WorldWideScience

Sample records for wind turbine designs

  1. Wind conditions for wind turbine design

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Maribo Pedersen, B.

    1999-04-01

    Delegates from Europe and USA attended the meeting and discussed general aspects of wind conditions for wind turbine design. The subjects and the presented papers covered a very broad range of aspects of wind conditions and related influence on the wind turbine. (EHS)

  2. Operation Design of Wind Turbines in Strong Wind Conditions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Shen, Wen Zhong; Montes, Melissa Barroso; Odgaard, Peter Fogh

    2012-01-01

    and variable speed pitch regulated wind turbines. The variable speed design is more suitable for wind turbines to run at very high wind speeds which can help the turbine braking system to stop the turbine at the new "cut-out" wind speed. Reference power, rotational speed and pitch angle have been designed...... optimally. In order to reduce the possible increased loading, fatigue due to the wind gusts, control strategies have been considered for both constant sped and variable speed pitch regulated wind turbines. The control study shows that the designed controllers can reduce the standard deviations efficiently......In order to reduce the impact on the electrical grid from the shutdown of MW wind turbines at wind speeds higher than the cut-out wind speed of 25 m/s, we propose in this paper to run the turbines at high wind speeds up to 40 m/s. Two different operation designs are made for both constant speed...

  3. 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...

  4. Probabilistic Design of Wind Turbines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, John Dalsgaard; Toft, H.S.

    2010-01-01

    Probabilistic design of wind turbines requires definition of the structural elements to be included in the probabilistic basis: e.g., blades, tower, foundation; identification of important failure modes; careful stochastic modeling of the uncertain parameters; recommendations for target reliability....... It is described how uncertainties in wind turbine design related to computational models, statistical data from test specimens, results from a few full-scale tests and from prototype wind turbines can be accounted for using the Maximum Likelihood Method and a Bayesian approach. Assessment of the optimal...... reliability level by cost-benefit optimization is illustrated by an offshore wind turbine example. Uncertainty modeling is illustrated by an example where physical, statistical and model uncertainties are estimated....

  5. Wind turbine technology principles and design

    CERN Document Server

    Adaramola, Muyiwa

    2014-01-01

    IntroductionPart I: AerodynamicsWind Turbine Blade Design; Peter J. Schubel and Richard J. CrossleyA Shrouded Wind Turbine Generating High Output Power with Wind-Lens Technology; Yuji Ohya and Takashi KarasudaniEcomoulding of Composite Wind Turbine Blades Using Green Manufacturing RTM Process; Brahim AttafAerodynamic Shape Optimization of a Vertical-Axis Wind Turbine Using Differential Evolution; Travis J. Carrigan, Brian H. Dennis, Zhen X. Han, and Bo P. WangPart II: Generators and Gear Systems

  6. The design of wind turbine for electrical power generation in Malaysian wind characteristics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abas Ab Wahab; Chong Wen Thong

    2000-01-01

    The paper describes the study of a wind turbine for electrical power generation in Malaysia wind characteristics. In this research, the wind turbine is designs based on the local wind characteristics and tries to avoid the problems faced in the past (turbine design, access, manpower and technical). The new wind turbine rotor design for a medium speed wind speed turbine utilises the concept of open-close type of horizontal axis (up-wind) wind turbine is intended to widen the optimum performance range for electrical generation in Malaysia wind characteristics. The wind turbine has been designed to cut-in at a lower speed, and to provide the rotation speed that high enough to run a generator. The analysis and design of new low speed wind turbine blades and open-close turbine rotor and prediction of turbine performance are being detailed in this paper. (Author)

  7. Concurrent Aeroservoelastic Design and Optimization of Wind Turbines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tibaldi, Carlo

    This work develops and investigates methods to integrate controllers in the wind turbine design process and to perform wind turbine optimization. These techniques can exploit the synergy between wind turbine components and generate new design solutions. Two frameworks to perform wind turbine...... optimization design are presented. These tools handle workflows to model a wind turbine and to evaluate loads and performances under specific conditions. Three approaches to evaluate loads are proposed and integrated in the optimization codes. The first method is based on time domain simulations, the second...... simulations, allows the selection of any controller parameter. The methods to evaluate loads and the pole-placement technique are then employed to carry out wind turbine optimization design from an aeroservoelastic prospective. Several analysis of the NREL 5 MW Reference Wind Turbine and the DTU 10 MW...

  8. Integrated analysis of wind turbines - The impact of power systems on wind turbine design

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Barahona Garzón, Braulio

    Megawatt-size wind turbines nowadays operate in very complex environmental conditions, and increasingly demanding power system requirements. Pursuing a cost-effective and reliable wind turbine design is a multidisciplinary task. However nowadays, wind turbine design and research areas...... conditions that stem from disturbances in the power system. An integrated simulation environment, wind turbine models, and power system models are developed in order to take an integral perspective that considers the most important aeroelastic, structural, electrical, and control dynamics. Applications...... of the integrated simulation environment are presented. The analysis of an asynchronous machine, and numerical simulations of a fixedspeed wind turbine in the integrated simulation environment, demonstrate the effects on structural loads of including the generator rotor fluxes dynamics in aeroelastic studies. Power...

  9. Analysis and design of a vertical axis wind turbine

    OpenAIRE

    Goyena Iriso, Joseba

    2011-01-01

    The main objective of this project is to design a new vertical axis wind turbine, specifically one Giromill wind turbine. The project development requires performing a previous study of the vertical axis wind turbines currently development. This study has to be performed before starting to design the wind turbine. Other very important aim is the development of a new vertical axis wind turbine. The after analyses that will result in the final design of the wind turbine will b...

  10. Offshore Wind Turbine Design

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Frandsen, Sten; Hansen, Erik Asp; Ibsen, Lars Bo

    2006-01-01

    Current offshore wind turbine design methods have matured to a 1st generation state, manifested in the draft of a possible standard, IEC 61400-3 (2005). It is now time to investigate the possibilities of improving existing methods. To do so in an efficient manner a clear identification of the most...... important uncertainty drivers specific for offshore wind turbine design loads is required. Describing the initial efforts in a Danish research project, the paper points to focal points for research and development. These are mainly: soil-structure interaction, improved modelling of wave loads from deep...

  11. Grid integration impacts on wind turbine design and development

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Anca Daniela; Cutululis, Nicolaos Antonio; Sørensen, Poul Ejnar

    2009-01-01

    This paper presents an overall perspective on contemporary issues like wind power plants and grid integration. The purpose is to present and discuss the impacts of emerging new grid connection requirements on modern wind turbines. The grid integration issue has caused several new challenges......, the grid integration aspect has also an effect on wind turbines' role in the power system, on wind turbine technologies' survival on the market, as well as on the wind turbines' loads. Over the last years, it became obviously, that there it is an increasing need for design and research of wind turbines...... to the wind turbine design and development. The survival of different wind turbine concepts and controls is strongly conditioned by their ability to comply with stringent grid connection requirements, imposed by utility companies. Beside its impact on the mechanical design and control of wind turbines...

  12. Modern Control Design for Flexible Wind Turbines

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wright, A. D.

    2004-07-01

    Control can improve energy capture and reduce dynamic loads in wind turbines. In the 1970s and 1980s, wind turbines used classical control designs to regulate power and speed. The methods used, however, were not always successful. Modern turbines are larger, mounted on taller towers, and more dynamically active than their predecessors. Control systems to regulate turbine power and maintain stable, closed-loop behavior in the presence of turbulent wind inflow will be critical for these designs. This report applies modern state-space control design methods to a two-bladed teetering hub upwind machine at the National Wind Technology Center (NWTC), which is managed by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado. The design objective is to regulate turbine speed and enhance damping in several low-damped flexible modes of the turbine. Starting with simple control algorithms based on linear models, complexity is added incrementally until the desired performance is firmly established.

  13. Innovative multi rotor wind turbine designs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kale, S.A.; Sapali, S.N. [College of Engineering. Mechanical Engineering Dept, Pune (India)

    2012-07-01

    Among the renewable energy sources, today wind energy is the most recognized and cost effective. Developers and researchers in this sector are optimistic and continuously working innovatively to improve the technology. The wind power obtained is proportional to the swept area of wind turbine. The swept area is increased by using a single rotor of large diameter or multi rotors in array. The rotor size is growing continuously with mature technology. Multi rotor technology has a long history and the multi rotor concept persists in a variety of modern innovative systems but the concept has fallen out of consideration in mainstream design from the perception that is complex and unnecessary as very large single rotor units are now technically feasible. This work addresses the evaluation of different multi rotor wind turbine systems. These innovative wind turbines are evaluated on the basis of feasibility, technological advantages, security of expected power performance, cost, reliability, impact of innovative system, comparison with existing wind turbine design. The findings of this work will provide guidelines for the practical and economical ways for further research on the multi rotor wind turbines. (Author)

  14. Design and development of nautilus whorl-wind turbine

    Science.gov (United States)

    R, Pramod; Kumar, G. B. Veeresh; Harsha, P. Sai Sri; Kumar, K. A. Udaya

    2017-07-01

    Our life is directly related to energy and its consumption, and the issues of energy research are extremely important and highly sensitive. Scientists and researchers attempt to accelerate solutions for wind energy generation, design parameters under the influence of novel policies adopted for energy management and the concerns for global warming and climate change. The objective of this study is to design a small wind turbine that is optimized for the constraints that come with residential use. The study is aimed at designing a wind turbine for tapping the low speed wind in urban locations. The design process includes the selection of the wind turbine type and the determination of the blade airfoil, finding the maximum drag model and manufacturing of the turbine economically. In this study, the Nautilus turbine is modeled, simulated and the characteristic curves are plotted. The cutting in wind speed for the turbine is around 1m/s. The turbine rotates in a range of 20 rpm to 500 rpm at wind speeds 1m/s to 10m/s On a below average day at noon where the wind speed are usually low the turbine recorded an rpm of 120 (average value) at 4m/s wind speeds. This study focuses on a computational fluid dynamics analysis of compressible radially outward flow.

  15. Structural Reliability Aspects in Design of Wind Turbines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, John Dalsgaard

    2007-01-01

    Reliability assessment, optimal design and optimal operation and maintenance of wind turbines are an area of significant interest for the fast growing wind turbine industry for sustainable production of energy. Offshore wind turbines in wind farms give special problems due to wake effects inside...... the farm. Reliability analysis and optimization of wind turbines require that the special conditions for wind turbine operation are taken into account. Control of the blades implies load reductions for large wind speeds and parking for high wind speeds. In this paper basic structural failure modes for wind...... turbines are described. Further, aspects are presented related to reliability-based optimization of wind turbines, assessment of optimal reliability level and operation and maintenance....

  16. Design Load Basis for Offshore Wind turbines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Natarajan, Anand; Hansen, Morten Hartvig; Wang, Shaofeng

    2016-01-01

    DTU Wind Energy is not designing and manufacturing wind turbines and does therefore not need a Design Load Basis (DLB) that is accepted by a certification body. However, to assess the load consequences of innovative features and devices added to existing offshore turbine concepts or new offshore...... turbine concept developed in our research, it is useful to have a full DLB that follows the current design standard and is representative of a general DLB used by the industry. It will set a standard for the offshore wind turbine design load evaluations performed at DTU Wind Energy, which is aligned...... with the challenges faced by the industry and therefore ensures that our research continues to have a strong foundation in this interaction. Furthermore, the use of a full DLB that follows the current standard can improve and increase the feedback from the research at DTU Wind Energy to the international...

  17. Optimization design of blade shapes for wind turbines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chen, Jin; Wang, Xudong; Shen, Wen Zhong

    2010-01-01

    For the optimization design of wind turbines, the new normal and tangential induced factors of wind turbines are given considering the tip loss of the normal and tangential forces based on the blade element momentum theory and traditional aerodynamic model. The cost model of the wind turbines...... and the optimization design model are developed. In the optimization model, the objective is the minimum cost of energy and the design variables are the chord length, twist angle and the relative thickness. Finally, the optimization is carried out for a 2 MW blade by using this optimization design model....... The performance of blades is validated through the comparison and analysis of the results. The reduced cost shows that the optimization model is good enough for the design of wind turbines. The results give a proof for the design and research on the blades of large scale wind turbines and also establish...

  18. Design of Wind Turbine Vibration Monitoring System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shoubin Wang

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available In order to ensure safety of wind turbine operation and to reduce the occurrence of faults as well as to improve the reliability of wind turbine operation, a vibration monitoring for wind turbine is developed. In this paper, it analyses the enlargement of all the parts of the structure and the working mechanism, the research method of wind turbine operation vibration is introduced, with the focus being the use of the sensor principle. Finally the hardware design and software of this system is introduced and the main function of this system is described, which realizes condition monitoring of the work state of wind turbines.

  19. Site-specific design optimization of wind turbines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fuglsang, P.; Bak, C.; Schepers, J.G.

    2002-01-01

    This article reports results from a European project, where site characteristics were incorporated into the design process of wind turbines, to enable site-specific design. Two wind turbines of different concept were investigated at six different sites comprising normal flat terrain, offshore...... and complex terrain wind farms. Design tools based on numerical optimization and aeroelastic calculations were combined with a cost model to allow optimization for minimum cost of energy. Different scenarios were optimized ranging from modifications of selected individual components to the complete design...... of a new wind turbine. Both annual energy yield and design-determining loads depended on site characteristics, and this represented a potential for site-specific design. The maximum variation in annual energy yield was 37% and the maximum variation in blade root fatigue loads was 62%. Optimized site...

  20. Design of a novel and efficient lantern wind turbine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ibrahim, M. D.; Wong, L. K.; Anyi, M.; Yunos, Y. S.; Rahman, M. R. A.; Mohta, M. Z.

    2017-04-01

    Wind turbine generates renewable energy when the forces acted on the turbine blades cause the rotation of the generator to produce clean electricity. This paper proposed a novel lantern wind turbine design compared to a conventional design model. Comparison is done based on simulation on coarse and fine meshing with all the results converged. Results showed that the pressure difference on the surface of novel design lantern wind turbine is much higher compared to the conventional wind turbine. Prototype is already manufactured and experimental result would be discussed in a separate future publication

  1. Design optimization of offshore wind farms with multiple types of wind turbines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Feng, Ju; Shen, Wen Zhong

    2017-01-01

    Most studies on offshore wind farm design assume a uniform wind farm, which consists of an identical type of wind turbines. In order to further reduce the cost of energy, we investigate the design of non-uniform offshore wind farms, i.e., wind farms with multiple types of wind turbines and hub-he...

  2. Low-order aeroelastic models of wind turbines for controller design

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sønderby, Ivan Bergquist

    Wind turbine controllers are used to optimize the performance of wind turbines such as to reduce power variations and fatigue and extreme loads on wind turbine components. Accurate tuning and design of modern controllers must be done using low-order models that accurately captures the aeroelastic...... response of the wind turbine. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the necessary model complexity required in aeroelastic models used for controller design and to analyze and propose methods to design low-order aeroelastic wind turbine models that are suited for model-based control design....... The thesis contains a characterization of the dynamics that influence the open-loop aeroelastic frequency response of a modern wind turbine, based on a high-order aeroelastic wind turbine model. One main finding is that the transfer function from collective pitch to generator speed is affected by two low...

  3. The system design and performance test of hybrid vertical axis wind turbine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dwiyantoro, Bambang Arip; Suphandani, Vivien

    2017-04-01

    Vertical axis wind turbine is a tool that is being developed to generate energy from wind. One cause is still little use of wind energy is the design of wind turbines that are less precise. Therefore in this study will be developed the system design of hybrid vertical axis wind turbine and tested performance with experimental methods. The design of hybrid turbine based on a straight bladed Darrieus turbine along with a double step Savonius turbine. The method used to design wind turbines is by studying literature, analyzing the critical parts of a wind turbine and the structure of the optimal design. Wind turbine prototype of the optimal design characteristic tests in the wind tunnel experimentally by varying the speed of the wind. From the experimental results show that the greater the wind speed, the greater the wind turbine rotation and torque is raised. The hybrid vertical axis wind turbine has much better self-starting and better conversion efficiency.

  4. Controller Design Automation for Aeroservoelastic Design Optimization of Wind Turbines

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ashuri, T.; Van Bussel, G.J.W.; Zaayer, M.B.; Van Kuik, G.A.M.

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to integrate the controller design of wind turbines with structure and aerodynamic analysis and use the final product in the design optimization process (DOP) of wind turbines. To do that, the controller design is automated and integrated with an aeroelastic simulation

  5. On a method for simulation-based wind turbine blade design

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jongsma, S.H.

    2014-01-01

    Wind turbines are an important means for the production of renewable energy. Wind conditions vary from one site to another and the design of a horizontal axis wind turbine depends on these local wind conditions. One of the important aspects of the design of a wind turbine concerns the aerodynamic

  6. Wind Turbine Blade Design System - Aerodynamic and Structural Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dey, Soumitr

    2011-12-01

    The ever increasing need for energy and the depletion of non-renewable energy resources has led to more advancement in the "Green Energy" field, including wind energy. An improvement in performance of a Wind Turbine will enhance its economic viability, which can be achieved by better aerodynamic designs. In the present study, a design system that has been under development for gas turbine turbomachinery has been modified for designing wind turbine blades. This is a very different approach for wind turbine blade design, but will allow it to benefit from the features inherent in the geometry flexibility and broad design space of the presented system. It starts with key overall design parameters and a low-fidelity model that is used to create the initial geometry parameters. The low-fidelity system includes the axisymmetric solver with loss models, T-Axi (Turbomachinery-AXIsymmetric), MISES blade-to-blade solver and 2D wing analysis code XFLR5. The geometry parameters are used to define sections along the span of the blade and connected to the CAD model of the wind turbine blade through CAPRI (Computational Analysis PRogramming Interface), a CAD neutral API that facilitates the use of parametric geometry definition with CAD. Either the sections or the CAD geometry is then available for CFD and Finite Element Analysis. The GE 1.5sle MW wind turbine and NERL NASA Phase VI wind turbine have been used as test cases. Details of the design system application are described, and the resulting wind turbine geometry and conditions are compared to the published results of the GE and NREL wind turbines. A 2D wing analysis code XFLR5, is used for to compare results from 2D analysis to blade-to-blade analysis and the 3D CFD analysis. This kind of comparison concludes that, from hub to 25% of the span blade to blade effects or the cascade effect has to be considered, from 25% to 75%, the blade acts as a 2d wing and from 75% to the tip 3D and tip effects have to be taken into account

  7. Wind Turbine design and fabrication to power street lights

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Khan Mohammad

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this work was to design and build a wind turbine which can be used to power small street lights. Considering the typical wind speeds in Abu Dhabi, UAE and ease of construction, the design of the wind turbine was chosen to be Sea Hawk design from vertical axis wind turbine category. A three phase AC generator was used for its availability over the DC motors within the region. A 12V battery was used for storage and a charge controller was used for controlling the charge flow into the battery and for controlling the turbine rotation when the battery is fully charged. The blades used in the turbine were made of foam board according to the NACA 0018 airfoil shape with a chord length of 15cm. The connecting shaft was made of stainless steel. Structural analysis and CFD analysis were performed along with other calculations. Testing was executed to calculate the voltage output from the turbine at different wind speeds. The maximum voltage the turbine produced at 6.4 m/s wind speed was 2.4Vand the rotational speed of the turbine was 60.3 rpm.

  8. Design evolution of large wind turbine generators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spera, D. A.

    1979-01-01

    During the past five years, the goals of economy and reliability have led to a significant evolution in the basic design--both external and internal--of large wind turbine systems. To show the scope and nature of recent changes in wind turbine designs, development of three types are described: (1) system configuration developments; (2) computer code developments; and (3) blade technology developments.

  9. Grid fault and design-basis for wind turbines. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hansen, A.D.; Cutululis, N.A.; Markou, H.; Soerensen, Poul; Iov, F.

    2010-01-15

    This is the final report of a Danish research project 'Grid fault and design-basis for wind turbines'. The objective of this project has been to assess and analyze the consequences of the new grid connection requirements for the fatigue and ultimate structural loads of wind turbines. The fulfillment of the grid connection requirements poses challenges for the design of both the electrical system and the mechanical structure of wind turbines. The development of wind turbine models and novel control strategies to fulfill the TSO's requirements are of vital importance in this design. Dynamic models and different fault ride-through control strategies have been developed and assessed in this project for three different wind turbine concepts (active stall wind turbine, variable speed doublyfed induction generator wind turbine, variable speed multipole permanent magnet wind turbine). A computer approach for the quantification of the wind turbines structural loads caused by the fault ride-through grid requirement, has been proposed and exemplified for the case of an active stall wind turbine. This approach relies on the combination of knowledge from complimentary simulation tools, which have expertise in different specialized design areas for wind turbines. In order to quantify the impact of the grid faults and grid requirements fulfillment on wind turbines structural loads and thus on their lifetime, a rainflow and a statistical analysis for fatigue and ultimate structural loads, respectively, have been performed and compared for two cases, i.e. one when the turbine is immediately disconnected from the grid when a grid fault occurs and one when the turbine is equipped with a fault ride-through controller and therefore it is able to remain connected to the grid during the grid fault. Different storm control strategies, that enable variable speed wind turbines to produce power at wind speeds higher than 25m/s and up to 50m/s without substantially increasing

  10. Design and aero-acoustic analysis of a counter-rotating wind turbine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agrawal, Vineesh V.

    Wind turbines have become an integral part of the energy business because they are one of the most economical and reliable sources of renewable energy. Conventional wind turbines are capable of capturing less than half of the energy present in the wind. Hence, to make the wind turbines more efficient, it is important to increase their performance. A horizontal axis wind turbine with multiple rotors is one concept that can achieve a higher power conversion rate. Also, a concern for wind energy is the noise generated by wind turbines. Hence, an investigation into the acoustic behavior of a multi-rotor horizontal axis wind turbine is required. In response to the need of a wind turbine design with higher power coefficient, a unique design of a counter-rotating horizontal axis wind turbine (CR-HAWT) is proposed. The Blade Element Momentum (BEM) theory is used to aerodynamically design the blades of the two rotors. Modifications are made to the BEM theory to accommodate the interaction of the two rotors. The tower effect on the noise generation of the downwind rotor is investigated. Predictions are made for the total noise generated by the wind turbine at its design operating conditions. A total power coefficient of 65.2% is predicted for the proposed CR-HAWT design. A low tip speed ratio is chosen to minimize the noise generation. The aeroacoustic analysis of the CR-HAWT shows that the noise generated at its design operating conditions is within an acceptable range. Thus, the CR-HAWT is predicted to be a quiet wind turbine with a high power coefficient, making it highly desirable for small wind turbine applications.

  11. Wind turbine design : with emphasis on Darrieus concept

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Paraschivoiu, I. [Ecole Polytechnique, Montreal, PQ (Canada)

    2002-07-01

    This book described software applications designed to model the aerodynamic performance of the Darrieus vertical-axis wind turbine. The book also provided a comprehensive review of current vertical-axis wind turbine (VAWT) technology, and discussed recent advances in understanding the physics of flow associated with the Darrieus type of turbine. The principal theories and aerodynamic models for calculating the performance of the turbines were presented, as well as results from experimental data derived from prototypes as well as laboratory measurements. The book was divided into 10 chapters: (1) wind definition and characteristics; (2) a review of the Madaras rotor concept along with an introduction to vortex modelling; (3) an introduction to the geometry of the Darrieus rotor; (4) a single streamtube model; (5) dynamic-stall phenomenon and numerical simulations; (6) double actuator risk theory; (7) details of water channel experiments; (8) modelling of turbine components; (9) wind turbine design parameters; and (10) issues related to socio-economic and environmental impacts. refs., tabs., figs.

  12. Conceptual design and costs of large wind turbines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hau, E.; Harrison, R.; Cockerill, T.T.; Snel, H.

    1996-01-01

    The development of large wind turbines, with capacities in excess of 1 MW is reviewed. Despite statistical evidence to the contrary, there are some reasons to be optimistic that further development will render large machines economic for commercial uses. The direction in which such development should proceed is unclear, however. A cost model, founded on the principles of conceptual design, with the objective of evaluating large wind turbine design options is described. Use of the model allows conclusions to be drawn regarding the potential for development of certain large wind turbine configurations. (author)

  13. Probabilistic Design of Wind Turbines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Toft, Henrik Stensgaard

    During the last decades, wind turbines have been continuously developed with the aim of maximizing the life cycle benefits (production of electricity) minus the costs of planning, materials, installation, operation & maintenance as well as possible failure. In order to continue this development...... turbines and the central topics considered are statistical load extrapolation of extreme loads during operation and reliability assessment of wind turbine blades. Wind turbines differ from most civil engineering structures by having a control system which highly influences the loading. In the literature......, methods for estimating the extreme load-effects on a wind turbine during operation, where the control system is active, have been proposed. But these methods and thereby the estimated loads are often subjected to a significant uncertainty which influences the reliability of the wind turbine...

  14. Small-Scale vertical axis wind turbine design

    OpenAIRE

    Castillo Tudela, Javier

    2011-01-01

    The thesis focuses on the design of a small vertical axis wind turbine rotor with solid wood as a construction material. The aerodynamic analysis is performed implementing a momentum based model on a mathematical computer program. A three bladed wind turbine is proposed as candidate for further prototype testing after evaluating the effect of several parameters in turbine efficiency, torque and acceleration. The results obtained indicate that wood is a suitable material for rotor cons...

  15. Airfoil family design for large offshore wind turbine blades

    Science.gov (United States)

    Méndez, B.; Munduate, X.; San Miguel, U.

    2014-06-01

    Wind turbine blades size has scaled-up during last years due to wind turbine platform increase especially for offshore applications. The EOLIA project 2007-2010 (Spanish Goverment funded project) was focused on the design of large offshore wind turbines for deep waters. The project was managed by ACCIONA Energia and the wind turbine technology was designed by ACCIONA Windpower. The project included the design of a wind turbine airfoil family especially conceived for large offshore wind turbine blades, in the order of 5MW machine. Large offshore wind turbines suffer high extreme loads due to their size, in addition the lack of noise restrictions allow higher tip speeds. Consequently, the airfoils presented in this work are designed for high Reynolds numbers with the main goal of reducing blade loads and mantainig power production. The new airfoil family was designed in collaboration with CENER (Spanish National Renewable Energy Centre). The airfoil family was designed using a evolutionary algorithm based optimization tool with different objectives, both aerodynamic and structural, coupled with an airfoil geometry generation tool. Force coefficients of the designed airfoil were obtained using the panel code XFOIL in which the boundary layer/inviscid flow coupling is ineracted via surface transpiration model. The desing methodology includes a novel technique to define the objective functions based on normalizing the functions using weight parameters created from data of airfoils used as reference. Four airfoils have been designed, here three of them will be presented, with relative thickness of 18%, 21%, 25%, which have been verified with the in-house CFD code, Wind Multi Block WMB, and later validated with wind tunnel experiments. Some of the objectives for the designed airfoils concern the aerodynamic behavior (high efficiency and lift, high tangential coefficient, insensitivity to rough conditions, etc.), others concern the geometry (good for structural design

  16. Airfoil family design for large offshore wind turbine blades

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Méndez, B; Munduate, X; Miguel, U San

    2014-01-01

    Wind turbine blades size has scaled-up during last years due to wind turbine platform increase especially for offshore applications. The EOLIA project 2007-2010 (Spanish Goverment funded project) was focused on the design of large offshore wind turbines for deep waters. The project was managed by ACCIONA Energia and the wind turbine technology was designed by ACCIONA Windpower. The project included the design of a wind turbine airfoil family especially conceived for large offshore wind turbine blades, in the order of 5MW machine. Large offshore wind turbines suffer high extreme loads due to their size, in addition the lack of noise restrictions allow higher tip speeds. Consequently, the airfoils presented in this work are designed for high Reynolds numbers with the main goal of reducing blade loads and mantainig power production. The new airfoil family was designed in collaboration with CENER (Spanish National Renewable Energy Centre). The airfoil family was designed using a evolutionary algorithm based optimization tool with different objectives, both aerodynamic and structural, coupled with an airfoil geometry generation tool. Force coefficients of the designed airfoil were obtained using the panel code XFOIL in which the boundary layer/inviscid flow coupling is ineracted via surface transpiration model. The desing methodology includes a novel technique to define the objective functions based on normalizing the functions using weight parameters created from data of airfoils used as reference. Four airfoils have been designed, here three of them will be presented, with relative thickness of 18%, 21%, 25%, which have been verified with the in-house CFD code, Wind Multi Block WMB, and later validated with wind tunnel experiments. Some of the objectives for the designed airfoils concern the aerodynamic behavior (high efficiency and lift, high tangential coefficient, insensitivity to rough conditions, etc.), others concern the geometry (good for structural design

  17. Modal Parameter Identification of New Design of Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chougule, Prasad; Nielsen, Søren R.K.

    2013-01-01

    Vertical axis wind turbines have lower power efficiency than the horizontal axis wind turbines. However vertical axis wind turbines are proven to be economical and noise free on smaller scale. A new design of three bladed vertical axis wind turbine by using two airfoils in construction of each...... blade has been proposed to improve power efficiency. The purpose of two airfoils in blade design of vertical axis wind turbine is to create high lift which in turns gives higher power output. In such case the structural parameter identification is important to understand the system behavior due to its...... first kind of design before experimental analysis. Therefore a study is carried out to determine the natural frequency to avoid unstable state of the system due to rotational frequency of rotor. The present paper outlines a conceptual design of vertical axis wind turbine and a modal analysis by using...

  18. Genetic Algorithms in Wind Turbine Airfoil Design

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Grasso, F. [ECN Wind Energy, Petten (Netherlands); Bizzarrini, N.; Coiro, D.P. [Department of Aerospace Engineering, University of Napoli ' Federico II' , Napoli (Italy)

    2011-03-15

    One key element in the aerodynamic design of wind turbines is the use of specially tailored airfoils to increase the ratio of energy capture to the loading and thereby to reduce cost of energy. This work is focused on the design of a wind turbine airfoil by using numerical optimization. Firstly, the optimization approach is presented; a genetic algorithm is used, coupled with RFOIL solver and a composite Bezier geometrical parameterization. A particularly sensitive point is the choice and implementation of constraints; in order to formalize in the most complete and effective way the design requirements, the effects of activating specific constraints are discussed. A numerical example regarding the design of a high efficiency airfoil for the outer part of a blade by using genetic algorithms is illustrated and the results are compared with existing wind turbine airfoils. Finally a new hybrid design strategy is illustrated and discussed, in which the genetic algorithms are used at the beginning of the design process to explore a wide domain. Then, the gradient based algorithms are used in order to improve the first stage optimum.

  19. New Urban Vertical Axis Wind Turbine Design

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexandru-Mihai CISMILIANU

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper develops a different approach for enhancing the performance of Vertical Axis Wind Turbines for the use in the urban or rural environment and remote isolated residential areas. Recently the vertical axis wind turbines (VAWT have become more attractive due to the major advantages of this type of turbines in comparison to the horizontal axis wind turbines. We aim to enhance the overall performance of the VAWT by adding a second set of blades (3 x 2=6 blades following the rules of biplane airplanes. The model has been made to operate at a maximum power in the range of the TSR between 2 to 2.5. The performances of the VAWT were investigated numerically and experimentally and justify the new proposed design.

  20. Aeroelastic analysis of an offshore wind turbine: Design and Fatigue Performance of Large Utility-Scale Wind Turbine Blades

    OpenAIRE

    Fossum, Peter Kalsaas

    2012-01-01

    Aeroelastic design and fatigue analysis of large utility-scale wind turbine blades are performed. The applied fatigue model is based on established methods and is incorporated in an iterative numerical design tool for realistic wind turbine blades. All aerodynamic and structural design properties are available in literature. The software tool FAST is used for advanced aero-servo-elastic load calculations and stress-histories are calculated with elementary beam theory.According to wind energy ...

  1. Vertical Axis Wind Turbine Design Load Cases Investigation and Comparison with Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Galinos, Christos; Larsen, Torben J.; Aagaard Madsen, Helge

    2016-01-01

    The paper studies the applicability of the IEC 61400-1 ed.3, 2005 International Standard of wind turbine minimum design requirements in the case of an onshore Darrieus VAWT and compares the results of basic Design Load Cases (DLCs) with those of a 3-bladed HAWT. The study is based on aeroelastic...... computations using the HAWC2 aero-servo-elastic code A 2-bladed 5 MW VAWT rotor is used based on a modified version of the DeepWind rotor For the HAWT simulations the NREL 3-bladed 5 MW reference wind turbine model is utilized Various DLCs are examined including normal power production, emergency shut down...... and parked situations, from cut-in to cut-out and extreme wind conditions. The ultimate and 1 Hz equivalent fatigue loads of the blade root and turbine base bottom are extracted and compared in order to give an insight of the load levels between the two concepts. According to the analysis the IEC 61400-1 ed...

  2. Wind Turbine Technologies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Anca Daniela

    2017-01-01

    , and with or without gearboxes, using the latest in power electronics, aerodynamics, and mechanical drive train designs [4]. The main differences between all wind turbine concepts developed over the years, concern their electrical design and control. Today, the wind turbines on the market mix and match a variety......, the design of wind turbines has changed from being convention driven to being optimized driven within the operating regime and market environment. Wind turbine designs have progressed from fixed speed, passive controlled and with drive trains with gearboxes, to become variable speed, active controlled......,6] and to implement modern control system strategies....

  3. Potentials for site-specific design of MW sized wind turbines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thomsen, K.; Fuglsang, P.; Schepers, G.

    2001-01-01

    The potential for site specific design of MW sized wind turbines is quantified by comparing design loads for wind turbines installed at a range of different sites. The sites comprise on-shore normal flat terrain stand-alone conditions and wind farm conditions together with offshore and mountainous...

  4. Grid fault and design-basis for wind turbines - Final report

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Anca Daniela; Cutululis, Nicolaos Antonio; Markou, Helen

    , have been performed and compared for two cases, i.e. one when the turbine is immediately disconnected from the grid when a grid fault occurs and one when the turbine is equipped with a fault ride-through controller and therefore it is able to remain connected to the grid during the grid fault......This is the final report of a Danish research project “Grid fault and design-basis for wind turbines”. The objective of this project has been to assess and analyze the consequences of the new grid connection requirements for the fatigue and ultimate structural loads of wind turbines....... The fulfillment of the grid connection requirements poses challenges for the design of both the electrical system and the mechanical structure of wind turbines. The development of wind turbine models and novel control strategies to fulfill the TSO’s requirements are of vital importance in this design. Dynamic...

  5. 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...

  6. Theoretical design study of the MSFC wind-wheel turbine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frost, W.; Kessel, P. A.

    1982-01-01

    A wind wheel turbine (WWT) is studied. Evaluation of the probable performance, possible practical applications, and economic viability as compared to other conventional wind energy systems is discussed. The WWT apparatus is essentially a bladed wheel which is directly exposed to the wind on the upper half and exposed to wind through multiple ducting on the lower half. The multiple ducts consist of a forward duct (front concentrator) and two side ducts (side concentrators). The forced rotation of the wheel is then converted to power through appropriate subsystems. Test results on two simple models, a paper model and a stainless steel model, are reported. Measured values of power coefficients over wind speeds ranging from 4 to 16 m/s are given. An analytical model of a four bladed wheel is also developed. Overall design features of the wind turbine are evaluated and discussed. Turbine sizing is specified for a 5 and 25 kW machine. Suggested improvements to the original design to increase performance and performance predictions for an improved WWT design are given.

  7. Design of a wind turbine pitch angle controller for power system stabilisation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jauch, Clemens; Soerensen, Poul [Risoe National Laboratory, Wind Energy Department, P.O. Box 49, DK-4000 Roskilde (Denmark); Islam, Syed M. [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Curtin University of Technology, GPO Box U1987, Perth, WA 6845 (Australia); Bak Jensen, Birgitte [Institute of Energy Technology, Aalborg University, Pontoppidanstraede 101, DK-9220 Aalborg East (Denmark)

    2007-11-15

    The design of a PID pitch angle controller for a fixed speed active-stall wind turbine, using the root locus method is described in this paper. The purpose of this controller is to enable an active-stall wind turbine to perform power system stabilisation. For the purpose of controller design, the transfer function of the wind turbine is derived from the wind turbine's step response. The performance of this controller is tested by simulation, where the wind turbine model with its pitch angle controller is connected to a power system model. The power system model employed here is a realistic model of the North European power system. A short circuit fault on a busbar close to the wind turbine generator is simulated, and the dynamic responses of the system with and without the power system stabilisation of the wind turbines are presented. Simulations show that in most operating points the pitch controller can effectively contribute to power system stabilisation. (author)

  8. Design of a wind turbine pitch angle controller for power system stabilisation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jauch, Clemens; Islam, S.M.; Sørensen, Poul Ejnar

    2007-01-01

    The design of a PID pitch angle controller for a fixed speed active-stall wind turbine, using the root locus method is described in this paper. The purpose of this controller is to enable an active-stall wind turbine to perform power system stabilisation. For the purpose of controller design......, the transfer function of the wind turbine is derived from the wind turbine's step response. The performance of this controller is tested by simulation, where the wind turbine model with its pitch angle controller is connected to a power system model. The power system model employed here is a realistic model...... of the North European power system. A short circuit fault on a busbar close to the wind turbine generator is simulated, and the dynamic responses of the system with and without the power system stabilisation of the wind turbines are presented. Simulations show that in most operating points the pitch controller...

  9. Design of airborne wind turbine and computational fluid dynamics analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anbreen, Faiqa

    Wind energy is a promising alternative to the depleting non-renewable sources. The height of the wind turbines becomes a constraint to their efficiency. Airborne wind turbine can reach much higher altitudes and produce higher power due to high wind velocity and energy density. The focus of this thesis is to design a shrouded airborne wind turbine, capable to generate 70 kW to propel a leisure boat with a capacity of 8-10 passengers. The idea of designing an airborne turbine is to take the advantage of higher velocities in the atmosphere. The Solidworks model has been analyzed numerically using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software StarCCM+. The Unsteady Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes Simulation (URANS) with K-epsilon turbulence model has been selected, to study the physical properties of the flow, with emphasis on the performance of the turbine and the increase in air velocity at the throat. The analysis has been done using two ambient velocities of 12 m/s and 6 m/s. At 12 m/s inlet velocity, the velocity of air at the turbine has been recorded as 16 m/s. The power generated by the turbine is 61 kW. At inlet velocity of 6 m/s, the velocity of air at turbine increased to 10 m/s. The power generated by turbine is 25 kW.

  10. Alternative Design Study Report: WindPACT Advanced Wind Turbine Drive Train Designs Study; November 1, 2000 -- February 28, 2002

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Poore, R.; Lettenmaier, T.

    2003-08-01

    This report presents the Phase I results of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL's) WindPACT (Wind Partnership for Advanced Component Technologies) Advanced Wind Turbine Drive Train Designs Study. Global Energy Concepts, LLC performed this work under a subcontract with NREL. The purpose of the WindPACT project is to identify technology improvements that will enable the cost of energy (COE) from wind turbines to be reduced. Other parts of the WindPACT project have examined blade and logistics scaling, balance-of-station costs, and rotor design. This study was designed to investigate innovative drive train designs.

  11. Aerodynamics of wind turbines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Martin Otto Laver

    Aerodynamics of Wind Turbines is the established essential text for the fundamental solutions to efficient wind turbine design. Now in its third edition, it has been substantially updated with respect to structural dynamics and control. The new control chapter now includes details on how to design...... Turbines (VAWT). Topics covered include increasing mass flow through the turbine, performance at low and high wind speeds, assessment of the extreme conditions under which the turbine will perform and the theory for calculating the lifetime of the turbine. The classical Blade Element Momentum method...... is also covered, as are eigenmodes and the dynamic behaviour of a turbine. The book describes the effects of the dynamics and how this can be modelled in an aeroelastic code, which is widely used in the design and verification of modern wind turbines. Furthermore, it examines how to calculate...

  12. Aerodynamics of Wind Turbines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Martin Otto Laver

    Aerodynamics of Wind Turbines is the established essential text for the fundamental solutions to efficient wind turbine design. Now in its second edition, it has been entirely updated and substantially extended to reflect advances in technology, research into rotor aerodynamics and the structural...... response of the wind turbine structure. Topics covered include increasing mass flow through the turbine, performance at low and high wind speeds, assessment of the extreme conditions under which the turbine will perform and the theory for calculating the lifetime of the turbine. The classical Blade Element...... Momentum method is also covered, as are eigenmodes and the dynamic behavior of a turbine. The new material includes a description of the effects of the dynamics and how this can be modeled in an aeroelastic code, which is widely used in the design and verification of modern wind turbines. Further...

  13. Design optimization and analysis of vertical axis wind turbine blade

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jarral, A.; Ali, M.; Sahir, M.H.

    2013-01-01

    Wind energy is clean and renwable source of energy and is also the world's fastest growing energy resource. Keeping in view power shortages and growing cost of energy, the low cost wind energy has become a primary solution. It is imperative that economies and individuals begin to conserve energy and focus on the production of energy from renewable sources. Present study describes a wind turbine blade designed with enhanced aerodynamic properties. Vertical axis turbine is chosen because of its easy installment, less noisy and having environmental friendly characteristics. Vertical axis wind turbines are thought to be ideal for installations where wind conditions are not consistent. The presented turbine blade is best suitable for roadsides where the rated speed due to vehicles is most /sup -1/ often 8 ms .To get an optimal shape design symmetrical profile NACA0025 has been considered which is then analyzed for stability and aerodynamic characteristics at optimal conditions using analysis tools ANSYS and CFD tools. (author)

  14. Control design and optimization for the DOT500 hydraulic wind turbine

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mulders, S.P.; Jager, Stéphane; Diepeveen, N.F.B.; van Wingerden, J.W.

    2017-01-01

    The drivetrain of most wind turbines currently being deployed commercially consists of a rotor-gearboxgenerator configuration in the nacelle. This abstract introduces the control system design and optimization for a wind turbine with a hydraulic drivetrain, based on the Delft Offshore Turbine (DOT)

  15. Reliability-Based Design of Wind Turbine Foundations – Computational Modelling

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vahdatirad, Mohammad Javad

    Among renewable green energy generators, wind turbines are the most technically and economically efficient. Therefore, wind power plants are experiencing a competitive increased trend in global growth. The gas and oil industry is shrouded by political conflict, not the least of which is burning...... of fossil fuels causing pollution, environmental degradation, and climate change, and finally mixed messages regarding declining domestic and foreign oil reserves. Therefore, the wind power industry is becoming a key player as the green energy producer in many developed countries. However, consumers demand...... increased cost-effectiveness in wind turbines, and an optimized design must be implemented on the expensive structural components. The traditional wind turbine foundation typically expends 25-30% of the total wind turbine budget; thus it is one of the most costly fabrication components. Therefore...

  16. Design of Large Wind Turbines using Fluid-Structure Coupling Technique

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sessarego, Matias

    Aerodynamic and structural dynamic performance analysis of modern wind turbines are routinely carried out in the wind energy field using computational tools known as aero-elastic codes. Most aero-elastic codes use the blade element momentum (BEM) technique to model the rotor aerodynamics......-dimensional viscous-inviscid interactive method, MIRAS, with the dynamics model used in the aero-elastic code FLEX5. Following the development of MIRAS-FLEX, a surrogate optimization methodology using MIRAS alone has been developed for the aerodynamic design of wind-turbine rotors. Designing a rotor using...... a computationally expensive MIRAS instead of an inexpensive BEM code represents a challenge, which is resolved by using the proposed surrogate-based approach. The approach is unique because most aerodynamic wind-turbine rotor design codes use the more common and inexpensive BEM technique. As a verification case...

  17. Usage of Numerical Optimization in Wind Turbine Airfoil Design

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Grasso, F. [ECN Wind Energy, Petten (Netherlands)

    2011-01-15

    One important key element in the aerodynamic design of wind turbines is the use of specially tailored airfoils to increase the ratio of energy capture to the loading and thereby to reduce the cost of energy. This work is focused on the design of a wind turbine airfoil by using numerical optimization. First, the requirements for this class of airfoils are illustrated and discussed in order to have an exhaustive outline of the complexity of the problem. Then the optimization approach is presented; a gradient-based algorithm is used, coupled with RFOIL solver and a composite Bezier geometrical parameterization. A particularly sensitive point is the choice and implementation of constraints; to formalize the design requirements in the most complete and effective way, the effects of activating specific constraints are discussed. Finally, a numerical example regarding the design of a high-efficiency airfoil for the outer part of a blade is illustrated, and the results are compared with existing wind turbine airfoils.

  18. Simulation platform to model, optimize and design wind turbines

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Iov, F.; Hansen, A.D.; Soerensen, P.; Blaabjerg, F.

    2004-03-01

    This report is a general overview of the results obtained in the project 'Electrical Design and Control. Simulation Platform to Model, Optimize and Design Wind Turbines'. The motivation for this research project is the ever-increasing wind energy penetration into the power network. Therefore, the project has the main goal to create a model database in different simulation tools for a system optimization of the wind turbine systems. Using this model database a simultaneous optimization of the aerodynamic, mechanical, electrical and control systems over the whole range of wind speeds and grid characteristics can be achieved. The report is structured in six chapters. First, the background of this project and the main goals as well as the structure of the simulation platform is given. The main topologies for wind turbines, which have been taken into account during the project, are briefly presented. Then, the considered simulation tools namely: HAWC, DIgSILENT, Saber and Matlab/Simulink have been used in this simulation platform are described. The focus here is on the modelling and simulation time scale aspects. The abilities of these tools are complementary and they can together cover all the modelling aspects of the wind turbines e.g. mechanical loads, power quality, switching, control and grid faults. However, other simulation packages e.g PSCAD/EMTDC can easily be added in the simulation platform. New models and new control algorithms for wind turbine systems have been developed and tested in these tools. All these models are collected in dedicated libraries in Matlab/Simulink as well as in Saber. Some simulation results from the considered tools are presented for MW wind turbines. These simulation results focuses on fixed-speed and variable speed/pitch wind turbines. A good agreement with the real behaviour of these systems is obtained for each simulation tool. These models can easily be extended to model different kinds of wind turbines or large wind

  19. Elektrisk Design og Styring. Simulation Platform to Model, Optimize and Design Wind Turbines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Iov, Florin; Hansen, A. D.; Soerensen, P.

    This report is a general overview of the results obtained in the project ?Electrical Design and Control. Simulation Platform to Model, Optimize and Design Wind Turbines?. The report is structured in six chapters. First, the background of this project and the main goals as well as the structure...... of the simulation platform is given. The main topologies for wind turbines, which have been taken into account during the project, are briefly presented. Then, the considered simulation tools namely: HAWC, DIgSILENT, Saber and Matlab/Simulink have been used in this simulation platform are described. The focus here...... is on the modelling and simulation time scale aspects. The abilities of these tools are complementary and they can together cover all the modelling aspects of the wind turbines e.g. mechanical loads, power quality, switching, control and grid faults. New models and new control algorithms for wind turbine systems have...

  20. Design analysis of vertical wind turbine with airfoil variation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maulana, Muhammad Ilham; Qaedy, T. Masykur Al; Nawawi, Muhammad

    2016-03-01

    With an ever increasing electrical energy crisis occurring in the Banda Aceh City, it will be important to investigate alternative methods of generating power in ways different than fossil fuels. In fact, one of the biggest sources of energy in Aceh is wind energy. It can be harnessed not only by big corporations but also by individuals using Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWT). This paper presents a three-dimensional CFD analysis of the influence of airfoil design on performance of a Darrieus-type vertical-axis wind turbine (VAWT). The main objective of this paper is to develop an airfoil design for NACA 63-series vertical axis wind turbine, for average wind velocity 2,5 m/s. To utilize both lift and drag force, some of designs of airfoil are analyzed using a commercial computational fluid dynamics solver such us Fluent. Simulation is performed for this airfoil at different angles of attach rearranging from -12°, -8°, -4°, 0°, 4°, 8°, and 12°. The analysis showed that the significant enhancement in value of lift coefficient for airfoil NACA 63-series is occurred for NACA 63-412.

  1. Baseline Design of a Hurricane-Resilient Wind Turbine (Poster)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Damiani, R.; Robertson, A.; Schreck, S.; Maples, B.; Anderson, M.; Finucane, Z.; Raina, A.

    2014-10-01

    Under U.S. Department of Energy-sponsored research FOA 415, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory led a team of research groups to produce a complete design of a large wind turbine system to be deployable in the western Gulf of Mexico region. As such, the turbine and its support structure would be subjected to hurricane-loading conditions. Among the goals of this research was the exploration of advanced and innovative configurations that would help decrease the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of the design, and the expansion of the basic IEC design load cases (DLCs) to include hurricane environmental conditions. The wind turbine chosen was a three-bladed, downwind, direct-drive, 10-MW rated machine. The rotor blade was optimized based on an IEC load suite analysis. The drivetrain and nacelle components were scaled up from a smaller sized turbine using industry best practices. The tubular steel tower was sized using ultimate load values derived from the rotor optimization analysis. The substructure is an innovative battered and raked jacket structure. The innovative turbine has also been modeled within an aero-servo-hydro-elastic tool, and future papers will discuss results of the dynamic response analysis for select DLCs. Although multiple design iterations could not be performed because of limited resources in this study, and are left to future research, the obtained data will offer a good indication of the expected LCOE for large offshore wind turbines to be deployed in subtropical U.S. waters, and the impact design innovations can have on this value.

