastic analysis of a helicopter rotor blade incorporating embedded piezoelectric fiber composite, interdigitated electrode blade twist actuators is described. The analysis consist of a linear torsion and flapwise bending model coupled with a nonlinear ONERA based unsteady aerodynamics model. A modified Galerkin procedure is performed upon the rotor blade partial differential equations of motion to develop a system of ordinary differential equations suitable for numerical integration. The twist actuation responses for three conceptual full-scale blade designs with realistic constraints on blade mass are numerically evaluated using the analysis. Numerical results indicate that useful amplitudes of nonresonant elastic twist, on the order of one to two degrees, are achievable under one-g hovering flight conditions for interdigitated electrode poling configurations. Twist actuation for the interdigitated electrode blades is also compared with the twist actuation of a conventionally poled piezoelectric fiber composite blade. Elastic twist produced using the interdigitated electrode actuators was found to be four to five times larger than that obtained with the conventionally poled actuators.

  7. Integrated technology rotor/flight research rotor concept definition study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carlson, R. G.; Beno, E. A.; Ulisnik, H. D.

    1983-01-01

    As part of the Integrated Technology Rotor/Flight Research Rotor (ITR/FRR) Program a number of advanced rotor system designs were conceived and investigated. From these, several were chosen that best meet the started ITR goals with emphasis on stability, reduced weight and hub drag, simplicity, low head moment stiffness, and adequate strength and fatigue life. It was concluded that obtaining low hub moment stiffness was difficult when only the blade flexibility of bearingless rotor blades is considered, unacceptably low fatigue life being the primary problem. Achieving a moderate hub moment stiffness somewhat higher than state of the art articulated rotors in production today is possible within the fatigue life constraint. Alternatively, low stiffness is possible when additional rotor elements, besides the blades themselves, provide part of the rotor flexibility. Two primary designs evolved as best meeting the general ITR requirements that presently exist. An I shaped flexbeam with an external torque tube can satisfy the general goals but would have either higher stiffness or reduced fatigue life. The elastic gimbal rotor can achieve a better combination of low stiffness and high fatigue life but would be a somewhat heavier design and possibly exhibit a higher risk of aeromechanical instability.

  8. Reduced order modeling, statistical analysis and system identification for a bladed rotor with geometric mistuning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vishwakarma, Vinod

    Modified Modal Domain Analysis (MMDA) is a novel method for the development of a reduced-order model (ROM) of a bladed rotor. This method utilizes proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) of Coordinate Measurement Machine (CMM) data of blades' geometries and sector analyses using ANSYS. For the first time ROM of a geometrically mistuned industrial scale rotor (Transonic rotor) with large size of Finite Element (FE) model is generated using MMDA. Two methods for estimating mass and stiffness mistuning matrices are used a) exact computation from sector FE analysis, b) estimates based on POD mistuning parameters. Modal characteristics such as mistuned natural frequencies, mode shapes and forced harmonic response are obtained from ROM for various cases, and results are compared with full rotor ANSYS analysis and other ROM methods such as Subset of Nominal Modes (SNM) and Fundamental Model of Mistuning (FMM). Accuracy of MMDA ROM is demonstrated with variations in number of POD features and geometric mistuning parameters. It is shown for the aforementioned case b) that the high accuracy of ROM studied in previous work with Academic rotor does not directly translate to the Transonic rotor. Reasons for such mismatch in results are investigated and attributed to higher mistuning in Transonic rotor. Alternate solutions such as estimation of sensitivities via least squares, and interpolation of mass and stiffness matrices on manifolds are developed, and their results are discussed. Statistics such as mean and standard deviations of forced harmonic response peak amplitude are obtained from random permutations, and are shown to have similar results as those of Monte Carlo simulations. These statistics are obtained and compared for 3 degree of freedom (DOF) lumped parameter model (LPM) of rotor, Academic rotor and Transonic rotor. A state -- estimator based on MMDA ROM and Kalman filter is also developed for offline or online estimation of harmonic forcing function from

  9. A soft rotor concept - design, verification and potentials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rasmussen, F; Thirstrup Petersen, J [Risoe National Lab., Roskilde (Denmark)

    1999-03-01

    This paper contains results from development and testing of a two-bladed soft rotor for an existing 15 kW flexible wind turbine. The new concept is characterised as a free yawing down wind turbine with nacelle tilting flexibility and a two-bladed teetering rotor with three-point supported flexible blades with built-in structural couplings. The power and the loads are controlled by active stall and active coning. The concept has been developed by extensive application of aero-elastic predictions, numerical optimisation and stability analysis in order to obtain optimal aero-elastic response and minimal loads. The flexible blades and the principle of active coning allow the blades to deflect with the wind to such an extent that the loads are reduced to between 25 and 50% of the loads for a similar rigid rotor. All conceptual design principles have been focused on application to large MW turbines, and aero-elastic predictions for an upscale 1 MW version show that this would have approximately identical characteristisc, without being particularly optimised for the actual size. (au)

  10. A simulation study of active feedback supression of dynamic response in helicopter rotor blades

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kana, D. D.; Bessey, R. L.; Dodge, F. T.

    1975-01-01

    A parameter study is presented for active feedback control applied to a helicopter rotor blade during forward flight. The study was performed on an electromechanical apparatus which included a mechanical model rotor blade and electronic analog simulation of interaction between blade deflections and aerodynamic loading. Blade response parameters were obtained for simulated vortex impinging at the blade tip at one pulse per revolution, and for a pulse which traveled from the blade tip toward its root. Results show that the response in a 1 - 10-per-rev frequency band is diminished by the feedback action, but at the same time responses at frequencies above 10-per-rev become increasingly more prominent with increased feedback amplitude, and can even lead to instability at certain levels. It appears that the latter behavior results from limitations of the laboratory simulation apparatus, rather than genuine potential behavior for a prototype helicopter.

  11. Analysis, design and elastic tailoring of composite rotor blades

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rehfield, Lawrence W.; Atilgan, Ali R.

    1987-01-01

    The development of structural models for composite rotor blades is summarized. The models are intended for use in design analysis for the purpose of exploring the potential of elastic tailoring. The research was performed at the Center for Rotary Wing Aircraft Technology.

  12. Design of rotor blade for vertical axis wind turbine using double aerofoil

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chougule, P.D.; Ratkovich, N.; Kirkegaard, P.H.; Nielsen, Soeren R.K. [Aalborg Univ.. Dept. of Civil Engineering, Aalborg (Denmark)

    2012-07-01

    Nowadays, small vertical axis wind turbines are receiving more attention compared to horizontal wind turbines due to their suitability in urban use,because they generate less noise, have bird free turbines and lower cost. There are few vertical axis wind turbines design with good power curve. However, the efficiency of power extraction has not been improved. Therefore, an attempt has been made to utilize high lift technology in practice for vertical axis wind turbines in order to improve power efficiency. High lift is obtained by double aerofoil elements mainly used in aeroplane wing design. In this current work, two aerofoils are used to design a rotor blade for a vertical axis wind turbine to improve the power efficiency on the rotor. Double aerofoil blade design consists of a main aerofoil and a slat aerofoil. The parameters related to position and orientation of the slat aerofoil with respect to the main aerofoil defines the high lift. Orientation of slat aerofoil is a parameter of investigation in this paper. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) have been used to obtain the aerodynamic characteristics of double aerofoil. The CFD simulations were carried out using Star CCM+ v7.04 (CD-adapco, UK) software. Aerofoils used in this work are selected from standard aerofoil shapes. (Author)

  13. Integral Twist Actuation of Helicopter Rotor Blades for Vibration Reduction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shin, SangJoon; Cesnik, Carlos E. S.

    2001-01-01

    Active integral twist control for vibration reduction of helicopter rotors during forward flight is investigated. The twist deformation is obtained using embedded anisotropic piezocomposite actuators. An analytical framework is developed to examine integrally-twisted blades and their aeroelastic response during different flight conditions: frequency domain analysis for hover, and time domain analysis for forward flight. Both stem from the same three-dimensional electroelastic beam formulation with geometrical-exactness, and axe coupled with a finite-state dynamic inflow aerodynamics model. A prototype Active Twist Rotor blade was designed with this framework using Active Fiber Composites as the actuator. The ATR prototype blade was successfully tested under non-rotating conditions. Hover testing was conducted to evaluate structural integrity and dynamic response. In both conditions, a very good correlation was obtained against the analysis. Finally, a four-bladed ATR system is built and tested to demonstrate its concept in forward flight. This experiment was conducted at NASA Langley Tansonic Dynamics Tunnel and represents the first-of-a-kind Mach-scaled fully-active-twist rotor system to undergo forward flight test. In parallel, the impact upon the fixed- and rotating-system loads is estimated by the analysis. While discrepancies are found in the amplitude of the loads under actuation, the predicted trend of load variation with respect to its control phase correlates well. It was also shown, both experimentally and numerically, that the ATR blade design has the potential for hub vibratory load reduction of up to 90% using individual blade control actuation. Using the numerical framework, system identification is performed to estimate the harmonic transfer functions. The linear time-periodic system can be represented by a linear time-invariant system under the three modes of blade actuation: collective, longitudinal cyclic, and lateral cyclic. A vibration

  14. Performance Data from a Wind-Tunnel Test of Two Main-rotor Blade Designs for a Utility-Class Helicopter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singleton, Jeffrey D.; Yeager, William T., Jr.; Wilbur, Matthew L.

    1990-01-01

    An investigation was conducted in the NASA Langley Transonic Dynamics Tunnel to evaluate an advanced main rotor designed for use on a utility class helicopter, specifically the U.S. Army UH-60A Blackhawk. This rotor design incorporated advanced twist, airfoil cross sections, and geometric planform. For evaluation purposes, the current UH-60A main rotor was also tested and is referred to as the baseline blade set. A total of four blade sets were tested. One set of both the baseline and the advanced rotors were dynamically scaled to represent a full scale helicopter rotor blade design. The remaining advanced and baseline blade sets were not dynamically scaled so as to isolate the effects of structural elasticity. The investigation was conducted in hover and at rotor advance ratios ranging from 0.15 to 0.4 at a range of nominal test medium densities from 0.00238 to 0.009 slugs/cu ft. This range of densities, coupled with varying rotor lift and propulsive force, allowed for the simulation of several vehicle gross weight and density altitude combinations. Performance data are presented for all blade sets without analysis; however, cross referencing of data with flight condition may be useful to the analyst for validating aeroelastic theories and design methodologies as well as for evaluating advanced design parameters.

  15. Structural modeling for multicell composite rotor blades

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rehfield, Lawrence W.; Atilgan, Ali R.

    1987-01-01

    Composite material systems are currently good candidates for aerospace structures, primarily for the design flexibility they offer, i.e., it is possible to tailor the material and manufacturing approach to the application. A working definition of elastic or structural tailoring is the use of structural concept, fiber orientation, ply stacking sequence, and a blend of materials to achieve specific performance goals. In the design process, choices of materials and dimensions are made which produce specific response characteristics, and which permit the selected goals to be achieved. Common choices for tailoring goals are preventing instabilities or vibration resonances or enhancing damage tolerance. An essential, enabling factor in the design of tailored composite structures is structural modeling that accurately, but simply, characterizes response. The objective of this paper is to present a new multicell beam model for composite rotor blades and to validate predictions based on the new model by comparison with a finite element simulation in three benchmark static load cases.

  16. The impact of inertial forces on morphing wind turbine blade in vertical axis configuration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Butbul, Jonathan; MacPhee, David; Beyene, Asfaw

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • A novel flexible VAWT has been experimentally tested alongside numerically simulations. • Using FEA and CFD, direction of blade bending was predicted from inertial and aerodynamic forces. • High-speed camera footage has been used to validate the model. • The flexible VAWT was found to self-start in the majority of tests, while the rigid one did not. • It is suggested that flexible VAWTs can have improved performance in part-load applications. - Abstract: A novel flexible blade concept with the ability to morph and geometrically adapt to changing flow conditions has been proposed to improve part-load performance of horizontal-axis wind turbines. The extension of these benefits to a vertical axis wind turbine would make wind technology a more competitive player in the energy market. Both flexible and rigid wind turbine rotor blades for vertical axis application were modeled, designed, manufactured and tested. Their performances were tested in a low speed wind tunnel. The predicted magnitude and direction of blade morph was validated using a high speed camera as well as finite element analysis. The comparative results of straight rigid and straight morphing blades show that the coefficient of performance greatly depends on the tip speed ratio. Overall, the morphing blade has better performance at low RPMs, but the rigid blade performed better at high RPMs. It was observed that the flexible blade self-started in the majority of the experiments. At high RPM, the centrifugal force overwhelmed the lift force, bending the flexible blade out of phase in an undesired direction increasing drag and therefore reducing the coefficient of performance

  17. Parametric Blade Study Test Report Rotor Configuration. Number 1

    Science.gov (United States)

    1988-11-01

    location and a ball bearing at the aft location; radial runout does not exceed 0.001 inch. Forward and aft buffer controlled gap carbon seals were used...made to measured compressor temperatures and pressures, facility flowrate, and rotor wheel speed to correspond to standard inlet conditions of...0662 .1034 STRM- BLADE BLADE WHEEL LINE SECT. LEAN SPEED NUMBER ANGLE ANGLE I -53.96 7.35 1497.5 2 -52.68 8.11 1434.6 3 -51.88 7.15 1372.5 4 -50.49

  18. Design of a Tapered and Twisted Blade for the NREL Combined Experiment Rotor; TOPICAL

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Giguere, P.; Selig, M. S.

    1999-01-01

    A tapered/twisted blade was designed to operate on the Combined Experiment Rotor (CER) of the National Renewable Energy Lab., which is a stall-regulated downwind wind turbine having a rated power of 20 kilowatt. The geometry of the new blade set was optimized based on annual energy production subject to the constraints imposed on the design. These constraints were mainly related to scientific needs for fundamental research in rotor aerodynamics. A trade-off study was conducted to determine the effect of the different design constraints. Based on the results of this study, which considered nonlinear twist and taper distributions as well as the NREL S809, S814, S822 and S823 airfoils, a blade having a linear taper and a nonlinear twist distribution that uses the S809 airfoil from root to tip was selected. This blade configuration is the logical continuation of the previous constant-chord twisted and untwisted blade sets and will facilitate comparison with those earlier blades. Despite th e design constraints based on scientific needs, the new blade is more representative of commercial blades than the previous blade sets

  19. Numerical simulation of actuation behavior of active fiber composites in helicopter rotor blade application

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paik, Seung Hoon; Kim, Ji Yeon; Shin, Sang Joon; Kim, Seung Jo

    2004-07-01

    Smart structures incorporating active materials have been designed and analyzed to improve aerospace vehicle performance and its vibration/noise characteristics. Helicopter integral blade actuation is one example of those efforts using embedded anisotropic piezoelectric actuators. To design and analyze such integrally-actuated blades, beam approach based on homogenization methodology has been traditionally used. Using this approach, the global behavior of the structures is predicted in an averaged sense. However, this approach has intrinsic limitations in describing the local behaviors in the level of the constituents. For example, the failure analysis of the individual active fibers requires the knowledge of the local behaviors. Microscopic approach for the analysis of integrally-actuated structures is established in this paper. Piezoelectric fibers and matrices are modeled individually and finite element method using three-dimensional solid elements is adopted. Due to huge size of the resulting finite element meshes, high performance computing technology is required in its solution process. The present methodology is quoted as Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) of the smart structure. As an initial validation effort, present analytical results are correlated with the experiments from a small-scaled integrally-actuated blade, Active Twist Rotor (ATR). Through DNS, local stress distribution around the interface of fiber and matrix can be analyzed.

  20. A practical approach to fracture analysis at the trailing edge of wind turbine rotor blades

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Eder, Martin Alexander; Bitsche, Robert; Nielsen, Magda

    2014-01-01

    Wind turbine rotor blades are commonly manufactured from composite materials by a moulding process. Typically, the wind turbine blade is produced in two halves, which are eventually adhesively joined along their edges. Investigations of operating wind turbine blades show that debonding...

  1. Rotor-blade wheel solves the sediment problems; Loepehjul loeser sedimentproblemer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bakken, Marte

    2009-07-01

    Test period in Peru is over for the recently developed rotor-blade wheel from the Norwegian firm DynaVec. The result shows that the wear and tear problems caused by sediments in great extent is solved. (AG)

  2. Performance characterization of active fiber-composite actuators for helicopter rotor blade applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wickramasinghe, Viresh K.; Hagood, Nesbitt W.

    2002-07-01

    The primary objective of this work was to characterize the performance of the Active Fiber Composite (AFC) actuator material system for the Boeing Active Material Rotor (AMR) blade application. The AFCs were a new structural actuator system consisting of piezoceramic fibers embedded in an epoxy matrix and sandwiched between interdigitated electrodes to orient the driving electric field in the fiber direction to use the primary piezoelectric effect. These actuators were integrated directly into the blade spar laminate as active plies within the composite structure to perform structural actuation for vibration control in helicopters. Therefore, it was necessary to conduct extensive electromechanical material characterization to evaluate AFCs both as actuators and as structural components of the rotor blade. The characterization tests designed to extract important electromechanical properties under simulated blade operating conditions included stress-strain tests, free strain tests and actuation under tensile load tests. This paper presents the test results as well as the comprehensive testing process developed to evaluate the relevant AFC material properties. The results from this comprehensive performance characterization of the AFC material system supported the design and operation of the Boeing AMR blade scheduled for hover and forward flight wind tunnel tests.

  3. Optimization of Root Section for Ultra-long Steam Turbine Rotor Blade

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hála, Jindřich; Luxa, Martin; Šimurda, David; Bobčík, Marek; Novák, Ondřej; Rudas, Bartoloměj; Synáč, Jaroslav

    2018-04-01

    This study presents the comparison of aerodynamic performances of two successive designs of the root profiles for the ultra-long rotor blade equipped with a straight fir-tree dovetail. Since aerodynamic and strength requirements laid upon the root section design are contradictory, it is necessary to aerodynamically optimize the design within the limits given by the foremost strength requirements. The most limiting criterion of the static strength is the size of the blade cross-section, which is determined by the number of blades in a rotor and also by the shape and size of a blade dovetail. The aerodynamic design requires mainly the zero incidence angle at the inlet of a profile and in the ideal case ensures that the load does not exceed a limit load condition. Moreover, the typical root profile cascades are transonic with supersonic exit Mach number, therefore, the shape of a suction side and a trailing edge has to respect transonic expansion of a working gas. In this paper, the two variants of root section profile cascades are compared and the aerodynamic qualities of both variants are verified using CFD simulation and two mutually independent experimental methods of measurements (optical and pneumatic).

  4. Optimization model for rotor blades of horizontal axis wind turbines

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    LIU Xiong; CHEN Yan; YE Zhiquan

    2007-01-01

    This paper presents an optimization model for rotor blades of horizontal axis wind turbines. The model refers to the wind speed distribution function on the specific wind site, with an objective to satisfy the maximum annual energy output. To speed up the search process and guarantee a global optimal result, the extended compact genetic algorithm (ECGA) is used to carry out the search process.Compared with the simple genetic algorithm, ECGA runs much faster and can get more accurate results with a much smaller population size and fewer function evaluations. Using the developed optimization program, blades of a 1.3 MW stall-regulated wind turbine are designed. Compared with the existing blades, the designed blades have obviously better aerodynamic performance.

  5. CFD calculations on the unsteady aerodynamic characteristics of a tilt-rotor in a conversion mode

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Li Peng

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available In order to calculate the unsteady aerodynamic characteristics of a tilt-rotor in a conversion mode, a virtual blade model (VBM and an real blade model (RBM are established respectively. A new multi-layer moving-embedded grid technique is proposed to reduce the numerical dissipation of the tilt-rotor wake in a conversion mode. In this method, a grid system generated abound the rotor accounts for rigid blade motions, and a new searching scheme named adaptive inverse map (AIM is established to search corresponding donor elements in the present moving-embedded grid system to translate information among the different computational zones. A dual-time method is employed to fulfill unsteady calculations on the flowfield of the tilt-rotor, and a second-order centered difference scheme considering artificial viscosity is used to calculate the flux. In order to improve the computing efficiency, the single program multiple data (SPMD model parallel acceleration technology is adopted, according to the characteristic of the current grid system. The lift and drag coefficients of an NACA0012 airfoil, the dynamic pressure distributions below a typical rotor plane, and the sectional pressure distributions on a three-bladed Branum–Tung tilt-rotor in hover flight are calculated respectively, and the present VBM and RBM are validated by comparing the calculated results with available experimental data. Then, unsteady aerodynamic forces and flowfields of an XV-15 tilt-rotor in different modes, such as a fixed conversion mode at different tilt angles (15°, 30°, 60° and a whole conversion mode which converses from 0° to 90°, are numerically simulated by the VBM and RBM respectively. By analyses and comparisons on the simulated results of unsteady aerodynamic forces of the tilt-rotor in different modes, some meaningful conclusions about distorted blade-tip vortex distribution and unsteady aerodynamic force variation in a conversion mode are obtained, and these

  6. Large-eddy simulation analysis of turbulent flow over a two-blade horizontal wind turbine rotor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Tae Young [Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh (United States); You, Dong Hyun [Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-11-15

    Unsteady turbulent flow characteristics over a two-blade horizontal wind turbine rotor is analyzed using a large-eddy simulation technique. The wind turbine rotor corresponds to the configuration of the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) phase VI campaign. The filtered incompressible Navier-Stokes equations in a non-inertial reference frame fixed at the centroid of the rotor, are solved with centrifugal and Coriolis forces using an unstructured-grid finite-volume method. A systematic analysis of effects of grid resolution, computational domain size, and time-step size on simulation results, is carried out. Simulation results such as the surface pressure coefficient, thrust coefficient, torque coefficient, and normal and tangential force coefficients are found to agree favorably with experimental data. The simulation showed that pressure fluctuations, which produce broadband flow-induced noise and vibration of the blades, are especially significant in the mid-chord area of the suction side at around 70 to 95 percent spanwise locations. Large-scale vortices are found to be generated at the blade tip and the location connecting the blade with an airfoil cross section and the circular hub rod. These vortices propagate downstream with helical motions and are found to persist far downstream from the rotor.

  7. Optimization of rotor blades for combined structural, dynamic, and aerodynamic properties

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Cheng-Jian; Peters, David A.

    1990-01-01

    Optimal helicopter blade design with computer-based mathematical programming has received more and more attention in recent years. Most of the research has focused on optimum dynamic characteristics of rotor blades to reduce vehicle vibration. There is also work on optimization of aerodynamic performance and on composite structural design. This research has greatly increased our understanding of helicopter optimum design in each of these aspects. Helicopter design is an inherently multidisciplinary process involving strong interactions among various disciplines which can appropriately include aerodynamics; dynamics, both flight dynamics and structural dynamics; aeroelasticity: vibrations and stability; and even acoustics. Therefore, the helicopter design process must satisfy manifold requirements related to the aforementioned diverse disciplines. In our present work, we attempt to combine several of these important effects in a unified manner. First, we design a blade with optimum aerodynamic performance by proper layout of blade planform and spanwise twist. Second, the blade is designed to have natural frequencies that are placed away from integer multiples of the rotor speed for a good dynamic characteristics. Third, the structure is made as light as possible with sufficient rotational inertia to allow for autorotational landing, with safe stress margins and flight fatigue life at each cross-section, and with aeroelastical stability and low vibrations. Finally, a unified optimization refines the solution.

  8. WindPACT Turbine Design Scaling Studies Technical Area 1-Composite Blades for 80- to 120-Meter Rotor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Griffin, D.A.

    2001-04-30

    The United States Department of Energy (DOE) through the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) implemented the Wind Partnership for Advanced Component Technologies (WindPACT) program. As part of the WindPACT program, Global Energy Concepts, LLC (GEC), was awarded contract number YAM-0-30203-01 to examine Technical Area 1-Blade Scaling, Technical Area 2-Turbine Rotor and Blade Logistics, and Technical Area 3-Self-Erecting Towers. This report documents the results of GEC's Technical Area 1-Blade Scaling. The primary objectives of the Blade-Scaling Study are to assess the scaling of current materials and manufacturing technologies for blades of 40 to 60 meters in length, and to develop scaling curves of estimated cost and mass for rotor blades in that size range.

  9. Determination of the angle of attack on rotor blades

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Shen, Wen Zhong; Hansen, Martin Otto Laver; Sørensen, Jens Nørkær

    2009-01-01

    Two simple methods for determining the angle of attack (AOA) on a section of a rotor blade are proposed. Both techniques consist of employing the Biot-Savart integral to determine the influence of the bound vorticity on the velocity field. In the first technique, the force distribution along...... the blade and the velocity at a monitor point in the vicinity of the blade are assumed to be known from experiments or CFD computations. The AOA is determined by subtracting the velocity induced by the bound circulation, determined from the loading, from the velocity at the monitor point. In the second...... to be located closer to the blade, and thus to determine the AOA with higher accuracy. Data from CFD computations for flows past the Tellus 95 kW wind turbine at different wind speeds are used to test both techniques. Comparisons show that the proposed methods are in good agreement with existing techniques...

  10. Dynamic Behavior of Wind Turbine by a Mixed Flexible-Rigid Multi-Body Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jianhong; Qin, Datong; Ding, Yi

    A mixed flexible-rigid multi-body model is presented to study the dynamic behavior of a horizontal axis wind turbine. The special attention is given to flexible body: flexible rotor is modeled by a newly developed blade finite element, support bearing elasticities, variations in the number of teeth in contact as well as contact tooth's elasticities are mainly flexible components in the power train. The couple conditions between different subsystems are established by constraint equations. The wind turbine model is generated by coupling models of rotor, power train and generator with constraint equations together. Based on this model, an eigenproblem analysis is carried out to show the mode shape of rotor and power train at a few natural frequencies. The dynamic responses and contact forces among gears under constant wind speed and fixed pitch angle are analyzed.

  11. An assumed mode method and finite element method investigation of the coupled vibration in a flexible-disk rotor system with lacing wires

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhou, Shui-Ting; Huang, Hong-Wu [Hunan University, Changsha (China); Chiu, Yi-Jui; Yu, Guo-Fei [Xiamen University of Technology, Xiamen (China); Yang, Chia-Hao [Taipei Chengshih University of Science and Technology, Taipei (China); Jian, Sheng-Rui [I-Shou University, Kaohsiung (China)

    2017-02-15

    The Assumed mode method (AMM) and Finite element method (FEM) were used. Their results were compared to investigate the coupled shaft-torsion, disk-transverse, and blade-bending vibrations in a flexible-disk rotor system. The blades were grouped with a spring. The flexible-disk rotor system was divided into three modes of coupled vibrations: Shaft-disk-blade, disk-blade, and blade-blade. Two new modes of coupled vibrations were introduced, namely, lacing wires-blade and lacing wires-disk-blade. The patterns of change of the natural frequencies and mode shapes of the system were discussed. The results showed the following: first, mode shapes and natural frequencies varied, and the results of the AMM and FEM differed; second, numerical calculation results showed three influencing factors on natural frequencies, namely, the lacing wire constant, the lacing wire location, and the flexible disk; lastly, the flexible disk could affect the stability of the system as reflected in the effect of the rotational speed.

  12. Wireless Sensor Network for Helicopter Rotor Blade Vibration Monitoring: Requirements Definition and Technological Aspects

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sanchez Ramirez, Andrea; Das, Kallol; Loendersloot, Richard; Tinga, Tiedo; Havinga, Paul J.M.; Basu, Biswajit

    The main rotor accounts for the largest vibration source for a helicopter fuselage and its components. However, accurate blade monitoring has been limited due to the practical restrictions on instrumenting rotating blades. The use of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) for real time vibration monitoring

  13. Acoustic performance of low pressure axial fan rotors with different blade chord length and radial load distribution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carolus, Thomas

    The paper examines the acoustic and aerodynamic performance of low-pressure axial fan rotors with a hub/tip ratio of 0.45. Six rotors were designed for the same working point by means of the well-known airfoil theory. The condition of an equilibrium between the static pressure gradient and the centrifugal forces is maintained. All rotors have unequally spaced blades to diminish tonal noise. The rotors are tested in a short cylindrical housing without guide vanes. All rotors show very similar flux-pressure difference characteristics. The peak efficiency and the noise performance is considerably influenced by the chosen blade design. The aerodynamically and acoustically optimal rotor is the one with the reduced load at the hub and increased load in the tip region under satisfied equilibrium conditions. It runs at the highest aerodynamic efficiency, and its noise spectrum is fairly smooth. The overall sound pressure level of this rotor is up to 8 dB (A) lower compared to the other rotors under consideration.

  14. Pressure coefficient evolutions on the blades of a Savonius rotor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chauvin, A.; Guignard, S. [UMRR 7343, Marseilles (France). Lab. IUSTI; Kamoun, B. [Faculte des Sciences de Sfax (Tunisia). Lab. de Physique

    2012-07-01

    Measurements of the pressure field distribution on the blades of a vertical axis Savonius wind machine are presented. The rotor used in the wind tunnel is a two blades cylindrical shape with a central gap. Pressure gauges are placed on each side of a blade, so the pressure jumps between intrados and extrados of a blade during a whole rotation are drawn. In the static configuration, the machine is disposed at various incidences. The determination of pressure jumps allows to calculate the static torque of the machine versus the incidence angle. In the dynamic situation the machine is rotating at various frequencies and gauges signals are varying dynamically of course with the incidence. The dynamic torque coefficient is calculated. Evolutions of the starting torque and starting conditions are then described and dynamic effects on torque evolution are presented. (orig.)

  15. Nondestructive evaluation of helicopter rotor blades using guided Lamb modes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chakrapani, Sunil Kishore; Barnard, Daniel; Dayal, Vinay

    2014-03-01

    This paper presents an application for turning and direct modes in a complex composite laminate structure. The propagation and interaction of turning modes and fundamental Lamb modes are investigated in the skin, spar and web sections of a helicopter rotor blade. Finite element models were used to understand the various mode conversions at geometric discontinuities such as web-spar joints. Experimental investigation was carried out with the help of air coupled ultrasonic transducers. The turning and direct modes were confirmed with the help of particle displacements and velocities. Experimental B-Scans were performed on damaged and undamaged samples for qualitative and quantitative assessment of the structure. A strong correlation between the numerical and experimental results was observed and reported. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Weight Assessment for Fuselage Shielding on Aircraft With Open-Rotor Engines and Composite Blade Loss

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carney, Kelly; Pereira, Michael; Kohlman, Lee; Goldberg, Robert; Envia, Edmane; Lawrence, Charles; Roberts, Gary; Emmerling, William

    2013-01-01

    The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has been engaged in discussions with airframe and engine manufacturers concerning regulations that would apply to new technology fuel efficient "openrotor" engines. Existing regulations for the engines and airframe did not envision features of these engines that include eliminating the fan blade containment systems and including two rows of counter-rotating blades. Damage to the airframe from a failed blade could potentially be catastrophic. Therefore the feasibility of using aircraft fuselage shielding was investigated. In order to establish the feasibility of this shielding, a study was conducted to provide an estimate for the fuselage shielding weight required to provide protection from an open-rotor blade loss. This estimate was generated using a two-step procedure. First, a trajectory analysis was performed to determine the blade orientation and velocity at the point of impact with the fuselage. The trajectory analysis also showed that a blade dispersion angle of 3deg bounded the probable dispersion pattern and so was used for the weight estimate. Next, a finite element impact analysis was performed to determine the required shielding thickness to prevent fuselage penetration. The impact analysis was conducted using an FAA-provided composite blade geometry. The fuselage geometry was based on a medium-sized passenger composite airframe. In the analysis, both the blade and fuselage were assumed to be constructed from a T700S/PR520 triaxially-braided composite architecture. Sufficient test data on T700S/PR520 is available to enable reliable analysis, and also demonstrate its good impact resistance properties. This system was also used in modeling the surrogate blade. The estimated additional weight required for fuselage shielding for a wing- mounted counterrotating open-rotor blade is 236 lb per aircraft. This estimate is based on the shielding material serving the dual use of shielding and fuselage structure. If the

  17. Neutron radiography and other NDE tests of main rotor helicopter blades

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    De Beer, FC

    2004-10-01

    Full Text Available leading to aircraft structural failures, are addressed by various NDE techniques. In a combined investigation by means of visual inspection, X-ray radiography and shearography on helicopter main rotor blades, neutron radiography (NRad) at SAFARI-1 research...

  18. Modal Vibration Control in Periodic Time-Varying Structures with Focus on Rotor Blade Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christensen, Rene Hardam; Santos, Ilmar

    2004-01-01

    of active modal controllers. The main aim is to reduce vibrations in periodic time-varying structures. Special emphasis is given to vibration control of coupled bladed rotor systems. A state feedback modal control law is developed based on modal analysis in periodic time-varying structures. The first step...... in the procedure is a transformation of the model into a time-invariant modal form by applying the modal matrices, which are also periodic time-variant. Due to coupled rotor and blade motions complex vibration modes occur in the modal transformed state space model. This implies that the modal transformed model...

  19. Extension-twist coupling of composite circular tubes with application to tilt rotor blade design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nixon, Mark W.

    1987-01-01

    This investigation was conducted to determine if twist deformation required for the design of full-scale extension-twist-coupled tilt-rotor blades can be achieved within material design limit loads, and to demonstrate the accuracy of a coupled-beam analysis in predicting twist deformations. Two extension-twist-coupled tilt-rotor blade designs were developed based on theoretically optimum aerodynamic twist distributions. The designs indicated a twist rate requirement of between .216 and .333 deg/in. Agreement between axial tests and analytical predictions was within 10 percent at design limit loads. Agreement between the torsion tests and predictions was within 11 percent.

  20. Flap-lag-torsional dynamics of helicopter rotor blades in forward flight

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crespodasilva, M. R. M.

    1986-01-01

    A perturbation/numerical methodology to analyze the flap-lead/lag motion of a centrally hinged spring restrained rotor blade that is valid for both hover and for forward flight was developed. The derivation of the nonlinear differential equations of motion and the analysis of the stability of the steady state response of the blade were conducted entirely in a Symbolics 3670 Machine using MACSYMA to perform all the lengthy symbolic manipulations. It also includes generation of the fortran codes and plots of the results. The Floquet theory was also applied to the differential equations of motion in order to compare results with those obtained from the perturbation analysis. The results obtained from the perturbation methodology and from Floquet theory were found to be very close to each other, which demonstrates the usefullness of the perturbation methodology. Another problem under study consisted in the analysis of the influence of higher order terms in the response and stability of a flexible rotor blade in forward flight using Computerized Symbolic Manipulation and a perturbation technique to bypass the Floquet theory. The derivation of the partial differential equations of motion is presented.

  1. Almost-global tracking for a rigid body with internal rotors

    OpenAIRE

    Nayak, Aradhana; Banavar, Ravi N.

    2017-01-01

    Almost-global orientation trajectory tracking for a rigid body with external actuation has been well studied in the literature, and in the geometric setting as well. The tracking control law relies on the fact that a rigid body is a simple mechanical system (SMS) on the $3-$dimensional group of special orthogonal matrices. However, the problem of designing feedback control laws for tracking using internal actuation mechanisms, like rotors or control moment gyros, has received lesser attention...

  2. Wind Turbine Rotors with Active Vibration Control

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Svendsen, Martin Nymann

    that the basic modes of a wind turbine blade can be effectively addressed by an in-blade ‘active strut’ actuator mechanism. The importance of accounting for background mode flexibility is demonstrated. Also, it is shown that it is generally possible to address multiple beam modes with multiple controllers, given...... in the targeted modes and the observed spill-over to other modes is very limited and generally stabilizing. It is shown that physical controller positioning for reduced background noise is important to the calibration. By simulation of the rotor response to both simple initial conditions and a stochastic wind......This thesis presents a framework for structural modeling, analysis and active vibration damping of rotating wind turbine blades and rotors. A structural rotor model is developed in terms of finite beam elements in a rotating frame of reference. The element comprises a representation of general...

  3. Monitoring of a Wind Turbine Rotor using a Multi-blade Coordinate Framework

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Henriksen, Lars Christian; Niemann, Hans Henrik; Poulsen, Niels Kjølstad

    2012-01-01

    into the system. In the case of a wind turbine, an excitation signal is automatically generated by the rotation of the rotor in a turbulent wind eld. Using the multi-blade coordinate transformation, the detection of asymmetries in the rotor of the wind turbine is greatly improved.......In this paper a method to detect asymmetric faults in a wind turbine rotor is presented. The paper describes how fault diagnosis using an observer-based residual generator approach is able to distinguish between the nominal and faulty case by the injection of e.g. a sinusoidal excitation signal...

  4. Preform spar cap for a wind turbine rotor blade

    Science.gov (United States)

    Livingston, Jamie T [Simpsonville, SC; Driver, Howard D [Greer, SC; van Breugel, Sjef [Enschede, NL; Jenkins, Thomas B [Cantonment, FL; Bakhuis, Jan Willem [Nijverdal, NL; Billen, Andrew J [Daarlerveen, NL; Riahi, Amir [Pensacola, FL

    2011-07-12

    A spar cap for a wind turbine rotor blade. The spar cap may include multiple preform components. The multiple preform components may be planar sheets having a swept shape with a first end and a second end. The multiple preform components may be joined by mating the first end of a first preform component to the second end of a next preform component, forming the spar cap.

  5. The angles of the fact rotor tipvanes on the rods and on the blades

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bruining, A.

    1988-01-01

    This report contains the data of the angles of the tipvanes of the FACT rotor. These tipvanes were used on the FACT rotor blades and rods. Two sets uf tipvanes were measured: a set having a Liebeck air-foil section and a set with a NACA airfoil section. The tipvanes with the Liebeck airfoil section

  6. A structural model for composite rotor blades and lifting surfaces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rehfield, Lawrence W.; Atilgan, Ali R.

    1987-01-01

    Composite material systems are currently candidates for aerospace structures, primarily for the design flexibiity they offer i.e., it is possible to tailor the material and manufacturing approach to the application. Two notable examples are the wing of the Grumman/USAF/DARPA X-29 and rotor blades under development by the U.S.A. Aerostructures Directorate (AVSCOM), Langley Research Center. A working definition of elastic or structural tailoring is the use of structural concept, fiber orientation, ply stacking sequence, and a blend of materials to achieve specific performance goals. In the design process, choices of materials and dimensions are made which produce specific response characteristics which permit the selected goals to be achieved. Common choices for tailoring goals are preventing instabilities or vibration resonances or enhancing damage tolerance. An essential, enabling factor in the design of tailored composite structures is structural modeling that accurately, but simply, characterizes response. The objective of this paper is to improve the single-cell beam model for composite rotor blades or lifting surfaces and to demonstrate its usefullness in applications.

  7. Blade attachment assembly

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garcia-Crespo, Andres Jose; Delvaux, John McConnell; Miller, Diane Patricia

    2016-05-03

    An assembly and method for affixing a turbomachine rotor blade to a rotor wheel are disclosed. In an embodiment, an adaptor member is provided disposed between the blade and the rotor wheel, the adaptor member including an adaptor attachment slot that is complementary to the blade attachment member, and an adaptor attachment member that is complementary to the rotor wheel attachment slot. A coverplate is provided, having a coverplate attachment member that is complementary to the rotor wheel attachment slot, and a hook for engaging the adaptor member. When assembled, the coverplate member matingly engages with the adaptor member, and retains the blade in the adaptor member, and the assembly in the rotor wheel.

  8. Real-time estimation of helicopter rotor blade kinematics through measurement of rotation induced acceleration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allred, C. Jeff; Churchill, David; Buckner, Gregory D.

    2017-07-01

    This paper presents a novel approach to monitoring rotor blade flap, lead-lag and pitch using an embedded gyroscope and symmetrically mounted MEMS accelerometers. The central hypothesis is that differential accelerometer measurements are proportional only to blade motion; fuselage acceleration and blade bending are inherently compensated for. The inverse kinematic relationships (from blade position to acceleration and angular rate) are derived and simulated to validate this hypothesis. An algorithm to solve the forward kinematic relationships (from sensor measurement to blade position) is developed using these simulation results. This algorithm is experimentally validated using a prototype device. The experimental results justify continued development of this kinematic estimation approach.

  9. Experimental verification of blade elongation and axial rotor shift in steam turbines

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Procházka, Pavel

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 2, č. 3 (2016), s. 190-192 ISSN 2149-8024 Institutional support: RVO:61388998 Keywords : blade elongation * axial rotor shift * steam turbines * magnetoresistive sensors Subject RIV: BI - Acoustics http://www.challengejournal.com/index.php/cjsmec/article/download/74/62

  10. Monitoring of a Wind Turbine Rotor using a Multi-blade Coordinate Framework

    OpenAIRE

    Henriksen, Lars Christian; Niemann, Hans Henrik; Poulsen, Niels Kjølstad

    2012-01-01

    In this paper a method to detect asymmetric faults in a wind turbine rotor is presented. The paper describes how fault diagnosis using an observer-based residual generator approach is able to distinguish between the nominal and faulty case by the injection of e.g. a sinusoidal excitation signal into the system. In the case of a wind turbine, an excitation signal is automatically generated by the rotation of the rotor in a turbulent wind eld. Using the multi-blade coordinate transformation, th...

  11. A prescribed wake rotor inflow and flow field prediction analysis, user's manual and technical approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Egolf, T. A.; Landgrebe, A. J.

    1982-01-01

    A user's manual is provided which includes the technical approach for the Prescribed Wake Rotor Inflow and Flow Field Prediction Analysis. The analysis is used to provide the rotor wake induced velocities at the rotor blades for use in blade airloads and response analyses and to provide induced velocities at arbitrary field points such as at a tail surface. This analysis calculates the distribution of rotor wake induced velocities based on a prescribed wake model. Section operating conditions are prescribed from blade motion and controls determined by a separate blade response analysis. The analysis represents each blade by a segmented lifting line, and the rotor wake by discrete segmented trailing vortex filaments. Blade loading and circulation distributions are calculated based on blade element strip theory including the local induced velocity predicted by the numerical integration of the Biot-Savart Law applied to the vortex wake model.

  12. On the impact of multi-axial stress states on trailing edge bondlines in wind turbine rotor blades

    OpenAIRE

    Castelos, Pablo Noever; Balzani, Claudio

    2016-01-01

    For a reliable design of wind turbine systems all of their components have to be designed to withstand the loads appearing in the turbine's lifetime. When performed in an integral manner this is called systems engineering, and is exceptionally important for components that have an impact on the entire wind turbine system, such as the rotor blade. Bondlines are crucial subcomponents of rotor blades, but they are not much recognized in the wind energy research community. However, a bondline fai...

  13. A shape adaptive airfoil for a wind turbine blade

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daynes, Stephen; Weaver, Paul M.

    2011-04-01

    The loads on wind turbine components are primarily from the blades. It is important to control these blade loads in order to avoid damaging the wind turbine. Rotor control technology is currently limited to controlling the rotor speed and the pitch of the blades. As blades increase in length it becomes less desirable to pitch the entire blade as a single rigid body, but instead there is a requirement to control loads more precisely along the length of the blade. This can be achieved with aerodynamic control devices such as flaps. Morphing technologies are good candidates for wind turbine flaps because they have the potential to create structures that have the conflicting abilities of being load carrying, light-weight and shape adaptive. A morphing flap design with a highly anisotropic cellular structure is presented which is able to undergo large deflections and high strains without a large actuation penalty. An aeroelastic analysis couples the work done by aerodynamic loads on the flap, the flap strain energy and the required actuation work to change shape. The morphing flap is experimentally validated with a manufactured demonstrator and shown to have reduced actuation requirements compared to a conventional hinged flap.

  14. Influence of cross section variations on the structural behaviour of composite rotor blades

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rapp, Helmut; Woerndle, Rudolf

    1991-09-01

    A highly sophisticated structural analysis is required for helicopter rotor blades with nonhomogeneous cross sections made from nonisotropic material. Combinations of suitable analytical techniques with FEM-based techniques permit a cost effective and sufficiently accurate analysis of these complicated structures. It is determined that in general the 1D engineering theory of bending combined with 2D theories for determining the cross section properties is sufficient to describe the structural blade behavior.

  15. Termovision and electricity capacitance measurements as a evaluation of a helicopter rotor’s blades delamination

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gębura Andrzej

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The article presents essential elements reached during investigations of heat section of rotor blades which have been done in AFIT. The investigations were related to a valuation of helicopter’s rotor blades delamination. They used a method of thermal field measurement as well as a electricity capacitance between an airframe and a heat element of the installation. A suggestion of such measurements appeared during the disassembly of rotor blade heat sections when some local unglue of heat element’s tape from the structure of blade’s heating pack has seen. Spots nearby separation of adhesive are a potential area of a local temperature increase, both the electric heating element and the mechanical structure of the blade. This is especially dangerous for composite structures. Overheated composite structures characterized by reduced flexibility and becomes prone to cracking. Therefore, the possibility of non-invasive monitoring adhesive spots, without removing the blades would be particularly useful.

  16. Optimized chord and twist angle distributions of wind turbine blade considering Reynolds number effects

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, L.; Tang, X. [Univ. of Central Lancashire. Engineering and Physical Sciences, Preston (United Kingdom); Liu, X. [Univ. of Cumbria. Sustainable Engineering, Workington (United Kingdom)

    2012-07-01

    The aerodynamic performance of a wind turbine depends very much on its blade geometric design, typically based on the blade element momentum (BEM) theory, which divides the blade into several blade elements. In current blade design practices based on Schmitz rotor design theory, the blade geometric parameters including chord and twist angle distributions are determined based on airfoil aerodynamic data at a specific Reynolds number. However, rotating wind turbine blade elements operate at different Reynolds numbers due to variable wind speed and different blade span locations. Therefore, the blade design through Schmitz rotor theory at a specific Reynolds number does not necessarily provide the best power performance under operational conditions. This paper aims to provide an optimal blade design strategy for horizontal-axis wind turbines operating at different Reynolds numbers. A fixed-pitch variable-speed (FPVS) wind turbine with S809 airfoil is chosen as a case study and a Matlab program which considers Reynolds number effects is developed to determine the optimized chord and twist angle distributions of the blade. The performance of the optimized blade is compared with that of the preliminary blade which is designed based on Schmitz rotor design theory at a specific Reynolds number. The results demonstrate that the proposed blade design optimization strategy can improve the power performance of the wind turbine. This approach can be further developed for any practice of horizontal axis wind turbine blade design. (Author)

  17. Fatigue life prediction and strength degradation of wind turbine rotor blade composites

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nijssen, R.P.L.