  2. Design of a New Foundation for Offshore Wind Turbines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ibsen, Lars Bo; Brincker, Rune

    2004-01-01

    was installed at the test field in Frederikshavn in late 2003, with a 3 MW wind turbine in normal operation. The R&D work is continued the complete the bucket concept and having the design standards for the construction and installation methodologies recognised. The design saves about half of the steel weight...... as compared to a traditional pile foundation, it is much easier to install and it can easily be removed when the wind turbine is taken down. However, the new design is suffering from uncertainties in the accumulated fatigue in the both the steel structure and the surrounding earth material. Therefore an on......The gravitation platform and the monopile have in the previous major offshore wind turbine projects been dominating. A four-year research and development project has proven the bucket foundation to be feasible in suitable soil condition in water depth from near shore to app. 40 meters. A prototype...

  3. Optimization design of spar cap layup for wind turbine blade

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2012-01-01

    Based on the aerodynamic shape and structural form of the blade are fixed,a mathematical model of optimization design for wind turbine blade is established.The model is pursued with respect to minimum the blade mass to reduce the cost of wind turbine production.The material layup numbers of the spar cap are chosen as the design variables;while the demands of strength,stiffness and stability of the blade are employed as the constraint conditions.The optimization design for a 1.5 MW wind turbine blade is carried out by combing above objective and constraint conditions at the action of ultimate flapwise loads with the finite element software ANSYS.Compared with the original design,the optimization design result achieves a reduction of 7.2% of the blade mass,the stress and strain distribution of the blade is more reasonable,and there is no occurrence of resonance,therefore its effectiveness is verified.

  4. Design of a compressed air energy storage system for hydrostatic wind turbines

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ammar E. Ali

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Integration of Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES system with a wind turbine is critical in optimally harvesting wind energy given the fluctuating nature of power demands. Here we consider the design of a CAES for a wind turbine with hydrostatic powertrain. The design parameters of the CAES are determined based on simulation of the integrated system model for a combination of these parameter values, namely the compression ratios of the air compressors and the expanders and the air tank size. The results of the simulations were used to choose the best design parameters, which would produce the best stable performance through increased energy output of the integrated CAES and wind turbine based on the intermittent wind profile. Simulation results for a 600 kW rated power wind turbine with integrated CAES indicate that increasing the tank size and compression ratio will improve the overall power quality through increased energy output up to a limit beyond which the power quality exhibits only marginal improvement.

  5. Wind Climate Parameters for Wind Turbine Fatigue Load Assessment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Toft, Henrik Stensgaard; Svenningsen, Lasse; Moser, Wolfgang

    2016-01-01

    Site-specific assessment of wind turbine design requires verification that the individual wind turbine components can survive the site-specific wind climate. The wind turbine design standard, IEC 61400-1 (third edition), describes how this should be done using a simplified, equivalent wind climate...... climate required by the current design standard by comparing damage equivalent fatigue loads estimated based on wind climate parameters for each 10 min time-series with fatigue loads estimated based on the equivalent wind climate parameters. Wind measurements from Boulder, CO, in the United States...

  6. Design of wind turbines. What does the public like?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Geuzendam, C.; Uitzinger, J.

    1997-01-01

    Fifteen wind turbine designs are assessed by the public. The study was carried out by means of a face-to-face survey among 76 occupants of the municipalities Schagen (western part of the Netherlands) and Zutphen (eastern part of the Netherlands). Use has been made of illustrations of the 15 different wind turbine types and four different types of landscapes. The illustrations are included in this report

  7. Application of bamboo laminates in large-scale wind turbine blade design?

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Long WANG; Hui LI; Tongguang WANG

    2016-01-01

    From the viewpoint of material and structure in the design of bamboo blades of large-scale wind turbine, a series of mechanical property tests of bamboo laminates as the major enhancement materials for blades are presented. The basic mechanical characteristics needed in the design of bamboo blades are brie?y introduced. Based on these data, the aerodynamic-structural integrated design of a 1.5 MW wind turbine bamboo blade relying on a conventional platform of upwind, variable speed, variable pitch, and doubly-fed generator is carried out. The process of the structural layer design of bamboo blades is documented in detail. The structural strength and fatigue life of the designed wind turbine blades are certified. The technical issues raised from the design are discussed. Key problems and direction of the future study are also summarized.

  8. Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine Blade Design Methodologies for Efficiency Enhancement—A Review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shafiqur Rehman

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Among renewable sources of energy, wind is the most widely used resource due to its commercial acceptance, low cost and ease of operation and maintenance, relatively much less time for its realization from concept till operation, creation of new jobs, and least adverse effect on the environment. The fast technological development in the wind industry and availability of multi megawatt sized horizontal axis wind turbines has further led the promotion of wind power utilization globally. It is a well-known fact that the wind speed increases with height and hence the energy output. However, one cannot go above a certain height due to structural and other issues. Hence other attempts need to be made to increase the efficiency of the wind turbines, maintaining the hub heights to acceptable and controllable limits. The efficiency of the wind turbines or the energy output can be increased by reducing the cut-in-speed and/or the rated-speed by modifying and redesigning the blades. The problem is tackled by identifying the optimization parameters such as annual energy yield, power coefficient, energy cost, blade mass, and blade design constraints such as physical, geometric, and aerodynamic. The present paper provides an overview of the commonly used models, techniques, tools and experimental approaches applied to increase the efficiency of the wind turbines. In the present review work, particular emphasis is made on approaches used to design wind turbine blades both experimental and numerical, methodologies used to study the performance of wind turbines both experimentally and analytically, active and passive techniques used to enhance the power output from wind turbines, reduction in cut-in-speed for improved wind turbine performance, and lastly the research and development work related to new and efficient materials for the wind turbines.

  9. Reliability-based design of wind turbine blades

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Toft, Henrik Stensgaard; Sørensen, John Dalsgaard

    2011-01-01

    Reliability-based design of wind turbine blades requires identification of the important failure modes/limit states along with stochastic models for the uncertainties and methods for estimating the reliability. In the present paper it is described how reliability-based design can be applied to wi...

  10. Next Generation Wind Turbine

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cheraghi, S. Hossein [Western New England Univ., Springfield, MA (United States); Madden, Frank [FloDesign Wind Turbine Corp., Waltham, MA (United States)

    2012-09-01

    The goal of this collaborative effort between Western New England University's College of Engineering and FloDesign Wind Turbine (FDWT) Corporation to wok on a novel areodynamic concept that could potentially lead to the next generation of wind turbines. Analytical studies and early scale model tests of FDWT's Mixer/Ejector Wind Turbine (MEWT) concept, which exploits jet-age advanced fluid dynamics, indicate that the concept has the potential to significantly reduce the cost of electricity over conventional Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines while reducing land usage. This project involved the design, fabrication, and wind tunnel testing of components of MEWT to provide the research and engineering data necessary to validate the design iterations and optimize system performance. Based on these tests, a scale model prototype called Briza was designed, fabricated, installed and tested on a portable tower to investigate and improve the design system in real world conditions. The results of these scale prototype efforts were very promising and have contributed significantly to FDWT's ongoing development of a product scale wind turbine for deployment in multiple locations around the U.S. This research was mutually beneficial to Western New England University, FDWT, and the DOE by utilizing over 30 student interns and a number of faculty in all efforts. It brought real-world wind turbine experience into the classroom to further enhance the Green Engineering Program at WNEU. It also provided on-the-job training to many students, improving their future employment opportunities, while also providing valuable information to further advance FDWT's mixer-ejector wind turbine technology, creating opportunities for future project innovation and job creation.

  11. 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)

  12. WindPACT Reference Wind Turbines

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dykes, Katherine L [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Rinker, Jennifer [Former National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) employee

    2018-04-02

    To fully understand how loads and turbine cost scale with turbine size, it is necessary to have identical turbine models that have been scaled to different rated powers. The report presents the WindPACT baseline models, which are a series of four baseline models that were designed to facilitate investigations into the scalings of loads and turbine cost with size. The models have four different rated powers (750 kW, 1.5 MW, 3.0 MW, and 5.0 MW), and each model was designed to its specified rated power using the same design methodology. The models were originally implemented in FAST_AD, the predecessor to NREL's open-source wind turbine simulator FAST, but have yet to be implemented in FAST. This report contains the specifications for all four WindPACT baseline models - including structural, aerodynamic, and control specifications - along with the inherent assumptions and equations that were used to calculate the model parameters. It is hoped that these baseline models will serve as extremely useful resources for investigations into the scalings of costs, loads, or optimization routines.

  13. 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....

  14. New guidelines for wind turbine gearboxes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    McNiff, B. [McNiff Light Industry, Blue Hill, ME (United States); Errichello, R. [GEARTECH, Townsend, MT (United States)

    1997-12-31

    The American Gear Manufacturers Association in cooperation with the American Wind Energy Association will soon be publishing AGMA/AWEA 921-A97 {open_quotes}Recommended Practices for Design and Specification of Gearboxes for Wind Turbine Generator Systems.{close_quotes} Much has been learned about the unique operation and loading of gearboxes in wind turbine applications since the burgeoning of the modern wind turbine industry in the early 1980`s. AGMA/AWEA 921-A97 documents this experience in a manner that provides valuable information to assist gear manufacturers and wind turbine designers, operators, and manufacturers in developing reliable wind turbine gearboxes. The document provides information on procurement specification development, wind turbine architecture, environmental considerations, and gearbox load determination, as well as the design, manufacturing, quality assurance, lubrication, operation and maintenance of wind turbine gearboxes. This paper presents the salient parts of the practices recommended in AGMA/AWEA 921-A97.

  15. Aerodynamic Optimization of a Wind Turbine Blade Designed for Egypt's Saharan Environment Using a Genetic Algorithm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Khaled Yassin

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available This work aims to optimize the aerodynamic parameters (airfoil chord lengths and twist angles smoothed using Bezier curves of the NREL 5MW wind turbine and a wind turbine designed for site-specific wind conditions to increase the wind turbine's annual energy production (AEP under this site conditions. This optimization process is carried out using a Genetic Algorithm (GA developed in MATLAB and coupled with NREL's FAST Modularization Framework. The results shows that after optimizing the NREL 5MW wind turbine design, the AEP was improved by 5.9% of the baseline design AEP while a site-specific designed wind turbine using Schmitz equations shows 1.2% improvement in AEP. These results shows that optimization of wind turbine blade aerodynamic parameters for site-specific wind conditions leads to improvement in AEP and hence decreasing cost of energy generated by wind turbines.

  16. Design and numerical investigation of Savonius wind turbine with discharge flow directing capability

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tahani, Mojtaba; Rabbani, Ali; Kasaeian, Alibakhsh

    2017-01-01

    Recently, Savonius vertical axis wind turbines due to their capabilities and positive properties have gained a significant attention. The objective of this study is to design and model a Savonius-style vertical axis wind turbine with direct discharge flow capability in order to ventilate buildings...... to improve the discharge flow rate. Results indicate that the twist on Savonius wind rotor reduces the negative torque and improves its performance. According to the results, a twisted Savonius wind turbine with conical shaft is associated with 18% increase in power coefficient and 31% increase in discharge...... flowrate compared to simple Savonius wind turbine. Also, wind turbine with variable cut plane has a 12% decrease in power coefficient and 5% increase in discharge flow rate compared to simple Savonius wind turbine. Therefore, it can be inferred that twisted wind turbine with conical shaft indicated...

  17. Great expectations: large wind turbines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    De Vries, E.

    2001-01-01

    This article focuses on wind turbine product development, and traces the background to wind turbines from the first generation 1.5 MW machines in 1995-6, plans for the second generation 3-5 MW class turbines to meet the expected boom in offshore wind projects, to the anticipated installation of a 4.5 MW turbine, and offshore wind projects planned for 2000-2002. The switch by the market leader Vestas to variable speed operation in 2000, the new product development and marketing strategy taken by the German Pro + Pro consultancy in their design of a 1.5 MW variable speed pitch control concept, the possible limiting of the size of turbines due to logistical difficulties, opportunities offered by air ships for large turbines, and the commissioning of offshore wind farms are discussed. Details of some 2-5 MW offshore wind turbine design specifications are tabulated

  18. Database on wind characteristics - Analyses of wind turbine design loads

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Larsen, G.C.; Hansen, K.S.

    2004-06-01

    The main objective of IEA R and D Wind Annex XVII - Database on Wind Characteristics - has been to provide wind energy planners, designers and researchers, as well as the international wind engineering community in general, with a source of actual wind field data (time series and resource data) observed in a wide range of different wind climates and terrain types. Connected to an extension of the initial Annex period, the scope for the continuation was widened to include also support to the international wind turbine standardisation efforts.. The project partners are Sweden, Norway, U.S.A., The Netherlands and Denmark, with Denmark as the Operating Agent. The reporting of the continuation of Annex XVII falls in two separate parts. Part one accounts in details for the available data in the established database bank, and part two describes various data analyses performed with the overall purpose of improving the design load cases with relevance for to wind turbine structures. The present report constitutes the second part of the Annex XVII reporting. Both fatigue and extreme load aspects are dealt with, however, with the main emphasis on the latter. The work has been supported by The Ministry of Environment and Energy, Danish Energy Agency, The Netherlands Agency for Energy and the Environment (NOVEM), The Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Administration (NVE), The Swedish National Energy Administration (STEM) and The Government of the United States of America. (au)

  19. Selection of References in Wind Turbine Model Predictive Control Design

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Odgaard, Peter Fogh; Hovgaard, Tobias

    2015-01-01

    a model predictive controller for a wind turbine. One of the important aspects for a tracking control problem is how to setup the optimal reference tracking problem, as it might be relevant to track, e.g., the three concurrent references: optimal pitch angle, optimal rotational speed, and optimal power......Lowering the cost of energy is one of the major focus areas in the wind turbine industry. Recent research has indicated that wind turbine controllers based on model predictive control methods can be useful in obtaining this objective. A number of design considerations have to be made when designing....... The importance if the individual references differ depending in particular on the wind speed. In this paper we investigate the performance of a reference tracking model predictive controller with two different setups of the used optimal reference signals. The controllers are evaluated using an industrial high...

  20. Design of an aeroelastically tailored 10 MW wind turbine rotor

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zahle, Frederik; Tibaldi, Carlo; Pavese, Christian

    2016-01-01

    This work presents an integrated multidisciplinary wind turbine optimization framework utilizing state-of-the-art aeroelastic and structural tools, capable of simultaneous design of the outer geometry and internal structure of the blade. The framework is utilized to design a 10 MW rotor constrained...... not to exceed the design loads of an existing reference wind turbine. The results show that through combined geometric tailoring of the internal structure and aerodynamic shape of the blade it is possible to achieve significant passive load alleviation that allows for a 9% longer blade with an increase in AEP...

  1. Optimization and Reliability Problems in Structural Design of Wind Turbines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, John Dalsgaard

    2007-01-01

    are discussed. Limit state equations are presented for fatigue limit states and for ultimate limit states with extreme wind load, and illustrated by bending failure. Illustrative examples are presented, and as a part of the results optimal reliability levels are obtained which corresponds to an annual...... reliability index equal to 3. An example with fatigue failure indicates that the reliability level is almost the same for single wind turbines and for wind turbines in wind farms if the wake effects are modeled equivalently in the design equation and the limit state equation....

  2. Design of low noise airfoil with high aerodynamic performance for use on small wind turbines

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Taehyung; KIM; Seungmin; LEE; Hogeon; KIM; Soogab; LEE

    2010-01-01

    Wind power is one of the most reliable renewable energy sources and internationally installed capacity is increasing radically every year.Although wind power has been favored by the public in general,the problem with the impact of wind turbine noise on people living in the vicinity of the turbines has been increased.Low noise wind turbine design is becoming more and more important as noise is spreading more adverse effect of wind turbine to public.This paper demonstrates the design of 10 kW class wind turbines,each of three blades,a rotor diameter 6.4 m,a rated rotating speed 200 r/min and a rated wind speed 10 m/s.The optimized airfoil is dedicated for the 75% spanwise position because the dominant source of a wind turbine blade is trailing edge noise from the outer 25% of the blade.Numerical computations are performed for incompressible flow and for Mach number at 0.145 and for Reynolds numbers at 1.02×106 with a lift performance,which is resistant to surface contamination and turbulence intensity.The objectives in the design process are to reduce noise emission,while sustaining high aerodynamic efficiency.Dominant broadband noise sources are predicted by semi-empirical formulas composed of the groundwork by Brooks et al.and Lowson associated with typical wind turbine operation conditions.During the airfoil redesign process,the aerodynamic performance is analyzed to reduce the wind turbine power loss.The results obtained from the design process show that the design method is capable of designing airfoils with reduced noise using a commercial 10 kW class wind turbine blade airfoil as a basis.Therefore,the new optimized airfoil showing 2.9 dB reductions of total sound pressure level(SPL) and higher aerodynamic performance are achieved.

  3. Wake losses optimization of offshore wind farms with moveable floating wind turbines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rodrigues, S.F.; Teixeira Pinto, R.; Soleimanzadeh, M.; Bosman, Peter A.N.; Bauer, P.

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • We present a layout optimization framework for wind farms with moveable turbines. • Using moveable wind turbines in optimized layouts maximizes energy production. • Turbine and wind farm designers should cooperate to optimize offshore wind projects. - Abstract: In the future, floating wind turbines could be used to harvest energy in deep offshore areas where higher wind mean speeds are observed. Currently, several floating turbine concepts are being designed and tested in small scale projects; in particular, one concept allows the turbine to move after installation. This article presents a novel layout optimization framework for wind farms composed of moveable floating turbines. The proposed framework uses an evolutionary optimization strategy in a nested configuration which simultaneously optimizes the anchoring locations and the wind turbine position within the mooring lines for each individual wind direction. The results show that maximum energy production is obtained when moveable wind turbines are deployed in an optimized layout. In conclusion, the framework represents a new design optimization tool for future offshore wind farms composed of moveable floating turbines

  4. Wind Turbine Radar Cross Section

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David Jenn

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The radar cross section (RCS of a wind turbine is a figure of merit for assessing its effect on the performance of electronic systems. In this paper, the fundamental equations for estimating the wind turbine clutter signal in radar and communication systems are presented. Methods of RCS prediction are summarized, citing their advantages and disadvantages. Bistatic and monostatic RCS patterns for two wind turbine configurations, a horizontal axis three-blade design and a vertical axis helical design, are shown. The unique electromagnetic scattering features, the effect of materials, and methods of mitigating wind turbine clutter are also discussed.

  5. SMART Wind Turbine Rotor: Design and Field Test

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Berg, Jonathan C. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Resor, Brian R. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Paquette, Joshua A. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); White, Jonathan R. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

    2014-01-29

    This report documents the design, fabrication, and testing of the SMART Rotor. This work established hypothetical approaches for integrating active aerodynamic devices (AADs) into the wind turbine structure and controllers.

  6. Efficient preliminary floating offshore wind turbine design and testing methodologies and application to a concrete spar design

    OpenAIRE

    Matha, Denis; Sandner, Frank; Molins i Borrell, Climent; Campos Hortigüela, Alexis; Cheng, Po Wen

    2015-01-01

    The current key challenge in the floating offshore wind turbine industry and research is on designing economic floating systems that can compete with fixed-bottom offshore turbines in terms of levelized cost of energy. The preliminary platform design, as well as early experimental design assessments, are critical elements in the overall design process. In this contribution, a brief review of current floating offshore wind turbine platform pre-design and scaled testing methodologies is provide...

  7. Applying value sensitive design (VSD) to wind turbines and wind parks: an exploration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oosterlaken, Ilse

    2015-04-01

    Community acceptance still remains a challenge for wind energy projects. The most popular explanation for local opposition, the Not in My Backyard effect, has received fierce criticism in the past decade. Critics argue that opposition is not merely a matter of selfishness or ignorance, but that moral, ecological and aesthetic values play an important role. In order to better take such values into account, a more bottom-up, participatory decision process is usually proposed. Research on this topic focusses on either stakeholder motivations/attitudes, or their behavior during project implementation. This paper proposes a third research focus, namely the 'objects' which elicit certain behavioral responses and attitudes-the wind turbine and parks. More concretely, this paper explores Value Sensitive Design (VSD) as way to arrive at wind turbines and parks that better embed or reflect key values. After a critical discussion of the notion of acceptance versus acceptability and support, the paper discusses existing literature on ecology and aesthetics in relation to wind turbine/park design, which could serve as 'building blocks' of a more integral VSD approach of the topic. It also discusses the challenge of demarcating wind park projects as VSD projects. A further challenge is that VSD has been applied mainly at the level of technical artifacts, whereas wind parks can best be conceptualized as socio-technical system. This new application would therefore expand the current practice of VSD, and may as a consequence also lead to interesting new insights for the VSD community. The paper concludes that such an outcome-oriented approach of wind turbines and park is worth exploring further, as a supplement to rather than a replacement of the process-oriented approach that is promoted by the current literature on community acceptance of wind parks.

  8. The VolturnUS 1:8 Floating Wind Turbine: Design, Construction, Deployment, Testing, Retrieval, and Inspection of the First Grid-Connected Offshore Wind Turbine in US

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dagher, Habib [Univ. of Maine, Orono, ME (United States); Viselli, Anthony [Univ. of Maine, Orono, ME (United States); Goupee, Andrew [Univ. of Maine, Orono, ME (United States); Kimball, Richard [Maine Maritime Academy, Castine, ME (United States); Allen, Christopher [Univ. of Maine, Orono, ME (United States)

    2017-08-15

    Volume II of the Final Report for the DeepCwind Consortium National Research Program funded by US Department of Energy Award Number: DE-EE0003278.001 summarizes the design, construction, deployment, testing, numerical model validation, retrieval, and post-deployment inspection of the VolturnUS 1:8-scale floating wind turbine prototype deployed off Castine, Maine on June 2nd, 2013. The 1:8 scale VolturnUS design served as a de-risking exercise for a commercial multi-MW VolturnUS design. The American Bureau of Shipping Guide for Building and Classing Floating Offshore Wind Turbine Installations was used to design the prototype. The same analysis methods, design methods, construction techniques, deployment methods, mooring, and anchoring planned for full-scale were used. A commercial 20kW grid-connected turbine was used and was the first offshore wind turbine in the US.

  9. Gusts and shear within hurricane eyewalls can exceed offshore wind turbine design standards

    Science.gov (United States)

    Worsnop, Rochelle P.; Lundquist, Julie K.; Bryan, George H.; Damiani, Rick; Musial, Walt

    2017-06-01

    Offshore wind energy development is underway in the U.S., with proposed sites located in hurricane-prone regions. Turbine design criteria outlined by the International Electrotechnical Commission do not encompass the extreme wind speeds and directional shifts of hurricanes stronger than category 2. We examine a hurricane's turbulent eyewall using large-eddy simulations with Cloud Model 1. Gusts and mean wind speeds near the eyewall of a category 5 hurricane exceed the current Class I turbine design threshold of 50 m s-1 mean wind and 70 m s-1 gusts. Largest gust factors occur at the eye-eyewall interface. Further, shifts in wind direction suggest that turbines must rotate or yaw faster than current practice. Although current design standards omit mention of wind direction change across the rotor layer, large values (15-50°) suggest that veer should be considered.

  10. Noise from wind turbines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Andersen, B.; Larsen, P.

    1993-01-01

    Denmark has 3200 wind turbines with an installed maximum capacity of 418MW. The most important Danish research projects into wind turbine noise and the main results are listed. These date from 1983. Two comprehensive studies are currently in progress. The first is an analytical and empirical investigation of aerodynamic noise from wind turbine rotors and has so far dealt mainly with tip noise. The measurement method, using a hard board mounted microphone on the ground near the turbine, is described. Four different tip designs have been tested. Some examples of reference sound power level spectra for three of the designs are presented. During the past two years a computerbased data acquisition system has been used for real-time determination of sound power levels. The second study, which has just commenced, is on annoyance from wind turbine noise. It will include noise measurements, masking calculations and a social survey on the perceived nuisance. (UK)

  11. Design and development of direct drive generators for wind turbines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nagrial, M.; Hellany, A.

    2011-01-01

    This paper discusses various options for wind generators in modern wind turbines without any gearbox. Various power converter configurations are also discussed. The design of modern and efficient variable speed generators is also proposed. The design of a novel permanent magnet generator is also given. (author)

  12. Structural design of the Sandia 34-M Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berg, D. E.

    Sandia National Laboratories, as the lead DOE laboratory for Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) development, is currently designing a 34-meter diameter Darrieus-type VAWT. This turbine will be a research test bed which provides a focus for advancing technology and validating design and fabrication techniques in a size range suitable for utility use. Structural data from this machine will allow structural modeling to be refined and verified for a turbine on which the gravity effects and stochastic wind loading are significant. Performance data from it will allow aerodynamic modeling to be refined and verified. The design effort incorporates Sandia's state-of-the-art analysis tools in the design of a complete machine. The analytic tools used in this design are discussed and the conceptual design procedure is described.

  13. Design of LPV fault-tolerant controller for pitch system of wind turbine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Dinghui; Zhang, Xiaolin

    2017-07-01

    To address failures of wind turbine pitch-angle sensors, traditional wind turbine linear parameter varying (LPV) model is transformed into a double-layer convex polyhedron LPV model. On the basis of this model, when the plurality of the sensor undergoes failure and details of the failure are inconvenient to obtain, each sub-controller is designed using distributed thought and gain scheduling method. The final controller is obtained using all of the sub-controllers by a convex combination. The design method corrects the errors of the linear model, improves the linear degree of the system, and solves the problem of multiple pitch angle faults to ensure stable operation of the wind turbine.

  14. Combined preliminary–detailed design of wind turbines

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. Bortolotti

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available This paper is concerned with the holistic optimization of wind turbines. A multi-disciplinary optimization procedure is presented that marries the overall sizing of the machine in terms of rotor diameter and tower height (often termed “preliminary design” with the detailed sizing of its aerodynamic and structural components. The proposed combined preliminary–detailed approach sizes the overall machine while taking into full account the subtle and complicated couplings that arise due to the mutual effects of aerodynamic and structural choices. Since controls play a central role in dictating performance and loads, control laws are also updated accordingly during optimization. As part of the approach, rotor and tower are sized simultaneously, even in this case capturing the mutual effects of one component over the other due to the tip clearance constraint. The procedure, here driven by detailed models of the cost of energy, results in a complete aero-structural design of the machine, including its associated control laws. The proposed methods are tested on the redesign of two wind turbines, a 2.2 MW onshore machine and a large 10 MW offshore one. In both cases, the optimization leads to significant changes with respect to the initial baseline configurations, with noticeable reductions in the cost of energy. The novel procedures are also exercised on the design of low-induction rotors for both considered wind turbines, showing that they are typically not competitive with conventional high-efficiency rotors.

  15. Safety considerations in the design and operation of large wind turbines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reilly, D. H.

    1979-01-01

    The engineering and safety techniques used to assure the reliable and safe operation of large wind turbine generators utilizing the Mod 2 Wind Turbine System Program as an example is described. The techniques involve a careful definition of the wind turbine's natural and operating environments, use of proven structural design criteria and analysis techniques, an evaluation of potential failure modes and hazards, and use of a fail safe and redundant component engineering philosophy. The role of an effective quality assurance program, tailored to specific hardware criticality, and the checkout and validation program developed to assure system integrity are described.

  16. Noise from wind turbines

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fegeant, Olivier [Royal Inst. of Tech., Stockholm (Sweden). Dept. of Building Sciences

    2002-02-01

    A rapid growth of installed wind power capacity is expected in the next few years. However, the siting of wind turbines on a large scale raises concerns about their environmental impact, notably with respect to noise. To this end, variable speed wind turbines offer a promising solution for applications in densely populated areas like the European countries, as this design would enable an efficient utilisation of the masking effect due to ambient noise. In rural and recreational areas where wind turbines are sited, the ambient noise originates from the action of wind on the vegetation and about the listener's ear (pseudo-noise). It shows a wind speed dependence similar to that of the noise from a variable speed wind turbine and can therefore mask the latter for a wide range of conditions. However, a problem inherent to the design of these machines is their proclivity to pure tone generation, because of the enhanced difficulty of avoiding structural resonances in the mechanical parts. Pure tones are deemed highly annoying and are severely regulated by most noise policies. In relation to this problem, the vibration transmission of structure-borne sound to the tower of the turbine is investigated, in particular when the tower is stiffened at its upper end. Furthermore, since noise annoyance due to wind turbine is mostly a masking issue, the wind-related sources of ambient noise are studied and their masking potentials assessed. With this aim, prediction models for wind-induced vegetation noise and pseudo-noise have been developed. Finally, closely related to the effect of masking, is the difficulty, regularly encountered by local authorities and wind farm developers, to measure noise immission from wind turbines. A new measurement technique has thus been developed in the course of this work. Through improving the signal-to-noise ratio between wind turbine noise and ambient noise, the new technique yields more accurate measurement results.

  17. HORIZONTAL AXIS MARINE CURRENT TURBINE DESIGN FOR WIND-ELECTRIC HYBRID SAILING BOAT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Serkan Ekinci

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available In recent decades, the number of theoretical studies and applications on electric power production from renewable sources such as wind, solar, sea and tidal flows, has been increasing rapidly. Marine Current Turbines (MCTs, among the power turbines, produce power from alternating flows and are a means of power production even at lower flow rates in oceans and seas. In this study, while maintaining functional requirements, an initial and detailed design (mechanic and hydrodynamic, of an MCT fixed on a sailing boat and at sail which extracts power from the flow around the boat, is undertaken. In the design stages, for analysis and optimization of the marine turbine blade design, the Momentum Blade Element Method is utilized. The Horizontal Axis Marine Turbine (HAMT, determined by the initial and mechanical design, is illustrated with its components included. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD analyses, covering turbine pod geometry at required flow rates and turbine speeds are performed. These analyses are performed very close to real conditions, considering sailing with and without the turbine running (on and off states. The alternator is determined from the results, and the final design which meets the design requirements, is obtained. As a result, a user friendly and innovative turbine design for sail boats, offering more power and efficiency, which is longer lasting compared to solar and wind technologies, that also makes use of renewable sources, such as wind and/or solar, and in addition stores and uses accumulated energy when needed, is proposed.

  18. Wind Turbine Design Guideline DG03: Yaw and Pitch Rolling Bearing Life

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Harris, T.; Rumbarger, J. H.; Butterfield, C. P.

    2009-12-01

    This report describes the design criteria, calculation methods, and applicable standards recommended for use in performance and life analyses of ball and roller (rolling) bearings for yaw and pitch motion support in wind turbine applications. The formulae presented here for rolling bearing analytical methods and bearing-life ratings are consistent with methods in current use by wind turbine designers and rolling-bearing manufacturers.

  19. Introduction to wind turbine aerodynamics

    CERN Document Server

    Schaffarczyk, Alois Peter

    2014-01-01

    Wind-Turbine Aerodynamics is a self-contained textbook which shows how to come from the basics of fluid mechanics to modern wind turbine blade design. It presents a fundamentals of fluid dynamics and inflow conditions, and gives a extensive introduction into theories describing the aerodynamics of wind turbines. After introducing experiments the book applies the knowledge to explore the impact on blade design.The book is an introduction for professionals and students of very varying levels.

  20. Model Predictive Control of Wind Turbines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Henriksen, Lars Christian

    Wind turbines play a major role in the transformation from a fossil fuel based energy production to a more sustainable production of energy. Total-cost-of-ownership is an important parameter when investors decide in which energy technology they should place their capital. Modern wind turbines...... the need for maintenance of the wind turbine. Either way, better total-cost-of-ownership for wind turbine operators can be achieved by improved control of the wind turbines. Wind turbine control can be improved in two ways, by improving the model on which the controller bases its design or by improving...

  1. 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)

  2. Calculation and design of steel bearing structure for wind turbine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bešević Miroslav

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Wind represents directed movement of the air and is caused by differences in atmospheric pressure which are caused by uneven heating of air masses. Global and local winds can be distinguished. Global winds have high altitude, while local winds occur in the ground layer of the atmosphere. Given that the global wings have high altitude they cannot be used as propellant for wind generators, but they should be known for their effects on the winds in the lower atmosphere. Modern wind turbines are made with a horizontal axle that has a system for the swiveling axis in the horizontal plane for tracking wind direction changes. They can have different number of blades, but for larger forces three blades are commonly used because they provide the greatest efficiency. Rotor diameter of these turbines depends on the strength and it ranges from 30 m for the power of 300 kW to 115 m for the power of 5 MW. Wind turbines are mounted on vertical steel tower which can be high even more than 100 m. Depending on the diameter of the turbine rotor, column is usually built as steel conical and less often as a steel-frame. This study includes analysis and design of steel tower for wind generator made by manufacturer Vestas, type V112 3MW HH 119 (power 3.2 MW for the construction of wind farm 'Kovačica'.

  3. Design of advanced airfoil for stall-regulated wind turbines

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F. Grasso

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Nowadays, all the modern megawatt-class wind turbines make use of pitch control to optimise the rotor performance and control the turbine. However, for kilowatt-range machines, stall-regulated solutions are still attractive and largely used for their simplicity and robustness. In the design phase, the aerodynamics plays a crucial role, especially concerning the selection/design of the necessary airfoils. This is because the airfoil performance is supposed to guarantee high wind turbine performance but also the necessary machine control capabilities. In the present work, the design of a new airfoil dedicated to stall machines is discussed. The design strategy makes use of a numerical optimisation scheme, where a gradient-based algorithm is coupled with the RFOIL code and an original Bezier-curves-based parameterisation to describe the airfoil shape. The performances of the new airfoil are compared in free- and fixed-transition conditions. In addition, the performance of the rotor is analysed, comparing the impact of the new geometry with alternative candidates. The results show that the new airfoil offers better performance and control than existing candidates do.

  4. Cost optimization of wind turbines for large-scale offshore wind farms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fuglsang, P.; Thomsen, K.

    1998-02-01

    This report contains a preliminary investigation of site specific design of off-shore wind turbines for a large off-shore wind farm project at Roedsand that is currently being proposed by ELKRAFT/SEAS. The results were found using a design tool for wind turbines that involve numerical optimization and aeroelastic calculations of response. The wind climate was modeled in detail and a cost function was used to estimate costs from manufacture and installation. Cost of energy is higher for off-shore installations. A comparison of an off-shore wind farm site with a typical stand alone on-shore site showed an increase of the annual production of 28% due to the difference in wind climate. Extreme loads and blade fatigue loads were nearly identical, however,fatigue loads on other main components increased significantly. Optimizations were carried out to find the optimum overall off-shore wind turbine design. A wind turbine for the off-shore wind farm should be different compared with a stand-alone on-shore wind turbine. The overall design changed were increased swept area and rated power combined with reduced rotor speed and tower height. Cost was reduced by 12% for the final 5D/14D off-shore wind turbine from 0.306 DKr/kWh to 0.270 DKr/kWh. These figures include capital costs from manufacture and installation but not on-going costs from maintenance. These results make off-shore wind farms more competitive and comparable to the reference on-shore stand-alone wind turbine. A corresponding reduction of cost of energy could not be found for the stand alone on-shore wind turbine. Furthermore the fatigue loads on wind turbines in on-shore wind farms will increase and cost of energy will increase in favor of off-shore wind farms. (au) EFP-95; EU-JOULE-3; 21 tabs., 7 ills., 8 refs

  5. 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)

  6. Reliability Analysis of Wind Turbines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Toft, Henrik Stensgaard; Sørensen, John Dalsgaard

    2008-01-01

    In order to minimise the total expected life-cycle costs of a wind turbine it is important to estimate the reliability level for all components in the wind turbine. This paper deals with reliability analysis for the tower and blades of onshore wind turbines placed in a wind farm. The limit states...... consideres are in the ultimate limit state (ULS) extreme conditions in the standstill position and extreme conditions during operating. For wind turbines, where the magnitude of the loads is influenced by the control system, the ultimate limit state can occur in both cases. In the fatigue limit state (FLS......) the reliability level for a wind turbine placed in a wind farm is considered, and wake effects from neighbouring wind turbines is taken into account. An illustrative example with calculation of the reliability for mudline bending of the tower is considered. In the example the design is determined according...

  7. Investigation of Wind Turbine Rotor Concepts for Offshore Wind Farms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ceyhan, Özlem; Grasso, Francesco

    2014-01-01

    Current plans in offshore wind energy developments call for further reduction of cost of energy. In order to contribute to this goal, several wind turbine rotor concepts have been investigated. Assuming the future offshore wind turbines will operate only in the offshore wind farms, the rotor concepts are not only evaluated for their stand-alone performances and their potential in reducing the loads, but also for their performance in an offshore wind farm. In order to do that, the 10MW reference wind turbine designed in Innwind.EU project is chosen as baseline. Several rotor parameters have been modified and their influences are investigated for offshore wind turbine design purposes. This investigation is carried out as a conceptual parametrical study. All concepts are evaluated numerically with BOT (Blade optimisation tool) software in wind turbine level and with Farmflow software in wind farm level for two wind farm layouts. At the end, all these concepts are compared with each other in terms of their advantages and disadvantages

  8. State-of-the-art of wind turbine design codes: main features overview for cost-effective generation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Molenaar, D-P.; Dijkstra, S. [Delft University of Technology (Netherlands). Mechanical Engineering Systems and Control Group

    1999-07-01

    For successful large-scale application of wind energy, the price of electricity generated by wind turbines should decrease. Model-based control can be important since it has the potential to reduce fatigue loads, while simultaneously maintaining a desired amount of energy production. The controller synthesis, however, requires a mathematical model describing the most important dynamics of the complete wind turbine. In the wind energy community there is a wide variety in codes used to model a wind turbine's dynamic behaviour or to carry out design calculations. In this paper, the main features of the state-of-the-art wind turbine design codes have been investigated in order to judge the appropriateness of using one of these for the modeling, identification and control of flexible, variable speed wind turbines. It can be concluded that, although the sophistication of the design codes has increased enormously over the last two decades, they are, in general, not suitable for the design, and easy implementation of optimal operating strategies.

  9. European wind turbine catalogue

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1994-01-01

    The THERMIE European Community programme is designed to promote the greater use of European technology and this catalogue contributes to the fulfillment of this aim by dissemination of information on 50 wind turbines from 30 manufacturers. These turbines are produced in Europe and are commercially available. The manufacturers presented produce and sell grid-connected turbines which have been officially approved in countries where this approval is acquired, however some of the wind turbines included in the catalogue have not been regarded as fully commercially available at the time of going to print. The entries, which are illustrated by colour photographs, give company profiles, concept descriptions, measured power curves, prices, and information on design and dimension, safety systems, stage of development, special characteristics, annual energy production, and noise pollution. Lists are given of wind turbine manufacturers and agents and of consultants and developers in the wind energy sector. Exchange rates used in the conversion of the prices of wind turbines are also given. Information can be found on the OPET network (organizations recognised by the European Commission as an Organization for the Promotion of Energy Technologies (OPET)). An article describes the development of the wind power industry during the last 10-15 years and another article on certification aims to give an overview of the most well-known and acknowledged type approvals currently issued in Europe. (AB)

  10. Site-optimization of wind turbine generators

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wolff, T.J. de; Thillerup, J. [Nordtank Energy Group, Richmond, VA (United States)

    1997-12-31

    The Danish Company Nordtank is one of the pioneers within the wind turbine industry. Since 1981 Nordtank has installed worldwide more than 2500 wind turbine generators with a total name plate capacity that is exceeding 450 MW. The opening up of new and widely divergent markets has demanded an extremely flexible approach towards wind turbine construction. The Nordtank product range has expanded considerable in recent years, with the main objective to develop wind energy conversion machines that can run profitable in any given case. This paper will describe site optimization of Nordtank wind turbines. Nordtank has developed a flexible design concept for its WTGs in the 500/750 kW range, in order to offer the optimal WTG solution for any given site and wind regime. Through this flexible design, the 500/750 turbine line can adjust the rotor diameter, tower height and many other components to optimally fit the turbine to each specific project. This design philosophy will be illustrated with some case histories of recently completed projects.

  11. Wind turbine airfoil design method with low noise and experimental analysis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wang, Quan; Chen, Jin; Cheng, Jiangtao

    2015-01-01

    In order to study the noise characteristic of wind turbine airfoils, the airfoil optimal design mathematic model was built based on airfoil functional integrated theory and noise calculated model. The new optimized objective function of maximizing lift/drag to noise was developed on the design......, though there is a certain difference between the theory results and experiment data. Compared with NACA-64-618 airfoil, the CQU-DTU-B18 airfoil exhibits lower noise, which validates the feasibility of this design method. It is a guide to design wind turbine airfoil with lower noise and to reduce airfoil...

  12. Design Mining Interacting Wind Turbines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Preen, Richard J; Bull, Larry

    2016-01-01

    An initial study has recently been presented of surrogate-assisted evolutionary algorithms used to design vertical-axis wind turbines wherein candidate prototypes are evaluated under fan-generated wind conditions after being physically instantiated by a 3D printer. Unlike other approaches, such as computational fluid dynamics simulations, no mathematical formulations were used and no model assumptions were made. This paper extends that work by exploring alternative surrogate modelling and evolutionary techniques. The accuracy of various modelling algorithms used to estimate the fitness of evaluated individuals from the initial experiments is compared. The effect of temporally windowing surrogate model training samples is explored. A surrogate-assisted approach based on an enhanced local search is introduced; and alternative coevolution collaboration schemes are examined.

  13. Wind turbines fundamentals, technologies, application, economics

    CERN Document Server

    Hau, Erich

    2013-01-01

    "Wind Turbines" addresses all those professionally involved in research, development, manufacture and operation of wind turbines. It provides a cross-disciplinary overview of modern wind turbine technology and an orientation in the associated technical, economic and environmental fields.  In its revised third edition, special emphasis has been given to the latest trends in wind turbine technology and design, such as gearless drive train concepts, as well as on new fields of application, in particular the offshore utilisation of wind energy. The author has gained experience over decades designing wind energy converters with a major industrial manufacturer and, more recently, in technical consulting and in the planning of large wind park installations, with special attention to economics.

  14. 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.

  15. Efficient preliminary floating offshore wind turbine design and testing methodologies and application to a concrete spar design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matha, Denis; Sandner, Frank; Molins, Climent; Campos, Alexis; Cheng, Po Wen

    2015-02-28

    The current key challenge in the floating offshore wind turbine industry and research is on designing economic floating systems that can compete with fixed-bottom offshore turbines in terms of levelized cost of energy. The preliminary platform design, as well as early experimental design assessments, are critical elements in the overall design process. In this contribution, a brief review of current floating offshore wind turbine platform pre-design and scaled testing methodologies is provided, with a focus on their ability to accommodate the coupled dynamic behaviour of floating offshore wind systems. The exemplary design and testing methodology for a monolithic concrete spar platform as performed within the European KIC AFOSP project is presented. Results from the experimental tests compared to numerical simulations are presented and analysed and show very good agreement for relevant basic dynamic platform properties. Extreme and fatigue loads and cost analysis of the AFOSP system confirm the viability of the presented design process. In summary, the exemplary application of the reduced design and testing methodology for AFOSP confirms that it represents a viable procedure during pre-design of floating offshore wind turbine platforms. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

  16. Probabilistic Calibration of Fatigue Design Factors for Offshore Wind Turbine Support Structures

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ramirez, José Rangel; Sørensen, John Dalsgaard

    2010-01-01

    for the considered offshore wind turbines in such a way that the specific uncertainties for the fatigue life are accounted in a rational manner. Similar approaches have been used for offshore oil & gas sub-structures, but the required reliability level for offshore wind turbines is generally lower and the fatigue......This paper describes a reliability-based approach to determine fatigue design factors (FDF) for offshore wind turbine support structures made of steel. The FDF values are calibrated to a specific reliability level and linked to a specific inspection and maintenance (I&M) strategy used...

  17. Guy cable design and damping for vertical axis wind turbines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carne, T. G.

    1981-01-01

    Guy cables are frequently used to support vertical axis wind turbines since guying the turbine reduces some of the structural requirements on the tower. The guys must be designed to provide both the required strength and the required stiffness at the top of the turbine. The axial load which the guys apply to the tower, bearings, and foundations is an undesirable consequence of using guys to support the turbine. Limiting the axial load so that it does not significantly affect the cost of the turbine is an important objective of the cable design. The lateral vibrations of the cables is another feature of the cable design which needs to be considered. These aspects of the cable design are discussed, and a technique for damping cable vibrations was mathematically analyzed and demonstrated with experimental data.

  18. Design of a wind turbine-generator system considering the conformability to wind velocity fluctuations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wakui, Tetsuya; Hashizume, Takumi; Outa, Eisuke

    1999-07-01

    The conformability of the rated power output of the wind turbine-generator system and of the wind turbine type to wind velocity fluctuations are investigated with a simulation model. The authors examine three types of wind turbines: the Darrieus-Savonius hybrid, the Darrieus proper and the Propeller. These systems are mainly operated at a constant tip speed ratio, which refers to a maximum power coefficient points. As a computed result of the net extracting power, the Darrieus turbine proper has little conformability to wind velocity fluctuations because of its output characteristics. As for the other turbines, large-scale systems do not always have an advantage over small-scale systems as the effect of its dynamic characteristics. Furthermore, it is confirmed that the net extracting power of the Propeller turbine, under wind direction fluctuation, is much reduced when compared with the hybrid wind turbine. Thus, the authors conclude that the appropriate rated power output of the system exists with relation to the wind turbine type for each wind condition.

  19. Design and construction of a simple blade pitch measurement system for small wind turbines

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Whale, Jonathan [Research Institute of Sustainable Energy, Murdoch University, Perth, WA 6150 (Australia)

    2009-02-15

    For small wind turbines to be reliable they must have in place good mechanisms to protect themselves against very high winds or sudden removal of load. One common protection method in small wind turbines is that of blade feathering. It is important that the blade feathering mechanism of a small wind turbine is tested before the turbine is installed in the field. This paper presents a simple system for monitoring the blade feathering of a turbine with an overall component cost that small wind turbine manufacturers can afford. The Blade Pitch Measurement System (BPMS) has been designed and constructed by the Research Institute of Sustainable Energy (RISE) and aids small wind turbine manufacturers in testing and optimising the settings of the blade feathering mechanisms on their machines. The results show that the BPMS was successful in recording the behaviour of the blade feathering mechanism in field trials with a 20 kW and a 30 kW wind turbine. The BPMS displays significant potential as an effective, inexpensive system for small wind turbine manufacturers to ensure the reliability of their pitch regulating over-speed protection mechanisms. (author)

  20. Wind Turbine Generator System Safety and Function Test Report for the Entegrity EW50 Wind Turbine

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Smith, J.; Huskey, A.; Jager, D.; Hur, J.

    2012-11-01

    This report summarizes the results of a safety and function test that NREL conducted on the Entegrity EW50 wind turbine. This test was conducted in accordance with the International Electrotechnical Commissions' (IEC) standard, Wind Turbine Generator System Part 2: Design requirements for small wind turbines, IEC 61400-2 Ed.2.0, 2006-03.

  1. Design of a 3 kW wind turbine generator with thin airfoil blades

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ameku, Kazumasa; Nagai, Baku M.; Roy, Jitendro Nath [Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of the Ryukyus, 1 Senbaru, Nishihara-cho, Okinawa 903-0213 (Japan)

    2008-09-15

    Three blades of a 3 kW prototype wind turbine generator were designed with thin airfoil and a tip speed ratio of 3. The wind turbine has been controlled via two control methods: the variable pitch angle and by regulation of the field current of the generator and examined under real wind conditions. The characteristics of the thin airfoil, called ''Seven arcs thin airfoil'' named so because the airfoil is composed of seven circular arcs, are analyzed with the airfoil design and analysis program XFOIL. The thin airfoil blade is designed and calculated by blade element and momentum theory. The performance characteristics of the machine such as rotational speed, generator output as well as stability for wind speed changes are described. In the case of average wind speeds of 10 m/s and a maximum of 19 m/s, the automatically controlled wind turbine ran safely through rough wind conditions and showed an average generator output of 1105 W and a power coefficient 0.14. (author)

  2. Design guidelines for H-Darrieus wind turbines: Optimization of the annual energy yield

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bianchini, Alessandro; Ferrara, Giovanni; Ferrari, Lorenzo

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Proposal for a new design criterion for H-Darrieus turbines based on the energy-yield maximization. • 21,600 design cases analyzed to identify the best solutions for each installation site (i.e. average wind speed). • Critical analysis of the best design choices in terms of turbine shape, dimensions, airfoils and constraints. • Notable energy increase provided by the new design approach. • Each site requires a specific turbine concept to optimize the energy yield. - Abstract: H-Darrieus wind turbines are gaining popularity in the wind energy market, particularly as they are thought to represent a suitable solution even in unconventional installation areas. To promote the diffusion of this technology, industrial manufacturers are continuously proposing new and appealing exterior solutions, coupled with tempting rated-power offers. The actual operating conditions of a rotor over a year can be, however, very different from the nominal one and strictly dependent on the features of the installation site. Based on these considerations, a turbine optimization oriented to maximize the annual energy yield, instead of the maximum power, is thought to represent a more interesting solution. With this goal in mind, 21,600 test cases of H-Darrieus rotors were compared on the basis of their energy-yield capabilities for different annual wind distributions in terms of average speed. The wind distributions were combined with the predicted performance maps of the rotors obtained with a specifically developed numerical code based on a Blade Element Momentum (BEM) approach. The influence on turbine performance of the cut-in speed was accounted for, as well as the limitations due to structural loads (i.e. maximum rotational speed and maximum wind velocity). The analysis, carried out in terms of dimensionless parameters, highlighted the aerodynamic configurations able to ensure the largest annual energy yield for each wind distribution and set of aerodynamic

  3. Design and Experimental Validation of Hydraulic Yaw System for Multi MW Wind Turbine

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Stubkier, Søren; Pedersen, Henrik C.; Andersen, Torben Ole

    2013-01-01

    market. A hydraulic yaw system is such a new technology, and so a mathematical model of the full scale system and test rig system is derived and compared to measurements from the system. This is done in order to have a validated model, which wind turbine manufacturers may use for test in their simulation......To comply with the increasing demands for life time and reliability of wind turbines as these grow in size, new measures needs to be taken in the design of wind turbines and components hereof. One critical point is the initial testing of the components and systems before they are implemented...... in an actual turbine. Full scale hardware testing is both extremely expensive and time consuming, and so the wind turbine industry moves more towards simulations when testing. In order to meet these demands it is necessary with valid models of systems in order to introduce new technologies to the wind turbine...

  4. Design and Aero-elastic Simulation of a 5MW Floating Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vita, Luca; Schmidt Paulsen, Uwe; Aagaard Madsen, Helge

    2013-01-01

    This paper deals with the design of a 5MW floating offshore Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT). The design is based on a new offshore wind turbine concept (DeepWind concept), consisting of a Darrieus rotor mounted on a spar buoy support structure, which is anchored to the sea bed with mooring lines......-DTU. The numerical simulations take into account the fully coupled aerodynamic and hydrodynamic loads on the structure, due to wind, waves and currents. The turbine is tested in operative conditions, at different sea states, selected according to the international offshore standards. The research is part...... of the European project DeepWind (2010-2014), which has been financed by the European Union (FP7-Future Emerging Technologies)....

  5. Design and fabrication of radial flux permanent magnet generator for wind turbine applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ashraf, M.M.; Malik, T.N.; Zafar, S.; Raja, U.N.

    2013-01-01

    Presently alternate energy resources are replacing conventional energy sources to produce electrical power to minimize the usage of fossil fuels. Wind power is one of the potential alternate energy resources and is being exploited and deployed actively. The wind energy system is basically composed of two core components: wind turbine and electrical generator. This paper presents the design and fabrication of permanent magnet generator for direct drive wind turbine applications. Radial flux permanent magnet generator (RFPMG) producing three phase alternating current voltage has been designed subject to satisfying the features of low operating shaft speed, higher power density , higher current density, cost effectiveness and compact structure. RFPMG design focuses on usage of neodymium permanent magnets for excitation instead of electromagnets to minimize the excitation arrangement challenges and losses. A 300 W prototype RFPMG has been fabricated. The performance of the generator has been evaluated on specially designed wind tunnel. The generator is directly coupled with wind turbine shaft to eliminate the gearbox losses. No load and load tests show that the performance of the machine is up to the mark. The improved design parameters of power density and current density are 73.2 W/kg and 5.9 A/mm 2 respectively. The same machine output has been rectified using bridge rectifier for battery charging application. The desired output voltages are obtained at minimum shaft speed of the generator. Thus the design of generator confirms its application with small scale domestic wind turbines produci ng direct current supply. (author)

  6. Multi-fidelity optimization of horizontal axis wind turbines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    McWilliam, Michael; Zahle, Frederik; Pavese, Christian

    2017-01-01

    This paper is concerned with the numerical design optimization of wind turbines. Many examples of wind turbine design optimization in literature rely on simplified analysis in some form. This may lead to sub-optimal design, because the optimizer does not see the full fidelity of the problem....... Finally, AMMF was used in full aero-elastic wind turbine rotor design optimization problem based on the DTU 10 MW reference wind turbine design. Mixed results were achieved for the final study and further work is needed to find the best configuration for AMMF....

  7. Reliability assessment of Wind turbines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, John Dalsgaard

    2015-01-01

    Wind turbines can be considered as structures that are in between civil engineering structures and machines since they consist of structural components and many electrical and machine components together with a control system. Further, a wind turbine is not a one-of-a-kind structure...... but manufactured in series production based on many component tests, some prototype tests and zeroseries wind turbines. These characteristics influence the reliability assessment where focus in this paper is on the structural components. Levelized Cost Of Energy is very important for wind energy, especially when...... comparing to other energy sources. Therefore much focus is on cost reductions and improved reliability both for offshore and onshore wind turbines. The wind turbine components should be designed to have sufficient reliability level with respect to both extreme and fatigue loads but also not be too costly...

  8. Multi-flexible-body analysis for application to wind turbine control design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Donghoon

    The objective of the present research is to build a theoretical and computational framework for the aeroelastic analysis of flexible rotating systems, more specifically with special application to a wind turbine control design. The methodology is based on the integration of Kane's approach for the analysis of the multi-rigid-body subsystem and a mixed finite element method for the analysis of the flexible-body subsystem. The combined analysis is then strongly coupled with an aerodynamic model based on Blade Element Momentum theory for inflow model. The unified framework from the analysis of subsystems is represented as, in a symbolic manner, a set of nonlinear ordinary differential equations with time-variant, periodic coefficients, which describe the aeroelastic behavior of whole system. The framework can be directly applied to control design due to its symbolic characteristics. The solution procedures for the equations are presented for the study of nonlinear simulation, periodic steady-state solution, and Floquet stability of the linearized system about the steady-state solution. Finally the linear periodic system equation can be obtained with both system and control matrices as explicit functions of time, which can be directly applicable to control design. The structural model is validated by comparison of its results with those from software, some of which is commercial. The stability of the linearized system about periodic steady-state solution is different from that obtained about a constant steady-state solution, which have been conventional in the field of wind turbine dynamics. Parametric studies are performed on a wind turbine model with various pitch angles, precone angles, and rotor speeds. Combined with composite material, their effects on wind turbine aeroelastic stability are investigated. Finally it is suggested that the aeroelastic stability analysis and control design for the whole system is crucial for the design of wind turbines, and the

  9. Active control: Wind turbine model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bindner, Henrik

    1999-07-01

    This report is a part of the reporting of the work done in the project `Active Control of Wind Turbines`. This project aim is to develop a simulation model for design of control systems for turbines with pitch control and to use that model to design controllers. This report describes the model developed for controller design and analysis. Emphasis has been put on establishment of simple models describing the dynamic behavior of the wind turbine in adequate details for controller design. This has been done with extensive use of measurements as the basis for selection of model complexity and model validation as well as parameter estimation. The model includes a simple model of the structure of the turbine including tower and flapwise blade bending, a detailed model of the gear box and induction generator, a linearized aerodynamic model including modelling of induction lag and actuator and sensor models. The models are all formulated as linear differential equations. The models are validated through comparisons with measurements performed on a Vestas WD 34 400 kW wind turbine. It is shown from a control point of view simple linear models can be used to describe the dynamic behavior of a pitch controlled wind turbine. The model and the measurements corresponds well in the relevant frequency range. The developed model is therefore applicable for controller design. (au) EFP-91. 18 ills., 22 refs.

  10. Cost-effective Design and Operation of Variable Speed Wind Turbines. Closing the Gap between the Control Engineering and the Wind Engineering Community

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Molenaar, D.P.

    2003-02-18

    Wind has the potential to play a more important role in the future world electricity supply, provided that the cost per kilowatt hour is further reduced. The cost of wind-generated electricity can be effectively reduced by improvements in both wind turbine design and operation. In this thesis a design tool has been developed that offers the possibility to generate accurate and reliable dynamic models of the complete wind turbine. The models can be either used to evaluate the impact that design choices have on the economic viability, or to assess the dynamic behavior of the selected wind turbine configuration under various conditions.

  11. Design improvements to the ESI-80 wind turbine

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rogers, T.; Kleeman, A.; Manwell, J.; McGowan, J. [Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA (United States)

    1996-12-31

    This paper describes two investigations related to improvements to an ESI-80 wind turbine. One of them involved modeling the tip flaps during braking. The other was a study of the turbine behavior with various delta-3 angles. These topics are of interest since the turbine is a two-bladed, teetered, free-yaw machine with tip flaps and an adjustable delta-3 angle. Tip flaps are used for slowing the turbine during shutdown and as an emergency system to insure that the rotor does not go into an overspeed condition in the event of failure of other parts of the system. Upon deployment, the tip flaps are exposed to a number of varying forces including aerodynamic, damper, spring, centripetal, and gravitational forces and forces at the hinged connection to the blades. For maximum braking the angle of tip flap deployment needs to be as large as possible without striking the blades in overspeed conditions and when covered with ice. To investigate tip flap design tradeoffs, a dynamic model of the tip flaps on the modified ESI-80 turbine was developed. Results include a determination of the effect of the addition of weight to the flap, overspeed conditions, and changes in damping coefficient. Changes in the delta-3 angle can be used to couple pitching and flapping motions, affecting both teeter and yaw behavior. These effects have been investigated using a modified version of YawDyn. The effects of changes in the delta-3 angle on the teeter and yaw behavior of the modified ESI-80 wind turbine were investigated. Results show that increased teeter excursions in steady high winds can be reduced by increasing the delta-3 angle. Increasing the delta-3 angle may also increase yaw motion in low wind speeds. Results suggest that the optimum delta-3 angle for improved performance may be substantially greater than the presently used angle of zero degrees. 8 refs., 16 figs.

  12. Design of the new Risoe-A1 airfoil family for wind turbines

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fuglsang, P; Dahl, K S [Risoe National Lab., Wind Energy and Atmospheric Physics Dept., Roskilde (Denmark)

    1999-03-01

    A new airfoil family for wind turbines was developed by use of a design method using numerical optimization and the flow solver, XFOIL. The results were evaluated with the Navier-Stokes solver EllipSys2D. The airfoil family constitutes 6 airfoils ranging in thickness from 15% to 30%. The airfoils were designed to have a maximum lift coefficient around 1.5 in natural conditions and high lift-drag ratios below maximum lift. Insensitivity to leading edge roughness was obtained by securing that transition from laminar to turbulent flow on the suction side occurred close to the leading edge just before stall. The airfoil family was designed for a 600 kW wind turbine and provides a basis for further enhancing the characteristics of airfoils for wind turbines and to tailor airfoils for specific rotor sizes and power regulation principles. (au) EFP-95; EFP-98. 16 refs.

  13. Velocity measurement of model vertical axis wind turbines

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Johnson, D.A.; McWilliam, M. [Waterloo Univ., ON (Canada). Dept. of Mechanical Engineering

    2006-07-01

    An increasingly popular solution to future energy demand is wind energy. Wind turbine designs can be grouped according to their axis of rotation, either horizontal or vertical. Horizontal axis wind turbines have higher power output in a good wind regime than vertical axis turbines and are used in most commercial class designs. Vertical axis Savonius-based wind turbine designs are still widely used in some applications because of their simplistic design and low wind speed performance. There are many design variables that must be considered in order to optimize the power output in a given wind regime in a typical wind turbine design. Using particle image velocimetry, a study of the air flow around five different model vertical axis wind turbines was conducted in a closed loop wind tunnel. A standard Savonius design with two semi-circular blades overlapping, and two variations of this design, a deep blade and a shallow blade design were among the turbine models included in this study. It also evaluated alternate designs that attempt to increase the performance of the standard design by allowing compound blade curvature. Measurements were collected at a constant phase angle and also at random rotor orientations. It was found that evaluation of the flow patterns and measured velocities revealed consistent and stable flow patterns at any given phase angle. Large scale flow structures are evident in all designs such as vortices shed from blade surfaces. An important performance parameter was considered to be the ability of the flow to remain attached to the forward blade and redirect and reorient the flow to the following blade. 6 refs., 18 figs.

  14. Design and verification of the Risø-B1 airfoil family for wind turbines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fuglsang, P.; Bak, C.; Gaunaa, M.

    2004-01-01

    This paper presents the design and experimental verification of the Risø-B1 airfoil family for MW-size wind turbines with variable speed and pitch control. Seven airfoils were designed with thickness-to-chord ratios between 15% and 53% to cover the entire span of a wind turbine blade. The airfoils...

  15. Modeling of uncertainties for wind turbine blade design

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, John Dalsgaard; Toft, Henrik Stensgaard

    2014-01-01

    Wind turbine blades are designed by a combination of tests and numerical calculations using finite element models of the blade. The blades are typically composite structures with laminates of glass-fiber and/or carbon-fibers glued together by a matrix material. This paper presents a framework...

  16. Reliability Based Design of Fluid Power Pitch Systems for Wind Turbines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Liniger, Jesper; N. Soltani, Mohsen; Pedersen, Henrik Clemmensen

    2017-01-01

    Priority Number. The Failure Mode and Effect Criticality Analysis is based on past research concerning failure analysis of wind turbine drive trains. Guidelines are given to select the severity, occurrence and detection score that make up the risk priority number. The usability of the method is shown...... in a case study of a fluid power pitch system applied to wind turbines. The results show a good agreement to recent field failure data for offshore turbines where the dominating failure modes are related to valves, accumulators and leakage. The results are further used for making design improvements...

  17. Alcoa wind turbines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ai, D. K.

    1979-01-01

    An overview of Alcoa's wind energy program is given with emphasis on the the development of a low cost, reliable Darrieus Vertical Axis Wind Turbine System. The design layouts and drawings for fabrication are now complete, while fabrication and installation to utilize the design are expected to begin shortly.

  18. 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.

  19. Overview and Design of self-acting pitch control mechanism for vertical axis wind turbine using multi body simulation approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chougule, Prasad; Nielsen, Søren

    2014-01-01

    Awareness about wind energy is constantly growing in the world. Especially a demand for small scale wind turbine is increasing and various products are available in market. There are mainly two types of wind turbines, horizontal axis wind turbine and vertical axis wind turbines. Horizontal axis wind turbines are suitable for high wind speed whereas vertical axis wind turbines operate relatively low wind speed area. Vertical axis wind turbines are cost effective and simple in construction as compared to the horizontal axis wind turbine. However, vertical axis wind turbines have inherent problem of self-start inability and has low power coefficient as compare to the horizontal axis wind turbine. These two problems can be eliminated by incorporating the blade pitching mechanism. So, in this paper overview of various pitch control systems is discussed and design of self-acting pitch mechanism is given. A pitch control linkage mechanism for vertical axis wind turbine is modeled by multi-body approach using MSC Software. Aerodynamic loads are predicted from a mathematical model based on double multiple stream tube method. An appropriate airfoil which works at low Reynolds number is selected for blade design. It is also focused on commercialization of the vertical axis wind turbine which incorporates the self-acting pitch control system. These aerodynamic load model will be coupled with the multi-body model in future work for optimization of the pitch control linkage mechanism. A 500 Watt vertical axis wind turbine is designed and it is planned to implement the self-acting pitch control mechanism in real model

  20. Wind turbines, is it just wind?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boiteux, M.

    2012-01-01

    The author first outlines that wind energy is not only random, but almost absent in extreme situations when it would be needed (for example and notably, very cold weather without wind). He suggests the association of a gas turbine to each wind turbine, so that the gas turbine will replace non operating wind turbines. He notices that wind turbines are not proximity energy as they were said to be, and that profitability in fact requires tens of grouped giant wind turbines. He also outlines the high cost of construction of grids for the connection of these wind turbines. Thus, he states that wind energy is far from being profitable in the present conditions of electricity tariffs in France

  1. RELIABILITY BASED DESIGN OF FIXED FOUNDATION WIND TURBINES

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nichols, R.

    2013-10-14

    Recent analysis of offshore wind turbine foundations using both applicable API and IEC standards show that the total load demand from wind and waves is greatest in wave driven storms. Further, analysis of overturning moment loads (OTM) reveal that impact forces exerted by breaking waves are the largest contributor to OTM in big storms at wind speeds above the operating range of 25 m/s. Currently, no codes or standards for offshore wind power generators have been adopted by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) for use on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). Current design methods based on allowable stress design (ASD) incorporate the uncertainty in the variation of loads transferred to the foundation and geotechnical capacity of the soil and rock to support the loads is incorporated into a factor of safety. Sources of uncertainty include spatial and temporal variation of engineering properties, reliability of property measurements applicability and sufficiency of sampling and testing methods, modeling errors, and variability of estimated load predictions. In ASD these sources of variability are generally given qualitative rather than quantitative consideration. The IEC 61400‐3 design standard for offshore wind turbines is based on ASD methods. Load and resistance factor design (LRFD) methods are being increasingly used in the design of structures. Uncertainties such as those listed above can be included quantitatively into the LRFD process. In LRFD load factors and resistance factors are statistically based. This type of analysis recognizes that there is always some probability of failure and enables the probability of failure to be quantified. This paper presents an integrated approach consisting of field observations and numerical simulation to establish the distribution of loads from breaking waves to support the LRFD of fixed offshore foundations.

  2. Probabilistic Design of Wind Turbine Structures: Design Studies and Sensitivities to Model Parameters

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    NJOMO WANDJI, Wilfried

    : decrease of conservatism level, improvement of design procedures, and development of innovative structural systems that suit well for large wind turbines. The increasing size of the structure introduces new problems that were not present for small structures. These problems include: (i) the preparation...... substructures. In addition to being aggressive, conditions for offshore environments and the associated models are highly uncertain. Appropriate statistical methodologies should be used in order to design robust structures, which are structures whose engineering performance is not significantly affected....... These research areas are differentially implemented through tasks on various wind turbine structures (shaft, jacket, semi-floater, monopile, and grouted joint). In particular the following research questions are answered: How are extreme and fatigue loads on a given structure influenced by the design of other...

  3. A Virtual Tool for Minimum Cost Design of a Wind Turbine Tower with Ring Stiffeners

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fatih Karpat

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available Currently, renewable energy resources are becoming more important to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase energy efficiency. Researchers have focused on all components of wind turbines to increase reliability and minimize cost. In this paper, a procedure including a cost analysis method and a particle swarm optimization algorithm has been presented to efficiently design low cost steel wind turbine towers. A virtual tool is developed in MATLAB for the cost optimization of wind turbine steel towers with ring stiffeners using a particle swarm optimization algorithm. A wind turbine tower optimization problem in the literature is solved using the developed computer program. In the optimization procedure the optimization results match very well with the optimization results obtained previously. The wall thickness of the shell segments and the dimensions of the ring stiffeners are selected as the design variables, and the limits of the local buckling for the flat ring stiffeners, the local shell buckling limit, the panel ring buckling limit and the limitation of the frequency are considered the design constraints. Numerical examples are presented to understand the impacts of the design variables on the total cost of the wind turbine tower.

  4. Design of Shrouded Airborne Wind Turbine & CFD Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anbreen, Faiqa; Faiqa Anbreen Collaboration

    2015-11-01

    The focus is to design a shrouded airborne wind turbine, capable to generate 70 kW to propel a leisure boat. The idea of designing an airborne turbine is to take the advantage of different velocity layers in the atmosphere. The blades have been designed using NREL S826 airfoil, which has coefficient of lift CL of 1.4 at angle of attack, 6°. The value selected for CP is 0.8. The rotor diameter is 7.4 m. The balloon (shroud) has converging-diverging nozzle design, to increase the mass flow rate through the rotor. The ratio of inlet area to throat area, Ai/At is 1.31 and exit area to throat area, Ae/At is1.15. The Solidworks model has been analyzed numerically using CFD. The software used is StarCCM +. The Unsteady Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes Simulation (URANS) K- ɛ model has been selected, to study the physical properties of the flow, with emphasis on the performance of the turbine. Stress analysis has been done using Nastran. From the simulations, the torque generated by the turbine is approximately 800N-m and angular velocity is 21 rad/s.

  5. Performance characteristics of aerodynamically optimum turbines for wind energy generators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rohrbach, C.; Worobel, R.

    1975-01-01

    This paper presents a brief discussion of the aerodynamic methodology for wind energy generator turbines, an approach to the design of aerodynamically optimum wind turbines covering a broad range of design parameters, some insight on the effect on performance of nonoptimum blade shapes which may represent lower fabrication costs, the annual wind turbine energy for a family of optimum wind turbines, and areas of needed research. On the basis of the investigation, it is concluded that optimum wind turbines show high performance over a wide range of design velocity ratios; that structural requirements impose constraints on blade geometry; that variable pitch wind turbines provide excellent power regulation and that annual energy output is insensitive to design rpm and solidity of optimum wind turbines.

  6. 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.

  7. Rotating transformers in wind turbine applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hylander, J. [Chalmers Univ. of Technology, Goeteborg (Sweden); Engstroem, S. [Aegir konsult AB, Lidingoe (Sweden)

    1996-12-01

    The power consumption of rotating electrical components is often supplied via slip-rings in wind turbines. Slip-ring equipment is expensive and need maintenance and are prone to malfunction. If the slip-rings could be replaced with contact-less equipment better turbines could be designed. This paper presents the design, some FE calculations and some measurements on a prototype rotating transformer. The proposed transformer consists of a secondary rotating winding and a stationary exciting primary winding. The results indicate that this transformer could be used to replace slip-rings in wind turbines. 4 refs, 3 figs

  8. Floating wind turbine system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Viterna, Larry A. (Inventor)

    2009-01-01

    A floating wind turbine system with a tower structure that includes at least one stability arm extending therefrom and that is anchored to the sea floor with a rotatable position retention device that facilitates deep water installations. Variable buoyancy for the wind turbine system is provided by buoyancy chambers that are integral to the tower itself as well as the stability arm. Pumps are included for adjusting the buoyancy as an aid in system transport, installation, repair and removal. The wind turbine rotor is located downwind of the tower structure to allow the wind turbine to follow the wind direction without an active yaw drive system. The support tower and stability arm structure is designed to balance tension in the tether with buoyancy, gravity and wind forces in such a way that the top of the support tower leans downwind, providing a large clearance between the support tower and the rotor blade tips. This large clearance facilitates the use of articulated rotor hubs to reduced damaging structural dynamic loads. Major components of the turbine can be assembled at the shore and transported to an offshore installation site.

  9. Vertical axis wind turbine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Obretenov, V.; Tsalov, T.; Chakarov, T.

    2012-01-01

    In recent years, the interest in wind turbines with vertical axis noticeably increased. They have some important advantages: low cost, relatively simple structure, reliable packaging system of wind aggregate long period during which require no maintenance, low noise, independence of wind direction, etc.. The relatively low efficiency, however, makes them applicable mainly for small facilities. The work presents a methodology and software for approximately aerodynamic design of wind turbines of this type, and also analyzed the possibility of improving the efficiency of their workflow

  10. Smart Wind Turbine: Analysis and Autonomous Flap

    OpenAIRE

    Bernhammer, L.O.

    2015-01-01

    Wind turbines convert kinetic energy of the wind into electrical energy. Unfortunately, this process is everything but constant, as the wind source shows large fluctuations with high and low frequencies. This turbulence, together with the wind shear and yawed inflow, excites the turbine structure, thereby driving the loads and the design of turbines in general and blades in particular. In response to this, several control mechanisms have been applied to wind turbines since the generation of s...

  11. Light Rotor: The 10-MW reference wind turbine

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bak, Christian; Bitsche, Robert; Yde, Anders

    2012-01-01

    design show a rather well performing wind turbine both in terms of power and loads, but in the further work towards the final design the challenges in the control needs to be solved and the balance between power performance and loads and between structural performance and mass will be investigated......This paper describes the design of a rotor and a wind turbine for an artificial 10-MW wind turbine carried out in the Light Rotor project. The turbine called the Light Rotor 10-MW Reference Wind Turbine (LR10-MW RWT), is designed with existing methods and techniques and serves as a reference...... like the determination of the specific power and upscaling of the turbine. The design of Iteration #2 of the LR10-MW RWT is carried out in a sequence between aerodynamic rotor design, structural design and aero-servo-elastic design. Each of these topics is described. The results from the Iteration #2...

  12. Controls of Hydraulic Wind Turbine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhang Yin

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available In this paper a hydraulic wind turbine generator system was proposed based on analysis the current wind turbines technologies. The construction and principles were introduced. The mathematical model was verified using MATLAB and AMsim. A displacement closed loop of swash plate of motor and a speed closed loop of generator were setup, a PID control is introduced to maintain a constant speed and fixed frequency at wind turbine generator. Simulation and experiment demonstrated that the system can connect grid to generate electric and enhance reliability. The control system demonstrates a high performance speed regulation and effectiveness. The results are great significant to design a new type hydraulic wind turbine system.

  13. A 200-kW wind turbine generator conceptual design study

    Science.gov (United States)

    1979-01-01

    A conceptual design study was conducted to define a 200 kW wind turbine power system configuration for remote applications. The goal was to attain an energy cost of 1 to 2 cents per kilowatt-hour at a 14-mph site (mean average wind velocity at an altitude of 30 ft.) The costs of the Clayton, New Mexico, Mod-OA (200-kW) were used to identify the components, subsystems, and other factors that were high in cost and thus candidates for cost reduction. Efforts devoted to developing component and subsystem concepts and ideas resulted in a machine concept that is considerably simpler, lighter in weight, and lower in cost than the present Mod-OA wind turbines. In this report are described the various innovations that contributed to the lower cost and lighter weight design as well as the method used to calculate the cost of energy.

  14. The influence of noise on the design of horizontal axis wind turbines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Watson, I.

    1993-01-01

    This wind turbine noise study was initiated and funded by ETSU to help to eliminate noise as an obstacle to the harnessing of wind energy for the clean generation of electrical power. There is an abundance of theoretical papers on aerodynamic noise, but very few contain meaningful, practical verification of the complex analysis by tests on wind turbines where mechanical noise has been eliminated. This serious shortcoming initiated comprehensive tests on the 1MW, three bladed wind turbine at Richborough Power Station. This investigation is an integral part of this project. A study of the available literature on blade induced noise is also part of this project. A report on gearbox noise which is normally the main source of mechanical and discrete noise is also given. Four reports have been written to fulfil the objectives listed by ETSU. This final report summarises and comments on some of the work in the other three reports and also includes an appraisal of the effect and cost of basic design strategy to create acceptably quiet wind turbines. (author)

  15. Design and Tuning of Wind Power Plant Voltage Controller with Embedded Application of Wind Turbines and STATCOMs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petersen, Lennart; Kryezi, Fitim; Iov, Florin

    2017-01-01

    This study addresses a detailed design and tuning of a wind power plant voltage control with reactive power contribution of wind turbines and static synchronous compensators (STATCOMs). First, small-signal models of a single wind turbine and STATCOM are derived by using the state-space approach....... A complete phasor model of the entire wind power plant is constructed, being appropriate for voltage control assessment. An exemplary wind power plant located in the United Kingdom and the corresponding grid code requirements are used as a base case. The final design and tuning process of the voltage...... controller results in a guidance, proposed for this particular control architecture. It provides qualitative outcomes regarding the parametrisation of each individual control loop and how to adjust the voltage controller depending on different grid stiffnesses of the wind power plant connection...

  16. Control design for two-bladed wind turbines

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Van Solingen, E.

    2015-01-01

    In the past decades wind energy has evolved into a mature source of sustainable energy such that onshore wind turbines have become cost competitive with other fossil-based energy sources. Onshore wind energy, however, faces social resistance and a lack of available locations. Offshore wind energy,

  17. Wind Turbine Power Curve Design for Optimal Power Generation in Wind Farms Considering Wake Effect

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jie Tian

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available In modern wind farms, maximum power point tracking (MPPT is widely implemented. Using the MPPT method, each individual wind turbine is controlled by its pitch angle and tip speed ratio to generate the maximum active power. In a wind farm, the upstream wind turbine may cause power loss to its downstream wind turbines due to the wake effect. According to the wake model, downstream power loss is also determined by the pitch angle and tip speed ratio of the upstream wind turbine. By optimizing the pitch angle and tip speed ratio of each wind turbine, the total active power of the wind farm can be increased. In this paper, the optimal pitch angle and tip speed ratio are selected for each wind turbine by the exhausted search. Considering the estimation error of the wake model, a solution to implement the optimized pitch angle and tip speed ratio is proposed, which is to generate the optimal control curves for each individual wind turbine off-line. In typical wind farms with regular layout, based on the detailed analysis of the influence of pitch angle and tip speed ratio on the total active power of the wind farm by the exhausted search, the optimization is simplified with the reduced computation complexity. By using the optimized control curves, the annual energy production (AEP is increased by 1.03% compared to using the MPPT method in a case-study of a typical eighty-turbine wind farm.

  18. Virtual tool for simulation and wind turbine design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Monteiro Farias, Gustavo; Barros Galhardo, Marcos André; Tavares Pinho, João

    2015-01-01

    This paper presents an educational tool to simulate wind turbines in a virtual environment. This tool can be used for research applications as well as to evaluate the operation conditions of a wind turbine by reproducing its behaviour. The first step is to apply the Blade Element Theory in order to obtain the induction factors when the tip- speed ratio and the airfoil characteristics are configured. With these values as starting point, the geometric shape of the wind blade is created and visualized. In order to evaluate the performance of the turbine, an integration method is applied, and then the power coefficient curve is plotted versus the tip-speed ratio. The power coefficient curve reaches the maximum value at the rated operation, which is essential to the transient behaviour of the wind turbine. The transient model described in this work shows the influence of all efforts acting on the rotor, which disturb the rotation. The inertial mass of the components and the air density are set up during the simulation.Using the virtual instrumentation applied to the transient model together with a 3D computer animation, the variables of the program can be controlled and visualized in graphics, and the animation of the wind turbine shows when it accelerates or decelerates the shaft rotation due to the variation of the wind speed. The tool provides the power supplied by the wind rotor to the electric generator, which can be evaluated at the end of the simulation. (full text)

  19. Bionic Design of Wind Turbine Blade Based on Long-Eared Owl's Airfoil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tian, Weijun; Yang, Zhen; Zhang, Qi; Wang, Jiyue; Li, Ming; Ma, Yi; Cong, Qian

    2017-01-01

    The main purpose of this paper is to demonstrate a bionic design for the airfoil of wind turbines inspired by the morphology of Long-eared Owl's wings. Glauert Model was adopted to design the standard blade and the bionic blade, respectively. Numerical analysis method was utilized to study the aerodynamic characteristics of the airfoils as well as the blades. Results show that the bionic airfoil inspired by the airfoil at the 50% aspect ratio of the Long-eared Owl's wing gives rise to a superior lift coefficient and stalling performance and thus can be beneficial to improving the performance of the wind turbine blade. Also, the efficiency of the bionic blade in wind turbine blades tests increases by 12% or above (up to 44%) compared to that of the standard blade. The reason lies in the bigger pressure difference between the upper and lower surface which can provide stronger lift.

  20. Design and analysis of a semi-submersible vertical axis wind turbine

    OpenAIRE

    Siddique, Muhammad Abu Zafar

    2017-01-01

    Wind energy are deployed by two types of wind turbines. They are Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine (HAWT) and Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT), classified according to their axis of rotation. In recent years, offshore wind energy playing a vital role in the wind turbine industry due to high intensity of air, less turbulent and comparatively clean and easily employed in large area which is difficult to manage for onshore or near-shore. The advantages of HAWTs are now facing different challenge in ...

  1. Capturing the journey of wind from the wind turbines (poster)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Giyanani, A.H.; Bierbooms, W.A.A.M.; Van Bussel, G.J.W.

    2015-01-01

    Wind turbine design, control strategies often assume Taylor’s frozen turbulence where the fluctuating part of the wind is assumed to be constant. In practise, the wind turbine faces higher turbulence in case of gusts and lower turbulence in some cases. With Lidar technology, the frozen turbulence

  2. A Two-Bladed Concept Wind Turbine

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kim, Taeseong

    2012-01-01

    This article shows the potential for reducing extreme loads with an innovative design of wind turbine, a partial pitch two-bladed concept turbine. The most extreme conditions to test a turbine are considered to be stand-still combined with a grid failure in which the wind comes from all directions...

  3. Effects of increasing tip velocity on wind turbine rotor design.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Resor, Brian Ray [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Maniaci, David Charles [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Berg, Jonathan Charles [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Richards, Phillip William [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

    2014-05-01

    A reduction in cost of energy from wind is anticipated when maximum allowable tip velocity is allowed to increase. Rotor torque decreases as tip velocity increases and rotor size and power rating are held constant. Reduction in rotor torque yields a lighter weight gearbox, a decrease in the turbine cost, and an increase in the capacity for the turbine to deliver cost competitive electricity. The high speed rotor incurs costs attributable to rotor aero-acoustics and system loads. The increased loads of high speed rotors drive the sizing and cost of other components in the system. Rotor, drivetrain, and tower designs at 80 m/s maximum tip velocity and 100 m/s maximum tip velocity are created to quantify these effects. Component costs, annualized energy production, and cost of energy are computed for each design to quantify the change in overall cost of energy resulting from the increase in turbine tip velocity. High fidelity physics based models rather than cost and scaling models are used to perform the work. Results provide a quantitative assessment of anticipated costs and benefits for high speed rotors. Finally, important lessons regarding full system optimization of wind turbines are documented.

  4. Thermoplastic Composite Wind Turbine Blades : An Integrated Design Approach

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Joncas, S.

    2010-01-01

    This thesis proposes a new structural design concept for future large wind turbine blades based on fully recyclable thermoplastic composites (TPC). With respect to material properties, cost and processing, reactively processed anionic polyamide-6 (APA-6) has been identified as the most promising

  5. 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.

  6. On the Fatigue Analysis of Wind Turbines

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sutherland, Herbert J.

    1999-06-01

    Modern wind turbines are fatigue critical machines that are typically used to produce electrical power from the wind. Operational experiences with these large rotating machines indicated that their components (primarily blades and blade joints) were failing at unexpectedly high rates, which led the wind turbine community to develop fatigue analysis capabilities for wind turbines. Our ability to analyze the fatigue behavior of wind turbine components has matured to the point that the prediction of service lifetime is becoming an essential part of the design process. In this review paper, I summarize the technology and describe the ''best practices'' for the fatigue analysis of a wind turbine component. The paper focuses on U.S. technology, but cites European references that provide important insights into the fatigue analysis of wind turbines.

  7. Powering the Future: A Wind Turbine Design Challenge

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pries, Caitlin Hicks; Hughes, Julie

    2011-01-01

    Nothing brings out the best in eighth-grade physical science students quite like an engineering challenge. The wind turbine design challenge described in this article has proved to be a favorite among students with its focus on teamwork and creativity and its (almost) sneaky reinforcement of numerous physics concepts. For this activity, pairs of…

  8. 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

  9. Design Optimization of Piles for Offshore Wind Turbine Jacket Foundations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sandal, Kasper; Zania, Varvara

    Numerical methods can optimize the pile design. The aim of this study is to automatically design optimal piles for offshore wind turbine jacket foundations (Figure 1). Pile mass is minimized with constraints on axial and lateral capacity. Results indicate that accurate knowledge about soil...

  10. Probabilistic Fatigue Design of Composite Material for Wind Turbine Blades

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Toft, Henrik Stensgaard; Sørensen, John Dalsgaard

    2011-01-01

    In the present paper a probabilistic design approach to fatigue design of wind turbine blades is presented. The physical uncertainty on the fatigue strength for composite material is estimated using public available fatigue tests. Further, the model uncertainty on Miner rule for damage accumulation...

  11. Large Wind Turbine Design Characteristics and R and D Requirements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lieblein, S. (Editor)

    1979-01-01

    Detailed technical presentations on large wind turbine research and development activities sponsored by public and private organizations are presented. Both horizontal and vertical axis machines are considered with emphasis on their structural design.

  12. Method and apparatus for wind turbine braking

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barbu, Corneliu [Laguna Hills, CA; Teichmann, Ralph [Nishkayuna, NY; Avagliano, Aaron [Houston, TX; Kammer, Leonardo Cesar [Niskayuna, NY; Pierce, Kirk Gee [Simpsonville, SC; Pesetsky, David Samuel [Greenville, SC; Gauchel, Peter [Muenster, DE

    2009-02-10

    A method for braking a wind turbine including at least one rotor blade coupled to a rotor. The method includes selectively controlling an angle of pitch of the at least one rotor blade with respect to a wind direction based on a design parameter of a component of the wind turbine to facilitate reducing a force induced into the wind turbine component as a result of braking.

  13. Mod-5A Wind Turbine Generator Program Design Report. Volume 2: Conceptual and Preliminary Design, Book 1

    Science.gov (United States)

    1984-01-01

    The design, development and analysis of the 7.3 MW MOD-5A wind turbine generator is documented. There are four volumes. In Volume 2, book 1 the requirements and criteria for the design are presented. The conceptual design studies, which defined a baseline configuration and determined the weights, costs and sizes of each subsystem, are described. The development and optimization of the wind turbine generator are presented through the description of the ten intermediate configurations between the conceptual and final designs. Analyses of the system's load and dynamics are presented.

  14. Optimal Excitation Controller Design for Wind Turbine Generator

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. K. Boglou

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available An optimal excitation controller design based on multirate-output controllers (MROCs having a multirate sampling mechanismwith different sampling period in each measured output of the system is presented. The proposed H∞ -control techniqueis applied to the discrete linear open-loop system model which represents a wind turbine generator supplying an infinite busthrough a transmission line.

  15. Design of a new urban wind turbine airfoil using a pressure-load inverse method

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Henriques, J.C.C.; Gato, L.M.C. [IDMEC, Instituto Superior Tecnico, Universidade Tecnica de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisboa (Portugal); Marques da Silva, F. [LNEC - Laboratorio Nacional de Engenharia Civil, Av. Brasil, 101, 1700-066 Lisboa (Portugal); Estanqueiro, A.I. [INETI - Instituto Nacional de Engenharia, Tecnologia e Inovacao Estrada do Paco do Lumiar, 1649-038 Lisboa (Portugal)

    2009-12-15

    This paper presents the design methodology of a new wind turbine airfoil that achieves high performance in urban environment by increasing the maximum lift. For this purpose, an inverse method was applied to obtain a new wind turbine blade section with constant pressure-load along the chord, at the design inlet angle. In comparison with conventional blade section designs, the new airfoil has increased maximum lift, reduced leading edge suction peak and controlled soft-stall behaviour, due to a reduction of the adverse pressure gradient on the suction side. Wind tunnel experimental results confirmed the computational results. (author)

  16. 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.

  17. Design of a 21 m blade with Risø-A1 airfoils for active stall controlled wind turbines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fuglsang, Peter; Sangill, O.; Hansen, P.

    2002-01-01

    This is the final report, from the project, "Design of a Rotor/Airfoil Family for Active Stall-regulated Wind Turbines by Use of Multi-point Optimization". It describes the full scale testing of a 21 m wind turbine blade specially designed for active stallregulation. Design objectives were...... increased ratio of produced energy to turbine loads and more stable power control characteristics. Both were taken directly into account during the design of the blade using numerical optimization. The blade used theRisø-A1 airfoil family, which was specially designed for operation on wind turbine blades....... The new blade was designed to replace the LM 21.0P blade. A measurement campaign was carried out simultaneously on two identical adjacent wind turbines where onehad the new blades and the other had LM 21.0P blades. Power and loads including blade section moments for the new blades were measured to assess...

  18. 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.

  19. Partial Safety Factors for Fatigue Design of Wind Turbine Blades

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Toft, Henrik Stensgaard; Sørensen, John Dalsgaard

    2010-01-01

    In the present paper calibration of partial safety factors for fatigue design of wind turbine blades is considered. The stochastic models for the physical uncertainties on the material properties are based on constant amplitude fatigue tests and the uncertainty on Miners rule for linear damage...... accumulation is determined from variable amplitude fatigue tests with the Wisper and Wisperx spectra. The statistical uncertainty for the assessment of the fatigue loads is also investigated. The partial safety factors are calibrated for design load case 1.2 in IEC 61400-1. The fatigue loads are determined...... from rainflow-counting of simulated time series for a 5MW reference wind turbine [1]. A possible influence of a complex stress state in the blade is not taken into account and only longitudinal stresses are considered....

  20. Reliability Assessment Of Wind Turbines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, John Dalsgaard

    2014-01-01

    Reduction of cost of energy for wind turbines are very important in order to make wind energy competitive compared to other energy sources. Therefore the turbine components should be designed to have sufficient reliability but also not be too costly (and safe). This paper presents models...... for uncertainty modeling and reliability assessment of especially the structural components such as tower, blades, substructure and foundation. But since the function of a wind turbine is highly dependent on many electrical and mechanical components as well as a control system also reliability aspects...... of these components are discussed and it is described how there reliability influences the reliability of the structural components. Two illustrative examples are presented considering uncertainty modeling, reliability assessment and calibration of partial safety factors for structural wind turbine components exposed...

  1. Aerodynamics of wind turbines

    CERN Document Server

    Hansen, Martin O L

    2015-01-01

    Aerodynamics of Wind Turbines is the established essential text for the fundamental solutions to efficient wind turbine design. Now in its third edition, it has been substantially updated with respect to structural dynamics and control. The new control chapter now includes details on how to design a classical pitch and torque regulator to control rotational speed and power, while the section on structural dynamics has been extended with a simplified mechanical system explaining the phenomena of forward and backward whirling modes. Readers will also benefit from a new chapter on Vertical Axis W

  2. Summary of tower designs for large horizontal axis wind turbines

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    1986-01-01

    Towers for large horizontal axis wind turbines, machines with a rotor axis height above 30 meters and rated at more than 500 kW, have varied in configuration, materials of construction, type of construction, height, and stiffness. For example, the U.S. large HAWTs have utilized steel truss type towers and free-standing steel cylindrical towers. In Europe, the trend has been to use only free-standing and guyed cylindrical towers, but both steel and reinforced concrete have been used as materials of construction. These variations in materials of construction and type of construction reflect different engineering approaches to the design of cost effective towers for large HAWTs. Tower designs are the NASA/DOE Mod-5B presently being fabricated. Design goals and requirements that influence tower configuration, height and materials are discussed. In particular, experiences with United States large wind turbine towers are elucidated. Finally, current trends in tower designs for large HAWTs are highlighted.

  3. CSA guide to Canadian wind turbine codes and standards

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2008-01-01

    The Canadian wind energy sector has become one of the fastest-growing wind energy markets in the world. Growth of the industry has been supported by various government agencies. However, many projects have experienced cost over-runs or cancellations as a result of unclear regulatory requirements, and wind energy developers are currently subject to a variety of approval processes involving several different authorities. This Canadian Standards Association (CSA) guide provided general information on codes and standards related to the design, approval, installation, operation, and maintenance of wind turbines in Canada. CSA codes and standards were developed by considering 5 new standards adopted by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Technical Committee on Wind Turbines. The standards described in this document related to acoustic noise measurement techniques; power performance measurements of electricity-producing wind turbines; lightning protection for wind turbine generator systems; design requirements for turbines; and design requirements for small wind turbines. The guide addressed specific subject areas related to the development of wind energy projects that involve formal or regulatory approval processes. Subject areas included issues related to safety, environmental design considerations, site selection, and mechanical systems. Information on associated standards and codes was also included

  4. Wind lens technology and its application to wind and water turbine and beyond

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ohya Yuji

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Wind lens is a new type of wind power system consisting of a simple brimmed ring structure that surrounds the rotor causing greater wind to pass through the turbine. As a consequence, the turbine's efficiency of capturing energy from the wind gets dramatically increased. A Wind lens turbine can generate 2–5 times the power of an existing wind turbine given at the same rotor diameter and incoming wind speed. This fluid dynamical effect is also effective in the water. We have developed 1–3 kW Wind lens turbines and a 100 kW Wind lens turbine. In addition to the enhanced output power, Wind lens turbine is quiet. The technology is now used in an offshore experiment with a hexagonal float 18 meters in diameter set off the coast of Hakata Bay in Fukuoka City. Moreover, we are now pursuing larger size Wind lens turbines through multi-rotor design consisting of multiple Wind lens turbines in a same vertical plane to embody larger total power output.

  5. Advanced tools for modeling, design and optimization of wind turbine systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Iov, F.; Hansen, A.D.; Jauch, C.

    2005-01-01

    As wind turbine technology and control has advanced over the last decade, this has led to a high penetration of wind turbines into the power system. Whether it be for a large wind turbine or an offshore wind farm with hundreds of MW power capacity, the electrical system has become more and more i...

  6. When real life wind speed exceeds design wind assumptions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Winther-Jensen, M; Joergensen, E R [Risoe National Lab., Roskilde (Denmark)

    1999-03-01

    Most modern wind turbines are designed according to a standard or a set of standards to withstand the design loads with a defined survival probability. Mainly the loads are given by the wind conditions on the site defining the `design wind speeds`, normally including extreme wind speeds given as an average and a peak value. The extreme wind speeds are normally (e.g. in the upcoming IEC standard for wind turbine safety) defined as having a 50-year recurrence period. But what happens when the 100 or 10,000 year wind situation hits a wind turbine? Results on wind turbines of wind speeds higher than the extreme design wind speeds are presented based on experiences especially from the State of Gujarat in India. A description of the normal approach of designing wind turbines in accordance with the standards in briefly given in this paper with special focus on limitations and built-in safety levels. Based on that, other possibilities than just accepting damages on wind turbines exposed for higher than design wind speeds are mentioned and discussed. The presentation does not intend to give the final answer to this problem but is meant as an input to further investigations and discussions. (au)

  7. Frequency weighted model predictive control of wind turbine

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Klauco, Martin; Poulsen, Niels Kjølstad; Mirzaei, Mahmood

    2013-01-01

    This work is focused on applying frequency weighted model predictive control (FMPC) on three blade horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT). A wind turbine is a very complex, non-linear system influenced by a stochastic wind speed variation. The reduced dynamics considered in this work are the rotatio...... predictive controller are presented. Statistical comparison between frequency weighted MPC, standard MPC and baseline PI controller is shown as well.......This work is focused on applying frequency weighted model predictive control (FMPC) on three blade horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT). A wind turbine is a very complex, non-linear system influenced by a stochastic wind speed variation. The reduced dynamics considered in this work...... are the rotational degree of freedom of the rotor and the tower for-aft movement. The MPC design is based on a receding horizon policy and a linearised model of the wind turbine. Due to the change of dynamics according to wind speed, several linearisation points must be considered and the control design adjusted...

  8. Aeroservoelasticity of Wind Turbines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kallesøe, Bjarne Skovmose

    2007-01-01

    This thesis deals with the fundamental aeroelastic interaction between structural motion, Pitch action and control for a wind turbine blade. As wind turbines become larger, the interaction between pitch action, blade motion, aerodynamic forces, and control become even more important to understand......, and furthermore linear and therefore suitable for control design. The development of the primary aeroelastic blade model is divided into four steps: 1) Nonlinear partial differential equations (PDEs) of structural blade motion are derived together with equations of pitch action and rotor speed; the individual...... to a 2D blade section model, and it can be used instead of this in many applications, giving a transparent connection to a real wind turbine blade. In this work the aeroelastic blade model is used to analyze interaction between pitch action, blade motion and wind speed variations. Furthermore the model...

  9. The 1.5 MW wind turbine of tomorrow

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    De Wolff, T.J.; Sondergaard, H. [Nordtank Energy Group, Richmond, VA (United States)

    1996-12-31

    The Danish company Nordtank is one of the pioneers within the wind turbine industry. Since 1981 Nordtank has installed worldwide more than 2300 wind turbine generators with a total name plate capacity that is exceeding 350 MW. This paper will describe two major wind turbine technology developments that Nordtank has accomplished during the last year: Site Optimization of Nordtank wind turbines: Nordtank has developed a flexible design concept for its WTGs in the 500/600 kW range, in order to offer the optimal WTG solution for any given site and wind regime. Nordtank`s 1.5 MW wind turbine: In September 1995, Nordtank was the first company to install a commercial 1.5 NM WTG. This paper will document the development process, the design as well as operations of the Nordtank 1.5 MW WTG.

  10. Optimal Structural Reliability of Offshore Wind Turbines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, John Dalsgaard; Tarp-Johansen, N.J.

    2005-01-01

    The main failure modes of modern large wind turbines are fatigue failure of wings, hub, shaft and main tower, local buckling of main tower, and failure of the foundation. This paper considers reliability-based optimal design of wind turbines. Compared to onshore wind turbines and building...... structures, humans spent little time in the vicinity of offshore wind turbines and the probability of human injury during storm conditions is small. Further environmental pollution will also in general be small in case of failure. One could therefore argue that the reliability level of offshore wind turbines...... can be lower than for onshore wind turbines and other civil engineering structures and can be assessed by reliability-based cost-optimization. Specifically this paper considers the main tower and foundation. Both fatigue and ultimate strength failure modes are included. Different formulations...

  11. A 34-meter VAWT (Vertical Axis Wind Turbine) point design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ashwill, T. D.; Berg, D. E.; Dodd, H. M.; Rumsey, M. A.; Sutherland, H. J.; Veers, P. S.

    The Wind Energy Division at Sandia National Laboratories recently completed a point design based on the 34-m Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) Test Bed. The 34-m Test Bed research machine incorporates several innovations that improve Darrieus technology, including increased energy production, over previous machines. The point design differs minimally from the Test Bed; but by removing research-related items, its estimated cost is substantially reduced. The point design is a first step towards a Test-Bed-based commercial machine that would be competitive with conventional sources of power in the mid-1990s.

  12. Model Predictive Control with Constraints of a Wind Turbine

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Henriksen, Lars Christian; Poulsen, Niels Kjølstad

    2007-01-01

    Model predictive control of wind turbines offer a more systematic approach of constructing controllers that handle constraints while focusing on the main control objective. In this article several controllers are designed for different wind conditions and appropriate switching conditions ensure a...... an efficient control of the wind turbine over the entire range of wind speeds. Both onshore and floating offshore wind turbines are tested with the controllers.......Model predictive control of wind turbines offer a more systematic approach of constructing controllers that handle constraints while focusing on the main control objective. In this article several controllers are designed for different wind conditions and appropriate switching conditions ensure...

  13. Mechanical Design, Analysis, and Testing of a Two-Bladed Wind Turbine Hub

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cotrell, J.