    2006-01-01

    Wind turbine rotor blades are subjected to a large number of highly variable loads, but life predictions are typically based on constant amplitude fatigue behaviour. Therefore, it is important to determine how service life under variable amplitude fatigue can be estimated from constant amplitude

  18. Report on the achievements in fiscal 1998. Hydrogen utilizing international clean energy system technology (WE-NET). Subtask 8. Development of hydrogen combustion turbine (development of major components such as turbine blades and rotors); 1998 nendo suiso riyo kokusai clean energy system gijutsu (WE-NET). 8. Suiso nensho turbine no kaihatsu (turbine yoku, rotor nado shuyo kosei kiki no kaihatsu)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1999-03-01

    The present research and development is intended to establish the fundamental technologies required to develop a pilot plant, by investigating development of such major component devices as turbine blades and rotors in a hydrogen combustion turbine. In the turbine moving and stator blade cooling technology, it is intended to achieve the power plant efficiency of 60% (based on HHV) as established in the interim evaluation performed in fiscal 1996. Therefore, the necessary element tests, detailed blade design, and partial fabrication were moved forward on the three kinds of the selected blade cooling systems as the cooling systems that can deal with the steam temperature condition as high as 1,700 degrees C. Fiscal 1998 will execute the design and fabrication of test blades and testing devices for blade cooling evaluation tests to be performed at Tashiro Township in Akita Prefecture. At the same time, evaluation and selection will be made on the three kinds of the cooling blades. In the rotor cooling technology, for the purpose of analyzing the rolling-in phenomenon of steam in the main turbine flow, a method will be developed to analyze rotor disk cavity temperatures based on CFD, the basic sealing conditions based thereon will be discussed, and generalization will be made on the rotor cooling technology. (NEDO)

  19. Dynamic friction characterization in a turbine rotor and metallographic analysis of the friction element; Caracterizacion dinamica del rozamiento en rotor de turbina y analisis metalografico del elemento de rozamiento

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ramirez Solis, Jose Antonio; Cristalinas Navarro, Victor Manuel; Mojica Calderon, Cecilio [Instituto de Investigaciones Electricas, Cuernavaca, Morelos (Mexico)

    2007-11-15

    As a part of the diagnosis of the root cause of the blades fault of the of the L-1 wheel of a of low pressure rotor of 300 MW, in one of the Power stations of Electrical Generation, a design was made and an experimental rubbing test of friction in the same rotor was performed but in the adjacent wheel of movable blades L-2. The objectives of the experimental rubbing test were to determine the dynamic characteristics of the rubbing to corroborate what was observed in the diagrams of spectra registered by the power station during the operation of the Unit, to determine the maximum bending stress of the used element to provide rubbing to the wheel of blades L-2 and to infer in a qualitative way the magnitude of the necessary friction force to generate the dynamic characteristics of the rubbing and finally to determine the micro-structural changes that underwent the element employed to apply rubbing. [Spanish] Como parte del diagnostico de la causa raiz de la falla de los alabes de la rueda L-1 de un rotor de baja presion de 300 MW, en una de las Centrales de Generacion Electrica, se diseno y efectuo una prueba experimental de rozamiento en el mismo rotor pero en la rueda adyacente de alabes moviles L-2. Los objetivos de la prueba experimental de rozamiento fueron determinar las caracteristicas dinamicas del rozamiento para corroborar lo observado en los diagramas de espectros registrados por la Central durante la operacion de la Unidad, determinar el esfuerzo maximo a la flexion del elemento utilizado para suministrar rozamiento a la rueda de alabes L-2 e inferir de manera cualitativa la magnitud de la fuerza de rozamiento necesaria para generar las caracteristicas dinamicas del razonamiento y por ultimo determinar los cambios microestructurales que experimento el elemento utilizado para aplicar rozamiento.

  20. Blade Bearing Friction Estimation of Operating Wind Turbines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Perisic, Nevena; Pedersen, Bo Juul; Kirkegaard, Poul Henning

    2012-01-01

    Blade root bearing on a wind turbine (WTG) enables pitching of blades for power control and rotor braking and is a WTG critical component. As the size of modern WTGs is constantly increasing, this leads to relatively less rigid bearings, more sensitive to deformations, thus WTG operational...... reliability can be increased by continuous monitoring of blade bearing. High blade bearing friction is undesirable, as it may be associated with excessive heating of the surfaces, damage and/or inefficient operation. Thus, continuous observation of bearing friction level is crucial for blade bearing health...... monitoring systems. A novel algorithm for online monitoring of bearing friction level is developed combining physical knowledge about pitch system dynamics with state estimator, i.e. observer theory and signal processing assuming realistic sensor availability. Results show estimation of bearing friction...

  1. Morphing Downwind-Aligned Rotor Concept Based on a 13-MW Wind Turbine

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ichter, Brian; Steele, Adam; Loth, Eric; Moriarty, Patrick; Selig, Michael

    2016-04-01

    To alleviate the mass-scaling issues associated with conventional upwind rotors of extreme-scale wind turbines (>/=10 MW), a morphing downwind-aligned rotor (MoDaR) concept is proposed herein. The concept employs a downwind rotor with blades whose elements are stiff (no intentional flexibility) but with hub-joints that can be unlocked to allow for moment-free downwind alignment. Aligning the combination of gravitational, centrifugal and thrust forces along the blade path reduces downwind cantilever loads, resulting in primarily tensile loading. For control simplicity, the blade curvature can be fixed with a single morphing degree of freedom using a near-hub joint for coning angle: 22 degrees at rated conditions. The conventional baseline was set as the 13.2-MW Sandia 100-m all glass blade in a three-bladed upwind configuration. To quantify potential mass savings, a downwind load-aligning, two-bladed rotor was designed. Because of the reduced number of blades, the MoDaR concept had a favorable 33% mass reduction. The blade reduction and coning led to a reduction in rated power, but morphing increased energy capture at lower speeds such that both the MoDaR and conventional rotors have the same average power: 5.4 MW. A finite element analysis showed that quasi-steady structural stresses could be reduced, over a range of operating wind speeds and azimuthal angles, despite the increases in loading per blade. However, the concept feasibility requires additional investigation of the mass, cost and complexity of the morphing hinge, the impact of unsteady aeroelastic influence because of turbulence and off-design conditions, along with system-level Levelized Cost of Energy analysis.

  2. Aerodynamic analysis of potential use of flow control devices on helicopter rotor blades

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tejero, F; Doerffer, P; Szulc, O

    2014-01-01

    The interest in the application of flow control devices has been rising in the last years. Recently, several passive streamwise vortex generators have been analysed in a configuration of a curved wall nozzle within the framework of the UFAST project (Unsteady Effects of Shock Wave Induced Separation, 2005 – 2009). Experimental and numerical results proved that the technology is effective in delaying flow separation. The numerical investigation has been extended to helicopter rotor blades in hover and forward flight applying the FLOWer solver (RANS approach) implementing the chimera overlapping grids technique and high performance computing. CFD results for hover conditions confirm that the proposed passive control method reduces the flow separation increasing the thrust over power consumption. The paper presents the numerical validation for both states of flight and the possible implementation of RVGs on helicopter rotor blades.

  3. Novel controller design demonstration for vibration alleviation of helicopter rotor blades

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ulker, Fatma Demet; Nitzsche, Fred

    2012-04-01

    This paper presents an advanced controller design methodology for vibration alleviation of helicopter rotor sys- tems. Particularly, vibration alleviation in a forward ight regime where the rotor blades experience periodically varying aerodynamic loading was investigated. Controller synthesis was carried out under the time-periodic H2 and H∞ framework and the synthesis problem was solved based on both periodic Riccati and Linear Matrix Inequality (LMI) formulations. The closed-loop stability was analyzed using Floquet-Lyapunov theory, and the controller's performance was validated by closed-loop high-delity aeroelastic simulations. To validate the con- troller's performance an actively controlled trailing edge ap strategy was implemented. Computational cost was compared for both formulations.

  4. Dynamic characterization of the friction in turbine rotor and metallographic analysis of the friction element; Caracterizacion dinamica del rozamiento en rotor de turbina y analisis metalografico del elemento de rozamiento

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ramirez Solis, Jose Antonio; Cristalinas Navarro, Victor Manuel; Mojica Calderon, Cecilio [Instituto de Investigaciones Electricas, Cuernavaca, Morelos (Mexico)

    2010-07-01

    As a part of the diagnosis of the root cause of the fault of the blades of the L-1 wheel of a of low pressure rotor of 200 MW, in one of the power stations of electrical generation, an experimental test of friction in the same rotor was designed and carried out, but in the adjacent wheel of movable blades L-2. The objectives of the friction experimental test were to determine the dynamic characteristics of the friction, to corroborate what it was observed in the spectra diagrams registered by the power station during the operation of the unit, to determine the maximum bending stress of the used element to provide friction to the wheel of L-2 blades and to infer, in a qualitative way, the magnitude of the force of friction necessary to generate the dynamic characteristics of the friction and finally to determine the micro-structural changes that underwent the used element to apply friction. [Spanish] Como parte del diagnostico de la causa raiz de la falla de los alabes de la rueda L-1 de un rotor de baja presion de 200 MW, en una de las centrales de generacion electrica, se diseno y efectuo una prueba experimental de rozamiento en el mismo rotor, pero en la rueda adyacente de alabes moviles L-2. Los objetivos de la prueba experimental de rozamiento fueron determinar las caracteristicas dinamicas del razonamiento, para corroborar lo observado en los diagramas de espectros registrados por la central durante la operacion de la unidad, determinar el esfuerzo maximo a la flexion del elemento utilizado para suministrar rozamiento a la rueda de alabes L-2 e inferir, de manera cualitativa, la magnitud de la fuerza de rozamiento necesaria para generar las caracteristicas dinamicas del rozamiento y por ultimo determinar los cambios microestructurales que experimento el elemento utilizado para aplicar rozamiento.

  5. Materials of large wind turbine blades: Recent results in testing and modeling

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mishnaevsky, Leon; Brøndsted, Povl; Nijssen, Rogier

    2012-01-01

    The reliability of rotor blades is the pre-condition for the development and wide use of large wind turbines. In order to accurately predict and improve the wind turbine blade behavior, three main aspects of the reliability and strength of rotor blades were considered: (i) development of methods...... of the effect of the microstructure of wind turbine blade composites on their strength and ways of microstructural optimization of the materials. By testing reference coupons, the effect of testing parameters (temperature and frequency) on the lifetime of blade composites was investigated, and the input data...... clustering, misalignments, interface properties and other factors on the strength and lifetime of the wind turbine blade materials were investigated in the micromechanical finite element simulations. The results described in this paper stem from the Rotor Structure and Materials task of the UPWIND project...

  6. A New Higher-Order Composite Theory for Analysis and Design of High Speed Tilt-Rotor Blades

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCarthy, Thomas Robert

    1996-01-01

    A higher-order theory is developed to model composite box beams with arbitrary wall thicknesses. The theory, based on a refined displacement field, represents a three-dimensional model which approximates the elasticity solution. Therefore, the cross-sectional properties are not reduced to one-dimensional beam parameters. Both inplane and out-of-plane warping are automatically included in the formulation. The model accurately captures the transverse shear stresses through the thickness of each wall while satisfying all stress-free boundary conditions. Several numerical results are presented to validate the present theory. The developed theory is then used to model the load carrying member of a tilt-rotor blade which has thick-walled sections. The composite structural analysis is coupled with an aerodynamic analysis to compute the aeroelastic stability of the blade. Finally, a multidisciplinary optimization procedure is developed to improve the aerodynamic, structural and aeroelastic performance of the tilt-rotor aircraft. The Kreisselmeier-Steinhauser function is used to formulate the multiobjective function problem and a hybrid approximate analysis is used to reduce the computational effort. The optimum results are compared with the baseline values and show significant improvements in the overall performance of the tilt-rotor blade.

  7. Analysis of Different Blade Architectures on small VAWT Performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Battisti, L.; Brighenti, A.; Benini, E.; Raciti Castelli, M.

    2016-09-01

    The present paper aims at describing and comparing different small Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) architectures, in terms of performance and loads. These characteristics can be highlighted by resorting to the Blade Element-Momentum (BE-M) model, commonly adopted for rotor pre-design and controller assessment. After validating the model with experimental data, the paper focuses on the analysis of VAWT loads depending on some relevant rotor features: blade number (2 and 3), airfoil camber line (comparing symmetrical and asymmetrical profiles) and blade inclination (straight versus helical blade). The effect of such characteristics on both power and thrusts (in the streamwise direction and in the crosswise one) as a function of both the blades azimuthal position and their Tip Speed Ratio (TSR) are presented and widely discussed.

  8. Experimental study of complex flow and turbulence structure around a turbomachine rotor blade operating behind a row of Inlet Guide Vanes (IGVS)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soranna, Francesco

    The flow and turbulence around a rotor blade operating downstream of a row of Inlet Guide Vanes (IGV) are investigated experimentally in a refractive index matched turbomachinery facility that provides unobstructed view of the entire flow field. High resolution 2D and Stereoscopic PIV measurements are performed both at midspan and in the tip region of the rotor blade, focusing on effects of wake-blade, wake-boundary-layer and wake-wake interactions. We first examine the modification to the shape of an IGV-wake as well as to the spatial distribution of turbulence within it as the wake propagates along the rotor blade. Due to the spatially non-uniform velocity distribution, the IGV wake deforms through the rotor passage, expanding near the leading edge and shrinking near the trailing edge. The turbulence within this wake becomes spatially non-uniform and highly anisotropic as a result of interaction with the non-uniform strain rate field within the rotor passage. Several mechanisms, which are associated with rapid straining and highly non-uniform production rate (P), including negative production on the suction side of the blade, contribute to the observed trends. During IGV-wake impingement, the suction side boundary layer near the trailing edge becomes significantly thinner, with lower momentum thickness and more stable profile compared to other phases at the same location. Analysis of available terms in the integral momentum equation indicates that the phase-averaged unsteady term is the main contributor to the decrease in momentum thickness within the impinging wake. Thinning of the boundary/shear layer extends into the rotor near wake, making it narrower and increasing the phase averaged shear velocity gradients and associated production term just downstream of the trailing edge. Consequently, the turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) increases causing as much as 75% phase-dependent variations in peak TKE magnitude. Further away from the blade, the rotor wake is bent

  9. A novel folding blade of wind turbine rotor for effective power control

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xie, Wei; Zeng, Pan; Lei, Liping

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • A novel folding blade for wind turbine power control is proposed. • Wind tunnel experiments were conducted to analyze folding blade validity. • Folding blade is valid to control wind turbine power output. • Compared to pitch control, thrust was reduced by fold control in power regulation. • Optimum fold angles were found for wind turbine start up and aerodynamic brake. - Abstract: A concept of novel folding blade of horizontal axis wind turbine is proposed in current study. The folding blade comprises a stall regulated root blade section and a folding tip blade section with the fold axis inclined relative to blade span. By folding blade, lift force generated on the tip blade section changes and the moment arm also shortens, which leads to variations of power output. The blade folding actuation mechanism with servo motor and worm-gear reducer was designed. Wind turbine rotor control scheme and servo system with double feedback loops for blade fold angle control were proposed. In this study, a small folding blade model was tested in a wind tunnel to analyze its performance. The blade model performance was estimated in terms of rotation torque coefficient and thrust coefficient. Wind tunnel experiments were also conducted for pitch control using the same blade model in order to make a direct comparison. The power control, start up and aerodynamic brake performance of the folding blade were analyzed. According to the wind tunnel experiment results, fold angle magnitude significantly affected blade aerodynamic performance and the thrust characteristic together with the rotation torque characteristic of folding blade were revealed. The experiment results demonstrated that the folding blade was valid to control power output and had advantages in reducing thrust with maximum reduction of 51.1% compared to pitch control. Optimum fold angles of 55° and 90° were also found for start up and aerodynamic brake, respectively

  10. Experimental analysis of a rigid rotor supported on aerodynamic foil journal bearings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arghir M.

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Aerodynamic foil bearings are highly non linear components used or intending to be used for supporting high speed rotors (>30 krpm of low size rotating machines (<400 kW. The non linear character comes from the highly deformable structure of the bearing made of thin steel sheets and from the Coulomb friction forces arising during dynamic displacements. The present work shows the non linear response of a rigid rotor supported by a pair of such bearings and entrained at 82 krpm. The measurements performed during the coast down revealed sub synchronous and asynchronous vibrations of the rotor and their multiples. A simplified theoretical model reproduces qualitatively some of these non linear characteristics.

  11. Blade dynamic stress analysis of rotating bladed disks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kellner J.

    2007-10-01

    Full Text Available The paper deals with mathematical modelling of steady forced bladed disk vibrations and with dynamic stress calculation of the blades. The blades are considered as 1D kontinuum elastic coupled with three-dimensional elastic disk centrally clamped into rotor rotating with constant angular speed. The steady forced vibrations are generated by the aerodynamic forces acting along the blade length. By using modal synthesis method the mathematical model of the rotating bladed disk is condensed to calculate steady vibrations. Dynamic stress analysis of the blades is based on calculation of the time dependent reduced stress in blade cross-sections by using Hubert-Misses-Hencky stress hypothesis. The presented method is applied to real turbomachinery rotor with blades connected on the top with shroud.

  12. Stagger angle dependence of inertial and elastic coupling in bladed disks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crawley, E. F.; Mokadam, D. R.

    1984-01-01

    Conditions which necessitate the inclusion of disk and shaft flexibility in the analysis of blade response in rotating blade-disk-shaft systems are derived in terms of nondimensional parameters. A simple semianalytical Rayleigh-Ritz model is derived in which the disk possesses all six rigid body degrees of freedom, which are elastically constrained by the shaft. Inertial coupling by the rigid body motion of the disk on a flexible shaft and out-of-plane elastic coupling due to disk flexure are included. Frequency ratios and mass ratios, which depend on the stagger angle, are determined for three typical rotors: a first stage high-pressure core compressor, a high bypass ratio fan, and an advanced turboprop. The stagger angle controls the degree of coupling in the blade-disk system. In the blade-disk-shaft system, the stagger angle determines whether blade-disk motion couples principally to the out-of-plane or in-plane motion of the disk on the shaft. The Ritz analysis shows excellent agreement with experimental results.

  13. Extension-torsion coupling behavior of advanced composite tilt-rotor blades

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kosmatka, J. B.

    1989-01-01

    An analytic model was developed to study the extension-bend-twist coupling behavior of an advanced composite helicopter or tilt-rotor blade. The outer surface of the blade is defined by rotating an arbitrary cross section about an initial twist axis. The cross section can be nonhomogeneous and composed of generally anisotropic materials. The model is developed based upon a three dimensional elasticity approach that is recast as a coupled two-dimensional boundary value problem defined in a curvilinear coordinate system. Displacement solutions are written in terms of known functions that represent extension, bending, and twisting and unknown functions for local cross section deformations. The unknown local deformation functions are determined by applying the principle of minimum potential energy to the discretized two-dimensional cross section. This is an application of the Ritz method, where the trial function family is the displacement field associated with a finite element (8-node isoparametric quadrilaterals) representation of the section. A computer program was written where the cross section is discretized into 8-node quadrilateral subregions. Initially the program was verified using previously published results (both three-dimensional elasticity and technical beam theory) for pretwisted isotropic bars with an elliptical cross section. In addition, solid and thin-wall multi-cell NACA-0012 airfoil sections were analyzed to illustrate the pronounced effects that pretwist, initial twist axis location, and spar location has on coupled behavior. Currently, a series of advanced composite airfoils are being modeled in order to assess how the use of laminated composite materials interacts with pretwist to alter the coupling behavior of the blade. These studies will investigate the use of different ply angle orientations and the use of symmetric versus unsymmetric laminates.

  14. Performance of a Low Speed Axial Compressor Rotor Blade Row under Different Inlet Distortions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. Taghavi Zenouz

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Responses of an axial compressor isolated rotor blade row to various inlet distortions have been investigated utilizing computational fluid dynamic technique. Distortions have been imposed by five screens of different geometries, but with the same blockage ratio. These screens were embedded upstream of the rotor blade row. Flow fields are simulated in detail for compressor design point and near stall conditions. Performance curves for distorted cases are extracted and compared to the undisturbed case. Flow simulations and consequent performance characteristics show that the worst cases belong to non-symmetric blockages, i.e., those of partial circumferential configurations. These cases produce the largest wakes which can disturb the flow, considerably. Superior performances correspond to the inner and outer continuous circumferential distortion screens. Since, they produce no significant disturbances to the main flow in comparison to the non-symmetric screens.

  15. System for manufacturing wooden rotor blades for small wind mills

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Moeller, B

    1991-05-01

    Acknowledging the need (also in developing countries) for small windmill wings with various patterns and aerodynamic characteristics a simple, low-cost hand-controlled copying milling machine was built (with standard parts) to reduce production time for one wing to 1-2 hours. A sensor-roll transfers the airfoil pattern to a set of two saw blades, driven by an electric motor, which carves the airfoil out of a wooden beam. It is thus possible to cut out each cross section of the wing and manufacture a constantly reproducible rotor blade. The hard-foam airfoil models - their shapes, material and production, the laminated beam - the preparation of the wood and the lamination, and the copying milling machine itself - its design and how to build, operate and maintain it, are described in detail. (AB)

  16. Numerical Investigation on the Effects of Self-Excited Tip Flow Unsteadiness and Blade Row Interactions on the Performance Predictions of Low Speed and Transonic Compressor Rotors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Daniel H.

    The impact blade row interactions can have on the performance of compressor rotors has been well documented. It is also well known that rotor tip clearance flows can have a large effect on compressor performance and stall margin and recent research has shown that tip leakage flows can exhibit self-excited unsteadiness at near stall conditions. However, the impact of tip leakage flow on the performance and operating range of a compressor rotor, relative to other important flow features such as upstream stator wakes or downstream potential effects, has not been explored. To this end, a numerical investigation has been conducted to determine the effects of self-excited tip flow unsteadiness, upstream stator wakes, and downstream blade row interactions on the performance prediction of low speed and transonic compressor rotors. Calculations included a single blade-row rotor configuration as well as two multi-blade row configurations: one where the rotor was modeled with an upstream stator and a second where the rotor was modeled with a downstream stator. Steady-state and time accurate calculations were performed using a RANS solver and the results were compared with detailed experimental data obtained in the GE Low Speed Research Compressor and the Notre Dame Transonic Rig at several operating conditions including near stall. Differences in the performance predictions between the three configurations were then used to determine the effect of the upstream stator wakes and the downstream blade row interactions. Results obtained show that for both the low speed and transonic research compressors used in this investigation time-accurate RANS analysis is necessary to accurately predict the stalling character of the rotor. Additionally, for the first time it is demonstrated that capturing the unsteady tip flow can have a larger impact on rotor performance predictions than adjacent blade row interactions.

  17. Dynamics of fluidic devices with applications to rotor pitch links

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scarborough, Lloyd H., III

    Coupling a Fluidic Flexible Matrix Composite (F2MC) to an air-pressurized fluid port produces a fundamentally new class of tunable vibration isolator. This fluidlastic device provides significant vibration reduction at an isolation frequency that can be tuned over a broad frequency range. The material properties and geometry of the F2MC element, as well as the port inertance, determine the isolation frequency. A unique feature of this device is that the port inertance depends on pressure so the isolation frequency can be adjusted by changing the air pressure. For constant port inertance, the isolation frequency is largely independent of the isolated mass so the device is robust to changes in load. A nonlinear model is developed to predict isolator length and port inertance. The model is linearized and the frequency response calculated. Experiments agree with theory, demonstrating a tunable isolation range from 9 Hz to 36 Hz and transmitted force reductions of up to 60 dB at the isolation frequency. Replacing rigid pitch links on rotorcraft with coupled fluidic devices has the potential to reduce the aerodynamic blade loads transmitted through the pitch links to the swashplate. Analytical models of two fluidic devices coupled with three different fluidic circuits are derived. These passive fluidlastic systems are tuned, by varying the fluid inertances and capacitances of each fluidic circuit, to reduce the transmitted pitch-link loads. The different circuit designs result in transmitted pitch link loads reduction at up to three main rotor harmonics. The simulation results show loads reduction at the targeted out-of-phase and in-phase harmonics of up to 88% and 93%, respectively. Experimental validation of two of the fluidic circuits demonstrates loads reduction of up to 89% at the out-of-phase isolation frequencies and up to 81% at the in-phase isolation frequencies. Replacing rigid pitch links on rotorcraft with fluidic pitch links changes the blade torsional

  18. The use of an optical data acquisition system for bladed disk vibration analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lawrence, C.; Meyn, E. H.

    1985-01-01

    A new concept in instrumentation was developed by engineers at NASA Lewis Research Center to collect vibration data from multi-bladed rotors. This new concept, known as the optical data acquisition system, uses optical transducers to measure bladed tip deflections by reflection of light beams off the tips of the blades as they pass in front of the optical transducer. By using an array of transducers around the perimeter of the rotor, detailed vibration signals can be obtained. In this study, resonant frequencies and mode shapes were determined for a 56 bladed rotor using the optical system. Frequency data from the optical system was also compared to data obtained from strain gauge measurements and finite element analysis and was found to be in good agreement.

  19. Comparison of far wakes behind a solid disk and a three-blade rotor

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Litvinov, I. V.; Naumov, I.V.; Okulov, Valery

    2015-01-01

    wakes, a constant value of the Strouhal number was found to be equal to 0.23 for a three-blade rotor and 0.15 for a solid disk. This Strouhal number is in good agreement with the constants that usually characterize the wake oscillations behind immobile bluff bodies. The comparison of axial velocity...

  20. Active vibration reduction of rigid rotor by kinematic excitation of bushes of journal bearings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Ondrouch

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available Possibilities of active lateral vibration reduction of a symmetric, rigid rotor supported by journal bearings are given. They were obtained by computational modelling. Efficiency of the feedback P and PD controllers in the stable revolution interval was examined. The linearized rotor system model was used. The results of the theoretical analysis are assigned for a testing stand where the bearing bush motions are deactivated by piezoelectric actuators connected to the controllers.

  1. Influence of the piezoelectric parameters on the dynamics of an active rotor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gawryluk, Jarosław; Mitura, Andrzej; Teter, Andrzej

    2018-01-01

    The main aim of this paper is an experimental and numerical analysis of the dynamic behavior of an active rotor with three composite blades. The study focuses on developing an effective FE modeling technique of a macro fiber composite element (denoted as MFC or active element) for the dynamic tests of active structures. The active rotor under consideration consists of a hub with a drive shaft, three grips and three glass-epoxy laminate blades with embedded active elements. A simplified FE model of the macro fiber composite element exhibiting the d33 piezoelectric effect is developed using the Abaqus software package. The discussed transducer is modeled as quasi-homogeneous piezoelectric material, and voltage is applied to the opposite faces of the element. In this case, the effective (equivalent) piezoelectric constant d33* is specified. Both static and dynamic tests are performed to verify the proposed model. First, static deflections of the active blade caused by the voltage signal are determined by numerical and experimental analyses. Next, a numerical modal analysis of the active rotor is performed. The eigenmodes and corresponding eigenfrequencies are determined by the Lanczos method. The influence of the model parameters (i.e., the effective piezoelectric constant d33 *, voltage signal, angular velocity) on the dynamics of the active rotor is examined. Finally, selected numerical results are validated in experimental tests. The experimental findings demonstrate that the structural stiffening effect caused by the active element strongly depends on the value of the effective piezoelectric constant.

  2. Optimizing parameters of GTU cycle and design values of air-gas channel in a gas turbine with cooled nozzle and rotor blades

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kler, A. M.; Zakharov, Yu. B.

    2012-09-01

    The authors have formulated the problem of joint optimization of pressure and temperature of combustion products before gas turbine, profiles of nozzle and rotor blades of gas turbine, and cooling air flow rates through nozzle and rotor blades. The article offers an original approach to optimization of profiles of gas turbine blades where the optimized profiles are presented as linear combinations of preliminarily formed basic profiles. The given examples relate to optimization of the gas turbine unit on the criterion of power efficiency at preliminary heat removal from air flows supplied for the air-gas channel cooling and without such removal.

  3. Single-crystal-material-based induced-shear actuation for vibration reduction of helicopters with composite rotor system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pawar, Prashant M; Jung, Sung Nam

    2008-01-01

    In this study, an assessment is made for the helicopter vibration reduction of composite rotor blades using an active twist control concept. Special focus is given to the feasibility of implementing the benefits of the shear actuation mechanism along with elastic couplings of composite blades for achieving maximum vibration reduction. The governing equations of motion for composite rotor blades with surface bonded piezoceramic actuators are obtained using Hamilton's principle. The equations are then solved for dynamic response using finite element discretization in the spatial and time domains. A time domain unsteady aerodynamic theory with free wake model is used to obtain the airloads. A newly developed single-crystal piezoceramic material is introduced as an actuator material to exploit its superior shear actuation authority. Seven rotor blades with different elastic couplings representing stiffness properties similar to stiff-in-plane rotor blades are used to investigate the hub vibration characteristics. The rotor blades are modeled as a box beam with actuator layers bonded on the outer surface of the top and bottom of the box section. Numerical results show that a notable vibration reduction can be achieved for all the combinations of composite rotor blades. This investigation also brings out the effect of different elastic couplings on various vibration-reduction-related parameters which could be useful for the optimal design of composite helicopter blades

  4. Single-crystal-material-based induced-shear actuation for vibration reduction of helicopters with composite rotor system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pawar, Prashant M.; Jung, Sung Nam

    2008-12-01

    In this study, an assessment is made for the helicopter vibration reduction of composite rotor blades using an active twist control concept. Special focus is given to the feasibility of implementing the benefits of the shear actuation mechanism along with elastic couplings of composite blades for achieving maximum vibration reduction. The governing equations of motion for composite rotor blades with surface bonded piezoceramic actuators are obtained using Hamilton's principle. The equations are then solved for dynamic response using finite element discretization in the spatial and time domains. A time domain unsteady aerodynamic theory with free wake model is used to obtain the airloads. A newly developed single-crystal piezoceramic material is introduced as an actuator material to exploit its superior shear actuation authority. Seven rotor blades with different elastic couplings representing stiffness properties similar to stiff-in-plane rotor blades are used to investigate the hub vibration characteristics. The rotor blades are modeled as a box beam with actuator layers bonded on the outer surface of the top and bottom of the box section. Numerical results show that a notable vibration reduction can be achieved for all the combinations of composite rotor blades. This investigation also brings out the effect of different elastic couplings on various vibration-reduction-related parameters which could be useful for the optimal design of composite helicopter blades.

  5. Modelling of magnetorheological squeeze film dampers for vibration suppression of rigid rotors

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Zapoměl, Jaroslav; Ferfecki, Petr; Kozánek, Jan

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 127, Jul SI (2017), s. 191-197 ISSN 0020-7403 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA15-06621S Institutional support: RVO:61388998 Keywords : squeeze film damper * magnetorheological fluid * bilinear material * rigid rotor * frequency response Subject RIV: JR - Other Machinery OBOR OECD: Mechanical engineering Impact factor: 2.884, year: 2016

  6. Condition monitoring of rotor blades of modern wind power systems; Ueberwachung mit Hertz. Condition Monitoring von Rotorblaettern moderner Windenergieanlagen

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fecht, Nikolaus

    2010-06-15

    With seven wind turbines, the Austrian wind farm ''Sternwald'' is the biggest wind farm in Upper Austria. It is the only wind farm in a forest, and all turbines are therefore equipped with automatic fire fighting equipment. The mountain range on which the wind farm is located is about 1000 m high, with strong wind and much ice and snow in the winter season. For this reason, the owner decided to instal a condition monitoring system with ice detectors. The piezoelectric sensors are mounted directly on the rotor blades as measurements on the nacelle will always be incorrect. Installation on the rotor blades, on the other hand, makes high demands on the fastenings and sensors as the velocity of the blade tips may be up to 250 km per hour. (orig.)

  7. Ice accretion modeling for wind turbine rotor blades

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chocron, D.; Brahimi, T.; Paraschivoiu, I.; Bombardier, J.A. [Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal (Canada)

    1997-12-31

    The increasing application of wind energy in northern climates implies operation of wind turbines under severe atmospheric icing conditions. Such conditions are well known in the Scandinavian countries, Canada and most of Eastern European countries. An extensive study to develop a procedure for the prediction of ice accretion on wind turbines rotor blades appears to be essential for the safe and economic operation of wind turbines in these cold regions. The objective of the present paper is to develop a computer code capable of simulating the shape and amount of ice which may accumulate on horizontal axis wind turbine blades when operating in icing conditions. The resulting code is capable to predict and simulate the formation of ice in rime and glaze conditions, calculate the flow field and particle trajectories and to perform thermodynamic analysis. It also gives the possibility of studying the effect of different parameters that influence ice formation such as temperature, liquid water content, droplet diameter and accretion time. The analysis has been conducted on different typical airfoils as well as on NASA/DOE Mod-0 wind turbine. Results showed that ice accretion on wind turbines may reduce the power output by more than 20%.

  8. A study on rotational augmentation using CFD analysis of flow in the inboard region of the MEXICO rotor blades

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Guntur, Srinivas; Sørensen, Niels N.

    2015-01-01

    This work presents an analysis of data from existing as well as new full-rotor computational fluid dynamics computations on the MEXICO rotor, with focus on the flow around the inboard parts of the blades. The boundary layer separation characteristics on the airfoil sections in the inboard parts...

  9. Compressor blade setting angle accuracy study, volume 1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holman, F. F.; Kidwell, J. R.

    1976-01-01

    The aerodynamic test of a small, single stage, highly loaded, axial flow transonic compressor is covered. The stage was modified by fabricating a 24 blade rotor with mis-set blades in a repeating pattern - two degrees closed from nominal, two degrees open from nominal and nominal. The unit was instrumented to determine overall performance and average blade element data. High-response, dynamic pressure probes were installed to record pressure patterns at selected points in the flowpath. Testing was conducted at speeds from 70 to 94% of design equivalent speed with a conventional casing and also with circumferential grooves over the rotor tip. Testing indicated severe performance penalties were incurred as a result of the mis-set blading. Lower flow, pressure ratio, and efficiency were observed for the stage with or without casing treatment. Periodic pressure variations were detected at every location where high response pressure sensors were located and were directly related to blading geometry.

  10. Which way is the wind blowing for GRP? Materials and processes for manufacturing rotor blades

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bittmann, E. [Werkstoff and Struktur, Herreth (Germany)

    2002-11-01

    The material technology for the production of large-area rotor blades made of glass reinforced plastics (GRP) constitutes an important milestone in development. Customised resin systems, flexible, automated processing methods and high component quality document the progress made in the wind power industry. (orig.)

  11. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF DAMAGEABILITY OF THE BYPASS ENGINES COMPRESSOR BLADES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Boris A. Chichkov

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Aircraft gas turbine engines during the operation are exposed to damage of flowing parts. The elements of the engine design, appreciably determining operational characteristics are rotor blades. Character of typical damages for various types of engines depends on appointment and a geographical place of the aircraft operation on which one or another engine is installed. For example, the greatest problem for turboshaft engines operated in the dusty air conditions is erosive wear of a rotor blade airfoil. Among principal causes of flowing parts damages of bypass engine compressors are foreign object damages. Independently there are the damages caused by fatigue of a rotor blade material at dangerous blade mode. Pieces of the ice formed in the input unit, birds and the like can also be a source of danger. The foreign objects getting into the engine from runway are nuts, bolts, pieces of tire protectors, lock-wire, elements from earlier flying off aircraft, etc. The entry of foreign objects into the engine depends on both an operation mode (during the operation on the ground, on takeoff, on landing roll using the reverse and so on, and the aircraft engine position.Thus the foreign objects entered into the flowing path of bypass engine damage blade cascade of low and high pressure. Foreign objects entered into the flowing part of the engine with rotor blades result in dents on edges and blade shroud, deformations of edges, breakage, camber of peripheral parts and are distributed "nonlinear" on path length (steps. The article presents the results of the statistical analysis of three types engine compressors damageability over the period of more than three years. Damages are divided according to types of engines in whole and to their separate steps, depths and lengths, blades damage location. The results of the analysis make it possible to develop recommendations to carry out the optical-visual control procedures.

  12. Composite structure of helicopter rotor blades studied by neutron- and X-ray radiography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Balasko, M.; Veres, I.; Molnar, Gy.; Balasko, Zs.; Svab, E.

    2004-01-01

    In order to inspect the possible defects in the composite structure of helicopter rotor blades combined neutron- and X-ray radiography investigations were performed at the Budapest Research Reactor. Imperfections in the honeycomb structure, resin rich or starved areas at the core-honeycomb surfaces, inhomogeneities at the adhesive filling and water percolation at the sealing interfaces of the honeycomb sections were discovered

  13. Composite structure of helicopter rotor blades studied by neutron- and X-ray radiography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balaskó, M.; Veres, I.; Molnár, Gy.; Balaskó, Zs.; Sváb, E.

    2004-07-01

    In order to inspect the possible defects in the composite structure of helicopter rotor blades combined neutron- and X-ray radiography investigations were performed at the Budapest Research Reactor. Imperfections in the honeycomb structure, resin rich or starved areas at the core-honeycomb surfaces, inhomogeneities at the adhesive filling and water percolation at the sealing interfaces of the honeycomb sections were discovered.

  14. Computational fluid dynamics analysis of a twisted airfoil shaped two-bladed H-Darrieus rotor made from fibreglass reinforced plastic (FRP)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gupta, Rajat; Roy, Sukanta; Biswas, Agnimitra [Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Silchar, Assam, 788010 (India)

    2010-07-01

    H-Darrieus rotor is a lift type device having two to three blades designed as airfoils. The blades are attached vertically to the central shaft through support arms. The support to vertical axis helps the rotor maintain its shape. In this paper, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis of an airfoil shaped two-bladed H-Darrieus rotor using Fluent 6.2 software was performed. Based on the CFD results, a comparative study between experimental and computational works was carried out. The H-Darrieus rotor was 20cm in height, 5cm in chord and twisted with an angle of 30{sup o} at the trailing end. The blade material of rotor was Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic (FRP). The experiments were earlier conducted in a subsonic wind tunnel for various height-to-diameter (H/D) ratios. A two dimensional computational modeling was done with the help of Gambit tool using unstructured grid. Realistic boundary conditions were provided for the model to have synchronization with the experimental conditions. Two dimensional steady-state segregated solver with absolute velocity formulation and cell based grid was considered, and a standard k-epsilon viscous model with standard wall functions was chosen. A first order upwind discretization scheme was adopted for pressure velocity coupling of the flow. The inlet velocities and rotor rotational speeds were taken from the experimental results. From the computational analysis, power coefficient (Cp) and torque coefficient (Ct) values at ten different H/D ratios namely 0.85, 1.0, 1.10, 1.33, 1.54, 1.72, 1.80, 1.92, 2.10 and 2.20 were calculated in order to predict the performances of the twisted H-rotor. The variations of Cp and Ct with tip speed ratios were analyzed and compared with the experimental results. The standard deviations of computational Cp and Ct from experimental Cp and Ct were obtained. From the computational analysis, the highest values of Cp and Ct were obtained at H/D ratios of 1.0 and 1.54 respectively. The deviation of

  15. Computational method for the design of wind turbine blades

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vitale, A.J. [Instituto Argentino de Oceanografia, Camino La Carrindanga Km. 7.5, CC 804, B8000FWB Bahia Blanca (Argentina); Universidad Tecnologica Nacional Facultad Regional Bahia Blanca, GESE, 11 de Abril 461, B8000LMI Bahia Blanca (Argentina); Universidad Nacional del Sur, Dpto. de Ing. Electrica y de Computadoras, Av. Alem 1253, 8000 Bahia Blanca (Argentina); Rossi, A.P. [Universidad Tecnologica Nacional Facultad Regional Bahia Blanca, GESE, 11 de Abril 461, B8000LMI Bahia Blanca (Argentina); Universidad Nacional del Sur, Dpto. de Ing. Electrica y de Computadoras, Av. Alem 1253, 8000 Bahia Blanca (Argentina)

    2008-07-15

    Zeus Disenador was developed to design low-power, horizontal-axis wind turbine blades, by means of an iterative algorithm. With this software, it is possible to obtain the optimum blade shape for a wind turbine to satisfy energy requirements of an electric system with optimum rotor efficiency. The number of blades, the airfoil curves and the average wind velocity can be specified by the user. The user can also request particular edge conditions for the width of the blades and for the pitch angle. Results are provided in different windows. Two- and three-dimensional graphics show the aspect of the resultant blade. Numerical results are displayed for blade length, blade surface, pitch angle variation along the blade span, rotor angular speed, rotor efficiency and rotor output power. Software verifications were made by comparing rotor power and rotor efficiency for different designs. Results were similar to those provided by commercial wind generator manufacturers. (author)

  16. A Critical Evaluation of Structural Analysis Tools used for the Design of Large Composite Wind Turbine Rotor Blades under Ultimate and Cycle Loading

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lekou, D.J.; Bacharoudis, K. C.; Farinas, A. B.

    2015-01-01

    Rotor blades for 10-20MW wind turbines may exceed 120m. To meet the demanding requirements of the blade design, structural analysis tools have been developed individually and combined with commercial available ones by blade designers. Due to the various available codes, understanding and estimating...

  17. KNOW-BLADE task-3.2 report: Tip shape study

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Niels N.; Johansen, Jeppe; Conway, S.

    2005-01-01

    For modern rotor blades with their very large aspect ratio, the blade tip is a very limited part of the overall rotor, and as such of limited importance for the overall aerodynamics of the rotor. Even though they may not be very important for the overallpower production, the tip noise can be very...... important for the acoustics of the rotor [15], and the blade tips can as well be important for the aerodynamic damping properties of the rotor blades [13]. Unfortunately, not many options exists for predictingthe aerodynamic behavior of blade tips using computational methods. Experimentally it is di...

  18. Dynamic Gust Load Analysis for Rotors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuting Dai

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Dynamic load of helicopter rotors due to gust directly affects the structural stress and flight performance for helicopters. Based on a large deflection beam theory, an aeroelastic model for isolated helicopter rotors in the time domain is constructed. The dynamic response and structural load for a rotor under the impulse gust and slope-shape gust are calculated, respectively. First, a nonlinear Euler beam model with 36 degrees-of-freedoms per element is applied to depict the structural dynamics for an isolated rotor. The generalized dynamic wake model and Leishman-Beddoes dynamic stall model are applied to calculate the nonlinear unsteady aerodynamic forces on rotors. Then, we transformed the differential aeroelastic governing equation to an algebraic one. Hence, the widely used Newton-Raphson iteration algorithm is employed to simulate the dynamic gust load. An isolated helicopter rotor with four blades is studied to validate the structural model and the aeroelastic model. The modal frequencies based on the Euler beam model agree well with published ones by CAMRAD. The flap deflection due to impulse gust with the speed of 2m/s increases twice to the one without gust. In this numerical example, results indicate that the bending moment at the blade root is alleviated due to elastic effect.

  19. Inverse Design of Single- and Multi-Rotor Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine Blades using Computational Fluid Dynamics

    OpenAIRE

    Moghadassian, Behnam; Sharma, Anupam

    2017-01-01

    A method for inverse design of horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWTs) is presented in this paper. The direct solver for aerodynamic analysis solves the Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) equations, where the effect of the turbine rotor is modeled as momentum sources using the actuator disk model (ADM); this approach is referred to as RANS/ADM. The inverse problem is posed as follows: for a given selection of airfoils, the objective is to find the blade geometry (described as blade twist an...

  20. Effect of rotor aspect ratio and solidity on a straight-bladed vertical axis wind turbine in three-dimensional analysis by the panel method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Qing'an; Maeda, Takao; Kamada, Yasunari; Shimizu, Kento; Ogasawara, Tatsuhiko; Nakai, Alisa; Kasuya, Takuji

    2017-01-01

    Due to the complated flow field and aerodynamic forces characteristics, the performance and safety standard of straight-bladed VAWT have not been full developed. The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of rotor aspect ratio and solidity on the power performance in three-dimensional analysis by panel method. The panel method is based on the assumption of an incompressible and potential flow coupled with a free vortex wake. First of all, the fluctuations of power coefficient and the circulation amount distribution of the bound vortex are discussed at the fixed solidity of σ = 0.064 during rotation. Then, the fluctuations of power coefficient and the circulation amount ratio are also investigated in the spanwise direction of the blade. It can be observed from the results that the peak of power coefficient increases with the increase of the ratio of the diameter and blade span length H/D at the fixed solidity. However, the optimum tip speed ratio was expected to be increased with the increase of H/D. Moreover, in the case of the fixed rotor aspect ratio of H/c = 6, the power coefficient depends on the rotor aspect ratio, rather than the ratio of the diameter and blade span length. Compared with the H/D = 1.2, the circulation amount ratio of H/D = 0.9 indicates a large negative value in the blade center position. - Highlights: • Power and vortex characteristic are discussed with panel method. • Effects of the rotor aspect ratio and solidity on the performance are investigated. • For the σ = 0.064, the maximum power coefficient increases with increasing of H/D. • Circulation amount ratio indicates a large negative value in the case of H/D = 0.9. • Power at the blade central position increases with increasing of rotor aspect ratio.