    2002-06-01

    Researchers at the National Wind Technology Center (NWTC) in Golden, Colorado, began performing the Unsteady Aerodynamics Experiment in 1993 to better understand the unsteady aerodynamics and structural responses of horizontal-axis wind turbines. The experiment consists of an extensively instrumented, downwind, three-bladed, 20-kilowatt wind turbine. In May 1995, I received a request from the NWTC to design a two-bladed hub for the experiment. For my thesis, I present the results of the mechanical design, analysis, and testing of the hub. The hub I designed is unique because it runs in rigid, teetering, or independent blade-flapping modes. In addition, the design is unusual because it uses two servomotors to pitch the blades independently. These features are used to investigate new load reduction, noise reduction, blade pitch optimization, and yaw control techniques for two-bladed turbines. I used a methodology by G. Phal and W. Bietz to design the hub. The hub meets all the performance specifications except that it achieves only 90% of the specified teeter range. In my thesis, I focus on the analysis and testing of the hub body. I performed solid-mechanics calculations, ran a finite-element analysis simulation, and experimentally investigated the structural integrity of the hub body.

  14. Wind power production: from the characterisation of the wind resource to wind turbine technologies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beslin, Guy; Multon, Bernard

    2016-01-01

    Illustrated by graphs and tables, this article first describes the various factors and means related to the assessment of wind resource in the World, in Europe, and the factors which characterize a local wind resource. In this last respect, the authors indicate how local topography is taken into account to calculate wind speed, how time variations are taken into account (at the yearly, seasonal or daily level), the different methods used to model a local wind resource, how to assess the power recoverable by a wind turbine with horizontal axis (notion of Betz limit). In the second part, the authors present the different wind turbines, their benefits and drawbacks: vertical axis, horizontal axis (examples of a Danish-type wind turbine, of wind turbines designed for extreme conditions). Then, they address the technology of big wind turbines: evolution of technology and of commercial offer, aerodynamic characteristics of wind turbine and benefit of a varying speed (technological solutions, importance of the electric generator). They describe how to choose a wind turbine, how product lines are organised, how the power curve and energy capacity are determined. The issue of integration of wind energy into the power system is then addressed. The next part addressed the economy of wind energy production (annualized production cost, order of magnitude of wind electric power production cost). Future trends are discussed and offshore wind energy production is briefly addressed

  15. Mod-5A wind turbine generator program design report. Volume 3: Final design and system description, book 1

    Science.gov (United States)

    1984-01-01

    The design, development and analysis of the 7.3 MW MOD-5A wind turbine generator is documented. Volume 3, book 1 describes the performance and characteristics of the MOD-5A wind turbine generator in its final configuration. Each subsystem - the rotor, drivetrain, nacelle, tower and foundation is described in detail.

  16. DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF A 1/3 SCALE VERTICAL AXIS WIND TURBINE FOR ELECTRICAL POWER GENERATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Altab Md. Hossain

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available This research describes the electrical power generation in Malaysia by the measurement of wind velocity acting on the wind turbine technology. The primary purpose of the measurement over the 1/3 scaled prototype vertical axis wind turbine for the wind velocity is to predict the performance of full scaled H-type vertical axis wind turbine. The electrical power produced by the wind turbine is influenced by its two major part, wind power and belt power transmission system. The blade and the drag area system are used to determine the powers of the wind that can be converted into electric power as well as the belt power transmission system. In this study both wind power and belt power transmission system has been considered. A set of blade and drag devices have been designed for the 1/3 scaled wind turbine at the Thermal Laboratory of Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Industri Selangor (UNISEL. Test has been carried out on the wind turbine with the different wind velocities of 5.89 m/s, 6.08 m/s and 7.02 m/s. From the experiment, the wind power has been calculated as 132.19 W, 145.40 W and 223.80 W. The maximum wind power is considered in the present study.

  17. DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF A 1/3 SCALE VERTICAL AXIS WIND TURBINE FOR ELECTRICAL POWER GENERATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Altab Hossain

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available This research describes the electrical power generation in Malaysia by the measurement of wind velocity acting on the wind turbine technology. The primary purpose of the measurement over the 1/3 scaled prototype vertical axis wind turbine for the wind velocity is to predict the performance of full scaled H-type vertical axis wind turbine. The electrical power produced by the wind turbine is influenced by its two major part, wind power and belt power transmission system. The blade and the drag area system are used to determine the powers of the wind that can be converted into electric power as well as the belt power transmission system. In this study both wind power and belt power transmission system has been considered. A set of blade and drag devices have been designed for the 1/3 scaled wind turbine at the Thermal Laboratory of Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Industri Selangor (UNISEL. Test has been carried out on the wind turbine with the different wind velocities of 5.89 m/s, 6.08 m/s and 7.02 m/s. From the experiment, the wind power has been calculated as 132.19 W, 145.40 W and 223.80 W. The maximum wind power is considered in the present study.

  18. A new vertical axis wind turbine design for urban areas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frunzulica, Florin; Cismilianu, Alexandru; Boros, Alexandru; Dumitrache, Alexandru; Suatean, Bogdan

    2016-06-01

    In this paper we aim at developing the model of a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) with the short-term goal of physically realising this turbine to operate at a maximmum power of 5 kW. The turbine is designed for household users in the urban or rural areas and remote or isolated residential areas (hardly accsessible). The proposed model has a biplane configuration on each arm of the VAWT (3 × 2 = 6 blades), allowing for increased performance of the turbine at TSR between 2 and 2.5 (urban area operation) compared to the classic vertical axis turbines. Results that validate the proposed configuration as well as passive control methods to increase the performance of the classic VAWTs are presented.

  19. 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.

  20. Superconducting Wind Turbine Generators

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yunying Pan

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Wind energy is well known as a renewable energy because its clean and less polluted characteristic, which is the foundation of development modern wind electricity. To find more efficient wind turbine is the focus of scientists around the world. Compared from conventional wind turbines, superconducting wind turbine generators have advantages at zero resistance, smaller size and lighter weight. Superconducting wind turbine will inevitably become the main trends in this area. This paper intends to introduce the basic concept and principle of superconductivity, and compare form traditional wind turbine to obtain superiority, then to summary three proposed machine concept.While superconductivity have difficulty  in modern technology and we also have proposed some challenges in achieving superconducting wind turbine finally.

  1. Mod-1 wind turbine generator analysis and design report, volume 1

    Science.gov (United States)

    1979-01-01

    The activities leading to the completion of detail design of the MOD-1 wind turbine generator are described. Emphasis is placed on the description of the design as it finally evolved. However, the steps through which the design progressed are also traced in order to understand the major design decisions.

  2. Fatigue strength ofcomposite wind turbine blade structures

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ardila, Oscar Gerardo Castro

    Wind turbines are normally designed to withstand 20-30 years of life. During this period, the blades, which are the main rotating structures of a wind turbine, are subjected to high fluctuating load conditions as a result of a combination of gravity, inertia, and aeroelastic forces. For this reason......, fatigue is one of the foremost concerns during the design of these structures. However, current standard fatigue methods used for designing wind turbine blades seem not to be completely appropriate for these structures because they are still based on methods developed for metals and not for composite...... materials from which the blades are made. In this sense, the aim of this work is to develop more accurate and reliable fatigue-life prediction models for composite wind turbine blades. In this project, two types of fatigue models are implemented: fatigue-life models and damage mechanics models. In the first...

  3. Load calculation methods for offshore wind turbine foundations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Passon, Patrik; Branner, Kim

    2014-01-01

    Calculation of design loads for offshore wind turbine (OWT) foundations is typically performed in a joint effort between wind turbine manufactures and foundation designers (FDs). Ideally, both parties would apply the same fully integrated design tool and model for that purpose. However, such solu...

  4. Inverse load calculation procedure for offshore wind turbines and application to a 5-MW wind turbine support structure: Inverse load calculation procedure for offshore wind turbines

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pahn, T. [Pahn Ingenieure, Am Seegraben 17b 03051 Cottbus Germany; Rolfes, R. [Institut f?r Statik und Dynamik, Leibniz Universit?t Hannover, Appelstra?e 9A 30167 Hannover Germany; Jonkman, J. [National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 15013 Denver West Parkway Golden Colorado 80401 USA

    2017-02-20

    A significant number of wind turbines installed today have reached their designed service life of 20 years, and the number will rise continuously. Most of these turbines promise a more economical performance if they operate for more than 20 years. To assess a continued operation, we have to analyze the load-bearing capacity of the support structure with respect to site-specific conditions. Such an analysis requires the comparison of the loads used for the design of the support structure with the actual loads experienced. This publication presents the application of a so-called inverse load calculation to a 5-MW wind turbine support structure. The inverse load calculation determines external loads derived from a mechanical description of the support structure and from measured structural responses. Using numerical simulations with the software fast, we investigated the influence of wind-turbine-specific effects such as the wind turbine control or the dynamic interaction between the loads and the support structure to the presented inverse load calculation procedure. fast is used to study the inverse calculation of simultaneously acting wind and wave loads, which has not been carried out until now. Furthermore, the application of the inverse load calculation procedure to a real 5-MW wind turbine support structure is demonstrated. In terms of this practical application, setting up the mechanical system for the support structure using measurement data is discussed. The paper presents results for defined load cases and assesses the accuracy of the inversely derived dynamic loads for both the simulations and the practical application.

  5. Innovative Design of a Darrieus Straight Bladed Vertical Axis Wind Turbine by using Multi Element Airfoil

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chougle, Prasad Devendra

    . Mainly, there is the horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT) and vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT). HAWTs are more popular than VAWTs due to failure of VAWT commercialization during the late of 1980s on a large scale. However, in recent research work it has been documented that VAWTs are more economical......, and the wind tunnel testing of double-element airfoil is performed. It is found that the aerodynamic characteristics of the airfoil increased considerably by delaying the angle of stall. These two facts are very suitable for vertical axis wind turbine since they operate in a larger range of angle of attack......, ±40_, compared to the horizontal axis wind turbines which operate in the range of attack, ±15_. A new design of vertical axis wind turbine is then proposed, and aerodynamic performance is evaluated based on double multiple stream tube methods. The performance parameters are almost doubled compared...

  6. Ultimate loading of wind turbines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Gunner Chr.; Ronold, K.; Ejsing Jørgensen, Hans

    1999-01-01

    An extreme loading study has been conducted comprising a general wind climate analysis as well as a wind turbine reliability study. In the wind climate analysis, the distribution of the (horizontal) turbulence standard deviation, conditioned on the meanwind speed, has been approximated by fitting......, a design turbulence intensity for off-shore application is proposed which, in the IEC code framework, is applicable for extreme as well as for fatigue loaddetermination. In order to establish a rational method to analyse wind turbine components with respect to failure in ultimate loading, and in addition...... a three parameter Weibull distribution to the measured on-shore and off-shore data for wind speed variations. Specific recommendations on off-shore design turbulence intensities are lacking in the presentIEC-code. Based on the present analysis of the off-shore wind climate on two shallow water sites...

  7. Wake losses optimization of offshore wind farms with moveable floating wind turbines

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    S.F. Rodrigues; R. Teixeira Pinto (Rodrigo); M. Soleimanzadeh (Maryam); P.A.N. Bosman (Peter); P. Bauer (Pavol)

    2015-01-01

    htmlabstractIn the future, floating wind turbines could be used to harvest energy in deep offshore areas where higher wind mean speeds are observed. Currently, several floating turbine concepts are being designed and tested in small scale projects; in particular, one concept allows the turbine to

  8. Study on optimal design of wind turbine blade airfoil and its application

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sun, Min Young; Kim, Dong Yong; Lim, Jae Kyoo

    2012-01-01

    This study was carried out with two goals. One was the development of a model of a wind turbine blade airfoil and the other was the application of the folding blade. In general, in large sized (MW) wind turbines, damage is prevented in small wind turbines since equipment costs and maintenance costs are high, and therefore, the blade will cause serious damage. The wind turbine proposed in this study does not require maintenance, and the blades do not break during high winds because they are folded in accordance with changes in the wind speed. But generators are not cut out, while maintaining a constant angle will continue to produce. The focus of this study, the wind turbine is continued by folding blade system in strong winds and gusts without stopping production

  9. Study on optimal design of wind turbine blade airfoil and its application

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sun, Min Young; Kim, Dong Yong; Lim, Jae Kyoo [Chonbuk Nat' l Univ., Jeonju (Korea, Republic of)

    2012-05-15

    This study was carried out with two goals. One was the development of a model of a wind turbine blade airfoil and the other was the application of the folding blade. In general, in large sized (MW) wind turbines, damage is prevented in small wind turbines since equipment costs and maintenance costs are high, and therefore, the blade will cause serious damage. The wind turbine proposed in this study does not require maintenance, and the blades do not break during high winds because they are folded in accordance with changes in the wind speed. But generators are not cut out, while maintaining a constant angle will continue to produce. The focus of this study, the wind turbine is continued by folding blade system in strong winds and gusts without stopping production.

  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. Fatigue-Damage Estimation and Control for Wind Turbines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Barradas Berglind, Jose de Jesus

    How can fatigue-damage for control of wind turbines be represented? Fatigue-damage is indeed a crucial factor in structures such as wind turbines that are exposed to turbulent and rapidly changing wind flow conditions. This is relevant both in their design stage and during the control......, the inclusion of fatigue-damage within feedback control loops is of special interest. Four strategies in total are proposed in this work: three for the wind turbine level and one for the wind farm level. On one hand, the three strategies in the turbine level are based on hysteresis operators and strive......-damage estimation in wind turbine components, to the mixed objective operation of wind energy conversion systems, and to the synthesis of control strategies that include hysteresis operators....

  12. Bionic Design of Wind Turbine Blade Based on Long-Eared Owl’s Airfoil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Weijun Tian

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The main purpose of this paper is to demonstrate a bionic design for the airfoil of wind turbines inspired by the morphology of Long-eared Owl’s wings. Glauert Model was adopted to design the standard blade and the bionic blade, respectively. Numerical analysis method was utilized to study the aerodynamic characteristics of the airfoils as well as the blades. Results show that the bionic airfoil inspired by the airfoil at the 50% aspect ratio of the Long-eared Owl’s wing gives rise to a superior lift coefficient and stalling performance and thus can be beneficial to improving the performance of the wind turbine blade. Also, the efficiency of the bionic blade in wind turbine blades tests increases by 12% or above (up to 44% compared to that of the standard blade. The reason lies in the bigger pressure difference between the upper and lower surface which can provide stronger lift.

  13. Wind Turbine Generator System Acoustic Noise Test Report for the Gaia Wind 11-kW Wind Turbine

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Huskey, A.

    2011-11-01

    This report details the acoustic noise test conducted on the Gaia-Wind 11-kW wind turbine at the National Wind Technology Center. The test turbine is a two- bladed, downwind wind turbine with a rated power of 11 kW. The test turbine was tested in accordance with the International Electrotechnical Commission standard, IEC 61400-11 Ed 2.1 2006-11 Wind Turbine Generator Systems -- Part 11 Acoustic Noise Measurement Techniques.

  14. Fatigue impact on Mod-1 wind turbine design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stahle, C. V., Jr.

    1978-01-01

    Fatigue is a key consideration in the design of a long-life Wind Turbine Generator (WTG) system. This paper discusses the fatigue aspects of the large Mod-1 horizontal-axis WTG design starting with the characterization of the environment and proceeding through the design. Major sources of fatigue loading are discussed and methods of limiting fatigue loading are described. NASTRAN finite element models are used to determine dynamic loading and internal cyclic stresses. Recent developments in determining the allowable fatigue stress consistent with present construction codes are discussed relative to their application to WTG structural design.

  15. Fuzzy regulator design for wind turbine yaw control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Theodoropoulos, Stefanos; Kandris, Dionisis; Samarakou, Maria; Koulouras, Grigorios

    2014-01-01

    This paper proposes the development of an advanced fuzzy logic controller which aims to perform intelligent automatic control of the yaw movement of wind turbines. The specific fuzzy controller takes into account both the wind velocity and the acceptable yaw error correlation in order to achieve maximum performance efficacy. In this way, the proposed yaw control system is remarkably adaptive to the existing conditions. In this way, the wind turbine is enabled to retain its power output close to its nominal value and at the same time preserve its yaw system from pointless movement. Thorough simulation tests evaluate the proposed system effectiveness.

  16. Mapping of grid faults and grid codes[Wind turbines

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Iov, F. [Aalborg Univ., Inst. of Energy Technology (Denmark); Hansen, Anca D.; Soerensen, Poul; Cutululis, N.A. [Risoe National Lab. - DTU, Wind Enegy Dept., Roskilde (Denmark)

    2007-06-15

    The objective of this project is to investigate into the consequences of the new grid connection requirements for the fatigue and extreme loads of wind turbines. The goal is also to clarify and define possible new directions in the certification process of power plant wind turbines, namely wind turbines, which participate actively in the stabilisation of power systems. Practical experience shows that there is a need for such investigations. The grid connection requirements for wind turbines have increased significantly during the last 5-10 years. Especially the requirements for wind turbines to stay connected to the grid during and after voltage sags, imply potential challenges in the design of wind turbines. These requirements pose challenges for the design of both the electrical system and the mechanical structure of wind turbines. An overview over the frequency of grid faults and the grid connection requirements in different relevant countries is done in this report. The most relevant study cases for the quantification of the loads' impact on the wind turbines' lifetime are defined. The goal of this report is to present a mapping of different grid fault types and their frequency in different countries. The report provides also a detailed overview of the Low Voltage Ride-Through Capabilities for wind turbines in different relevant countries. The most relevant study cases for the quantification of the loads' impact on the wind turbines' lifetime are defined. (au)

  17. Wind resource estimation and siting of wind turbines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lundtang Petersen, Erik; Mortensen, N.G.; Landberg, L.

    1994-01-01

    Detailed knowledge of the characteristics of the natural wind is necessary for the design, planning and operational aspect of wind energy systems. Here, we shall only be concerned with those meteorological aspects of wind energy planning that are termed wind resource estimation. The estimation...... of the wind resource ranges from the overall estimation of the mean energy content of the wind over a large area - called regional assessment - to the prediction of the average yearly energy production of a specific wind turbine at a specific location - called siting. A regional assessment will most often...... lead to a so-called wind atlas. A precise prediction of the wind speed at a given site is essential because for aerodynamic reasons the power output of a wind turbine is proportional to the third power of the wind speed, hence even small errors in prediction of wind speed may result in large deviations...

  18. Optimized Generator Designs for the DTU 10-MW Offshore Wind Turbine using GeneratorSE

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sethuraman, Latha; Maness, Michael; Dykes, Katherine

    2017-01-09

    Compared to land-based applications, offshore wind imposes challenges for the development of next generation wind turbine generator technology. Direct-drive generators are believed to offer high availability, efficiency, and reduced operation and maintenance requirements; however, previous research suggests difficulties in scaling to several megawatts or more in size. The resulting designs are excessively large and/or massive, which are major impediments to transportation logistics, especially for offshore applications. At the same time, geared wind turbines continue to sustain offshore market growth through relatively cheaper and lightweight generators. However, reliability issues associated with mechanical components in a geared system create significant operation and maintenance costs, and these costs make up a large portion of overall system costs offshore. Thus, direct-drive turbines are likely to outnumber their gear-driven counterparts for this market, and there is a need to review the costs or opportunities of building machines with different types of generators and examining their competitiveness at the sizes necessary for the next generation of offshore wind turbines. In this paper, we use GeneratorSE, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's newly developed systems engineering generator sizing tool to estimate mass, efficiency, and the costs of different generator technologies satisfying the electromagnetic, structural, and basic thermal design requirements for application in a very large-scale offshore wind turbine such as the Technical University of Denmark's (DTU) 10-MW reference wind turbine. For the DTU reference wind turbine, we use the previously mentioned criteria to optimize a direct-drive, radial flux, permanent-magnet synchronous generator; a direct-drive electrically excited synchronous generator; a medium-speed permanent-magnet generator; and a high-speed, doubly-fed induction generator. Preliminary analysis of leveled costs of

  19. Electrical components library for HAWC2; Wind turbines

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cutululis, N.A.; Larsen, Torben J.; Soerensen, Poul; Hansen, Anca D. (Risoe National Lab., DTU, Wind Energy Dept., Roskilde (DK)); Iov, F. (Aalborg Univ., Institute of Energy Technology (DK))

    2007-12-15

    The work presented in this report is part of the EFP project called ''A Simulation Platform to Model, Optimize and Design Wind Turbines'' partly funded by the Danish Energy Authority under contract number 1363/04-0008. The project is carried out in cooperation between Risoe National Laboratory and Aalborg University. In this project, the focus is on the development of a simulation platform for wind turbine systems using different simulation tools. This report presents the electric component library developed for use in the aeroelastic code HAWC2. The developed library includes both steady state and dynamical models for fixed and variable speed wind turbines. A simple steady-state slip model was developed for the fixed speed wind turbine. This model is suitable for aeroelastic design of wind turbines under normal operation. A dynamic model of an induction generator for the fixed speed wind turbine was developed. The model includes the dynamics of the rotor fluxes. The model is suitable for a more detailed investigation of the mechanical-electrical interaction, both under normal and fault operation. For the variable speed wind turbine, a steadystate model, typically used in aeroelastic design, was implemented. The model can be used for normal and, to some extent, for fault operation. The reduced order dynamic model of a DFIG was implemented. The model includes only the active power controller and can be used for normal operation conditions. (au)

  20. 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...

  1. Future Materials for Wind Turbine Blades - A Critical Review

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Raghavalu Thirumalai, Durai Prabhakaran

    2012-01-01

    Wind turbine industry is continuously evaluating material systems to replace the current thermoset composite technologies. Since turbine blades are the key component in the wind turbines and the size of the blade is increasing in today’s wind design, the material selection has become crucial...

  2. Executive summary: Mod-1 wind turbine generator analysis and design report

    Science.gov (United States)

    1979-01-01

    Activities leading to the detail design of a wind turbine generator having a nominal rating of 1.8 megawatts are reported. Topics covered include (1) system description; (2) structural dynamics; (3) stability analysis; (4) mechanical subassemblies design; (5) power generation subsystem; and (6) control and instrumentation subsystem.

  3. Using partial safety factors in wind turbine design and testing

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Musial, W.D. [National Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO (United States)

    1997-12-31

    This paper describes the relationship between wind turbine design and testing in terms of the certification process. An overview of the current status of international certification is given along with a description of limit-state design basics. Wind turbine rotor blades are used to illustrate the principles discussed. These concepts are related to both International Electrotechnical Commission and Germanischer Lloyd design standards, and are covered using schematic representations of statistical load and material strength distributions. Wherever possible, interpretations of the partial safety factors are given with descriptions of their intended meaning. Under some circumstances, the authors` interpretations may be subjective. Next, the test-load factors are described in concept and then related to the design factors. Using technical arguments, it is shown that some of the design factors for both load and materials must be used in the test loading, but some should not be used. In addition, some test factors not used in the design may be necessary for an accurate test of the design. The results show that if the design assumptions do not clearly state the effects and uncertainties that are covered by the design`s partial safety factors, outside parties such as test labs or certification agencies could impose their own meaning on these factors.

  4. Database on wind characteristics - Analyses of wind turbine design loads

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Gunner Chr.; Hansen, K.S.

    2004-01-01

    the design load cases with relevance for to wind turbine structures. The present report constitutes thesecond part of the Annex XVII reporting. Both fatigue and extreme load aspects are dealt with, however, with the main emphasis on the latter. The work has been supported by The Ministry of Environment...... and Energy, Danish Energy Agency, The NetherlandsAgency for Energy and the Environment (NOVEM), The Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Administration (NVE), The Swedish National Energy Administration (STEM) and The Government of the United States of America....

  5. Influence of Reynolds Number on Multi-Objective Aerodynamic Design of a Wind Turbine Blade.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ge, Mingwei; Fang, Le; Tian, De

    2015-01-01

    At present, the radius of wind turbine rotors ranges from several meters to one hundred meters, or even more, which extends Reynolds number of the airfoil profile from the order of 105 to 107. Taking the blade for 3MW wind turbines as an example, the influence of Reynolds number on the aerodynamic design of a wind turbine blade is studied. To make the study more general, two kinds of multi-objective optimization are involved: one is based on the maximum power coefficient (CPopt) and the ultimate load, and the other is based on the ultimate load and the annual energy production (AEP). It is found that under the same configuration, the optimal design has a larger CPopt or AEP (CPopt//AEP) for the same ultimate load, or a smaller load for the same CPopt//AEP at higher Reynolds number. At a certain tip-speed ratio or ultimate load, the blade operating at higher Reynolds number should have a larger chord length and twist angle for the maximum Cpopt//AEP. If a wind turbine blade is designed by using an airfoil database with a mismatched Reynolds number from the actual one, both the load and Cpopt//AEP will be incorrectly estimated to some extent. In some cases, the assessment error attributed to Reynolds number is quite significant, which may bring unexpected risks to the earnings and safety of a wind power project.

  6. Influence of Reynolds Number on Multi-Objective Aerodynamic Design of a Wind Turbine Blade

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ge, Mingwei; Fang, Le; Tian, De

    2015-01-01

    At present, the radius of wind turbine rotors ranges from several meters to one hundred meters, or even more, which extends Reynolds number of the airfoil profile from the order of 105 to 107. Taking the blade for 3MW wind turbines as an example, the influence of Reynolds number on the aerodynamic design of a wind turbine blade is studied. To make the study more general, two kinds of multi-objective optimization are involved: one is based on the maximum power coefficient (C Popt) and the ultimate load, and the other is based on the ultimate load and the annual energy production (AEP). It is found that under the same configuration, the optimal design has a larger C Popt or AEP (C Popt//AEP) for the same ultimate load, or a smaller load for the same C Popt//AEP at higher Reynolds number. At a certain tip-speed ratio or ultimate load, the blade operating at higher Reynolds number should have a larger chord length and twist angle for the maximum C popt//AEP. If a wind turbine blade is designed by using an airfoil database with a mismatched Reynolds number from the actual one, both the load and C popt//AEP will be incorrectly estimated to some extent. In some cases, the assessment error attributed to Reynolds number is quite significant, which may bring unexpected risks to the earnings and safety of a wind power project. PMID:26528815

  7. Assessment of C-Type Darrieus Wind Turbine Under Low Wind Speed Condition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Misaran, M. S.; Rahman, Md. M.; Muzammil, W. K.; Ismail, M. A.

    2017-07-01

    Harvesting wind energy in in a low wind speed region is deem un-economical if not daunting task. Study shows that a minimum cut in speed of 3.5 m/s is required to extract a meaningful wind energy for electricity while a mean speed of 6 m/s is preferred. However, in Malaysia the mean speed is at 2 m/s with certain potential areas having 3 m/s mean speed. Thus, this work aims to develop a wind turbine that able to operate at lower cut-in speed and produce meaningful power for electricity generation. A C-type Darrieus blade is selected as it shows good potential to operate in arbitrary wind speed condition. The wind turbine is designed and fabricated in UMS labs while the performance of the wind turbine is evaluated in a simulated wind condition. Test result shows that the wind turbine started to rotate at 1 m/s compared to a NACA 0012 Darrieus turbine that started to rotate at 3 m/s. The performance of the turbine shows that it have good potential to be used in an intermittent arbitrary wind speed condition as well as low mean wind speed condition.

  8. Design of water pumping system by wind turbine for using in coastal areas of Bangladesh

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alam, Muhammad Mahbubul; Tasnim, Tamanna; Doha, Umnia

    2017-06-01

    In this work, a theoretical analysis has been carried out to analyze the prospect of Wind Pumping System (WPS) for using in coastal areas of Bangladesh. Wind speed data of three coastal areas of Bangladesh-Kutubdia, Patenga and Sathkhira has been analyzed and an optimal wind turbine viable for this wind speed range has been designed using the simulation software Q-blade. The simulated turbine is then coupled with a rotodynamic pump. The output of the Wind Pumping System (WPS) for the three coastal areas has been studied.

  9. Design and operating experience on the US Department of Energy experimental Mod-0 100-kW wind turbine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glasgow, J. C.; Birchenough, A. G.

    1978-01-01

    The experimental wind turbine was designed and fabricated to assess technology requirements and engineering problems of large wind turbines. The machine has demonstrated successful operation in all of its design modes and served as a prototype developmental test bed for the Mod-0A operational wind turbines which are currently used on utility networks. The mechanical and control system are described as they evolved in operational tests and some of the experience with various systems in the downwind rotor configurations are elaborated.

  10. Modeling and Design Optimization of Variable-Speed Wind Turbine Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ulas Eminoglu

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available As a result of the increase in energy demand and government subsidies, the usage of wind turbine system (WTS has increased dramatically. Due to the higher energy production of a variable-speed WTS as compared to a fixed-speed WTS, the demand for this type of WTS has increased. In this study, a new method for the calculation of the power output of variable-speed WTSs is proposed. The proposed model is developed from the S-type curve used for population growth, and is only a function of the rated power and rated (nominal wind speed. It has the advantage of enabling the user to calculate power output without using the rotor power coefficient. Additionally, by using the developed model, a mathematical method to calculate the value of rated wind speed in terms of turbine capacity factor and the scale parameter of the Weibull distribution for a given wind site is also proposed. Design optimization studies are performed by using the particle swarm optimization (PSO and artificial bee colony (ABC algorithms, which are applied into this type of problem for the first time. Different sites such as Northern and Mediterranean sites of Europe have been studied. Analyses for various parameters are also presented in order to evaluate the effect of rated wind speed on the design parameters and produced energy cost. Results show that proposed models are reliable and very useful for modeling and optimization of WTSs design by taking into account the wind potential of the region. Results also show that the PSO algorithm has better performance than the ABC algorithm for this type of problem.

  11. The design and stability determination of wind turbine tower

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abas Abd Wahab; Khairul Barriyah

    2001-01-01

    In wind turbine tower design, two load categories (static and wind load) were considered. The static load for this structure is the tower self-weight, which can be calculated from its density and area of the material, whereas the wind load was calculated based on CP3: Chapter V: Part 2: 1972, using the maximum wind speed of 30 m/s. The stability of this tower under the action of these two loads has been determined using RISA-3D program. The program were subjected to two joint types, i.e pinned and fixed joints. The tower using fixed joint members has established the necessary tower stability. The simulation, calculation and results are being discussed in detail in this paper. (Author)

  12. Adaptive Torque Control of Variable Speed Wind Turbines

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Johnson, K. E.

    2004-08-01

    The primary focus of this work is a new adaptive controller that is designed to resemble the standard non-adaptive controller used by the wind industry for variable speed wind turbines below rated power. This adaptive controller uses a simple, highly intuitive gain adaptation law designed to seek out the optimal gain for maximizing the turbine's energy capture. It is designed to work even in real, time-varying winds.

  13. European wind turbine testing procedure developments. Task 1: Measurement method to verify wind turbine performance characteristics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hunter, R.; Friis Pedersen, Troels; Dunbabin, P.

    2001-01-01

    There is currently significant standardisation work ongoing in the context of wind farm energy yield warranty assessment and wind turbine power performance testing. A standards maintenance team is revising the current IEC (EN) 61400-12 Ed 1 standard forwind turbine power performance testing....... The standard is being divided into four documents. Two of them are drafted for evaluation and verification of complete wind farms and of individual wind turbines within wind farms. This document, and the project itdescribes, has been designed to help provide a solid technical foundation for this revised...... standard. The work was wide ranging and addressed 'grey' areas of knowledge, regarding existing methodologies or to carry out basic research in support offundamentally new procedures. The work has given rise to recommendations in all areas of the work, including site calibration procedures, nacelle...

  14. Pitchcontrol of wind turbines using model free adaptivecontrol based on wind turbine code

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhang, Yunqian; Chen, Zhe; Cheng, Ming

    2011-01-01

    value is only based on I/O data of the wind turbine is identified and then the wind turbine system is replaced by a dynamic linear time-varying model. In order to verify the correctness and robustness of the proposed model free adaptive pitch controller, the wind turbine code FAST which can predict......As the wind turbine is a nonlinear high-order system, to achieve good pitch control performance, model free adaptive control (MFAC) approach which doesn't need the mathematical model of the wind turbine is adopted in the pitch control system in this paper. A pseudo gradient vector whose estimation...... the wind turbine loads and response in high accuracy is used. The results show that the controller produces good dynamic performance, good robustness and adaptability....

  15. Mitigation of mechanical loads of NREL 5MW wind turbine tower

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nam, Yoonsu; Im, Chang Hee

    2012-01-01

    As the size of a wind turbine increases, the mechanical structure has to have an increasing mechanical stiffness that is sufficient to withstand mechanical fatigue loads over a lifespan of more than 20 years. However, this leads to a heavier mechanical design, which means a high material cost during wind turbine manufacturing. Therefore, lightweight design of a wind turbine is an important design constraint. Usually, a lightweight mechanical structure has low damping. Therefore, if it is subjected to a disturbance, it will oscillate continuously. This study deals with the active damping control of a wind turbine tower. An algorithm that mitigates the mechanical loads of a wind turbine tower is introduced. The effectiveness of this algorithm is verified through a numerical simulation using GH Bladed, which is a commercial aero elastic code for wind turbines

  16. Fuzzy Regulator Design for Wind Turbine Yaw Control

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stefanos Theodoropoulos

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper proposes the development of an advanced fuzzy logic controller which aims to perform intelligent automatic control of the yaw movement of wind turbines. The specific fuzzy controller takes into account both the wind velocity and the acceptable yaw error correlation in order to achieve maximum performance efficacy. In this way, the proposed yaw control system is remarkably adaptive to the existing conditions. In this way, the wind turbine is enabled to retain its power output close to its nominal value and at the same time preserve its yaw system from pointless movement. Thorough simulation tests evaluate the proposed system effectiveness.

  17. Wind Turbines Wake Aerodynamics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vermeer, L.; Sørensen, Jens Nørkær; Crespo, A.

    2003-01-01

    The aerodynamics of horizontal axis wind turbine wakes is studied. The contents is directed towards the physics of power extraction by wind turbines and reviews both the near and the far wake region. For the near wake, the survey is restricted to uniform, steady and parallel flow conditions......, thereby excluding wind shear, wind speed and rotor setting changes and yawed conditions. The emphasis is put on measurements in controlled conditions.For the far wake, the survey focusses on both single turbines and wind farm effects, and the experimental and numerical work are reviewed; the main interest...... is to study how the far wake decays downstream, in order to estimate the effect produced in downstream turbines.The article is further restricted to horizontal axis wind turbines and excludes all other types of turbines....

  18. Wind turbine remote control using Android devices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rat, C. L.; Panoiu, M.

    2018-01-01

    This paper describes the remote control of a wind turbine system over the internet using an Android device, namely a tablet or a smartphone. The wind turbine workstation contains a LabVIEW program which monitors the entire wind turbine energy conversion system (WECS). The Android device connects to the LabVIEW application, working as a remote interface to the wind turbine. The communication between the devices needs to be secured because it takes place over the internet. Hence, the data are encrypted before being sent through the network. The scope was the design of remote control software capable of visualizing real-time wind turbine data through a secure connection. Since the WECS is fully automated and no full-time human operator exists, unattended access to the turbine workstation is needed. Therefore the device must not require any confirmation or permission from the computer operator in order to control it. Another condition is that Android application does not have any root requirements.

  19. Iterative feedback tuning of wind turbine controllers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Solingen, E.; Mulders, S.P.; van Wingerden, J.W.

    2017-01-01

    Traditionally, wind turbine controllers are designed using first principles or linearized or identified models. The aim of this paper is to show that with an automated, online, and model-free tuning strategy, wind turbine control performance can be significantly increased. For this purpose,

  20. Control design for a wind turbine-generator using output feedback

    Science.gov (United States)

    Javid, S. H.; Murdoch, A.; Winkelman, J. R.

    1981-01-01

    The modeling and approach to control design for a large horizontal axis wind turbine (WT) generator are presented. The control design is based on a suboptimal output regulator which allows coordinated control of WT blade pitch angle and field voltage for the purposes of regulating electrical power and terminal voltage. Results of detailed non-linear simulation tests of this controller are shown.

  1. 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

  2. Design and analysis of a small-scale vertical-axis wind turbine for rooftop power generation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abraham, J.P.; Mowry, G.S.; Erickson, R.A.

    2009-01-01

    This paper described a fluid flow model of a 2-blade vertical axis wind turbine designed for use in crowded urban and rooftop environments. The turbine featured a contoured blade developed to maximize rotational velocity and minimize drag forces. The model was used to determine the turbine's rotational velocities in a range of wind speeds. The analysis included a numerical simulation of air flow across the cup faces at all circumferential locations in order to determine pressure and drag forces. A rigid body dynamic analysis was then conducted to determine the rotational velocity of the turbine. Mass, momentum and turbulence closure equations were presented. Results of the study demonstrated that a turbine rotation rate of 137 rpm was achieved at wind velocities of 30 miles per hour. Wind speeds of 20 and 10 miles per hour resulted in rotational velocities of 91 and 43 rpm. It was concluded that the model can be used to predict the angular velocity of the vertical turbine system. 13 refs., 11 figs

  3. Operating wind turbines in strong wind conditions by using feedforward-feedback control

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Feng, Ju; Sheng, Wen Zhong

    2014-01-01

    Due to the increasing penetration of wind energy into power systems, it becomes critical to reduce the impact of wind energy on the stability and reliability of the overall power system. In precedent works, Shen and his co-workers developed a re-designed operation schema to run wind turbines in strong wind conditions based on optimization method and standard PI feedback control, which can prevent the typical shutdowns of wind turbines when reaching the cut-out wind speed. In this paper, a new control strategy combing the standard PI feedback control with feedforward controls using the optimization results is investigated for the operation of variable-speed pitch-regulated wind turbines in strong wind conditions. It is shown that the developed control strategy is capable of smoothening the power output of wind turbine and avoiding its sudden showdown at high wind speeds without worsening the loads on rotor and blades

  4. Heat and Flux. Enabling the Wind Turbine Controller

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schaak, P. [ECN Wind Energy, Petten (Netherlands)

    2006-09-15

    In the years 1999-2003 ECN invented and patented the technique 'Heat and Flux'. The idea behind Heat and Flux is that tuning turbines at the windward side of a wind farm more transparent than usual, i.e. realising an axial induction factor below the Lanchester-Betz optimum of 1/3, should raise net farm production and lower mechanical turbine loading without causing draw-backs. For scaled farms in a boundary layer wind tunnel this hypothesis has been proved in previous projects. To enable alternative turbine transparencies, the wind turbine controller must support the additional control aim 'desired transparency'. During this study we have determined a general method to design a transparency control algorithm. This method has been implemented in ECN's 'Control Tool' for designing wind turbine control algorithms. The aero-elastic wind turbine code Phatas has been used to verify the resulting control algorithm. Heat and Flux does not fundamentally change the control of horizontal axis variable speed wind turbines. The axial induction can be reduced by an offset on blade pitch or generator torque. Weighing reliability against performance profits, it appeared to be advisable to adapt only blade angle control.

  5. Vertical-axial component wind turbine with a high coefficient using for wind energy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yersin, Ch. Sh.; Manatbev, R.K.; Yersina, A. K.; Tulepbergenov, A. K.

    2012-01-01

    The report presents the results of research and development on of promising wind units carousel type with a high ratio utilization of wind energy. This devices use a well-known invention – the wind turbine Darrieus. The rotation of the turbine is due to the action of ascensional power to aerodynamic well-streamlined symmetrical about the chord wing profiles of NASA, which are working wind turbine blades. The shaft rotation can be connected with the working blades of one of two ways: using the “swings” or the way “troposkino”. Darrieus turbine has a ratio utilization of wind energy xmax=045. Despite the fact that this is a good indicator of the efficiency of the turbine working, the proposed option allows us to significantly increase the value of this coefficient. The bases methodology of this research is a method of technical and technological research and development design of prospective wind energy construction (WES). Key words: wind turbine, the blade, coefficient utilization of wind energy

  6. Improved design for large wind turbine blades of fibre composites (Phase 4) - Summary report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Soerensen, B.F.; Toftegaard, H.; Goutanos, S. (Risoe DTU, Materials Research Div., Roskilde (Denmark)); Branner, K.; Berring, P. (Risoe DTU, Wind Energy Div., Roskilde (Denmark)); Lund, E. (Aalborg Univ., Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Aalborg (Denmark)); Wedel-Heinen, J. (Vestas Wind System, Randers (Denmark)); Garm, J.H. (LM Wind Power, Kolding (Denmark))

    2010-06-15

    Results are summarised for the project 'Improved design for large wind turbine blades (Phase 4)', partially supported by the Danish Energy Agency under the Ministry of Climate and Energy through the EUDP journal no.: 33033-0267. The aim of the project was to develop new and better design methods for wind turbine blades, so that uncertainties associated with damage and defects can be reduced. The topics that are studied include buckling-driven delamination of flat load-carrying laminates, cracking along interfaces in material joints (fracture mechanical characterisation and modelling), cyclic crack growth with large scale bridging and the use of cohesive laws in finite element programmes for simulating wind turbine blade failure. An overview is given of the methods and the major research results of the project. The implementation of the knowledge in the industry is discussed. Finally, some ideas for future research activities are considered. (author)

  7. Optimization design of airfoil profiles based on the noise of wind turbines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cheng, Jiangtao; Chen, Jin; Cheng, Jiangtao

    2012-01-01

    Based on design theory of airfoil profiles and airfoil self-noise prediction model, a new method with the target of the airfoil average efficiency-noise ratio of design ranges for angle of attack had been developed for designing wind turbine airfoils. The airfoil design method was optimized for a...

  8. Beyond Classical Upscaling : Integrated Aeroservoelastic Design and Optimization of Large Offshore Wind Turbines

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ashuri, T.

    2012-01-01

    Issues related to environmental concern and fossil fuel exhaustion has made wind energy the most widely accepted renewable energy resource. However, there are still several challenges to be solved such as the integrated design of wind turbines, aeroelastic response and stability prediction, grid

  9. Discord amongst the wind turbine buyers with regard to Dutch wind turbine manufacturers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Janse, F.

    1992-01-01

    In the Netherlands two medium-large manufacturers of wind turbines exist: NedWind (Hollandia Kloos) and Windmaster Nederland (Begemann Groep). Also Lagerwey, which constructs wind turbines for the private market (farmers, cooperatives), is important for the Dutch market and successfull in Germany. There is a tendency amongst the Dutch energy utilities, which cooperate in the foundation WindPlan, to buy wind turbines from foreign manufacturers. Some energy utilities want to take advantage of the most attractive offers, while others want to cooperate in building up a Dutch wind turbine industry. 5 ills

  10. Orthogonal Bases used for Feed Forward Control of Wind Turbines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Odgaard, Peter Fogh; Stoustrup, Jakob

    2011-01-01

    In optimizing wind turbines it can be of a large help to use information of wind speeds at upwind turbine for the control of downwind turbines, it is, however, problematic to use these measurements directly since they are highly influenced by turbulence behind the wind turbine rotor plane. In this....... In this paper an orthogonal basis is use to extract the general trends in the wind signal, which are forward to the down wind turbines. This concept controller is designed and simulated on a generic 4.8 MW wind turbine model, which shows the potential of this proposed scheme....

  11. When wind turbines go to the sea

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dupin, L.

    2010-01-01

    Land wind turbines are not designed to operate in the open seas. In order to enhance their reliability, facilitate their maintenance and increase their power, existing technologies are adapted to the offshore constraints (direct drive for the blades, maintenance optimization, etc.) while innovating designs (such as vertical axis wind turbines, floating platforms, etc.) are presently tested. Several of these new concepts are described

  12. Some aspects on wind turbines monitoring. General considerations and loads on horizontal wind turbines

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cuerva, A.

    1996-12-01

    The concept Monitoring applied to the Wind Energy technology is similar to the definition used in other branches of Science or Engineering, this is knowing values of variables which have to do with a mechanic system, in our case a wind turbine. These mentioned parameters may have different relationships to our wind turbine; some of them come from the environment the machine is operating in, others, are a measure of how properly the machine is working, and finally, the rest are an assessment of the ``system`s health`` during its ``life``. In this chapter we will answer questions such as: What do we need to measure? Why is Monitoring mandatory (from the different points of view of people involved in this world)? How can we measure a wind turbine depending on our objectives (Technic, tools, guidance, recommendations, etc)? And finally What can we expect in the near future?. The author wants the reader to keep the idea in mind that Monitoring means the richest and most accurate knowledge on wind turbine`s operation (Its environment, performances of health). This is the first step that allows us to optimize the operation mode of the machine and improve it (design, manufacturing, even the used modeling tools). When there is so much money involved, this fact becomes a must. (Author)

  13. Optimal sensor placement for modal testing on wind turbines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schulze, Andreas; Zierath, János; Rosenow, Sven-Erik; Bockhahn, Reik; Rachholz, Roman; Woernle, Christoph

    2016-09-01

    The mechanical design of wind turbines requires a profound understanding of the dynamic behaviour. Even though highly detailed simulation models are already in use to support wind turbine design, modal testing on a real prototype is irreplaceable to identify site-specific conditions such as the stiffness of the tower foundation. Correct identification of the mode shapes of a complex mechanical structure much depends on the placement of the sensors. For operational modal analysis of a 3 MW wind turbine with a 120 m rotor on a 100 m tower developed by W2E Wind to Energy, algorithms for optimal placement of acceleration sensors are applied. The mode shapes used for the optimisation are calculated by means of a detailed flexible multibody model of the wind turbine. Among the three algorithms in this study, the genetic algorithm with weighted off-diagonal criterion yields the sensor configuration with the highest quality. The ongoing measurements on the prototype will be the basis for the development of optimised wind turbine designs.

  14. Turbulence and wind turbines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brand, Arno J.; Peinke, Joachim; Mann, Jakob

    2011-01-01

    The nature of turbulent flow towards, near and behind a wind turbine, the effect of turbulence on the electricity production and the mechanical loading of individual and clustered wind turbines, and some future issues are discussed.......The nature of turbulent flow towards, near and behind a wind turbine, the effect of turbulence on the electricity production and the mechanical loading of individual and clustered wind turbines, and some future issues are discussed....

  15. European wind turbine testing procedure developments. Task 1: Measurement method to verify wind turbine performance characteristics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hunter, R.; Friis Pedersen, T.; Dunbabin, P.; Antoniou, I.; Frandsen, S.; Klug, H.; Albers, A.; Lee, W.K.

    2001-01-01

    There is currently significant standardisation work ongoing in the context of wind farm energy yield warranty assessment and wind turbine power performance testing. A standards maintenance team is revising the current IEC (EN) 61400-12 Ed 1 standard for wind turbine power performance testing. The standard is being divided into four documents. Two of them are drafted for evaluation and verification of complete wind farms and of individual wind turbines within wind farms. This document, and the project it describes, has been designed to help provide a solid technical foundation for this revised standard. The work was wide ranging and addressed 'grey' areas of knowledge, regarding existing methodologies or to carry out basic research in support of fundamentally new procedures. The work has given rise to recommendations in all areas of the work, including site calibration procedures, nacelle anemometry, multi-variate regression analysis and density normalisation. (au)

  16. Probabilistic Modeling of Wind Turbine Drivetrain Components

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rafsanjani, Hesam Mirzaei

    Wind energy is one of several energy sources in the world and a rapidly growing industry in the energy sector. When placed in offshore or onshore locations, wind turbines are exposed to wave excitations, highly dynamic wind loads and/or the wakes from other wind turbines. Therefore, most components...... in a wind turbine experience highly dynamic and time-varying loads. These components may fail due to wear or fatigue, and this can lead to unplanned shutdown repairs that are very costly. The design by deterministic methods using safety factors is generally unable to account for the many uncertainties. Thus......, a reliability assessment should be based on probabilistic methods where stochastic modeling of failures is performed. This thesis focuses on probabilistic models and the stochastic modeling of the fatigue life of the wind turbine drivetrain. Hence, two approaches are considered for stochastic modeling...

  17. Inverse design-momentum, a method for the preliminary design of horizontal axis wind turbines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Battisti, L; Soraperra, G; Fedrizzi, R; Zanne, L

    2007-01-01

    Wind turbine rotor prediction methods based on generalized momentum theory BEM routinely used in industry and vortex wake methods demand the use of airfoil tabulated data and geometrical specifications such as the blade spanwise chord distribution. They belong to the category of 'direct design' methods. When, on the other hand, the geometry is deduced from some design objective, we refer to 'inverse design' methods. This paper presents a method for the preliminary design of wind turbine rotors based on an inverse design approach. For this purpose, a generalized theory was developed without using classical tools such as BEM. Instead, it uses a simplified meridional flow analysis of axial turbomachines and is based on the assumption that knowing the vortex distribution and appropriate boundary conditions is tantamount to knowing the velocity distribution. The simple conservation properties of the vortex components consistently cope with the forces and specific work exchange expressions through the rotor. The method allows for rotor arbitrarily radial load distribution and includes the wake rotation and expansion. Radial pressure gradient is considered in the wake. The capability of the model is demonstrated first by a comparison with the classical actuator disk theory in investigating the consistency of the flow field, then the model is used to predict the blade planform of a commercial wind turbine. Based on these validations, the authors postulate the use of a different vortex distribution (i.e. not-uniform loading) for blade design and discuss the effect of such choices on blade chord and twist, force distribution and power coefficient. In addition to the method's straightforward application to the pre-design phase, the model clearly shows the link between blade geometry and performance allowing quick preliminary evaluation of non uniform loading on blade structural characteristics

  18. Safety standards for wind turbines; Sicherheitsnormen fuer Windenergieanlagen

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Boyce, K. [Underwriters Laboratories Inc., Northbrook, IL (United States)

    2012-08-15

    As the global wind infrastructure sustains rapid growth, compliance with relevant standards provide validation of design principles and establish due diligence in addressing critical attributes such as safety. The IEC 61400 series of standards provides important information for addressing safety and performance of wind turbine systems. Efforts to address unique issues within the United States market has led to development of two safety standards, UL 6141 for large wind turbines and UL 6142 for small wind turbines. These standards, which are being published as American National Standards, contain key safety requirements for the electrical system, electrical safety and controls system, grid connection, and related safety issues. In the future, collaborative efforts will lead to continued exchange of best practices and opportunities for broader harmonization. Development of these standards, and their use by the manufacturing community in design and development of wind turbine products, supports maximal safety and performance of the burgeoning wind infrastructure. (orig.)

  19. Wind turbines and infrasound

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Howe, B.

    2006-01-01

    This paper provided the results of a study conducted to assess the impacts of wind farm-induced infrasound on nearby residences and human populations. Infrasound occurs at frequencies below those considered as detectable by human hearing. Infrasonic levels caused by wind turbines are often similar to ambient levels of 85 dBG or lower that are caused by wind in the natural environment. This study examined the levels at which infrasound poses a threat to human health or can be considered as an annoyance. The study examined levels of infrasound caused by various types of wind turbines, and evaluated acoustic phenomena and characteristics associated with wind turbines. Results of the study suggested that infrasound near modern wind turbines is typically not perceptible to humans through either auditory or non-auditory mechanisms. However, wind turbines often create an audible broadband noise whose amplitude can be modulated at low frequencies. A review of both Canadian and international studies concluded that infrasound generated by wind turbines should not significantly impact nearby residences or human populations. 17 refs., 2 tabs., 4 figs

  20. Reliability-Based Design and Planning of Inspection and Monitoring of Offshore Wind Turbines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Marquez-Dominguez, Sergio

    Maintaining and developing a sustainable wind industry is the main motivation of this PhD thesis entitled “Reliability-based design and planning of inspection and monitoring of offshore wind turbines”. In this thesis, statistical methods and probability theory are important mathematical tools used...... and offshore wind turbine foundations with the aim of improving the design, decreasing structural costs and increasing benefits. Recently, wind energy technology has started to adopt risk and reliability based inspection planning (RBI) as a methodology based on Bayesian decision theories together...

  1. Draft-circular on wind turbines. Concept-circulaire wind turbines

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1983-01-01

    Criteria for providing licenses to build and operate a wind turbine are surveyed. Factors to consider are: characteristics of the landscape, density of population, town and country planning, environmental aspects (birds), safety and nuisance. National regulations for wind turbines will simplify licensing procedures and improve legal security.

  2. 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.

  3. Wind turbines and idiopathic symptoms

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Blanes-Vidal, Victoria; Schwartz, Joel

    2016-01-01

    Whether or not wind turbines pose a risk to human health is a matter of heated debate. Personal reactions to other environmental exposures occurring in the same settings as wind turbines may be responsible of the reported symptoms. However, these have not been accounted for in previous studies. We...... investigated whether there is an association between residential proximity to wind turbines and idiopathic symptoms, after controlling for personal reactions to other environmental co-exposures. We assessed wind turbine exposures in 454 residences as the distance to the closest wind turbine (Dw) and number...... of wind turbines

  4. Operation and Equivalent Loads of Wind Turbines in Large Wind Farms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andersen, Soren Juhl; Sorensen, Jens Norkaer; Mikkelsen, Robert Flemming

    2017-11-01

    Wind farms continue to grow in size and as the technology matures, the design of wind farms move towards including dynamic effects besides merely annual power production estimates. The unsteady operation of wind turbines in large wind farms has been modelled with EllipSys3D(Michelsen, 1992, and Sørensen, 1995) for a number of different scenarios using a fully coupled large eddy simulations(LES) and aero-elastic framework. The turbines are represented in the flow fields using the actuator line method(Sørensen and Shen, 2002), where the aerodynamic forces and deflections are derived from an aero-elastic code, Flex5(Øye, 1996). The simulations constitute a database of full turbine operation in terms of both production and loads for various wind speeds, turbulence intensities, and turbine spacings. The operating conditions are examined in terms of averaged power production and thrust force, as well as 10min equivalent flapwise bending, yaw, and tilt moment loads. The analyses focus on how the performance and loads change throughout a given farm as well as comparing how various input parameters affect the operation and loads of the wind turbines during different scenarios. COMWIND(Grant 2104-09- 067216/DSF), Nordic Consortium on Optimization and Control of Wind Farms, Eurotech Greentech Wind project, Winds2Loads, and CCA LES. Ressources Granted on SNIC and JESS. The Vestas NM80 turbine has been used.

  5. 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.

  6. Evaluation of urethane for feasibility of use in wind turbine blade design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lieblein, S.; Ross, R. S.; Fertis, D. G.

    1979-01-01

    A preliminary evaluation was conducted of the use of cast urethane as a possible material for low-cost blades for wind turbines. Specimen test data are presented for ultimate tensile strength, elastic modulus, flexural strain, creep, and fatigue properties of a number of urethane formulations. Data are also included for a large-scale urethane blade section composed of cast symmetrical half-profiles tested as a cantilever beam. Based on these results, an analysis was conducted of a full-scale blade design of cast urethane that meets the design specifications of the rotor blades for the NASA/DOE experimental 100-kW MOD-0 wind turbine. Because of the low value of elastic modulus for urethane (around 457 000 psi), the design loads would have to be carried by metal reinforcement. Considerations for further evaluation are noted.

  7. Dynamic response of wind turbine towers in warm permafrost

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Benjamin Still; ZhaoHui Joey Yang; Simon Evans; FuJun Niu

    2014-01-01

    Wind is a great source of renewable energy in western Alaska. Consistent winds blow across the barren tundra underlain by warm permafrost in the winter season, when the energy demand is the highest. Foundation engineering in warm permafrost has always been a challenge in wind energy development. Degrading warm permafrost poses engineering issues to design, construction, and operation of wind turbines. This paper describes the foundation design of a wind turbine built in western Alaska. It presents a sys-tem for response monitoring and load assessment, and data collected from September 2013 to March 2014. The dynamic proper-ties are assessed based on the monitoring data, and seasonal changes in the dynamic properties of the turbine tower-foundation system and likely resonance between the spinning blades and the tower structure are discussed. These analyses of a wind turbine in warm permafrost are valuable for designing or retrofitting of foundations in warm permafrost.

  8. Wind turbine reliability :understanding and minimizing wind turbine operation and maintenance costs.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Walford, Christopher A. (Global Energy Concepts. Kirkland, WA)

    2006-03-01

    Wind turbine system reliability is a critical factor in the success of a wind energy project. Poor reliability directly affects both the project's revenue stream through increased operation and maintenance (O&M) costs and reduced availability to generate power due to turbine downtime. Indirectly, the acceptance of wind-generated power by the financial and developer communities as a viable enterprise is influenced by the risk associated with the capital equipment reliability; increased risk, or at least the perception of increased risk, is generally accompanied by increased financing fees or interest rates. This paper outlines the issues relevant to wind turbine reliability for wind turbine power generation projects. The first sections describe the current state of the industry, identify the cost elements associated with wind farm O&M and availability and discuss the causes of uncertainty in estimating wind turbine component reliability. The latter sections discuss the means for reducing O&M costs and propose O&M related research and development efforts that could be pursued by the wind energy research community to reduce cost of energy.

  9. Preliminary Design of a Multi-Column TLP Foundation for a 5-MW Offshore Wind Turbine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yanping He

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Currently, floating wind turbines (FWTs may be the more economical and suitable systems with which to exploit offshore wind energy in deep waters. Among the various types of floating foundations for offshore wind farms, a tension leg platform (TLP foundation can provide a relatively stable platform for currently available offshore wind turbines without requiring major modifications. In this study, a new multi-column TLP foundation (WindStar TLP was developed for the NREL 5-MW offshore wind turbine according to site-specific environmental conditions, which are the same as the OC3-Hywind (NREL conditions. The general arrangement, main structure and mooring system were also designed and investigated through hydrodynamic and natural frequency analyses. The complete system avoids resonance through the rotor excitations. An aero-hydro-servo-elastic coupled analysis was carried out in the time domain with the numerical tool FAST. Statistics of the key parameters were obtained and analysed and comparisons to MIT/NREL TLP are made. As a result, the design requirements were shown to be satisfied, and the proposed WindStar TLP was shown to have favourable motion characteristics under extreme wind and wave conditions with a lighter and smaller structure. The new concept holds great potential for further development.

  10. Wind Turbine Generator System Power Performance Test Report for the ARE442 Wind Turbine

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    van Dam, J.; Jager, D.

    2010-02-01

    This report summarizes the results of a power performance test that NREL conducted on the ARE 442 wind turbine. This test was conducted in accordance with the International Electrotechnical Commission's (IEC) standard, Wind Turbine Generator Systems Part 12: Power Performance Measurements of Electricity Producing Wind Turbines, IEC 61400-12-1 Ed.1.0, 2005-12. However, because the ARE 442 is a small turbine as defined by IEC, NREL also followed Annex H that applies to small wind turbines. In these summary results, wind speed is normalized to sea-level air density.

  11. Control design and performance analysis of a 6 MW wind turbine-generator

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murdoch, A.; Winkelman, J. R.; Javid, S. H.; Barton, R. S.

    1983-01-01

    This paper discusses an approach to the modeling and performance for the preliminary design phase of a large (6.2 MW) horizontal axis wind turbine generator (WTG). Two control philosophies are presented, both of which are based on linearized models of the WT mechanical and electrical systems. The control designs are compared by showing the performance through detailed non-linear time simulation. The disturbances considered are wind gusts, and electrical faults near the WT terminals.

  12. Conceptual Design of a Floating Support Structure and Mooring System for a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Berthelsen, Petter Andreas; Fylling, Ivar; Vita, Luca

    2012-01-01

    This paper deals with the conceptual design of a floating support structure and mooring system for a 5MW vertical axis offshore wind turbine. The work is carried out as part of the DeepWind project, where the main objective is to investigate the feasibility of a floating vertical axis offshore wind...... turbine. The DeepWind concept consists of a Darrieus rotor mounted on a spar buoy support structure. The conceptual design is carried out in an iterative process, involving the different subcomponents. The present work is part of the first design iteration and the objective is to find a feasible floating...... support structure and mooring system for the DeepWind concept. The conceptual design is formulated as an optimization problem: Starting with an initial configuration, the optimization procedure tries to find a cheaper solution while satisfying a set of design requirements. This approach utilizes available...

  13. Some aspects on wind turbines monitoring. General considerations and loads on horizontal wind turbines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cuerva, A.

    1996-01-01

    The concept Monitoring applied to the Wind Energy technology is similar to the definition used in other branches of Science or Engineering, this is knowing values of variables which have to do with a mechanic system, in our case a wind turbine. These mentioned parameters may have different relationships to our wind turbine; some of them come from the environment the machine is operating in, others, are a measure of how properly the machine is working, and finally, the rest are an assessment of the systems health during its life. In this chapter we will answer questions such as: What do we need to measure? Why is Monitoring mandatory (from the different points of view of people involved in this world)? How can we measure a wind turbine depending on our objectives (Technic, tools, guidance, recommendations, etc.)? And finally What can we expect in the near future? The author wants the reader to keep the idea in mind that Monitoring means the richest and most accurate knowledge on wind turbine's operation (Its environment, performances or health). This is the first step that allows us to optimize the operation mode of the machine and improve it (design, manufacturing, even the used modeling tools). When there is so much money involved, this fact becomes a must. (Author)

  14. Mod-5A wind turbine generator program design report. Volume 2: Conceptual and preliminary design, book 2

    Science.gov (United States)

    1984-01-01

    The design, development and analysis of the 7.3 MW MOD-5A wind tunnel generator is documented. There are four volumes. In Volume 2, book 2 the requirements and criteria for the design are presented. The development tests, which determined or characterized many of the materials and components of the wind turbine generator, are described.

  15. Optimized Generator Designs for the DTU 10-MW Offshore Wind Turbine using GeneratorSE: Preprint

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sethuraman, Latha; Maness, Michael; Dykes, Katherine

    2017-01-01

    Compared to land-based applications, offshore wind imposes challenges for the development of next generation wind turbine generator technology. Direct-drive generators are believed to offer high availability, efficiency, and reduced operation and maintenance requirements; however, previous research suggests difficulties in scaling to several megawatts or more in size. The resulting designs are excessively large and/or massive, which are major impediments to transportation logistics, especially for offshore applications. At the same time, geared wind turbines continue to sustain offshore market growth through relatively cheaper and lightweight generators. However, reliability issues associated with mechanical components in a geared system create significant operation and maintenance costs, and these costs make up a large portion of overall system costs offshore. Thus, direct-drive turbines are likely to outnumber their gear-driven counterparts for this market, and there is a need to review the costs or opportunities of building machines with different types of generators and examining their competitiveness at the sizes necessary for the next generation of offshore wind turbines. In this paper, we use GeneratorSE, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's newly developed systems engineering generator sizing tool to estimate mass, efficiency, and the costs of different generator technologies satisfying the electromagnetic, structural, and basic thermal design requirements for application in a very large-scale offshore wind turbine such as the Technical University of Denmark's (DTU) 10-MW reference wind turbine. For the DTU reference wind turbine, we use the previously mentioned criteria to optimize a direct-drive, radial flux, permanent-magnet synchronous generator; a direct-drive electrically excited synchronous generator; a medium-speed permanent-magnet generator; and a high-speed, doubly-fed induction generator. Preliminary analysis of leveled costs of

  16. Mod-5A Wind Turbine Generator Program Design Report. Volume 4: Drawings and Specifications, Book 1

    Science.gov (United States)

    1984-01-01

    The design, development and analysis of the 7.3 MW MOD-5A wind turbine generator is documented. Volume 4 contains the drawings and specifications that were developed in preparation for building the MOD-5A wind turbine generator. This is the first of five books of volume four. It contains structural design criteria, generator step-up transformer specs, specs for design, fabrication and testing of the system, specs for the ground control enclosure, systems specs, slip ring specs, and control system specs.

  17. Design of wind turbine airfoils based on maximum power coefficient

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cheng, Jiangtao; Chen, Jin; Cheng, Jiangtao

    2010-01-01

    Based on the blade element momentum (BEM) theory, the power coefficient of a wind turbine can be expressed in function of local tip speed ratio and lift-drag ratio. By taking the power coefficient in a predefined range of angle of attack as the final design objective and combining with an airfoil...

  18. A Critical Review of Future Materials for Wind Turbine Blades

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Raghavalu Thirumalai, Durai Prabhakaran

    2014-01-01

    Wind turbine industry is continuously evaluating materials systems to replace the current thermoset composite technologies. Since turbine blades are the key component in the wind turbines and the size of the blade is increasing in todays wind design, the materials selection has become crucial...

  19. Potential health impact of wind turbines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2010-05-01

    In response to public health concerns about wind turbines, a study was conducted to review the scientific evidence on the potential health effects of wind turbines. Several research questions were examined, including scientific evidence on the potential health impacts of wind turbines; the relationship between wind turbine noise and health; the relationship between low frequency sound, infrasound and health; assessment of exposure to wind turbines; wind turbine health and safety hazards and Ontario wind turbine setbacks; community consultation prior to wind farm construction and data gaps and research needs. The study showed that although some people living near wind turbines reported symptoms such as dizziness, headaches, and sleep disturbance, the scientific evidence available to date does not demonstrate a direct causal link between wind turbine noise and adverse health effects. The sound level from wind turbines at common residential setbacks is not sufficient to cause hearing impairment or other direct health effects, although some people may find it annoying. 41 refs., 1 appendix.

  20. Study of wind turbine foundations in cold climates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2012-11-01

    This report provides an overview of the processes at work in soil in cold climates and their effect on wind turbine foundations. Havsnaes wind farm consists of 48 turbines located in Jaemtland county in central Sweden. Havsnaes has provided an appropriate research environment to investigate the engineering challenges related to the design and construction of wind turbine foundations in sub-arctic conditions and the experienced gained from this project informs this report.

  1. A ``Cyber Wind Facility'' for HPC Wind Turbine Field Experiments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brasseur, James; Paterson, Eric; Schmitz, Sven; Campbell, Robert; Vijayakumar, Ganesh; Lavely, Adam; Jayaraman, Balaji; Nandi, Tarak; Jha, Pankaj; Dunbar, Alex; Motta-Mena, Javier; Craven, Brent; Haupt, Sue

    2013-03-01

    The Penn State ``Cyber Wind Facility'' (CWF) is a high-fidelity multi-scale high performance computing (HPC) environment in which ``cyber field experiments'' are designed and ``cyber data'' collected from wind turbines operating within the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) environment. Conceptually the ``facility'' is akin to a high-tech wind tunnel with controlled physical environment, but unlike a wind tunnel it replicates commercial-scale wind turbines operating in the field and forced by true atmospheric turbulence with controlled stability state. The CWF is created from state-of-the-art high-accuracy technology geometry and grid design and numerical methods, and with high-resolution simulation strategies that blend unsteady RANS near the surface with high fidelity large-eddy simulation (LES) in separated boundary layer, blade and rotor wake regions, embedded within high-resolution LES of the ABL. CWF experiments complement physical field facility experiments that can capture wider ranges of meteorological events, but with minimal control over the environment and with very small numbers of sensors at low spatial resolution. I shall report on the first CWF experiments aimed at dynamical interactions between ABL turbulence and space-time wind turbine loadings. Supported by DOE and NSF.

  2. A Simulation Platform To Model, Optimize And Design Wind Turbines. The Matlab/Simulink Toolbox

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anca Daniela HANSEN

    2002-12-01

    Full Text Available In the last years Matlab / Simulink® has become the most used software for modeling and simulation of dynamic systems. Wind energy conversion systems are for example such systems, containing subsystems with different ranges of the time constants: wind, turbine, generator, power electronics, transformer and grid. The electrical generator and the power converter need the smallest simulation step and therefore, these blocks decide the simulation speed. This paper presents a new and integrated simulation platform for modeling, optimizing and designing wind turbines. The platform contains different simulation tools: Matlab / Simulink - used as basic modeling tool, HAWC, DIgSilent and Saber.

  3. Concept design and coupled dynamic response analysis on 6-MW spar-type floating offshore wind turbine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meng, Long; Zhou, Tao; He, Yan-ping; Zhao, Yong-sheng; Liu, Ya-dong

    2017-10-01

    Tower, Spar platform and mooring system are designed in the project based on a given 6-MW wind turbine. Under wind-induced only, wave-induced only and combined wind and wave induced loads, dynamic response is analyzed for a 6-MW Spar-type floating offshore wind turbine (FOWT) under operating conditions and parked conditions respectively. Comparison with a platform-fixed system (land-based system) of a 6-MW wind turbine is carried out as well. Results demonstrate that the maximal out-of-plane deflection of the blade of a Spar-type system is 3.1% larger than that of a land-based system; the maximum response value of the nacelle acceleration is 215% larger for all the designed load cases being considered; the ultimate tower base fore-aft bending moment of the Spar-type system is 92% larger than that of the land-based system in all of the Design Load Cases (DLCs) being considered; the fluctuations of the mooring tension is mainly wave-induced, and the safety factor of the mooring tension is adequate for the 6-MW FOWT. The results can provide relevant modifications to the initial design for the Spar-type system, the detailed design and model basin test of the 6-MW Spar-type system.

  4. OUT Success Stories: Advanced Airfoils for Wind Turbines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, J.; Green, B.

    2000-08-01

    New airfoils have substantially increased the aerodynamic efficiency of wind turbines. It is clear that these new airfoils substantially increased energy output from wind turbines. Virtually all new blades built in this country today use these advanced airfoil designs.

  5. OUT Success Stories: Advanced Airfoils for Wind Turbines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jones, J.; Green, B.

    2000-01-01

    New airfoils have substantially increased the aerodynamic efficiency of wind turbines. It is clear that these new airfoils substantially increased energy output from wind turbines. Virtually all new blades built in this country today use these advanced airfoil designs

  6. Reliability of wind turbine blades: An overview of materials testing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Holmes, John W.; Sørensen, Bent F.; Brøndsted, Povl

    2007-01-01

    an understanding of how damage develops in composite structures, composite materials and adhesives. Designing reliable wind turbine blades also requires the further development of laboratory scale and full scale test methods to evaluate the structural response and durability of new materials under various loading......The structural reliability of wind turbine components can have a profound impact on both the profitability and reputation of a wind turbine manufacturer or supplier of wind turbine components. The issue of reliability is of critical concern when large wind farm co-operatives are considered......, and when wind turbines are located in remote regions where the cost of inspections and repairs can be very high. From a structural viewpoint, wind turbine blades are subjected to very complex loading histories with coupled deformation modes. The long-term reliability of wind turbine blades requires...

  7. Fatigue Reliability and Calibration of Fatigue Design Factors for Offshore Wind Turbines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dominguez, Sergio Marquez; Sørensen, John Dalsgaard

    2012-01-01

    Consequences of failure of offshore wind turbines (OWTs) are in general lower than consequences of failure of, e.g., oil & gas platforms. It is reasonable that lower fatigue design factors can be applied for fatigue design of OWTs when compared to other fixed offshore structures. Calibration...

  8. Aeroservoelasticity of wind turbines

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Skovmose Kallesoee, B.

    2007-12-14

    This thesis deals with the fundamental aeroelastic interaction between structural motion, Pitch action and control for a wind turbine blade. As wind turbines become larger, the interaction between pitch action, blade motion, aerodynamic forces, and control become even more important to understand and address. The main contribution of this thesis is the development of an aeroelastic blade model which on the one hand includes the important effects of steady state blade deformation, gravity and pitch action, and on the other it is transparent, suitable for analytical analysis and parameter studies, and furthermore linear and therefore suitable for control design. The development of the primary aeroelastic blade model is divided into four steps: 1) Nonlinear partial differential equations (PDEs) of structural blade motion are derived together with equations of pitch action and rotor speed; the individual terms in these equations are discussed and given physical interpretations; 2) Steady state blade deformation and induced velocities are computed by combining the PDEs with a steady state aerodynamic model; 3) Aeroelastic modes of motion are computed by combining the linearized PDEs with a linear unsteady aerodynamic model; this model is used to analyze how blade deformation effects the modes of motion; and 4) the linear aeroelastic blade model is derived by a modal expansion of the linearized PDEs combined with a linear unsteady aerodynamic model. The aeroelastic blade model has many similarities to a 2D blade section model, and it can be used instead of this in many applications, giving a transparent connection to a real wind turbine blade. In this work the aeroelastic blade model is used to analyze interaction between pitch action, blade motion and wind speed variations. Furthermore the model is used to develop a state estimator for estimating the wind speed and wind shear, and to suggest a load reducing controller. The state estimator estimates the wind shear very

  9. Design of a high power, resonant converter for DC wind turbines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dincan, Catalin Gabriel; Kjær, Philip Carne; Chen, Yu-Hsing

    2018-01-01

    This paper presents a design procedure and loss estimation for a high power, medium voltage series resonant converter (entitled SRC#), intended for application in megawatt medium-voltage DC wind turbines. The converter is operated with a novel method of operation, entitled pulse removal technique...

  10. Design and calibration of a semi-active control logic to mitigate structural vibrations in wind turbines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Caterino, Nicola; Georgakis, Christos T.; Spizzuoco, Mariacristina

    2016-01-01

    The design of a semi-active (SA) control system addressed to mitigate wind induced structural demand to high wind turbine towers is discussed herein. Actually, the remarkable growth in height of wind turbines in the last decades, for a higher production of electricity, makes this issue pressing....../20 scale model of a real, one hundred meters tall wind turbine has been assumed as case study for shaking table tests. A special control algorithm has been purposely designed to drive MR dampers. Starting from the results of preliminary laboratory tests, a finite element model of such structure has been...... calibrated so as to develop several numerical simulations addressed to calibrate the controller, i.e., to achieve as much as possible different, even conflicting, structural goals. The results are definitely encouraging, since the best configuration of the controller leaded to about 80% of reduction of base...

  11. A wind turbine hybrid simulation framework considering aeroelastic effects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Wei; Su, Weihua

    2015-04-01

    In performing an effective structural analysis for wind turbine, the simulation of turbine aerodynamic loads is of great importance. The interaction between the wake flow and the blades may impact turbine blades loading condition, energy yield and operational behavior. Direct experimental measurement of wind flow field and wind profiles around wind turbines is very helpful to support the wind turbine design. However, with the growth of the size of wind turbines for higher energy output, it is not convenient to obtain all the desired data in wind-tunnel and field tests. In this paper, firstly the modeling of dynamic responses of large-span wind turbine blades will consider nonlinear aeroelastic effects. A strain-based geometrically nonlinear beam formulation will be used for the basic structural dynamic modeling, which will be coupled with unsteady aerodynamic equations and rigid-body rotations of the rotor. Full wind turbines can be modeled by using the multi-connected beams. Then, a hybrid simulation experimental framework is proposed to potentially address this issue. The aerodynamic-dominant components, such as the turbine blades and rotor, are simulated as numerical components using the nonlinear aeroelastic model; while the turbine tower, where the collapse of failure may occur under high level of wind load, is simulated separately as the physical component. With the proposed framework, dynamic behavior of NREL's 5MW wind turbine blades will be studied and correlated with available numerical data. The current work will be the basis of the authors' further studies on flow control and hazard mitigation on wind turbine blades and towers.

  12. SUSTAINABLE CONCRETE FOR WIND TURBINE FOUNDATIONS.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    BERNDT,M.L.

    2004-06-01

    The use of wind power to generate electricity continues to grow, especially given commitments by various countries throughout the world to ensure that a significant percentage of energy comes from renewable sources. In order to meet such objectives, increasingly larger turbines with higher capacity are being developed. The engineering aspects of larger turbine development tend to focus on design and materials for blades and towers. However, foundations are also a critical component of large wind turbines and represent a significant cost of wind energy projects. Ongoing wind research at BNL is examining two areas: (a) structural response analysis of wind turbine-tower-foundation systems and (b) materials engineering of foundations. This work is investigating the dynamic interactions in wind turbine systems, which in turn assists the wind industry in achieving improved reliability and more cost efficient foundation designs. The results reported herein cover initial studies of concrete mix designs for large wind turbine foundations and how these may be tailored to reduce cost and incorporate sustainability and life cycle concepts. The approach taken was to investigate material substitutions so that the environmental, energy and CO{sub 2}-impact of concrete could be reduced. The use of high volumes of ''waste'' materials in concrete was examined. These materials included fly ash, blast furnace slag and recycled concrete aggregate. In addition, the use of steel fiber reinforcement as a means to improve mechanical properties and potentially reduce the amount of bar reinforcement in concrete foundations was studied. Four basic mixes were considered. These were: (1) conventional mix with no material substitutions, (2) 50% replacement of cement with fly ash, (3) 50% replacement of cement with blast furnace slag and (4) 25% replacement of cement with fly ash and 25% replacement with blast furnace slag. Variations on these mixes included the addition of 1

  13. Multidisciplinary design optimization of large wind turbines—Technical, economic, and design challenges

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ashuri, Turaj; Zaaijer, Michiel B.; Martins, Joaquim R.R.A.; Zhang, Jie

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • 5, 10 and 20 MW wind turbines are developed using multidisciplinary design optimization. • Technical feasibility and economy of large wind turbines are investigated. • Critical upscaling trends of existing wind turbines are presented up to 20 MW. • Design challenges of large wind turbines are identified, and design solutions proposed. • With no design innovation, upscaling of existing turbines will increase the costs. - Abstract: Wind energy has experienced a continuous cost reduction in the last decades. A popular cost reduction technique is to increase the rated power of the wind turbine by making it larger. However, it is not clear whether further upscaling of the existing wind turbines beyond the 5–7 MW range is technically feasible and economically attractive. To address this question, this study uses 5, 10, and 20 MW wind turbines that are developed using multidisciplinary design optimization as upscaling data points. These wind turbines are upwind, 3-bladed, pitch-regulated, variable-speed machines with a tubular tower. Based on the design data and properties of these wind turbines, scaling trends such as loading, mass, and cost are developed. These trends are used to study the technical and economical aspects of upscaling and its impact on the design and cost. The results of this research show the technical feasibility of the existing wind turbines up to 20 MW, but the design of such an upscaled machine is cost prohibitive. Mass increase of the rotor is identified as a main design challenge to overcome. The results of this research support the development of alternative lightweight materials and design concepts such as a two-bladed downwind design for upscaling to remain a cost effective solution for future wind turbines.

  14. Preview-based Asymmetric Load Reduction of Wind Turbines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Madsen, Mathias; Filsø, Jakob; Soltani, Mohsen

    2012-01-01

    Controller (MPC) developed is based on a model with individual blade pitching to utilize the LIDAR measurements. The MPC must also maintain a given power reference while satisfying a set of actuator constraints. The designed controller was tested on a 5 MW wind turbine in the FAST simulator and compared......Fatigue loads on wind turbines caused by an asymmetric wind field become an increasing concern when the scale of wind turbines increases. This paper presents a model based predictive approach to reduce asymmetric loads by using Light Detection And Ranging (LIDAR) measurements. The Model Predictive...

  15. Performance assessment of a small wind turbine with crossflow runner by numerical simulations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dragomirescu, A. [University Politehnica of Bucharest, Department of Hydraulics, Hydraulic Machinery and Environmental Engineering, Splaiul Independentei 313, 060042 Bucharest (Romania)

    2011-03-15

    Most of the classical wind turbines are not able to start at wind speeds as low as 2-3 m/s. Other turbines, like Savonius, have a low maximum efficiency, which renders them useless in poor wind conditions. Therefore, new turbine designs are required to harvest wind power even when the wind speed is low. A wind turbine having a crossflow runner, similar to the Banki water turbine, is studied numerically in this work in order to estimate its performance. The results obtained suggest that this turbine has a considerable high starting torque and its maximum power coefficient is comparable to those of horizontal axis wind turbines. Based on the results obtained, some improvements of the design are proposed in order to further increase turbine performance. (author)

  16. Strategies for Refining IEC 61400-2: Wind Turbine Generator Systems - Part 2: Safety of Small Wind Turbines: Preprint

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    van Dam, J. J. D.; Forsyth, T. L.; Hansen, A. C.

    2001-01-01

    This paper provides a status of the changes currently being made by IEC Maintenance Team 02 (MT02) to the existing IEC 61400-2 ''Safety of small wind turbines.'' In relation to the work done by IEC MT02, work has been done by NREL and Windward Engineering under the DOE/NREL Small Wind Turbine (SWT) Project. Aeroelastic models were built and measurements taken on a Whisper H40 turbine and an AOC 15/50. Results from this study were used to verify the simple design equations. This verification will be used to evaluate how changes made in the design load estimation section of the standard work out for a broad range of turbine configurations. The work presented here builds on work performed by Van Hulle (1996)

  17. Wind Power Plant Control Optimisation with Incorporation of Wind Turbines and STATCOMs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petersen, Lennart; Kryezi, Fitim; Iov, Florin

    2015-01-01

    This paper addresses a detailed design and tuning of a wind power plant slope voltage control with reactive power contribution of wind turbines and STATCOMS. First, small-signal models of a single wind turbine and the whole wind power plant are developed, being appropriate for voltage control...... assessment. An exemplary wind power plant located in the United Kingdom and the corresponding grid code requirements are used as a base case. The final design and tuning process of the voltage controller results in a guidance, proposed for this particular control architecture. It provides qualitative...... outcomes regarding the impact of system delays, grid conditions and various operating conditions of the wind power plant, with and without incorporation of STATCOMS....

  18. Urban wind turbines. Guidelines for small wind turbines in the built environment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cace, J.; Ter Horst, E.; Syngellakis, K.; Niel, M.; Clement, P.; Heppener, R.; Peirano, E.

    2007-02-01

    The objective of the WINEUR project (Wind Energy Integration in the Urban Environment) is to determine the deployability of small wind turbines in built environments while identifying the current significant constraints and possible solutions. The purpose of this document is to Inform the stakeholders about the state of the development of small wind turbines for the built environment; Provide practical guidelines to actors dealing with installation of small wind turbines in urban areas; and Provide recommendations for future products and for market development

  19. Quantifying the hurricane risk to offshore wind turbines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rose, Stephen; Jaramillo, Paulina; Small, Mitchell J; Grossmann, Iris; Apt, Jay

    2012-02-28

    The U.S. Department of Energy has estimated that if the United States is to generate 20% of its electricity from wind, over 50 GW will be required from shallow offshore turbines. Hurricanes are a potential risk to these turbines. Turbine tower buckling has been observed in typhoons, but no offshore wind turbines have yet been built in the United States. We present a probabilistic model to estimate the number of turbines that would be destroyed by hurricanes in an offshore wind farm. We apply this model to estimate the risk to offshore wind farms in four representative locations in the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal waters of the United States. In the most vulnerable areas now being actively considered by developers, nearly half the turbines in a farm are likely to be destroyed in a 20-y period. Reasonable mitigation measures--increasing the design reference wind load, ensuring that the nacelle can be turned into rapidly changing winds, and building most wind plants in the areas with lower risk--can greatly enhance the probability that offshore wind can help to meet the United States' electricity needs.

  20. Applying micro scales of horizontal axis wind turbines for operation in low wind speed regions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pourrajabian, Abolfazl; Ebrahimi, Reza; Mirzaei, Masoud

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Three micro-turbines with output power less than 1 kW were designed for operation in low wind speed regions. • In addition to the output power, starting time was considered as a key parameter during the design. • The effects of generator resistive torque and number of blades on the performance of the turbines were investigated. - Abstract: Utilizing the micro scales of wind turbines could noticeably supply the demand for the electricity in low wind speed regions. Aerodynamic design and optimization of the blade, as a main part of a wind turbine, were addressed in the study. Three micro scales of horizontal axis wind turbines with output power of 0.5, 0.75 and 1 kW were considered and the geometric optimization of the blades in terms of the two involved parameters, chord and twist, was undertaken. In order to improve the performance of the turbines at low wind speeds, starting time was included in an objective function in addition to the output power – the main and desirable goal of the wind turbine blade design. A purpose-built genetic algorithm was employed to maximize both the output power and the starting performance which were calculated by the blade-element momentum theory. The results emphasize that the larger values of the chord and twist at the root part of the blades are indispensable for the better performance when the wind speed is low. However, the noticeable value of the generator resistive torque could largely delay the starting of the micro-turbines especially for the considered smaller size, 0.5 kW, where the starting aerodynamic torque could not overcome the generator resistive torque. For that size, an increase in the number of blades improved both the starting performance and also output power

  1. Wind Speed Preview Measurement and Estimation for Feedforward Control of Wind Turbines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simley, Eric J.

    Wind turbines typically rely on feedback controllers to maximize power capture in below-rated conditions and regulate rotor speed during above-rated operation. However, measurements of the approaching wind provided by Light Detection and Ranging (lidar) can be used as part of a preview-based, or feedforward, control system in order to improve rotor speed regulation and reduce structural loads. But the effectiveness of preview-based control depends on how accurately lidar can measure the wind that will interact with the turbine. In this thesis, lidar measurement error is determined using a statistical frequency-domain wind field model including wind evolution, or the change in turbulent wind speeds between the time they are measured and when they reach the turbine. Parameters of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 5-MW reference turbine model are used to determine measurement error for a hub-mounted circularly-scanning lidar scenario, based on commercially-available technology, designed to estimate rotor effective uniform and shear wind speed components. By combining the wind field model, lidar model, and turbine parameters, the optimal lidar scan radius and preview distance that yield the minimum mean square measurement error, as well as the resulting minimum achievable error, are found for a variety of wind conditions. With optimized scan scenarios, it is found that relatively low measurement error can be achieved, but the attainable measurement error largely depends on the wind conditions. In addition, the impact of the induction zone, the region upstream of the turbine where the approaching wind speeds are reduced, as well as turbine yaw error on measurement quality is analyzed. In order to minimize the mean square measurement error, an optimal measurement prefilter is employed, which depends on statistics of the correlation between the preview measurements and the wind that interacts with the turbine. However, because the wind speeds encountered by

  2. CFD-based design load analysis of 5MW offshore wind turbine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tran, T. T.; Ryu, G. J.; Kim, Y. H.; Kim, D. H.

    2012-11-01

    The structure and aerodynamic loads acting on NREL 5MW reference wind turbine blade are calculated and analyzed based on advanced Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and unsteady Blade Element Momentum (BEM). A detailed examination of the six force components has been carried out (three force components and three moment components). Structure load (gravity and inertia load) and aerodynamic load have been obtained by additional structural calculations (CFD or BEM, respectively,). In CFD method, the Reynolds Average Navier-Stokes approach was applied to solve the continuity equation of mass conservation and momentum balance so that the complex flow around wind turbines was modeled. Written in C programming language, a User Defined Function (UDF) code which defines transient velocity profile according to the Extreme Operating Gust condition was compiled into commercial FLUENT package. Furthermore, the unsteady BEM with 3D stall model has also adopted to investigate load components on wind turbine rotor. The present study introduces a comparison between advanced CFD and unsteady BEM for determining load on wind turbine rotor. Results indicate that there are good agreements between both present methods. It is importantly shown that six load components on wind turbine rotor is significant effect under Extreme Operating Gust (EOG) condition. Using advanced CFD and additional structural calculations, this study has succeeded to construct accuracy numerical methodology to estimate total load of wind turbine that compose of aerodynamic load and structure load.

  3. RELIABILITY OF MACHINE ELEMENTS IN WIND TURBINES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Willi GRUENDER

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Worldwide electrical energy production generated by wind turbines grows at a rate of 30 percent. This doubles the total production every three years. At the same time the power of individual stations goes up by 20 percent annually. Whereas today the towers, rotors and drive trains have to handle 5 MW, in about six to eight years they might produce up to fifteen MW. As a consequence, enormous pressure is put on the wind turbine manufacturers, the component suppliers and the operators. And because prototype and field testing is limited by its expense, the design of new turbines demands thorough analysis and simulation. Looking at the critical components of a wind turbine this paper describes advanced design tools which help to anticipate failures, but also assists in optimizing reliability and service life. Development of the software tools has been supported by research activities in many universities.

  4. 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.

  5. Design, Numerical Modelling and Analysis of a Semi-submersible Floater Supporting the DTU 10MW Wind Turbine.

    OpenAIRE

    Islam, Md Touhidul

    2016-01-01

    In recent years, the demand for renewable energy has increased significantly because of its lower environmental impact than conventional energy technologies. Wind power is one of the most important sources of renewable energy produced nowadays. As land based turbines have reached their maximum potential, recent market trends are moving into deeper waters with higher capacity turbines. The design of a floating offshore wind turbine (FOWT) foundation poses few technical challenges....

  6. A Novel Dual-Rotor Turbine for Increased Wind Energy Capture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rosenberg, A; Selvaraj, S; Sharma, A

    2014-01-01

    Horizontal axis wind turbines suffer from aerodynamic inefficiencies in the blade root region (near the hub) due to several non-aerodynamic constraints. Aerodynamic interactions between turbines in a wind farm also lead to significant loss of wind farm efficiency. A new dual-rotor wind turbine (DRWT) concept is proposed that aims at mitigating these two losses. A DRWT is designed that uses an existing turbine rotor for the main rotor, while the secondary rotor is designed using a high lift-to-drag ratio airfoil. Reynolds Averaged Navier- Stokes computational fluid dynamics simulations are used to optimize the design. Large eddy simulations confirm the increase energy capture potential of the DRWT. Wake comparisons however do not show enhanced entrainment of axial momentum

  7. Design, Analysis, Hybrid Testing and Orientation Control of a Floating Platform with Counter-Rotating Vertical-Axis Wind Turbines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kanner, Samuel Adam Chinman

    The design and operation of two counter-rotating vertical-axis wind turbines on a floating, semi-submersible platform is studied. The technology, called the Multiple Integrated and Synchronized Turbines (MIST) platform has the potential to reduce the cost of offshore wind energy per unit of installed capacity. Attached to the platform are closely-spaced, counter-rotating turbines, which can achieve a higher power density per planform area because of synergistic interaction effects. The purpose of the research is to control the orientation of the platform and rotational speeds of the turbines by modifying the energy absorbed by each of the generators of the turbines. To analyze the various aspects of the platform and wind turbines, the analysis is drawn from the fields of hydrodynamics, electromagnetics, aerodynamics and control theory. To study the hydrodynamics of the floating platform in incident monochromatic waves, potential theory is utilized, taking into account the slow-drift yaw motion of the platform. Steady, second-order moments that are spatially dependent (i.e., dependent on the platform's yaw orientation relative to the incident waves) are given special attention since there are no natural restoring yaw moment. The aerodynamics of the counter-rotating turbines are studied in collaboration with researchers at the UC Berkeley Mathematics Department using a high-order, implicit, large-eddy simulation. An element flipping technique is utilized to extend the method to a domain with counter-rotating turbines and the effects from the closely-spaced turbines is compared with existing experimental data. Hybrid testing techniques on a model platform are utilized to prove the controllability of the platform in lieu of a wind-wave tank. A 1:82 model-scale floating platform is fabricated and tested at the UC Berkeley Physical-Model Testing Facility. The vertical-axis wind turbines are simulated by spinning, controllable actuators that can be updated in real-time of

  8. MOD-1 Wind Turbine Generator Analysis and Design Report, Volume 2

    Science.gov (United States)

    1979-01-01

    The MOD-1 detail design is appended. The supporting analyses presented include a parametric system trade study, a verification of the computer codes used for rotor loads analysis, a metal blade study, and a definition of the design loads at each principal wind turbine generator interface for critical loading conditions. Shipping and assembly requirements, composite blade development, and electrical stability are also discussed.

  9. Mod-5A wind turbine generator program design report. Volume 4: Drawings and specifications, book 5

    Science.gov (United States)

    1984-01-01

    The design, development and analysis of the 7.3 MW MOD-5A wind turbine generator is documented. There are four volumes. This volume contains the drawings and specifications that were developed in preparation for building the MOD-5A wind turbine generator. Detail drawings of several assemblies and subassemblies are given. This is the fifth book of volume 4.

  10. Duration Test Report for the Entegrity EW50 Wind Turbine

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Smith, J.; Huskey, A.; Jager, D.; Hur, J.

    2012-12-01

    This report summarizes the results of a duration test that NREL conducted on the Entegrity EW50 wind turbine. This test was conducted in accordance with the International Electrotechnical Commissions' (IEC) standard, Wind Turbine Generator System Part 2: Design requirements for small wind turbines, IEC 61400-2 Ed.2.0, 2006-03.

  11. 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...

  12. Application of an advanced cost model in the different design phases of an offshore wind turbine

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hendriks, H.B.; Lindenburg, C.; Kooijman, H.J.T.; Bulder, B.H. [ECN Wind, Petten (Netherlands); Bozelie, J.; Madsen, J.B. [NEG Micon Holland, Rhenen (Netherlands); Halfschepel, R. [Van Oord ACZ, Gorinchem (Netherlands); Molenaar, W. [Ballast Nedam, Amstelveen (Netherlands); Van den Berg, R. [LM Glasfiber Holland, Heerhugowaard (Netherlands); Zaaijer, M. [TU-Delft, Delft (Netherlands)

    2001-09-01

    The goal of the Dutch Offshore Wind Energy Converter (DOWEC) consortium is to develop concepts and technology in order to make large scale offshore wind energy economically feasible. The overall DOWEC development comprises of the design, the construction, and the prototype testing. Onshore testing of a 3 MW research and development prototype is scheduled for the end of 2002. The DOWEC Concept Study aims at the choice of the optimal wind turbine concept. The wind turbine will not be treated as an isolated system. Designs of different wind turbine concepts will be evaluated as an integral part of the complete large-scale offshore wind farm. All significant properties like the structural loads, the power performance, the system reliability, the costs of the electric infrastructure, maintenance costs and installation costs is determined for the optimised designs. A quantitative ranking is then based on the cost of energy generated. Furthermore qualitative criteria like development risk and market potential will be taken into consideration when finalising the choice of concept. An advanced cost model is being developed to facilitate the above evaluation on basis of estimated energy generating costs for each concept. The same methodology will also be used in the system and detail design phase. This paper describes the DOWEC project in general, focusing at the cost modelling aspects including some preliminary results. 4 refs.

  13. 5MW Direct Drive Wind Turbine Generator Design

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zaidi, Arsalan; Senn, Lucile; Ortega, Iratxe

    2012-01-01

    A 5MW direct drive offshore wind turbine generator was studied and simulated using Vector Fields OPERA. This software allows calculation of the flux density, force, torque, and eddy currents in the machine at different rotor positions. Based on the data obtained from the model, initial assumptions...... for the suitable machine are listed and the modelling process presented. The model of the generator was improved by changing design parameters, e.g the position of the magnets or fitting additional I-Cores, and analyse the effect of it....

  14. IEA Wind TCP Task 26: Impacts of Wind Turbine Technology on the System Value of Wind in Europe

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lantz, Eric J [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Riva, Alberto D [Ea Energy Analyses; Hethey, Janos [Ea Energy Analyses; Vitina, Aisma [Danish Energy Agency

    2018-05-01

    This report analyzes the impact of different land-based wind turbine designs on grid integration and related system value and cost. This topic has been studied in a number of previous publications, showing the potential benefits of wind turbine technologies that feature higher capacity factors. Building on the existing literature, this study aims to quantify the effects of different land-based wind turbine designs in the context of a projection of the European power system to 2030. This study contributes with insights on the quantitative effects in a likely European market setup, taking into account the effect of existing infrastructure on both existing conventional and renewable generation capacities. Furthermore, the market effects are put into perspective by comparing cost estimates for deploying different types of turbine design. Although the study focuses on Europe, similar considerations and results can be applied to other power systems with high wind penetration.

  15. Full scale testing for investigation of wind turbine seismic response

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Prowell, I.; Veletzos, M.; Elgamal, A. [California Univ., San Diego, CA (United States). Dept. of Structural Engineering

    2008-07-01

    In 2007, much of the growth in wind energy development was concentrated in North America and Asia, two regions which periodically experience strong earthquakes that may impact the final turbine design. As such, rational prediction of seismic hazards must be considered in order to maintain and enhance the ability of wind power to compete economically with other energy sources. In response to this challenge, researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) have experimentally investigated wind turbines to gain an understanding of expected earthquake forces. This paper described the experimental setup for a full scale shake table test of a 65 kW wind turbine. The turbine was excited perpendicular to the axis of the rotor with a seismic base shaking record scaled to various levels. The data was analyzed using simple but effective procedures to provide insight into the observed structural damping of the wind turbine. The experimental investigation showed that full scale seismic testing of wind turbines is possible and can provide valuable insight into dynamic behaviour of wind turbines. The results can be used to develop a more accurate picture of how wind turbines are impacted by earthquakes. The data regarding the low observed super-structure damping provides a basis for calibration and further development of verified design procedures. 20 refs., 3 tabs.

  16. An Integrated Structural Strength Analysis Method for Spar Type Floating Wind Turbine

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    胡志强; 刘毅; 王晋

    2016-01-01

    An integrated structural strength analysis method for a Spar type floating wind turbine is proposed in this paper, and technical issues related to turbine structure modeling and stress combination are also addressed. The NREL-5MW “Hywind” Spar type wind turbine is adopted as study object. Time-domain dynamic coupled simulations are performed by a fully-coupled aero-hydro-servo-elastic tool, FAST, on the purpose of obtaining the dynamic characteristics of the floating wind turbine, and determining parameters for design load cases of finite element calculation. Then design load cases are identified, and finite element analyses are performed for these design load cases. The structural stresses due to wave-induced loads and wind-induced loads are calculated, and then combined to assess the structural strength of the floating wind turbine. The feasibility of the proposed structural strength analysis method for floating wind turbines is then validated.

  17. Wind turbine control and monitoring

    CERN Document Server

    Luo, Ningsu; Acho, Leonardo

    2014-01-01

    Maximizing reader insights into the latest technical developments and trends involving wind turbine control and monitoring, fault diagnosis, and wind power systems, 'Wind Turbine Control and Monitoring' presents an accessible and straightforward introduction to wind turbines, but also includes an in-depth analysis incorporating illustrations, tables and examples on how to use wind turbine modeling and simulation software.   Featuring analysis from leading experts and researchers in the field, the book provides new understanding, methodologies and algorithms of control and monitoring, comput

  18. Fish schooling as a basis for vertical axis wind turbine farm design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whittlesey, Robert W; Liska, Sebastian; Dabiri, John O

    2010-09-01

    Most wind farms consist of horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWTs) due to the high power coefficient (mechanical power output divided by the power of the free-stream air through the turbine cross-sectional area) of an isolated turbine. However when in close proximity to neighboring turbines, HAWTs suffer from a reduced power coefficient. In contrast, previous research on vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs) suggests that closely spaced VAWTs may experience only small decreases (or even increases) in an individual turbine's power coefficient when placed in close proximity to neighbors, thus yielding much higher power outputs for a given area of land. A potential flow model of inter-VAWT interactions is developed to investigate the effect of changes in VAWT spatial arrangement on the array performance coefficient, which compares the expected average power coefficient of turbines in an array to a spatially isolated turbine. A geometric arrangement based on the configuration of shed vortices in the wake of schooling fish is shown to significantly increase the array performance coefficient based upon an array of 16 x 16 wind turbines. The results suggest increases in power output of over one order of magnitude for a given area of land as compared to HAWTs.

  19. Fish schooling as a basis for vertical axis wind turbine farm design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Whittlesey, Robert W; Liska, Sebastian; Dabiri, John O

    2010-01-01

    Most wind farms consist of horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWTs) due to the high power coefficient (mechanical power output divided by the power of the free-stream air through the turbine cross-sectional area) of an isolated turbine. However when in close proximity to neighboring turbines, HAWTs suffer from a reduced power coefficient. In contrast, previous research on vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs) suggests that closely spaced VAWTs may experience only small decreases (or even increases) in an individual turbine's power coefficient when placed in close proximity to neighbors, thus yielding much higher power outputs for a given area of land. A potential flow model of inter-VAWT interactions is developed to investigate the effect of changes in VAWT spatial arrangement on the array performance coefficient, which compares the expected average power coefficient of turbines in an array to a spatially isolated turbine. A geometric arrangement based on the configuration of shed vortices in the wake of schooling fish is shown to significantly increase the array performance coefficient based upon an array of 16 x 16 wind turbines. The results suggest increases in power output of over one order of magnitude for a given area of land as compared to HAWTs.