  1. Influence of pitch, twist, and taper on a blade`s performance loss due to roughness

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tangler, J.L. [National Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO (United States)

    1996-12-31

    The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of blade geometric parameters such as pitch, twist, and taper on a blade`s sensitivity to leading edge roughness. The approach began with an evaluation of available test data of performance degradation due to roughness effects for several rotors. In addition to airfoil geometry, this evaluation suggested that a rotor`s sensitivity to roughness was also influenced by the blade geometric parameters. Parametric studies were conducted using the PROP computer code with wind-tunnel airfoil characteristics for smooth and rough surface conditions to quantify the performance loss due to roughness for tapered and twisted blades relative to a constant-chord, non-twisted blade at several blade pitch angles. The results indicate that a constant-chord, non-twisted blade pitched toward stall will have the greatest losses due to roughness. The use of twist, taper, and positive blade pitch angles all help reduce the angle-of-attack distribution along the blade for a given wind speed and the associated performance degradation due to roughness. 8 refs., 6 figs.

  2. Influence of pitch, twist, and taper on a blade`s performance loss due to roughness

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tangler, J.L. [National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado (United States)

    1997-08-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of blade geometric parameters such as pitch, twist, and taper on a blade`s sensitivity to leading edge roughness. The approach began with an evaluation of available test data of performance degradation due to roughness effects for several rotors. In addition to airfoil geometry, this evaluation suggested that a rotor`s sensitivity to roughness was also influenced by the blade geometric parameters. Parametric studies were conducted using the PROP computer code with wind-tunnel airfoil characteristics for smooth and rough surface conditions to quantify the performance loss due to roughness for tapered and twisted blades relative to a constant-chord, non-twisted blade at several blade pitch angles. The results indicate that a constant-chord, non-twisted blade pitched toward stall will have the greatest losses due to roughness. The use of twist, taper, and positive blade pitch angles all help reduce the angle-of-attack distribution along the blade for a given wind speed and the associated performance degradation due to roughness. (au)

  3. Development of a piezoelectric actuator for trailing-edge flap control of rotor blades

    Science.gov (United States)

    Straub, Friedrich K.; Ngo, Hieu T.; Anand, V.; Domzalski, David B.

    1999-06-01

    Piezoelectric actuator technology has now reached a level where macro-positioning applications in the context of smart structures can be considered. One application with high payoffs is vibration reduction, noise reduction, and performance improvements in helicopters. Integration of piezoelectric actuators in the rotor blade is attractive, since it attacks the problem at the source. The present paper covers the development of a piezoelectric actuator for trailing edge flap control on a 34-foot diameter helicopter main rotor. The design of an actuator using bi-axial stack columns, and its bench, shake, and spin testing are described. A series of enhancements lead to an improved version that, together with use of latest stack technology, meets the requirements. Next steps in this DARPA sponsored program are development of the actuator and full scale rotor system for wind tunnel testing in the NASA Ames 40 X 80 foot wind tunnel and flight testing on the MD Explorer.

  4. Finite Element Analysis of the Rotor System of a Magnetically Suspended Compound Molecule Pump

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Pingfan; Zhao Lei; Shi Zhengang; Yang Guojun

    2014-01-01

    A novel magnetically suspended compound molecule pump has been designed, which has been supported by the active magnetic bearings (AMBs) system with 5 degrees of freedom. According to the characteristics of the high speed and AMBs, the rotor system of the magnetically suspended compound molecule pump has been analyzed by the finite element method. Modal analysis has been performed for the rotor, thus modal frequencies and corresponding modal shapes have been obtained. For the high rotating speed the blades usually have tended to be destroyed as the results of the centrifugal deformation and vibration. So several static parameters have been analyzed, such as stress distributions and deformations. Simulation results provide a theoretical foundation for the design of the magnetically suspended compound molecule pump’s controllers. The reliability and safety of the structure have been verified completely. Furthermore, this paper is of great significance for the pumps’ future developments. (author)

  5. Non-Destructive Measurement Methods (Neutron-, X-ray Radiography, Vibration Diagnostics and Ultrasound) in the Inspection of Helicopter Rotor Blades

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Balasko, M; Endroczi, G; Tarnai, Gy; Veres, I; Molnar, Gy; Svab, E

    2005-01-01

    The experiments regarding structural failures in helicopter rotor blade's composite structures causing water penetrations and bypasses were performed at the Dynamic Radiography Station (DRS) of the Budapest...

  6. The influence on energy conversion and induction from large blade deflections

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aagaard Madsen, H; Rasmussen, F [Risoe National Lab., Roskilde (Denmark)

    1999-03-01

    Flexible blades or coning means that the swept area is no longer a plane disc as assumed in the blade element momentum (BEM) theory. How is the induced flow field of the rotor influenced by such changes and what does this mean for the loading and energy conversion? This has been investigated by studying the flow through four different rotor geometries on basis of a numerical, axis-symmetric actuator disc model. Volume forces perpendicular to the local blade surface were applied and the converted power is the work performed by these forces. To simplify the comparisons, only a constant load distribution was used. The numerical results show that the shape of the rotor disc has considerable influence on the induction or axial velocity. The axial velocities vary with radial position in the case of constant loading where BEM theory gives constant velocities. There is considerable variation of the local power coefficient C{sub p,loc} even for constant loading. Locally, C{sub p,loc} can exceed the Betz limit. However, integrating C{sub p,loc} over the rotor plane, the total power coefficient for the different rotors are exactly the same. (au)

  7. On vortex-airfoil interaction noise including span-end effects, with application to open-rotor aeroacoustics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roger, Michel; Schram, Christophe; Moreau, Stéphane

    2014-01-01

    A linear analytical model is developed for the chopping of a cylindrical vortex by a flat-plate airfoil, with or without a span-end effect. The major interest is the contribution of the tip-vortex produced by an upstream rotating blade in the rotor-rotor interaction noise mechanism of counter-rotating open rotors. Therefore the interaction is primarily addressed in an annular strip of limited spanwise extent bounding the impinged blade segment, and the unwrapped strip is described in Cartesian coordinates. The study also addresses the interaction of a propeller wake with a downstream wing or empennage. Cylindrical vortices are considered, for which the velocity field is expanded in two-dimensional gusts in the reference frame of the airfoil. For each gust the response of the airfoil is derived, first ignoring the effect of the span end, assimilating the airfoil to a rigid flat plate, with or without sweep. The corresponding unsteady lift acts as a distribution of acoustic dipoles, and the radiated sound is obtained from a radiation integral over the actual extent of the airfoil. In the case of tip-vortex interaction noise in CRORs the acoustic signature is determined for vortex trajectories passing beyond, exactly at and below the tip radius of the impinged blade segment, in a reference frame attached to the segment. In a second step the same problem is readdressed accounting for the effect of span end on the aerodynamic response of a blade tip. This is achieved through a composite two-directional Schwarzschild's technique. The modifications of the distributed unsteady lift and of the radiated sound are discussed. The chained source and radiation models provide physical insight into the mechanism of vortex chopping by a blade tip in free field. They allow assessing the acoustic benefit of clipping the rear rotor in a counter-rotating open-rotor architecture.

  8. Development of advanced blade pitching kinematics for cycloturbines and cyclorotors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adams, Zachary Howard

    Cycloturbines and cyclorotors are established concepts for extracting freesteam fluid energy and producing thrust which promise to exceed the performance of traditional horizontal axis turbines and rotors while maintaining unique operational advantages. However, their potential is not yet realized in widespread applications. A central barrier to their proliferation is the lack of fundamental understanding of the aerodynamic interaction between the turbine and the freestream flow. In particular, blade pitch must be precisely actuated throughout the revolution to achieve the proper blade angle of attack and maximize performance. So far, there is no adequate method for determining or implementing the optimal blade pitching kinematics for cyclorotors or cycloturbines. This dissertation bridges the pitching deficiency by introducing a novel low order model to predict improved pitch kinematics, experimentally demonstrating improved performance, and evaluating flow physics with a high order Navier-Stokes computational code. The foundation for developing advanced blade pitch motions is a low order model named Fluxline Theory. Fluid calculations are performed in a coordinate system fixed to streamlines whose spatial locations are not pre-described in order to capture the flow expansion/contraction and bending through the turbine. A transformation then determines the spatial location of streamlines through the rotor disk and finally blade element method integrations determine the power and forces produced. Validation against three sets of extant cycloturbine experimental data demonstrates improvement over other existing streamtube models. Fluxline Theory was extended by removing dependence on a blade element model to better understand how turbine-fluid interaction impacts thrust and power production. This pure momentum variation establishes a cycloturbine performance limit similar to the Betz Limit for horizontal axis wind turbines, as well as the fluid deceleration required

  9. Blade vortex interaction noise reduction techniques for a rotorcraft

    Science.gov (United States)

    Charles, Bruce D. (Inventor); Hassan, Ahmed A. (Inventor); Tadghighi, Hormoz (Inventor); JanakiRam, Ram D. (Inventor); Sankar, Lakshmi N. (Inventor)

    1996-01-01

    An active control device for reducing blade-vortex interactions (BVI) noise generated by a rotorcraft, such as a helicopter, comprises a trailing edge flap located near the tip of each of the rotorcraft's rotor blades. The flap may be actuated in any conventional way, and is scheduled to be actuated to a deflected position during rotation of the rotor blade through predetermined regions of the rotor azimuth, and is further scheduled to be actuated to a retracted position through the remaining regions of the rotor azimuth. Through the careful azimuth-dependent deployment and retraction of the flap over the rotor disk, blade tip vortices which are the primary source for BVI noise are (a) made weaker and (b) pushed farther away from the rotor disk (that is, larger blade-vortex separation distances are achieved).

  10. Effects of Mie tip-vane on pressure distribution of rotor blade and power augmentation of horizontal axis wind turbine; Yokutan shoyoku Mie ben ni yoru suiheijiku fusha yokumenjo no atsuryoku bunpu no kaizen to seino kojo tono kankei

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shimizu, Y.; Maeda, T.; Kamada, Y. [Mie Univ., Mie (Japan); Seto, H. [Mitsubishi Motors Corp., Tokyo (Japan)

    2000-04-01

    By recent developments of exclusive rotor blade, the efficiency of wind turbine is improved substantially. By measuring pressure on rotor blades of horizontal axis wind turbines rotating in wind tunnels, this report clarified relation between improvement of pressure distribution on main rotor blades by Mie vane and upgrade of wind turbine performance. The results under mentioned have been got by measuring pressure distribution on rotor blades, visualization by tuft, and measuring resistance of Mie vane. (1) The difference of pressure between suction surface and pressure surface on the end of rotor blade increase, and output power of wind turbine improves. (2) Vortex of blade end is inhibited by Mie vane. (3) The reason of reduction on wind turbine performance with Mie vane in aria of high rotating speed ratio is the increase of Mie vane flow resistance.(NEDO)

  11. Diagnosis of wind turbine rotor system

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Niemann, Hans Henrik; Mirzaei, Mahmood; Henriksen, Lars Christian

    2016-01-01

    is based on available standard sensors on wind turbines. The method can be used both on-line as well as off-line. Faults or changes in the rotor system will result in asymmetries, which can be monitored and diagnosed. This can be done by using the multi-blade coordinate transformation. Changes in the rotor......This paper describes a model free method for monitoring and fault diagnosis of the elements in a rotor system for a wind turbine. The diagnosis as well as the monitoring is done without using any model of the wind turbine and the applied controller or a description of the wind profile. The method...

  12. Reducing rotor weight

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cheney, M.C. [PS Enterprises, Inc., Glastonbury, CT (United States)

    1997-12-31

    The cost of energy for renewables has gained greater significance in recent years due to the drop in price in some competing energy sources, particularly natural gas. In pursuit of lower manufacturing costs for wind turbine systems, work was conducted to explore an innovative rotor designed to reduce weight and cost over conventional rotor systems. Trade-off studies were conducted to measure the influence of number of blades, stiffness, and manufacturing method on COE. The study showed that increasing number of blades at constant solidity significantly reduced rotor weight and that manufacturing the blades using pultrusion technology produced the lowest cost per pound. Under contracts with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the California Energy Commission, a 400 kW (33m diameter) turbine was designed employing this technology. The project included tests of an 80 kW (15.5m diameter) dynamically scaled rotor which demonstrated the viability of the design.

  13. A new experimental method for determining local airloads on rotor blades in forward flight

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berton, E.; Maresca, C.; Favier, D.

    This paper presents a new approach for determining local airloads on helicopter rotor blade sections in forward flight. The method is based on the momentum equation in which all the terms are expressed by means of the velocity field measured by a laser Doppler velocimeter. The relative magnitude of the different terms involved in the momentum and Bernoulli equations is estimated and the results are encouraging.

  14. Comparison of the lifting-line free vortex wake method and the blade-element-momentum theory regarding the simulated loads of multi-MW wind turbines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hauptmann, S; Bülk, M; Cheng, P W; Schön, L; Erbslöh, S; Boorsma, K; Grasso, F; Kühn, M

    2014-01-01

    Design load simulations for wind turbines are traditionally based on the blade- element-momentum theory (BEM). The BEM approach is derived from a simplified representation of the rotor aerodynamics and several semi-empirical correction models. A more sophisticated approach to account for the complex flow phenomena on wind turbine rotors can be found in the lifting-line free vortex wake method. This approach is based on a more physics based representation, especially for global flow effects. This theory relies on empirical correction models only for the local flow effects, which are associated with the boundary layer of the rotor blades. In this paper the lifting-line free vortex wake method is compared to a state- of-the-art BEM formulation with regard to aerodynamic and aeroelastic load simulations of the 5MW UpWind reference wind turbine. Different aerodynamic load situations as well as standardised design load cases that are sensitive to the aeroelastic modelling are evaluated in detail. This benchmark makes use of the AeroModule developed by ECN, which has been coupled to the multibody simulation code SIMPACK

  15. Comparison of the lifting-line free vortex wake method and the blade-element-momentum theory regarding the simulated loads of multi-MW wind turbines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hauptmann, S.; Bülk, M.; Schön, L.; Erbslöh, S.; Boorsma, K.; Grasso, F.; Kühn, M.; Cheng, P. W.

    2014-12-01

    Design load simulations for wind turbines are traditionally based on the blade- element-momentum theory (BEM). The BEM approach is derived from a simplified representation of the rotor aerodynamics and several semi-empirical correction models. A more sophisticated approach to account for the complex flow phenomena on wind turbine rotors can be found in the lifting-line free vortex wake method. This approach is based on a more physics based representation, especially for global flow effects. This theory relies on empirical correction models only for the local flow effects, which are associated with the boundary layer of the rotor blades. In this paper the lifting-line free vortex wake method is compared to a state- of-the-art BEM formulation with regard to aerodynamic and aeroelastic load simulations of the 5MW UpWind reference wind turbine. Different aerodynamic load situations as well as standardised design load cases that are sensitive to the aeroelastic modelling are evaluated in detail. This benchmark makes use of the AeroModule developed by ECN, which has been coupled to the multibody simulation code SIMPACK.

  16. Theoretical analysis of the flow around a Savonius rotor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aouachria, Z.; Djoumati, D. [Batna Univ., Batna (Algeria). Laboratoire de Physique Energetique Appliquee; Djamel, H. [Batna Univ., Batna (Algeria). Dept. de Mecanique Energetique

    2009-07-01

    While Savonius rotors do not perform as well as Darrieus wind turbine rotors, Savonius rotors work in all wind directions, do not require a rudder, and are capable of operating at relatively low speeds. A discrete vortex method was used to analyze the complex flow around a Savonius rotor. Velocity and pressure fields obtained in the analysis were used to determine both mechanical and energetic rotor performance. Savonius rotor bi-blades were considered in relation to 4 free eddies, the leakage points of each blade, and the distribution of basic eddies along the blades. Each blade was divided into equal elementary arcs. Linear equations and Kelvin theorem were reduced to a single equation. Results showed good agreement with data obtained in previous experimental studies. The study demonstrated that vortice emissions were unbalanced. The resistant blade had 2 vortice emissions, while the driving blade had only a single vortex. The results of the study will be used to clarify the mechanical and aerodynamic functions as well as to determine the different values between the blades and the speed of the turbine's engine. 9 refs., 4 figs.

  17. Wind Turbine Rotor Simulation via CFD Based Actuator Disc Technique Compared to Detailed Measurement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Esmail Mahmoodi

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, a generalized Actuator Disc (AD is used to model the wind turbine rotor of the MEXICO experiment, a collaborative European wind turbine project. The AD model as a combination of CFD technique and User Defined Functions codes (UDF, so-called UDF/AD model is used to simulate loads and performance of the rotor in three different wind speed tests. Distributed force on the blade, thrust and power production of the rotor as important designing parameters of wind turbine rotors are focused to model. A developed Blade Element Momentum (BEM theory as a code based numerical technique as well as a full rotor simulation both from the literature are included into the results to compare and discuss. The output of all techniques is compared to detailed measurements for validation, which led us to final conclusions.

  18. Calibration of partial safety factors for wind turbine rotor blades against fatigue failure; Kalibrering af partielle sikkerhedsfaktorer for udmattelse af vindmoellerotorer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Christensen, C.J.; Ronold, K.O.; Thoegersen, M.L.

    2000-08-01

    The report describes a calibration of partial safety factors for wind turbine rotor blades subjected to fatigue loading in flapwise and edgewise bending. While earlier models - developed by the authors - dealt with such calibrations for site-specific individual turbines only, the calibration model applied herein covers an integrated analysis with different turbines on different sites and with different blade materials. The result is an optimized set of partial safety factors, i.e. a set of safety factors that lead to minimum deviation from the target reliability of the achieved reliabilities over the selected scope of turbines, sites and materials. The turbines included in the study cover rated powers of 450-600 kW. The result from the calibration are discussed in relation to the partial safety factors that are given in the Danish codes for design of glass fibre reinforced rotor blades (DS472 and DS456). (au)

  19. Numerical investigations on axial and radial blade rubs in turbo-machinery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abdelrhman, Ahmed M.; Tang, Eric Sang Sung; Salman Leong, M.; Al-Qrimli, Haidar F.; Rajamohan, G.

    2017-07-01

    In the recent years, the clearance between the rotor blades and stator/casing had been getting smaller and smaller prior improving the aerodynamic efficiency of the turbomachines as demand in the engineering field. Due to the clearance reduction between the blade tip and the rotor casing and between rotor blades and stator blades, axial and radial blade rubbing could be occurred, especially at high speed resulting into complex nonlinear vibrations. The primary aim of this study is to address the blade axial rubbing phenomenon using numerical analysis of rotor system. A comparison between rubbing caused impacts of axial and radial blade rubbing and rubbing forces are also aims of this study. Tow rotor models (rotor-stator and rotor casing models) has been designed and sketched using SOILDSWORKS software. ANSYS software has been used for the simulation and the numerical analysis. The rubbing conditions were simulated at speed range of 1000rpm, 1500rpm and 2000rpm. Analysis results for axial blade rubbing showed the appearance of blade passing frequency and its multiple frequencies (lx, 2x 3x etc.) and these frequencies will more excited with increasing the rotational speed. Also, it has been observed that when the rotating speed increased, the rubbing force and the harmonics frequencies in x, y and z-direction become higher and severe. The comparison study showed that axial blade rub is more dangerous and would generate a higher vibration impacts and higher blade rubbing force than radial blade rub.

  20. CFD simulation of a 2 bladed multi megawatt wind turbine with flexible rotor connection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klein, L.; Luhmann, B.; Rösch, K.-N.; Lutz, T.; Cheng, P.-W.; Krämer, E.

    2016-09-01

    An innovative passive load reduction concept for a two bladed 3.4 MW wind turbine is investigated by a conjoint CFD and MBS - BEM methodology. The concept consists of a flexible hub mount which allows a tumbling motion of the rotor. First, the system is simulated with a MBS tool coupled to a BEM code. Then, the resulting motion of the rotor is extracted from the simulation and applied on the CFD simulation as prescribed motion. The aerodynamic results show a significant load reduction on the support structure. Hub pitching and yawing moment amplitudes are reduced by more than 50% in a vertically sheared inflow. Furthermore, the suitability of the MBS - BEM approach for the simulation of the load reduction system is shown.

  1. Performance prediction of asymmetrical bladed H-Darrieus VAWT rotors in low wind speed condition using CFD

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mazarbhuiya, Hussain Mahamed Sahed Mostafa; Biswas, Agnimitra; Sharma, Kaushal Kumar

    2018-04-01

    Wind energy is an essential and carbon free form of renewable energy resources. Energy can be easily extracted from wind with the use of Horizontal axis and Vertical axis wind turbine(VAWT). The performance of turbine depends on airfoil shape. The present work emphasizes the aerodynamics of different asymmetrical airfoils used in VAWT rotors. This investigation is conducted for the selection of efficient asymmetrical bladed H-Darrieus VAWT rotor. Five numbers of thick and cambered asymmetrical airfoil is considered for this investigation. A free stream velocity of 6.0 m/s is considered to simulate 2D CFD analysis using k-ɛ turbulence model. The power coefficient (Cp) of all H-Darrieus VAWT rotor increase with increase in TSR value to a certain limit and after it starts decrease with further increase of TSR. In the present investigation the Cp and TSR of NACA 63415 (RT-30%) are found to be higher among all considered asymmetrical airfoils. Moreover, Ct values of NACA 63415 (RT-30%) are also high corresponding to all TSR values. This is due to the long duration of attachment of flow with blade surroundings. Hence, NACA 63415 (RT- 30%) airfoil may be considered as an efficient airfoil among S818, GOE 561, GU25-5(11)8, and KENNEDY AND MARSDEN (kenmar) asymmetrical airfoils.

  2. Hydrogen utilization international clean energy system technology (WE-NET). Subtask 8. Development of hydrogen combustion turbines (development of the main component devices such as turbine blades and rotors); Suiso riyo kokusai clean energy system gijutsu (WE-NET). Subtask 8. Suiso nensho turbine no kaihatsu (turbine yoku, rotor nado shuyo kosei kiki no kaihatsu)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1997-03-01

    The paper described the result of the fiscal 1996 development relating to hydrogen combustion turbines, as one of the hydrogen utilization technologies, which have excellent environmentality and are expected of remarkably high efficiency. In the film cooling system of first-stage moving/stationary blades, the smaller the pitch of film pore is, the higher the mean cooling efficiency becomes, indicating 0.7 at maximum. As compared with the conventional shower head type, the metal temperature can be reduced 30-40degC. In the recovery type inner (convection) cooling system, by reducing the blade number, the consumption amount of coolant can be reduced 6% in stationary blade and 13% in moving blade, as compared with the result of the preceding year. In the element test of the hybrid cooling system, film cooling efficiency was actually measured by the porous module test equipment, and the result well agreed with the calculation result. In the water cooling system, studied were water (stationary blade) and vapor (moving blade) of the closed cooling structure for realization of a cycle efficiency of 60%. In rotor/disk cooling, analyses were made of seal characteristic grasp tests and characteristics of the rotor. The effect of deflection in the mainstream was small. Besides, proper value of the seal overlapping amount could be obtained. 6 refs., 368 figs., 55 tabs.

  3. Improved Structure and Fabrication of Large, High-Power KHPS Rotors - Final Scientific/Technical Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Corren, Dean [Verdant Power, Inc.; Colby, Jonathan [Verdant Power, Inc.; Adonizio, Mary Ann [Verdant Power, Inc.

    2013-01-29

    Verdant Power, Inc, working in partnership with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), and the University of Minnesota St. Anthony Falls Laboratory (SAFL), among other partners, used evolving Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Finite Element Analysis (FEA) models and techniques to improve the structure and fabrication of large, high-power composite Kinetic Hydropower System (KHPS) rotor blades. The objectives of the project were to: design; analyze; develop for manufacture and fabricate; and thoroughly test, in the lab and at full scale in the water, the improved KHPS rotor blade.

  4. Thermal stresses investigation of a gas turbine blade

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gowreesh, S.; Pravin, V. K.; Rajagopal, K.; Veena, P. H.

    2012-06-01

    The analysis of structural and thermal stress values that are produced while the turbine is operating are the key factors of study while designing the next generation gas turbines. The present study examines structural, thermal, modal analysis of the first stage rotor blade of a two stage gas turbine. The design features of the turbine segment of the gas turbine have been taken from the preliminary design of a power turbine for maximization of an existing turbojet engine with optimized dump gap of the combustion chamber, since the allowable temperature on the turbine blade dependents on the hot gas temperatures from the combustion chamber. In the present paper simplified 3-D Finite Element models are developed with governing boundary conditions and solved using the commercial FEA software ANSYS. As the temperature has a significant effect on the overall stress on the rotor blades, a detail study on mechanical and thermal stresses are estimated and evaluated with the experimental values.

  5. Helicopter model rotor-blade vortex interaction impulsive noise: Scalability and parametric variations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Splettstoesser, W. R.; Schultz, K. J.; Boxwell, D. A.; Schmitz, F. H.

    1984-01-01

    Acoustic data taken in the anechoic Deutsch-Niederlaendischer Windkanal (DNW) have documented the blade vortex interaction (BVI) impulsive noise radiated from a 1/7-scale model main rotor of the AH-1 series helicopter. Averaged model scale data were compared with averaged full scale, inflight acoustic data under similar nondimensional test conditions. At low advance ratios (mu = 0.164 to 0.194), the data scale remarkable well in level and waveform shape, and also duplicate the directivity pattern of BVI impulsive noise. At moderate advance ratios (mu = 0.224 to 0.270), the scaling deteriorates, suggesting that the model scale rotor is not adequately simulating the full scale BVI noise; presently, no proved explanation of this discrepancy exists. Carefully performed parametric variations over a complete matrix of testing conditions have shown that all of the four governing nondimensional parameters - tip Mach number at hover, advance ratio, local inflow ratio, and thrust coefficient - are highly sensitive to BVI noise radiation.

  6. Preliminary design study of advanced composite blade and hub and nonmechanical control system for the tilt-rotor aircraft. Volume 2: Project planning data

    Science.gov (United States)

    1980-01-01

    Project planning data for a rotor and control system procurement and testing program for modifications to the XV-15 tilt-rotor research demonstrator aircraft is presented. The design, fabrication, and installation of advanced composite blades compatible with the existing hub, an advanced composite hub, and a nonmechanical control system are required.

  7. Some practical issues in the computational design of airfoils for the helicopter main rotor blades

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kostić Ivan

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available Very important requirement for the helicopter rotor airfoils is zero, or nearly zero moment coefficient about the aerodynamic center. Unlike the old technologies used for metal blades, modern production involving application of plastic composites has imposed the necessity of adding a flat tab extension to the blade trailing edge, thus changing the original airfoil shape. Using computer program TRANPRO, the author has developed and verified an algorithm for numerical analysis in this design stage, applied it on asymmetrical reflex camber airfoils, determined the influence of angular tab positioning on the moment coefficient value and redesigned some existing airfoils to include properly positioned tabs that satisfy very low moment coefficient requirement. .

  8. Influence of delayed excitation on vibrations of turbine blades couple

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Půst L.

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available In the presented paper, the computational model of the turbine blade couple is investigated with the main attention to the influence two harmonic excitation forces, having the same frequency and amplitude but with moderate delay in time. Time delay between the exciting harmonic forces depends on the revolutions of bladed disk, on the number of blades on a rotating disk and on the number of stator blades. The reduction of resonance vibrations realized by means of dry friction between the shroud blade-heads increases roughly proportional to the difference of stator and rotor blade-numbers and also to the magnitude of dry friction force. From the analysis of blade couple with direct contact it was proved that the increase of friction forces causes decrease of resonance peaks, but the influence of elastic micro-deformations in the contact surfaces (modeled e.g. by the modified Coulomb dry friction law is rather small. Analysis of a blade couple with a friction element shows that the lower number of stator blades has negligible influence on the amplitudes of both blades, but decreases amplitudes of the friction element oscillations. Similarly the increase of friction forces causes a decrease of resonance peaks, but an increase of friction element amplitudes.

  9. Preliminary design study of advanced composite blade and hub and nonmechanical control system for the tilt-rotor aircraft. Volume 1: Engineering studies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alexander, H. R.; Smith, K. E.; Mcveigh, M. A.; Dixon, P. G.; Mcmanus, B. L.

    1979-01-01

    Composite structures technology is applied in a preliminary design study of advanced technology blades and hubs for the XV-15 tilt rotor research demonstrator aircraft. Significant improvements in XV-15 hover and cruise performance are available using blades designed for compatibility with the existing aircraft, i.e., blade installation would not require modification of the airframe, hub or upper controls. Provision of a low risk nonmechanical control system was also studied, and a development specification is given.

  10. Dynamic behavior of aero-engine rotor with fusing design suffering blade off

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cun WANG

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Fan blade off (FBO from a running turbofan rotor will introduce sudden unbalance into the dynamical system, which will lead to the rub-impact, the asymmetry of rotor and a series of interesting dynamic behavior. The paper first presents a theoretical study on the response excited by sudden unbalance. The results reveal that the reaction force of the bearing located near the fan could always reach a very high value which may lead to the crush of ball, journal sticking, high stress on the other components and some other failures to endanger the safety of engine in FBO event. Therefore, the dynamic influence of a safety design named “fusing” is investigated by mechanism analysis. Meantime, an explicit FBO model is established to simulate the FBO event, and evaluate the effectiveness and potential dynamic influence of fusing design. The results show that the fusing design could reduce the vibration amplitude of rotor, the reaction force on most bearings and loads on mounts, but the sudden change of support stiffness induced by fusing could produce an impact effect which will couple with the influence of sudden unbalance. Therefore, the implementation of the design should be considered carefully with optimized parameters in actual aero-engine.

  11. Identification of Flap Motion Parameters for Vibration Reduction in Helicopter Rotors with Multiple Active Trailing Edge Flaps

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Uğbreve;ur Dalli

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available An active control method utilizing the multiple trailing edge flap configuration for rotorcraft vibration suppression and blade loads control is presented. A comprehensive model for rotor blade with active trailing edge flaps is used to calculate the vibration characteristics, natural frequencies and mode shapes of any complex composite helicopter rotor blade. A computer program is developed to calculate the system response, rotor blade root forces and moments under aerodynamic forcing conditions. Rotor blade system response is calculated using the proposed solution method and the developed program depending on any structural and aerodynamic properties of rotor blades, structural properties of trailing edge flaps and properties of trailing edge flap actuator inputs. Rotor blade loads are determined first on a nominal rotor blade without multiple active trailing edge flaps and then the effects of the active flap motions on the existing rotor blade loads are investigated. Multiple active trailing edge flaps are controlled by using open loop controllers to identify the effects of the actuator signal output properties such as frequency, amplitude and phase on the system response. Effects of using multiple trailing edge flaps on controlling rotor blade vibrations are investigated and some design criteria are determined for the design of trailing edge flap controller that will provide actuator signal outputs to minimize the rotor blade root loads. It is calculated that using the developed active trailing edge rotor blade model, helicopter rotor blade vibrations can be reduced up to 36% of the nominal rotor blade vibrations.

  12. Smart Rotor Modeling: Aero-Servo-Elastic Modeling of a Smart Rotor with Adaptive Trailing Edge Flaps

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bergami, Leonardo

    the trailing edge flap deflection to actively reduce the fatigue loads on the structure. The performance of the smart rotor configuration and its control algorithms are finally quantified by aero-servo-elastic simulations of the smart rotor turbine operating in a standard turbulent wind field.......This book presents the formulation of an aero-servo-elastic model for a wind turbine rotor equipped with Adaptive Trailing Edge Flaps (ATEF), a smart rotor configuration. As the name suggests, an aero-servo-elastic model consists of three main components: an aerodynamic model, a structural model......, and a control model. The book first presents an engineering type of aerodynamic model that accounts for the dynamic effects of flap deflection. The aerodynamic model is implemented in a Blade Element Momentum framework, and coupled with a multi-body structural model in the aero-servoelastic simulation code HAWC...

  13. Effect of rotor configuration on guyed tower and foundation designs and estimated costs for intermediate site horizontal axis wind turbines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frederick, G. R.; Winemiller, J. R.; Savino, J. M.

    1982-01-01

    Three designs of a guyed cylindrical tower and its foundation for an intermediate size horizontal axis wind turbine generator are discussed. The primary difference in the three designs is the configuration of the rotor. Two configurations are two-blade rotors with teetering hubs - one with full span pitchable blades, the other with fixed pitch blades. The third configuration is a three-bladed rotor with a rigid hub and fixed pitch blades. In all configurations the diameter of the rotor is 38 meters and the axis of rotation is 30.4 meters above grade, and the power output is 200 kW and 400 kW. For each configuration the design is based upon for the most severe loading condition either operating wind or hurricane conditions. The diameter of the tower is selected to be 1.5 meters (since it was determined that this would provide sufficient space for access ladders within the tower) with guy rods attached at 10.7 meters above grade. Completing a design requires selecting the required thicknesses of the various cylindrical segments, the number and diameter of the guy rods, the number and size of soil anchors, and the size of the central foundation. The lower natural frequencies of vibration are determined for each design to ensure that operation near resonance does not occur. Finally, a cost estimate is prepared for each design. A preliminary design and cost estimate of a cantilever tower (cylindrical and not guyed) and its foundation is also presented for each of the three configurations.

  14. Vibration analysis of gas turbine blade using FEM

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Iqbal, M.J.; Chohan, G.Y.; Khusnood, S.; Khan, M.A.

    2003-01-01

    In a typical turbo-machine, there is a stator row of blades, which guide the gases onto a rotor row of blades, to extract the mechanical power from the machine. A typical rotor blade was sees upstream disturbance from the stator row and as it rotates, receive a corresponding number of increasing and decreasing lift and moment forces alternating periodically, depending on the number of stator blades/nozzles/guide vanes. Thus all the blades in a turbo-machine receiver their major periodic excitation at a frequency equal to nozzle passing frequency. Since these forces are periodic, one has to consider several number of these harmonics in determining whether resonance takes place, when one of these harmonics coincides with any of the natural frequencies of the blades. Turbine blades have a variety of natural modes of vibration, predominantly as blade alone but also in combination with flexing of the disc rim. These mode occur at characteristic frequencies, which are determined by the distribution of mass and stiffness (in bending or torsion), resulting from the variable thickness over the blade area. Since the advent of steam turbines and their application in various sectors of industry, it is a common experience that a blade failure is a major cause of breakdown in these machines. Blade failures due to fatigue are predominantly vibration related. The dynamic loads on the blading can arise from many sources, the predominant being the source of the operation principles on which the machine is designed. This work deals with vibration analysis of a gas turbine blade using a finite element package ANSYS. Determined the natural frequencies and mode shapes for a turbine blade and a rectangular blade. Results have been validated experimentally using a rectangular blade. ANSYS results have also been compared against published results. (author)

  15. Numerical simulation of a hovering rotor using embedded grids

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duque, Earl-Peter N.; Srinivasan, Ganapathi R.

    1992-01-01

    The flow field for a rotor blade in hover was computed by numerically solving the compressible thin-layer Navier-Stokes equations on embedded grids. In this work, three embedded grids were used to discretize the flow field - one for the rotor blade and two to convect the rotor wake. The computations were performed at two hovering test conditions, for a two-bladed rectangular rotor of aspect ratio six. The results compare fairly with experiment and illustrates the use of embedded grids in solving helicopter type flow fields.

  16. KNOW-BLADE, task-3.2 report, tip shape study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Soerensen, N.N.; Johansen, J.; Conway, S.; Voutsinas, S.; Hansen, M.O.L.; Stuermer, A.

    2005-01-01

    For modern rotor blades with their very large aspect ratio, the blade tip is a very limited part of the overall rotor, and as such of limited importance for the overall aerodynamics of the rotor. Even though they may not be very important for the overall power production, the tip noise can be very important for the acoustics of the rotor [15], and the blade tips can as well be important for the aerodynamic damping properties of the rotor blades [13]. Unfortunately, not many options exists for predicting the aerodynamic behavior of blade tips using computational methods. Experimentally it is dicult to perform detailed measurements in the form of pressure and velocity measurements in natural wind conditions on modern large scale turbines due to the inherent unsteadiness in the natural wind. The present study describes the application of four different Navier-Stokes solvers to tip shape studies, and shows that these codes are well suited to study the flow around different tip shape geometries, and can predict the pressure distributions at the blade tip quite accurately. (au)

  17. Nonlinear Characteristics of Helicopter Rotor Blade Airfoils: An Analytical Evaluation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Constantin Rotaru

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Some results are presented about the study of airloads of the helicopter rotor blades, the aerodynamic characteristics of airfoil sections, the physical features, and the techniques for modeling the unsteady effects found on airfoil operating under nominally attached flow conditions away from stall. The unsteady problem was approached on the basis of Theodorsen's theory, where the aerodynamic response (lift and pitching moment is considered as a sum of noncirculatory and circulatory parts. The noncirculatory or apparent mass accounts for the pressure forces required to accelerate the fluid in the vicinity of the airfoil. The apparent mass contributions to the forces and pitching moments, which are proportional to the instantaneous motion, are included as part of the quasi-steady result.

  18. Development and Operation of an Automatic Rotor Trim Control System for the UH-60 Individual Blade Control Wind Tunnel Test

    Science.gov (United States)

    Theodore, Colin R.; Tischler, Mark B.

    2010-01-01

    An automatic rotor trim control system was developed and successfully used during a wind tunnel test of a full-scale UH-60 rotor system with Individual Blade Control (IBC) actuators. The trim control system allowed rotor trim to be set more quickly, precisely and repeatably than in previous wind tunnel tests. This control system also allowed the rotor trim state to be maintained during transients and drift in wind tunnel flow, and through changes in IBC actuation. The ability to maintain a consistent rotor trim state was key to quickly and accurately evaluating the effect of IBC on rotor performance, vibration, noise and loads. This paper presents details of the design and implementation of the trim control system including the rotor system hardware, trim control requirements, and trim control hardware and software implementation. Results are presented showing the effect of IBC on rotor trim and dynamic response, a validation of the rotor dynamic simulation used to calculate the initial control gains and tuning of the control system, and the overall performance of the trim control system during the wind tunnel test.

  19. Open Rotor Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Zante, Dale E.; Rizzi, Stephen A.

    2016-01-01

    The ERA project executed a comprehensive test program for Open Rotor aerodynamic and acoustic performance. System studies used the data to estimate the fuel burn savings and acoustic margin for an aircraft system with open rotor propulsion. The acoustic measurements were used to produce an auralization that compares the legacy blades to the current generation of open rotor designs.

  20. The Aerodynamic Performance of an Over-the-Rotor Liner With Circumferential Grooves on a High Bypass Ratio Turbofan Rotor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bozak, Richard F.; Hughes, Christopher E.; Buckley, James

    2013-01-01

    While liners have been utilized throughout turbofan ducts to attenuate fan noise, additional attenuation is obtainable by placing an acoustic liner over-the-rotor. Previous experiments have shown significant fan performance losses when acoustic liners are installed over-the-rotor. The fan blades induce an oscillating flow in the acoustic liners which results in a performance loss near the blade tip. An over-the-rotor liner was designed with circumferential grooves between the fan blade tips and the acoustic liner to reduce the oscillating flow in the acoustic liner. An experiment was conducted in the W-8 Single-Stage Axial Compressor Facility at NASA Glenn Research Center on a 1.5 pressure ratio fan to evaluate the impact of this over-the-rotor treatment design on fan aerodynamic performance. The addition of a circumferentially grooved over-the-rotor design between the fan blades and the acoustic liner reduced the performance loss, in terms of fan adiabatic efficiency, to less than 1 percent which is within the repeatability of this experiment.

  1. Multi-life-stage monitoring system based on fibre bragg grating sensors for more reliable wind turbine rotor blades: Experimental and numerical analysis of deformation and failure in composite materials

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pereira, Gilmar Ferreira

    , design and optimisation of offshore wind turbines. The MareWint main scientific objective is to optimise the design of offshore wind turbines, maximise reliability, and minimise maintenance costs. Integrated within the innovative rotor blades work-package, this PhD project is focused on damage analysis...... are used to improve the design process, and the implemented sensor are used to control the manufacturing and operation stage of a wind turbine rotor blade. The FBG sensors measurement principle is analysed from a multi-life-stage (design, material testing, manufacturing, and operation) perspective......, and supported/validated by numerical models, software tools, signal post-processing, and experimental validation. The damage in the wind turbine rotor blade is analysed from a material perspective (fibre reinforced polymers) and used as a design property, meaning that damage is accepted in an operational wind...

  2. Dynamic modeling and vibration characteristics analysis of the aero-engine dual-rotor system with Fan blade out

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Pingchao; Zhang, Dayi; Ma, Yanhong; Hong, Jie

    2018-06-01

    Fan Blade Out (FBO) from a running rotor of the turbofan engine will not only introduce the sudden unbalance and inertia asymmetry into the rotor, but also apply large impact load and induce rotor-to-stator rubbing on the rotor, which makes the mass, gyroscopic and stiffness matrixes of the dynamic equation become time-varying and highly nonlinear, consequently leads to the system's complicated vibration. The dynamic analysis of the aero-engine rotor system is one essential requirement of the authorities and is vital to the aero-engine's safety. The paper aims at studying the dynamic responses of the complicated dual-rotor systems at instantaneous and windmilling statuses when FBO event occurs. The physical process and mechanical characteristics of the FBO event are described qualitatively, based on which the dynamic modeling for an aero-engine dual-rotor system is carried out considering several excitations caused by FBO. Meanwhile the transient response during the instantaneous status and steady-state response at the windmilling status are obtained. The results reveal that the sudden unbalance can induce impact load to the rotor, and lead to the sharp increase of the vibration amplitude and reaction force. The rub-impact will apply constraint effects on the rotor and restrict the transient vibration amplitude, while the inertia asymmetry has little influence on the transient response. When the rotor with huge unbalance operates at windmilling status, the rub-impact turns to be the main factor determining the rotor's dynamic behavior, and several potential motion states, such as instable dry whip, intermittent rubbing and synchronous full annular rubbing would happen on certain conditions.

  3. Relevance of aerodynamic modelling for load reduction control strategies of two-bladed wind turbines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luhmann, B.; Cheng, P. W.

    2014-06-01

    A new load reduction concept is being developed for the two-bladed prototype of the Skywind 3.5MW wind turbine. Due to transport and installation advantages both offshore and in complex terrain two-bladed turbine designs are potentially more cost-effective than comparable three-bladed configurations. A disadvantage of two-bladed wind turbines is the increased fatigue loading, which is a result of asymmetrically distributed rotor forces. The innovative load reduction concept of the Skywind prototype consists of a combination of cyclic pitch control and tumbling rotor kinematics to mitigate periodic structural loading. Aerodynamic design tools must be able to model correctly the advanced dynamics of the rotor. In this paper the impact of the aerodynamic modelling approach is investigated for critical operational modes of a two-bladed wind turbine. Using a lifting line free wake vortex code (FVM) the physical limitations of the classical blade element momentum theory (BEM) can be evaluated. During regular operation vertical shear and yawed inflow are the main contributors to periodic blade load asymmetry. It is shown that the near wake interaction of the blades under such conditions is not fully captured by the correction models of BEM approach. The differing prediction of local induction causes a high fatigue load uncertainty especially for two-bladed turbines. The implementation of both cyclic pitch control and a tumbling rotor can mitigate the fatigue loading by increasing the aerodynamic and structural damping. The influence of the time and space variant vorticity distribution in the near wake is evaluated in detail for different cyclic pitch control functions and tumble dynamics respectively. It is demonstrated that dynamic inflow as well as wake blade interaction have a significant impact on the calculated blade forces and need to be accounted for by the aerodynamic modelling approach. Aeroelastic simulations are carried out using the high fidelity multi body

  4. Wind turbine rotor blade monitoring using digital image correlation: a comparison to aeroelastic simulations of a multi-megawatt wind turbine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Winstroth, J; Ernst, B; Seume, J R; Schoen, L

    2014-01-01

    Optical full-field measurement methods such as Digital Image Correlation (DIC) provide a new opportunity for measuring deformations and vibrations with high spatial and temporal resolution. However, application to full-scale wind turbines is not trivial. Elaborate preparation of the experiment is vital and sophisticated post processing of the DIC results essential. In the present study, a rotor blade of a 3.2 MW wind turbine is equipped with a random black-and-white dot pattern at four different radial positions. Two cameras are located in front of the wind turbine and the response of the rotor blade is monitored using DIC for different turbine operations. In addition, a Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) system is used in order to measure the wind conditions. Wind fields are created based on the LiDAR measurements and used to perform aeroelastic simulations of the wind turbine by means of advanced multibody codes. The results from the optical DIC system appear plausible when checked against common and expected results. In addition, the comparison of relative out-ofplane blade deflections shows good agreement between DIC results and aeroelastic simulations

  5. Wind turbine rotor blade monitoring using digital image correlation: a comparison to aeroelastic simulations of a multi-megawatt wind turbine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Winstroth, J.; Schoen, L.; Ernst, B.; Seume, J. R.

    2014-06-01

    Optical full-field measurement methods such as Digital Image Correlation (DIC) provide a new opportunity for measuring deformations and vibrations with high spatial and temporal resolution. However, application to full-scale wind turbines is not trivial. Elaborate preparation of the experiment is vital and sophisticated post processing of the DIC results essential. In the present study, a rotor blade of a 3.2 MW wind turbine is equipped with a random black-and-white dot pattern at four different radial positions. Two cameras are located in front of the wind turbine and the response of the rotor blade is monitored using DIC for different turbine operations. In addition, a Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) system is used in order to measure the wind conditions. Wind fields are created based on the LiDAR measurements and used to perform aeroelastic simulations of the wind turbine by means of advanced multibody codes. The results from the optical DIC system appear plausible when checked against common and expected results. In addition, the comparison of relative out-ofplane blade deflections shows good agreement between DIC results and aeroelastic simulations.

  6. Accuracy of an efficient framework for structural analysis of wind turbine blades

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Blasques, José Pedro Albergaria Amaral; Bitsche, Robert D.; Fedorov, Vladimir

    2016-01-01

    -section analysis tool is able to capture the effects stemming from material anisotropy and inhomogeneity for sections of arbitrary geometry. The proposed framework is very efficient and therefore ideally suited for integration within wind turbine aeroelastic design and analysis tools. A number of benchmark......This paper presents a novel framework for the structural design and analysis of wind turbine blades and establishes its accuracy. The framework is based on a beam model composed of two parts—a 2D finite element-based cross-section analysis tool and a 3D beam finite element model. The cross...... examples are presented comparing the results from the proposed beam model to 3D shell and solid finite element models. The examples considered include a square prismatic beam, an entire wind turbine rotor blade and a detailed wind turbine blade cross section. Phenomena at both the blade length scale...

  7. Gust-Tunnel Investigation of the Effect of a Sharp-Edge Gust on the Flapwise Blade Bending Moments of a Model Helicopter Rotor

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Maglieri, Domenic

    1955-01-01

    Preliminary investigations have been made in the Langley gust tunnel to determine the effects of a sharp-edge vertical gust on the blade flapwise vibratory bending moments of small model rotors having...

  8. Combining Unsteady Blade Pressure Measurements and a Free-Wake Vortex Model to Investigate the Cycle-to-Cycle Variations in Wind Turbine Aerodynamic Blade Loads in Yaw

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Moutaz Elgammi

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Prediction of the unsteady aerodynamic flow phenomenon on wind turbines is challenging and still subject to considerable uncertainty. Under yawed rotor conditions, the wind turbine blades are subjected to unsteady flow conditions as a result of the blade advancing and retreating effect and the development of a skewed vortical wake created downstream of the rotor plane. Blade surface pressure measurements conducted on the NREL Phase VI rotor in yawed conditions have shown that dynamic stall causes the wind turbine blades to experience significant cycle-to-cycle variations in aerodynamic loading. These effects were observed even though the rotor was subjected to a fixed speed and a uniform and steady wind flow. This phenomenon is not normally predicted by existing dynamic stall models integrated in wind turbine design codes. This paper couples blade pressure measurements from the NREL Phase VI rotor to a free-wake vortex model to derive the angle of attack time series at the different blade sections over multiple rotor rotations and three different yaw angles. Through the adopted approach it was possible to investigate how the rotor self-induced aerodynamic load fluctuations influence the unsteady variations in the blade angles of attack and induced velocities. The hysteresis loops for the normal and tangential load coefficients plotted against the angle of attack were plotted over multiple rotor revolutions. Although cycle-to-cycle variations in the angles of attack at the different blade radial locations and azimuth positions are found to be relatively small, the corresponding variations in the normal and tangential load coefficients may be significant. Following a statistical analysis, it was concluded that the load coefficients follow a normal distribution at the majority of blade azimuth angles and radial locations. The results of this study provide further insight on how existing engineering models for dynamic stall may be improved through

  9. Aerodynamic shape optimization of non-straight small wind turbine blades

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shen, Xin; Yang, Hong; Chen, Jinge; Zhu, Xiaocheng; Du, Zhaohui

    2016-01-01

    Graphical abstract: Small wind turbine blades with 3D stacking lines (sweep and bend) have been considered and analyzed with an optimization code based on the lifting surface method. The results indicated that the power capture and the rotor thrust can be improved with these more complex geometries. The starting behavior of the small wind turbines can be improved by the optimization of the blade chord and twist angle distribution. - Highlights: • The small wind turbine blade was optimized with non-straight shape. • Lifting surface method with free wake was used for aerodyanmic performace evaluation. • The non-straight shape can be used to increase energy production and decrease the thrust. • The energy production should be sacrificed in order to increase the starting behavior. - Abstract: Small wind turbines usually operate in sub-optimal wind conditions in order to satisfy the demand where it is needed. The aerodynamic performance of small horizontal axis wind turbines highly depends on the geometry. In the present study, the geometry of wind turbine blades are optimized not only in terms of the distribution of the chord and twist angle but also with 3-dimensional stacking line. As the blade with 3-dimensional stacking line is given sweep in the plan of rotation and dihedral in the plan containing the blade and rotor axis, the common used blade element momentum method can no longer provide accurate aerodynamic performance solution. A lifting surface method with free wake model is used as the aerodynamic model in the present work. The annual energy production and the starting performance are selected as optimization objective. The starting performance is evaluated based on blade element method. The optimization of the geometry of the non-straight wind turbine blades is carried out by using a micro-genetic algorithm. Results show that the wind turbine blades with properly designed 3-dimensional stacking line can increase the annual energy production and have

  10. Design of horizontal-axis wind turbine using blade element momentum method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bobonea, Andreea; Pricop, Mihai Victor

    2013-10-01

    The study of mathematical models applied to wind turbine design in recent years, principally in electrical energy generation, has become significant due to the increasing use of renewable energy sources with low environmental impact. Thus, this paper shows an alternative mathematical scheme for the wind turbine design, based on the Blade Element Momentum (BEM) Theory. The results from the BEM method are greatly dependent on the precision of the lift and drag coefficients. The basic of BEM method assumes the blade can be analyzed as a number of independent element in spanwise direction. The induced velocity at each element is determined by performing the momentum balance for a control volume containing the blade element. The aerodynamic forces on the element are calculated using the lift and drag coefficient from the empirical two-dimensional wind tunnel test data at the geometric angle of attack (AOA) of the blade element relative to the local flow velocity.

  11. Structural optimization procedure of a composite wind turbine blade for reducing both material cost and blade weight

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Weifei; Park, Dohyun; Choi, DongHoon

    2013-12-01

    A composite blade structure for a 2 MW horizontal axis wind turbine is optimally designed. Design requirements are simultaneously minimizing material cost and blade weight while satisfying the constraints on stress ratio, tip deflection, fatigue life and laminate layup requirements. The stress ratio and tip deflection under extreme gust loads and the fatigue life under a stochastic normal wind load are evaluated. A blade element wind load model is proposed to explain the wind pressure difference due to blade height change during rotor rotation. For fatigue life evaluation, the stress result of an implicit nonlinear dynamic analysis under a time-varying fluctuating wind is converted to the histograms of mean and amplitude of maximum stress ratio using the rainflow counting algorithm Miner's rule is employed to predict the fatigue life. After integrating and automating the whole analysis procedure an evolutionary algorithm is used to solve the discrete optimization problem.

  12. Active Blade Pitch Control for Straight Bladed Darrieus Vertical Axis Wind Turbine of New Design

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chougule, Prasad; Nielsen, Søren R.K.; Basu, Biswajit

    2013-01-01

    in a previous publication. Further, it is well know that the variation of the blade pitch angle during the rotation improves the power efficiency. A blade pitch variation is implemented by active blade pitch control, which operates as per wind speed and position of the blade with respect to the rotor. A double...

  13. Open Rotor - Analysis of Diagnostic Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Envia, Edmane

    2011-01-01

    NASA is researching open rotor propulsion as part of its technology research and development plan for addressing the subsonic transport aircraft noise, emission and fuel burn goals. The low-speed wind tunnel test for investigating the aerodynamic and acoustic performance of a benchmark blade set at the approach and takeoff conditions has recently concluded. A high-speed wind tunnel diagnostic test campaign has begun to investigate the performance of this benchmark open rotor blade set at the cruise condition. Databases from both speed regimes will comprise a comprehensive collection of benchmark open rotor data for use in assessing/validating aerodynamic and noise prediction tools (component & system level) as well as providing insights into the physics of open rotors to help guide the development of quieter open rotors.

  14. A Hybrid Metaheuristic-Based Approach for the Aerodynamic Optimization of Small Hybrid Wind Turbine Rotors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José F. Herbert-Acero

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This work presents a novel framework for the aerodynamic design and optimization of blades for small horizontal axis wind turbines (WT. The framework is based on a state-of-the-art blade element momentum model, which is complemented with the XFOIL 6.96 software in order to provide an estimate of the sectional blade aerodynamics. The framework considers an innovative nested-hybrid solution procedure based on two metaheuristics, the virtual gene genetic algorithm and the simulated annealing algorithm, to provide a near-optimal solution to the problem. The objective of the study is to maximize the aerodynamic efficiency of small WT (SWT rotors for a wide range of operational conditions. The design variables are (1 the airfoil shape at the different blade span positions and the radial variation of the geometrical variables of (2 chord length, (3 twist angle, and (4 thickness along the blade span. A wind tunnel validation study of optimized rotors based on the NACA 4-digit airfoil series is presented. Based on the experimental data, improvements in terms of the aerodynamic efficiency, the cut-in wind speed, and the amount of material used during the manufacturing process were achieved. Recommendations for the aerodynamic design of SWT rotors are provided based on field experience.

  15. Anti-freeze coatings for the rotor blades of wind turbines; Anti-freeze Beschichtungen fuer Rotorblaetter von Windenergieanlagen

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Siegmann, K.; Kaufmann, A.; Hirayama, M.

    2006-07-01

    This final report for the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) takes a look at projects involving the development of suggestions for coatings for the rotor blades of wind turbines. The coatings are to reduce the formation of hoarfrost on the leading edges of the blades. Various coatings are described and the mechanisms involved in the formation of the frost and in keeping the blades as free as possible from frost are discussed. Global know-how on the subject is discussed, as is know-how available in Europe and Switzerland. Manufacturers, planning offices and installation operators are listed, as are research institutes who are dealing with this problem. In the summary, the authors stress the importance of choosing the coating most suitable for the actual climatic conditions at the wind turbine's location. A suggestion is made for further work in this area.

  16. Derivation of airfoil characteristics for the LM 19.1 blade based on 3D CFD rotor calculations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bak, C; Soerensen, N N; Madsen, H A [Risoe National Lab., Roskilde (Denmark)

    1999-03-01

    Airfoil characteristics for the LM 19.1 blade are derived from 3D CFD computations on a full-scale 41-m rotor. Based on 3D CFD the force distributions on the blades are determined, from which airfoil characteristics are derived using the momentum theory. The final airfoil characteristics are constructed using both wind tunnel measurements and 3D CFD. Compared to 2D wind tunnel measurements they show a low lift in stall for the airfoil sections at the tip. At the airfoil sections at the inner part of the blade, they show a high lift in stall. At about 60% radius the lift agrees well to 2D wind tunnel measurements. Aero-elastic calculations using the final airfoil characteristics show good agreement to measured power and flap moments. Furthermore, a fatigue load analysis shows a reduction of up to 15% of the load compared to commonly used data. (au)

  17. Active Piezoelectric Vibration Control of Subscale Composite Fan Blades

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duffy, Kirsten P.; Choi, Benjamin B.; Provenza, Andrew J.; Min, James B.; Kray, Nicholas

    2012-01-01

    As part of the Fundamental Aeronautics program, researchers at NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) are investigating new technologies supporting the development of lighter, quieter, and more efficient fans for turbomachinery applications. High performance fan blades designed to achieve such goals will be subjected to higher levels of aerodynamic excitations which could lead to more serious and complex vibration problems. Piezoelectric materials have been proposed as a means of decreasing engine blade vibration either through a passive damping scheme, or as part of an active vibration control system. For polymer matrix fiber composite blades, the piezoelectric elements could be embedded within the blade material, protecting the brittle piezoceramic material from the airflow and from debris. To investigate this idea, spin testing was performed on two General Electric Aviation (GE) subscale composite fan blades in the NASA GRC Dynamic Spin Rig Facility. The first bending mode (1B) was targeted for vibration control. Because these subscale blades are very thin, the piezoelectric material was surface-mounted on the blades. Three thin piezoelectric patches were applied to each blade two actuator patches and one small sensor patch. These flexible macro-fiber-composite patches were placed in a location of high resonant strain for the 1B mode. The blades were tested up to 5000 rpm, with patches used as sensors, as excitation for the blade, and as part of open- and closed-loop vibration control. Results show that with a single actuator patch, active vibration control causes the damping ratio to increase from a baseline of 0.3% critical damping to about 1.0% damping at 0 RPM. As the rotor speed approaches 5000 RPM, the actively controlled blade damping ratio decreases to about 0.5% damping. This occurs primarily because of centrifugal blade stiffening, and can be observed by the decrease in the generalized electromechanical coupling with rotor speed.

  18. Design Of Polymer Matrix Composite Materials Used For Helicopter Rotor Blades By Finite Element Method

    OpenAIRE

    Karaaslan, Nevzat Hakan

    2007-01-01

    Gelişmiş helikopter rotor paları genellikle kompozit malzemelerden üretilmektedirler ve yapılarında çeşitli hasarlara neden olabilecek yüksek derecede dinamik ve kararsız aerodinamik çevresel yüklerde çalışmaktadırlar. Bu yükleme şartlarına tekrarlı olarak maruz kalınması kompozit rotor pala yüzey kaplamalarında delaminasyon, çatlak vb. hasarlara neden olabilir. Bu tezin amacı, farklı kompozit rotor pala malzemelerinin, sonlu elemanlar yöntemi ile modellenmesi ve döner kanat yüzey kaplamaları...

  19. Rigid body formulation in a finite element context with contact interaction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Refachinho de Campos, Paulo R.; Gay Neto, Alfredo

    2018-03-01

    The present work proposes a formulation to employ rigid bodies together with flexible bodies in the context of a nonlinear finite element solver, with contact interactions. Inertial contributions due to distribution of mass of a rigid body are fully developed, considering a general pole position associated with a single node, representing a rigid body element. Additionally, a mechanical constraint is proposed to connect a rigid region composed by several nodes, which is useful for linking rigid/flexible bodies in a finite element environment. Rodrigues rotation parameters are used to describe finite rotations, by an updated Lagrangian description. In addition, the contact formulation entitled master-surface to master-surface is employed in conjunction with the rigid body element and flexible bodies, aiming to consider their interaction in a rigid-flexible multibody environment. New surface parameterizations are presented to establish contact pairs, permitting pointwise interaction in a frictional scenario. Numerical examples are provided to show robustness and applicability of the methods.

  20. Blade-element/momentum theory

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Jens Nørkær

    2016-01-01

    Although there exists a large variety of methods for predicting performance and loadings of wind turbines, the only approach used today by wind turbine manufacturers is based on the blade-element/momentum (BEM) theory by Glauert (Aerodynamic theory. Springer, Berlin, pp. 169-360, 1935). A basic...... assumption in the BEM theory is that the flow takes place in independent stream tubes and that the loading is determined from two-dimensional sectional airfoil characteristics....

  1. Optimal Aerodynamic Design of Conventional and Coaxial Helicopter Rotors in Hover and Forward Flight

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giovanetti, Eli B.

    This dissertation investigates the optimal aerodynamic performance and design of conventional and coaxial helicopters in hover and forward flight using conventional and higher harmonic blade pitch control. First, we describe a method for determining the blade geometry, azimuthal blade pitch inputs, optimal shaft angle (rotor angle of attack), and division of propulsive and lifting forces among the components that minimize the total power for a given forward flight condition. The optimal design problem is cast as a variational statement that is discretized using a vortex lattice wake to model inviscid forces, combined with two-dimensional drag polars to model profile losses. The resulting nonlinear constrained optimization problem is solved via Newton iteration. We investigate the optimal design of a compound vehicle in forward flight comprised of a coaxial rotor system, a propeller, and optionally, a fixed wing. We show that higher harmonic control substantially reduces required power, and that both rotor and propeller efficiencies play an important role in determining the optimal shaft angle, which in turn affects the optimal design of each component. Second, we present a variational approach for determining the optimal (minimum power) torque-balanced coaxial hovering rotor using Blade Element Momentum Theory including swirl. We show that the optimal hovering coaxial rotor generates only a small percentage of its total thrust on the portion of the lower rotor operating in the upper rotor's contracted wake, resulting in an optimal design with very different upper and lower rotor twist and chord distributions. We also show that the swirl component of induced velocity has a relatively small effect on rotor performance at the disk loadings typical of helicopter rotors. Third, we describe a more refined model of the wake of a hovering conventional or coaxial rotor. We approximate the rotor or coaxial rotors as actuator disks (though not necessarily uniformly loaded

  2. Rotor for a pyrolysis centrifuge reactor

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    2015-01-01

    The present invention relates to a rotor for a pyrolysis centrifuge reactor, said rotor comprising a rotor body having a longitudinal centre axis, and at least one pivotally mounted blade being adapted to pivot around a pivot axis under rotation of the rotor body around the longitudinal centre axis....... Moreover, the present invention relates to a pyrolysis centrifuge reactor applying such a rotor....

  3. Neutron radiography and other NDE tests of main rotor helicopter blades

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beer, F.C. de; Coetzer, M.; Fendeis, D.; Silva, A. da Costa E

    2004-01-01

    A few nondestructive examination (NDE) techniques are extensively being used worldwide to investigate aircraft structures for all types of defects. The detection of corrosion and delaminations, which are believed to be the major initiators of defects leading to aircraft structural failures, are addressed by various NDE techniques. In a combined investigation by means of visual inspection, X-ray radiography and shearography on helicopter main rotor blades, neutron radiography (NRad) at SAFARI-1 research reactor operated by Necsa, was performed to introduce this form of NDE testing to the South African aviation industry to be evaluated for applicability. The results of the shearography, visual inspection and NRad techniques are compared in this paper. The main features and advantages of neutron radiography, within the framework of these investigations, will be highlighted

  4. Aeroelastic characteristics of composite bearingless rotor blades

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bielawa, R. L.

    1976-01-01

    Owing to the inherent unique structural features of composite bearingless rotors, various assumptions upon which conventional rotor aeroelastic analyses are formulated, are violated. Three such features identified are highly nonlinear and time-varying structural twist, structural redundancy in bending and torsion, and for certain configurations a strongly coupled low frequency bending-torsion mode. An examination of these aeroelastic considerations and appropriate formulations required for accurate analyses of such rotor systems is presented. Also presented are test results from a dynamically scaled model rotor and complementary analytic results obtained with the appropriately reformulated aeroelastic analysis.

  5. Probabilistic analysis of bladed turbine disks and the effect of mistuning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shah, Ashwin; Nagpal, V. K.; Chamis, C. C.

    1990-01-01

    Probabilistic assessment of the maximum blade response on a mistuned rotor disk is performed using the computer code NESSUS. The uncertainties in natural frequency, excitation frequency, amplitude of excitation and damping have been included to obtain the cumulative distribution function (CDF) of blade responses. Advanced mean value first order analysis is used to compute CDF. The sensitivities of different random variables are identified. Effect of the number of blades on a rotor on mistuning is evaluated. It is shown that the uncertainties associated with the forcing function parameters have significant effect on the response distribution of the bladed rotor.

  6. Numerical investigation of optimal yaw misalignment and collective pitch angle for load imbalance reduction of rigid and flexible HAWT blades under sheared inflow

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jeong, Min-Soo; Cha, Myung-Chan; Kim, Sang-Woo; Lee, In

    2015-01-01

    Wind shear can strongly influence the cyclic loading on horizontal axis wind turbine blades. These load fluctuation causes a variation of power output and introduces fatigue load. Thus, individual pitch controllers have been developed that are focused on the load alleviations, however, comes at a price of actuator requirements for control. Moreover, these controllers are unable to apply to already existing wind turbines with active yaw and collective pitch control system. Therefore, the investigations for minimizing load imbalance through the adjustments of yaw misalignment and collective pitch angle are implemented for the rigid and flexible blades under the sheared inflow. By applying the optimization process based on a sequential quadratic programming approach, the optimal yaw and pitch angle can be estimated. Then, the numerical simulations for predicting the performance are performed. The results showed that the fluctuation range of the root flapwise bending moment for the rigid blades can be reduced by 84.5%, whereas the vibratory bending moment for the flexible blades can be reduced by up to approximately 82.4% in the best case. Therefore, the magnitudes of load imbalance can be minimized by the adjustment of the optimal yaw misalignment and collective pitch angle without any power loss. - Highlights: • We propose a novel method for the reduction of load imbalance under sheared inflow. • We estimate optimal yaw misalignment and collective pitch angle through optimization. • Numerical results of performance are predicted for rigid and flexible blades. • By applying optimal angles, load variations are reduced without any power loss

  7. Effect of incidence angle on the wake turbulence of a turbine rotor blade

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chang, Sung Il; Lee, Sang Woo

    2005-01-01

    This paper describes effects of incidence angle on the wake turbulent flow of a high-turning turbine rotor blade. For three incidence angles of -5, 0 and 5 degrees, energy spectra as well as profiles of mean velocity magnitude and turbulence intensity at mid-span are reported in the wake. Vortex shedding frequencies are obtained from the energy spectra. The result shows that as the incidence angle changes from -5 to 5 degrees, the suction-side wake tends to be widened and the deviation angle is increased. Strouhal numbers based on the shedding frequencies have a nearly constant value, regardless of the tested incidence angles

  8. The Study the Vibration Condition of the Blade of the Gas Turbine Engine with an All-metal Wire Rope Damper in the Area Mount of the Blade to the Disk

    Science.gov (United States)

    Melentjev, Vladimir S.; Gvozdev, Alexander S.

    2018-01-01

    Improving the reliability of modern turbine engines is actual task. This is achieved due to prevent a vibration damage of the operating blades. On the department of structure and design of aircraft engines have accumulated a lot of experimental data on the protection of the blades of the gas turbine engine from a vibration. In this paper we proposed a method for calculating the characteristics of wire rope dampers in the root attachment of blade of a gas turbine engine. The method is based on the use of the finite element method and transient analysis. Contact interaction (Lagrange-Euler method) between the compressor blade and the disc of the rotor has been taken into account. Contribution of contact interaction between details in damping of the system was measured. The proposed method provides a convenient way for the iterative selection of the required parameters the wire rope elastic-damping element. This element is able to provide the necessary protection from the vibration for the blade of a gas turbine engine.

  9. Helicopter rotor blade frequency evolution with damage growth and signal processing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roy, Niranjan; Ganguli, Ranjan

    2005-05-01

    Structural damage in materials evolves over time due to growth of fatigue cracks in homogenous materials and a complicated process of matrix cracking, delamination, fiber breakage and fiber matrix debonding in composite materials. In this study, a finite element model of the helicopter rotor blade is used to analyze the effect of damage growth on the modal frequencies in a qualitative manner. Phenomenological models of material degradation for homogenous and composite materials are used. Results show that damage can be detected by monitoring changes in lower as well as higher mode flap (out-of-plane bending), lag (in-plane bending) and torsion rotating frequencies, especially for composite materials where the onset of the last stage of damage of fiber breakage is most critical. Curve fits are also proposed for mathematical modeling of the relationship between rotating frequencies and cycles. Finally, since operational data are noisy and also contaminated with outliers, denoising algorithms based on recursive median filters and radial basis function neural networks and wavelets are studied and compared with a moving average filter using simulated data for improved health-monitoring application. A novel recursive median filter is designed using integer programming through genetic algorithm and is found to have comparable performance to neural networks with much less complexity and is better than wavelet denoising for outlier removal. This filter is proposed as a tool for denoising time series of damage indicators.

  10. The application of advanced rotor (performance) methods for design calculations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bussel, G.J.W. van [Delft Univ. of Technology, Inst. for Wind Energy, Delft (Netherlands)

    1997-08-01

    The calculation of loads and performance of wind turbine rotors has been a topic for research over the last century. The principles for the calculation of loads on rotor blades with a given specific geometry, as well as the development of optimal shaped rotor blades have been published in the decades that significant aircraft development took place. Nowadays advanced computer codes are used for specific problems regarding modern aircraft, and application to wind turbine rotors has also been performed occasionally. The engineers designing rotor blades for wind turbines still use methods based upon global principles developed in the beginning of the century. The question what to expect in terms of the type of methods to be applied in a design environment for the near future is addressed here. (EG) 14 refs.

  11. Caution: Precision Error in Blade Alignment Results in Faulty Unsteady CFD Simulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lewis, Bryan; Cimbala, John; Wouden, Alex

    2012-11-01

    Turbomachinery components experience unsteady loads at several frequencies. The rotor frequency corresponds to the time for one rotor blade to rotate between two stator vanes, and is normally dominant for rotor torque oscillations. The guide vane frequency corresponds to the time for two rotor blades to pass by one guide vane. The machine frequency corresponds to the machine RPM. Oscillations at the machine frequency are always present due to minor blade misalignments and imperfections resulting from manufacturing defects. However, machine frequency oscillations should not be present in CFD simulations if the mesh is free of both blade misalignment and surface imperfections. The flow through a Francis hydroturbine was modeled with unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) CFD simulations and a dynamic rotating grid. Spectral analysis of the unsteady torque on the rotor blades revealed a large component at the machine frequency. Close examination showed that one blade was displaced by 0 .0001° due to round-off errors during mesh generation. A second mesh without blade misalignment was then created. Subsequently, large machine frequency oscillations were not observed for this mesh. These results highlight the effect of minor geometry imperfections on CFD solutions. This research was supported by a grant from the DoE and a National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship.

  12. Valve-aided twisted Savonius rotor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jaya Rajkumar, M.; Saha, U.K.

    2006-05-15

    Accessories, such as end plates, deflecting plates, shielding and guide vanes, may increase the power of a Savonius rotor, but make the system structurally complex. In such cases, the rotor can develop a relatively large torque at small rotational speeds and is cheap to build, however it harnesses only a small fraction of the incident wind energy. Another proposition for increasing specific output is to place non-return valves inside the concave side of the blades. Such methods have been studied experimentally with a twisted-blade Thus improving a Savonius rotor's energy capture. This new concept has been named as the 'Valve-Aided Twisted Savonius'rotor. Tests were conducted in a low-speed wind tunnel to evaluate performance. This mechanism is found to be independent of flow direction, and shows potential for large machines. [Author].

  13. Condition monitoring of a rotor arrangement in particular a wind turbine

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    2017-01-01

    the rotor arrangement rotates, recording corresponding values of azimuth angle and edgewise and flap wise root bending moments for a plurality of rotations of rotor arrangement, transforming by use of e.g. a multi blade coordinate transformation, a Park's transformation or similar transformation......The present invention relates to a method of determining the condition of a device comprising a rotor arrangement. The rotor arrangement comprising a rotational shaft and a number rotor blades each connected at the root to the rotational shaft and extending radially from the rotational shaft....... Sensors are arranged to measure for each rotor blade corresponding values of one or more of the following parameters: azimuth angle (Φ) (or a parameter related to the azimuth angle), root bending moment(s) (q), such as the edgewise and/or flapwise root bending moments. The method comprises, while...

  14. Fracture analysis of adhesive joints in wind turbine blades

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Eder, Martin Alexander; Bitsche, Robert

    2015-01-01

    Modern wind turbine rotor blades are usually made from fibre-reinforced composite subcomponents. In the final assembly stage, these subcomponents are bonded together by several adhesive joints. One important adhesive joint is situated at the trailing edge, which refers to the downstream edge where...... the air-flow rejoins and leaves the blade. Maintenance inspections of wind turbine rotor blades show that among other forms of damage, local debonding of the shells along the trailing edge is a frequent failure type. The cause of trailing edge failure in wind turbine blades is complex, and detailed...

  15. 14 CFR 27.547 - Main rotor structure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Main rotor structure. 27.547 Section 27.547... structure. (a) Each main rotor assembly (including rotor hubs and blades) must be designed as prescribed in this section. (b) [Reserved] (c) The main rotor structure must be designed to withstand the following...

  16. Non-invasive dynamic measurement of helicopter blades

    Science.gov (United States)

    Serafini, J.; Bernardini, G.; Mattioni, L.; Vezzari, V.; Ficuciello, C.

    2017-08-01

    This paper presents the development and the application on helicopter blades of a measurement system based on FBG strain gauges. Here, the main goal is the structural characterization of the main rotor blades, with the aim of showing the potentialities of such a system in blades quality check applications, as well as in the development of structural health monitoring and rotor state feedback devices. The device has been used in both non-rotating and rotating tests, and does not require the presence of slip rings or optical joint since it is completely allocated in the rotating system. It has been successfully applied to characterize the frequency response of blades lead-lag, flap and torsion deformations, up to 250 Hz.

  17. In-process, non-destructive multimodal dynamic testing of high-speed composite rotors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuschmierz, Robert; Filippatos, Angelos; Langkamp, Albert; Hufenbach, Werner; Czarske, Jürgern W.; Fischer, Andreas

    2014-03-01

    Fibre reinforced plastic (FRP) rotors are lightweight and offer great perspectives in high-speed applications such as turbo machinery. Currently, novel rotor structures and materials are investigated for the purpose of increasing machine efficiency, lifetime and loading limits. Due to complex rotor structures, high anisotropy and non-linear behavior of FRP under dynamic loads, an in-process measurement system is necessary to monitor and to investigate the evolution of damages under real operation conditions. A non-invasive, optical laser Doppler distance sensor measurement system is applied to determine the biaxial deformation of a bladed FRP rotor with micron uncertainty as well as the tangential blade vibrations at surface speeds above 300 m/s. The laser Doppler distance sensor is applicable under vacuum conditions. Measurements at varying loading conditions are used to determine elastic and plastic deformations. Furthermore they allow to determine hysteresis, fatigue, Eigenfrequency shifts and loading limits. The deformation measurements show a highly anisotropic and nonlinear behavior and offer a deeper understanding of the damage evolution in FRP rotors. The experimental results are used to validate and to calibrate a simulation model of the deformation. The simulation combines finite element analysis and a damage mechanics model. The combination of simulation and measurement system enables the monitoring and prediction of damage evolutions of FRP rotors in process.

  18. Initial design of a stall-controlled wind turbine rotor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nygaard, T.A. [Inst. for Energiteknikk, Kjeller (Norway)

    1997-08-01

    A model intended for initial design of stall-controlled wind turbine rotors is described. The user specifies relative radial position of an arbitrary number of airfoil sections, referring to a data file containing lift-and drag curves. The data file is on the same format as used in the commercial blade-element code BLADES-/2/, where lift- and drag coefficients are interpolated from tables as function of Reynolds number, relative thickness and angle of attack. The user can set constraints on a selection of the following: Maximum power; Maximum thrust in operation; Maximum root bending moment in operation; Extreme root bending moment, parked rotor; Tip speed; Upper and lower bounds on optimisation variables. The optimisation variables can be selected from: Blade radius; Rotational speed; Chord and twist at an arbitrary number of radial positions. The user can chose linear chord distribution and a hyperbola-like twist distribution to ensure smooth planform and twist, or cubic spline interpolation for one or both. The aerodynamic model is based on classical strip theory with Prandtl tip loss correction, supplemented by empirical data for high induction factors. (EG)

  19. Refined finite element modelling for the vibration analysis of large rotating machines: Application to the gas turbine modular helium reactor power conversion unit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Combescure, D.; Lazarus, A.; Lazarus, A.

    2008-01-01

    This paper is aimed at presenting refined finite element modelling used for dynamic analysis of large rotating machines. The first part shows an equivalence between several levels of modelling: firstly, models made of beam elements and rigid disc with gyroscopic coupling representing the position of the rotating shaft in an inertial frame; secondly full three-dimensional (3D) or 3D shell models of the rotor and the blades represented in the rotating frame and finally two-dimensional (2D) Fourier model for both rotor and stator. Simple cases are studied to better understand the results given by analysis performed using a rotating frame and the equivalence with the standard calculations with beam elements. Complete analysis of rotating machines can be performed with models in the frames best adapted for each part of the structure. The effects of several defects are analysed and compared with this approach. In the last part of the paper, the modelling approach is applied to the analysis of the large rotating shaft part of the power conversion unit of the GT-MHR nuclear reactor. (authors)

  20. Refined finite element modelling for the vibration analysis of large rotating machines: Application to the gas turbine modular helium reactor power conversion unit

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Combescure, D.; Lazarus, A. [CEA Saclay, DEN/DM2S/SEMT/DYN, Dynam Anal Lab, Saclay, (France); Lazarus, A. [Ecole Polytech, Mecan Solides Lab, F-91128 Palaiseau, (France)

    2008-07-01

    This paper is aimed at presenting refined finite element modelling used for dynamic analysis of large rotating machines. The first part shows an equivalence between several levels of modelling: firstly, models made of beam elements and rigid disc with gyroscopic coupling representing the position of the rotating shaft in an inertial frame; secondly full three-dimensional (3D) or 3D shell models of the rotor and the blades represented in the rotating frame and finally two-dimensional (2D) Fourier model for both rotor and stator. Simple cases are studied to better understand the results given by analysis performed using a rotating frame and the equivalence with the standard calculations with beam elements. Complete analysis of rotating machines can be performed with models in the frames best adapted for each part of the structure. The effects of several defects are analysed and compared with this approach. In the last part of the paper, the modelling approach is applied to the analysis of the large rotating shaft part of the power conversion unit of the GT-MHR nuclear reactor. (authors)

  1. Evaluation of effect of oil film of rotor bearing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alekseeva, L. B.; Maksarov, V. V.

    2018-03-01

    The high-rpm rotors were subjected to the dynamic analysis. Oscillations of a rotor spinning in gapped bearings were considered. It was stated that the rotor necks motion pattern depends on a lot of factors: a ratio of static and dynamic loads on the bearing, radial clearance size, presence of oil film between a neck and a bearing, elastic and inertial properties of a mounting group. The most unfavourable mode where static and dynamic loads are equal was detected without taking into account the oil film impact. The impact of oil film on the bearing assembly dynamics is significant in high-rpm rotors. The presence of oil film can possibly cause rotor buckling failure and self-starting. Rotor motion stability in small was studied. Herewith, various schemes were considered. Expressions, determining the stability zones of a rigid rotor on the fixed support and the supports with elastic and inertial elements, were given.

  2. System Identification of Mistuned Bladed Disks from Traveling Wave Response Measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feiner, D. M.; Griffin, J. H.; Jones, K. W.; Kenyon, J. A.; Mehmed, O.; Kurkov, A. P.

    2003-01-01

    A new approach to modal analysis is presented. By applying this technique to bladed disk system identification methods, one can determine the mistuning in a rotor based on its response to a traveling wave excitation. This allows system identification to be performed under rotating conditions, and thus expands the applicability of existing mistuning identification techniques from integrally bladed rotors to conventional bladed disks.

  3. Turbine rotor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Norbut, T G.J.

    1975-10-09

    The feet of rotor blades, with their trapezoidal or dove-tailed cross-sections are, as usual, fastened in corresponding grooves in the drive shaft. The juntion of the groove flank, which, on its outer end, runs radially to the axis of the drive shaft, to the cylinder surface of the drive shaft between the grooves, therefore vertically to the first level takes place not relatively sharp-edged or with only little edge radius, but rather takes place in increasing radii which vary throughout the circumference. The touching of surfaces with the radial blade foot which exits the groove can thus be tight or at a normal assembly tolerance. Avoidance or reduction of load-tension concentrations and of unbalanced load distribution on the foot anchors of the rotor blades is possible. Ceramic and other brittle material can be used besides monolithic materials, and also fiber-reinforced metallic or inorganic and organic composite materials such as boron/aluminum, graphite/epoxy, 'Borsic'-titanium, as well as other organic polymer materials like silicon resin.

  4. Merenje vibracija i relevantnih parametara leta transportnog helikoptera Mi-8 sa revitalizovanim lopaticama nosećeg rotora / Vibration and flight data measurement on the transport helicopter Mi-8 with replaced main rotor blades

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Veljko Rakonjac

    2004-11-01

    Full Text Available Rad se odnosi na merenje parametara leta transportnog helikoptera ruske proizvodnje Mi-8 sa ugrađenim originalnim, kao i revitalizovanim - delimično kompozitnim lopaticama nosećeg rotora. Cilj merenja bio je dobijanje relevantnih podataka za ocenu kvaliteta revitalizovanih lopatica usled zamene lopatica nosećeg rotora. Prikazani su oprema, postupak i analiza rezultata merenja parametara leta i vibracija, uz poseban osvrt na probleme izazvane uticajem vibracija na mernu opremu. / This paper presents helicopter flight data acquisition made on the Russian helicopter Mi-8 with its original main rotor blades as well as with regenerated, partially composite ones. The purpose of the measurement was collecting data for flight quality of the main rotor composite blades changing the actual main rotor blades. This paper also presents equipment procedures and analysis of flight data and vitration measurements with special attention to problems caused by vibration influence on equipment.

  5. Aerodynamic loads and rotor performance for the Darrieus wind turbines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paraschivoiu, I.

    1981-12-01

    Aerodynamic blade loads and rotor performance are studied for the Darrieus windmill by using a double-multiple streamtube model. The Darrieus is represented as a pair of actuator disks in tandem at each level of the rotor, with upstream and downstream half-cycles. An equilibrium velocity exists in the center plane, and the upwind velocity is higher than the downwind velocity; lift and drag coefficients are calculated from the Reynolds number and the local angle of attack. Half-rotor torque and power are found by averaging the contributions from each streamtube at each position of the rotor in the upwind cycle. An example is provided for a 17 m Darrieus employing NACA blades. While the method is found to be suitable for predicting blade and rotor performance, the need to incorporate the effects of dynamic stall in the model is stressed as a means to improve accuracy.

  6. Tip Vortex and Wake Characteristics of a Counterrotating Open Rotor

    Science.gov (United States)

    VanZante, Dale E.; Wernet, Mark P.

    2012-01-01

    One of the primary noise sources for Open Rotor systems is the interaction of the forward rotor tip vortex and blade wake with the aft rotor. NASA has collaborated with General Electric on the testing of a new generation of low noise, counterrotating Open Rotor systems. Three-dimensional particle image velocimetry measurements were acquired in the intra-rotor gap of the Historical Baseline blade set. The velocity measurements are of sufficient resolution to characterize the tip vortex size and trajectory as well as the rotor wake decay and turbulence character. The tip clearance vortex trajectory is compared to results from previously developed models. Forward rotor wake velocity profiles are shown. Results are presented in a form as to assist numerical modeling of Open Rotor system aerodynamics and acoustics.

  7. Rotor Design for Diffuser Augmented Wind Turbines

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Søren Hjort

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Diffuser augmented wind turbines (DAWTs can increase mass flow through the rotor substantially, but have often failed to fulfill expectations. We address high-performance diffusers, and investigate the design requirements for a DAWT rotor to efficiently convert the available energy to shaft energy. Several factors can induce wake stall scenarios causing significant energy loss. The causality between these stall mechanisms and earlier DAWT failures is discussed. First, a swirled actuator disk CFD code is validated through comparison with results from a far wake swirl corrected blade-element momentum (BEM model, and horizontal-axis wind turbine (HAWT reference results. Then, power efficiency versus thrust is computed with the swirled actuator disk (AD code for low and high values of tip-speed ratios (TSR, for different centerbodies, and for different spanwise rotor thrust loading distributions. Three different configurations are studied: The bare propeller HAWT, the classical DAWT, and the high-performance multi-element DAWT. In total nearly 400 high-resolution AD runs are generated. These results are presented and discussed. It is concluded that dedicated DAWT rotors can successfully convert the available energy to shaft energy, provided the identified design requirements for swirl and axial loading distributions are satisfied.

  8. Development and Operation of an Automatic Rotor Trim Control System for use During the UH-60 Individual Blade Control Wind Tunnel Test

    Science.gov (United States)

    Theodore, Colin R.

    2010-01-01

    A full-scale wind tunnel test to evaluate the effects of Individual Blade Control (IBC) on the performance, vibration, noise and loads of a UH-60A rotor was recently completed in the National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Complex (NFAC) 40- by 80-Foot Wind Tunnel [1]. A key component of this wind tunnel test was an automatic rotor trim control system that allowed the rotor trim state to be set more precisely, quickly and repeatably than was possible with the rotor operator setting the trim condition manually. The trim control system was also able to maintain the desired trim condition through changes in IBC actuation both in open- and closed-loop IBC modes, and through long-period transients in wind tunnel flow. This ability of the trim control system to automatically set and maintain a steady rotor trim enabled the effects of different IBC inputs to be compared at common trim conditions and to perform these tests quickly without requiring the rotor operator to re-trim the rotor. The trim control system described in this paper was developed specifically for use during the IBC wind tunnel test

  9. AERODYNAMIC CHARACTERISTICS CALCULATION ON SINGLE ROTOR BLADE USING FLOEFD, ANSYS FLUENT AND RC-VTOL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The results of computational simulation of helicopter rotor's single blade flow, for which experimental (model test data are published, are represented in this article. The calculations were made in the universal software package of CFD modeling FloEFD, which was based on the solution of averaged equations' system of Navier-Stocks, as well as in the program software RC-VTOL using the vortex method. The obtained results are compared with experimental data and modeling results in the program software ANSYS Fluent (license of TsAGI Nr. 501024. The work shows satisfactory, and in some cases good calculation data reconciliation getting with different techniques including experimental.

  10. Flowfield analysis of modern helicopter rotors in hover by Navier-Stokes method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Srinivasan, G. R.; Raghavan, V.; Duque, E. P. N.

    1991-01-01

    The viscous, three-dimensional, flowfields of UH60 and BERP rotors are calculated for lifting hover configurations using a Navier-Stokes computational fluid dynamics method with a view to understand the importance of planform effects on the airloads. In this method, the induced effects of the wake, including the interaction of tip vortices with successive blades, are captured as a part of the overall flowfield solution without prescribing any wake models. Numerical results in the form of surface pressures, hover performance parameters, surface skin friction and tip vortex patterns, and vortex wake trajectory are presented at two thrust conditions for UH60 and BERP rotors. Comparison of results for the UH60 model rotor show good agreement with experiments at moderate thrust conditions. Comparison of results with equivalent rectangular UH60 blade and BERP blade indicates that the BERP blade, with an unconventional planform, gives more thrust at the cost of more power and a reduced figure of merit. The high thrust conditions considered produce severe shock-induced flow separation for UH60 blade, while the BERP blade develops more thrust and minimal separation. The BERP blade produces a tighter tip vortex structure compared with the UH60 blade. These results and the discussion presented bring out the similarities and differences between the two rotors.

  11. Loading Analysis of Composite Wind Turbine Blade for Fatigue Life Prediction of Adhesively Bonded Root Joint

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salimi-Majd, Davood; Azimzadeh, Vahid; Mohammadi, Bijan

    2015-06-01

    Nowadays wind energy is widely used as a non-polluting cost-effective renewable energy resource. During the lifetime of a composite wind turbine which is about 20 years, the rotor blades are subjected to different cyclic loads such as aerodynamics, centrifugal and gravitational forces. These loading conditions, cause to fatigue failure of the blade at the adhesively bonded root joint, where the highest bending moments will occur and consequently, is the most critical zone of the blade. So it is important to estimate the fatigue life of the root joint. The cohesive zone model is one of the best methods for prediction of initiation and propagation of debonding at the root joint. The advantage of this method is the possibility of modeling the debonding without any requirement to the remeshing. However in order to use this approach, it is necessary to analyze the cyclic loading condition at the root joint. For this purpose after implementing a cohesive interface element in the Ansys finite element software, one blade of a horizontal axis wind turbine with 46 m rotor diameter was modelled in full scale. Then after applying loads on the blade under different condition of the blade in a full rotation, the critical condition of the blade is obtained based on the delamination index and also the load ratio on the root joint in fatigue cycles is calculated. These data are the inputs for fatigue damage growth analysis of the root joint by using CZM approach that will be investigated in future work.

  12. Flow field studies on a micro-air-vehicle-scale cycloidal rotor in forward flight

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lind, Andrew H.; Jarugumilli, Tejaswi; Benedict, Moble; Lakshminarayan, Vinod K.; Jones, Anya R.; Chopra, Inderjit

    2014-12-01

    This paper examines the flow physics and principles of force production on a cycloidal rotor (cyclorotor) in forward flight. The cyclorotor considered here consists of two blades rotating about a horizontal axis, with cyclic pitch angle variation about the blade quarter-chord. The flow field at the rotor mid-span is analyzed using smoke flow visualization and particle image velocimeV are compared with flow fields predicted using 2D CFD and time-averaged force measurements acquired in an open-jet wind tunnel at three advance ratios. It is shown that the experimental flow field is nearly two dimensional at μ = 0.73 allowing for qualitative comparisons to be made with CFD. The incoming flow velocity decreases in magnitude as the flow passes through the retreating (upper) half of the rotor and is attributed to power extraction by the blades. A significant increase in flow velocity is observed across the advancing (lower) half of the rotor. The aerodynamic analysis demonstrates that the blades accelerate the flow through the lower aft region of the rotor, where they operate in a high dynamic pressure environment. This is consistent with CFD-predicted values of instantaneous aerodynamic forces which reveal that the aft section of the rotor is the primary region of force production. Phase-averaged flow field measurements showed two blade wakes in the flow, formed by each of the two blades. Analysis of the blades at several azimuthal positions revealed two significant blade-wake interactions. The locations of these blade-wake interactions are correlated with force peaks in the CFD-predicted instantaneous blade forces and highlight their importance to the generation of lift and propulsive force of the cyclorotor.

  13. Using a collision model to design safer wind turbine rotors for birds

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tucker, V.A.