  20. Wind turbines and health

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rideout, K.; Copes, R.; Bos, C.

    2010-01-01

    This document summarized the potential health hazards associated with wind turbines, such as noise and low frequency sound, vibration and infrasound; electromagnetic fields (EMF); shadow flicker; and ice throw and structural failure. Various symptoms can be attributed to wind turbines, including dizziness, sleep disruption, and headaches. A review of available research regarding potential health affects to residents living in close proximity to wind turbines showed that the sound level associated with wind turbines at common residential setbacks is not sufficient to damage hearing, but may lead to annoyance and sleep disturbance. Research has shown that wind turbines are not a significant source of EMF exposure, and although shadows caused by the blades may be annoying, they are not likely to cause epileptic seizures at normal operational speeds. The risk of injury from ice throw can be minimized with setbacks of 200 to 400 m. Examples of Canadian wind turbine setback guidelines and regulations were also offered. It was concluded that setbacks and operational guidelines can be utilized in combination to address safety hazards, sound levels, land use issues, and impacts on people. 46 refs., 2 tabs., 2 figs.

  1. Loads on Wind Turbines Access Platforms with Gratings

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Thomas Lykke; Frigaard, Peter; Rasmussen, Michael R.

    2011-01-01

    The present paper deals with loads on wind turbine access platforms. The many planned new wind turbine parks together with the observed damages on platforms in several existing parks make the topic very important. The paper gives an overview of recently developed design formulae for different types...

  2. Center for Computational Wind Turbine Aerodynamics and Atmospheric Turbulence

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Jens Nørkær

    2014-01-01

    In order to design and operate a wind farm optimally it is necessary to know in detail how the wind behaves and interacts with the turbines in a farm. This not only requires knowledge about meteorology, turbulence and aerodynamics, but it also requires access to powerful computers and efficient s...... software. Center for Computational Wind Turbine Aerodynamics and Atmospheric Turbulence was established in 2010 in order to create a world-leading cross-disciplinary flow center that covers all relevant disciplines within wind farm meteorology and aerodynamics.......In order to design and operate a wind farm optimally it is necessary to know in detail how the wind behaves and interacts with the turbines in a farm. This not only requires knowledge about meteorology, turbulence and aerodynamics, but it also requires access to powerful computers and efficient...

  3. H∞ Based Control for Load Mitigation in Wind Turbines

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aron Pujana-Arrese

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available This article demonstrates a strategy to design multivariable and multi-objective controllers based on the H∞ norm reduction applied to a wind turbine. The wind turbine model has been developed in the GH Bladed software and it is based on a 5 MW wind turbine defined in the Upwind European project. The designed control strategy works in the above rated power production zone and performs generator speed control and load reduction on the drive train and tower. In order to do this, two robust H∞ MISO (Multi-Input Single-Output controllers have been developed. These controllers generate collective pitch angle and generator torque set-point values to achieve the imposed control objectives. Linear models obtained in GH Bladed 4.0 are used, but the control design methodology can be used with linear models obtained from any other modelling package. Controllers are designed by setting out a mixed sensitivity problem, where some notch filters are also included in the controller dynamics. The obtained H∞ controllers have been validated in GH Bladed and an exhaustive analysis has been carried out to calculate fatigue load reduction on wind turbine components, as well as to analyze load mitigation in some extreme cases. The analysis compares the proposed control strategy based on H∞ controllers to a baseline control strategy designed using the classical control methods implemented on the present wind turbines.

  4. An optimal design of coreless direct-drive axial flux permanent magnet generator for wind turbine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahmed, D; Ahmad, A

    2013-01-01

    Different types of generators are currently being used in wind power technology. The commonly used are induction generator (IG), doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG), electrically excited synchronous generator (EESG) and permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG). However, the use of PMSG is rapidly increasing because of advantages such as higher power density, better controllability and higher reliability. This paper presents an innovative design of a low-speed modular, direct-drive axial flux permanent magnet (AFPM) generator with coreless stator and rotor for a wind turbine power generation system that is developed using mathematical and analytical methods. This innovative design is implemented in MATLAB / Simulink environment using dynamic modelling techniques. The main focus of this research is to improve efficiency of the wind power generation system by investigating electromagnetic and structural features of AFPM generator during its operation in wind turbine. The design is validated by comparing its performance with standard models of existing wind power generators. The comparison results demonstrate that the proposed model for the wind power generator exhibits number of advantages such as improved efficiency with variable speed operation, higher energy yield, lighter weight and better wind power utilization.

  5. An optimal design of coreless direct-drive axial flux permanent magnet generator for wind turbine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmed, D.; Ahmad, A.

    2013-06-01

    Different types of generators are currently being used in wind power technology. The commonly used are induction generator (IG), doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG), electrically excited synchronous generator (EESG) and permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG). However, the use of PMSG is rapidly increasing because of advantages such as higher power density, better controllability and higher reliability. This paper presents an innovative design of a low-speed modular, direct-drive axial flux permanent magnet (AFPM) generator with coreless stator and rotor for a wind turbine power generation system that is developed using mathematical and analytical methods. This innovative design is implemented in MATLAB / Simulink environment using dynamic modelling techniques. The main focus of this research is to improve efficiency of the wind power generation system by investigating electromagnetic and structural features of AFPM generator during its operation in wind turbine. The design is validated by comparing its performance with standard models of existing wind power generators. The comparison results demonstrate that the proposed model for the wind power generator exhibits number of advantages such as improved efficiency with variable speed operation, higher energy yield, lighter weight and better wind power utilization.

  6. Reduction of fatigue loads on jacket substructure through blade design optimization for multimegawatt wind turbines at 50 m water depths

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    NJOMO WANDJI, Wilfried; Pavese, Christian; Natarajan, Anand

    2016-01-01

    This paper addresses the reduction of the fore-aft damage equivalent moment at the tower base for multi-megawatt offshore wind turbines mounted on jacket type substructures at 50 m water depths. The study investigates blade design optimization of a reference 10 MW wind turbine under standard wind...... conditions of onshore sites. The blade geometry and structure is optimized to yield a design that minimizes tower base fatigue loads without significant loss of power production compared to that of the reference setup. The resulting blade design is then mounted on a turbine supported by a jacket and placed...

  7. Wind Turbine Providing Grid Support

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    2011-01-01

    changing the operation of the wind turbine to a more efficient working point.; When the rotational speed of the rotor reaches a minimum value, the wind turbine enters a recovery period to re-accelerate the rotor to the nominal rotational speed while further contributing to the stability of the electrical......A variable speed wind turbine is arranged to provide additional electrical power to counteract non-periodic disturbances in an electrical grid. A controller monitors events indicating a need to increase the electrical output power from the wind turbine to the electrical grid. The controller...... is arranged to control the wind turbine as follows: after an indicating event has been detected, the wind turbine enters an overproduction period in which the electrical output power is increased, wherein the additional electrical output power is taken from kinetic energy stored in the rotor and without...

  8. WindPACT Turbine Rotor Design Study: June 2000--June 2002 (Revised)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Malcolm, D. J.; Hansen, A. C.

    2006-04-01

    This report presents the results of the turbine rotor study completed by Global Energy Concepts (GEC) as part of the U.S. Department of Energy's WindPACT (Wind Partnership for Advanced Component Technologies) project. The purpose of the WindPACT project is to identify technology improvements that will enable the cost of energy from wind turbines to fall to a target of 3.0 cents/kilowatt-hour in low wind speed sites. The study focused on different rotor configurations and the effect of scale on those rotors.

  9. Aerodynamics of wind turbines emerging topics

    CERN Document Server

    Amano, R S

    2014-01-01

    Focusing on Aerodynamics of Wind Turbines with topics ranging from Fundamental to Application of horizontal axis wind turbines, this book presents advanced topics including: Basic Theory for Wind turbine Blade Aerodynamics, Computational Methods, and Special Structural Reinforcement Technique for Wind Turbine Blades.

  10. Integrated Approach Using Condition Monitoring and Modeling to Investigate Wind Turbine Gearbox Design: Preprint

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sheng, S.; Guo, Y.

    2015-03-01

    Vibration-based condition monitoring (CM) of geared utility-scale turbine drivetrains has been used by the wind industry to help improve operation and maintenance (O&M) practices, increase turbine availability, and reduce O&M cost. This study is a new endeavor that integrates the vibration-based CM technique with wind turbine gearbox modeling to investigate various gearbox design options. A teamof researchers performed vibration-based CM measurements on a damaged wind turbine gearbox with a classic configuration, (i.e., one planetary stage and two parallel stages). We observed that the acceleration amplitudes around the first-order sidebands of the intermediate stage gear set meshing frequency were much lower than that measured at the high-speed gear set, and similar difference wasalso observed in a healthy gearbox. One factor for a reduction at the intermediate stage gear set is hypothesized to be the soft sun-spline configuration in the test gearbox. To evaluate this hypothesis, a multibody dynamic model of the healthy test gearbox was first developed and validated. Relative percent difference of the first-order sidebands--of the high-speed and intermediate stagegear-meshing frequencies--in the soft and the rigid sun spline configurations were compared. The results verified that the soft sun-spline configuration can reduce the sidebands of the intermediate stage gear set and also the locating bearing loads. The study demonstrates that combining vibration-based CM with appropriate modeling can provide insights for evaluating different wind turbinegearbox design options.

  11. MOD-0A 200 kW wind turbine generator design and analysis report

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, T. S.; Bodenschatz, C. A.; Eggers, A. G.; Hughes, P. S.; Lampe, R. F.; Lipner, M. H.; Schornhorst, J. R.

    1980-01-01

    The design, analysis, and initial performance of the MOD-OA 200 kW wind turbine generator at Clayton, NM is documented. The MOD-OA was designed and built to obtain operation and performance data and experience in utility environments. The project requirements, approach, system description, design requirements, design, analysis, system tests, installation, safety considerations, failure modes and effects analysis, data acquisition, and initial performance for the wind turbine are discussed. The design and analysis of the rotor, drive train, nacelle equipment, yaw drive mechanism and brake, tower, foundation, electricl system, and control systems are presented. The rotor includes the blades, hub, and pitch change mechanism. The drive train includes the low speed shaft, speed increaser, high speed shaft, and rotor brake. The electrical system includes the generator, switchgear, transformer, and utility connection. The control systems are the blade pitch, yaw, and generator control, and the safety system. Manual, automatic, and remote control are discussed. Systems analyses on dynamic loads and fatigue are presented.

  12. Design and operating experience on the U.S. Department of Energy Experimental Mod-O 100 kW Wind Turbine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glasgow, J. C.; Birchenough, A. G.

    1978-01-01

    The Mod-O 100 kW Experimental Wind Turbine was designed and fabricated by NASA, as part of the Federal Wind Energy Program, to assess technology requirements and engineering problems of large wind turbines. The machine became operational in October 1975 and has demonstrated successful operation in all of its design modes. During the course of its operations the machine has generated a wealth of experimental data and has served as a prototype developmental test bed for the Mod-OA operational wind turbines which are currently used on utility networks. This paper describes the mechanical and control systems as they evolved in operational tests and describes some of the experience with various systems in the downwind rotor configuration.

  13. Equivalent models of wind farms by using aggregated wind turbines and equivalent winds

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fernandez, L.M.; Garcia, C.A.; Saenz, J.R.; Jurado, F.

    2009-01-01

    As a result of the increasing wind farms penetration on power systems, the wind farms begin to influence power system, and therefore the modeling of wind farms has become an interesting research topic. In this paper, new equivalent models of wind farms equipped with wind turbines based on squirrel-cage induction generators and doubly-fed induction generators are proposed to represent the collective behavior on large power systems simulations, instead of using a complete model of wind farms where all the wind turbines are modeled. The models proposed here are based on aggregating wind turbines into an equivalent wind turbine which receives an equivalent wind of the ones incident on the aggregated wind turbines. The equivalent wind turbine presents re-scaled power capacity and the same complete model as the individual wind turbines, which supposes the main feature of the present equivalent models. Two equivalent winds are evaluated in this work: (1) the average wind from the ones incident on the aggregated wind turbines with similar winds, and (2) an equivalent incoming wind derived from the power curve and the wind incident on each wind turbine. The effectiveness of the equivalent models to represent the collective response of the wind farm at the point of common coupling to grid is demonstrated by comparison with the wind farm response obtained from the detailed model during power system dynamic simulations, such as wind fluctuations and a grid disturbance. The present models can be used for grid integration studies of large power system with an important reduction of the model order and the computation time

  14. Effect of Coupled Non linear Wave Kinematics and Soil Flexibility on the Design Loads of Offshore Wind Turbines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kim, Taeseong; Natarajan, Anand

    2013-01-01

    The design driving loads on offshore wind turbine monopile support structures at water depths of 35m, which are beyond current monopile installation depths, are derived based on fully coupled aerohydroelastic simulations of the wind turbine in normal operation and in storm conditions in the prese...

  15. Blade design and operating experience on the MOD-OA 200 kW wind turbine at Clayton, New Mexico

    Science.gov (United States)

    Linscott, B. S.; Shaltens, R. K.

    1979-01-01

    Two 60 foot long aluminum wind turbine blades were operated for over 3000 hours on the MOD-OA wind turbine. The first signs of blade structural damage were observed after 400 hours of operation. Details of the blade design, loads, cost, structural damage, and repair are discussed.

  16. Low Speed Technology for Small Turbine Development Reaction Injection Molded 7.5 Meter Wind Turbine Blade

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    David M. Wright; DOE Project Officer - Keith Bennett

    2007-07-31

    An optimized small turbine blade (7.5m radius) was designed and a partial section molded with the RIM (reaction-injection molded polymer) process for mass production. The intended market is for generic three-bladed wind turbines, 100 kilowatts or less, for grid-assist end users with rural and semi-rural sites, such as the farm/ranch market, having low to moderate IEC Class 3-4 wind regimes. This blade will have substantial performance improvements over, and be cheaper than, present-day 7.5m blades. This is made possible by the injection-molding process, which yields high repeatability, accurate geometry and weights, and low cost in production quantities. No wind turbine blade in the 7.5m or greater size has used this process. The blade design chosen uses a RIM skin bonded to a braided infused carbon fiber/epoxy spar. This approach is attractive to present users of wind turbine blades in the 5-10m sizes. These include rebladeing California wind farms, refurbishing used turbines for the Midwest farm market, and other manufacturers introducing new turbines in this size range.

  17. Parametric study on off-design aerodynamic performance of a horizontal axis wind turbine blade and proposed pitch control

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Najafian Ashrafi, Z.; Ghaderi, M.; Sedaghat, A.

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • A pitch controlled 200 kW HAWT blade is designed with BEM for off-design conditions. • Parametric study conducted on power coefficient, axial and angular induction factors. • The optimal pitch angles were determined at off-design operating conditions. - Abstract: In this paper, a 200 kW horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT) blade is designed using an efficient iterative algorithm based on the blade element momentum theory (BEM) on aerodynamic of wind turbines. The effects of off-design variations of wind speed are investigated on the blade performance parameters according to constant rotational speed of the rotor. The performance parameters considered are power coefficient, axial and angular induction factors, lift and drag coefficients on the blade, angle of attack and angle of relative wind. At higher or lower wind speeds than the designed rated speed, the power coefficient is reduced due to considerable changes in the angle of attacks. Therefore, proper pitch control angles were calculated to extract maximum possible power at various off-design speeds. The results showed a considerable improvement in power coefficient for the pitch controlled blade as compared with the baseline design in whole operating range. The present approach can be equally employed for determining pitch angles to design pitch control system of medium and large-scale wind turbines

  18. Wind turbine supply in Canada

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Snodin, H.

    2007-01-01

    This study reported on wind turbine supplies to the Canadian market. The report was written to address concerns for Canada's supply outlook in the near future due to the booming wind energy market. Turbine shortages have arisen as a result of continued growth in both European and North American markets. Long lead-times on turbine orders are now increasing the pressure to lock in turbine supply during the initial phases of the development process. Future growth of the wind energy industry will be impacted if turbine supply difficulties continue to contribute to uncertainties in the development process. The report provided an overview of the North American and global wind energy markets, as well as a summary of telephone interviews conducted with turbine suppliers. The implications for the future of turbine supply to the Canadian market were also analyzed. It was concluded that policy-makers should focus on supporting the expansion of manufacturing facilities for small wind turbines and control infrastructure in Canada 7 refs., 3 figs

  19. Radar-cross-section reduction of wind turbines. part 1.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brock, Billy C.; Loui, Hung; McDonald, Jacob J.; Paquette, Joshua A.; Calkins, David A.; Miller, William K.; Allen, Steven E.; Clem, Paul Gilbert; Patitz, Ward E.

    2012-03-05

    In recent years, increasing deployment of large wind-turbine farms has become an issue of growing concern for the radar community. The large radar cross section (RCS) presented by wind turbines interferes with radar operation, and the Doppler shift caused by blade rotation causes problems identifying and tracking moving targets. Each new wind-turbine farm installation must be carefully evaluated for potential disruption of radar operation for air defense, air traffic control, weather sensing, and other applications. Several approaches currently exist to minimize conflict between wind-turbine farms and radar installations, including procedural adjustments, radar upgrades, and proper choice of low-impact wind-farm sites, but each has problems with limited effectiveness or prohibitive cost. An alternative approach, heretofore not technically feasible, is to reduce the RCS of wind turbines to the extent that they can be installed near existing radar installations. This report summarizes efforts to reduce wind-turbine RCS, with a particular emphasis on the blades. The report begins with a survey of the wind-turbine RCS-reduction literature to establish a baseline for comparison. The following topics are then addressed: electromagnetic model development and validation, novel material development, integration into wind-turbine fabrication processes, integrated-absorber design, and wind-turbine RCS modeling. Related topics of interest, including alternative mitigation techniques (procedural, at-the-radar, etc.), an introduction to RCS and electromagnetic scattering, and RCS-reduction modeling techniques, can be found in a previous report.

  20. Hywind floating wind turbine project

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Crome, Tim

    2010-07-01

    The Hywind floating wind turbine concept was developed by StatoilHydro. Technip was awarded the contract for engineering, fabrication and installation of a demonstration unit in May 2008 and the completed wind turbine was installed mid June 2009 at the west coast of Norway on 220 m water depth. The demonstration unit will generate 2,3 MW and is equipped with instrumentation for monitoring mooring forces, strains and motions. The fabrication of the SPAR type steel substructure was performed at Technip Offshore Finland facilities in Pori and was towed horizontally from Finland to Norway, where it was upended to a vertical position by water filling. The completed floating wind turbine was towed vertically to the final location west of Karmoey and connected to the pre-installed three legged anchor system using an Anchor Handling Tug type vessel. The wind turbine test period is scheduled to start in September 2009. Statoil will monitor the performance of the system for two years before decision will be taken for further development. The paper will present the main challenges and lessons learned through design, fabrication and installation of this first of its kind structure. Main emphasis will be on the special challenges experienced for this floating, catenary moored, slender unit which is highly exposed for wind induced forces in addition to current and waves in hostile North Sea environments. (Author)

  1. HORIZONTAL AXIS MARINE CURRENT TURBINE DESIGN FOR WIND-ELECTRIC HYBRID SAILING BOAT

    OpenAIRE

    Ekinci, Serkan; Alvar, Mustafa

    2017-01-01

    In recent decades, the number of theoretical studies and applications on electric power production from renewable sources such as wind, solar, sea and tidal flows, has been increasing rapidly. Marine Current Turbines (MCTs), among the power turbines, produce power from alternating flows and are a means of power production even at lower flow rates in oceans and seas. In this study, while maintaining functional requirements, an initial and detailed design (mechanic and hydrodynamic), of an M...

  2. Power control of a wind farm with active stall wind turbines and AC grid connection

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Anca Daniela; Sørensen, Poul; Iov, Florin

    both the control on wind turbine level as well as the central control on the wind farm level. The ability of active stall wind farms with AC grid connection to regulate the power production to the reference power ordered by the operators is assessed and discussed by means of simulations.......This paper describes the design of a centralised wind farm controller for a wind farm made-up exclusively of active stall wind turbines with AC grid connection. The overall aim of such controller is to enable the wind farms to provide the best grid support. The designed wind farm control involves...

  3. Wind turbine blades for harnessing energy from Malaysian low speed wind - manufacturing technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abas Abd Wahab; Azmin Shakrine

    2000-01-01

    Blades for wind turbine to harness energy in the Malaysia low speed winds have been designed. During wind tunnel testing, wind turbine model using this type of blades has cut in speed of 1.5 m/s and turned at 450 rpm at 4 m/s wind. The blades, due to their critical dimensions of 1.2 m length, 5 cm thickness, tapered and 15 degree twist, were difficult to produce especially in large number. Several production methods have been studied but for economical mass production, fibreglass blades using CNC cutting mould were chosen. The blade and mould designs and the manufacturing processes are briefly outlined in this paper. (Author)

  4. Wind turbine noise diagnostics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Richarz, W.; Richarz, H.

    2009-01-01

    This presentation proposed a self-consistent model for broad-band noise emitted from modern wind turbines. The simple source model was consistent with the physics of sound generation and considered the unique features of wind turbines. Although the acoustics of wind turbines are similar to those of conventional propellers, the dimensions of wind turbines pose unique challenges in diagnosing noise emission. The general features of the sound field were deduced. Source motion and source directivity appear to be responsible for amplitude variations. The amplitude modulation is likely to make wind-turbine noise more audible, and may be partly responsible for annoyance that has been reported in the literature. Acoustic array data suggests that broad-band noise is emitted predominantly during the downward sweep of each rotor blade. Source motion and source directivity account for the observed pattern. Rotor-tower interaction effects are of lesser importance. Predicted amplitude modulation ranges from 1 dB to 6dB. 2 refs., 9 figs.

  5. Structured Linear Parameter Varying Control of Wind Turbines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Adegas, Fabiano Daher; Sloth, Christoffer; Stoustrup, Jakob

    2012-01-01

    High performance and reliability are required for wind turbines to be competitive within the energy market. To capture their nonlinear behavior, wind turbines are often modeled using parameter-varying models. In this chapter, a framework for modelling and controller design of wind turbines is pre...... in the controller synthesis are solved by an iterative LMI-based algorithm. The resulting controllers can also be easily implemented in practice due to low data storage and simple math operations. The performance of the LPV controllers is assessed by nonlinear simulations results....

  6. Optimal controller design of a doubly fed induction generator wind turbine system for small signal stability enhancement

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Yang, Lihui; Yang, Guang-Ya; Xu, Zhao

    2010-01-01

    Multi-objective optimal controller design of a doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG) wind turbine system using differential evolution (DE) is presented. A detailed mathematical model of DFIG wind turbine with a closed-loop vector control system is developed. Based on this, objective functions...... and the constraint with DE, respectively. Eigenvalue analysis and time-domain simulations are performed on a single machine infinite bus system as well as a nine-bus multi-machine system with two DFIG wind turbines to illustrate the control performance of the DFIG wind turbine with the optimised controller...... addressing the steady-state stability and dynamic performance at different operating conditions are implemented to optimise the controller parameters of both the rotor and grid-side converters. A superior 1-constraint method and method of adaptive penalties are applied to handle the multi-objective problem...

  7. Assessment of Wind Parameter Sensitivity on Extreme and Fatigue Wind Turbine Loads

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Robertson, Amy N [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Sethuraman, Latha [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Jonkman, Jason [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Quick, Julian [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

    2018-01-12

    Wind turbines are designed using a set of simulations to ascertain the structural loads that the turbine could encounter. While mean hub-height wind speed is considered to vary, other wind parameters such as turbulence spectra, sheer, veer, spatial coherence, and component correlation are fixed or conditional values that, in reality, could have different characteristics at different sites and have a significant effect on the resulting loads. This paper therefore seeks to assess the sensitivity of different wind parameters on the resulting ultimate and fatigue loads on the turbine during normal operational conditions. Eighteen different wind parameters are screened using an Elementary Effects approach with radial points. As expected, the results show a high sensitivity of the loads to the turbulence standard deviation in the primary wind direction, but the sensitivity to wind shear is often much greater. To a lesser extent, other wind parameters that drive loads include the coherence in the primary wind direction and veer.

  8. Wind turbine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheney, Jr., Marvin C.

    1982-01-01

    A wind turbine of the type having an airfoil blade (15) mounted on a flexible beam (20) and a pitch governor (55) which selectively, torsionally twists the flexible beam in response to wind turbine speed thereby setting blade pitch, is provided with a limiter (85) which restricts unwanted pitch change at operating speeds due to torsional creep of the flexible beam. The limiter allows twisting of the beam by the governor under excessive wind velocity conditions to orient the blades in stall pitch positions, thereby preventing overspeed operation of the turbine. In the preferred embodiment, the pitch governor comprises a pendulum (65,70) which responds to changing rotor speed by pivotal movement, the limiter comprising a resilient member (90) which engages an end of the pendulum to restrict further movement thereof, and in turn restrict beam creep and unwanted blade pitch misadjustment.

  9. Anisotropic beam model for analysis and design of passive controlled wind turbine blades

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Branner, Kim; Blasques, José Pedro Albergaria Amaral; Kim, Taeseong

    . The developed fully coupled beam element and cross section analysis tool has been validated against both numerical calculations and experimental measurements. Numerical validation has been performed against beam type calculations including Variational Asymptotical Beam Section Analysis (VABS) and detailed shell...... and solid finite element analyses. Experimental validation included specially designed beams with built-in couplings, a full-scale blade section originally without couplings, which subsequently was modified with extra composite layers in order to obtain measurable couplings. Both static testing and dynamic...... modal analysis tests have been performed. The results from the project now make it possible to use structural couplings in an intelligent manner for the design of future wind turbine blades. The developed beam element is especially developed for wind turbine blades and can be used for modeling blades...

  10. Controller for a small induction-generator based wind-turbine

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ahshan, R.; Iqbal, M.T.; Mann, George K.I. [Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John' s, Newfoundland (Canada)

    2008-04-15

    Design of a low-cost micro-controller for a small induction-generator based grid-connected wind-turbine is presented in this paper. The controller senses the parameters of the wind-turbine generator and the grid, and makes decisions about grid connection and disconnection. Low-cost instrumentation circuitry has been developed to measure the generator and grid parameters. Based on the measurement of voltage and frequency of the wind-turbine generator and the grid side, a control decision is taken to connect the system to the grid. The controller makes decision to disconnect the system from the grid based on the power flow measurement between the wind turbine and the grid. The power flow between wind turbine and the grid depends upon the availability of the wind. The prototype controller has been developed based on a micro-controller PIC16F877 and has been tested in the laboratory. (author)

  11. Wind tunnel tests of a free yawing downwind wind turbine

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Verelst, David Robert; Larsen, Torben J.; van Wingerden, Jan-Willem

    2014-01-01

    . The discussed test cases show that the turbine is stable while operating in free yawing conditions. Further, the effect of the tower shadow passage on the blade flapwise strain measurement is evaluated. Finally, data from the experiment is compared with preliminary simulations using DTU Wind Energy......This research paper presents preliminary results on a behavioural study of a free yawing downwind wind turbine. A series of wind tunnel tests was performed at the TU Delft Open Jet Facility with a three bladed downwind wind turbine and a rotor radius of 0.8 meters. The setup includes an off...... the shelf three bladed hub, nacelle and generator on which relatively flexible blades are mounted. The tower support structure has free yawing capabilities provided at the base. A short overview on the technical details of the experiment is given as well as a brief summary of the design process...

  12. Fatigue-Damage Estimation and Control for Wind Turbines

    OpenAIRE

    Barradas Berglind, Jose de Jesus

    2015-01-01

    How can fatigue-damage for control of wind turbines be represented? Fatigue-damage is indeed a crucial factor in structures such as wind turbines that are exposed to turbulent and rapidly changing wind flow conditions. This is relevant both in their design stage and during the control of their operation. Accordingly, the most recognized methods of fatigue-damage estimation are discussed in this thesis.In wind energy conversion systems there is an intrinsic trade-off between power generation m...

  13. Electric power from vertical-axis wind turbines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Touryan, K. J.; Strickland, J. H.; Berg, D. E.

    1987-12-01

    Significant advancements have occurred in vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) technology for electrical power generation over the last decade; in particular, well-proven aerodynamic and structural analysis codes have been developed for Darrieus-principle wind turbines. Machines of this type have been built by at least three companies, and about 550 units of various designs are currently in service in California wind farms. Attention is presently given to the aerodynamic characteristics, structural dynamics, systems engineering, and energy market-penetration aspects of VAWTs.

  14. New airfoils for small horizontal axis wind turbines

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Giguere, P.; Selig, M.S. [Univ. of Illinois, Urbana, IL (United States)

    1997-12-31

    In a continuing effort to enhance the performance of small energy systems, one root airfoil and three primary airfoils were specifically designed for small horizontal axis wind turbines. These airfoils are intended primarily for 1-10 kW variable-speed wind turbines for both conventional (tapered/twisted) or pultruded blades. The four airfoils were wind-tunnel tested at Reynolds numbers between 100,000 and 500,000. Tests with simulated leading-edge roughness were also conducted. The results indicate that small variable-speed wind turbines should benefit from the use of the new airfoils which provide enhanced lift-to-drag ratio performance as compared with previously existing airfoils.

  15. Some design aspects of high-speed vertical-axis wind turbines

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Templin, R. J; South, P

    1977-01-01

    ... (rotor height to diameter ratio, solidity, number of blades, etc.) for high-speed vertical-axis wind turbines from kilowatt to megawatt sizes and shows that very large turbines are theoretically feasible...

  16. Built-Environment Wind Turbine Roadmap

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Smith, J.; Forsyth, T.; Sinclair, K.; Oteri, F.

    2012-11-01

    Although only a small contributor to total electricity production needs, built-environment wind turbines (BWTs) nonetheless have the potential to influence the public's consideration of renewable energy, and wind energy in particular. Higher population concentrations in urban environments offer greater opportunities for project visibility and an opportunity to acquaint large numbers of people to the advantages of wind projects on a larger scale. However, turbine failures will be equally visible and could have a negative effect on public perception of wind technology. This roadmap provides a framework for achieving the vision set forth by the attendees of the Built-Environment Wind Turbine Workshop on August 11 - 12, 2010, at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The BWT roadmap outlines the stakeholder actions that could be taken to overcome the barriers identified. The actions are categorized as near-term (0 - 3 years), medium-term (4 - 7 years), and both near- and medium-term (requiring immediate to medium-term effort). To accomplish these actions, a strategic approach was developed that identifies two focus areas: understanding the built-environment wind resource and developing testing and design standards. The authors summarize the expertise and resources required in these areas.

  17. Wind turbine generator application places unique demands on tower design and materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kita, J. P.

    1978-01-01

    The most relevant contractual tower design requirements and goal for the Mod-1 tower are related to steel truss tower construction, cost-effective state-of-the-art design, a design life of 30 years, and maximum wind conditions of 120 mph at 30 feet elevation. The Mod-1 tower design approach was an iterative process. Static design loads were calculated and member sizes and overall geometry chosen with the use of finite element computer techniques. Initial tower dynamic characteristics were then combined with the dynamic properties of the other wind turbine components, and a series of complex dynamic computer programs were run to establish a dynamic load set and then a second tower design.

  18. Optimization of power generation from shrouded wind turbines

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Foote, Tudor; Agarwal, Ramesh [Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Washington University in St. Louis (United States)

    2013-07-01

    In past several years, several studies have shown that the shrouded wind turbines can generate greater power compared to bare turbines. The objective of this study is to determine the potential of shrouded wind turbines for increased power generation by conducting numerical simulations. An analytical/computational study is performed by employing the well-known commercial Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software FLUENT. An actuator disc model is used to model the turbine. The incompressible Navier-Stokes equations and a two equation realizable {kappa}-{epsilon} model are employed in the calculations. The power coefficient Cp and generated power are calculated for a large number of cases for horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWT) of various diameters and wind speeds for both bare and shrouded turbines. The design of the shroud is optimized by employing a single objective genetic algorithm; the objective being the maximization of the power coefficient Cp. It was found that the shroud indeed increases the Cp beyond the Betz’s limit significantly and as a result the generated power; this effect is consistent with that found in the recent literature that the shrouded wind-turbines can generate greater power than the bare turbines. The optimized shape of the shroud or diffuser further increases the generated power and Cp.

  19. Vortex lattice modelling of winglets on wind turbine blades. 3. ed.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Doessing, M.

    2007-08-15

    The power production of wind turbines can be increased by the use of winglets without increasing the swept area. This makes them suitable for sites with restrictions in rotor diameter and in wind farms. The present project aims at understanding how winglets influences the flow and the aerodynamic forces on wind turbine blades. A free wake vortex lattice code and a fast design algorithm for a horizontal axis wind turbine under steady conditions has been developed. 2 winglet designs are treated in detail. (au)

  20. Reliability-based design and planning of inspection and monitoring of offshore wind turbines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dominguez, Sergio Marquez

    When the wind is blowing fiercely, wind turbines must resist. Wind turbines have to withstand the rough environmental conditions in the most reliable manner and start to produce renewable energy when the wind becomes friendly again. Never give up ‘wind turbine’ face the winds and be proud of cont...... of probability and statistics for application in structural reliability-based risk inspections....

  1. Eddy Current Loss Modeling for Design of PM Generators for Wind Turbines

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jassal, A.

    2014-01-01

    This thesis deals with analysis, calculation and validation of eddy current loss models for Permanent Magnet (PM) direct drive generators for wind turbines. The modelling approach is a mixed use of analytical and Finite Element (FE) methods. The models are validated experimentally and design

  2. Small Wind Turbine Technology Assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Avia Aranda, F.; Cruz Cruz, I.

    1999-01-01

    The result of the study carried out under the scope of the ATYCA project Test Plant of Wind Systems for Isolated Applications, about the state of art of the small wind turbine technology (wind turbines with swept area smaller than 40 m 2 ) is presented. The study analyzes the collected information on 60 models of wind turbines from 23 manufacturers in the worldwide market. Data from Chinese manufacturers, that have a large participation in the total number of small wind turbines in operation, are not included, due to the unavailability of the technical information. (Author) 15 refs

  3. Composite wind turbine towers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Polyzois, D. [Manitoba Univ., Winnipeg, MB (Canada). Dept. of Civil Engineering

    2008-07-01

    This paper discussed experiments conducted to optimized the advanced composite materials such as fiberglass reinforced plastics (FRP) used to fabricate wind turbine towers. FRP materials are used in tubular steel, lattice, guyed, and reinforced concrete towers. The towers and turbine blades are transported in segments and assembled on-site, sometimes in offshore or remote locations.The FRP composites are used to build towers with a high strength-to-weight ratio as well as to provide resistance to chemical attacks and corrosion. Use of the materials has resulted in towers that do not require heavy installation equipment. Experimental programs were conducted to verify the structural behaviour of the tower structure's individual-scaled cells as well as to evaluate the performance of multi-cell assemblies. Joint assembly designs were optimized, and a filament winding machine was used to conduct the experimental study and to test individual cells. Failure mode analyses were conducted to determine local buckling and shear rupture. Tension, compression, and shear properties of the FRP materials were tested experimentally, and data from the test were then used to develop finite element models of the composite towers as well as to obtain load deflection curves and tip oscillation data. A case study of a 750 kW wind turbine in Churchill, Manitoba was used to test the design. tabs., figs.

  4. Wind Turbine Converter Control Interaction with Complex Wind Farm Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kocewiak, Lukasz Hubert; Hjerrild, Jesper; Bak, Claus Leth

    2013-01-01

    . The same wind turbine converter control strategy is evaluated in two different wind farms. It is emphasised that the grid-side converter controller should be characterised by sufficient harmonic/noise rejection and adjusted depending on wind farms to which it is connected. Various stability indices......This study presents wind turbine converter stability analysis of wind farms in frequency domain. The interaction between the wind turbine control system and the wind farm structure in wind farms is deeply investigated. Two wind farms (i.e. Horns Rev II and Karnice) are taken into consideration...... in this study. It is shown that wind farm components, such as long high-voltage alternating current cables and park transformers, can introduce significant low-frequency series resonances seen from the wind turbine terminals that can affect wind turbine control system operation and overall wind farm stability...

  5. Noise immission from wind turbines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1999-01-01

    The project has dealt with practical ways to reduce the influence of background noise caused by wind acting on the measuring microphones. The uncertainty of measured noise emission (source strength) has been investigated. The main activity was a Round Robin Test involving measurements by five laboratories at the same wind turbine. Each laboratory brought its own instrumentation and performed the measurements and analyses according to their interpretation. The tonality of wind turbine noise is an essential component of the noise impact on the environment. In the present project the uncertainty in the newest existing methods for assessing tonality was investigated. The project included noise propagation measurements in different weather conditions around wind turbines situated in different types of terrain. The results were used to validate a noise propagation model developed in the project. Finally, the project also included a study with listeners evaluating recordings of wind turbine noise. The results are intended as guidance for wind turbine manufacturers in identifying the aspects of wind turbine noise most important to annoyance. (author)

  6. Increasing power generation in horizontal axis wind turbines using optimized flow control

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cooney, John A., Jr.

    In order to effectively realize future goals for wind energy, the efficiency of wind turbines must increase beyond existing technology. One direct method for achieving increased efficiency is by improving the individual power generation characteristics of horizontal axis wind turbines. The potential for additional improvement by traditional approaches is diminishing rapidly however. As a result, a research program was undertaken to assess the potential of using distributed flow control to increase power generation. The overall objective was the development of validated aerodynamic simulations and flow control approaches to improve wind turbine power generation characteristics. BEM analysis was conducted for a general set of wind turbine models encompassing last, current, and next generation designs. This analysis indicated that rotor lift control applied in Region II of the turbine power curve would produce a notable increase in annual power generated. This was achieved by optimizing induction factors along the rotor blade for maximum power generation. In order to demonstrate this approach and other advanced concepts, the University of Notre Dame established the Laboratory for Enhanced Wind Energy Design (eWiND). This initiative includes a fully instrumented meteorological tower and two pitch-controlled wind turbines. The wind turbines are representative in their design and operation to larger multi-megawatt turbines, but of a scale that allows rotors to be easily instrumented and replaced to explore new design concepts. Baseline data detailing typical site conditions and turbine operation is presented. To realize optimized performance, lift control systems were designed and evaluated in CFD simulations coupled with shape optimization tools. These were integrated into a systematic design methodology involving BEM simulations, CFD simulations and shape optimization, and selected experimental validation. To refine and illustrate the proposed design methodology, a

  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. European wind turbine standards 2 (EWTS-2)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pierik, J T.G.; Dekker, J W.M.; Braam, H [and others

    1999-03-01

    A summary is given of the main results of the European Wind Turbine Standards II project. EWTS-II was completed in 1998 and included investigations on: 1) wind farms-wind field and turbine loading; 2) complex terrain and fatigue loading; 3) extreme wind conditions; 4) quantification of failure probabilities; 5) integration of blade tests in design; 6) power performance in complex terrain; 7) site evaluation. In addition to these scientific evaluations, the EWTS-II participants established an organization of qualified measuring institute in the field of wind energy, the MEASNET organization. MEASNET unified measurement procedures of the participating institutes and guarantees qualified measurements and mutual acceptance among its members. (LN)

  9. Methodology for wind turbine blade geometry optimization

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Perfiliev, D.

    2013-11-01

    Nowadays, the upwind three bladed horizontal axis wind turbine is the leading player on the market. It has been found to be the best industrial compromise in the range of different turbine constructions. The current wind industry innovation is conducted in the development of individual turbine components. The blade constitutes 20-25% of the overall turbine budget. Its optimal operation in particular local economic and wind conditions is worth investigating. The blade geometry, namely the chord, twist and airfoil type distributions along the span, responds to the output measures of the blade performance. Therefore, the optimal wind blade geometry can improve the overall turbine performance. The objectives of the dissertation are focused on the development of a methodology and specific tool for the investigation of possible existing wind blade geometry adjustments. The novelty of the methodology presented in the thesis is the multiobjective perspective on wind blade geometry optimization, particularly taking simultaneously into account the local wind conditions and the issue of aerodynamic noise emissions. The presented optimization objective approach has not been investigated previously for the implementation in wind blade design. The possibilities to use different theories for the analysis and search procedures are investigated and sufficient arguments derived for the usage of proposed theories. The tool is used for the test optimization of a particular wind turbine blade. The sensitivity analysis shows the dependence of the outputs on the provided inputs, as well as its relative and absolute divergences and instabilities. The pros and cons of the proposed technique are seen from the practical implementation, which is documented in the results, analysis and conclusion sections. (orig.)

  10. The Parameters Affect on Power Coefficient Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ahmed Y. Qasim

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT: This study describes the design of a special type of vertical axis rotor wind turbine with moveable vertically positioned vanes. The novel design increases the torque in the left side of the wind turbine by increasing the drag coefficient. It also reduces the negative torque of the frame which rotates contrary to the wind in the other side. Two different types of models, having different vane shapes (flat vane and cavity shaped vane, were fabricated. Each type consisted of two models with varying number of frames (three and four frames. The models were tested in a wind tunnel with variable wind speed in order to understand the effect of shape, weight, and number of frames on the power coefficient of the wind turbine. ABSTRAK: Di dalam kajian ini, rotor turbin angin berpaksi vertikel sebagai rangka khusus telah direkabentuk dengan lokasi vertikel mudahalih oleh bilah kipas. Rekabentuk ini meningkatkan tork di bahagian kiri turbin angin dengan meningkatkan pekali seretan dan mengurangkan tork negatif rangka yang berputar berlawanan dengan angin pada bahagian lain. Dua jenis model berbentuk berlainan telah difabrikasi (bilah kipas rata dan bilah kipas berbentuk kaviti, dengan setiap jenis mempunyai dua model dengan bilangan rangka yang berlainan (berangka tiga dan berangka empat. Model-model telah diuji di dalam terowong angin dengan kelajuan angin yang berbeza bagi mendapatkan kesan rekabentuk, berat dan bilangan rangka ke atas pekali kuasa.KEYWORDS: design; wind turbine; drag coefficient; vane

  11. CFD analysis of a Darrieus wind turbine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niculescu, M. L.; Cojocaru, M. G.; Pricop, M. V.; Pepelea, D.; Dumitrache, A.; Crunteanu, D. E.

    2017-07-01

    The Darrieus wind turbine has some advantages over the horizontal-axis wind turbine. Firstly, its tip speed ratio is lower than that of the horizontal-axis wind turbine and, therefore, its noise is smaller, privileging their placement near populated areas. Secondly, the Darrieus wind turbine does needs no orientation mechanism with respect to wind direction in contrast to the horizontal-axis wind turbine. However, the efficiency of the Darrieus wind turbine is lower than that of the horizontal-axis wind turbine since its aerodynamics is much more complex. With the advances in computational fluids and computers, it is possible to simulate the Darrieus wind turbine more accurately to understand better its aerodynamics. For these reasons, the present papers deals with the computational aerodynamics of a Darrieus wind turbine applying the state of the art of CFD methods (anisotropic turbulence models, transition from laminar to turbulent, scale adaptive simulation) to better understand its unsteady behavior.

  12. Experimental investigation on performance of crossflow wind turbine as effect of blades number

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kurniawati, Diniar Mungil; Tjahjana, Dominicus Danardono Dwi Prija; Santoso, Budi

    2018-02-01

    Urban living is one of the areas with large electrical power consumption that requires a power supply that is more than rural areas. The number of multi-storey buildings such as offices, hotels and several other buildings that caused electricity power consumption in urban living is very high. Therefore, energy alternative is needed to replace the electricity power consumption from government. One of the utilization of renewable energy in accordance with these conditions is the installation of wind turbines. One type of wind turbine that is now widely studied is a crossflow wind turbines. Crossflow wind turbine is one of vertical axis wind turbine which has good self starting at low wind speed condition. Therefore, the turbine design parameter is necessary to know in order to improve turbine performance. One of wind turbine performance parameter is blades number. The main purpose of this research to investigate the effect of blades number on crossflow wind turbine performance. The design of turbine was 0.4 × 0.4 m2 tested by experimental method with configuration on three kinds of blades number were 8,16 and 20. The turbine investigated at low wind speed on 2 - 5 m/s. The result showed that best performance on 16 blade number.

  13. Combined Structural Optimization and Aeroelastic Analysis of a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Roscher, Björn; Ferreira, Carlos Simao; Bernhammer, Lars O.

    2015-01-01

    Floating offshore wind energy poses challenges on the turbine design. A possible solution is vertical axis wind turbines, which are possibly easier to scale-up and require less components (lower maintenance) and a smaller floating structure than horizontal axis wind turbines. This paper presents...... a structural optimization and aeroelastic analysis of an optimized Troposkein vertical axis wind turbine to minimize the relation between the rotor mass and the swept area. The aeroelastic behavior of the different designs has been analyzed using a modified version of the HAWC2 code with the Actuator Cylinder...... model to compute the aerodynamics of the vertical axis wind turbine. The combined shape and topology optimization of a vertical axis wind turbine show a minimum mass to area ratio of 1.82 kg/m2 for blades with varying blade sections from a NACA 0040 at the attachment points to a NACA 0015...

  14. Design of low noise wind turbine blades using Betz and Joukowski concepts

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Shen, Wen Zhong; Hrgovan, Iva; Okulov, Valery

    2014-01-01

    This paper presents the aerodynamic design of low noise wind turbine blades using Betz and Joukowski concepts. The aerodynamic model is based on Blade Element Momentum theory whereas the aeroacoustic prediction model is based on the BPM model. The investigation is started with a 3MW baseline...

  15. RBI Optimization of Offshore Wind Turbines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ramírez, José G. Rangel; Sørensen, John Dalsgaard

    2009-01-01

    methods for oil & gas installations, a framework for optimal inspection and maintenance planning of offshore wind turbines is presented. Special aspects for offshore wind turbines considered are the fatigue loading characteristics where usually the wind loading are dominating the wave loading, wake......Wind turbines for electricity production have increased significantly the last years both in production capability and size. This development is expected to continue also in the coming years. Offshore wind turbines with an electricity production of 5-10 MW are planned. Typically, the wind turbine...... support structure is a steel structure consisting of a tower and a monopile, tripod or jacket type foundation. This paper considers aspects of inspection and maintenance planning of fatigue prone details in jacket and tripod type of wind turbine support structures. Based on risk-based inspection planning...

  16. Mod-5A wind turbine generator program design report. Volume 3: Final design and system description, book 2

    Science.gov (United States)

    1984-01-01

    The design, development and analysis of the 7.3MW MOD-5A wind turbine generator is documented. The report is divided into four volumes: Volume 1 summarizes the entire MOD-5A program, Volume 2 discusses the conceptual and preliminary design phases, Volume 3 describes the final design of the MOD-5A, and Volume 4 contains the drawings and specifications developed for the final design. Volume 3, book 2 describes the performance and characteristics of the MOD-5A wind turbine generator in its final configuration. The subsystem for power generation, control, and instrumentation subsystems is described in detail. The manufacturing and construction plans, and the preparation of a potential site on Oahu, Hawaii, are documented. The quality assurance and safety plan, and analyses of failure modes and effects, and reliability, availability and maintainability are presented.

  17. Conceptual design of the 7 megawatt Mod-5B wind turbine generator

    Science.gov (United States)

    Douglas, R. R.

    1982-01-01

    Similar to MOD-2, the MOD-5B wind turbine generator system is designed for the sole purpose of providing electrical power for distribution by a major utility network. The objectives of the MOD-2 and MOD-5B programs are essentially identical with one important exception; the cost-of-electricity (COE) target is reduced from 4 cent/Kwhr on MOD-2 to 3 cent/Kwhr on MOD-5B, based on mid 1977 dollars and large quantity production. The MOD-5B concept studies and eventual concept selection confirmed that the program COE targets could not only be achieved but substantially bettered. Starting from the established MOD-2 technology as a base, this achievement resulted from a combination of concept changes, size changes, and design refinements. The result of this effort is a wind turbine system that can compete with conventional power generation over significant geographical areas, increasing commercial market potential by an order of magnitude.

  18. Structural Reliability Analysis of Wind Turbines: A Review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhiyu Jiang

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The paper presents a detailed review of the state-of-the-art research activities on structural reliability analysis of wind turbines between the 1990s and 2017. We describe the reliability methods including the first- and second-order reliability methods and the simulation reliability methods and show the procedure for and application areas of structural reliability analysis of wind turbines. Further, we critically review the various structural reliability studies on rotor blades, bottom-fixed support structures, floating systems and mechanical and electrical components. Finally, future applications of structural reliability methods to wind turbine designs are discussed.

  19. Software tool for horizontal-axis wind turbine simulation

    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); Dpto. de Ing. Electrica y de Computadoras, Universidad Nacional del Sur, 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); Dpto. de Ing. Electrica y de Computadoras, Universidad Nacional del Sur, Av. Alem 1253, 8000 Bahia Blanca (Argentina)

    2008-07-15

    The main problem of a wind turbine generator design project is the design of the right blades capable of satisfying the specific energy requirement of an electric system with optimum performance. Once the blade has been designed for optimum operation at a particular rotor angular speed, it is necessary to determine the overall performance of the rotor under the range of wind speed that it will encounter. A software tool that simulates low-power, horizontal-axis wind turbines was developed for this purpose. With this program, the user can calculate the rotor power output for any combination of wind and rotor speeds, with definite blade shape and airfoil characteristics. The software also provides information about distribution of forces along the blade span, for different operational conditions. (author)

  20. Design of monopiles for multi-megawatt wind turbines at 50 m water depth

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Njomo Wandji, Wilfried; Natarajan, Anand; Dimitrov, Nikolay Krasimirov

    2015-01-01

    The design of a monopile substructure for wind turbines of 10 MW capacity installed at 50 m water depth is presented. The design process starts with the design of a monopile at a moderate water depth of 26 m and is then up scaled to a 50 m water depth. The baseline geometry is then modified...