    1996-01-01

    A mathematical model for collisions between birds and propeller-type turbine rotors identifies the variables that can be manipulated to reduce the probability that birds will collide with the rotor. This study defines a safety index--the clearance power density--that allows rotors of different sizes and designs to be compared in terms of the amount of wind energy converted to electrical energy per bird collision. The collision model accounts for variations in wind speed during the year and shows that for model rotors with simple, one-dimensional blades, the safety index increases in proportion to rotor diameter, and variable speed rotors have higher safety indexes than constant speed rotors. The safety index can also be increased by enlarging the region near the center of the rotor hub where the blades move slowly enough for birds to avoid them. Painting the blades to make them more visible might have this effect. Model rotors with practical designs can have safety indexes an order of magnitude higher than those for model rotors typical of the constant speeds rotors in common use today. This finding suggests that redesigned rotors could have collision rates with birds perhaps an order of magnitude lower than today's rotors, with no reduction in the production of wind power. The empirical data that exist for collisions between raptors, such as hawks and eagles, and rotors are consistent with the model: the numbers of raptor carcasses found beneath large variable speed rotors, relative to the numbers found under small constant speed rotors, are in the proportions predicted by the collision model rather than in proportion to the areas swept by the rotor blades. However, uncontrolled variables associated with these data prevent a stronger claim of support for the model

  14. Performance ‘S’ Type Savonius Wind Turbine with Variation of Fin Addition on Blade

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pamungkas, S. F.; Wijayanto, D. S.; Saputro, H.; Widiastuti, I.

    2018-01-01

    Wind power has been receiving attention as the new energy resource in addressing the ecological problems of burning fossil fuels. Savonius wind rotor is a vertical axis wind turbines (VAWT) which has relatively simple structure and low operating speed. These characteristics make it suitable for areas with low average wind speed as in Indonesia. To identify the performance of Savonius rotor in generating electrical energy, this research experimentally studied the effect of fin addition for the ‘S’ shape of Savonius VAWT. The fin is added to fill the space in the blade in directing the wind flow. This rotor has two turbine blades, a rotor diameter of 1.1 m and rotor height of 1.4 m, used pulley transmission system with 1:4.2 multiplication ratio, and used a generator type PMG 200 W. The research was conducted during dry season by measuring the wind speed in the afternoon. The average wind speed in the area is 2.3 m/s with the maximum of 4.5 m/s. It was found that additional fin significantly increase the ability of Savonius rotor VAWT to generate electrical energy shown by increasing of electrical power. The highest power generated is 13.40 Watt at a wind speed of 4.5 m/s by adding 1 (one) fin in the blade. It increased by 22.71% from the rotor blade with no additional fin. However, increasing number of fins in the blade was not linearly increase the electrical power generated. The wind rotor blade with 4 additional fins is indicated has the lowest performance, generating only 10.80 Watt electrical power, accounted lower than the one generated by no fin-rotor blade. By knowing the effect of the rotor shape, the rotor dimension, the addition of fin, transmission, and generator used, it is possible to determine alternative geometry design in increasing the electrical power generated by Savonius wind turbine.

  15. Evaluation of feasibility of prestressed concrete for use in wind turbine blades

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leiblein, S.; Londahl, D. S.; Furlong, D. B.; Dreier, M. E.

    1979-01-01

    A preliminary evaluation of the feasibility of the use of prestressed concrete as a material for low cost blades for wind turbines was conducted. A baseline blade design was achieved for an experimental wind turbine that met aerodynamic and structural requirements. Significant cost reductions were indicated for volume production. Casting of a model blade section showed no fabrication problems. Coupled dynamic analysis revealed that adverse rotor tower interactions can be significant with heavy rotor blades.

  16. Identification of Flap Motion Parameters for Vibration Reduction in Helicopter Rotors with Multiple Active Trailing Edge Flaps

    OpenAIRE

    Dalli, Uğbreve;ur; Yüksel, Şcedilefaatdin

    2011-01-01

    An active control method utilizing the multiple trailing edge flap configuration for rotorcraft vibration suppression and blade loads control is presented. A comprehensive model for rotor blade with active trailing edge flaps is used to calculate the vibration characteristics, natural frequencies and mode shapes of any complex composite helicopter rotor blade. A computer program is developed to calculate the system response, rotor blade root forces and moments under aerodynamic forcing condit...

  17. Efficiency of operation of wind turbine rotors optimized by the Glauert and Betz methods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okulov, V. L.; Mikkelsen, R.; Litvinov, I. V.; Naumov, I. V.

    2015-11-01

    The models of two types of rotors with blades constructed using different optimization methods are compared experimentally. In the first case, the Glauert optimization by the pulsed method is used, which is applied independently for each individual blade cross section. This method remains the main approach in designing rotors of various duties. The construction of the other rotor is based on the Betz idea about optimization of rotors by determining a special distribution of circulation over the blade, which ensures the helical structure of the wake behind the rotor. It is established for the first time as a result of direct experimental comparison that the rotor constructed using the Betz method makes it possible to extract more kinetic energy from the homogeneous incoming flow.

  18. Adjoint-Based Design of Rotors Using the Navier-Stokes Equations in a Noninertial Reference Frame

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nielsen, Eric J.; Lee-Rausch, Elizabeth M.; Jones, William T.

    2010-01-01

    Optimization of rotorcraft flowfields using an adjoint method generally requires a time-dependent implementation of the equations. The current study examines an intermediate approach in which a subset of rotor flowfields are cast as steady problems in a noninertial reference frame. This technique permits the use of an existing steady-state adjoint formulation with minor modifications to perform sensitivity analyses. The formulation is valid for isolated rigid rotors in hover or where the freestream velocity is aligned with the axis of rotation. Discrete consistency of the implementation is demonstrated by using comparisons with a complex-variable technique, and a number of single- and multipoint optimizations for the rotorcraft figure of merit function are shown for varying blade collective angles. Design trends are shown to remain consistent as the grid is refined.

  19. Balancing High-Speed Rotors at Low Speed

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giordano, J.; Zorzi, E.

    1986-01-01

    Flexible balancing reduces vibrations at operating speeds. Highspeed rotors in turbomachines dynamically balanced at fraction of operating rotor speed. New method takes into account rotor flexible rather than rigid.

  20. Application of Computer Simulation to Identify Erosion Resistance of Materials of Wet-steam Turbine Blades

    Science.gov (United States)

    Korostelyov, D. A.; Dergachyov, K. V.

    2017-10-01

    A problem of identifying the efficiency of using materials, coatings, linings and solderings of wet-steam turbine rotor blades by means of computer simulation is considered. Numerical experiments to define erosion resistance of materials of wet-steam turbine blades are described. Kinetic curves for erosion area and weight of the worn rotor blade material of turbines K-300-240 LMP and atomic icebreaker “Lenin” have been defined. The conclusion about the effectiveness of using different erosion-resistant materials and protection configuration of rotor blades is also made.

  1. Aerodynamic optimization of the blades of diffuser-augmented wind turbines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vaz, Jerson R.P.; Wood, David H.

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • An optimization procedure to design shrouded wind turbine blades is proposed. • The procedure relies on the diffuser speed-up ratio. • The diffuser speed-up ratio increases the velocity at the rotor plane. • Chord and twist angle are optimized for typical speed-up ratios. • The procedure is applicable for any tip-speed ratio greater than 1. - Abstract: Adding an exit diffuser is known to allow wind turbines to exceed the classical Betz–Joukowsky limit for a bare turbine. It is not clear, however, if there is a limit for diffuser-augmented turbines or whether the structural and other costs of the diffuser outweigh any gain in power. This work presents a new approach to the aerodynamic optimization of a wind turbine with a diffuser. It is based on an extension of the well-known Blade Element Theory and a simple model for diffuser efficiency. It is assumed that the same conditions for the axial velocity in the wake of an ordinary wind turbine can be applied on the flow far downwind of the diffuser outlet. An algorithm to optimize the blade chord and twist angle distributions in the presence of a diffuser was developed and implemented. As a result, an aerodynamic improvement of the turbine rotor geometry was achieved with the blade shape sensitive to the diffuser speed-up ratio. In order to evaluate the proposed approach, a comparison with the classical Glauert optimization was performed for a flanged diffuser, which increased the efficiency. In addition, a comparative assessment was made with experimental results available in the literature, suggesting better performance for the rotor designed with the proposed optimization procedure.

  2. Aerodynamic design of the National Rotor Testbed.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kelley, Christopher Lee [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

    2015-10-01

    A new wind turbine blade has been designed for the National Rotor Testbed (NRT) project and for future experiments at the Scaled Wind Farm Technology (SWiFT) facility with a specific focus on scaled wakes. This report shows the aerodynamic design of new blades that can produce a wake that has similitude to utility scale blades despite the difference in size and location in the atmospheric boundary layer. Dimensionless quantities circulation, induction, thrust coefficient, and tip-speed-ratio were kept equal between rotor scales in region 2 of operation. The new NRT design matched the aerodynamic quantities of the most common wind turbine in the United States, the GE 1.5sle turbine with 37c model blades. The NRT blade design is presented along with its performance subject to the winds at SWiFT. The design requirements determined by the SWiFT experimental test campaign are shown to be met.

  3. 232Th, a rigid rotor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Singh, M.; Pradeep Kumar; Singh, Y.; Varshney, A.K.; Gupta, D.K.

    2014-01-01

    We undertake the present work to treat 232 Th with a soft rotor formula used recently by C. Bihari et. al for γ-band and modified by J.B. Gupta et. al. It describes energy in terms of moment of inertia and softness parameter

  4. Vibration reduction methods and techniques for rotorcraft utilizing on-blade active control, Phase I

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Rotor blades adapted for vibration control have the added benefit of extended blade and rotor life, as well as improved passenger comfort. Approaches that have been...

  5. Modern rotor balancing - Emerging technologies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zorzi, E. S.; Von Pragenau, G. L.

    1985-01-01

    Modern balancing methods for flexible and rigid rotors are explored. Rigid rotor balancing is performed at several hundred rpm, well below the first bending mode of the shaft. High speed balancing is necessary when the nominal rotational speed is higher than the first bending mode. Both methods introduce weights which will produce rotor responses at given speeds that will be exactly out of phase with the responses of an unbalanced rotor. Modal balancing seeks to add weights which will leave other rotor modes unaffected. Also, influence coefficients can be determined by trial and error addition of weights and recording of their effects on vibration at speeds of interest. The latter method is useful for balancing rotors at other than critical speeds and for performing unified balancing beginning with the first critical speed. Finally, low-speed flexible balancing permits low-speed tests and adjustments of rotor assemblies which will not be accessible when operating in their high-speed functional configuration. The method was developed for the high pressure liquid oxygen turbopumps for the Shuttle.

  6. A Two-Bladed Teetering Hub configuration for the DTU 10 MW RWT: loads considerations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bergami, Leonardo; Aagaard Madsen, Helge; Rasmussen, Flemming

    2014-01-01

    study on an alternative downwind two-bladed rotor configuration. The study is based on a model representative of next generation multi-MW wind turbines: the DTU 10-MW Reference Wind Turbine (RWT). As a first design iteration, the aerodynamic characteristics of the original rotor are maintained......As the size of wind turbine rotors continuously grows, the need for innovative solutions that would yield to lighter rotor configurations becomes more urgent. Traditional wind turbine designs have favored the classic three-bladed upwind rotor configuration. This work presents instead a concept...... in load variations, and hence in fatigue damage, affects the turbine blades, shaft and tower, and originates from the aerodynamic unbalance on the rotor, as well as from aeroelastic interaction with the tower frequency. To mitigate the load amplification caused by the interaction between the tower...

  7. Development of an aeroelastic methodology for surface morphing rotors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cook, James R.

    Helicopter performance capabilities are limited by maximum lift characteristics and vibratory loading. In high speed forward flight, dynamic stall and transonic flow greatly increase the amplitude of vibratory loads. Experiments and computational simulations alike have indicated that a variety of active rotor control devices are capable of reducing vibratory loads. For example, periodic blade twist and flap excitation have been optimized to reduce vibratory loads in various rotors. Airfoil geometry can also be modified in order to increase lift coefficient, delay stall, or weaken transonic effects. To explore the potential benefits of active controls, computational methods are being developed for aeroelastic rotor evaluation, including coupling between computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and computational structural dynamics (CSD) solvers. In many contemporary CFD/CSD coupling methods it is assumed that the airfoil is rigid to reduce the interface by single dimension. Some methods retain the conventional one-dimensional beam model while prescribing an airfoil shape to simulate active chord deformation. However, to simulate the actual response of a compliant airfoil it is necessary to include deformations that originate not only from control devices (such as piezoelectric actuators), but also inertial forces, elastic stresses, and aerodynamic pressures. An accurate representation of the physics requires an interaction with a more complete representation of loads and geometry. A CFD/CSD coupling methodology capable of communicating three-dimensional structural deformations and a distribution of aerodynamic forces over the wetted blade surface has not yet been developed. In this research an interface is created within the Fully Unstructured Navier-Stokes (FUN3D) solver that communicates aerodynamic forces on the blade surface to University of Michigan's Nonlinear Active Beam Solver (UM/NLABS -- referred to as NLABS in this thesis). Interface routines are developed for

  8. Blade Surface Pressure Distributions in a Rocket Engine Turbine: Experimental Work With On-Blade Pressure Transducers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hudson, Susan T.; Zoladz, Thomas F.; Griffin, Lisa W.; Turner, James E. (Technical Monitor)

    2000-01-01

    Understanding the unsteady aspects of turbine rotor flowfields is critical to successful future turbine designs. A technology program was conducted at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center to increase the understanding of unsteady environments for rocket engine turbines. The experimental program involved instrumenting turbine rotor blades with surface-mounted high frequency response pressure transducers. The turbine model was then tested to measure the unsteady pressures on the rotor blades. The data obtained from the experimental program is unique in three respects. First, much more unsteady data was obtained (several minutes per set point) than has been possible in the past. Also, two independent unsteady data acquisition systems and fundamental signal processing approaches were used. Finally, an extensive steady performance database existed for the turbine model. This allowed an evaluation of the effect of the on-blade instrumentation on the turbine's performance. This unique data set, the lessons learned for acquiring this type of data, and the improvements made to the data analysis and prediction tools will contribute to future turbine programs such as those for reusable launch vehicles.

  9. Tests of Full-Scale Helicopter Rotors at High Advancing Tip Mach Numbers and Advance Ratios

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biggers, James C.; McCloud, John L., III; Stroub, Robert H.

    2015-01-01

    As a continuation of the studies of reference 1, three full-scale helicopter rotors have been tested in the Ames Research Center 40- by SO-foot wind tunnel. All three of them were two-bladed, teetering rotors. One of the rotors incorporated the NACA 0012 airfoil section over the entire length of the blade. This rotor was tested at advance ratios up to 1.05. Both of the other rotors were tapered in thickness and incorporated leading-edge camber over the outer 20 percent of the blade radius. The larger of these rotors was tested at advancing tip Mach numbers up to 1.02. Data were obtained for a wide range of lift and propulsive force, and are presented without discussion.

  10. Computer subroutine for estimating aerodynamic blade loads on Darrieus vertical axis wind turbines. [FORCE code

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sullivan, W. N.; Leonard, T. M.

    1980-11-01

    An important aspect of structural design of the Darrieus rotor is the determination of aerodynamic blade loads. This report describes a load generator which has been used at Sandia for quasi-static and dynamic rotor analyses. The generator is based on the single streamtube aerodynamic flow model and is constructed as a FORTRAN IV subroutine to facilitate its use in finite element structural models. Input and output characteristics of the subroutine are described and a complete listing is attached as an appendix.

  11. Study on temperature measurement of gas turbine blade based on analysis of error caused by the reflected radiation and emission angle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Dong; Feng, Chi; Gao, Shan; Chen, Liwei; Daniel, Ketui

    2018-06-01

    Accurate measurement of gas turbine blade temperature is of great significance as far as blade health monitoring is concerned. An important method for measuring this temperature is the use of a radiation pyrometer. In this research, error of the pyrometer caused by reflected radiation from the surfaces surrounding the target and the emission angle of the target was analyzed. Important parameters for this analysis were the view factor between interacting surfaces, spectral directional emissivity, pyrometer operating wavelength and the surface temperature distribution on the blades and the vanes. The interacting surface of the rotor blade and the vane models used were discretized using triangular surface elements from which contour integral was used to calculate the view factor between the surface elements. Spectral directional emissivities were obtained from an experimental setup of Ni based alloy samples. A pyrometer operating wavelength of 1.6 μm was chosen. Computational fluid dynamics software was used to simulate the temperature distribution of the rotor blade and the guide vane based on the actual gas turbine input parameters. Results obtained in this analysis show that temperature error introduced by reflected radiation and emission angle ranges from  ‑23 K to 49 K.

  12. Construction of the 18-meter wooden blade at Nibe-Molle B

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nielsen, P. C.

    1982-11-01

    The construction of an 18 m cantilevered wooden rotor blade for wind turbine-B at Nibe, Denmark is reported. The project is described and conclusions are made based on calculations and tests on the rotor blade. Details are given on choice of material, construction, attachments and fittings, stress problems and loads.

  13. Determination of the transient vibrations of a rigid rotor attenuated by a semiactive magnetorheological damping device by means of computational modelling

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Zapoměl, Jaroslav; Ferfecki, Petr; Kozánek, Jan

    2013-01-01

    Roč. 7, č. 2 (2013), s. 223-234 ISSN 1802-680X. [COMPUTATIONAL MECHANICS 2012 /28./. Špičák, 12.11.2012-14.11.2012] Institutional support : RVO:61388998 Keywords : rigid rotors * controllable damping * hybrid magnetorheological dampers * transient response Subject RIV: JR - Other Machinery

  14. Design and Analysis of Wind Turbine Rotors Using Hinged Structures and Rods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Hongya; Zeng, Pan; Lei, Liping

    2018-03-01

    Light weight and high stiffness are key design factors in ensuring cost effectiveness and reliability of wind turbines, especially for the inboard region of the rotor blades. In this study, several novel designs were developed to improve the mechanical performance of the rotor. Experiments were performed on an isolated blade incorporating the new features of a hinged structure and rods. The results validated the effectiveness of these features at alleviating the root-bending moment of the blade under varying wind loads and enhancing the stiffness of the blade. A numerical investigation was carried out to further examine the bending moment distribution, shear and axial force, and rod tension of these novel rotor designs under uniform loads. Longitudinal geometrical variations of the blade were considered in the model. Results showed that two designs realized a favorable bending moment distribution and improved the modal frequencies of the edgewise modes: bisymmetrical rods on a single-hinged structure and interveined symmetrical rods on a cantilevered structure. However, these designs have different deformation mechanisms. In addition, the first group of edgewise modal frequencies of these two designs were improved compared with the traditional rotor design. Their potential values in the application to the design of a lightweight, high-stiffness, and reliable wind turbine rotor were discussed.

  15. Guidelines to Interpret Results of Mechanical Blade Test

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arias Vega, F.; Sanz Martin, J. C.

    1999-01-01

    This report shows the interpretation of full scale rotor blade test results and describes the engineering testing models and coefficients for any feasible rotor blade design, in order to accept and to certify any final manufactured blade as an allowable product, fit for use and working with a completely security during all the wind turbines lifetime. This work was carried out at the Wind Energy Division of the CIEMAT.DER and it is based on the authors technical experience in this field, after many years working on testing blades. Also, this paper contains results of the European wind turbine Standards II relevant to the European Project: JOULE III R.D. where the Wind Energy Division took part as participant too. (Author)

  16. Guidelines to Interpret Results of Mechanical Blade Test

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Arias Vega, F.; Sanz Martin, J. C. [Ciemat, Madrid (Spain)

    2000-07-01

    This report shows the interpretation of full scale rotor blade test results and describes the engineering testing models and coefficients for any feasible rotor blade design, in order to accept and to certify any final manufactured blades as an allowable product, fit for use and working with a completely security during all the windturbine's lifetime. This work was carried out at the Wind Energy Division of the CIEMAT.DER and it is based on the author's technical experience in this field, after many years working on testing blades. Also, this paper contains results of the European wind turbine Standards II relevant to the European Project: JOULE III R.D. where the Wind Energy Division took part as participant too. (Author)

  17. A comparative study of finite element methodologies for the prediction of torsional response of bladed rotors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Scheepers, R.; Heyns, P. S.

    2016-01-01

    The prevention of torsional vibration-induced fatigue damage to turbo-generators requires determining natural frequencies by either field testing or mathematical modelling. Torsional excitation methods, measurement techniques and mathematical modelling are active fields of research. However, these aspects are mostly considered in isolation and often without experimental verification. The objective of this work is to compare one dimensional (1D), full three dimensional (3D) and 3D cyclic symmetric (3DCS) Finite element (FE) methodologies for torsional vibration response. Results are compared to experimental results for a small-scale test rotor. It is concluded that 3D approaches are feasible given the current computing technology and require less simplification with potentially increased accuracy. Accuracy of 1D models may be reduced due to simplifications but faster solution times are obtained. For high levels of accuracy model updating using field test results is recommended

  18. Active Blade Vibration Control Being Developed and Tested

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Dexter

    2003-01-01

    Gas turbine engines are currently being designed to have increased performance, lower weight and manufacturing costs, and higher reliability. Consequently, turbomachinery components, such as turbine and compressor blades, have designs that are susceptible to new vibration problems and eventual in-service failure due to high-cycle fatigue. To address this problem, researchers at the NASA Glenn Research Center are developing and testing innovative active blade vibration control concepts. Preliminary results of using an active blade vibration control system, involving a rotor supported by an active magnetic bearing in Glenn's Dynamic Spin Rig, indicate promising results (see the photograph). Active blade vibration control was achieved using feedback of blade strain gauge signals within the magnetic bearing control loop. The vibration amplitude was reduced substantially (see the graphs). Also, vibration amplitude amplification was demonstrated; this could be used to enhance structural mode identification, if desired. These results were for a nonrotating two-bladed disk. Tests for rotating blades are planned. Current and future active blade vibration control research is planned to use a fully magnetically suspended rotor and smart materials. For the fully magnetically suspended rotor work, three magnetic bearings (two radial and one axial) will be used as actuators instead of one magnetic bearing. This will allow additional degrees of freedom to be used for control. For the smart materials work, control effectors located on and off the blade will be considered. Piezoelectric materials will be considered for on-the-blade actuation, and actuator placement on a stator vane, or other nearby structure, will be investigated for off-the-blade actuation. Initial work will focus on determining the feasibility of these methods by performing basic analysis and simple experiments involving feedback control.

  19. Usage of modal synthesis method with condensation in rotor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zeman V.

    2008-11-01

    Full Text Available The paper deals with mathematical modelling of vibration and modal analysis of rotors composed of a flexible shaft and several flexible disks. The shaft is modelled as a one dimensional continuum whereon flexible disks modelled as a three dimensional continuum are rigid mounted to shaft. The presented approach allows to introduce continuously distributed centrifugal and gyroscopic effects. The finite element method was used for shaft and disks discretization. The modelling of such flexible multi-body rotors with large DOF number is based on the system decomposition into subsystems and on the modal synthesis method with condensation. Lower vibration mode shapes of the mutually uncoupled and non-rotating subsystems are used for creation of the rotor condensed mathematical model. An influence of the different level of a rotor condensation model on the accuracy of calculated eigenfrequencies and eigenvectors is discussed.

  20. Optimization of wind turbine rotors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nygaard, Tor Anders

    1999-07-01

    The Constrained Steepest Descent method has been applied to the optimization of wind turbine rotors through the development of a numerical model. The model consists of an optimization kernel, an aerodynamic model, a structural dynamic model of a rotating beam, and a cost model for the wind turbine. The cost of energy is minimized directly by varying the blade design, the rotational speed and the resulting design of the drive-train and tower. The aerodynamic model is a combination of a fast engineering model based on strip-theory and two and three-dimensional Euler solvers. The two-dimensional Euler solver is used for generation of pre-stall airfoil data. Comparisons with experimental data verify that the engineering model effectively approximates non-stalled flow, except at the blade tip. The three-dimensional Euler solver is in good agreement with the experimental data at the tip, and is therefore a useful supplement for corrections of the tip-loss model, and evaluation of an optimized design. The structural dynamic model evaluates stresses and deformations for the blade. It is based on constitutive relations for a slender beam that are solved with the equations of motions using a finite-difference method. The cost model evaluates the design change of the wind turbine and the resulting costs that occur when a change in blade design modifies the blade mass and the overall forces. The cost model is based on engineering design rules for the drive-train and tower. The model was applied using a Danish 600 kW wind turbine as a reference. Two rotors were optimized using traditional NACA airfoils and a new low-lift airfoil family developed specifically for wind turbine purposes. The cost of energy decreased four percent for the NACA rotor, and seven percent for the low-lift rotor. Optimizations with a high number of degrees of freedom show that a designer has considerable flexibility in choosing some primary parameters such as rated power and rotor diameter, if the rest

  1. Design and evaluation of low-cost laminated wood composite blades for intermediate size wind turbines: Blade design, fabrication concept, and cost analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lieblein, S.; Gaugeon, M.; Thomas, G.; Zueck, M.

    1982-01-01

    As part of a program to reduce wind turbine costs, an evaluation was conducted of a laminated wood composite blade for the Mod-OA 200 kW wind turbine. The effort included the design and fabrication concept for the blade, together with cost and load analyses. The blade structure is composed of laminated Douglas fir veneers for the primary spar and nose sections, and honeycomb cored plywood panels for the trailing edges sections. The attachment of the wood blade to the rotor hub was through load takeoff studs bonded into the blade root. Tests were conducted on specimens of the key structural components to verify the feasibility of the concept. It is concluded that the proposed wood composite blade design and fabrication concept is suitable for Mod-OA size turbines (125-ft diameter rotor) at a cost that is very competitive with other methods of manufacture.

  2. Research on the nonintrusive measurement of the turbine blade vibration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Shi hai; Li, Lu-ping; Rao, Hong-de

    2008-11-01

    It's one of the important ways to monitor the change of dynamic characteristic of turbine blades for ensuring safety operation of turbine unit. Traditional measurement systems for monitoring blade vibration generally use strain gauges attached to the surface of turbine blades, each strain gauge gives out an analogue signal related to blade deformation, it's maximal defect is only a few blades could be monitored which are attached by strain gauge. But the noncontact vibration measurement will be discussed would solve this problem. This paper deals with noncontact vibration measurement on the rotor blades of turbine through experiments. In this paper, the noncontact vibration measurement - Tip Timing Measurement will be presented, and will be improved. The statistics and DFT will be used in the improved measurement. The main advantage of the improved measurement is that only two sensors over the top of blades and one synchronous sensor of the rotor are used to get the exact vibration characteristics of the each blade in a row. In our experiment, we adopt NI Company's DAQ equipment: SCXI1001 and PCI 6221, three optical sensors, base on the graphics program soft LabVIEW to develop the turbine blade monitor system. At the different rotational speed of the rotor (1000r/m and 1200r/m) we do several experiments on the bench of the Turbine characteristic. Its results indicated that the vibration of turbine blade could be real-time monitored and accurately measured by the improved Tip Timing Measurement.

  3. Determination of the number of Vertical Axis Wind Turbine blades based on power spectrum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fedak Waldemar

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Technology of wind exploitation has been applied widely all over the world and has already reached the level in which manufacturers want to maximize the yield with the minimum investment outlays. The main objective of this paper is the determination of the optimal number of blades in the Cup-Bladed Vertical Axis Wind Turbine. Optimizing the size of the Vertical Axis Wind Turbine allows the reduction of costs. The maximum power of the rotor is selected as the performance target. The optimum number of Vertical Axis Wind Turbine blades evaluation is based on analysis of a single blade simulation and its superposition for the whole rotor. The simulation of working blade was done in MatLab environment. Power spectrum graphs were prepared and compared throughout superposition of individual blades in the Vertical Axis Wind Turbine rotor. The major result of this research is the Vertical Axis Wind Turbine power characteristic. On the basis of the analysis of the power spectra, optimum number of the blades was specified for the analysed rotor. Power spectrum analysis of wind turbine enabled the specification of the optimal number of blades, and can be used regarding investment outlays and power output of the Vertical Axis Wind Turbine.

  4. Determination of the number of Vertical Axis Wind Turbine blades based on power spectrum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fedak, Waldemar; Anweiler, Stanisław; Gancarski, Wojciech; Ulbrich, Roman

    2017-10-01

    Technology of wind exploitation has been applied widely all over the world and has already reached the level in which manufacturers want to maximize the yield with the minimum investment outlays. The main objective of this paper is the determination of the optimal number of blades in the Cup-Bladed Vertical Axis Wind Turbine. Optimizing the size of the Vertical Axis Wind Turbine allows the reduction of costs. The maximum power of the rotor is selected as the performance target. The optimum number of Vertical Axis Wind Turbine blades evaluation is based on analysis of a single blade simulation and its superposition for the whole rotor. The simulation of working blade was done in MatLab environment. Power spectrum graphs were prepared and compared throughout superposition of individual blades in the Vertical Axis Wind Turbine rotor. The major result of this research is the Vertical Axis Wind Turbine power characteristic. On the basis of the analysis of the power spectra, optimum number of the blades was specified for the analysed rotor. Power spectrum analysis of wind turbine enabled the specification of the optimal number of blades, and can be used regarding investment outlays and power output of the Vertical Axis Wind Turbine.

  5. Active Robust Control of Elastic Blade Element Containing Magnetorheological Fluid

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sivrioglu, Selim; Cakmak Bolat, Fevzi

    2018-03-01

    This research study proposes a new active control structure to suppress vibrations of a small-scale wind turbine blade filled with magnetorheological (MR) fluid and actuated by an electromagnet. The aluminum blade structure is manufactured using the airfoil with SH3055 code number which is designed for use on small wind turbines. An interaction model between MR fluid and the electromagnetic actuator is derived. A norm based multi-objective H2/H∞ controller is designed using the model of the elastic blade element. The H2/H∞ controller is experimentally realized under the impact and steady state aerodynamic load conditions. The results of experiments show that the MR fluid is effective for suppressing vibrations of the blade structure.

  6. Comparison of individual pitch and smart rotor control strategies for load reduction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Plumley, C; Leithead, W; Jamieson, P; Bossanyi, E; Graham, M

    2014-01-01

    Load reduction is increasingly seen as an essential part of controller and wind turbine design. On large multi-MW wind turbines that experience high levels of wind shear and turbulence across the rotor, individual pitch control and smart rotor control are being considered. While individual pitch control involves adjusting the pitch of each blade individually to reduce the cyclic loadings on the rotor, smart rotor control involves activating control devices distributed along the blades to alter the local aerodynamics of the blades. Here we investigate the effectiveness of using a DQ-axis control and a distributed (independent) control for both individual pitch and trailing edge flap smart rotor control. While load reductions are similar amongst the four strategies across a wide range of variables, including blade root bending moments, yaw bearing and shaft, the pitch actuator requirements vary. The smart rotor pitch actuator has reduced travel, rates, accelerations and power requirements than that of the individual pitch controlled wind turbines. This benefit alone however would be hard to justify the added design complexities of using a smart rotor, which can be seen as an alternative to upgrading the pitch actuator and bearing. In addition, it is found that the independent control strategy is apt at roles that the collective pitch usually targets, such as tower motion and speed control, and it is perhaps here, in supplementing other systems, that the future of the smart rotor lies

  7. Comparison of individual pitch and smart rotor control strategies for load reduction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Plumley, C.; Leithead, W.; Jamieson, P.; Bossanyi, E.; Graham, M.

    2014-06-01

    Load reduction is increasingly seen as an essential part of controller and wind turbine design. On large multi-MW wind turbines that experience high levels of wind shear and turbulence across the rotor, individual pitch control and smart rotor control are being considered. While individual pitch control involves adjusting the pitch of each blade individually to reduce the cyclic loadings on the rotor, smart rotor control involves activating control devices distributed along the blades to alter the local aerodynamics of the blades. Here we investigate the effectiveness of using a DQ-axis control and a distributed (independent) control for both individual pitch and trailing edge flap smart rotor control. While load reductions are similar amongst the four strategies across a wide range of variables, including blade root bending moments, yaw bearing and shaft, the pitch actuator requirements vary. The smart rotor pitch actuator has reduced travel, rates, accelerations and power requirements than that of the individual pitch controlled wind turbines. This benefit alone however would be hard to justify the added design complexities of using a smart rotor, which can be seen as an alternative to upgrading the pitch actuator and bearing. In addition, it is found that the independent control strategy is apt at roles that the collective pitch usually targets, such as tower motion and speed control, and it is perhaps here, in supplementing other systems, that the future of the smart rotor lies.

  8. SMART wind turbine rotor. Design and field test

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Berg, Jonathan Charles; Resor, Brian Ray; Paquette, Joshua A.; White, Jonathan Randall

    2014-01-01

    The Wind Energy Technologies department at Sandia National Laboratories has developed and field tested a wind turbine rotor with integrated trailing-edge flaps designed for active control of rotor aerodynamics. The SMART Rotor project was funded by the Wind and Water Power Technologies Office of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and was conducted to demonstrate active rotor control and evaluate simulation tools available for active control research. This report documents the design, fabrication, and testing of the SMART Rotor. This report begins with an overview of active control research at Sandia and the objectives of this project. The SMART blade, based on the DOE / SNL 9-meter CX-100 blade design, is then documented including all modifications necessary to integrate the trailing edge flaps, sensors incorporated into the system, and the fabrication processes that were utilized. Finally the test site and test campaign are described.

  9. Base excitation testing system using spring elements to pivotally mount wind turbine blades

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cotrell, Jason; Hughes, Scott; Butterfield, Sandy; Lambert, Scott

    2013-12-10

    A system (1100) for fatigue testing wind turbine blades (1102) through forced or resonant excitation of the base (1104) of a blade (1102). The system (1100) includes a test stand (1112) and a restoring spring assembly (1120) mounted on the test stand (1112). The restoring spring assembly (1120) includes a primary spring element (1124) that extends outward from the test stand (1112) to a blade mounting plate (1130) configured to receive a base (1104) of blade (1102). During fatigue testing, a supported base (1104) of a blad (1102) may be pivotally mounted to the test stand (1112) via the restoring spring assembly (1120). The system (1100) may include an excitation input assembly (1140) that is interconnected with the blade mouting plate (1130) to selectively apply flapwise, edgewise, and/or pitch excitation forces. The restoring spring assemply (1120) may include at least one tuning spring member (1127) positioned adjacent to the primary spring element (1124) used to tune the spring constant or stiffness of the primary spring element (1124) in one of the excitation directions.

  10. The Influence of Eroded Blades on Wind Turbine Performance Using Numerical Simulations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matthias Schramm

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available During their operation, wind turbine blades are eroded due to rain and hail, or they are contaminated with insects. Since the relative inflow velocity is higher at the outer than at the inner part of the blades, erosion occurs mostly at the outer blade region. In order to prevent strong erosion, it is possible to install a leading edge protection, which can be applied to the blades after the initial installation, but changes the shape of the initial airfoil sections. It is unclear how this modification influences the aerodynamic performance of the turbine. Hence, it is investigated in this work. The NREL 5 MW turbine is simulated with clean and eroded blades, which are compared to coated blades equipped with leading edge protection. Aerodynamic polars are generated by means of Computational Fluid Dynamics, and load calculations are conducted using the blade element momentum theory. The analysis in this work shows that, compared to clean rotor blades, the worse aerodynamic behaviour of strongly eroded blades can lead to power losses of 9 % . In contrast, coated blades only have a small impact on the turbine power of less than 1 % .

  11. Synchronisation phenomenon in three blades rotor driven by regular or chaotic oscillations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Szmit Zofia

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The goal of the paper is to analysed the influence of the different types of excitation on the synchronisation phenomenon in case of the rotating system composed of a rigid hub and three flexible composite beams. In the model is assumed that two blades, due to structural differences, are de-tuned. Numerical calculation are divided on two parts, firstly the rotating system is exited by a torque given by regular harmonic function, than in the second part the torque is produced by chaotic Duffing oscillator. The synchronisation phenomenon between the beams is analysed both either for regular or chaotic motions. Partial differential equations of motion are solved numerically and resonance curves, time series and Poincaré maps are presented for selected excitation torques.

  12. Balancing of a rigid rotor using artificial neural network to predict the correction masses - DOI: 10.4025/actascitechnol.v31i2.3912

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fábio Lúcio Santos

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper deals with an analytical model of a rigid rotor supported by hydrodynamic journal bearings where the plane separation technique together with the Artificial Neural Network (ANN is used to predict the location and magnitude of the correction masses for balancing the rotor bearing system. The rotating system is modeled by applying the rigid shaft Stodola-Green model, in which the shaft gyroscopic moments and rotatory inertia are accounted for, in conjunction with the hydrodynamic cylindrical journal bearing model based on the classical Reynolds equation. A linearized perturbation procedure is employed to render the lubrication equations from the Reynolds equation, which allows predicting the eight linear force coefficients associated with the bearing direct and cross-coupled stiffness and damping coefficients. The results show that the methodology presented is efficient for balancing rotor systems. This paper gives a step further in the monitoring process, since Artificial Neural Network is normally used to predict, not to correct the mass unbalance. The procedure presented can be used in turbo machinery industry to balance rotating machinery that require continuous inspections. Some simulated results will be used in order to clarify the methodology presented.

  13. Cascade Analysis of a Floating Wind Turbine Rotor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eliassen, Lene; Jakobsen, Jasna B; Knauer, Andreas; Nielsen, Finn Gunnar

    2014-01-01

    Mounting a wind turbine on a floating foundation introduces more complexity to the aerodynamic loading. The floater motion contains a wide range of frequencies. To study some of the basic dynamic load effect on the blades due to these motions, a two-dimensional cascade approach, combined with a potential vortex method, is used. This is an alternative method to study the aeroelastic behavior of wind turbines that is different from the traditional blade element momentum method. The analysis tool demands little computational power relative to a full three dimensional vortex method, and can handle unsteady flows. When using the cascade plane, a ''cut'' is made at a section of the wind turbine blade. The flow is viewed parallel to the blade axis at this cut. The cascade model is commonly used for analysis of turbo machineries. Due to the simplicity of the code it requires little computational resources, however it has limitations in its validity. It can only handle two-dimensional potential flow, i.e. including neither three-dimensional effects, such as the tip loss effect, nor boundary layers and stall effects are modeled. The computational tool can however be valuable in the overall analysis of floating wind turbines, and evaluation of the rotor control system. A check of the validity of the vortex panel code using an airfoil profile is performed, comparing the variation of the lift force, to the theoretically derived Wagner function. To analyse the floating wind turbine, a floating structure with hub height 90 m is chosen. An axial motion of the rotor is considered

  14. Design of a wind turbine rotor for maximum aerodynamic efficiency

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Johansen, Jeppe; Aagaard Madsen, Helge; Gaunaa, Mac

    2009-01-01

    The design of a three-bladed wind turbine rotor is described, where the main focus has been highest possible mechanical power coefficient, CP, at a single operational condition. Structural, as well as off-design, issues are not considered, leading to a purely theoretical design for investigating...... maximum aerodynamic efficiency. The rotor is designed assuming constant induction for most of the blade span, but near the tip region, a constant load is assumed instead. The rotor design is obtained using an actuator disc model, and is subsequently verified using both a free-wake lifting line method...

  15. Nonlinear Legendre Spectral Finite Elements for Wind Turbine Blade Dynamics: Preprint

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Q.; Sprague, M. A.; Jonkman, J.; Johnson, N.

    2014-01-01

    This paper presents a numerical implementation and examination of new wind turbine blade finite element model based on Geometrically Exact Beam Theory (GEBT) and a high-order spectral finite element method. The displacement-based GEBT is presented, which includes the coupling effects that exist in composite structures and geometric nonlinearity. Legendre spectral finite elements (LSFEs) are high-order finite elements with nodes located at the Gauss-Legendre-Lobatto points. LSFEs can be an order of magnitude more efficient that low-order finite elements for a given accuracy level. Interpolation of the three-dimensional rotation, a major technical barrier in large-deformation simulation, is discussed in the context of LSFEs. It is shown, by numerical example, that the high-order LSFEs, where weak forms are evaluated with nodal quadrature, do not suffer from a drawback that exists in low-order finite elements where the tangent-stiffness matrix is calculated at the Gauss points. Finally, the new LSFE code is implemented in the new FAST Modularization Framework for dynamic simulation of highly flexible composite-material wind turbine blades. The framework allows for fully interactive simulations of turbine blades in operating conditions. Numerical examples showing validation and LSFE performance will be provided in the final paper.

  16. Modal Characteristics of Novel Wind Turbine Rotors with Hinged Structures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Hongya; Zeng, Pan; Lei, Liping

    2018-03-01

    The vibration problems of the wind turbine rotors have drawn public attention as the size of wind turbine has increased incredibly. Although various factors may cause the vibration problems, the flexibility is a big threat among them. Therefore, ensuring the high stiffness of the rotors by adopting novel techniques becomes a necessity. The study was a further investigation of several novel designs regarding the dynamic behaviour and the influencing mechanism. The modal testing experiments were conducted on a traditional blade and an isolated blade with the hinged rods mounted close to the root. The results showed that the rod increased both the modal frequency and the damping of the blade. More studies were done on the rods’ impact on the wind turbine rotor with a numerical model, where dimensionless parameters were defined to describe the configuration of the interveined and the bisymmetrical rods. Their influences on the modal frequencies of the rotor were analyzed and discussed.

  17. A mathematical model of bird collisions with wind turbine rotors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tucker, V.A.

    1996-01-01

    When a bird flies through the disk swept out by the blades of a wind turbine rotor, the probability of collision depends on the motions and dimensions of the bird and the blades. The collision model in this paper predicts the probability for birds that glide upwind, downwind, an across the wind past simple one-dimensional blades represented by straight lines, and upwind and downwind past more realistic three-dimensional blades with chord and twist. Probabilities vary over the surface of the disk, and in most cases, the tip of the blade is less likely to collide with a bird than parts of the blade nearer the hub. The mean probability may be found by integration over the disk area. The collision model identifies the rotor characteristics that could be altered to make turbines safer for birds

  18. Calibration of partial safety factors for wind turbine rotor blades against fatigue; Kalibrering af partielle sikkerhedsfaktorer for udmattelse af vindmoellerotorer. Bilagsrapport

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Christensen, C.J.; Ronold, K.O.; Thoegersen, M.L.

    2000-08-01

    The report describes a calibration of partial safety factors for wind turbine rotor blades subjected to fatigue loading in flapwise and edgewise bending. While earlier models - developed by the authors - dealt with such calibrations for site-specific individual turbines only, the calibration model applied herein covers an integrated analysis with different turbines on different sites and with different blade materials. The result is an optimized set of partial safety factors, i.e. a set of safety factors that lead to minimum deviation from the target reliability of the achieved reliabilities over the selected scope of turbines, sites and materials. The turbines included in the study cover rated powers of 450-600 kW. (au)

  19. Modal analysis of blade bending and torsional shaft coupling by component mode synthesis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vare, C.

    1995-10-01

    The Acoustics and Vibration Mechanics Branch of EDF's Research and Development Division is in charge of performing finite element calculations, for the study of the vibratory behaviour of nuclear components. Due to the size and the geometrical complexity of some of these components, EDF has developed sub-structure synthesis methods for modal analysis of large structures. Both Craig-Bampton's and Mac Neal's methods have been implemented in the general mechanics code of EDF: the Aster Code. Craig-Bampton sub-structure synthesis approach was used to study the coupling between blade bending and torsional shaft of a turbine generator set. Four sub-structures were defined to make the calculation: a generator, a low pressure rotor, a high pressure rotor and a blade. The results of the modal calculation, show good agreement with the experimental measurements (error < 1 %). It shows the accuracy of component mode synthesis methods. (author). 6 refs., 7 figs

  20. Criteria for the provision and assembly of the rotor blades of a 300 MW low pressure steam turbine for electrical generation; Criterios para el suministro y ensambles de la alabes de rotor de turbina de vapor de 300 MW baja presion para generacion electrica

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bertin, Galo; Felix, Jorge A; Quijano, Octavio [Especialistas en Turbopartes, S.A. de C.V., Queretaro, Queretaro (Mexico)

    2007-11-15

    This paper presents some of the main criteria to consider from the inspection, disassembling and assembly of blades with different root types of a turbine rotor of steam turbines for power generation, having as an aim to count on a reliable rotor, fulfilling with the equipment original design and norms and international standards. [Spanish] Este trabajo presenta algunos de los criterios principales a considerar desde la inspeccion, desmontaje y montaje de alabes de diferentes tipos de raiz de un rotor de turbinas de vapor de generacion electrica, teniendo como finalidad contar con un rotor confiable, cumpliendo con el diseno original del equipo y con normas y estandares internacionales.

  1. Soil-blade orientation effect on tillage forces determined by 3D finite element models

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ayadi Ibrahmi

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available This paper investigated the effect of the cutting parameters of a blade on the tillage force components using finite element modeling. A three-dimensional model was carried out with Abaqus Explicit in order to study the interaction between the tool and soil. The soil was modeled with linear forms of the Drucker-Pager model, while the tool was considered as a rigid body with a reference point taken at its tip. The effect of tillage depth and the width of a vertical blade were studied. It was found that the amounts of the draught and vertical forces increase linearly with a slope of 0.037 and 0.0143 respectively when the width increases. The narrow tool (width< 60mm has a greater effect on the specific draught force than a larger tool. Draught and specific draught force increase with polynomial and linear curve respectively versus the depth. However, this effect was reduced for the vertical force. These results were in a good agreement with previously published works. The second part of this paper is focused on the oblique position of the blade to evaluate the effect of the attack angles on both the tillage forces (draught, lateral and vertical and the cutting process of the soil during and after its failure. For all considered angles, the draught force presents the highest values compared to the vertical and lateral forces. Results showed that working with small cutting and an average rake angles (30° to 60° and 45° respectively can produce a good soil inversion.

  2. Stress analysis of composite wind turbine blade by finite element method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeh, Meng-Kao; Wang, Chen-Hsu

    2017-10-01

    In this study, the finite element analysis software ANSYS was used to analyze the composite wind turbine blade. The wind turbine blade model used is adopted from the 5 MW model of US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The wind turbine blade is a sandwich structure, comprising outermost carbon fiber cloth/epoxy composites, the inner glass fiber/vinylester layers, and PVC foam core, together with stiffeners. The wind pressure is converted into the load on the blade structure. The stress distribution and deformation of wind turbine blade were obtained by considering different pitch angles and at different angular positions. The Tsai-Hill criterion was used to determine the failure of wind turbine blade. The results show that at the 0° pitch angle, the wind turbine blade is subjected to the largest combined load and therefore the stress is the largest; with the increasing pitch angle, the load gradually decreases and the stress is also smaller. The stress and displacement are the greatest when the wind blade is located at 120° angular position from its highest vertex.