  1. Improved design for large wind turbine blades of fibre composites (Phase 3) - Summary report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Soerensen, B.F. (Risoe DTU, Materials Research Div., Roskilde (Denmark)); Branner, K. (Risoe DTU, Wind Energy Div., Roskilde (Denmark)); Lund, E. (Aalborg Univ., Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Aalborg (Denmark)); Wedel-Heinen, J. (Vestas Wind System, Randers (Denmark)); Garm, J.H. (LM Glasfiber, Kolding (Denmark))

    2009-06-15

    An overview is given of the activities of the project 'Improved design for large wind turbine blades (Phase 3)', partially supported by the Danish Energy Agency under the Ministry of Climate and Energy through the EFP-grant no. 33031-0078. The project was focussed at the development of new design methods for wind turbine blades, so that uncertainties associated with damage and defects can be reduced. The following topics with respect to failure modes were covered: Buckling-driven delamination of load-carrying laminates, cracking along interfaces in material joints, implementation of cohesive laws in finite element programmes and hierarchical finite element models. Methods and major research results of the project are summarised. Some future goals for future research activities are briefly discussed. (author)

  2. Energy and exergy efficiency comparison of horizontal and vertical axis wind turbines

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pope, K.; Dincer, I.; Naterer, G.F. [Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, 2000 Simcoe Street North, Oshawa, Ontario (Canada)

    2010-09-15

    In this paper, an energy and exergy analysis is performed on four different wind power systems, including both horizontal and vertical axis wind turbines. Significant variability in turbine designs and operating parameters are encompassed through the selection of systems. In particular, two airfoils (NACA 63(2)-215 and FX 63-137) commonly used in horizontal axis wind turbines are compared with two vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs). A Savonius design and Zephyr VAWT benefit from operational attributes in wind conditions that are unsuitable for airfoil type designs. This paper analyzes each system with respect to both the first and second laws of thermodynamics. The aerodynamic performance of each system is numerically analyzed by computational fluid dynamics software, FLUENT. A difference in first and second law efficiencies of between 50 and 53% is predicted for the airfoil systems, whereas 44-55% differences are predicted for the VAWT systems. Key design variables are analyzed and the predicted results are discussed. The exergetic efficiency of each wind turbine is studied for different geometries, design parameters and operating conditions. It is shown that the second law provides unique insight beyond a first law analysis, thereby providing a useful design tool for wind power development. (author)

  3. CFD for wind and tidal offshore turbines

    CERN Document Server

    Montlaur, Adeline

    2015-01-01

    The book encompasses novel CFD techniques to compute offshore wind and tidal applications. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques are regarded as the main design tool to explore the new engineering challenges presented by offshore wind and tidal turbines for energy generation. The difficulty and costs of undertaking experimental tests in offshore environments have increased the interest in the field of CFD which is used to design appropriate turbines and blades, understand fluid flow physical phenomena associated with offshore environments, predict power production or characterise offshore environments, amongst other topics.

  4. Optimal Wind Turbines Micrositing in Onshore Wind Farms Using Fuzzy Genetic Algorithm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jun Yang

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available With the fast growth in the number and size of installed wind farms (WFs around the world, optimal wind turbines (WTs micrositing has become a challenge from both technological and mathematical points of view. An appropriate layout of wind turbines is crucial to obtain adequate performance with respect to the development and operation of the wind power plant during its life span. This work presents a fuzzy genetic algorithm (FGA for maximizing the economic profitability of the project. The algorithm considers a new WF model including several important factors to the design of the layout. The model consists of wake loss, terrain effect, and economic benefits, which can be calculated by locations of wind turbines. The results demonstrate that the algorithm performs better than genetic algorithm, in terms of maximum values of net annual value of wind power plants and computational burden.

  5. Evaluating the impact of electrical grid connection on the wind turbine performance for Hofa wind farm scheme in Jordan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abderrazzaq, M.H.; Aloquili, O.

    2008-01-01

    The growth of wind energy is attributed to the development of turbine size and the increase in number of units in each wind farm. The current modern design of large wind turbines (WT) is directed towards producing efficient, sensitive and reliable units. To achieve this goal, modern turbines are equipped with several devices which are operated with highly advanced electronic circuits. Sensing instruments, measuring devices and control processes of major systems and subsystems are based on various types of electronic apparatus and boards. These boards are very sensitive to the voltage variations caused by abnormal conditions in both the turbine itself and the electric grid to which the wind farm is connected. This paper evaluates wind farm records and proposes a number of methods to overcome such obstacles associated with the design of large wind turbines. Several cases of grid abnormality such as sudden feeder interruption due to the short circuit, network disconnection, voltage variation and circuit breaker opening affecting wind turbines operation and availability are classified and presented. The weight of such impact is determined for each type of disturbances associated with electronic problems in the wind turbine. Wind turbine performance at Hofa wind farm scheme in Jordan is taken as a case study

  6. Conventional and novel control designs for direct driven PMSG wind turbines

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li, Shuhui; Haskew, Timothy A.; Xu, Ling [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Alabama, 317 Houser Hall, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487 (United States)

    2010-03-15

    With the advance of power electronic technology, direct driven permanent magnet synchronous generators (PMSG) have increasingly drawn interests to wind turbine manufactures. This paper studies and compares conventional and a novel control designs for a direct driven PMSG wind turbine. The paper presents transient and steady-state models of a PMSG system in a d-q reference frame. Then, general PMSG characteristics are investigated in the rotor-flux-oriented frame. A shortage of conventional control mechanisms is studied analytically and through computer simulation. A novel direct-current based d-q vector control technique is proposed by integrating fuzzy, adaptive and traditional PID control technologies in an optimal control configuration. Comparison study demonstrates that the proposed control approach, having superior performance in various aspects, is effective not only in achieving desired PMSG control objectives but also in improving the optimal performance of the overall system. (author)

  7. The design, simulation and testing of an urban vertical axis wind turbine with the omni-direction-guide-vane

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chong, W.T.; Fazlizan, A.; Poh, S.C.; Pan, K.C.; Hew, W.P.; Hsiao, F.B.

    2013-01-01

    Graphical abstract: Solar energy, renewable energy, urban wind energy, environment, augmented wind turbine. Highlights: ► A system for on-site wind–solar hybrid power generation and rain water collection. ► The omni-direction-guide-vane (ODGV) overcomes the weak wind and turbulence conditions in urban areas. ► The ODGV improves the wind turbine performance by speeding-up and guiding the wind. ► The ODGV is designed to blend into the building architecture with safety enhancement. ► The wind tunnel test and CFD simulation results are presented. - Abstract: A novel omni-direction-guide-vane (ODGV) that surrounds a vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) is designed to improve the wind turbine performance. Wind tunnel testing was performed to evaluate the performance of a 5-bladed (Wortmann FX63-137 airfoil) H-rotor wind turbine, with and without the integration of the ODGV. The test was conducted using a scaled model turbine which was constructed to simulate the VAWT enclosed by the ODGV placed on a building. The VAWT shows an improvement on its self-starting behavior where the cut-in speed was reduced with the integration of the ODGV. Since the VAWT is able to self-start at a lower wind speed, the working hour of the wind turbine would increase. At a wind speed of 6 m/s and under free-running condition (only rotor inertia and bearing friction were applied), the ODGV helps to increase the rotor rotational speed by 182%. With extra load application at the same wind speed (6 m/s), the wind turbine power output was increased by 3.48 times at its peak torque with the aid of the ODGV. The working concept of the ODGV is to minimize the negative torque zone of a lift-type VAWT and to reduce turbulence and rotational speed fluctuation. It was verified by re-simulating the torque coefficient data of a single bladed (NACA 0015 airfoil) VAWT published by the Sandia National Laboratories. From the simulation results, with the presence of the ODGV, it was shown that the

  8. Design, fabrication, and test of a steel spar wind turbine blade

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sullivan, T. L.; Sirocky, P. J., Jr.; Viterna, L. A.

    1979-01-01

    The design and fabrication of wind turbine blades based on 60 foot steel spars are discussed. Performance and blade load information is given and compared to analytical prediction. In addition, performance is compared to that of the original MOD-O aluminum blades. Costs for building the two blades are given, and a projection is made for the cost in mass production. Design improvements to reduce weight and improve fatigue life are suggested.

  9. United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) Vertical Axis Wind Turbine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1980-09-01

    Rotors, SAND76-0131. Albuquerque: July 1977. 10. Oliver, R.C. and P.R. Nixon. "Design Procedure for Coupling Savonius and Darrieus Wind Turbines ", Air...May 17-20, 1976. -65- 16. Blackwell, B.F., R.E. Sheldahl, and L.V. Feltz. Wind Tunnel Performance Data for the Darrieus Wind Turbine with NACA 0012...a 5.8 m/s (13 mph) wind . At 100 rpm, the Darrieus turbine would be fully self-sustaining and acceleration would continue to an operating tip speed

  10. Design and Manufacturing of Composite Tower Structure for Wind Turbine Equipment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Hyunbum

    2018-02-01

    This study proposes the composite tower design process for large wind turbine equipment. In this work, structural design of tower and analysis using finite element method was performed. After structural design, prototype blade manufacturing and test was performed. The used material is a glass fiber and epoxy resin composite. And also, sand was used in the middle part. The optimized structural design and analysis was performed. The parameter for optimized structural design is weight reduction and safety of structure. Finally, structure of tower will be confirmed by structural test.

  11. Modeling of wind turbines with doubly fed generator system

    CERN Document Server

    Fortmann, Jens

    2014-01-01

    Jens Fortmann describes the deduction of models for the grid integration of variable speed wind turbines and the reactive power control design of wind plants. The modeling part is intended as background to understand the theory, capabilities and limitations of the generic doubly fed generator and full converter wind turbine models described in the IEC 61400-27-1 and as 2nd generation WECC models that are used as standard library models of wind turbines for grid simulation software. Focus of the reactive power control part is a deduction of the origin and theory behind the reactive current requ

  12. Small Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine under High Speed Operation: Study of Power Evaluation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moh. M. Saad, Magedi; Mohd, Sofian Bin; Zulkafli, Mohd Fadhli Bin; Abdullah, Aslam Bin; Rahim, Mohammad Zulafif Bin; Subari, Zulkhairi Bin; Rosly, Nurhayati Binti

    2017-10-01

    Mechanical energy is produced through the rotation of wind turbine blades by air that convert the mechanical energy into electrical energy. Wind turbines are usually designed to be use for particular applications and design characteristics may vary depending on the area of use. The variety of applications is reflected on the size of turbines and their infrastructures, however, performance enhancement of wind turbine may start by analyzing the small horizontal axis wind turbine (SHAWT) under high wind speed operation. This paper analyzes the implementations of SHAWT turbines and investigates their performance in both simulation and real life. Depending on the real structure of the rotor geometry and aerodynamic test, the power performance of the SHAWT was simulated using ANSYS-FLUENT software at different wind speed up to 33.33 m/s (120km/h) in order to numerically investigate the actual turbine operation. Dynamic mesh and user define function (UDF) was used for revolving the rotor turbine via wind. Simulation results were further validated by experimental data and hence good matching was yielded. And for reducing the energy producing cost, car alternator was formed to be used as a small horizontal wind turbine. As a result, alternator-based turbine system was found to be a low-cost solution for exploitation of wind energy.

  13. Engineering handbook on the atmospheric environmental guidelines for use in wind turbine generator development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frost, W.; Long, B. H.; Turner, R. E.

    1978-01-01

    The guidelines are given in the form of design criteria relative to wind speed, wind shear, turbulence, wind direction, ice and snow loading, and other climatological parameters which include rain, hail, thermal effects, abrasive and corrosive effects, and humidity. This report is a presentation of design criteria in an engineering format which can be directly input to wind turbine generator design computations. Guidelines are also provided for developing specialized wind turbine generators or for designing wind turbine generators which are to be used in a special region of the United States.

  14. Wind Turbine Acoustics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hubbard, Harvey H.; Shepherd, Kevin P.

    2009-01-01

    Wind turbine generators, ranging in size from a few kilowatts to several megawatts, are producing electricity both singly and in wind power stations that encompass hundreds of machines. Many installations are in uninhabited areas far from established residences, and therefore there are no apparent environmental impacts in terms of noise. There is, however, the potential for situations in which the radiated noise can be heard by residents of adjacent neighborhoods, particularly those neighborhoods with low ambient noise levels. A widely publicized incident of this nature occurred with the operation of the experimental Mod-1 2-MW wind turbine, which is described in detail elsewhere. Pioneering studies which were conducted at the Mod-1 site on the causes and remedies of noise from wind turbines form the foundation of much of the technology described in this chapter.

  15. Nonlinear Dynamics of Wind Turbine Wings

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Jesper Winther

    , large wind turbines become increasingly flexible and dynamically sensitive. This project focuses on the structural analysis of highly flexible wind turbine wings, and the aerodynamic loading of wind turbine wings under large changes in flow field due to elastic deformations and changing wind conditions....

  16. Design of a hybrid battery charger system fed by a wind-turbine and photovoltaic power generators.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang Chien, Jia-Ren; Tseng, Kuo-Ching; Yan, Bo-Yi

    2011-03-01

    This paper is aimed to develop a digital signal processor (DSP) for controlling a solar cell and wind-turbine hybrid charging system. The DSP consists of solar cells, a wind turbine, a lead acid battery, and a buck-boost converter. The solar cells and wind turbine serve as the system's main power sources and the battery as an energy storage element. The output powers of solar cells and wind turbine have large fluctuations with the weather and climate conditions. These unstable powers can be adjusted by a buck-boost converter and thus the most suitable output powers can be obtained. This study designs a booster by using a dsPIC30F4011 digital signal controller as a core processor. The DSP is controlled by the perturbation and observation methods to obtain an effective energy circuit with a full 100 W charging system. Also, this DSP can, day and night, be easily controlled and charged by a simple program, which can change the state of the system to reach a flexible application based on the reading weather conditions.

  17. Operation and control of large wind turbines and wind farms

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Soerensen, Poul; Hansen, Anca D.; Thomsen, Kenneth (and others)

    2005-09-01

    This report is the final report of a Danish research project 'Operation and control of large wind turbines and wind farms'. The objective of the project has been to analyse and assess operational strategies and possibilities for control of different types of wind turbines and different wind farm concepts. The potentials of optimising the lifetime/energy production ratio by means of using revised operational strategies for the individual wind turbines are investigated. Different strategies have been simulated, where the power production is decreased to an optimum when taking loads and actual price of produced electricity into account. Dynamic models and control strategies for the wind farms have also been developed, with the aim to optimise the operation of the wind farms considering participation in power system control of power (frequency) and reactive power (voltage), maximise power production, keep good power quality and limit mechanical loads and life time consumption. The project developed models for 3 different concepts for wind farms. Two of the concepts use active stall controlled wind turbines, one with AC connection and one with modern HVDC/VSC connection of the wind farm. The third concept is based on pitch controlled wind turbines using doubly fed induction generators. The models were applied to simulate the behaviour of the wind farm control when they were connected to a strong grid, and some initial simulations were performed to study the behaviour of the wind farms when it was isolated from the main grid on a local grid. Also the possibility to use the available information from the wind turbine controllers to predict the wind speed has been investigated. The main idea has been to predict the wind speed at a wind turbine using up-wind measurements of the wind speed in another wind turbine. (au)

  18. Mod-5A wind turbine generator program design report. Volume 4: Drawings and specifications, book 4

    Science.gov (United States)

    1984-01-01

    The design, development and analysis of the 7.3 MW MOD-5A wind turbine generator are documented. There are four volumes. This volume contains the drawings and specifications that were developed in preparation for building the MOD-5A wind turbine generator. This volume contains 5 books of which this is the fourth, providing drawings 47A380128 through 47A387125. In addition to the parts listing and where-used list, the logic design of the controller software and the code listing of the controller software are provided. Also given are the aerodynamic profile coordinates.

  19. Motion Performance and Mooring System of a Floating Offshore Wind Turbine

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Jing Zhao; Liang Zhang; Haitao Wu

    2012-01-01

    The development of offshore wind farms was originally carried out in shallow water areas with fixed (seabed mounted) structures.However,countries with limited shallow water areas require innovative floating platforms to deploy wind turbines offshore in order to harness wind energy to generate electricity in deep seas.The performances of motion and mooring system dynamics are vital to designing a cost effective and durable floating platform.This paper describes a numerical model to simulate dynamic behavior of a new semi-submersible type floating offshore wind turbine (FOWT) system.The wind turbine was modeled as a wind block with a certain thrust coefficient,and the hydrodynamics and mooring system dynamics of the platform were calculated by SESAM software.The effect of change in environmental conditions on the dynamic response of the system under wave and wind loading was examined.The results indicate that the semi-submersible concept has excellent performance and SESAM could be an effective tool for floating wind turbine design and analysis.

  20. Motion performance and mooring system of a floating offshore wind turbine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Jing; Zhang, Liang; Wu, Haitao

    2012-09-01

    The development of offshore wind farms was originally carried out in shallow water areas with fixed (seabed mounted) structures. However, countries with limited shallow water areas require innovative floating platforms to deploy wind turbines offshore in order to harness wind energy to generate electricity in deep seas. The performances of motion and mooring system dynamics are vital to designing a cost effective and durable floating platform. This paper describes a numerical model to simulate dynamic behavior of a new semi-submersible type floating offshore wind turbine (FOWT) system. The wind turbine was modeled as a wind block with a certain thrust coefficient, and the hydrodynamics and mooring system dynamics of the platform were calculated by SESAM software. The effect of change in environmental conditions on the dynamic response of the system under wave and wind loading was examined. The results indicate that the semi-submersible concept has excellent performance and SESAM could be an effective tool for floating wind turbine design and analysis.

  1. Dynamic modeling and simulation of wind turbines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ghafari Seadat, M.H.; Kheradmand Keysami, M.; Lari, H.R.

    2002-01-01

    Using wind energy for generating electricity in wind turbines is a good way for using renewable energies. It can also help to protect the environment. The main objective of this paper is dynamic modeling by energy method and simulation of a wind turbine aided by computer. In this paper, the equations of motion are extracted for simulating the system of wind turbine and then the behavior of the system become obvious by solving the equations. The turbine is considered with three blade rotor in wind direction, induced generator that is connected to the network and constant revolution for simulation of wind turbine. Every part of the wind turbine should be simulated for simulation of wind turbine. The main parts are blades, gearbox, shafts and generator

  2. Assessment and prediction of wind turbine noise

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lowson, M.V.

    1993-01-01

    The significance of basic aerodynamic noise sources for wind turbine noise are assessed, using information on the aero-acoustic mechanisms of other rotors, which have been studied in depth for many years. From the analysis, areas of potential improvement in wind turbine noise prediction are defined. Suggestions are made for approaches to wind turbine noise control which separate the noise problems at cut-in from those at rated power. Some of these offer the possibility of noise reduction without unfavourable effects on performance. Based on this analysis, a new model for prediction of wind turbine noise is presented and comparisons made between prediction and experiment. The model is based on well established aeroacoustic theory and published laboratory data for the two principal sources, inflow turbulence and boundary layer trailing edge interaction. The new method gives good agreement with experiment with the case studied so far. Parametric trends and sensitivities for the model are presented. Comparisons with previous prediction methods are also given. A consequence of the new model is to put more emphasis on boundary layer trailing edge interaction as a noise source. There are prospects for reducing noise from this source detail changes to the wind turbine design. (author)

  3. Profitability Analysis of Residential Wind Turbines with Battery Energy Storage

    Science.gov (United States)

    She, Ying; Erdem, Ergin; Shi, Jing

    Residential wind turbines are often accompanied by an energy storage system for the off-the-grid users, instead of the on-the-grid users, to reduce the risk of black-out. In this paper, we argue that residential wind turbines with battery energy storage could actually be beneficial to the on-the-grid users as well in terms of monetary gain from differential pricing for buying electricity from the grid and the ability to sell electricity back to the grid. We develop a mixed-integer linear programming model to maximize the profit of a residential wind turbine system while meeting the daily household electricity consumption. A case study is designed to investigate the effects of differential pricing schemes and sell-back schemes on the economic output of a 2-kW wind turbine with lithium battery storage. Overall, based on the current settings in California, a residential wind turbine with battery storage carries more economical benefits than the wind turbine alone.

  4. Assessment of Wind Parameter Sensitivity on Ultimate and Fatigue Wind Turbine Loads: Preprint

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Robertson, Amy N [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Sethuraman, Latha [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Jonkman, Jason [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Quick, Julian [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

    2018-02-13

    Wind turbines are designed using a set of simulations to ascertain the structural loads that the turbine could encounter. While mean hub-height wind speed is considered to vary, other wind parameters such as turbulence spectra, sheer, veer, spatial coherence, and component correlation are fixed or conditional values that, in reality, could have different characteristics at different sites and have a significant effect on the resulting loads. This paper therefore seeks to assess the sensitivity of different wind parameters on the resulting ultimate and fatigue loads on the turbine during normal operational conditions. Eighteen different wind parameters are screened using an Elementary Effects approach with radial points. As expected, the results show a high sensitivity of the loads to the turbulence standard deviation in the primary wind direction, but the sensitivity to wind shear is often much greater. To a lesser extent, other wind parameters that drive loads include the coherence in the primary wind direction and veer.

  5. Flow separation on wind turbines blades

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corten, G. P.

    2001-01-01

    In the year 2000, 15GW of wind power was installed throughout the world, producing 100PJ of energy annually. This contributes to the total electricity demand by only 0.2%. Both the installed power and the generated energy are increasing by 30% per year world-wide. If the airflow over wind turbine blades could be controlled fully, the generation efficiency and thus the energy production would increase by 9%. Power Control To avoid damage to wind turbines, they are cut out above 10 Beaufort (25 m/s) on the wind speed scale. A turbine could be designed in such a way that it converts as much power as possible in all wind speeds, but then it would have to be to heavy. The high costs of such a design would not be compensated by the extra production in high winds, since such winds are rare. Therefore turbines usually reach maximum power at a much lower wind speed: the rated wind speed, which occurs at about 6 Beaufort (12.5 m/s). Above this rated speed, the power intake is kept constant by a control mechanism. Two different mechanisms are commonly used. Active pitch control, where the blades pitch to vane if the turbine maximum is exceeded or, passive stall control, where the power control is an implicit property of the rotor. Stall Control The flow over airfoils is called "attached" when it flows over the surface from the leading edge to the trailing edge. However, when the angle of attack of the flow exceeds a certain critical angle, the flow does not reach the trailing edge, but leaves the surface at the separation line. Beyond this line the flow direction is reversed, i.e. it flows from the trailing edge backward to the separation line. A blade section extracts much less energy from the flow when it separates. This property is used for stall control. Stall controlled rotors always operate at a constant rotation speed. The angle of attack of the flow incident to the blades is determined by the blade speed and the wind speed. Since the latter is variable, it determines

  6. Advanced Offshore Wind Turbine/Foundation Concept for the Great Lakes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Afjeh, Abdollah A. [Univ. of Toledo, OH (United States); Windpower, Nautica [Nautica Windpower, Olmsted Falls, OH (United States); Marrone, Joseph [OCC COWI, Vancouver (Canada); Wagner, Thomas [Nautica Windpower, Olmsted Falls, OH (United States)

    2013-08-29

    This project investigated a conceptual 2-bladed rotor wind turbine design and assessed its feasibility for installation in the Great Lakes. The levelized cost of energy was used for this purpose. A location in Lake Erie near the coast of Cleveland, Ohio was selected as the application site. The loading environment was defined using wind and wave data collected at a weather station in Lake Erie near Cleveland. In addition, the probability distributions of the annual significant wave height and wind speed were determined. A model of the dependence of the above two quantities was also developed and used in the study of wind turbine system loads. Loads from ice floes and ridges were also included.The NREL 5 MW 3-bladed rotor wind turbine concept was used as the baseline design. The proposed turbine design employs variable pitch blade control with tip-brakes and a teeter mechanism. The rotor diameter, rated power and the tower dimensions were selected to closely match those of the NREL 5 MW wind turbine.A semi-floating gravity base foundation was designed for this project primarily to adapt to regional logistical constraints to transport and install the gravity base foundation. This foundation consists of, from bottom to top, a base plate, a buoyancy chamber, a taper zone, a column (with ice cone), and a service platform. A compound upward-downward ice cone was selected to secure the foundation from moving because of ice impact.The turbine loads analysis was based on International ElectroTechnical Committee (IEC) Standard 61400-1, Class III winds. The NREL software FAST was the primary computational tool used in this study to determine all design load cases. An initial set of studies of the dynamics of wind turbines using Automatic Dynamic Analysis of Mechanical Systems (ADAMS) demonstrated that FAST and ADAMS load predictions were comparable. Because of its relative simplicity and short run times, FAST was selected for this study. For ice load calculations, a method

  7. Performance and Reliability of Wind Turbines: A Review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sebastian Pfaffel

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Performance (availability and yield and reliability of wind turbines can make the difference between success and failure of wind farm projects and these factors are vital to decrease the cost of energy. During the last years, several initiatives started to gather data on the performance and reliability of wind turbines on- and offshore and published findings in different journals and conferences. Even though the scopes of the different initiatives are similar, every initiative follows a different approach and results are therefore difficult to compare. The present paper faces this issue, collects results of different initiatives and harmonizes the results. A short description and assessment of every considered data source is provided. To enable this comparison, the existing reliability characteristics are mapped to a system structure according to the Reference Designation System for Power Plants (RDS-PP®. The review shows a wide variation in the performance and reliability metrics of the individual initiatives. Especially the comparison on onshore wind turbines reveals significant differences between the results. Only a few publications are available on offshore wind turbines and the results show an increasing performance and reliability of offshore wind turbines since the first offshore wind farms were erected and monitored.

  8. Structural Optimization of an Innovative 10 MW Wind Turbine Nacelle

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dabrowski, Dariusz; Natarajan, Anand; Stehouwer, Ewoud

    2015-01-01

    For large wind turbine configurations of 10 MW and higher capacities, direct-drives present a more compact solution over conventional geared drivetrains. Further, if the generator is placed in front of the wind turbine rotor, a compact “king-pin” drive is designed, that allows the generator...... to be directly coupled to the hub. In presented study, the structural re-design of the innovative 10 MW nacelle was made using extreme loads obtained from a 10 MW reference wind turbine. On the basis of extreme loads the ultimate stresses on critical nacelle components were determined to ensure integrity...

  9. Transient and dynamic control of a variable speed wind turbine with synchronous generator

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jauch, Clemens [Riso National Laboratory, Wind Energy Department, PO Box 49, DK 4000 Roskilde, (Denmark)

    2007-02-14

    In this article, a controller for dynamic and transient control of a variable speed wind turbine with a full-scale converter-connected high-speed synchronous generator is presented. First, the phenomenon of drive train oscillations in wind turbines with full-scale converter-connected generators is discussed. Based on this discussion, a controller is presented that dampens these oscillations without impacting on the power that the wind turbine injects into the grid. Since wind turbines are increasingly demanded to take over power system stabilizing and control tasks, the presented wind turbine design is further enhanced to support the grid in transient grid events. A controller is designed that allows the wind turbine to ride through transient grid faults. Since such faults often cause power system oscillations, another controller is added that enables the turbine to participate in the damping of such oscillations. It is concluded that the controllers presented keep the wind turbine stable under any operating conditions, and that they are capable of adding substantial damping to the power system. (Author).

  10. The influence of turbulence on the aero-elastic instability of wind turbines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhang, Zili; Nielsen, Søren R.K.

    2014-01-01

    Modern multi-megawatt wind turbines are designed with longer and slender blades using new composite materials and advanced fabrication methods. The trend towards lighter and more flexible blades may lead to aeroelastic instability of wind turbines under certain circumstances, thus resulting...... calibrated to the NREL 5 MW baseline wind turbine. Aeroelastic stability of the wind turbine system has been evaluated for various values of the rated generator torque, the rated rotational speed of the rotor, the mean wind speed and the turbulence intensity. Critical turbulence intensity, at which the wind...

  11. Exploring Optimization Opportunities in Four-Point Suspension Wind Turbine Drivetrains through Integrated Design Approaches

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sethuraman, Latha [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Quick, Julian [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Guo, Yi [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Dykes, Katherine L [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

    2018-01-12

    Drivetrain design has significant influence on the costs of wind power generation. Current industry practices usually approach the drivetrain design with loads and system requirements defined by the turbine manufacturer. Several different manufacturers are contracted to supply individual components from the low-speed shaft to the generator - each receiving separate design specifications from the turbine manufacturer. Increasingly, more integrated approaches to turbine design have shown promise for blades and towers. Yet, integrated drivetrain design is a challenging task owing to the complex physical behavior of the important load-bearing components, namely the main bearings, gearbox, and the generator. In this paper we combine two of NREL's systems engineering design tools, DriveSE and GeneratorSE, to enable a comprehensive system-level drivetrain optimization for the IEAWind reference turbine for land-based applications. We compare a more traditional design with integrated approaches employing decoupled and coupled design optimization. It is demonstrated that both approaches have the potential to realize notable mass savings with opportunities to lower the costs of energy.

  12. Gain-scheduled Linear Quadratic Control of Wind Turbines Operating at High Wind Speed

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Østergaard, Kasper Zinck; Stoustrup, Jakob; Brath, Per

    2007-01-01

    This paper addresses state estimation and linear quadratic (LQ) control of variable speed variable pitch wind turbines. On the basis of a nonlinear model of a wind turbine, a set of operating conditions is identified and a LQ controller is designed for each operating point. The controller gains...... are then interpolated linearly to get a control law for the entire operating envelope. A nonlinear state estimator is designed as a combination of two unscented Kalman filters and a linear disturbance estimator. The gain-scheduling variable (wind speed) is then calculated from the output of these state estimators...

  13. Overview and Design of self-acting pitch control mechanism for vertical axis wind turbine using multi body simulation approach

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chougule, Prasad; Nielsen, Søren R.K.

    2014-01-01

    Awareness about wind energy is constantly growing in the world. Especially a demand for small scale wind turbine is increasing and various products are available in market. There are mainly two types of wind turbines, horizontal axis wind turbine and vertical axis wind turbines. Horizontal axis...... wind turbines are suitable for high wind speed whereas vertical axis wind turbines operate relatively low wind speed area. Vertical axis wind turbines are cost effective and simple in construction as compared to the horizontal axis wind turbine. However, vertical axis wind turbines have inherent...

  14. Design and fabrication of a low-cost Darrieus vertical-axis wind-turbine system, phase 2. Volume 3: Design, fabrication, and site drawing

    Science.gov (United States)

    1983-03-01

    The design, fabrication, and site drawings associated with fabrication, installation, and check out of 100 kW 17 meter Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWTs) were reported. The turbines are Darrieus type VAWTs with rotors 17 meters in diameter and 25.15 meters in height. They can produce 100 kW of electric power at a cost of energy as low as 3 cents per kWh, in an 18 mph wind regime using 12% annualized costs. Four turbines are produced, three are installed and operable.

  15. Control of variable speed wind turbines with doubly-fed induction generators

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hansen, A.D.; Soerensen, P.; Iov, F.; Blaabjerg, F.

    2005-07-01

    The paper presents an overall control method for variable speed pitch controlled wind turbines with doubly-fed induction generators (DFIG). Emphasis is on control strategies and algorithms applied at each hierarchical control level of the wind turbine. The objectives of the control system are: 1) to control the power drawn from the wind turbine in order to track the wind turbine maximum power operation point, 2) to limit the power in case of large wind speeds, and 3) to control the reactive power interchanged between the wind turbine generator and the grid. The present control method is designed for normal continuous operations. The strongest feature of the implemented control method is that it allows the turbine to operate with the optimum power efficiency over a wide range of wind speeds. The model of the variable speed, variable pitch wind turbine with doubly-fed induction generator is implemented in the dynamic power system simulation tool DlgSILENT PowerFactory which allows investigation of the dynamic performance of grid-connected wind turbines within realistic electrical grid models. Simulation results are presented and analysed in different normal operating conditions. (author)

  16. Wind turbine state estimation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Knudsen, Torben

    2014-01-01

    Dynamic inflow is an effect which is normally not included in the models used for wind turbine control design. Therefore, potential improvement from including this effect exists. The objective in this project is to improve the methods previously developed for this and especially to verify the res...

  17. Mitigation of Wind Turbine/Vortex Interaction Using Disturbance Accommodating Control

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hand, M. M.

    2003-12-01

    Wind turbines, a competitive source of emission-free electricity, are being designed with diameters and hub heights approaching 100 m, to further reduce the cost of the energy they produce. At this height above the ground, the wind turbine is exposed to atmospheric phenomena such as low-level jets, gravity waves, and Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities, which are not currently modeled in wind turbine design codes. These atmospheric phenomena can generate coherent turbulence that causes high cyclic loads on wind turbine blades. These fluctuating loads lead to fatigue damage accumulation and blade lifetime reduction. Advanced control was used to mitigate vortex-induced blade cyclic loading. A full-state feedback controller that incorporates more detailed vortex inputs achieved significantly greater blade load reduction. Blade loads attributed to vortex passage, then, can be reduced through advanced control, and further reductions appear feasible.

  18. Fatigue Damage Estimation and Data-based Control for Wind Turbines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Barradas Berglind, Jose de Jesus; Wisniewski, Rafal; Soltani, Mohsen

    2015-01-01

    based on hysteresis operators, which can be used in control loops. The authors propose a data-based model predictive control (MPC) strategy that incorporates an online fatigue estimation method through the objective function, where the ultimate goal in mind is to reduce the fatigue damage of the wind......The focus of this work is on fatigue estimation and data-based controller design for wind turbines. The main purpose is to include a model of the fatigue damage of the wind turbine components in the controller design and synthesis process. This study addresses an online fatigue estimation method...... turbine components. The outcome is an adaptive or self-tuning MPC strategy for wind turbine fatigue damage reduction, which relies on parameter identification on previous measurement data. The results of the proposed strategy are compared with a baseline model predictive controller....

  19. Hybrid Optimization for Wind Turbine Thick Airfoils

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Grasso, F. [ECN Wind Energy, Petten (Netherlands)

    2012-06-15

    One important element in aerodynamic design of wind turbines is the use of specially tailored airfoils to increase the ratio of energy capture and reduce cost of energy. This work is focused on the design of thick airfoils for wind turbines by using numerical optimization. A hybrid scheme is proposed in which genetic and gradient based algorithms are combined together to improve the accuracy and the reliability of the design. Firstly, the requirements and the constraints for this class of airfoils are described; then, the hybrid approach is presented. The final part of this work is dedicated to illustrate a numerical example regarding the design of a new thick airfoil. The results are discussed and compared to existing airfoils.

  20. Grid support of a wind farm with active stall wind turbines and AC grid connection

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Anca Daniela; Sørensen, Poul Ejnar; Iov, F.

    2006-01-01

    grid connection. The designed control system has the task of enabling such a wind farm to provide the best grid support. It is based on two control levels: a supervisory control level, which controls the power production of the whole farm by sending out reference signals to each individual wind turbine......One of the main concerns in the grid integration of large wind farms is their ability to behave as active controllable components in the power system. This article presents the design of a new integrated power control system for a wind farm made up exclusively of active stall wind turbines with AC......, and a local control level, which ensures that the reference power signals at the wind turbine level are reached. The ability of active stall wind farms with AC grid connection to control the power production to the reference power ordered by the operators is assessed and discussed by means of simulations....

  1. Floating axis wind turbines for offshore power generation—a conceptual study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Akimoto, Hiromichi; Tanaka, Kenji; Uzawa, Kiyoshi

    2011-01-01

    The cost of energy produced by offshore wind turbines is considered to be higher than land based ones because of the difficulties in construction, operation and maintenance on offshore sites. To solve the problem, we propose a concept of a wind turbine that is specially designed for an offshore environment. In the proposed concept, a floater of revolutionary shape supports the load of the wind turbine axis. The floater rotates with the turbine and the turbine axis tilts to balance the turbine thrust, buoyancy and gravity. The tilt angle is passively adjustable to wind force. The angle is 30° at rated power. The simplicity of the system leads to further cost reduction of offshore power generation.

  2. Evaluation of different turbine concepts for wind power

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Eriksson, Sandra; Bernhoff, Hans; Leijon, Mats [Swedish Centre for Renewable Electric Energy Conversion, Division for Electricity and Lightning Research, Box 534, 751 21 Uppsala (Sweden)

    2008-06-15

    Every year the number of installed wind power plants in the world increases. The horizontal axis wind turbine is the most common type of turbine but there exist other types. Here, three different wind turbines are considered; the horizontal axis wind turbine and two different concepts of vertical axis wind turbines; the Darrieus turbine and the H-rotor. This paper aims at making a comparative study of these three different wind turbines from the most important aspects including structural dynamics, control systems, maintenance, manufacturing and electrical equipment. A case study is presented where three different turbines are compared to each other. Furthermore, a study of blade areas for different turbines is presented. The vertical axis wind turbine appears to be advantageous to the horizontal axis wind turbine in several aspects. (author)

  3. Crack Monitoring of Operational Wind Turbine Foundations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perry, Marcus; McAlorum, Jack; Fusiek, Grzegorz; Niewczas, Pawel; McKeeman, Iain; Rubert, Tim

    2017-08-21

    The degradation of onshore, reinforced-concrete wind turbine foundations is usually assessed via above-ground inspections, or through lengthy excavation campaigns that suspend wind power generation. Foundation cracks can and do occur below ground level, and while sustained measurements of crack behaviour could be used to quantify the risk of water ingress and reinforcement corrosion, these cracks have not yet been monitored during turbine operation. Here, we outline the design, fabrication and field installation of subterranean fibre-optic sensors for monitoring the opening and lateral displacements of foundation cracks during wind turbine operation. We detail methods for in situ sensor characterisation, verify sensor responses against theoretical tower strains derived from wind speed data, and then show that measured crack displacements correlate with monitored tower strains. Our results show that foundation crack opening displacements respond linearly to tower strain and do not change by more than ±5 μ m. Lateral crack displacements were found to be negligible. We anticipate that the work outlined here will provide a starting point for real-time, long-term and dynamic analyses of crack displacements in future. Our findings could furthermore inform the development of cost-effective monitoring systems for ageing wind turbine foundations.

  4. Wind turbine optimal control during storms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Petrović, V; Bottasso, C L

    2014-01-01

    This paper proposes a control algorithm that enables wind turbine operation in high winds. With this objective, an online optimization procedure is formulated that, based on the wind turbine state, estimates those extremal wind speed variations that would produce maximal allowable wind turbine loads. Optimization results are compared to the actual wind speed and, if there is a danger of excessive loading, the wind turbine power reference is adjusted to ensure that loads stay within allowed limits. This way, the machine can operate safely even above the cut-out wind speed, thereby realizing a soft envelope-protecting cut-out. The proposed control strategy is tested and verified using a high-fidelity aeroservoelastic simulation model

  5. Aeroelastic optimization of MW wind turbines

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hartvig Hansen, M.; Zahle, F.

    2011-12-15

    This report contains the results from the Energy Development and Demonstration Project ''Aeroelastic Optimization of MW wind turbine'' (AeroOpt). The project has had the following five Work Packages: 1. Geometric non-linear, anisotropic beam element for HAWC2. 2. Closed-loop eigenvalue analysis of controlled wind turbines. 3. Resonant wave excitation of lateral tower bending modes. 4. Development of next generation aerodynamic design tools. 5. Advanced design and verification of airfoils. The purposes of these Work Packages are briefly described in the Preface and a summary of the results are given in Section 2. Thereafter, the results from each Work Package are described in eight subsequent chapters. (Author)

  6. Control of variable speed wind turbine with doubly-fed induction generator

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hansen, A.D.; Soerensen, P. [Risoe National Lab., Wind Energy Dept., Roskilde (Denmark); Iov, F.; Blaabjerg, F. [Aalborg Univ., Inst. of Energy Technology, Aalborg (Denmark)

    2004-07-01

    draIn this paper, a Control method suitable for a variable speed grid connected pitch-controlled wind turbine with doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG) is developed. The targets of the Control system are: 1) to Control the power drawn from the wind turbine in order to track the wind turbine optimum operation point 2) to limit the power in case of high wind speeds and 3) to Control the reactive power interchanged between the wind turbine generator and the grid. The considered configuration of DFIG is an induction generator with a wound rotor connected to the grid through a back-to-back power converter and a stator directly connected to the grid. The paper presents the overall Control system of the variable speed DFIG wind turbine, with focus on the Control strategies and algorithms applied at each hierarchical Control level of the wind turbine. There are two Control levels: a DFIG Control level and wind turbine Control level. The DFIG Control level contains a fast Control of the power converter and of the doubly-fed induction generator and it has as goal to Control the active and reactive power of the wind turbine independently. The wind turbine Control level supervises with Control signals both the DFIG Control level and the hydraulic pitch Control system of the wind turbine. The present Control method is designed for normal continuous operations. The variable speed/variable pitch wind turbine with doubly-fed induction generator is implemented in the dynamic power system simulation tool DIgSILENT, which makes possible to investigate the dynamic performance of gid-connected wind turbines as a part of realistic electrical grid models. Several significant simulation results are performed With the overall Control-implemented algorithm applied on a variable speed, variable pitch wind turbine model. (au)

  7. Monitoring fatigue loads on wind turbines using cycle counting data acquisition systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Soeker, H; Seifert, H [Deutsches Windenergie-Institut (Germany); Fragoulis, A; Vionis, P; Foussekis, D [Center for Renewable Energy Sources (Greece); Dahlberg, J A; Poppen, M [The Aeronautical Research Institue of Sweden (Sweden)

    1996-09-01

    As in any industrial application, the duration of a wind turbine`s life is a key parameter for the evaluation of its economic potential. Assuming a service life of 20 years, components of the turbine have to withstand a number of load cycles of up to 10{sup 8}. Such numbers of load cycles impose high demands on the fatigue characteristics of both, the used materials and the design. Nevertheless, fatigue loading of wind turbine components still remains a parameter of high uncertainty in the design of wind turbines. The specific features of these fatigue loads can be expected to vary with the type of turbine and the site of operation. In order to ensure the reliability of the next generation of larger scale wind turbines improved load assumptions will be of vital importance. Within the scope of the presented research program DEWI, C.R.E.S. and FFA monitored fatigue loads of serial produced wind turbines by means of a monitoring method that uses on-line cycle counting techniques. The blade root bending moments of two pitch controlled, variable speed wind turbines operating in the Hamswehrum wind farm, and also that of a stall controlled, fixed speed wind turbine operating in CRES` complex terrain test site, were measured by DEWI and CRES. In parallel FFA used their database of time series measurements of blade root bending moments on a stall controlled, fixed speed turbine at Alsvik Windfarm in order to derive semi-empirical fatigue load data. The experience gained from application of the on-line measurement technique is discussed with respect to performance, data quality, reliability and cost effectiveness. Investigations on the effects of wind farm and complex terrain operation on the fatigue loads of wind turbine rotor blades are presented. (au)

  8. Small Wind Turbine Installation Compatibility Demonstration Methodology

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-08-01

    wind turbine (HAWT) and one 2.9-kW vertical-axis wind turbine (VAWT), we planned to measure radar, acoustic and seismic, turbulence, bird and...non-issue for small turbines . The majority of studies of bat and bird interactions with wind turbines are for large turbines (BPA 2002; Whittam...et al. 2010). The majority of studies of bat and bird interactions with wind energy facil- ities are for utility-scale turbines (> 1 MW) with

  9. Quiet airfoils for small and large wind turbines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tangler, James L [Boulder, CO; Somers, Dan L [Port Matilda, PA

    2012-06-12

    Thick airfoil families with desirable aerodynamic performance with minimal airfoil induced noise. The airfoil families are suitable for a variety of wind turbine designs and are particularly well-suited for use with horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWTs) with constant or variable speed using pitch and/or stall control. In exemplary embodiments, a first family of three thick airfoils is provided for use with small wind turbines and second family of three thick airfoils is provided for use with very large machines, e.g., an airfoil defined for each of three blade radial stations or blade portions defined along the length of a blade. Each of the families is designed to provide a high maximum lift coefficient or high lift, to exhibit docile stalls, to be relatively insensitive to roughness, and to achieve a low profile drag.

  10. WindPACT Turbine Design Scaling Studies: Technical Area 4 - Balance-of-Station Cost; ANNUAL

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shafer, D. A.; Strawmyer, K. R.; Conley, R. M.; Guidinger J. H.; Wilkie, D. C.; Zellman, T. F.

    2001-01-01

    DOE's Wind Partnerships for Advanced Component Technologies (WindPACT) program explores the most advanced wind-generating technologies for improving reliability and decreasing energy costs. The first step in the WindPact program is a scaling study to bound the optimum sizes for wind turbines, to define size limits for certain technologies, and to scale new technologies. The program is divided into four projects: Composite Blades for 80-120-meter Rotors; Turbine, Rotor, and Blade Logistics; Self-Erecting Tower and Nacelle Feasibility; and Balance-of-Station Cost. This report discusses balance-of-station costs, which includes the electrical power collector system, wind turbine foundations, communications and controls, meteorological equipment, access roadways, crane pads, and the maintenance building. The report is based on a conceptual 50-megawatt (MW) wind farm site near Mission, South Dakota. Cost comparisons are provided for four sizes of wind turbines: 750 kilowatt (kW), 2.5 MW, 5.0 MW, and 10.0 MW

  11. Hybrid anisotropic materials for wind power turbine blades

    CERN Document Server

    Golfman, Yosif

    2012-01-01

    Based on rapid technological developments in wind power, governments and energy corporations are aggressively investing in this natural resource. Illustrating some of the crucial new breakthroughs in structural design and application of wind energy generation machinery, Hybrid Anisotropic Materials for Wind Power Turbine Blades explores new automated, repeatable production techniques that expand the use of robotics and process controls. These practices are intended to ensure cheaper fabrication of less-defective anisotropic material composites used to manufacture power turbine blades. This boo

  12. Megawatt wind turbines gaining momentum

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oehlenschlaeger, K.; Madsen, B.T.

    1996-01-01

    Through the short history of the modern wind turbine, electric utilities have made it amply clear that they have held a preference for large scale wind turbines over smaller ones, which is why wind turbine builders through the years have made numerous attempts develop such machines - machines that would meet the technical, aesthetic and economic demands that a customer would require. Considerable effort was put into developing such wind turbines in the early 1980s. There was the U.S. Department of Energy's MOD 1-5 program, which ranged up to 3.2 MW, Denmark's Nibe A and B, 630 kW turbine and the 2 MW Tjaereborg machine, Sweden's Naesudden, 3 MW, and Germany's Growian, 3 MW. Most of these were dismal failures, though some did show the potential of MW technology. (au)

  13. Wind Turbine With Concentric Ducts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muhonen, A. J.

    1983-01-01

    Wind Turbine device is relatively compact and efficient. Converging inner and outer ducts increase pressure difference across blades of wind turbine. Turbine shaft drives alternator housed inside exit cone. Suitable for installation on such existing structures as water towers, barns, houses, and commercial buildings.

  14. Grid support capabilities of wind turbines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Michalke, Gabriele; Hansen, Anca Daniela

    2013-01-01

    Wind power has gained a significant penetration level in several power systems all over the world. Due to this reason modern wind turbines are requested to contribute to power system support. Power system operators have thus introduced grid codes, which specify a set of requirements for wind...... turbines, such as fault ride-through and reactive power supply during voltage sags. To date different wind turbine concepts exist on the market comprising different control features in order to provide ancillary services to the power system. In the first place the present chapter emphasizes the most...... important issues related to wind power grid integration. Then different wind turbine concepts are characterized and their grid support capabilities are analysed and compared. Simulation cases are presented in which the respective wind turbine concepts are subjected to a voltage dip specified in a grid code....

  15. Wind Turbine Acoustic Day 2018

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mogensen, Jesper; Søndergaard, Bo; Hünerbein, Sabine Von

    The bi-annual event entitled Wind Turbine Acoustic Day dealing with wind turbine noise issues organized by DTU Wind Energy took place on May, 17th 2018 as its third edition. The abstracts and slides for the presentations are reported....

  16. Efficiency of the DOMUS 750 vertical-axis wind turbine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hallock, Kyle; Rasch, Tyler; Ju, Guoqiang; Alonso-Marroquin, Fernando

    2017-06-01

    The aim of this paper is to present some preliminary results on the efficiency of a wind turbine for an off-grid housing unit. To generate power, the unit uses a photovoltaic solar array and a vertical-axis wind turbine (VAWT). The existing VAWT was analysed to improve efficiency and increase power generation. There were found to be two main sources of inefficiency: 1. the 750W DC epicyclic generator performed poorly in low winds, and 2. the turbine blades wobbled, allowing for energy loss due to off-axis rotation. A 12V DC permanent magnet alternator was chosen that met the power requirements of the housing unit and would generate power at lower wind speeds. A support bracket was designed to prevent the turbine blades from wobbling.

  17. Wind Predictions Upstream Wind Turbines from a LiDAR Database

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Soledad Le Clainche

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available This article presents a new method to predict the wind velocity upstream a horizontal axis wind turbine from a set of light detection and ranging (LiDAR measurements. The method uses higher order dynamic mode decomposition (HODMD to construct a reduced order model (ROM that can be extrapolated in space. LiDAR measurements have been carried out upstream a wind turbine at six different planes perpendicular to the wind turbine axis. This new HODMD-based ROM predicts with high accuracy the wind velocity during a timespan of 24 h in a plane of measurements that is more than 225 m far away from the wind turbine. Moreover, the technique introduced is general and obtained with an almost negligible computational cost. This fact makes it possible to extend its application to both vertical axis wind turbines and real-time operation.