  3. Wireless Inductive Power Device Suppresses Blade Vibrations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morrison, Carlos R.; Provenza, Andrew J.; Choi, Benjamin B.; Bakhle, Milind A.; Min, James B.; Stefko, George L.; Duffy, Kirsten P.; Fougers, Alan J.

    2011-01-01

    Vibration in turbomachinery can cause blade failures and leads to the use of heavier, thicker blades that result in lower aerodynamic efficiency and increased noise. Metal and/or composite fatigue in the blades of jet engines has resulted in blade destruction and loss of lives. Techniques for suppressing low-frequency blade vibration, such as gtuned circuit resistive dissipation of vibratory energy, h or simply "passive damping," can require electronics incorporating coils of unwieldy dimensions and adding unwanted weight to the rotor. Other approaches, using vibration-dampening devices or damping material, could add undesirable weight to the blades or hub, making them less efficient. A wireless inductive power device (WIPD) was designed, fabricated, and developed for use in the NASA Glenn's "Dynamic Spin Rig" (DSR) facility. The DSR is used to simulate the functionality of turbomachinery. The relatively small and lightweight device [10 lb (approx.=4.5 kg)] replaces the existing venerable and bulky slip-ring. The goal is the eventual integration of this technology into actual turbomachinery such as jet engines or electric power generators, wherein the device will facilitate the suppression of potentially destructive vibrations in fan blades. This technology obviates slip rings, which require cooling and can prove unreliable or be problematic over time. The WIPD consists of two parts: a remote element, which is positioned on the rotor and provides up to 100 W of electrical power to thin, lightweight piezoelectric patches strategically placed on/in fan blades; and a stationary base unit that wirelessly communicates with the remote unit. The base unit supplies inductive power, and also acts as an input and output corridor for wireless measurement, and active control command to the remote unit. Efficient engine operation necessitates minimal disturbance to the gas flow across the turbine blades in any effort to moderate blade vibration. This innovation makes it

  4. Composite ceramic blade for a gas turbine

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rossmann, A; Hoffmueller, W; Krueger, W

    1980-06-26

    The gas turbine blade consists of a supporting metal core which has at its lower end a modelled root and a profile blade made of ceramics enclosing it at some distance. The invention deals with a reliable connection between these two parts of the rotor blade: from the top end of the blade core a head protrudes supporting the thin-walled profile blade from below with a projection each pointing into the interior. The design of the projections and supporting surfaces is described and illustrated by drawings.

  5. Analysis of wind energy generation possibilities with various rotor types at disadvantageous wind condition zones

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bieniek, Andrzej

    2017-10-01

    The paper describe possibilities of energy generation using various rotor types but especially with multi-blade wind engine operates in the areas with unfavourable wind condition. The paper presents also wind energy conversion estimation results presented based on proposed solution of multi-blade wind turbine of outer diameter of 4 m. Based on the wind distribution histogram from the disadvantage wind condition zones (city of Basel) and taking into account design and estimated operating indexes of the considered wind engine rotor an annual energy generation was estimated. Also theoretical energy generation using various types of wind turbines operates at disadvantage wind conditions zones were estimated and compared. The conducted analysis shows that introduction of multi-blade wind rotor instead of the most popular 3- blades or vertical axis rotors results of about 5% better energy generation. Simultaneously there are energy production also at very disadvantages wind condition at wind speed lower then 4 m s-1. Based on considered construction of multi-blade wind engine the rise of rotor mounting height from 10 to 30 m results with more then 300 % better results in terms of electric energy generation.

  6. Analysis of wind energy generation possibilities with various rotor types at disadvantageous wind condition zones

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bieniek Andrzej

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper describe possibilities of energy generation using various rotor types but especially with multi-blade wind engine operates in the areas with unfavourable wind condition. The paper presents also wind energy conversion estimation results presented based on proposed solution of multi-blade wind turbine of outer diameter of 4 m. Based on the wind distribution histogram from the disadvantage wind condition zones (city of Basel and taking into account design and estimated operating indexes of the considered wind engine rotor an annual energy generation was estimated. Also theoretical energy generation using various types of wind turbines operates at disadvantage wind conditions zones were estimated and compared. The conducted analysis shows that introduction of multi-blade wind rotor instead of the most popular 3- blades or vertical axis rotors results of about 5% better energy generation. Simultaneously there are energy production also at very disadvantages wind condition at wind speed lower then 4 ms-1. Based on considered construction of multi-blade wind engine the rise of rotor mounting height from 10 to 30 m results with more then 300 % better results in terms of electric energy generation.

  7. A potential flow 2-D vortex panel model: Applications to vertical axis straight blade tidal turbine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, L.B.; Zhang, L.; Zeng, N.D.

    2007-01-01

    A potential flow 2-D vortex panel model (VPM2D) for unsteady hydrodynamics calculation of the vertical axis straight blade variable pitch turbine was given for tidal streams energy conversion. Numerical results of predicted instantaneous blade forces and wake flow of the rotor showed good agreement with the test data. The model was also compared with the previous classic free vortex model (V-DART) and vortex method combined with finite element analysis (FEVDTM). It showed that the present model was much better than the former, less complex than the latter and suitable for designing and optimization of the vertical axis straight blade turbine

  8. Vibration crack corrosion behavior and failure mechanisms of highly alloyed duplex steels in steam turbine rotor blades

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wunderlich, R.

    1991-01-01

    The aim was to test the new duplex steel X3CrMnNiMoN 25 6 4 (A905) for its suitability as a steam turbine rotor blade material. Due to the increased proportion of manganese and nitrogen, compared to A903, in this duplex steel in the solution annealed state, an elastic limit of about 600 N/mm 2 acceptable for steam turbine rotor blades was reached. A micro-duplex structure (recrystallized secondary structure) consisting of 50% each of ferrite and Austenite proved to be the optimum structure composition. To measure the SwRK behaviour, Woehler curves were produced in media containing corrosive NaCl. The mean stress was 250 N/mm 2 , partly 350 N/mm 2 . The maximum duration of the test was given as 3 x 10 7 load cycles at a frequency of 50 Hz. The experimental time was partly extended to 5 x 10 7 load cycles. In order to guarantee as realistic a test as possible, the Sw RK tests took place in aqueous NaCl solution saturated with air. To correspond to envorinmental conditions in actual operation, the electrolyte temperature was varied between 80deg and 150deg C, the Na Cl concentration of the solution was varied between very dilute (0.01 M) and nearly saturated (22%) and the pH value was varied between pH 8 and pH 3. Accompanying passive oxide layer investigations should give information on the thickness and morphology of the layers formed. (orig./MM) [de

  9. Sub-scale Inverse Wind Turbine Blade Design Using Bound Circulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kelley, Christopher; Berg, Jonathan

    2014-11-01

    A goal of the National Rotor Testbed project at Sandia is to design a sub-scale wind turbine blade that has similitude to a modern, commercial size blade. However, a smaller diameter wind turbine operating at the same tip-speed-ratio exhibits a different range of operating Reynolds numbers across the blade span, thus changing the local lift and drag coefficients. Differences to load distribution also affect the wake dynamics and stability. An inverse wind turbine blade design tool has been implemented which uses a target, dimensionless circulation distribution from a full-scale blade to find the chord and twist along a sub-scale blade. In addition, airfoil polar data are interpolated from a few specified span stations leading to a smooth, manufacturable blade. The iterative process perturbs chord and twist, after running a blade element momentum theory code, to reduce the residual sum of the squares between the modeled sub-scale circulation and the target full-scale circulation. It is shown that the converged sub-scale design also leads to performance similarity in thrust and power coefficients. Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-program laboratory managed and operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation, for the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract DE-AC04-94AL85000.

  10. Experimental investigation of main rotor wake

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stepanov Robert

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available In this work, experimental results of rotor wake in hover mode are presented. The experiments were carried out with a rotor rig model in the T-1K wind tunnel in Kazan National Research Technical University (Kazan Aviation Institute. The rotor consisted of four identical blades. The Q-criterion was used to identify tip vortices for a 2D case. The results were then compared with two different wake models.

  11. Strong, Ductile Rotor For Cryogenic Flowmeters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Royals, W. T.

    1993-01-01

    Improved magnetic flowmeter rotor resists cracking at cryogenic temperatures, yet provides adequate signal to magnetic pickup outside flowmeter housing. Consists mostly of stainless-steel alloy 347, which is ductile and strong at low temperatures. Small bead of stainless-steel alloy 410 welded in groove around circumference of round bar of stainless-steel alloy 347; then rotor machined from bar. Tips of rotor blades contain small amounts of magnetic alloy, and passage of tips detected.

  12. Rotor Design Options for Improving XV-15 Whirl-Flutter Stability Margins

    Science.gov (United States)

    Acree, C. W., Jr.; Peyran, R. J.; Johnson, Wayne

    2004-01-01

    Rotor design changes intended to improve tiltrotor whirl-flutter stability margins were analyzed. A baseline analytical model of the XV-15 was established, and then a thinner, composite wing was designed to be representative of a high-speed tiltrotor. The rotor blade design was modified to increase the stability speed margin for the thin-wing design. Small rearward offsets of the aerodynamic-center locus with respect to the blade elastic axis created large increases in the stability boundary. The effect was strongest for offsets at the outboard part of the blade, where an offset of the aerodynamic center by 10% of tip chord improved the stability margin by over 100 knots. Forward offsets of the blade center of gravity had similar but less pronounced effects. Equivalent results were seen for swept-tip blades. Appropriate combinations of sweep and pitch stiffness completely eliminated whirl flutter within the speed range examined; alternatively, they allowed large increases in pitch-flap coupling (delta-three) for a given stability margin. A limited investigation of the rotor loads in helicopter and airplane configuration showed only minor increases in loads.

  13. LDV measurement of boundary layer on rotating blade surface in wind tunnel

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maeda, Takao; Kamada, Yasunari; Murata, Junsuke; Suzuki, Daiki; Kaga, Norimitsu; Kagisaki, Yosuke

    2014-12-01

    Wind turbines generate electricity due to extracting energy from the wind. The rotor aerodynamics strongly depends on the flow around blade. The surface flow on the rotating blade affects the sectional performance. The wind turbine surface flow has span-wise component due to span-wise change of airfoil section, chord length, twisted angle of blade and centrifugal force on the flow. These span-wise flow changes the boundary layer on the rotating blade and the sectional performance. Hence, the thorough understanding of blade surface flow is important to improve the rotor performance. For the purpose of clarification of the flow behaviour around the rotor blade, the velocity in the boundary layer on rotating blade surface of an experimental HAWT was measured in a wind tunnel. The velocity measurement on the blade surface was carried out by a laser Doppler velocimeter (LDV). As the results of the measurement, characteristics of surface flow are clarified. In optimum tip speed operation, the surface flow on leading edge and r/R=0.3 have large span-wise velocity which reaches 20% of sectional inflow velocity. The surface flow inboard have three dimensional flow patterns. On the other hand, the flow outboard is almost two dimensional in cross sectional plane.

  14. Cyclic Symmetry Finite Element Forced Response Analysis of a Distortion-Tolerant Fan with Boundary Layer Ingestion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Min, J. B.; Reddy, T. S. R.; Bakhle, M. A.; Coroneos, R. M.; Stefko, G. L.; Provenza, A. J.; Duffy, K. P.

    2018-01-01

    Accurate prediction of the blade vibration stress is required to determine overall durability of fan blade design under Boundary Layer Ingestion (BLI) distorted flow environments. Traditional single blade modeling technique is incapable of representing accurate modeling for the entire rotor blade system subject to complex dynamic loading behaviors and vibrations in distorted flow conditions. A particular objective of our work was to develop a high-fidelity full-rotor aeromechanics analysis capability for a system subjected to a distorted inlet flow by applying cyclic symmetry finite element modeling methodology. This reduction modeling method allows computationally very efficient analysis using a small periodic section of the full rotor blade system. Experimental testing by the use of the 8-foot by 6-foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel Test facility at NASA Glenn Research Center was also carried out for the system designated as the Boundary Layer Ingesting Inlet/Distortion-Tolerant Fan (BLI2DTF) technology development. The results obtained from the present numerical modeling technique were evaluated with those of the wind tunnel experimental test, toward establishing a computationally efficient aeromechanics analysis modeling tool facilitating for analyses of the full rotor blade systems subjected to a distorted inlet flow conditions. Fairly good correlations were achieved hence our computational modeling techniques were fully demonstrated. The analysis result showed that the safety margin requirement set in the BLI2DTF fan blade design provided a sufficient margin with respect to the operating speed range.

  15. CFD ANALYSIS OF THE AIR FLOW AROUND THE BLADES OF THE VERTICAL AXIS WIND TURBINE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhammed Musab Gavgali

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The paper presents the results of calculations of flow around the vertical axis wind turbine. Three-dimensional calculations were performed using ANSYS Fluent. They were made at steady-state conditions for a wind speed of 3 m/s for 4 angular settings of the three-bladed rotor. The purpose of the calculations was to determine the values of the aerodynamic forces acting on the individual blades and to present the pressure contours on the surface of turbine rotor blades. The calculations were made for 4 rotor angular settings.

  16. HIGH EFFICIENCY STRUCTURAL FLOWTHROUGH ROTOR WITH ACTIVE FLAP CONTROL: VOLUME THREE: MARKET & TEAM

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zuteck, Michael D. [Zimitar, Inc.; Jackson, Kevin L. [Zimitar, Inc.; Santos, Richard A. [Zimitar, Inc.

    2015-05-16

    The Zimitar one-piece rotor primary structure is integrated, so balanced thrust and gravity loads flow through the hub region without transferring out of its composite material. Large inner rotor geometry is used since there is no need to neck down to a blade root region and pitch bearing. Rotor control is provided by a highly redundant, five flap system on each blade, sized so that easily handled standard electric linear actuators are sufficient.

  17. Stresses in Circular Plates with Rigid Elements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Velikanov, N. L.; Koryagin, S. I.; Sharkov, O. V.

    2018-05-01

    Calculations of residual stress fields are carried out by numerical and static methods, using the flat cross-section hypothesis. The failure of metal when exposed to residual stresses is, in most cases, brittle. The presence in the engineering structures of rigid elements often leads to the crack initiation and structure failure. This is due to the fact that rigid elements under the influence of external stresses are stress concentrators. In addition, if these elements are fixed by welding, the residual welding stresses can lead to an increase in stress concentration and, ultimately, to failure. The development of design schemes for such structures is a very urgent task for complex technical systems. To determine the stresses in a circular plate with a welded circular rigid insert under the influence of an external load, one can use the solution of the plane stress problem for annular plates in polar coordinates. The polar coordinates of the points are the polar radius and the polar angle, and the stress state is determined by normal radial stresses, tangential and shearing stresses. The use of the above mentioned design schemes, formulas, will allow more accurate determination of residual stresses in annular welded structures. This will help to establish the most likely directions of failure and take measures at the stages of designing, manufacturing and repairing engineering structures to prevent these failures. However, it must be taken into account that the external load, the presence of insulation can lead to a change in the residual stress field.

  18. Shape Optimization of Wind Turbine Blades

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wang, Xudong; Shen, Wen Zhong; Zhu, Wei Jun

    2009-01-01

    of the rotor. The design variables used in the current study are the blade shape parameters, including chord, twist and relative thickness. To validate the implementation of the aerodynamic/aero-elastic model, the computed aerodynamic results are compared to experimental data for the experimental rotor used...... in the European Commision-sponsored project Model Experiments in Controlled Conditions, (MEXICO) and the computed aero-elastic results are examined against the FLEX code for flow post the Tjereborg 2 MW rotor. To illustrate the optimization technique, three wind turbine rotors of different sizes (the MEXICO 25 k...

  19. Retention system and method for the blades of a rotary machine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pedersen, Poul D.; Glynn, Christopher C.; Walker, Roger C.

    2002-01-01

    A retention system and method for the blades of a rotary machine for preventing forward or aft axial movement of the rotor blades includes a circumferential hub slot formed about a circumference of the machine hub. The rotor blades have machined therein a blade retention slot which is aligned with the circumferential hub slot when the blades are received in correspondingly shaped openings in the hub. At least one ring segment is secured in the blade retention slots and the circumferential hub slot to retain the blades from axial movement. A key assembly is used to secure the ring segments in the aligned slots via a hook portion receiving the ring segments and a threaded portion that is driven radially outwardly by a nut. A cap may be provided to provide a redundant back-up load path for the centrifugal loads on the key. Alternatively, the key assembly may be formed in the blade dovetail.

  20. Effect of number of blades on aerodynamic forces on a straight-bladed Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Qing'an; Maeda, Takao; Kamada, Yasunari; Murata, Junsuke; Furukawa, Kazuma; Yamamoto, Masayuki

    2015-01-01

    Small wind turbine performance and safety standard for straight-bladed Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) have not been developed in the world because of the lack of fundament experimental data. This paper focuses on the evaluation of aerodynamic forces depending on several numbers of blades in wind tunnel experiment. In the present study, the test airfoil of blade is symmetry airfoil of NACA 0021 and the number of blades is from two to five. Pressure acting on the surface of rotor blade is measured during rotation by multiport pressure devices and transmitted to a stationary system through wireless LAN. And then, the aerodynamic forces (tangential force, normal force et al.) are discussed as a function of azimuth angle, achieving a quantitative analysis of the effect of numbers of blades. Finally, the loads are compared with the experimental data of six-component balance. As a result, it is clarified that the power coefficient decreases with the increase of numbers of blades. Furthermore, the power which is absorbed from wind by wind turbine mainly depends on upstream region of azimuth angle of θ = 0°∼180°. In this way, these results are very important for developing the simple design equations and applications for straight-bladed VAWT. - Highlights: • Aerodynamic forces are measured by not only torque meter but also six-component balance. • The pressure distribution on the surface of rotor blade is directly measured by multiport pressure devices. • The power coefficient decreases with the increase of numbers of blades. • The fluctuation amplitudes from six-component balance show larger value than the results of pressure distribution.

  1. Advanced Vibration Analysis Tool Developed for Robust Engine Rotor Designs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Min, James B.

    2005-01-01

    The primary objective of this research program is to develop vibration analysis tools, design tools, and design strategies to significantly improve the safety and robustness of turbine engine rotors. Bladed disks in turbine engines always feature small, random blade-to-blade differences, or mistuning. Mistuning can lead to a dramatic increase in blade forced-response amplitudes and stresses. Ultimately, this results in high-cycle fatigue, which is a major safety and cost concern. In this research program, the necessary steps will be taken to transform a state-of-the-art vibration analysis tool, the Turbo- Reduce forced-response prediction code, into an effective design tool by enhancing and extending the underlying modeling and analysis methods. Furthermore, novel techniques will be developed to assess the safety of a given design. In particular, a procedure will be established for using natural-frequency curve veerings to identify ranges of operating conditions (rotational speeds and engine orders) in which there is a great risk that the rotor blades will suffer high stresses. This work also will aid statistical studies of the forced response by reducing the necessary number of simulations. Finally, new strategies for improving the design of rotors will be pursued.

  2. Development of a structural optimization capability for the aeroelastic tailoring of composite rotor blades with straight and swept tips

    Science.gov (United States)

    Friedmann, P. P.; Venkatesan, C.; Yuan, K.

    1992-01-01

    This paper describes the development of a new structural optimization capability aimed at the aeroelastic tailoring of composite rotor blades with straight and swept tips. The primary objective is to reduce vibration levels in forward flight without diminishing the aeroelastic stability margins of the blade. In the course of this research activity a number of complicated tasks have been addressed: (1) development of a new, aeroelastic stability and response analysis; (2) formulation of a new comprehensive sensitive analysis, which facilitates the generation of the appropriate approximations for the objective and the constraints; (3) physical understanding of the new model and, in particular, determination of its potential for aeroelastic tailoring, and (4) combination of the newly developed analysis capability, the sensitivity derivatives and the optimizer into a comprehensive optimization capability. The first three tasks have been completed and the fourth task is in progress.

  3. Structural degradation of a large composite wind turbine blade in a full-scale fatigue test

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chen, Xiao

    carried out at a coupon level to characterize fatigue degradation of composite materials, there is no much study focusing on fatigue degradation of rotor blades at a fullscale structural level. Do structural properties of composite blades degrade in a similar manner to what has been observed in material...... tests at a coupon level? What might be the concerns one should take into account when predicting residual structural properties of rotor blades? To answer, at least to a partial extent, these questions, this study conducts a full-scale fatigue test on a 47m composite rotor blade according to IEC 61400......Wind turbine blades are expected to sustain a high number of loading cycles typically up to a magnitude of 1,000 million during their targeted service lifetime of 20-25 years. Structural properties of composite blades degrade with the time. Although substantial studies, such as [1,2], have been...

  4. Design study of prestressed rotor spar concept

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gleich, D.

    1980-01-01

    Studies on the Bell Helicopter 540 Rotor System of the AH-1G helicopter were performed. The stiffness, mass and geometric configurations of the Bell blade were matched to give a dynamically similar prestressed composite blade. A multi-tube, prestressed composite spar blade configuration was designed for superior ballistic survivability at low life cycle cost. The composite spar prestresses, imparted during fabrication, are chosen to maintain compression in the high strength cryogenically stretchformed 304-L stainless steel liner and tension in the overwrapped HTS graphite fibers under operating loads. This prestressing results in greatly improved crack propagation and fatigue resistance as well as enhanced fiber stiffness properties. Advantages projected for the prestressed composite rotor spar concept include increased operational life and improved ballistic survivability at low life cycle cost.

  5. The heat transfer analysis of the first stage blade

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hong, Yong Ju; Choi, Bum Seog; Park, Byung Gyu; Yoon, Eui Soo

    2001-01-01

    To get higher efficiency of gas turbine, the designer should have more higher Turbine Inlet Temperature(TIT). Today, modern gas turbine having sophisticated cooling scheme has TIT above 1,700 .deg. C. In the Korea, many gas turbine having TIT above 1,300 .deg. C was imported and being operated, but the gas with high TIT above 1,300 .deg. C in the turbine will give damage to liner of combustor, and blade of turbine and etc. So frequently maintenance for parts enduring high temperature was performed. In this study, the heat transfer analysis of cooling air in the internal cooling channel (network analysis) and temperature analysis of the blade (Finite Element Analysis) in the first stage rotor was conducted for development of the optimal cooling passage design procedure. The results of network analysis and FEM analysis of blade show that the high temperature spot are occurred at the leading edge, trailing edge near tip, and platform. So to get more reliable performance of gas turbine, the more efficient cooling method should be applied at the leading edge and tip section and the thermal barrier coating on the blade surface has important role in cooling blade

  6. Blade design and performance analysis on the horizontal axis tidal current turbine for low water level channel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, C C; Choi, Y D; Yoon, H Y

    2013-01-01

    Most tidal current turbine design are focused on middle and large scale for deep sea, less attention was paid in low water level channel, such as the region around the islands, coastal seas and rivers. This study aims to develop a horizontal axis tidal current turbine rotor blade which is applicable to low water level island region in southwest of Korea. The blade design is made by using BEMT(blade element momentum theory). The section airfoil profile of NACA63-415 is used, which shows good performance of lift coefficient and drag coefficient. Power coefficient, pressure and velocity distributions are investigated according to TSR by CFD analysis

  7. Optimum Design of a Helicopter Rotor for Low Vibration Using Aeroelastic Analysis and Response Surface Methods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ganguli, R.

    2002-11-01

    An aeroelastic analysis based on finite elements in space and time is used to model the helicopter rotor in forward flight. The rotor blade is represented as an elastic cantilever beam undergoing flap and lag bending, elastic torsion and axial deformations. The objective of the improved design is to reduce vibratory loads at the rotor hub that are the main source of helicopter vibration. Constraints are imposed on aeroelastic stability, and move limits are imposed on the blade elastic stiffness design variables. Using the aeroelastic analysis, response surface approximations are constructed for the objective function (vibratory hub loads). It is found that second order polynomial response surfaces constructed using the central composite design of the theory of design of experiments adequately represents the aeroelastic model in the vicinity of the baseline design. Optimization results show a reduction in the objective function of about 30 per cent. A key accomplishment of this paper is the decoupling of the analysis problem and the optimization problems using response surface methods, which should encourage the use of optimization methods by the helicopter industry.

  8. Flap-lag stability data for a small-scale isolated hingeless rotor in forward flight

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mcnulty, Michael J.

    1989-01-01

    An isolated, hingeless rotor with discrete flap and lead-lag flexures and relatively rigid blades was tested in the Aeroflightdynamics Directorate's 7- by 10-Foot Wind Tunnel. The lead-lag stability of a structurally simple rotor configuration in forward flight was determined. The model tested had no cyclic pitch control, and was therefore operated untrimmed at several collective pitch angles, at shaft angles from 0 deg to -20 deg, and at advance ratios as high as 0.55. Two inplane natural frequencies, 0.61/rev and 0.72/rev, were tested for configuration both with and without structural flap lag coupling. Concomitant hover testing of the model was also conducted. Representative plots of the frequency and damping data are presented to show general trends, and complete tabular data and model properties information are included for use in detailed correlation exercises. The most prominent feature of the forward flight data is an abrupt increase in damping with advance ratio at certain high-speed, high shaft-angle conditions, with high flapping loads. The hover data are consistent with previous experimental and theoretical results for hingeless rotors without kinematic couplings. Overall, the data quality is very good and the data are expected to be useful in the development and validation of rotor aeroelastic stability analyses.

  9. HIGH EFFICIENCY STRUCTURAL FLOWTHROUGH ROTOR WITH ACTIVE FLAP CONTROL: VOLUME ONE: PRELIMINARY DESIGN REPORT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zuteck, Michael D. [Zimitar, Inc.; Jackson, Kevin L. [Zimitar, Inc.; Santos, Richard A. [Zimitar, Inc.; Chow, Ray [Zimitar, Inc.; Nordenholz, Thomas R. [The California Maritime Academy; Wamble, John Lee [Zimitar, Inc.

    2015-05-16

    The Zimitar one-piece rotor primary structure is integrated, so balanced thrust and gravity loads flow through the hub region without transferring out of its composite material. Large inner rotor geometry is used since there is no need to neck down to a blade root region and pitch bearing. Rotor control is provided by a highly redundant, five flap system on each blade, sized so that easily handled standard electric linear actuators are sufficient.

  10. Topological dynamics in supramolecular rotors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palma, Carlos-Andres; Björk, Jonas; Rao, Francesco; Kühne, Dirk; Klappenberger, Florian; Barth, Johannes V

    2014-08-13

    Artificial molecular switches, rotors, and machines are set to establish design rules and applications beyond their biological counterparts. Herein we exemplify the role of noncovalent interactions and transient rearrangements in the complex behavior of supramolecular rotors caged in a 2D metal-organic coordination network. Combined scanning tunneling microscopy experiments and molecular dynamics modeling of a supramolecular rotor with respective rotation rates matching with 0.2 kcal mol(-1) (9 meV) precision, identify key steps in collective rotation events and reconfigurations. We notably reveal that stereoisomerization of the chiral trimeric units entails topological isomerization whereas rotation occurs in a topology conserving, two-step asynchronous process. In supramolecular constructs, distinct displacements of subunits occur inducing a markedly lower rotation barrier as compared to synchronous mechanisms of rigid rotors. Moreover, the chemical environment can be instructed to control the system dynamics. Our observations allow for a definition of mechanical cooperativity based on a significant reduction of free energy barriers in supramolecules compared to rigid molecules.

  11. The rotor theories by Professor Joukowsky: Vortex theories

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Okulov, Valery L.; Sørensen, Jens Nørkær; Wood, David H.

    2015-01-01

    This is the second of two articles with the main, and largely self-explanatory, title "Rotor theories by Professor Joukowsky". This article considers rotors with finite number of blades and is subtitled "Vortex theories". The first article with subtitle "Momentum theories", assessed the starring...

  12. Individual pitch control of NREL 5MW wind turbine blade for load reduction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    La, Yo Han; Nam, Yoon Su; Hoon, Son Jae

    2012-01-01

    As the size of a wind turbine increases, the rotor diameter increases. Rotor blades experience mechanical loads caused by the wind shear and the tower shadow effect. These mechanical loads reduce the life of the wind turbine. Therefore, with increasing size of the wind turbine, wind turbine control system design for the mitigation of mechanical loads is important. In this study, Individual Pitch Control in introduced for reducing the mechanical loads of rotor blades, and a simulation for IPC performance verification is discussed

  13. Dynamic analysis of horizontal axis wind turbine by thin-walled beam theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jianhong; Qin, Datong; Lim, Teik C.

    2010-08-01

    A mixed flexible-rigid multi-body mathematical model is applied to predict the dynamic performance of a wind turbine system. Since the tower and rotor are both flexible thin-walled structures, a consistent expression for their deformations is applied, which employs a successive series of transformations to locate any point on the blade and tower relative to an inertial coordinate system. The kinetic and potential energy terms of each flexible body and rigid body are derived for use in the Lagrange approach to formulate the wind turbine system's governing equation. The mode shapes are then obtained from the free vibration solution, while the distributions of dynamic stress and displacement of the tower and rotor are computed from the forced vibration response analysis. Using this dynamic model, the influence of the tower's stiffness on the blade tip deformation is studied. From the analysis, it is evident that the proposed model not only inherits the simplicity of the traditional 1-D beam element, but also able to provide detailed information about the tower and rotor response due to the incorporation of the flexible thin-walled beam theory.

  14. Integrated Technology Rotor/Flight Research Rotor (ITR/FRR) concept definition study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hughes, C. W.

    1983-01-01

    Studies were conducted by Hughes Helicopters, Inc. (HHI) for the Applied Technology Laboratory and Aeromechanics Laboratory, U.S. Army Research and Technology Laboratories (AVRADCOM) and the Ames Research Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Results of predesign studies of advanced main rotor hubs, including bearingless designs, are presented in this report. In addition, the Government's rotor design goals and specifications were reviewed and evaluated. Hub concepts were designed and qualitatively evaluated in order to select the two most promising concepts for further development. Various flexure designs, control systems, and pitchcase designs were investigated during the initial phases of this study. The two designs selected for additional development were designated the V-strap and flat-strap cruciform hubs. These hubs were designed for a four bladed rotor and were sized for 18,400 pounds gross weight with the same diameter (62 feet) and solidity (23 inch chord) as the existing rotor on the Rotor Systems Research Aircraft (RSRA).

  15. Nonlinear aeroelastic modelling for wind turbine blades based on blade element momentum theory and geometrically exact beam theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Lin; Liu, Xiongwei; Renevier, Nathalie; Stables, Matthew; Hall, George M.

    2014-01-01

    Due to the increasing size and flexibility of large wind turbine blades, accurate and reliable aeroelastic modelling is playing an important role for the design of large wind turbines. Most existing aeroelastic models are linear models based on assumption of small blade deflections. This assumption is not valid anymore for very flexible blade design because such blades often experience large deflections. In this paper, a novel nonlinear aeroelastic model for large wind turbine blades has been developed by combining BEM (blade element momentum) theory and mixed-form formulation of GEBT (geometrically exact beam theory). The nonlinear aeroelastic model takes account of large blade deflections and thus greatly improves the accuracy of aeroelastic analysis of wind turbine blades. The nonlinear aeroelastic model is implemented in COMSOL Multiphysics and validated with a series of benchmark calculation tests. The results show that good agreement is achieved when compared with experimental data, and its capability of handling large deflections is demonstrated. Finally the nonlinear aeroelastic model is applied to aeroelastic modelling of the parked WindPACT 1.5 MW baseline wind turbine, and reduced flapwise deflection from the nonlinear aeroelastic model is observed compared to the linear aeroelastic code FAST (Fatigue, Aerodynamics, Structures, and Turbulence). - Highlights: • A novel nonlinear aeroelastic model for wind turbine blades is developed. • The model takes account of large blade deflections and geometric nonlinearities. • The model is reliable and efficient for aeroelastic modelling of wind turbine blades. • The accuracy of the model is verified by a series of benchmark calculation tests. • The model provides more realistic aeroelastic modelling than FAST (Fatigue, Aerodynamics, Structures, and Turbulence)

  16. Damage tolerance and structural monitoring for wind turbine blades

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    McGugan, Malcolm; Pereira, Gilmar Ferreira; Sørensen, Bent F.

    2015-01-01

    The paper proposes a methodology for reliable design and maintenance of wind turbine rotor blades using a condition monitoring approach and a damage tolerance index coupling the material and structure. By improving the understanding of material properties that control damage propagation it will b......The paper proposes a methodology for reliable design and maintenance of wind turbine rotor blades using a condition monitoring approach and a damage tolerance index coupling the material and structure. By improving the understanding of material properties that control damage propagation...

  17. Determination of Scaled Wind Turbine Rotor Characteristics from Three Dimensional RANS Calculations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Burmester, S; Gueydon, S; Make, M

    2016-01-01

    Previous studies have shown the importance of 3D effects when calculating the performance characteristics of a scaled down turbine rotor [1-4]. In this paper the results of 3D RANS (Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes) computations by Make and Vaz [1] are taken to calculate 2D lift and drag coefficients. These coefficients are assigned to FAST (Blade Element Momentum Theory (BEMT) tool from NREL) as input parameters. Then, the rotor characteristics (power and thrust coefficients) are calculated using BEMT. This coupling of RANS and BEMT was previously applied by other parties and is termed here the RANS-BEMT coupled approach. Here the approach is compared to measurements carried out in a wave basin at MARIN applying Froude scaled wind, and the direct 3D RANS computation. The data of both a model and full scale wind turbine are used for the validation and verification. The flow around a turbine blade at full scale has a more 2D character than the flow properties around a turbine blade at model scale (Make and Vaz [1]). Since BEMT assumes 2D flow behaviour, the results of the RANS-BEMT coupled approach agree better with the results of the CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) simulation at full- than at model-scale. (paper)

  18. Aerodynamic optimization of wind turbine rotor using CFD/AD method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cao, Jiufa; Zhu, Weijun; Wang, Tongguang; Ke, Shitang

    2018-05-01

    The current work describes a novel technique for wind turbine rotor optimization. The aerodynamic design and optimization of wind turbine rotor can be achieved with different methods, such as the semi-empirical engineering methods and more accurate computational fluid dynamic (CFD) method. The CFD method often provides more detailed aerodynamics features during the design process. However, high computational cost limits the application, especially for rotor optimization purpose. In this paper, a CFD-based actuator disc (AD) model is used to represent turbulent flow over a wind turbine rotor. The rotor is modeled as a permeable disc of equivalent area where the forces from the blades are distributed on the circular disc. The AD model is coupled with a Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) solver such that the thrust and power are simulated. The design variables are the shape parameters comprising the chord, the twist and the relative thickness of the wind turbine rotor blade. The comparative aerodynamic performance is analyzed between the original and optimized reference wind turbine rotor. The results showed that the optimization framework can be effectively and accurately utilized in enhancing the aerodynamic performance of the wind turbine rotor.

  19. Moving blade for steam turbines with axial flow

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Raschke, K.; Wehle, G.

    1976-01-01

    The invention concerns the improvement of the production of moving blades for steam turbines with axial flow, especially of multi-blades produced by welding of the top plates. It is proposed to weld the top plates before the moving blades are fitted into the rotor. Welding is this made much easier and can be carried out under protective gas and with better results. (UWI) [de

  20. Rocket Engine Turbine Blade Surface Pressure Distributions Experiment and Computations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hudson, Susan T.; Zoladz, Thomas F.; Dorney, Daniel J.; Turner, James (Technical Monitor)

    2002-01-01

    Understanding the unsteady aspects of turbine rotor flow fields is critical to successful future turbine designs. A technology program was conducted at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center to increase the understanding of unsteady environments for rocket engine turbines. The experimental program involved instrumenting turbine rotor blades with miniature surface mounted high frequency response pressure transducers. The turbine model was then tested to measure the unsteady pressures on the rotor blades. The data obtained from the experimental program is unique in two respects. First, much more unsteady data was obtained (several minutes per set point) than has been possible in the past. Also, an extensive steady performance database existed for the turbine model. This allowed an evaluation of the effect of the on-blade instrumentation on the turbine's performance. A three-dimensional unsteady Navier-Stokes analysis was also used to blindly predict the unsteady flow field in the turbine at the design operating conditions and at +15 degrees relative incidence to the first-stage rotor. The predicted time-averaged and unsteady pressure distributions show good agreement with the experimental data. This unique data set, the lessons learned for acquiring this type of data, and the improvements made to the data analysis and prediction tools are contributing significantly to current Space Launch Initiative turbine airflow test and blade surface pressure prediction efforts.

  1. Family of airfoil shapes for rotating blades. [for increased power efficiency and blade stability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noonan, K. W. (Inventor)

    1983-01-01

    An airfoil which has particular application to the blade or blades of rotor aircraft such as helicopters and aircraft propellers is described. The airfoil thickness distribution and camber are shaped to maintain a near zero pitching moment coefficient over a wide range of lift coefficients and provide a zero pitching moment coefficient at section Mach numbers near 0.80 and to increase the drag divergence Mach number resulting in superior aircraft performance.

  2. Demonstration of partial pitch 2-bladed wind turbine

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kim, Taeseong; Zahle, Frederik; Troldborg, Niels

    -sections on the blade as well as fully resolved rotor simulations, and finally simulations coupling HAWC2 with EllipSys3D, investigating the behaviors of the rotor at standstill, has been performed. For the WP3, the state-of-the art aeroelastic analysis tool, HAWC2, has been updated in order to consider the partial......This is the final report for the EUDP project performed from January 2012 to December 2015. The main objective for the project was to demonstrate the potential of the partial pitch two-bladed (PP-2B) technology. DTU Wind Energy took a responsibility for three workpackages (WPs) among 6 WPs which...... were aerodynamic evaluation of partial pitch technology (WP2), aeroelastic analysis of two-bladed turbine (WP3) and On-site testing (WP4). For the WP2, a comprehensive set of 3D CFD simulations including the gap between inner and outer part of the blade and vortex generators (VGs) of both cross...

  3. HIGH EFFICIENCY STRUCTURAL FLOWTHROUGH ROTOR WITH ACTIVE FLAP CONTROL: VOLUME ZERO: OVERVIEW AND COMMERCIAL PATH

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zuteck, Michael D. [Zimitar, Inc.; Jackson, Kevin L. [Zimitar, Inc.; Santos, Richard A. [Zimitar, Inc.

    2015-05-16

    The Zimitar one-piece rotor primary structure is integrated, so balanced thrust and gravity loads flow through the hub region without transferring out of its composite material. Large inner rotor geometry is used since there is no need to neck down to a blade root region and pitch bearing. Rotor control is provided by a highly redundant, five flap system on each blade, sized so that easily handled standard electric linear actuators are sufficient.

  4. HIGH EFFICIENCY STRUCTURAL FLOWTHROUGH ROTOR WITH ACTIVE FLAP CONTROL: VOLUME TWO: INNOVATION & COST OF ENERGY

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zuteck, Michael D. [Zimitar, Inc.; Jackson, Kevin L. [Zimitar, Inc.; Santos, Richard A. [Zimitar, Inc.

    2015-05-16

    The Zimitar one-piece rotor primary structure is integrated, so balanced thrust and gravity loads flow through the hub region without transferring out of its composite material. Large inner rotor geometry is used since there is no need to neck down to a blade root region and pitch bearing. Rotor control is provided by a highly redundant, five flap system on each blade, sized so that easily handled standard electric linear actuators are sufficient.

  5. Simulations of wind turbine rotor with vortex generators

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Niels N.; Zahle, Frederik; Sørensen, Niels N.

    2016-01-01

    This work presents simulations of the DTU 10MW wind turbine rotor equipped with vortex generators (VGs) on the inner part of the blades. The objective is to study the influence of different VG configurations on rotor performance and in particular to investigate the radial dependence of VGs, i...

  6. Statistical Methods in Assembly Quality Management of Multi-Element Products on Automatic Rotor Lines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pries, V. V.; Proskuriakov, N. E.

    2018-04-01

    To control the assembly quality of multi-element mass-produced products on automatic rotor lines, control methods with operational feedback are required. However, due to possible failures in the operation of the devices and systems of automatic rotor line, there is always a real probability of getting defective (incomplete) products into the output process stream. Therefore, a continuous sampling control of the products completeness, based on the use of statistical methods, remains an important element in managing the quality of assembly of multi-element mass products on automatic rotor lines. The feature of continuous sampling control of the multi-element products completeness in the assembly process is its breaking sort, which excludes the possibility of returning component parts after sampling control to the process stream and leads to a decrease in the actual productivity of the assembly equipment. Therefore, the use of statistical procedures for continuous sampling control of the multi-element products completeness when assembled on automatic rotor lines requires the use of such sampling plans that ensure a minimum size of control samples. Comparison of the values of the limit of the average output defect level for the continuous sampling plan (CSP) and for the automated continuous sampling plan (ACSP) shows the possibility of providing lower limit values for the average output defects level using the ACSP-1. Also, the average sample size when using the ACSP-1 plan is less than when using the CSP-1 plan. Thus, the application of statistical methods in the assembly quality management of multi-element products on automatic rotor lines, involving the use of proposed plans and methods for continuous selective control, will allow to automating sampling control procedures and the required level of quality of assembled products while minimizing sample size.

  7. Structural Testing of the Blade Reliability Collaborative Effect of Defect Wind Turbine Blades

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Desmond, M. [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Hughes, S. [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Paquette, J. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

    2015-06-08

    Two 8.3-meter (m) wind turbine blades intentionally constructed with manufacturing flaws were tested to failure at the National Wind Technology Center (NWTC) at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) south of Boulder, Colorado. Two blades were tested; one blade was manufactured with a fiberglass spar cap and the second blade was manufactured with a carbon fiber spar cap. Test loading primarily consisted of flap fatigue loading of the blades, with one quasi-static ultimate load case applied to the carbon fiber spar cap blade. Results of the test program were intended to provide the full-scale test data needed for validation of model and coupon test results of the effect of defects in wind turbine blade composite materials. Testing was part of the Blade Reliability Collaborative (BRC) led by Sandia National Laboratories (SNL). The BRC seeks to develop a deeper understanding of the causes of unexpected blade failures (Paquette 2012), and to develop methods to enable blades to survive to their expected operational lifetime. Recent work in the BRC includes examining and characterizing flaws and defects known to exist in wind turbine blades from manufacturing processes (Riddle et al. 2011). Recent results from reliability databases show that wind turbine rotor blades continue to be a leading contributor to turbine downtime (Paquette 2012).

  8. Damped gyroscopic effects and axial-flexural-torsional coupling using spinning finite elements for wind-turbine blades characterization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Velazquez, Antonio; Swartz, R. Andrew

    2013-04-01

    Renewable energy sources like wind are important technologies, useful to alleviate for the current fossil-fuel crisis. Capturing wind energy in a more efficient way has resulted in the emergence of more sophisticated designs of wind turbines, particularly Horizontal-Axis Wind Turbines (HAWTs). To promote efficiency, traditional finite element methods have been widely used to characterize the aerodynamics of these types of multi-body systems and improve their design. Given their aeroelastic behavior, tapered-swept blades offer the potential to optimize energy capture and decrease fatigue loads. Nevertheless, modeling special complex geometries requires huge computational efforts necessitating tradeoffs between faster computation times at lower cost, and reliability and numerical accuracy. Indeed, the computational cost and the numerical effort invested, using traditional FE methods, to reproduce dependable aerodynamics of these complex-shape beams are sometimes prohibitive. A condensed Spinning Finite Element (SFE) method scheme is presented in this study aimed to alleviate this issue by means of modeling wind-turbine rotor blades properly with tapered-swept cross-section variations of arbitrary order via Lagrangian equations. Axial-flexural-torsional coupling is carried out on axial deformation, torsion, in-plane bending and out-of-plane bending using super-convergent elements. In this study, special attention is paid for the case of damped yaw effects, expressed within the described skew-symmetric damped gyroscopic matrix. Dynamics of the model are analyzed by achieving modal analysis with complex-number eigen-frequencies. By means of mass, damped gyroscopic, and stiffness (axial-flexural-torsional coupling) matrix condensation (order reduction), numerical analysis is carried out for several prototypes with different tapered, swept, and curved variation intensities, and for a practical range of spinning velocities at different rotation angles. A convergence study

  9. Limitations of Phased Array Beamforming in Open Rotor Noise Source Imaging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horvath, Csaba; Envia, Edmane; Podboy, Gary G.

    2013-01-01

    Phased array beamforming results of the F31/A31 historical baseline counter-rotating open rotor blade set were investigated for measurement data taken on the NASA Counter-Rotating Open Rotor Propulsion Rig in the 9- by 15-Foot Low-Speed Wind Tunnel of NASA Glenn Research Center as well as data produced using the LINPROP open rotor tone noise code. The planar microphone array was positioned broadside and parallel to the axis of the open rotor, roughly 2.3 rotor diameters away. The results provide insight as to why the apparent noise sources of the blade passing frequency tones and interaction tones appear at their nominal Mach radii instead of at the actual noise sources, even if those locations are not on the blades. Contour maps corresponding to the sound fields produced by the radiating sound waves, taken from the simulations, are used to illustrate how the interaction patterns of circumferential spinning modes of rotating coherent noise sources interact with the phased array, often giving misleading results, as the apparent sources do not always show where the actual noise sources are located. This suggests that a more sophisticated source model would be required to accurately locate the sources of each tone. The results of this study also have implications with regard to the shielding of open rotor sources by airframe empennages.

  10. Database about blade faults

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Branner, Kim; Ghadirian, Amin

    This report deals with the importance of measuring the reliability of the rotor blades and describing how they can fail. The Challenge is that very little non-confidential data is available and that the quality and detail in the data is limited....

  11. Macroscopic balance model for wave rotors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Welch, Gerard E.

    1996-01-01

    A mathematical model for multi-port wave rotors is described. The wave processes that effect energy exchange within the rotor passage are modeled using one-dimensional gas dynamics. Macroscopic mass and energy balances relate volume-averaged thermodynamic properties in the rotor passage control volume to the mass, momentum, and energy fluxes at the ports. Loss models account for entropy production in boundary layers and in separating flows caused by blade-blockage, incidence, and gradual opening and closing of rotor passages. The mathematical model provides a basis for predicting design-point wave rotor performance, port timing, and machine size. Model predictions are evaluated through comparisons with CFD calculations and three-port wave rotor experimental data. A four-port wave rotor design example is provided to demonstrate model applicability. The modeling approach is amenable to wave rotor optimization studies and rapid assessment of the trade-offs associated with integrating wave rotors into gas turbine engine systems.

  12. Finite Element Analysis Design of a Split Rotor Bracket for a Bulb Turbine Generator

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yongyao Luo

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The rotor bracket is a key component of the generator rotor with cracks in the rotor bracket leading to rubbing between the rotor and stator, which threatens safe operation of the unit. The rotor rim is so complicated that the equivalent radial stiffness of rim was determined by numerical simulation other than engineering experience. A comprehensive numerical method including finite element analyses and the contact method for multibody dynamics has been used to design the split rotor bracket. The com-putational results showed that cracks would occur in the initial design of the bracket when the turbine operated at the runaway speed, and the bracket design should be improved. The improved design of the bracket was strong enough to avoid cracks and rub between the rotor and stator. This design experience will help improve the design of split rotor brackets for bulb turbine generators.

  13. Analysis of the aerodynamic performance of the multi-rotor concept

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chasapogiannis, Petros; Prospathopoulos, John M.; Voutsinas, Spyros G.; Chaviaropoulos, Takis K.

    2014-06-01

    The concept of a large (~20MW) multi-rotor wind turbine intended for offshore installations is analysed with respect to its aerodynamic performance. The effect of closely clustering rotors on a single actuator disk is estimated using two different modelling approaches: a CFD solver in which the rotors are simulated as distinct actuator disks and a vortex based solver in which the blade geometry is exactly considered. In the present work, a system of 7 rotors is simulated with a centre to centre spacing of 1.05D. At nominal conditions (tip speed ratio=9) both models predict an increase in power of ~3% alongside with an increase in thrust of ~1.5%. The analysis of the flow field indicates that in the 7 rotor system the individual wakes merge into one wake at ~2D and that flow recovery starts at approximately the same downstream distance as in the single rotor case. As regards the dynamic implications of the close spacing of the rotors it was found that there is an increase in the loading amplitude ranging from 0.30-2.13% at blade level in rated conditions.

  14. Analysis of the aerodynamic performance of the multi-rotor concept

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chasapogiannis, Petros; Prospathopoulos, John M; Voutsinas, Spyros G; Chaviaropoulos, Takis K

    2014-01-01

    The concept of a large (∼20MW) multi-rotor wind turbine intended for offshore installations is analysed with respect to its aerodynamic performance. The effect of closely clustering rotors on a single actuator disk is estimated using two different modelling approaches: a CFD solver in which the rotors are simulated as distinct actuator disks and a vortex based solver in which the blade geometry is exactly considered. In the present work, a system of 7 rotors is simulated with a centre to centre spacing of 1.05D. At nominal conditions (tip speed ratio=9) both models predict an increase in power of ∼3% alongside with an increase in thrust of ∼1.5%. The analysis of the flow field indicates that in the 7 rotor system the individual wakes merge into one wake at ∼2D and that flow recovery starts at approximately the same downstream distance as in the single rotor case. As regards the dynamic implications of the close spacing of the rotors it was found that there is an increase in the loading amplitude ranging from 0.30-2.13% at blade level in rated conditions

  15. Numerical analysis of a horizontal axis wind turbine rotor with winglets; Winglet wo motsu suiheijiku fusha no suchi kaiseki

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hasegawa, Y.; Kikuyama, K.; Imamura, H. [Nagoya University, Nagoya (Japan)

    1996-08-25

    The objective of present study is to show the aerodynamic effectivity of a horizontal axis wind turbine rotor blades with winglets by means of numerical analysis. The winglet used in this study is considered to be an inclined extension of the blade. For the numerical analysis a vortex lattice method with a free wake model was used because the model can be fitted to an arbitrary blade shape and needs no empirical parameter about wake geometry. The calculations were made on the flow field in the rotor wake and the rotor performance, and the results were compared between the rotors with and without winglets. In order to examine the structural effects, the flap bending moment was also compared. The results shows that small installation angle of winglets is found to cause a larger increase in the power coefficient and a smaller increase in the flap bending moment than radially extended rotor blades. 11 refs., 13 figs., 1 tab.

  16. An analytical investigation of the performance of wind-turbines with gyrocopter-like rotors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kentfield, J.A.C.; Brophy, D.C. [Univ. of Calgary, Alberta (Canada)

    1997-12-31

    The performance was predicted of a wind-turbine, intended for electrical power generation, the rotor of which is similar in configuration to the rotor of an autogyro or gyrocopter as originated by Cierva. Hence the rotor axis of spin is tilted downwind, for maximum power production, by an angle of 40{degrees} to 50{degrees} relative to the vertical with power regulation by modulation of the tilt angle. Because the rotor of a Cierva turbine generates lift the simple, non-twisted, fixed-pitch blades {open_quotes}fly{close_quotes} and are self supporting thereby eliminating flap-wise bending moments when the blades are hinged at their roots. It was found from the analysis that it is possible to reduce tower bending moments substantially relative to a conventional horizontal axis turbine of equal power output and also, for equal maximum hub heights and blade tip altitudes, a Cierva turbine is capable, at a prescribed wind speed, of a greater power output than a conventional horizontal axis machine.

  17. Structural dynamic analysis of turbine blade

    Science.gov (United States)

    Antony, A. Daniel; Gopalsamy, M.; Viswanadh, Chaparala B. V.; Krishnaraj, R.

    2017-10-01

    In any gas turbine design cycle, blade design is a crucial element which needs maximum attention to meet the aerodynamic performance, structural safety margins, manufacturing feasibility, material availability etc. In present day gas turbine engines, most of the failures occur during engine development test and in-service, in rotor and stator blades due to fatigue and resonance failures. To address this issue, an extensive structural dynamic analysis is carried out to predict the natural frequencies and mode shapes using FE methods. Using the dynamics characteristics, the Campbell diagram is constructed to study the possibility of resonance at various operating speeds. In this work, the feasibility of using composite material in place of titanium alloy from the structural dynamics point of view. This is being attempted in a Low-pressure compressor where the temperatures are relatively low and fixed with the casings. The analysis will be carried out using FE method for different composite material with different lamina orientations chosen through the survey. This study will focus on the sensitivity of blade mode shapes to different laminae orientations, which will be used to alter the natural frequency and tailor the mode shapes. Campbell diagrams of existing titanium alloy are compared with the composite materials with different laminae at all critical operating conditions. The existing manufacturing methods and the proven techniques for blade profiles will also be discussed in this report.

  18. Wind turbine blade shear web disbond detection using rotor blade operational sensing and data analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Myrent, Noah; Adams, Douglas E; Griffith, D Todd

    2015-02-28

    A wind turbine blade's structural dynamic response is simulated and analysed with the goal of characterizing the presence and severity of a shear web disbond. Computer models of a 5 MW offshore utility-scale wind turbine were created to develop effective algorithms for detecting such damage. Through data analysis and with the use of blade measurements, a shear web disbond was quantified according to its length. An aerodynamic sensitivity study was conducted to ensure robustness of the detection algorithms. In all analyses, the blade's flap-wise acceleration and root-pitching moment were the clearest indicators of the presence and severity of a shear web disbond. A combination of blade and non-blade measurements was formulated into a final algorithm for the detection and quantification of the disbond. The probability of detection was 100% for the optimized wind speed ranges in laminar, 30% horizontal shear and 60% horizontal shear conditions. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

  19. Transition prediction on the NORDTANK 500/41 turbine rotor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Soerensen, N.N.

    2002-09-01

    A new simplified transition model for wind turbine blades is described along with the implementation in the EllipSys3D code. The method is based on a sectional treatment of the turbine blade under the assumption of chordwise flow, and lookup tables of transition point location computed by external 2D programs. The coupling of the 2D transition point location and the 3D sectional flow is performed through the stagnation point location. The method is applied to a single rotor case, the NORDTANK 500/41 rotor with LM19.1 blades. The transitional computations show improved agreement with measurements for wind speeds between 11 and 15 m/s. For higher wind speeds, the validity of the transition location computed by the 2D XFOIL code is questionable, and the results cannot be trusted. Analysis of the results comparing fully turbulent and transitional spanwise distributions of tangential forces, reveal that the decrease in power production when applying the transition model is mainly a consequence of the decrease in driving force on the inboard part of the blade between 5 and 12 meter radius. The results are very encouraging, and further studies of other rotors are needed for further validation. (au)

  20. Deflection estimation of a wind turbine blade using FBG sensors embedded in the blade bonding line

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Sang-Woo; Kang, Woo-Ram; Jeong, Min-Soo; Lee, In; Kwon, Il-Bum

    2013-01-01

    Estimating the deflection of flexible composite wind turbine blades is very important to prevent the blades from hitting the tower. Several researchers have used fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors—a type of optical fiber sensor (OFS)—to monitor the structural behavior of the blades. They can be installed on the surface and/or embedded in the interior of composites. However, the typical installation positions of OFSs present several problems, including delamination of sensing probes and a higher risk of fiber breakage during installation. In this study, we proposed using the bonding line between the shear web and spar cap as a new installation position of embedded OFSs for estimating the deflection of the blades. Laboratory coupon tests were undertaken preliminarily to confirm the strain measuring capability of embedded FBG sensors in adhesive layers, and the obtained values were verified by comparison with results obtained by electrical strain gauges and finite element analysis. We performed static loading tests on a 100 kW composite wind turbine blade to evaluate its deflections using embedded FBG sensors positioned in the bonding line. The deflections were estimated by classical beam theory considering a rigid body rotation near the tip of the blade. The evaluated tip deflections closely matched those measured by a linear variable differential transformer. Therefore, we verified the capability of embedded FBG sensors for evaluating the deflections of wind turbine blades. In addition, we confirmed that the bonding line between the shear web and spar cap is a practical location to embed the FBG sensors. (paper)

  1. Overview of the Novel Intelligent JAXA Active Rotor Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saito, Shigeru; Kobiki, Noboru; Tanabe, Yasutada; Johnson, Wayne; Yamauchi, Gloria K.; Young, Larry A.

    2010-01-01

    The Novel Intelligent JAXA Active Rotor (NINJA Rotor) program is a cooperative effort between JAXA and NASA, involving a test of a JAXA pressure-instrumented, active-flap rotor in the 40- by 80-Foot Wind Tunnel at Ames Research Center. The objectives of the program are to obtain an experimental database of a rotor with active flaps and blade pressure instrumentation, and to use that data to develop analyses to predict the aerodynamic and aeroacoustic performance of rotors with active flaps. An overview of the program is presented, including a description of the rotor and preliminary pretest calculations.

  2. Influence of upstream stator on rotor flutter stability in a low pressure steam turbine stage

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Huang, X.; He, L. [University of Durham (United Kingdom). School of Engineering; Bell, D. [ALSTOM Power Ltd., Rugby (United Kingdom)

    2006-07-01

    Conventional blade flutter prediction is normally based on an isolated blade row model, however, little is known about the influence of adjacent blade rows. In this article, an investigation is presented into the influence of the upstream stator row on the aero-elastic stability of rotor blades in the last stage of a low pressure (LP) steam turbine. The influence of the upstream blade row is computed directly by a time-marching, unsteady, Navier-Stokes flow solver in a stator-rotor coupled computational domain. The three-dimensional flutter solution is obtained, with adequate mesh resolution, in a single passage domain through application of the Fourier-Transform based Shape-Correction method. The capability of this single-passage method is examined through comparison with predictions obtained from a complete annulus model, and the results demonstrate a good level of accuracy, while achieving a speed up factor of 25. The present work shows that the upstream stator blade row can significantly change the aero-elastic behaviour of an LP steam turbine rotor. Caution is, therefore, advised when using an isolated blade row model for blade flutter prediction. The results presented also indicated that the intra-row interaction is of a strong three-dimensional nature. (author)

  3. Towards Efficient Fluid-Structure-Control Interaction for Smart Rotors

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gillebaart, T.

    2016-01-01

    One of the solutions to speed up the energy transition is the smart rotor concept: wind turbine blades with actively controlled Trailing Edge Flaps. In the past decade feasibility studies (both numerical and experimental) have been performed to assess the applicability of smart rotors in future

  4. Design characteristics of Curved Blade Aerator w.r.t. aeration ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    user

    To provide the required amount of oxygen, an aeration system is always ... and number of blades, depth of flow etc and physicochemical properties of the liquid. .... amounts to 29 cm with 12 blades (fiber strips) mounted on each aerator rotor.

  5. Performance Analysis of a Savonius Wind Turbine in the Solar Integrated Rotor House

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ABDUL LATIFMANGANHAR

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Rooftop, building integrated and building augmented micro wind systems have the potential for small scale power generation in the built environment. Nevertheless, the expansion of micro wind technology is very slow and its market is strongly affected by the low efficiency of conventional wind generators. WAG-RH (Wind Accelerating and Guiding Rotor House which is a new technique introduced to enhance the efficiency of vertical axis rotor. The present study utilizes other green energy element by integrating the WAG-RH with a solar heating system. In this effort roof of the WAG-RH has been utilized to heat air through micro solar chimney for creating buoyancy effect in the air flow channel at rotor zone in the WAG-RH. The integration is capable of improving the performance of rotor setup in the WAG-RH as well as providing hot air with sufficient air mass flow rate for space heating. The WAG-RH had brought about 138% increase in the performance coefficient(Cp of conventional three bladed Savonius rotor, whereas solar integrated WAG-RH has contributed 162% increase in the Cp of the same rotor.

  6. Performance analysis of a savonius wind turbine in the solar integrated rotor house

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Manganhar, A.L.

    2017-01-01

    Rooftop, building integrated and building augmented micro wind systems have the potential for small scale power generation in the built environment. Nevertheless, the expansion of micro wind technology is very slow and its market is strongly affected by the low efficiency of conventional wind generators. WAG-RH (Wind Accelerating and Guiding Rotor House) which is a new technique introduced to enhance the efficiency of vertical axis rotor. The present study utilizes other green energy element by integrating the WAG-RH with a solar heating system. In this effort roof of the WAG-RH has been utilized to heat air through micro solar chimney for creating buoyancy effect in the air flow channel at rotor zone in the WAG-RH. The integration is capable of improving the performance of rotor setup in the WAG-RH as well as providing hot air with sufficient air mass flow rate for space heating. The WAG-RH had brought about 138% increase in the performance coefficient(Cp) of conventional three bladed Savonius rotor, whereas solar integrated WAG-RH has contributed 162% increase in the Cp of the same rotor. (author)

  7. Design and fabrication of a composite wind turbine blade

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, R. A.; Haley, R. G.

    1980-01-01

    The design considerations are described which led to the combination of materials used for the MOD-I wind turbine generator rotor and to the fabrication processes which were required to accomplish it. It is noted that the design problem was to create a rotor for a 2500 kW wind turbine generator. The rotor was to consist of two blades, each with a length of 97.5 feet and a weight of less than 21,000 pounds. The spanwise frequency is 1.17-1.45 Hz, and the chordwise frequency 2.80-2.98 Hz. The design life of the blade is 30 years, or 4.35 x 10 to the 8th cycles. The structures of the spars and trailing edges are described, and the adhesive bonding system is discussed.

  8. Aerodynamic optimization of wind turbine rotors using a blade element momentum method with corrections for wake rotation and expansion

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Døssing, Mads; Aagaard Madsen, Helge; Bak, Christian

    2012-01-01

    The blade element momentum (BEM) method is widely used for calculating the quasi-steady aerodynamics of horizontal axis wind turbines. Recently, the BEM method has been expanded to include corrections for wake expansion and the pressure due to wake rotation (), and more accurate solutions can now...... by the positive effect of wake rotation, which locally causes the efficiency to exceed the Betz limit. Wake expansion has a negative effect, which is most important at high tip speed ratios. It was further found that by using , it is possible to obtain a 5% reduction in flap bending moment when compared with BEM....... In short, allows fast aerodynamic calculations and optimizations with a much higher degree of accuracy than the traditional BEM model. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd....

  9. Transonic airfoil design for helicopter rotor applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hassan, Ahmed A.; Jackson, B.

    1989-01-01

    Despite the fact that the flow over a rotor blade is strongly influenced by locally three-dimensional and unsteady effects, practical experience has always demonstrated that substantial improvements in the aerodynamic performance can be gained by improving the steady two-dimensional charateristics of the airfoil(s) employed. The two phenomena known to have great impact on the overall rotor performance are: (1) retreating blade stall with the associated large pressure drag, and (2) compressibility effects on the advancing blade leading to shock formation and the associated wave drag and boundary-layer separation losses. It was concluded that: optimization routines are a powerful tool for finding solutions to multiple design point problems; the optimization process must be guided by the judicious choice of geometric and aerodynamic constraints; optimization routines should be appropriately coupled to viscous, not inviscid, transonic flow solvers; hybrid design procedures in conjunction with optimization routines represent the most efficient approach for rotor airfroil design; unsteady effects resulting in the delay of lift and moment stall should be modeled using simple empirical relations; and inflight optimization of aerodynamic loads (e.g., use of variable rate blowing, flaps, etc.) can satisfy any number of requirements at design and off-design conditions.

  10. Integrated circuit cooled turbine blade

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Ching-Pang; Jiang, Nan; Um, Jae Y.; Holloman, Harry; Koester, Steven

    2017-08-29

    A turbine rotor blade includes at least two integrated cooling circuits that are formed within the blade that include a leading edge circuit having a first cavity and a second cavity and a trailing edge circuit that includes at least a third cavity located aft of the second cavity. The trailing edge circuit flows aft with at least two substantially 180-degree turns at the tip end and the root end of the blade providing at least a penultimate cavity and a last cavity. The last cavity is located along a trailing edge of the blade. A tip axial cooling channel connects to the first cavity of the leading edge circuit and the penultimate cavity of the trailing edge circuit. At least one crossover hole connects the penultimate cavity to the last cavity substantially near the tip end of the blade.

  11. Useful life extension of steam turbine rotors; Alargamiento de la vida en rotores de turbina de vapor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Garcia Arelle, Carlos [Turbomaquinas S. A. de C.V., La Piedad, Michoacan (Mexico)

    2007-11-15

    The continuous use of steam turbines, the chemistry of the steam itself and the variations of operation velocities, cause the gradual deterioration by erosion, oxidation and/or corrosion of the rotors and blades. When this happens most of the original manufacturers recommend to rectify the areas, diminishing the surfaces, or to compare with a new rotor. TURBOMAQUINARIAS S.A. de C.V. has developed the most reliable and safe methods to return the rotor to its original dimensions and in case of recurrent problems such as erosion, oxidation and/or wear, it offers the alternative of attaching coatings metallurgically compatible with which these problems are eliminated or diminished that might show up on the rotor surface as well as in the body of the discs or of the blades. These restoring methods are recommended by the international standards such as API 687. [Spanish] El uso continuo de las turbinas de vapor, la quimica del mismo vapor y la variacion de las velocidades de operacion, ocasionan el deterioro gradual por erosion, oxidacion y/o corrosion de los rotores y de los alabes. Al ocurrir esto la mayoria de los fabricantes originales recomiendan rectificar las areas, disminuyendo las superficies, o bien comparar un rotor nuevo. TURBOMAQUINARIAS S.A. de C.V. ha desarrollado los metodos mas confiables y seguros para devolver a su rotor las dimensiones originales y en caso de problemas recurrentes tales como erosion, oxidacion y/o desgaste, ofrece la alternativa de agregar recubrimientos metalurgicamente compatibles con los cuales se eliminan o se disminuyen estos problemas que pueden presentarse tanto en la superficie del rotor como del cuerpo de los discos o bien de los alabes. Estos metodos de restauracion son recomendados por las normas internacionales tales como la API 687.

  12. Axial compressor blade design for desensitization of aerodynamic performance and stability to tip clearance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erler, Engin

    Tip clearance flow is the flow through the clearance between the rotor blade tip and the shroud of a turbomachine, such as compressors and turbines. This flow is driven by the pressure difference across the blade (aerodynamic loading) in the tip region and is a major source of loss in performance and aerodynamic stability in axial compressors of modern aircraft engines. An increase in tip clearance, either temporary due to differential radial expansion between the blade and the shroud during transient operation or permanent due to engine wear or manufacturing tolerances on small blades, increases tip clearance flow and results in higher fuel consumption and higher risk of engine surge. A compressor design that can reduce the sensitivity of its performance and aerodynamic stability to tip clearance increase would have a major impact on short and long-term engine performance and operating envelope. While much research has been carried out on improving nominal compressor performance, little had been done on desensitization to tip clearance increase beyond isolated observations that certain blade designs such as forward chordwise sweep, seem to be less sensitive to tip clearance size increase. The current project aims to identify through a computational study the flow features and associated mechanisms that reduces sensitivity of axial compressor rotors to tip clearance size and propose blade design strategies that can exploit these results. The methodology starts with the design of a reference conventional axial compressor rotor followed by a parametric study with variations of this reference design through modification of the camber line and of the stacking line of blade profiles along the span. It is noted that a simple desensitization method would be to reduce the aerodynamic loading of the blade tip which would reduce the tip clearance flow and its proportional contribution to performance loss. However, with the larger part of the work on the flow done in this

  13. State of the art and prospectives of smart rotor control for wind turbines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barlas, T K; Kuik, G A M van

    2007-01-01

    The continued reduction in cost of energy of wind turbines, especially with the increasingly upscaling of the rotor, will require contribution from technology advances in many areas. Reducing loads on the rotor can offer great reduction to the total cost of wind turbines. With the increasing size of wind turbine blades, the need for more sophisticated load control techniques has induced the interest for locally distributed aerodynamic control systems with built-in intelligence on the blades. Such concepts are often named in popular terms 'smart structures' or 'smart rotor control'. This paper focuses on research regarding active rotor control and smart structures for load reduction. It presents an overview of available knowledge and future concepts on the application of active aerodynamic control and smart structures for wind turbine applications. The goal of the paper is to provide a perspective on the current status and future directions of the specific area of research. It comprises a novel attempt to summarize and analyze possible advanced control systems for future wind turbines. The overview builds on existing research on helicopter rotors and expands similar concepts for wind turbine applications, based on ongoing research in the field. Research work has been analyzed through UPWIND project's work package on Smart Rotor Blades and Rotor Control. First, the specifications of unsteady loads, the state of the art of modern control for load reduction and the need for more advanced and detailed active aerodynamic control are analyzed. Also, overview of available knowledge in application of active aerodynamic control on rotating blades, from helicopter research, is provided. Concepts, methods, and achieved results are presented. Furthermore, R and D so far and up-to-date ongoing progress of similar applications for wind turbines are presented. Feasibility studies for wind turbine applications, preliminary performance evaluation and novel computational and

  14. The blade element momentum (BEM) method

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Branlard, Emmanuel Simon Pierre

    2017-01-01

    The current chapter presents the blade element momentum (BEM) method. The BEM method for a steady uniform inflow is presented in a first section. Some of the ad-hoc corrections that are usually added to the algorithm are discussed in a second section. An exception is made to the tip-loss correction...... which is introduced early in the algorithm formulation for practical reasons. The ad-hoc corrections presented are: the tip-loss correction, the high-thrust correction (momentum breakdown) and the correction for wake rotation. The formulation of an unsteady BEM code is given in a third section...

  15. Numerical Predictions of Wind Turbine Power and Aerodynamic Loads for the NREL Phase II and IV Combined Experiment Rotor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duque, Earl P. N.; Johnson, Wayne; vanDam, C. P.; Chao, David D.; Cortes, Regina; Yee, Karen

    1999-01-01

    Accurate, reliable and robust numerical predictions of wind turbine rotor power remain a challenge to the wind energy industry. The literature reports various methods that compare predictions to experiments. The methods vary from Blade Element Momentum Theory (BEM), Vortex Lattice (VL), to variants of Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RaNS). The BEM and VL methods consistently show discrepancies in predicting rotor power at higher wind speeds mainly due to inadequacies with inboard stall and stall delay models. The RaNS methodologies show promise in predicting blade stall. However, inaccurate rotor vortex wake convection, boundary layer turbulence modeling and grid resolution has limited their accuracy. In addition, the inherently unsteady stalled flow conditions become computationally expensive for even the best endowed research labs. Although numerical power predictions have been compared to experiment. The availability of good wind turbine data sufficient for code validation experimental data that has been extracted from the IEA Annex XIV download site for the NREL Combined Experiment phase II and phase IV rotor. In addition, the comparisons will show data that has been further reduced into steady wind and zero yaw conditions suitable for comparisons to "steady wind" rotor power predictions. In summary, the paper will present and discuss the capabilities and limitations of the three numerical methods and make available a database of experimental data suitable to help other numerical methods practitioners validate their own work.

  16. Numerical study of aero-excitation of steam-turbine rotor blade self-oscillations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Galaev, S. A.; Makhnov, V. Yu.; Ris, V. V.; Smirnov, E. M.

    2018-05-01

    Blade aero-excitation increment is evaluated by numerical solution of the full 3D unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations governing wet steam flow in a powerful steam-turbine last stage. The equilibrium wet steam model was adopted. Blade surfaces oscillations are defined by eigen-modes of a row of blades bounded by a shroud. Grid dependency study was performed with a reduced model being a set of blades multiple an eigen-mode nodal diameter. All other computations were carried out for the entire blade row. Two cases are considered, with an original-blade row and with a row of modified (reinforced) blades. Influence of eigen-mode nodal diameter and blade reinforcing on aero-excitation increment is analyzed. It has been established, in particular, that maximum value of the aero-excitation increment for the reinforced-blade row is two times less as compared with the original-blade row. Generally, results of the study point definitely to less probability of occurrence of blade self-oscillations in case of the reinforced blade-row.

  17. Smart helicopter rotors optimization and piezoelectric vibration control

    CERN Document Server

    Ganguli, Ranjan; Viswamurthy, Sathyamangalam Ramanarayanan

    2016-01-01

    Exploiting the properties of piezoelectric materials to minimize vibration in rotor-blade actuators, this book demonstrates the potential of smart helicopter rotors to achieve the smoothness of ride associated with jet-engined, fixed-wing aircraft. Vibration control is effected using the concepts of trailing-edge flaps and active-twist. The authors’ optimization-based approach shows the advantage of multiple trailing-edge flaps and algorithms for full-authority control of dual trailing-edge-flap actuators are presented. Hysteresis nonlinearity in piezoelectric stack actuators is highlighted and compensated by use of another algorithm. The idea of response surfaces provides for optimal placement of trailing-edge flaps. The concept of active twist involves the employment of piezoelectrically induced shear actuation in rotating beams. Shear is then demonstrated for a thin-walled aerofoil-section rotor blade under feedback-control vibration minimization. Active twist is shown to be significant in reducing vibra...

  18. Aeroelastic multidisciplinary design optimization of a swept wind turbine blade

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pavese, Christian; Tibaldi, Carlo; Zahle, Frederik

    2017-01-01

    Mitigating loads on a wind turbine rotor can reduce the cost of energy. Sweeping blades produces a structural coupling between flapwise bending and torsion, which can be used for load alleviation purposes. A multidisciplinary design optimization (MDO) problem is formulated including the blade sweep...

  19. Numerical Simulation of Tower Rotor Interaction for Downwind Wind Turbine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Isam Janajreh

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Downwind wind turbines have lower upwind rotor misalignment, and thus lower turning moment and self-steered advantage over the upwind configuration. In this paper, numerical simulation to the downwind turbine is conducted to investigate the interaction between the tower and the blade during the intrinsic passage of the rotor in the wake of the tower. The moving rotor has been accounted for via ALE formulation of the incompressible, unsteady, turbulent Navier-Stokes equations. The localized CP, CL, and CD are computed and compared to undisturbed flow evaluated by Panel method. The time history of the CP, aerodynamic forces (CL and CD, as well as moments were evaluated for three cross-sectional tower; asymmetrical airfoil (NACA0012 having four times the rotor's chord length, and two circular cross-sections having four and two chords lengths of the rotor's chord. 5%, 17%, and 57% reductions of the aerodynamic lift forces during the blade passage in the wake of the symmetrical airfoil tower, small circular cross-section tower and large circular cross-section tower were observed, respectively. The pronounced reduction, however, is confined to a short time/distance of three rotor chords. A net forward impulsive force is also observed on the tower due to the high speed rotor motion.

  20. Compressor Stator Time-Variant Aerodynamic Response to Upstream Rotor Wakes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1976-11-01

    periodic varia t i ons in pressure , velocity and flow direction in the exit field of an upstream element , wh i ch appea r as temporall y vary ing in a...compressor features blad i ng (42 rotor blades and 40 stator vanes , NACA 65 F Series ) that is aerodynamicall y l oaded to levels that are typical of...measurements were accom- — p lished by instrumenting a pair of the NACA Series 65 stator — vanes with flush mounted Ku lite thin -line des i gn dynamic

  1. THE DESIGN OF AXIAL PUMP ROTORS USING THE NUMERICAL METHODS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ali BEAZIT

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available The researches in rotor theory, the increasing use of computers and the connection between design and manufacturing of rotors, have determined the revaluation and completion of classical rotor geometry. This paper presents practical applications of mathematical description of rotor geometry. A program has been created to describe the rotor geometry for arbitrary shape of the blade. The results can be imported by GAMBIT - a processor for geometry with modeling and mesh generations, to create a mesh needed in hydrodynamics analysis of rotor CFD. The results obtained are applicable in numerical methods and are functionally convenient for CAD/CAM systems.

  2. Measurement and Modelling of Multicopter UAS Rotor Blades in Hover

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nowicki, Nathalie

    2016-01-01

    Multicopters are becoming one of the more common and popular type of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) which have both civilian and military applications. One example being the concept of drone deliveries proposed by the distribution company Amazon [1]. The electrical propulsion is considered to have both faster and easier deliveries and also environmental benefits compared to other vehicles that still use fossil fuel. Other examples include surveillance and just simple entertainment. The reason behind their success is often said to be due to their small size, relatively low cost, simple structure and finally simple usage. With an increase in the UAS market comes challenges in terms of security, as both people and other aircrafts could be harmed if not used correctly. Therefore further studies and regulations are needed to ensure that future use of drones, especially in the civilian and public sectors, are safe and efficient. Thorough research has been done on full scale, man or cargo transporting, helicopters so that most parts of flight and performance are fairly well understood. Yet not much of it have been verified for small multicopters. Until today many studies and research projects have been done on the control systems, navigation and aerodynamics of multicopters. Many of the methods used today for building multicopters involve a process of trial an error of what will work well together, and once that is accomplished some structural analysis of the multicopter bodies might be done to verify that the product will be strong enough and have a decent aerodynamic performance. However, not much has been done on the research of the rotor blades, especially in terms of structural stress analyses and ways to ensure that the commonly used parts are indeed safe and follow safety measures. Some producers claim that their propellers indeed have been tested, but again that usually tends towards simple fluid dynamic analyses and even simpler stress analyses. There is no real

  3. Design of Wind Turbine Blades

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    McGugan, Malcolm

    2016-01-01

    In this section the research program framework for European PhD network MARE-WINT is presented, particularly the technology development work focussing on reliability/maintenance and the models describing multi-body fluid structure interaction for the Rotor Blade structure. In order to give...

  4. Numerical Investigation of Compressor Non-Synchronous Vibration with Full Annulus Rotor-Stator Interaction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Espinal, Daniel

    The objective of this research is to investigate and confirm the periodicity of the Non-Synchronous Vibration (NSV) mechanism of a GE axial compressor with a full-annulus simulation. A second objective is to develop a high fidelity single-passage tool with time-accurate unsteady capabilities able to capture rotor-stator interactions and NSV excitation response. A high fidelity methodology for axial turbomachinery simulation is developed using the low diffusion shock-capturing Riemann solver with high order schemes, the Spalart-Allmaras turbulence closure model, the fully conservative unsteady sliding BC for rotor-stator interaction with extension to full-annulus and single-passage configurations, and the phase lag boundary conditions applied to rotor-stator interface and circumferential BC. A URANS solver is used and captures the NSV flow excitation frequency of 2439 Hz, which agrees reasonably well with the measured NSV frequency of 2600 Hz from strain gage test data. It is observed that the circumferentially traveling vortex formed in the vicinity of the rotor tip propagates at the speed of a non-engine order frequency and causes the NSV. The vortex travels along the suction surface of the blade and crosses the passage outlet near blade trailing edge. Such a vortex motion trajectory repeats in each blade passage and generates two low pressure regions due to the vortex core positions, one at the leading edge and one at the trailing edge, both are oscillating due to the vortex coming and leaving. These two low pressure regions create a pair of coupling forces that generates a torsion moment causing NSV. The full-annulus simulation shows that the circumferentially traveling vortex has fairly periodical behavior and is a full annulus structure. Also, frequencies below the NSV excitation frequency of 2439 Hz with large amplitudes in response to flow-separation related phenomena are present. This behavior is consistent with experimental measurements. For

  5. The Effect of Flowing Water on Turbine Rotor Vibrations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jansson, Ida

    2010-07-01

    There is a lack of standardized rules on how the fluid in the turbine should be included in rotor models of hydraulic machinery. This thesis is an attempt to shed some light on this issue. We approach the problem from two viewpoints, situated at place at a hydropower plant and by mathematical analysis. One goal of the thesis is to develop a measurement system that monitors the instantaneous pressure at several locations of a runner blade on a 10 MW Kaplan prototype in Porjus along Lule river. Paper A outlines the development of the measurement system and the instrumentation of the runner blade. Miniature piezo-resistive pressure transducers were mounted flush to the surface. If instrumentation is successful, the pressure field of the runner blade could be measured simultaneously as the loads and displacements of the guide bearings and the generator. The second objective is concerned with how the motion-induced fluid force affects the dynamic behaviour of the rotor. Inertia and angular momentum of the fluid and shrouding are expected to influence the dynamic behaviour of the turbine. Paper B scrutinizes this assumption by presenting a simple fluid-rotor model that captures the effects of inertia and angular momentum of the fluid on the motion of a confined cylinder. The simplicity of the model allows for powerful analytical solution methods. The results show that fluid inertia, angular momentum and shrouding of hydraulic turbines could have substantial effects on lateral rotor vibrations. This calls for further investigation with a more complex fluid-rotor model that accounts for flexural bending modes.

  6. Mechanical model development of rolling bearing-rotor systems: A review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cao, Hongrui; Niu, Linkai; Xi, Songtao; Chen, Xuefeng

    2018-03-01

    The rolling bearing rotor (RBR) system is the kernel of many rotating machines, which affects the performance of the whole machine. Over the past decades, extensive research work has been carried out to investigate the dynamic behavior of RBR systems. However, to the best of the authors' knowledge, no comprehensive review on RBR modelling has been reported yet. To address this gap in the literature, this paper reviews and critically discusses the current progress of mechanical model development of RBR systems, and identifies future trends for research. Firstly, five kinds of rolling bearing models, i.e., the lumped-parameter model, the quasi-static model, the quasi-dynamic model, the dynamic model, and the finite element (FE) model are summarized. Then, the coupled modelling between bearing models and various rotor models including De Laval/Jeffcott rotor, rigid rotor, transfer matrix method (TMM) models and FE models are presented. Finally, the paper discusses the key challenges of previous works and provides new insights into understanding of RBR systems for their advanced future engineering applications.

  7. Application of aeroacoustic models to design of wind turbine rotors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fuglsang, P.; Madsen, H.A. [Risoe National Lab., Wind Energy and Atmospheric Physics Dept., Roskilde (Denmark)

    1997-12-31

    A design method is presented for wind turbine rotors. The design process is split into overall design of the rotor and detailed design of the blade tip. A numerical optimization tool is used together with a semi-empirical noise prediction code for overall rotor design. The noise prediction code is validated with measurements and good agreement is obtained both on the total noise emission and on the sensitivity to wind speed, tip pitch angle and tip speed. A design study for minimum noise emission for a 300 kW rotor shows that the total sound power level can be reduced by 3 dB(A) without loss in energy production and the energy production can be increased by 2% without increase in the total noise. Detailed CFD calculations are subsequently done to resolve the blade tip flow. The characteristics of the general flow and the tip vortex are found, and the relevant parameters for the aeroacoustic models are derived for a sharp rectangular tip. (au) 16 refs.

  8. Study on the replacement of last moving blade at lower pressure turbine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koo, Jae Raeyang; Lee, Woo Kwang; Koo, Woo Sik; Kim, Yeon Hwan

    2003-01-01

    Vibration of turbine is concerned with array of last moving blade at lower pressure turbine. When last moving blade at lower pressure turbine was replaced, we must consider mass unbalance problems of blades. If mass unbalance happened at rotor, it is impossible to operate turbine. In this paper, we have how to minimize the mass unbalance problems of last moving blade at lower pressure turbine

  9. Computational assessment of the DeepWind aerodynamic performance with different blade and airfoil configurations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bedon, Gabriele; Schmidt Paulsen, Uwe; Aagaard Madsen, Helge

    2017-01-01

    An aerodynamic improvement of the DeepWind rotor is conducted adopting different rotor geometries and solutions with respect to the original configuration while keeping the comparison as fair as possible. The objective of this work is to find the most suitable configuration in order to maximize...... the power production and minimize the blade stress and the cost of energy. Different parameters are considered for the study. The DeepWind blade is characterized by a shape similar to the Troposkien geometry but asymmetric between the top and bottom parts. The blade shape is considered as a fixed parameter...

  10. All 36 exactly solvable solutions of eigenvalues for nuclear electric quadrupole interaction Hamiltonian and equivalent rigid asymmetric rotor with expanded characteristic equation listing

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Menke, Lorenz Harry, E-mail: lnz2004@mindspring.com [University of Pittsburgh (United States)

    2012-05-15

    This paper derives all 36 analytical solutions of the energy eigenvalues for nuclear electric quadrupole interaction Hamiltonian and equivalent rigid asymmetric rotor for polynomial degrees 1 through 4 using classical algebraic theory. By the use of double-parameterization the full general solution sets are illustrated in a compact, symmetric, structural, and usable form that is valid for asymmetry parameter {eta} is an element of (- {infinity}, + {infinity}). These results are useful for code developers in the area of Perturbed Angular Correlation (PAC), Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance (NQR) and rotational spectroscopy who want to offer exact solutions whenever possible, rather that resorting to numerical solutions. In addition, by using standard linear algebra methods, the characteristic equations of all integer and half-integer spins I from 0 to 15, inclusive are represented in a compact and naturally parameterized form that illustrates structure and symmetries. This extends Nielson's listing of characteristic equations for integer spins out to I = 15, inclusive.

  11. The effect of solidity on the performance of H-rotor Darrieus turbine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hassan, S. M. Rakibul; Ali, Mohammad; Islam, Md. Quamrul

    2016-01-01

    Utilization of wind energy has been investigated for a long period of time by different researchers in different ways. Out of which, the Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine and the Vertical Axis Wind Turbine have now advanced design, but still there is scope to improve their efficiency. The Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) has the advantage over Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine (HAWT) for working on omnidirectional air flow without any extra control system. A modified H-rotor Darrieus type VAWT is analysed in this paper, which is a lift based wind turbine. The effect of solidity (i.e. chord length, no. of blades) on power coefficient (C_P) of H-rotor for different tip speed ratios is numerically investigated. The study is conducted using time dependent RANS equations using SST k-ω model. SIMPLE scheme is used as pressure-velocity coupling and in all cases, the second order upwind discretization scheme is chosen for getting more accurate solution. In results, different parameters are compared, which depict the performance of the modified H-rotor Darrieus type VAWT. Double layered H-rotor having inner layer blades with longer chord gives higher power coefficient than those have inner layer blades with smaller chord.

  12. The effect of solidity on the performance of H-rotor Darrieus turbine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hassan, S. M. Rakibul; Ali, Mohammad; Islam, Md. Quamrul

    2016-07-01

    Utilization of wind energy has been investigated for a long period of time by different researchers in different ways. Out of which, the Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine and the Vertical Axis Wind Turbine have now advanced design, but still there is scope to improve their efficiency. The Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) has the advantage over Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine (HAWT) for working on omnidirectional air flow without any extra control system. A modified H-rotor Darrieus type VAWT is analysed in this paper, which is a lift based wind turbine. The effect of solidity (i.e. chord length, no. of blades) on power coefficient (CP) of H-rotor for different tip speed ratios is numerically investigated. The study is conducted using time dependent RANS equations using SST k-ω model. SIMPLE scheme is used as pressure-velocity coupling and in all cases, the second order upwind discretization scheme is chosen for getting more accurate solution. In results, different parameters are compared, which depict the performance of the modified H-rotor Darrieus type VAWT. Double layered H-rotor having inner layer blades with longer chord gives higher power coefficient than those have inner layer blades with smaller chord.

  13. Turbulent wind at the equatorial segment of an operating Darrieus wind turbine blade

    Science.gov (United States)

    Connell, J. R.; Morris, V. R.

    1989-09-01

    Six turbulent wind time series, measured at equally spaced equator-height locations on a circle 3 m outside a 34-m Darrieus rotor, are analyzed to approximate the wind fluctuations experienced by the rotor. The flatwise lower root-bending stress of one blade was concurrently recorded. The wind data are analyzed in three ways: wind components that are radial and tangential to the rotation of a blade were rotationally sampled; induction and wake effects of the rotor were estimated from the six Eulerian time series; and turbulence spectra of both the measured wind and the modeled wind from the PNL theory of rotationally sampled turbulence. The wind and the rotor response are related by computing the spectral response function of the flatwise lower root-bending stress. Two bands of resonant response that surround the first and second flatwise modal frequencies shift with the rotor rotation rate.

  14. CFD computations of wind turbine blade loads during standstill operation KNOW-BLADE, Task 3.1 report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Soerensen, N.N.; Johansen, J.; Conway, S.

    2004-06-01

    Two rotors blades are computed during standstill conditions, using two different Navier-Stokes solvers EDGE and EllipSys3D. Both steady and transient linear {kappa} - {omega} RANS turbulence models are applied, along with steady non-linear RANS and transient DES simulations. The STORK 5.0 WPX blade is computed a three different tip pitch angles, 0, 26 and 50 degrees tip pitch angle, while the NREL Phase-VI blade is computed at 90 degrees tip pitch angle. Generally the CFD codes reproduce the measured trends quite well and the two involved CFD codes give very similar results. The discrepancies observed can be explained by the difference in the applied turbulence models and the fact that the results from one of the solvers are presented as instantaneous values instead of averaged values. The comparison of steady and transient RANS results show that the gain of using time true computations are very limited for this case, with respect to mean quantities. The same can be said for the RANS/DES comparison performed for the NREL rotor, even though the DES computation shows improved agreement at the tip and root sections. Finally, it is shown that the DES methodology provides a much more physical representation of the heavily stalled part of the flow over blades at high angles of attack. (au)

  15. An experimental study on improvement of Savonius rotor performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N.H. Mahmoud

    2012-03-01

    In this work different geometries of Savonius wind turbine are experimentally studied in order to determine the most effective operation parameters. It was found that, the two blades rotor is more efficient than three and four ones. The rotor with end plates gives higher efficiency than those of without end plates. Double stage rotors have higher performance compared to single stage rotors. The rotors without overlap ratio (β are better in operation than those with overlap. The results show also that the power coefficient increases with rising the aspect ratio (α. The conclusions from the measurements of the static torque for each rotor at different wind speeds verify the above summarized results of this work.

  16. Advances in wind turbine blade design and materials

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wind energy is gaining critical ground in the area of renewable energy, with wind energy being predicted to provide up to 8% of the world’s consumption of electricity by 2021. Advances in wind turbine blade design and materials reviews the design and functionality of wind turbine rotor blades...... as well as the requirements and challenges for composite materials used in both current and future designs of wind turbine blades. Part one outlines the challenges and developments in wind turbine blade design, including aerodynamic and aeroelastic design features, fatigue loads on wind turbine blades......, and characteristics of wind turbine blade airfoils. Part two discusses the fatigue behavior of composite wind turbine blades, including the micromechanical modelling and fatigue life prediction of wind turbine blade composite materials, and the effects of resin and reinforcement variations on the fatigue resistance...

  17. The relationship between loads and power of a rotor and an actuator disc

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Van Kuik, Gijs A M

    2014-01-01

    Most state of the art rotor design methods are based on the actuator disc theory developed about one century ago. The actuator disc is an axisymmetric permeable surface carrying a load that represents the load on a real rotor with a finite number of blades N. However, the mathematics of the transition from a real rotor load to an axisymmetrically loaded disc is not yet presented in literature. By formulating an actuator disc equation of motion in which the Bernoulli constant H is expressed in kinematical terms, a comparison of the power conversion and load on the disc and rotor is possible. For both the converted power is expressed as a change of angular momentum times rotational speed. The limits for N → ∞ while the chord c → 0, the rotational speed Ω → ∞, the load F becoming uniform by ∂F/∂r → 0 and the thickness ε → 0 confirm that the classical disc represents the rotor with an infinite number of blades. Furthermore, the expressions for the blade load are compared to the expressions in current design and analysis tools. The latter do not include the load on chord-wise vorticity. Including this is expected to give a better modelling of the tip and root flow

  18. The relationship between loads and power of a rotor and an actuator disc

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Kuik, Gijs A. M.

    2014-12-01

    Most state of the art rotor design methods are based on the actuator disc theory developed about one century ago. The actuator disc is an axisymmetric permeable surface carrying a load that represents the load on a real rotor with a finite number of blades N. However, the mathematics of the transition from a real rotor load to an axisymmetrically loaded disc is not yet presented in literature. By formulating an actuator disc equation of motion in which the Bernoulli constant H is expressed in kinematical terms, a comparison of the power conversion and load on the disc and rotor is possible. For both the converted power is expressed as a change of angular momentum times rotational speed. The limits for N → ∞ while the chord c → 0, the rotational speed Ω → ∞, the load F becoming uniform by ∂F/∂r → 0 and the thickness epsilon → 0 confirm that the classical disc represents the rotor with an infinite number of blades. Furthermore, the expressions for the blade load are compared to the expressions in current design and analysis tools. The latter do not include the load on chord-wise vorticity. Including this is expected to give a better modelling of the tip and root flow.

  19. Calculation and characteristics analysis of blade pitch loads for large scale wind turbines

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2010-01-01

    Based on the electric pitch system of large scale horizontal-axis wind turbines,the blade pitch loads coming mainly from centrifugal force,aerodynamic force and gravity are analyzed,and the calculation models for them are established in this paper.For illustration,a 1.2 MW wind turbine is introduced as a practical sample,and its blade pitch loads from centrifugal force,aerodynamic force and gravity are calculated and analyzed separately and synthetically.The research results showed that in the process of rotor rotating 360o,the fluctuation of blade pitch loads is similar to cosine curve when the rotor rotational speed,in-flow wind speed and pitch angle are constant.Furthermore,the amplitude of blade pitch load presents quite a difference at a different pitch angle.The ways of calculation for blade pitch loads are of the universality,and are helpful for further research of the individual pitch control system.

  20. IEC-TC88WG8 testing of rotor blades

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Delft, D R.V. van [Delft Univ. of Technology, STEVIN Lab., Delft (Netherlands)

    1996-09-01

    In 1994 the TC88 of IEC installed a working group (WG8) to draft a guideline on blade testing. This paper gives a description of the task of the working group. Furthermore it gives a report of the progress of the work and summarizes the possible contents of the working group document on blade testing. (au)

  1. On the inverse problem of blade design for centrifugal pumps and fans

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kruyt, N. P.; Westra, R. W.

    2014-06-01

    The inverse problem of blade design for centrifugal pumps and fans has been studied. The solution to this problem provides the geometry of rotor blades that realize specified performance characteristics, together with the corresponding flow field. Here a three-dimensional solution method is described in which the so-called meridional geometry is fixed and the distribution of the azimuthal angle at the three-dimensional blade surface is determined for blades of infinitesimal thickness. The developed formulation is based on potential-flow theory. Besides the blade impermeability condition at the pressure and suction side of the blades, an additional boundary condition at the blade surface is required in order to fix the unknown blade geometry. For this purpose the mean-swirl distribution is employed. The iterative numerical method is based on a three-dimensional finite element method approach in which the flow equations are solved on the domain determined by the latest estimate of the blade geometry, with the mean-swirl distribution boundary condition at the blade surface being enforced. The blade impermeability boundary condition is then used to find an improved estimate of the blade geometry. The robustness of the method is increased by specific techniques, such as spanwise-coupled solution of the discretized impermeability condition and the use of under-relaxation in adjusting the estimates of the blade geometry. Various examples are shown that demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of the method in finding a solution for the blade geometry of different types of centrifugal pumps and fans. The influence of the employed mean-swirl distribution on the performance characteristics is also investigated.

  2. On the inverse problem of blade design for centrifugal pumps and fans

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kruyt, N P; Westra, R W

    2014-01-01

    The inverse problem of blade design for centrifugal pumps and fans has been studied. The solution to this problem provides the geometry of rotor blades that realize specified performance characteristics, together with the corresponding flow field. Here a three-dimensional solution method is described in which the so-called meridional geometry is fixed and the distribution of the azimuthal angle at the three-dimensional blade surface is determined for blades of infinitesimal thickness. The developed formulation is based on potential-flow theory. Besides the blade impermeability condition at the pressure and suction side of the blades, an additional boundary condition at the blade surface is required in order to fix the unknown blade geometry. For this purpose the mean-swirl distribution is employed. The iterative numerical method is based on a three-dimensional finite element method approach in which the flow equations are solved on the domain determined by the latest estimate of the blade geometry, with the mean-swirl distribution boundary condition at the blade surface being enforced. The blade impermeability boundary condition is then used to find an improved estimate of the blade geometry. The robustness of the method is increased by specific techniques, such as spanwise-coupled solution of the discretized impermeability condition and the use of under-relaxation in adjusting the estimates of the blade geometry. Various examples are shown that demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of the method in finding a solution for the blade geometry of different types of centrifugal pumps and fans. The influence of the employed mean-swirl distribution on the performance characteristics is also investigated. (paper)

  3. Study on torsion arc blade type horizontal axis wind turbine; Nejire enko yokugata suihei jiku fusha ni kansuru kenkyu

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kojima, N; Kishimura, K [Meiji University, Tokyo (Japan)

    1996-10-27

    Discussing the rotor blades of the torsion arc blade type (TABT) wind turbine, difference in windmilling characteristics was determined between elliptic blades and rectangular blades by theoretical analysis and model experiment. Experimental generation of power was carried out using a test wind turbine in the natural wind. First, elliptic blades were bent into arcs and fixed to shaft. The action force was determined calculating the blade area and the wind velocity vertical thereto. Furthermore, the force in the direction to turn the rotor was determined with the effect of the part behind the blade taken into account. The rotation-curbing air resistance in the flank direction that a rotor experiences was subtracted to determine the torque generated. A formula was derived for the elliptic blade. Second, a formula was derived in the same way for the case of rectangular blades. In conclusion, in the case of 6-blade wind turbine, the rate of responsibility for wind turbine rotation of the part behind the blade was approximately 50% of the part in front of the blade. Shape coefficients were introduced into the theory, which resulted in values agreeing well with values obtained from experiments. Elliptic blades yielded more power than rectangular blades at the same wind velocity. High in durability, the TABT wind turbine is expected to be put into practical use as a compact auxiliary power generating device. 2 refs., 14 figs.

  4. 3-D Navier-Stokes Analysis of Blade Root Aerodynamics for a Tiltrotor Aircraft In Cruise

    Science.gov (United States)

    Romander, Ethan

    2006-01-01

    The blade root area of a tiltrotor aircraft's rotor is constrained by a great many factors, not the least of which is aerodynamic performance in cruise. For this study, Navier-Stokes CFD techniques are used to study the aerodynamic performance in cruise of a rotor design as a function of airfoil thickness along the blade and spinner shape. Reducing airfoil thickness along the entire blade will be shown to have the greatest effect followed by smaller but still significant improvements achieved by reducing the thickness of root airfoils only. Furthermore, altering the shape of the spinner will be illustrated as a tool to tune the aerodynamic performance very near the blade root.

  5. Tiltrotor research aircraft composite blade repairs: Lessons learned

    Science.gov (United States)

    Espinosa, Paul S.; Groepler, David R.

    1991-01-01

    The XV-15, N703NA Tiltrotor Research Aircraft located at the NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, currently uses a set of composite rotor blades of complex shape known as the advanced technology blades (ATBs). The main structural element of the blades is a D-spar constructed of unidirectional, angled fiberglass/graphite, with the aft fairing portion of the blades constructed of a fiberglass cross-ply skin bonded to a Nomex honeycomb core. The blade tip is a removable laminate shell that fits over the outboard section of the spar structure, which contains a cavity to retain balance weights. Two types of tip shells are used for research. One is highly twisted (more than a conventional helicopter blade) and has a hollow core constructed of a thin Nomex-honeycomb-and-fiberglass-skin sandwich; the other is untwisted with a solid Nomex honeycomb core and a fiberglass cross-ply skin. During initial flight testing of the blades, a number of problems in the composite structure were encountered. These problems included debonding between the fiberglass skin and the honeycomb core, failure of the honeycomb core, failures in fiberglass splices, cracks in fiberglass blocks, misalignment of mated composite parts, and failures of retention of metal fasteners. Substantial time was spent in identifying and repairing these problems. Discussed here are the types of problems encountered, the inspection procedures used to identify each problem, the repairs performed on the damaged or flawed areas, the level of criticality of the problems, and the monitoring of repaired areas. It is hoped that this discussion will help designers, analysts, and experimenters in the future as the use of composites becomes more prevalent.

  6. Tiltrotor Research Aircraft composite blade repairs - Lessons learned

    Science.gov (United States)

    Espinosa, Paul S.; Groepler, David R.

    1992-01-01

    The XV-15, N703NA Tiltrotor Research Aircraft located at the NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, currently uses a set of composite rotor blades of complex shape known as the advanced technology blades (ATBs). The main structural element of the blades is a D-spar constructed of unidirectional, angled fiberglass/graphite, with the aft fairing portion of the blades constructed of a fiberglass cross-ply skin bonded to a Nomex honeycomb core. The blade tip is a removable laminate shell that fits over the outboard section of the spar structure, which contains a cavity to retain balance weights. Two types of tip shells are used for research. One is highly twisted (more than a conventional helicopter blade) and has a hollow core constructed of a thin Nomex-honeycomb-and-fiberglass-skin sandwich; the other is untwisted with a solid Nomex honeycomb core and a fiberglass cross-ply skin. During initial flight testing of the blades, a number of problems in the composite structure were encountered. These problems included debonding between the fiberglass skin and the honeycomb core, failure of the honeycomb core, failures in fiberglass splices, cracks in fiberglass blocks, misalignment of mated composite parts, and failures of retention of metal fasteners. Substantial time was spent in identifying and repairing these problems. Discussed here are the types of problems encountered, the inspection procedures used to identify each problem, the repairs performed on the damaged or flawed areas, the level of criticality of the problems, and the monitoring of repaired areas. It is hoped that this discussion will help designers, analysts, and experimenters in the future as the use of composites becomes more prevalent.

  7. Efficiency of operation of wind turbine rotors optimized by the Glauert and Betz methods

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Okulov, Valery; Mikkelsen, Robert Flemming; Litvinov, I. V.

    2015-01-01

    The models of two types of rotors with blades constructed using different optimization methods are compared experimentally. In the first case, the Glauert optimization by the pulsed method is used, which is applied independently for each individual blade cross section. This method remains the main...... time as a result of direct experimental comparison that the rotor constructed using the Betz method makes it possible to extract more kinetic energy from the homogeneous incoming flow....

  8. Modelling and attenuation feasibility of the aeroelastic response of active helicopter rotor systems during the engagement/disengagement phase of maritime operation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khouli, F.

    An aeroelastic phenomenon, known as blade sailing, encountered during maritime operation of helicopters is identified as being a factor that limits the tactical flexibility of helicopter operation in some sea conditions. The hazards associated with this phenomenon and its complexity, owing to the number of factors contributing to its occurrence, led previous investigators to conclude that advanced and validated simulation tools are best suited to investigate it. A research gap is identified in terms of scaled experimental investigation of this phenomenon and practical engineering solutions to alleviate its negative impact on maritime helicopter operation. The feasibility of a proposed strategy to alleviate it required addressing a gap in modelling thin-walled composite active beams/rotor blades. The modelling is performed by extending a mathematically-consistent and asymptotic reduction strategy of the 3-D elastic problem to account for embedded active materials. The derived active cross-sectional theory is validated using 2-D finite element results for closed and open cross-sections. The geometrically-exact intrinsic formulation of active maritime rotor systems is demonstrated to yield compact and symbolic governing equations. The intrinsic feature is shown to allow a classical and proven solution scheme to be successfully applied to obtain time history solutions. A Froude-scaled experimental rotor was designed, built, and tested in a scaled ship airwake environment and representative ship motion. Based on experimental and simulations data, conclusions are drawn regarding the influence of the maritime operation environment and the rotor operation parameters on the blade sailing phenomenon. The experimental data is also used to successfully validate the developed simulation tools. The feasibility of an open-loop control strategy based on the integral active twist concept to counter blade sailing is established in a Mach-scaled maritime operation environment

  9. Along-wind response of a wind turbine tower with blade coupling subjected to rotationally sampled wind loading

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Murtagh, P J; Basu, B; Broderick, B M [Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering, Trinity College, Dublin (Ireland)

    2005-07-15

    This paper proposes an approach to investigate the along-wind forced vibration response of a wind turbine tower and rotating blades assembly subjected to rotationally sampled stationary wind loading. The wind turbine assembly consists of three rotating rotor blades connected to the top of a flexible annular tower, constituting a multi-body dynamic entity. The tower and rotating blades are each modelled as discretized multi-degree-of-freedom (MDOF) entities, allowing the free vibration characteristics of each to be obtained using a discrete parameter approach. The free vibration properties of the tower include the effect of a rigid mass at the top, representing the nacelle, and those of the blade include the effects of centrifugal stiffening due to rotation and blade gravity loadings. The blades are excited by drag force time-histories derived from discrete Fourier transform (DFT) representations of rotationally sampled wind turbulence spectra. Blade response time-histories are obtained using the mode acceleration method, which allows for the quantification of base shear forces due to flapping for the three blades to be obtained. This resultant base shear is imparted into the top of the tower. Wind drag loading on the tower is also considered, with a series of spatially correlated nodal force time-histories being derived using DFTs of wind force spectra. The tower/nacelle is then coupled with the rotating blades by combining their equations of motion and solving for the displacement at the top of the tower under compatibility conditions in the frequency domain. An inverse Fourier transform of the frequency domain response yields the response time-history of the coupled system. The response of an equivalent system that does not consider the blade/tower interaction is also investigated, and the results are compared. (Author)

  10. Two LQRI based Blade Pitch Controls for Wind Turbines

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yoonsu Nam

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available As the wind turbine size has been increasing and their mechanical components are built lighter, the reduction of the structural loads becomes a very important task of wind turbine control in addition to maximum wind power capture. In this paper, we present a separate set of collective and individual pitch control algorithms. Both pitch control algorithms use the LQR control technique with integral action (LQRI, and utilize Kalman filters to estimate system states and wind speed. Compared to previous works in this area, our pitch control algorithms can control rotor speed and blade bending moments at the same time to improve the trade-off between rotor speed regulation and load reduction, while both collective and individual pitch controls can be designed separately. Simulation results show that the proposed collective and individual pitch controllers achieve very good rotor speed regulation and significant reduction of blade bending moments.

  11. Improvement of testing techniques for inspecting steam turbine rotor in power plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Su, Yeong Shuenn; Wei, Chieng Neng; Wu, Chien Wen; Wu, Yung How

    1997-01-01

    Steam turbine rotor is important to the Utility industry, it degrades over time due to fatigue and corrosion under high temperature and high pressure environment. Periodic inspection is required in the wake of plant annual overhaul to ensure the integrity of turbine rotor. Non-Destructive Testing of turbine rotor is usually performed using magnetic particle testing with wet fluorescent magnetic particle. However, it is very difficult to ensure the reliability of inspection due to the limitation of using one NDT method only. The crack-susceptible areas, such as turbine blade, and blade root have high incidence of stress corrosion cracking, The blade root section is difficult to locate cracks because of the complex geometry which may cause inadequate magnetic field and poor accessibility. Improved inspection practices was developed by our Department, together with remaining life analysis, in maintaining the high availability of steam turbine rotor. The newly-developed inspection system based on the practical study of magnetic field strength distribution, quality of magnetic particle bath and a combination of different NDT methods with Eddy Current Testing using absolute pen-type coil and Visual Testing using reflective mirror to examine the key areas concerned are described. TPC' experience with the well-trained technicians together with the adequate inspection procedure in detecting blade-root flaws are also discussed in the paper. Many of these inspection improvement have been applied in the fields for several times and the inspection reliability has been enhanced substantially. Results are quite encouraging and satisfactory.

  12. Influence of Icing on the Modal Behavior of Wind Turbine Blades

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sudhakar Gantasala

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Wind turbines installed in cold climate sites accumulate ice on their structures. Icing of the rotor blades reduces turbine power output and increases loads, vibrations, noise, and safety risks due to the potential ice throw. Ice accumulation increases the mass distribution of the blade, while changes in the aerofoil shapes affect its aerodynamic behavior. Thus, the structural and aerodynamic changes due to icing affect the modal behavior of wind turbine blades. In this study, aeroelastic equations of the wind turbine blade vibrations are derived to analyze modal behavior of the Tjaereborg 2 MW wind turbine blade with ice. Structural vibrations of the blade are coupled with a Beddoes-Leishman unsteady attached flow aerodynamics model and the resulting aeroelastic equations are analyzed using the finite element method (FEM. A linearly increasing ice mass distribution is considered from the blade root to half-length and thereafter constant ice mass distribution to the blade tip, as defined by Germanischer Lloyd (GL for the certification of wind turbines. Both structural and aerodynamic properties of the iced blades are evaluated and used to determine their influence on aeroelastic natural frequencies and damping factors. Blade natural frequencies reduce with ice mass and the amount of reduction in frequencies depends on how the ice mass is distributed along the blade length; but the reduction in damping factors depends on the ice shape. The variations in the natural frequencies of the iced blades with wind velocities are negligible; however, the damping factors change with wind velocity and become negative at some wind velocities. This study shows that the aerodynamic changes in the iced blade can cause violent vibrations within the operating wind velocity range of this turbine.

  13. CAA modeling of helicopter main rotor in hover

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kusyumov, Alexander N.; Mikhailov, Sergey A.; Batrakov, Andrey S.; Kusyumov, Sergey A.; Barakos, George

    In this work rotor aeroacoustics in hover is considered. Farfield observers are used and the nearfield flow parameters are obtained using the in house HMB and commercial Fluent CFD codes (identical hexa-grids are used for both solvers). Farfield noise at a remote observer position is calculated at post processing stage using FW-H solver implemented in Fluent and HMB. The main rotor of the UH-1H helicopter is considered as a test case for comparison to experimental data. The sound pressure level is estimated for different rotor blade collectives and observation angles.

  14. Vibrations of turbine blades bundles model with rubber damping elements

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Půst, Ladislav; Pešek, Luděk

    2014-01-01

    Roč. 21, č. 1 (2014), s. 45-52 ISSN 1802-1484 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA101/09/1166 Institutional support: RVO:61388998 Keywords : mathematical model * bundle of five blades * rubber damping elements * eigenmodes Subject RIV: BI - Acoustics http://www.engineeringmechanics.cz/obsahy.html?R=21&C=1

  15. Development of an anisotropic beam finite element for composite wind turbine blades in multibody system

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kim, Taeseong; Hansen, Anders Melchior; Branner, Kim

    2013-01-01

    In this paper a new anisotropic beam finite element for composite wind turbine blades is developed and implemented into the aeroelastic nonlinear multibody code, HAWC2, intended to be used to investigate if use of anisotropic material layups in wind turbine blades can be tailored for improved...

  16. Maximum efficiency of wind turbine rotors using Joukowsky and Betz approaches

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Okulov, Valery; Sørensen, Jens Nørkær

    2010-01-01

    On the basis of the concepts outlined by Joukowsky nearly a century ago, an analytical aerodynamic optimization model is developed for rotors with a finite number of blades and constant circulation distribution. In the paper, we show the basics of the new model and compare its efficiency with res......On the basis of the concepts outlined by Joukowsky nearly a century ago, an analytical aerodynamic optimization model is developed for rotors with a finite number of blades and constant circulation distribution. In the paper, we show the basics of the new model and compare its efficiency...

  17. Wind turbines and bat mortality: Doppler shift profiles and ultrasonic bat-like pulse reflection from moving turbine blades.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Long, Chloe V; Flint, James A; Lepper, Paul A

    2010-10-01

    Bat mortality resulting from actual or near-collision with operational wind turbine rotors is a phenomenon that is widespread but not well understood. Because bats rely on information contained in high-frequency echoes to determine the nature and movement of a target, it is important to consider how ultrasonic pulses similar to those used by bats for echolocation may be interacting with operational turbine rotor blades. By assessing the characteristics of reflected ultrasonic echoes, moving turbine blades operating under low wind speed conditions (<6 m s(-1)) were found to produce distinct Doppler shift profiles at different angles to the rotor. Frequency shifts of up to ±700-800 Hz were produced, which may not be perceptible by some bat species. Monte Carlo simulation of bat-like sampling by echolocation revealed that over 50 rotor echoes could be required by species such as Pipistrellus pipistrellus for accurate interpretation of blade movement, which may not be achieved in the bat's approach time-window. In summary, it was found that echoes returned from moving blades had features which could render them attractive to bats or which might make it difficult for the bat to accurately detect and locate blades in sufficient time to avoid a collision.

  18. Dynamics of horizontal axis wind turbines. Wind energy conversion. ASRL-TR-184-9

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Miller, R.; Dugundji, J.; Chopra, I.; Sheu, D.; Wendell, J.

    1978-09-01

    The underlying theory is presented for determining blade and rotor/tower vibration and dynamic stability characteristics. The dynamic analysis of horizontal axis turbines may be divided into two convenient areas, namely, (a) the investigation of the aeroelastic and response of a single blade on a rigid tower, and (b) the investigation of the mechanical stability and vibrations of the rotor system on a flexible tower. With a reasonable understanding of the behavior in these two areas, the completely coupled blade-tower aeroelastic system can be better understood, and dynamic problems can be better assessed.

  19. WindPACT Turbine Design Scaling Studies Technical Area 2: Turbine, Rotor and Blade Logistics; TOPICAL

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smith, K.

    2001-01-01

    Through the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the United States Department of Energy (DOE) implemented the Wind Partnership for Advanced Component Technologies (WindPACT) program. This program will explore advanced technologies that may reduce the cost of energy (COE) from wind turbines. The initial step in the WindPACT program is a series of preliminary scaling studies intended to determine the optimum sizes for future turbines, help define sizing limits for certain critical technologies, and explore the potential for advanced technologies to contribute to reduced COE as turbine scales increase. This report documents the results of Technical Area 2-Turbine Rotor and Blade Logistics. For this report, we investigated the transportation, assembly, and crane logistics and costs associated with installation of a range of multi-megawatt-scale wind turbines. We focused on using currently available equipment, assembly techniques, and transportation system capabilities and limitations to hypothetically transport and install 50 wind turbines at a facility in south-central South Dakota

  20. Comparison of rigid and swivelling rotor hubs for a MW wind power system, using the example of the WKA Autoflug A 1200; Vergleich von starrer und Pendel-Rotornabe fuer eine Windkraftanlage der Megawatt-Leistungsklasse am Beispiel der WKA Autoflug A 1200

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Quell, P. [aerodyn Energiesysteme GmbH, Rendsburg (Germany)

    1996-12-31

    Developments in the MW range are a further illustration of the well-known problem that a linear increase of the rotor surface area will result in an overproportional increase of mass. One classical approach for reducing weight is the installation of a two-blade rotor with a swivelling hub. In the course of the development activities for the 1.2 MW A1200 wind power system of Autoflug Energietechnik GmbH, it was investigated whether a pendulum hub is a technically and economically feasible concept for a plant of this size. For this purpose, two otherwise identical plants were projected and compared, one with a rigid hub and the other with a swivelling hub. Both systems were simulated using the dynamic program GAROS. With the loads thus determined, both concepts are detailed enough to permit a comprehensive cost comparison in consideration of the masses, the resulting cost, performance and reliability. [Deutsch] Der Entwicklungsprozess der Megawatt-Anlagen verdeutlicht den aus frueheren Untersuchungen bekannten Zusammenhang eines ueberproportionalen Massenzuwachses bei linear steigender Rotorflaeche. Ein klassischer Ansatz zur Reduzierung des Anlagengewichtes ist der Einsatz eines Zweiblatt-Rotors in Verbindung mit einer Pendelnabe. Im Rahmen der Entwicklungstaetigkeit fuer die 1,2 MW-Windkraftanlage A 1200 der Fa. Autoflug Energietechnik GmbH wurde untersucht, inwieweit der Einsatz einer Pendelnabe fuer eine Anlage dieser Groessenordnung ein technisch und wirtschaftlich sinnvolles Konzept darstellen kann. Dazu wurden zwei grundsaetzlich gleiche Anlagen mit Zweiblatt-Rotor unter Verwendung einer Pendelnabe und einer starren Nabe konzipiert und gegenuebergestellt. Zur Bewertung des Anlagenverhaltens sowie zur Ermittlung realitaetsnaher Belastungen werden sowohl die Anlagenversion mit Pendelnabe als auch die Version mit starrer Nabe mit dem Dynamikprogramm GAROS simuliert. Basierend auf den ermittelten Lasten werden beide Konzepte so detailliert, dass ein umfassender

  1. Adaptive trailing edge flaps for active load alleviation in a smart rotor configuration

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bergami, L.

    2013-08-15

    The work investigates the development of an active smart rotor concept from an aero-servo-elastic perspective. An active smart rotor is a wind turbine rotor that, through a combination of sensors, control units and actuators, is able to alleviate the fluctuating part of the aerodynamic loads it has to withstand. The investigation focuses on a specific actuator type: the Adaptive Trailing Edge Flap (ATEF), which introduces a continuous deformation of the aft part of the airfoil camber-line. An aerodynamic model that accounts for the steady and unsteady effects of the flap deflection on a 2D airfoil section is developed, and, considering both attached and separated flow conditions, is validated by comparison against Computational Fluid Dynamic solutions and a panel code method. The aerodynamic model is integrated in the BEM-based aeroelastic simulation code HAWC2, thus providing a tool able to simulate the response of a wind turbine equipped with ATEF. A load analysis of the NREL 5 MW reference turbine in its baseline configuration reveals that the highest contribution to the blade flapwise fatigue damage originates from normal operation above rated wind speed, and from loads characterized by frequencies below 1 Hz. The analysis also reports that periodic load variations on the turbine blade account for nearly 11 % of the blade flapwise lifetime fatigue damage, while the rest is ascribed to load variations from disturbances of stochastic nature. The study proposes a smart rotor configuration with flaps laid out on the outer 20 % of the blade span, from 77 % to 97% of the blade length. The configuration is first tested with a simplified cyclic control approach, which gives a preliminary indication of the load alleviation potential, and also reveals the possibility to enhance the rotor energy capture below rated conditions by using the flaps. Two model based control algorithms are developed to actively alleviate the fatigue loads on the smart rotor with ATEF. The first

  2. Effects of geometric non-linearity on energy release rates in a realistic wind turbine blade cross section

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Eder, Martin Alexander; Bitsche, Robert; Belloni, Federico

    2015-01-01

    Most wind turbine rotor blades comprise several adhesively connected sub-components typically made from glass fibre reinforced polymer composite materials. It is a well-known fact that wind turbine blades are prone to fail in their adhesive joints. However, owing to the complexity...... of their structural behaviour, little is known about the root causes of adhesive joint failure. This paper investigates the effects of geometrical non-linearity on energy release rates (ERRs) of transversely oriented cracks present in the adhesive joints of a wind turbine rotor blade. Utilising a computationally...

  3. Structural and mechanism design of an active trailing-edge flap blade

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Jae Hwan [Samsung Techwin R and D Center, Seongnam (Korea, Republic of); Natarajan, Balakumaran; Eun, Won Jong; Shin, Sang Joon [Seoul National University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); R, Viswamurthy S. [National Aerospace Laboratories, Bangalore (India); Park, Jae Sang [Agency for Defense Development, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Tae Song [Technical University of Denmark, Risoe Campus, Roskilde (Denmark)

    2013-09-15

    A conventional rotor control system restricted at 1/rev frequency component is unable to vary the hub vibratory loads and the aero acoustic noise, which exist in high frequency components. Various active rotor control methodologies have been examined in the literature to alleviate the problem of excessive hub vibratory loads and noise. The active control device manipulates the blade pitch angle with arbitrary higher harmonic frequencies individually. In this paper, an active trailing-edge flap blade, which is one of the active control methods, is developed to reduce vibratory loads and noise of the rotor through modification of unsteady aerodynamic loads. Piezoelectric actuators installed inside the blade manipulate the motion of the trailing edge flap. The proposed blade rotates at higher speed and additional structures are included to support the actuators and the flap. This improves the design, as the blade is able to withstand increased centrifugal force. The cross-section of the active blade is designed first. A stress/strain recovery analysis is then conducted to verify its structural integrity. A one-dimensional beam analysis is also carried out to assist with the construction of the fan diagram. To select the actuator and design the flap actuation region, the flap hinge moment is estimated via a CFD analysis. To obtain the desired flap deflection of ±4 .deg. , three actuators are required. The design of the flap actuation region is validated using a test bed with a skin hinge. However, because the skin hinge induces additional flap hinge moment, it does not provide sufficient deflection angle. Therefore, the flap hinge is replaced by a pin-type hinge, and the results are evaluated.

  4. Laboratory Experiments on the Effects of Blade Strike from Hydrokinetic Energy Technologies on Larval and Juvenile Freshwater Fishes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schweizer, Peter E [ORNL; Cada, Glenn F [ORNL; Bevelhimer, Mark S [ORNL

    2012-03-01

    There is considerable interest in the development of marine and hydrokinetic energy projects in rivers, estuaries, and coastal ocean waters of the United States. Hydrokinetic (HK) technologies convert the energy of moving water in river or tidal currents into electricity, without the impacts of dams and impoundments associated with conventional hydropower or the extraction and combustion of fossil fuels. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) maintains a database that displays the geographical distribution of proposed HK projects in inland and tidal waters (FERC 2012). As of March 2012, 77 preliminary permits had been issued to private developers to study HK projects in inland waters, the development of which would total over 8,000 MW. Most of these projects are proposed for the lower Mississippi River. In addition, the issuance of another 27 preliminary permits for HK projects in inland waters, and 3 preliminary permits for HK tidal projects (totaling over 3,100 MW) were under consideration by FERC. Although numerous HK designs are under development (see DOE 2009 for a description of the technologies and their potential environmental effects), the most commonly proposed current-based projects entail arrays of rotating devices, much like submerged wind turbines, that are positioned in the high-velocity (high energy) river channels. The many diverse HK designs imply a diversity of environmental impacts, but a potential impact common to most is the risk for blade strike to aquatic organisms. In conventional hydropower generation, research on fish passage through reaction turbines at low-head dams suggested that strike and mortality for small fish could be low. As a consequence of the large surface area to mass ratio of small fish, the drag forces in the boundary layer flow at the surface of a rotor blade may pull small fish around the leading edge of a rotor blade without making physical contact (Turnpenny 1998, Turnpenny et al. 2000). Although there is

  5. The effect of solidity on the performance of H-rotor Darrieus turbine

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hassan, S. M. Rakibul, E-mail: rakibulhassan21@gmail.com; Ali, Mohammad, E-mail: mali@me.buet.ac.bd; Islam, Md. Quamrul, E-mail: quamrul@me.buet.ac.bd [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka-1000 (Bangladesh)

    2016-07-12

    Utilization of wind energy has been investigated for a long period of time by different researchers in different ways. Out of which, the Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine and the Vertical Axis Wind Turbine have now advanced design, but still there is scope to improve their efficiency. The Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) has the advantage over Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine (HAWT) for working on omnidirectional air flow without any extra control system. A modified H-rotor Darrieus type VAWT is analysed in this paper, which is a lift based wind turbine. The effect of solidity (i.e. chord length, no. of blades) on power coefficient (C{sub P}) of H-rotor for different tip speed ratios is numerically investigated. The study is conducted using time dependent RANS equations using SST k-ω model. SIMPLE scheme is used as pressure-velocity coupling and in all cases, the second order upwind discretization scheme is chosen for getting more accurate solution. In results, different parameters are compared, which depict the performance of the modified H-rotor Darrieus type VAWT. Double layered H-rotor having inner layer blades with longer chord gives higher power coefficient than those have inner layer blades with smaller chord.

  6. Passive damping of composite blades using embedded piezoelectric modules or shape memory alloy wires: a comparative study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bachmann, F; Delpero, T; Ermanni, P; De Oliveira, R; Sigg, A; Michaud, V; Schnyder, V; Jaehne, R; Bergamini, A

    2012-01-01

    Emission reduction from civil aviation has been intensively addressed in the scientific community in recent years. The combined use of novel aircraft engine architectures such as open rotor engines and lightweight materials offer the potential for fuel savings, which could contribute significantly in reaching gas emissions targets, but suffer from vibration and noise issues. We investigated the potential improvement of mechanical damping of open rotor composite fan blades by comparing two integrated passive damping systems: shape memory alloy wires and piezoelectric shunt circuits. Passive damping concepts were first validated on carbon fibre reinforced epoxy composite plates and then implemented in a 1:5 model of an open rotor blade manufactured by resin transfer moulding (RTM). A two-step process was proposed for the structural integration of the damping devices into a full composite fan blade. Forced vibration measurements of the plates and blade prototypes quantified the efficiency of both approaches, and their related weight penalty. (paper)

  7. Passive damping of composite blades using embedded piezoelectric modules or shape memory alloy wires: a comparative study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bachmann, F.; de Oliveira, R.; Sigg, A.; Schnyder, V.; Delpero, T.; Jaehne, R.; Bergamini, A.; Michaud, V.; Ermanni, P.

    2012-07-01

    Emission reduction from civil aviation has been intensively addressed in the scientific community in recent years. The combined use of novel aircraft engine architectures such as open rotor engines and lightweight materials offer the potential for fuel savings, which could contribute significantly in reaching gas emissions targets, but suffer from vibration and noise issues. We investigated the potential improvement of mechanical damping of open rotor composite fan blades by comparing two integrated passive damping systems: shape memory alloy wires and piezoelectric shunt circuits. Passive damping concepts were first validated on carbon fibre reinforced epoxy composite plates and then implemented in a 1:5 model of an open rotor blade manufactured by resin transfer moulding (RTM). A two-step process was proposed for the structural integration of the damping devices into a full composite fan blade. Forced vibration measurements of the plates and blade prototypes quantified the efficiency of both approaches, and their related weight penalty.

  8. Multidisciplinary Design Optimization for Glass-Fiber Epoxy-Matrix Composite 5 MW Horizontal-Axis Wind-Turbine Blades

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grujicic, M.; Arakere, G.; Pandurangan, B.; Sellappan, V.; Vallejo, A.; Ozen, M.

    2010-11-01

    A multi-disciplinary design-optimization procedure has been introduced and used for the development of cost-effective glass-fiber reinforced epoxy-matrix composite 5 MW horizontal-axis wind-turbine (HAWT) blades. The turbine-blade cost-effectiveness has been defined using the cost of energy (CoE), i.e., a ratio of the three-blade HAWT rotor development/fabrication cost and the associated annual energy production. To assess the annual energy production as a function of the blade design and operating conditions, an aerodynamics-based computational analysis had to be employed. As far as the turbine blade cost is concerned, it is assessed for a given aerodynamic design by separately computing the blade mass and the associated blade-mass/size-dependent production cost. For each aerodynamic design analyzed, a structural finite element-based and a post-processing life-cycle assessment analyses were employed in order to determine a minimal blade mass which ensures that the functional requirements pertaining to the quasi-static strength of the blade, fatigue-controlled blade durability and blade stiffness are satisfied. To determine the turbine-blade production cost (for the currently prevailing fabrication process, the wet lay-up) available data regarding the industry manufacturing experience were combined with the attendant blade mass, surface area, and the duration of the assumed production run. The work clearly revealed the challenges associated with simultaneously satisfying the strength, durability and stiffness requirements while maintaining a high level of wind-energy capture efficiency and a lower production cost.

  9. Rigid Finite Element Method in Analysis of Dynamics of Offshore Structures

    CERN Document Server

    Wittbrodt, Edmund; Maczyński, Andrzej; Wojciech, Stanisław

    2013-01-01

    This book describes new methods developed for modelling dynamics of machines commonly used in the offshore industry. These methods are based both on the rigid finite element method, used for the description of link deformations, and on homogeneous transformations and joint coordinates, which is applied to the modelling of multibody system dynamics. In this monograph, the bases of the rigid finite element method  and homogeneous transformations are introduced. Selected models for modelling dynamics of offshore devices are then verified both by using commercial software, based on the finite element method, as well as by using additional methods. Examples of mathematical models of offshore machines, such as a gantry crane for Blowout-Preventer (BOP) valve block transportation, a pedestal crane with shock absorber, and pipe laying machinery are presented. Selected problems of control in offshore machinery as well as dynamic optimization in device control are also discussed. Additionally, numerical simulations of...

  10. Flowfield Analysis of Savonius-type Wind Turbine blade

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Noh, Tae Hyun; Chang, Se Myong [Kunsan National Univ., Kunsan (Korea, Republic of); Seo, Hyun Soo [Korea Institute of Energy Research, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2007-07-01

    In this paper, we researched flow of 8000 {approx} 24000 Reynolds number around a blade model of Savonius-type wind turbine with experimental and numerical method. For the blade shape of arc, we analyzed flowfield with streak-image flow visualization, measured wake, computed drag coefficients, and compared them for given angle of attacks. The result of research can be used to design aerodynamic performance of Savonius-type turbine rotor directly.

  11. Rotor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gronert, H.; Vetter, J.; Eckert, M.

    1978-01-01

    In the field of hollow high speed rotors there is an increasing demand for progressively higher speeds of safe operation. High speed operation causes support bearings to be carefully designed if the rotor speed is to pass safely through its critical speed of operation where intense vibration is experienced. Also the rotational speed is limited by the peripheral velocity and strength of the outside surface portion of the rotor. The invention proposes that elemental boron, which has great tensile strength and lightness be used to provide a major part of a hollow rotor so that increased operating speeds can be attained. Such a rotor is usable to provide a high speed centrifuge drum. (author)

  12. Independent Blade Pitch Controller Design for a Three-Bladed Turbine Using Disturbance Accommodating Control

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Na; Wright, Alan D.; Johnson, Kathryn E.

    2016-08-01

    Two independent pitch controllers (IPCs) based on the disturbance accommodating control (DAC) algorithm are designed for the three-bladed Controls Advanced Research Turbine to regulate rotor speed and to mitigate blade root flapwise bending loads in above-rated wind speed. One of the DAC-based IPCs is designed based on a transformed symmetrical-asymmetrical (TSA) turbine model, with wind disturbances being modeled as a collective horizontal component and an asymmetrical linear shear component. Another DAC-based IPC is designed based on a multiblade coordinate (MBC) transformed turbine model, with a horizontal component and a vertical shear component being modeled as step waveform disturbance. Both of the DAC-based IPCs are found via a regulation equation solved by Kronecker product. Actuator dynamics are considered in the design processes to compensate for actuator phase delay. The simulation study shows the effectiveness of the proposed DAC-based IPCs compared to a proportional-integral (PI) collective pitch controller (CPC). Improvement on rotor speed regulation and once-per-revolution and twice-per-revolution load reductions has been observed in the proposed IPC designs.

  13. Effect of Trailing Edge Damage on Full-Scale Wind Turbine Blade Failure

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Haselbach, Philipp Ulrich; Branner, Kim

    2015-01-01

    Modern wind turbine rotor blades are normally assembled from large parts bonded together by adhesive joints. The structural parts of wind turbine blades are usually made of composite materials, where sandwich core materials as well as fibre composites are used. For most of the modern wind turbine...

  14. Design, evaluation, and fabrication of low-cost composite blades for intermediate-size wind turbines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weingart, O.

    1981-01-01

    Low cost approaches for production of 60 ft long glass fiber/resin composite rotor blades for the MOD-OA wind turbine were identified and evaluated. The most cost-effective configuration was selected for detailed design. Subelement and subscale specimens were fabricated for testing to confirm physical and mechanical properties of the composite blade materials, to develop and evaluate blade fabrication techniques and processes, and to confirm the structural adequacy of the root end joint. Full-scale blade tooling was constructed and a partial blade for tool and process tryout was built. Then two full scale blades were fabricated and delivered to NASA-LeRC for installation on a MOD-OA wind turbine at Clayton, New Mexico for operational testing. Each blade was 60 ft. long with 4.5 ft. chord at root end and 2575 lbs weight including metal hub adapter. The selected blade configuration was a three cell design constructed using a resin impregnated glass fiber tape winding process that allows rapid wrapping of primarily axially oriented fibers onto a tapered mandrel, with tapered wall thickness. The ring winder/transverse filament tape process combination was used for the first time on this program to produce entire rotor blade structures. This approach permitted the complete blade to be wound on stationary mandrels, an improvement which alleviated some of the tooling and process problems encountered on previous composite blade programs.

  15. Toward Improved Rotor-Only Axial Fans—Part II: Design Optimization for Maximum Efficiency

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Dan Nørtoft; Thompson, M. C.; Sørensen, Jens Nørkær

    2000-01-01

    Numerical design optimization of the aerodynamic performance of axial fans is carried out, maximizing the efficiency in a designinterval of flow rates. Tip radius, number of blades, and angular velocity of the rotor are fixed, whereas the hub radius andspanwise distributions of chord length......, stagger angle, and camber angle are varied to find the optimum rotor geometry.Constraints ensure a pressure rise above a specified target and an angle of attack on the blades below stall. The optimizationscheme is used to investigate the dependence of maximum efficiency on the width of the design interval...

  16. CAA modeling of helicopter main rotor in hover

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kusyumov Alexander N.

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available In this work rotor aeroacoustics in hover is considered. Farfield observers are used and the nearfield flow parameters are obtained using the in house HMB and commercial Fluent CFD codes (identical hexa-grids are used for both solvers. Farfield noise at a remote observer position is calculated at post processing stage using FW–H solver implemented in Fluent and HMB. The main rotor of the UH-1H helicopter is considered as a test case for comparison to experimental data. The sound pressure level is estimated for different rotor blade collectives and observation angles.

  17. Vibration model of rolling element bearings in a rotor-bearing system for fault diagnosis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cong, Feiyun; Chen, Jin; Dong, Guangming; Pecht, Michael

    2013-04-01

    Rolling element bearing faults are among the main causes of breakdown in rotating machines. In this paper, a rolling bearing fault model is proposed based on the dynamic load analysis of a rotor-bearing system. The rotor impact factor is taken into consideration in the rolling bearing fault signal model. The defect load on the surface of the bearing is divided into two parts, the alternate load and the determinate load. The vibration response of the proposed fault signal model is investigated and the fault signal calculating equation is derived through dynamic and kinematic analysis. Outer race and inner race fault simulations are realized in the paper. The simulation process includes consideration of several parameters, such as the gravity of the rotor-bearing system, the imbalance of the rotor, and the location of the defect on the surface. The simulation results show that different amplitude contributions of the alternate load and determinate load will cause different envelope spectrum expressions. The rotating frequency sidebands will occur in the envelope spectrum in addition to the fault characteristic frequency. This appearance of sidebands will increase the difficulty of fault recognition in intelligent fault diagnosis. The experiments given in the paper have successfully verified the proposed signal model simulation results. The test rig design of the rotor bearing system simulated several operating conditions: (1) rotor bearing only; (2) rotor bearing with loader added; (3) rotor bearing with loader and rotor disk; and (4) bearing fault simulation without rotor influence. The results of the experiments have verified that the proposed rolling bearing signal model is important to the rolling bearing fault diagnosis of rotor-bearing systems.

  18. CFD simulations of the MEXICO rotor

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bechmann, Andreas; Sørensen, Niels N.; Zahle, Frederik

    2011-01-01

    The wake behind a wind turbine model is investigated using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), and results are compared with measurements. The turbine investigated is the three‐bladed test rotor (D = 4.5 m) used in the Model Experiments in Controlled Conditions (MEXICO) wind tunnel experiment....... During the MEXICO experiment, particle image velocimetry measurements of the induction upstream and downstream of the rotor were performed for different operating conditions, giving a unique dataset to verify theoretical models and CFD models. The present paper first describes the efforts in reproducing...

  19. Korean experience with steam turbine blade inspection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jung, Hyun Kyu; Park, D.Y.; Park, Hyung Jin; Chung, Min Hwa

    1990-01-01

    Several turbine blade accidents in Korea have emphasized the importance of their adequate periodic inspection. As a typical example, a broken blade was found in the Low Pressure (LP) turbine at the 950 MWe KORI unit 3 during the 1986 overhaul after one year commercial operation. Since then the Manufacturer and the Utility company (KEPCO) have been concerned about the need of blade root inspection. The ultrasonic testing was applied to detect cracks in the blade roots without removing the blades from rotor. Due to the complex geometry of the roots, the test results could not be evaluated easily. We feel that the currently applied UT technique seems to be less reliable and more effective method of inspection must be developed in the near future. This paper describes the following items: The causes and analysis of blade damage The inspection techniques and results The remedial action to be taken (Repair and Replacement) The future plan

  20. Design and Analysis of Wind Turbine Blade Hub using Aluminium Alloy AA 6061-T6

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ravikumar, S.; Jaswanthvenkatram, V.; Sai kumar, Y. J. N. V.; Sohaib, S. Md.

    2017-05-01

    This work presents the design and analysis of horizontal axis wind turbine blade hub using different material. The hub is very crucial part of the wind turbine, which experience the loads from the blades and the loads were transmitted to the main shaft. At present wind turbine is more expensive and weights more than a million pounds, with the nacelle, rotor hub and blades accounting for most of the weight. In this work Spheroidal graphite cast iron GGG 40.3 is replaced by aluminium alloy 6061-T6 to enhance the casting properties and also to improve the strength-weight ratio. This transition of material leads to reduction in weight of the wind turbine. All the loads caused by wind and extreme loads on the blades are transferred to the hub. Considering the IEC 61400-1 standard for defining extreme loads on the hub the stress and deflection were calculated on the hub by using Finite element Analysis. Result obtained from ANSYS is compared and discussed with the existing design.