  18. On Practical tuning of Model Uncertainty in Wind Turbine Model Predictive Control

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Odgaard, Peter Fogh; Hovgaard, Tobias

    2015-01-01

    Model predictive control (MPC) has in previous works been applied on wind turbines with promising results. These results apply linear MPC, i.e., linear models linearized at different operational points depending on the wind speed. The linearized models are derived from a nonlinear first principles...... model of a wind turbine. In this paper, we investigate the impact of this approach on the performance of a wind turbine. In particular, we focus on the most non-linear operational ranges of a wind turbine. The MPC controller is designed for, tested, and evaluated at an industrial high fidelity wind...

  19. Type IV Wind Turbine Model

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Anca Daniela; Margaris, Ioannis D.

    . In the project, this wind turbine model will be further incorporated in a wind power plant model together with the implementation in the wind power control level of the new control functionalities (inertial response, synchronising power and power system damping). For this purpose an aggregate wind power plant......This document is created as part of the EaseWind project. The goal of this project is to develop and investigate new control features for primary response provided by wind power plants. New control features as inertial response, synchronising power and power system damping are of interest to EaseWind...... project to be incorporated in the wind power plant level. This document describes the Type 4 wind turbine simulation model, implemented in the EaseWind project. The implemented wind turbine model is one of the initial necessary steps toward integrating new control services in the wind power plant level...

  20. National Renewable Energy Laboratory program on lightning risk and wind turbine generator protection

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Muljadi, E. [National Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO (United States); McNiff, B. [McNiff Light Industry, Blue Hill, ME (United States)

    1997-12-31

    In the early development of wind turbine generators (WTG) in the United States, wind farms were primarily located in California where lightning activity is the lowest in the United States. As such, lightning protection for wind turbines was not considered to be a major issue for designers or wind farm operators. However, wind turbine installations are expanding into the Midwest, Southwest and other regions of the United States where lightning activity is significantly more intense and lightning damage to wind turbines is more common. There is a growing need, therefore, to better understand lightning activity on wind farms and to improve wind turbine lightning protection systems. In support of the U.S. Department of Energy/Electric Power Research Institute (DOE/EPRI) Utility Wind Turbine Verification Program (TVP), the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has recently begun to take steps to determine the extent of damage due to lightning and the effectiveness of various lightning protection techniques for wind power plants. Working through the TVP program, NREL will also perform outreach and education to (1) help manufacturers to provide equipment that is adequately designed to survive lightning, (2) make sure that operators are aware of effective safety procedures, and (3) help site designers and wind farm developers take the risk of lightning into account as effectively as possible.

  1. Aerodynamics and Optimal Design of Biplane Wind Turbine Blades

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chiu, Phillip

    In order to improve energy capture and reduce the cost of wind energy, in the past few decades wind turbines have grown significantly larger. As their blades get longer, the design of the inboard region (near the blade root) becomes a trade-off between competing structural and aerodynamic requirements. State-of-the-art blades require thick airfoils near the root to efficiently support large loads inboard, but those thick airfoils have inherently poor aerodynamic performance. New designs are required to circumvent this design compromise. One such design is the "biplane blade", in which the thick airfoils in the inboard region are replaced with thinner airfoils in a biplane configuration. This design was shown previously to have significantly increased structural performance over conventional blades. In addition, the biplane airfoils can provide increased lift and aerodynamic efficiency compared to thick monoplane inboard airfoils, indicating a potential for increased power extraction. This work investigates the fundamental aerodynamic aspects, aerodynamic design and performance, and optimal structural design of the biplane blade. First, the two-dimensional aerodynamics of biplanes with relatively thick airfoils are investigated, showing unique phenomena which arise as a result of airfoil thickness. Next, the aerodynamic design of the full biplane blade is considered. Two biplane blades are designed for optimal aerodynamic loading, and their aerodynamic performance quantified. Considering blades with practical chord distributions and including the drag of the mid-blade joint, it is shown that biplane blades have comparable power output to conventional monoplane designs. The results of this analysis also show that the biplane blades can be designed with significantly less chord than conventional designs, a characteristic which enables larger blade designs. The aerodynamic loads on the biplane blades are shown to be increased in gust conditions and decreased under

  2. Gradient-Based Optimization of Wind Farms with Different Turbine Heights

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stanley, Andrew P. J.; Thomas, Jared; Ning, Andrew; Annoni, Jennifer; Dykes, Katherine; Fleming, Paul

    2017-01-09

    Turbine wakes reduce power production in a wind farm. Current wind farms are generally built with turbines that are all the same height, but if wind farms included turbines with different tower heights, the cost of energy (COE) may be reduced. We used gradient-based optimization to demonstrate a method to optimize wind farms with varied hub heights. Our study includes a modified version of the FLORIS wake model that accommodates three-dimensional wakes integrated with a tower structural model. Our purpose was to design a process to minimize the COE of a wind farm through layout optimization and varying turbine hub heights. Results indicate that when a farm is optimized for layout and height with two separate height groups, COE can be lowered by as much as 5%-9%, compared to a similar layout and height optimization where all the towers are the same. The COE has the best improvement in farms with high turbine density and a low wind shear exponent.

  3. LQG Controller Design for Pitch Regulated Variable Speed Wind Turbine

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Imran, Raja Muhammed; Hussain, Dil Muhammad Akbar; Chen, Zhe

    2014-01-01

    Variable speed wind turbine is a complex and nonlinear system, a sophisticated control is required to meet the challenges posed by these systems. This paper is presenting a pitch regulation strategy based on LQG (Linear Quadratic Gaussian) to regulate turbine at its rated power and to reject...

  4. Risk-based Inspection Planning Optimisation of Offshore Wind Turbines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ramirez, José Rangel; Sørensen, John Dalsgaard

    2011-01-01

    Wind industry is substantially propelled and the future scenarios designate offshore locations as important sites for energy production. With this development, offshore wind farms represent a feasible option to accomplish the needed energy, bringing with it technical and economical challenges......, but considering the lower reliability level for wind turbines. This framework is addressing fatigue prone details in welded steel joints typically located in the wind turbine substructure. The increase of turbulence in-wind farms (IWF) due to wake effects is taken into account using a code-based turbulence model...

  5. Control of Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator for large wind turbines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Busca, Cristian; Stan, Ana-Irina; Stanciu, Tiberiu

    2010-01-01

    Direct Torque Control (DTC) and Field Oriented Control (FOC) are the most dominant control strategies used in generators for wind turbines. In this paper both control methods were implemented on a Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator (PMSG). The variable speed wind turbine with full scale power...... converter topology was chosen for design. Parameters from a 2 MW wind turbine were used for system modeling. All the components of the wind turbine system (WTS), except the DC-link and the grid site converter were implemented in MATLAB/Simulink. The pitch controller was used to limit the output power...... produced by the turbine. DTC and FOC strategies, using SVM were used to control the generator rotor speed. The performance of the two control strategies were compared after different tests have been carried out....

  6. Computational Fluid Dynamics based Fault Simulations of a Vertical Axis Wind Turbines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Kyoo-seon; Asim, Taimoor; Mishra, Rakesh

    2012-01-01

    Due to depleting fossil fuels and a rapid increase in the fuel prices globally, the search for alternative energy sources is becoming more and more significant. One of such energy source is the wind energy which can be harnessed with the use of wind turbines. The fundamental principle of wind turbines is to convert the wind energy into first mechanical and then into electrical form. The relatively simple operation of such turbines has stirred the researchers to come up with innovative designs for global acceptance and to make these turbines commercially viable. Furthermore, the maintenance of wind turbines has long been a topic of interest. Condition based monitoring of wind turbines is essential to maintain continuous operation of wind turbines. The present work focuses on the difference in the outputs of a vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) under different operational conditions. A Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) technique has been used for various blade configurations of a VAWT. The results indicate that there is significant degradation in the performance output of wind turbines as the number of blades broken or missing from the VAWT increases. The study predicts the faults in the blades of VAWTs by monitoring its output.

  7. Wind Turbine Drivetrain Reliability Collaborative Workshop: A Recap

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Keller, Jonathan [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Sheng, Shuangwen [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Cotrell, Jason [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Greco, Aaron [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

    2016-08-01

    The Wind Turbine Drivetrain Reliability Collaborative Workshop was convened by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Argonne National Laboratory, and the U.S. Department of Energy to explore the state of the art in wind turbine drivetrain mechanical system reliability as well as research and development (R&D) challenges that if solved could have significant benefits. The workshop was held at the Research Support Facility on NREL's main campus in Golden, Colorado, from February 16-17, 2016. More than 120 attendees participated from industry, academia, and government. Plenary presentations covered wind turbine drivetrain design, testing, and analysis; tribology -- the science and engineering of interacting surfaces in relative motion -- and failure modes; and condition monitoring and data analytics. In addition to the presentations, workshops were held in each of these areas to discuss R&D challenges. This report serves as a summary of the presentations, workshops, and conclusions on R&D challenges in wind turbine drivetrain reliability.

  8. Lightning protection of wind turbines

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Soerensen, T; Brask, M H [DEFU (Denmark); Jensen, F V; Raben, N [SEAS (Denmark); Saxov, J [Nordjyllandsvaerket (Denmark); Nielsen, L [Vestkraft (Denmark); Soerensen, P E [Risoe National Lab. (Denmark)

    1999-03-01

    Lightning damage to wind turbines is a serious problem for Danish power companies, who have experienced some cases with very costly lightning damage and a large number of cases with minor damage. The most costly cases include one catastrophic damage to an entire wind turbine, and several cases of destruction of blades, main bearings, generators and control systems. Over the years there have been several hundreds of cases with minor damage - typically damage and interruptions of the control and communication systems, or the power systems. The Danish power companies anticipate that the lightning threat will be even bigger for the large off-shore wind turbine installations that are currently being planned in Denmark. Furthermore, it is known from the off-shore wind turbines at Vindeby in Denmark that the costs of inspection and particularly repair work must be expected to be much higher off-shore as compared to wind turbines on land. These considerations was the background for a two year project concerned with investigation of lighting damages and with the formulation of a DEFU Recommendation for lightning protection of wind turbines, which was published in January 1999. The project was funded by the Danish power companies Elsam, Eltra, Elkraft and by DEFU. (au)

  9. Active and passive fault-tolerant LPV control of wind Turbines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sloth, Christoffer; Esbensen, Thomas; Stoustrup, Jakob

    2010-01-01

    This paper addresses the design and comparison of active and passive fault-tolerant linear parameter-varying (LPV) controllers for wind turbines. The considered wind turbine plant model is characterized by parameter variations along the nominal operating trajectory and includes a model of an inci...

  10. Wind turbine improvements by wind-lidar-based preview and control

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mikkelsen, Torben

    2014-01-01

    Wind turbines equipped with laser prevision hold potential for up to 6+ years lifetime extension. Forward looking wind lidars integrated within operational wind turbines providing feed-forward control can reduce the daily operation loads. The turbine lifetime may in this way be extended by up to 30...

  11. Prospects for development of wind turbines with orthogonal rotor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gorelov, D. N.; Krivospitsky, V. P.

    2008-03-01

    The experimental data obtained previously on the investigation of power characteristics and the possibility of the self-start of the Darrieus rotor are anlysed. These results are used at the design of new two-tier wind turbines with straight blades. The full-scale tests of two design variants showed the prospects for the development of wind turbines with the Darrieus rotor. At a reasonable design, they do not need any devices for the rotor orientation and start-up, are little sensitive to wind gusts and can have a high level of power characteristics, which is not inferior to the best samples of the units of propeller type.

  12. Design of a family of new advanced airfoils for low wind class turbines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grasso, Francesco

    2014-01-01

    In order to maximize the ratio of energy capture and reduce the cost of energy, the selection of the airfoils to be used along the blade plays a crucial role. Despite the general usage of existing airfoils, more and more, families of airfoils specially tailored for specific applications are developed. The present research is focused on the design of a new family of airfoils to be used for the blade of one megawatt wind turbine working in low wind conditions. A hybrid optimization scheme has been implemented, combining together genetic and gradient based algorithms. Large part of the work is dedicated to present and discuss the requirements that needed to be satisfied in order to have a consistent family of geometries with high efficiency, high lift and good structural characteristics. For each airfoil, these characteristics are presented and compared to the ones of existing airfoils. Finally, the aerodynamic design of a new blade for low wind class turbine is illustrated and compared to a reference shape developed by using existing geometries. Due to higher lift performance, the results show a sensitive saving in chords, wetted area and so in loads in idling position

  13. WIND TURBINE OPERATION PARAMETER CHARACTERISTICS AT A GIVEN WIND SPEED

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zdzisław Kamiński

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper discusses the results of the CFD simulation of the flow around Vertical Axis Wind Turbine rotor. The examined rotor was designed following patent application no. 402214. The turbine operation is characterised by parameters, such as opening angle of blades, power, torque, rotational velocity at a given wind velocity. Those parameters have an impact on the performance of entire assembly. The distribution of forces acting on the working surfaces in the turbine can change, depending on the angle of rotor rotation. Moreover, the resultant force derived from the force acting on the oncoming and leaving blades should be as high as possible. Accordingly, those parameters were individually simulated over time for each blade in three complete rotations. The attempts to improve the performance of the entire system resulted in a new research trend to improve the performance of working turbine rotor blades.

  14. Impact of wind turbines on birdlife

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Benner, J.H.B.; Berkhuizen, J.C.; De Graaff, R.J.; Postma, A.D.; Hendriks, J.H.W.

    1993-05-01

    An overview of wind energy programmes is presented, as well as an analysis of recent studies on the title subject and data on the attitude of nature conservation organisations both from the USA and Europe. The studies were analyzed for legitimacy of assumptions and validity of the conclusions. Most of the wind energy programs and all European studies deal with bird kills and disturbance in coastal areas. The number of victims per turbine per year in this type of area appears to be acceptable. The disturbing effect of wind turbines on breeding birds appears to be negligible. The disturbance of resting and migrating birds by wind turbines however is reasonably clear. As a result of international concern several sites have been designated where siting of wind turbines is prohibited. Well known examples are wetlands of international importance (Ramsar-convention) and European Community Special Protection Areas. Major concern among conservationists is the location of many valuable and vulnerable environmental resources outside the protected areas. Negative attitudes towards wind energy projects are not particularly due to avian considerations, but rather to a general objective to protect landscapes and habitats, undisturbed by human infrastructures and disturbance. It is concluded that all new locations for wind energy projects should be weighed on the disturbance aspect. Reference data for such a weigh are available for coastal areas, although the impact on local migration between feeding grounds and high water refugee areas needs further research. Future research is also needed for application of wind energy both on off-shore locations, grasslands and farmlands. Wind energy developers and conservationists should have a close contact in order to establish consensus on how to deal with remaining uncertainties. 7 figs., 9 tabs., 5 appendices, 37 refs

  15. Impact of wind turbines on birdlife

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Benner, J H.B.; Berkhuizen, J C; De Graaff, R J; Postma, A D [Consultants on Energy and Environment CEA, Rotterdam (Netherlands); Hendriks, J H.W. [Rijksuniversiteit Leiden (Netherlands)

    1993-05-01

    An overview of wind energy programmes is presented, as well as an analysis of recent studies on the title subject and data on the attitude of nature conservation organisations both from the USA and Europe. The studies were analyzed for legitimacy of assumptions and validity of the conclusions. Most of the wind energy programs and all European studies deal with bird kills and disturbance in coastal areas. The number of victims per turbine per year in this type of area appears to be acceptable. The disturbing effect of wind turbines on breeding birds appears to be negligible. The disturbance of resting and migrating birds by wind turbines however is reasonably clear. As a result of international concern several sites have been designated where siting of wind turbines is prohibited. Well known examples are wetlands of international importance (Ramsar-convention) and European Community Special Protection Areas. Major concern among conservationists is the location of many valuable and vulnerable environmental resources outside the protected areas. Negative attitudes towards wind energy projects are not particularly due to avian considerations, but rather to a general objective to protect landscapes and habitats, undisturbed by human infrastructures and disturbance. It is concluded that all new locations for wind energy projects should be weighed on the disturbance aspect. Reference data for such a weigh are available for coastal areas, although the impact on local migration between feeding grounds and high water refugee areas needs further research. Future research is also needed for application of wind energy both on off-shore locations, grasslands and farmlands. Wind energy developers and conservationists should have a close contact in order to establish consensus on how to deal with remaining uncertainties. 7 figs., 9 tabs., 5 appendices, 37 refs.

  16. Small power wind turbine (Type DARRIEUS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcel STERE

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available This presentation focuses on the calculation for small vertical axis wind turbines (VAWT for an urban application. The fixed-pitch straight – bladed vertical axis wind turbine (SB-VAWT is one of the simplest types of wind turbine and accepts wind from any angle (no yaw system. This turbine is useful for moderate wind speeds (3 - 6 m/s. A case study is presented based upon the use of well documented symmetrical NACA 0012 turbine blade profile. We describe a solution for VAWT. To perform a linear static analysis in the structure, the commercial finite element analysis code ANSYS is used because of its flexibility for handling information in files written in a more or less free format.

  17. Preliminary design of offshore wind turbine support structures : The importance of proper mode shape estimation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Van der Male, P.

    2013-01-01

    Offshore wind turbines are highly exposed to timevarying loads. For support structures, estimation of the fatigue damage during the lifetime of the structure is an essential design aspect. This already applies for the preliminary design stage. In determining the dynamic amplification in the

  18. Noise from wind turbines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Andersen, B.; Jakobsen, J.

    1992-11-01

    Based on a previous project concerning the calculation of the amount of noise emanating from wind turbine arrays, this one examines the subject further by investigating whether there could be significant differences in the amount of noise made by individual wind turbines in an array, and whether the noise is transmitted in varying directions - so that when it is carried in the same direction as the wind blows it would appear to be louder. The aim was also to determine whether the previously used method of calculation lacked precision. It was found that differences in noise niveaux related to individual wind turbines were insignificant and that noise was not so loud when it was not borne in the direction of the wind. It was necessary to change the method of calculation as reckoning should include the influence of the terrain, wind velocity and distance. The measuring and calculation methods are exemplified and the resulting measurements are presented in detail. (AB)

  19. Small Vertical Axis Wind Turbines: aerodynamics and starting behavior

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Horia DUMITRESCU

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available In urban areas the wind is very turbulent and unstable with fast changes in direction andvelocity. In these environments, the use of small vertical axis wind turbines (VAWT becomesincreasingly attractive due to several advantages over horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWT.However, such designs have received much less attention than the more common propeller-typedesigns and the understanding of same aspects of their operation remains, to this day, incomplete.This is particularly true of their starting characteristics. Indeed, same authors heuristically maintainthat they cannot start without external assistance. This paper reviews the cause of the inability of thelow solidity fixed pitch vertical axis wind turbines to self-start, and investigates the way ofovercoming this draw back.

  20. Advanced Issues of Wind Turbine Modelling and Control

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Simani, Silvio

    2015-01-01

    The motivation for this paper comes from a real need to have an overview about the challenges of modelling and control for very demanding systems, such as wind turbine systems, which require reliability, availability, maintainability, and safety over power conversion efficiency. These issues have begun to stimulate research and development in the wide control community particularly for these installations that need a high degree of “sustainability”. Note that this topic represents a key point mainly for offshore wind turbines with very large rotors, since they are characterised by challenging modelling and control problems, as well as expensive and safety critical maintenance works. In this case, a clear conflict exists between ensuring a high degree of availability and reducing maintenance times, which affect the final energy cost. On the other hand, wind turbines have highly nonlinear dynamics, with a stochastic and uncontrollable driving force as input in the form of wind speed, thus representing an interesting challenge also from the modelling point of view. Suitable control methods can provide a sustainable optimisation of the energy conversion efficiency over wider than normally expected working conditions. Moreover, a proper mathematical description of the wind turbine system should be able to capture the complete behaviour of the process under monitoring, thus providing an important impact on the control design itself. In this way, the control scheme could guarantee prescribed performance, whilst also giving a degree of “tolerance” to possible deviation of characteristic properties or system parameters from standard conditions, if properly included in the wind turbine model itself. The most important developments in advanced controllers for wind turbines are addressed, and open problems in the areas of modelling of wind turbines are also outlined. (paper)

  1. 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

  2. Wind speed reductions by large-scale wind turbine deployments lower turbine efficiencies and set low wind power potentials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Lee; Kleidon, Axel

    2017-04-01

    Wind turbines generate electricity by removing kinetic energy from the atmosphere. Large numbers of wind turbines are likely to reduce wind speeds, which lowers estimates of electricity generation from what would be presumed from unaffected conditions. Here, we test how well wind power potentials that account for this effect can be estimated without explicitly simulating atmospheric dynamics. We first use simulations with an atmospheric general circulation model (GCM) that explicitly simulates the effects of wind turbines to derive wind power limits (GCM estimate), and compare them to a simple approach derived from the climatological conditions without turbines [vertical kinetic energy (VKE) estimate]. On land, we find strong agreement between the VKE and GCM estimates with respect to electricity generation rates (0.32 and 0.37 We m-2) and wind speed reductions by 42 and 44%. Over ocean, the GCM estimate is about twice the VKE estimate (0.59 and 0.29 We m-2) and yet with comparable wind speed reductions (50 and 42%). We then show that this bias can be corrected by modifying the downward momentum flux to the surface. Thus, large-scale limits to wind power can be derived from climatological conditions without explicitly simulating atmospheric dynamics. Consistent with the GCM simulations, the approach estimates that only comparatively few land areas are suitable to generate more than 1 We m-2 of electricity and that larger deployment scales are likely to reduce the expected electricity generation rate of each turbine. We conclude that these atmospheric effects are relevant for planning the future expansion of wind power.

  3. Sensitivity Analysis of Wind Plant Performance to Key Turbine Design Parameters: A Systems Engineering Approach; Preprint

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dykes, K.; Ning, A.; King, R.; Graf, P.; Scott, G.; Veers, P.

    2014-02-01

    This paper introduces the development of a new software framework for research, design, and development of wind energy systems which is meant to 1) represent a full wind plant including all physical and nonphysical assets and associated costs up to the point of grid interconnection, 2) allow use of interchangeable models of varying fidelity for different aspects of the system, and 3) support system level multidisciplinary analyses and optimizations. This paper describes the design of the overall software capability and applies it to a global sensitivity analysis of wind turbine and plant performance and cost. The analysis was performed using three different model configurations involving different levels of fidelity, which illustrate how increasing fidelity can preserve important system interactions that build up to overall system performance and cost. Analyses were performed for a reference wind plant based on the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's 5-MW reference turbine at a mid-Atlantic offshore location within the United States.

  4. Active control: Wind turbine model

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bindner, H.

    1999-01-01

    This report is a part of the reporting of the work done in the project 'Active Control of Wind Turbines'. This project aim is to develop a simulation model for design of control systems for turbines with pitch control and to use that model to designcontrollers. This report describes the model...... validation as well as parameter estimation. The model includes a simple model of the structure of the turbine including tower and flapwise blade bending,a detailed model of the gear box and induction generator, a linearized aerodynamic model including modelling of induction lag and actuator and sensor models...

  5. Computer control for remote wind turbine operation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Manwell, J.F.; Rogers, A.L.; Abdulwahid, U.; Driscoll, J. [Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA (United States)

    1997-12-31

    Light weight wind turbines located in harsh, remote sites require particularly capable controllers. Based on extensive operation of the original ESI-807 moved to such a location, a much more sophisticated controller than the original one has been developed. This paper describes the design, development and testing of that new controller. The complete control and monitoring system consists of sensor and control inputs, the control computer, control outputs, and additional equipment. The control code was written in Microsoft Visual Basic on a PC type computer. The control code monitors potential faults and allows the turbine to operate in one of eight states: off, start, run, freewheel, low wind shut down, normal wind shutdown, emergency shutdown, and blade parking. The controller also incorporates two {open_quotes}virtual wind turbines,{close_quotes} including a dynamic model of the machine, for code testing. The controller can handle numerous situations for which the original controller was unequipped.

  6. Market for wind turbines in italy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1997-01-01

    Wind power utilization in Italy has not been very popular until the privatization of the ENEL and introduction of subsidies for private electricity producers. The greatest interest is concentrated around large wind turbines. Therefore the Danish manufacturers with know-how within large wind turbines can establish themselves on the Italian market. Cooperation with one of the four local wind turbine manufacturers is advisable. (EG)

  7. Reliability-Based Design of Wind Turbine Foundations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Firouzianbandpey, Sarah

    reliable, affordable, clean and renewable energy. Wind turbines have gained popularity among other renewable energy generators by having both technically and economically efficient features and by offering competitive production prices compared to other renewable energy sources. Therefore, it is a key...... shorter spatial correlation lengths in the vertical direction as a result of the depositional process. The normalized cone resistance is a better estimator of spatial trends compared to the normalized friction ratio. In geotechnical engineering analysis and design, practitioners ideally would like to know...... the soil properties at many locations, but achieving this goal can be unrealistic and expensive. Therefore, developing ways to determine these parameters using statistical approaches is of great interest. This research employs a random field model to deal with uncertainty in soil properties due to spatial...

  8. Structural Dynamic Behavior of Wind Turbines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thresher, Robert W.; Mirandy, Louis P.; Carne, Thomas G.; Lobitz, Donald W.; James, George H. III

    2009-01-01

    The structural dynamicist s areas of responsibility require interaction with most other members of the wind turbine project team. These responsibilities are to predict structural loads and deflections that will occur over the lifetime of the machine, ensure favorable dynamic responses through appropriate design and operational procedures, evaluate potential design improvements for their impact on dynamic loads and stability, and correlate load and control test data with design predictions. Load prediction has been a major concern in wind turbine designs to date, and it is perhaps the single most important task faced by the structural dynamics engineer. However, even if we were able to predict all loads perfectly, this in itself would not lead to an economic system. Reduction of dynamic loads, not merely a "design to loads" policy, is required to achieve a cost-effective design. The two processes of load prediction and structural design are highly interactive: loads and deflections must be known before designers and stress analysts can perform structural sizing, which in turn influences the loads through changes in stiffness and mass. Structural design identifies "hot spots" (local areas of high stress) that would benefit most from dynamic load alleviation. Convergence of this cycle leads to a turbine structure that is neither under-designed (which may result in structural failure), nor over-designed (which will lead to excessive weight and cost).

  9. DAC with LQR Control Design for Pitch Regulated Variable Speed Wind Turbine

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

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

    2014-01-01

    Disturbance Accommodation Control (DAC) is used to model and simulate a system with known disturbance waveform. This paper presents a control scheme to mitigate the effect of disturbances by using collective pitch control for the aboverated wind speed (Region III) for a variable speed wind turbine....... We have used Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) to obtain full state feedback gain, disturbance feedback gain is calculated independently and then estimator gain is achieved by poleplacement technique in the DAC augmented plant model. The reduced order model (two-mass model) of wind turbine is used...... and 5MW National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) wind turbine is used in this research. We have shown comparison of results relating to pitch angle, drive train torsion and generator speed obtained by a PID controller and DAC. Simulations are performed in MATLAB/Simulink. The results are compared...

  10. Shear and Turbulence Estimates for Calculation of Wind Turbine Loads and Responses Under Hurricane Strength Winds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kosovic, B.; Bryan, G. H.; Haupt, S. E.

    2012-12-01

    Schwartz et al. (2010) recently reported that the total gross energy-generating offshore wind resource in the United States in waters less than 30m deep is approximately 1000 GW. Estimated offshore generating capacity is thus equivalent to the current generating capacity in the United States. Offshore wind power can therefore play important role in electricity production in the United States. However, most of this resource is located along the East Coast of the United States and in the Gulf of Mexico, areas frequently affected by tropical cyclones including hurricanes. Hurricane strength winds, associated shear and turbulence can affect performance and structural integrity of wind turbines. In a recent study Rose et al. (2012) attempted to estimate the risk to offshore wind turbines from hurricane strength winds over a lifetime of a wind farm (i.e. 20 years). According to Rose et al. turbine tower buckling has been observed in typhoons. They concluded that there is "substantial risk that Category 3 and higher hurricanes can destroy half or more of the turbines at some locations." More robust designs including appropriate controls can mitigate the risk of wind turbine damage. To develop such designs good estimates of turbine loads under hurricane strength winds are essential. We use output from a large-eddy simulation of a hurricane to estimate shear and turbulence intensity over first couple of hundred meters above sea surface. We compute power spectra of three velocity components at several distances from the eye of the hurricane. Based on these spectra analytical spectral forms are developed and included in TurbSim, a stochastic inflow turbulence code developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL, http://wind.nrel.gov/designcodes/preprocessors/turbsim/). TurbSim provides a numerical simulation including bursts of coherent turbulence associated with organized turbulent structures. It can generate realistic flow conditions that an operating turbine

  11. DOE/NASA Lewis large-wind-turbine program

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Thomas, R.L.

    1982-01-01

    There are several ongoing large wind system development project; ots directed toward meeting the technology requirements for utility applications. First generation tehcnology machines (Mod-0A and Mod-1) and second generation machines (Mod-2) are in opoeration at selected utility sites. Third generation technology machines (Mod-5) are in the design phase and are scheduled for initial operation in 1984 if project funding is continued. An overview of the large wind turbine activities managed by NASA Lewis is provided. These activities include results from the first and second generation field machines (Mod-0A, 01, and -2), the status of the Department of Interior WTS-4 machine for which NASA is responsible for technical management, and the design phase of the third generation wind turbines (Mod-5).

  12. Scour around Offshore Wind Turbine Foundations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petersen, Thor Ugelvig

    Over the last decades several offshore wind farms have been installed and commissioned in the European waters. Typically the foundations of the wind turbines are protected against scour at the base by installing scour protection with rock dump. The Egmond aan Zee offshore wind farm located about 10...... the performance (stability) of the scour protection and to quantify the edge scour development at the circumference of the scour protection. The survey campaign showed considerable edge scour of up to 2.7 m, which was expected from design considerations. However, no clear information exists on the mechanisms...... causing the edge scour development around scour protections at offshore wind turbine foundations. The purpose of the present thesis is to investigate and explain the development of the edge scour in such applications, and describe the flow mechanism causing the scour. Furthermore, the dissertation also...

  13. Operating wind turbines in strong wind conditions by using feedforward-feedback control

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Feng, Ju; Shen, Wen Zhong

    2014-01-01

    Due to the increasing penetration of wind energy into power systems, it becomes critical to reduce the impact of wind energy on the stability and reliability of the overall power system. In precedent works, Shen and his co-workers developed a re-designed operation schema to run wind turbines in s...

  14. Noise annoyance from wind turbines a review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pedersen, Eja

    2003-08-01

    This study summarises present knowledge on noise perception and annoyances from wind turbines in areas were people live or spend recreation time. There are two main types of noise from a wind turbine: mechanical noise and aerodynamic noise. The aerodynamic noise emits from the rotor blades passing the air. It has a swishing character with a modulation that makes it noticeable from the background noise. This part of the wind turbine noise was found to be the most annoying. Field studies performed among people living in the vicinity of wind turbines showed that there was a correlation between sound pressure level and noise annoyance, but annoyance was also influenced by visual factors such as the attitude to wind turbines' impact on the landscape. Noise annoyance was found at lower sound pressure levels than in studies of annoyance from traffic noise. There is no scientific evidence that noise at levels created by wind turbines could cause health problems other than annoyance. No studies on noise from wind turbines in wilderness areas have been found, but the reaction to other noise sources such as aircraft have been studied. In recreational areas, the expectation of quietness is high among visitors, but wind turbines are, in contrary to aircraft, stationary and could be avoided by recreationists. The visual impact of wind turbines might though be the dominant source of annoyance. Regulations on noise from wind turbines are based on different principles. Some states, e.g. Denmark, have a special legislation concerning wind turbines, while others, like Sweden, have used recommendations originally developed for a different noise source. The noise level could either be absolute, as in Germany, or related to the background noise level as in France. This background noise level could be standardised, measured or related to wind speed

  15. The Brazier effect in wind turbine blades and its influence on design

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Find Mølholt; Weaver, P.M.; Cecchini, L.S.

    2012-01-01

    Critical failure was observed in the shear web of a wind turbine blade during a full-scale testing. This failure occurred immediately before the ultimate failure and was partly caused by buckling and non-linear cross-sectional strain. Experimental values had been used to compare and validate both...... numerical and semi-analytical results in the analysis of the shear webs in the reinforced wind turbine blade. Only elastic material behaviour was analysed, and attention was primarily focused on the Brazier effect. The complex, geometrically non-linear and elastic stress–strain behaviour of the shear webs...... and the cap in compression were analysed using a balance of experimental, numerical and analytical approaches. It was noted that the non-linear distortion was caused by the crushing pressure derived from the Brazier effect. This Brazier pressure may have a significant impact on the design of new blades...

  16. Sound wave contours around wind turbine arrays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Van Beek, A.; Van Blokland, G.J.

    1993-02-01

    Noise pollution is an important factor in selecting suitable sites for wind turbines in order to realize 1000 MW of wind power as planned by the Dutch government for the year 2000. Therefore an accurate assessment of wind turbine noise is important. The amount of noise pollution from a wind turbine depends on the wind conditions. An existing standard method to assess wind turbine noise is supplemented and adjusted. In the first part of the investigation the method was developed and applied for a solitary sound source. In the second part attention is paid to the use of the method for wind turbine arrays. It appears that the adjusted method results in a shift of the contours of the permitted noise level. In general the contours are 15-25% closer to the wind farm, which means that the minimal permitted distance between houses and wind turbine arrays can be reduced. 14 figs., 1 tab., 4 appendices, 7 refs

  17. 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)

  18. Wake characteristics of wind turbines in utility-scale wind farms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Xiaolei; Foti, Daniel; Sotiropoulos, Fotis

    2017-11-01

    The dynamics of turbine wakes is affected by turbine operating conditions, ambient atmospheric turbulent flows, and wakes from upwind turbines. Investigations of the wake from a single turbine have been extensively carried out in the literature. Studies on the wake dynamics in utility-scale wind farms are relatively limited. In this work, we employ large-eddy simulation with an actuator surface or actuator line model for turbine blades to investigate the wake dynamics in utility-scale wind farms. Simulations of three wind farms, i.e., the Horns Rev wind farm in Denmark, Pleasant Valley wind farm in Minnesota, and the Vantage wind farm in Washington are carried out. The computed power shows a good agreement with measurements. Analysis of the wake dynamics in the three wind farms is underway and will be presented in the conference. This work was support by Xcel Energy (RD4-13). The computational resources were provided by National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

  19. 76 FR 48174 - Wind Turbine Guidelines Advisory Committee; Announcement of Public Teleconference and Webcast

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-08-08

    ...] Wind Turbine Guidelines Advisory Committee; Announcement of Public Teleconference and Webcast AGENCY..., the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), will host a Wind Turbine Guidelines Advisory Committee... London, Wind Turbine Guidelines Advisory Committee Alternate Designated Federal Officer. [FR Doc. 2011...

  20. A study of rotor and platform design trade-offs for large-scale floating vertical axis wind turbines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Griffith, D. Todd; Paquette, Joshua; Barone, Matthew; Goupee, Andrew J.; Fowler, Matthew J.; Bull, Diana; Owens, Brian

    2016-09-01

    Vertical axis wind turbines are receiving significant attention for offshore siting. In general, offshore wind offers proximity to large populations centers, a vast & more consistent wind resource, and a scale-up opportunity, to name a few beneficial characteristics. On the other hand, offshore wind suffers from high levelized cost of energy (LCOE) and in particular high balance of system (BoS) costs owing to accessibility challenges and limited project experience. To address these challenges associated with offshore wind, Sandia National Laboratories is researching large-scale (MW class) offshore floating vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs). The motivation for this work is that floating VAWTs are a potential transformative technology solution to reduce offshore wind LCOE in deep-water locations. This paper explores performance and cost trade-offs within the design space for floating VAWTs between the configurations for the rotor and platform.

  1. THE DESIGN OF A MODULAR WIND TURBINE MEANT FOR HOUSES AND OFFICE BUILDINGS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    RĂDUICĂ Felix

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available This paper describes a new wind turbine design which can be implemented for home, office and public buildings. Also, this article presents specific steps taken by the designer to develop the product. A honeycomb design has been implemented for modularity reasons. Certain measures have been taken to ensure the quality of the design including, but not limited to: an emphasis on design principles, product development and shapes described by and found in nature.

  2. Cooperative wind turbine control for maximizing wind farm power using sequential convex programming

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Jinkyoo; Law, Kincho H.

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • The continuous wake model describes well the wake profile behind a wind turbine. • The wind farm power function describes well the power production of a wind farm. • Cooperative control increases the wind farm power efficiency by 7.3% in average. • SCP can be employed to efficiently optimize the control actions of wind turbines. - Abstract: This paper describes the use of a cooperative wind farm control approach to improve the power production of a wind farm. The power production by a downstream wind turbine can decrease significantly due to reduced wind speed caused by the upstream wind turbines, thereby lowering the overall wind farm power production efficiency. In spite of the interactions among the wind turbines, the conventional (greedy) wind turbine control strategy tries to maximize the power of each individual wind turbine by controlling its yaw angle, its blade pitch angle and its generator torque. To maximize the overall wind farm power production while taking the wake interference into account, this study employs a cooperative control strategy. We first derive the wind farm power as a differentiable function of the control actions for the wind turbines in a wind farm. The wind farm power function is then maximized using sequential convex programming (SCP) to determine the optimum coordinated control actions for the wind turbines. Using an example wind farm site and available wind data, we show how the cooperative control strategy improves the power production of the wind farm

  3. Exploring Optimization Opportunities in Four-Point Suspension Wind Turbine Drivetrains Through Integrated Design Approaches: Preprint

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sethuraman, Latha [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Quick, Julian [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Guo, Yi [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Dykes, Katherine L [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

    2018-02-13

    Drivetrain design has significant influence on the costs of wind power generation. Current industry practices usually approach the drivetrain design with loads and system requirements defined by the turbine manufacturer. Several different manufacturers are contracted to supply individual components from the low-speed shaft to the generator - each receiving separate design specifications from the turbine manufacturer. Increasingly, more integrated approaches to turbine design have shown promise for blades and towers. Yet, integrated drivetrain design is a challenging task owing to the complex physical behavior of the important load-bearing components, namely the main bearings, gearbox, and the generator. In this paper we combine two of NREL's systems engineering design tools, DriveSE and GeneratorSE, to enable a comprehensive system-level drivetrain optimization for the IEAWind reference turbine for land-based applications. We compare a more traditional design with integrated approaches employing decoupled and coupled design optimization. It is demonstrated that both approaches have the potential to realize notable mass savings with opportunities to lower the costs of energy.

  4. Experimental characterization of individual pitch controlled vertical axis wind turbine

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Leblanc, B.P.; Simao Ferreira, C.

    2017-01-01

    Research into the Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) has been progressing over the last few years due to
    the large shift in design constraints for large floating offshore wind turbines by leveraging tools and experience
    from research beginning in the 1970s and lasting until the HAWT

  5. Meteorological Controls on Wind Turbine Wakes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Barthelmie, Rebecca J.; Hansen, Kurt Schaldemose; Pryor, S.C.

    2013-01-01

    , modeling, and predicting this complex and interdependent system is therefore critical to understanding and modeling wind farm power losses due to wakes, and to optimizing wind farm layout. This paper quantifies the impact of these variables on the power loss due to wakes using data from the large offshore......The primary control on the magnitude of the power losses induced by wind turbine wakes in large wind farms is the hub-height wind speed via its link to the turbine thrust coefficient. Hence, at low to moderate wind speeds (between cut-in and rated turbine wind speeds) when the thrust coefficient...

  6. Dynamic modelling and analysis of a wind turbine with variable speed

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Steinbuch, M.

    1986-01-01

    On behalf of the operation of the Dutch National Wind Farm, which is under construction now, a study is being performed on the control system design of variable speed wind turbines. To realize this a non-linear dynamic model of a wind turbine with synchronous generator and AC/ DC/AC conversion has

  7. Analysis of power curves of Danish and foreign wind turbines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Petersen, H.

    1995-12-01

    This report describes an analysis of power curves for a number of wind turbines, 30 Danish and 17 foreign - European - wind turbines. The investigation is limited to wind turbines of 150 kW capacity and greater, and to wind turbines for which a power curve is available. The power curves are transformed into a common, uniform presentation in order to facilitate the succeeding treatment, which primarily is the calculation of the production of electrical energy yielded per year. From the known data of the wind turbine, equipped generator power and rotor area and the area swept by the blades, the specific electrical production is calculated in three terms: yield per square meter of rotor area, yield per kW generator power and yield per square meter and per kilowatt generator power. Based on these findings a number of comparisons are established, such as comparisons of conceptual designs and technical- economical evaluations. (au)

  8. Damping Wind and Wave Loads on a Floating Wind Turbine

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christiansen, Søren; Bak, Thomas; Knudsen, Torben

    2013-01-01

    Offshore wind energy capitalizes on the higher and less turbulent wind speeds at sea. To enable deployment of wind turbines in deep-water locations, structures are being explored, where wind turbines are placed on a floating platform. This combined structure presents a new control problem, due......, and we show the influence that both wind speed, wave frequencies and misalignment between wind and waves have on the system dynamics. A new control model is derived that extends standard turbine models to include the hydrodynamics, additional platform degrees of freedom, the platform mooring system...

  9. Annoyance rating of wind turbine noise

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Iredale, R.

    1993-01-01

    Annoyance rating is important, but more important still is agreement on techniques for formulating minimal complaint criteria for design and specification purposes thus integrating noise control into the plant at the outset. A minimal complaint design criteria is suggested that finds its origin in the logic and techniques used successfully over many years for a wide range of power plant and other installations. The criterion is based on the masking of the wind turbine noise by the wind generated background noise. Satisfactory use of the criterion depends on the specification of inaudibility for the tones generated by the mechanical plant. Wind turbines generate more drive train noise than is realized and this contains many tones which tend to characterize the noise. Reduction of drive train noise would not only reduce the overall noise level but also give it a more acceptable character providing a margin against complaint in unusual circumstances of propagation. This requires very careful design of noise and vibration control in individual components. Vibration isolation between the support structures and the nacelle also requires careful attention. (UK)

  10. Materials for Wind Turbine Blades: An Overview

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mishnaevsky, Leon; Branner, Kim; Petersen, Helga Nørgaard

    2017-01-01

    A short overview of composite materials for wind turbine applications is presented here. Requirements toward the wind turbine materials, loads, as well as available materials are reviewed. Apart from the traditional composites for wind turbine blades (glass fibers/epoxy matrix composites), natural...... composites, hybrid and nanoengineered composites are discussed. Manufacturing technologies for wind turbine composites, as well their testing and modelling approaches are reviewed....

  11. Materials for Wind Turbine Blades: An Overview.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mishnaevsky, Leon; Branner, Kim; Petersen, Helga Nørgaard; Beauson, Justine; McGugan, Malcolm; Sørensen, Bent F

    2017-11-09

    A short overview of composite materials for wind turbine applications is presented here. Requirements toward the wind turbine materials, loads, as well as available materials are reviewed. Apart from the traditional composites for wind turbine blades (glass fibers/epoxy matrix composites), natural composites, hybrid and nanoengineered composites are discussed. Manufacturing technologies for wind turbine composites, as well their testing and modelling approaches are reviewed.

  12. Wind Turbine Generator System Safety and Function Test Report for the Southwest Windpower H40 Wind Turbine

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    van Dam, J.; Link, H.; Meadors, M.; Bianchi, J.

    2002-06-01

    The objective of this test was to evaluate the safety and function characteristics of the Whisper H40 wind turbine. The general requirements of wind turbine safety and function tests are defined in the IEC standard WT01. The testing was conducted in accordance with the National Wind Technology Center (NWTC) Quality Assurance System, including the NWTC Certification Team Certification Quality Manual and the NWTC Certification Team General Quality Manual for the Testing of Wind Turbines, as well as subordinate documents. This safety and function test was performed as part of the U.S. Department of Energy's Field Verification Program for small wind turbines.

  13. 76 FR 38677 - Wind Turbine Guidelines Advisory Committee; Announcement of Public Meeting and Webcast

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-07-01

    ...] Wind Turbine Guidelines Advisory Committee; Announcement of Public Meeting and Webcast AGENCY: Fish and... Wildlife Service (Service), will host a Wind Turbine Guidelines Advisory Committee (Committee) meeting in... are filled. Date: June 27, 2011. Rachel London, Alternate Designated Federal Officer, Wind Turbine...

  14. Advanced multi-megawatt wind turbine design for utility application

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pijawka, W. C.

    1984-08-01

    A NASA/DOE program to develop a utility class multimegawatt wind turbine, the MOD-5A, is described. The MOD-5A features a 400 foot diameter rotor which is teetered and positioned upwind of the tower; a 7.3 megawatt power rating with a variable speed electric generating system; and a redundant rotor support and torque transmission structure. The rotor blades were fabricated from an epoxy-bonded wood laminate material which was a successful outgrowth of the MOD-OA airfoil design. Preliminary data from operational tests carried out at the NASA Plumbrook test facility are presented.

  15. Advanced multi-megawatt wind turbine design for utility application

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pijawka, W. C.

    1984-01-01

    A NASA/DOE program to develop a utility class multimegawatt wind turbine, the MOD-5A, is described. The MOD-5A features a 400 foot diameter rotor which is teetered and positioned upwind of the tower; a 7.3 megawatt power rating with a variable speed electric generating system; and a redundant rotor support and torque transmission structure. The rotor blades were fabricated from an epoxy-bonded wood laminate material which was a successful outgrowth of the MOD-OA airfoil design. Preliminary data from operational tests carried out at the NASA Plumbrook test facility are presented.

  16. Cross-Wind Modal Properties of Offshore Wind Turbines Identified by Full Scale Testing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Damgaard, Mads; Ibsen, Lars Bo; Andersen, Lars Vabbersgaard

    2013-01-01

    -2011, the paper evaluates the first natural frequency and modal damping of the structures. In addition, fitting of theoretical energy spectra to measured response spectra of operating turbines is presented as an alternative method of determining the system damping. Analyses show distinctly time-dependent cross......Cross-wind vibrations due to wave loading misaligned with wind turbulence are often a design driver for offshore wind turbine foundations. The phenomenon is characterised by increasing fatigue loads compared to the fore-aft fatigue and a small amount of system damping since almost no aerodynamic...

  17. MOD-2 wind turbine system concept and preliminary design report. Volume 2: Detailed report

    Science.gov (United States)

    1979-01-01

    The configuration development of the MOD-2 wind turbine system (WTS) is documented. The MOD-2 WTS project is a continuation of DOE programs to develop and achieve early commercialization of wind energy. The MOD-2 is design optimized for commercial production rates which, in multiunit installations, will be integrated into a utility power grid and achieve a cost of electricity at less than four cents per kilowatt hour.

  18. Transient Thunderstorm Downbursts and Their Effects on Wind Turbines

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hieu H. Nguyen

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC Standard 61400-1 for the design of wind turbines does not explicitly address site-specific conditions associated with anomalous atmospheric events or conditions. Examples of off-standard atmospheric conditions include thunderstorm downbursts, hurricanes, tornadoes, low-level jets, etc. The simulation of thunderstorm downbursts and associated loads on a utility-scale wind turbine is the focus of this study. Since the problem has not received sufficient attention, especially in terms of design, we thus focus in this paper on practical aspects. A wind field model that incorporates component non-turbulent and turbulent parts is described and employed in inflow simulations. The non-turbulent part is based on an available analytical model with some modifications, while the turbulent part is simulated as a stochastic process using standard turbulence power spectral density functions and coherence functions whose defining parameters are related to the downburst characteristics such as the storm translation velocity. Available information on recorded downbursts is used to define two storm scenarios that are studied. Rotor loads are generated using stochastic simulation of the aeroelastic response of a model of a utility-scale 5-MW turbine. An illustrative single storm simulation and the associated turbine response are used to discuss load characteristics and to highlight storm-related and environmental parameters of interest. Extensive simulations for two downbursts are then conducted while varying the storm’s location and track relative to the turbine. Results suggest that wind turbine yaw and pitch control systems clearly influence overall system response. Results also highlight the important effects of both the turbulence as well as the downburst mean wind profiles on turbine extreme loads.

  19. Wind Turbine Tribology Seminar - A Recap

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Errichello, R.; Sheng, S.; Keller, J.; Greco, A.

    2012-02-01

    Tribology is the science and engineering of interacting surfaces in relative motion. It includes the study and application of the principles of friction, lubrication, and wear. It is an important phenomenon that not only impacts the design and operation of wind turbine gearboxes, but also their subsequent maintenance requirements and overall reliability. With the major growth and increasing dependency on renewable energy, mechanical reliability is an extremely important issue. The Wind Turbine Tribology Seminar was convened to explore the state-of-the-art in wind turbine tribology and lubricant technologies, raise industry awareness of a very complex topic, present the science behind each technology, and identify possible R&D areas. To understand the background of work that had already been accomplished, and to consolidate some level of collective understanding of tribology by acknowledged experts, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) hosted a wind turbine tribology seminar. It was held at the Renaissance Boulder Flatiron Hotel in Broomfield, Colorado on November 15-17, 2011. This report is a summary of the content and conclusions. The presentations given at the meeting can be downloaded. Interested readers who were not at the meeting may wish to consult the detailed publications listed in the bibliography section, obtain the cited articles in the public domain, or contact the authors directly.

  20. Control system design for the MOD-5A 7.3 mW wind turbine generator

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barton, Robert S.; Hosp, Theodore J.; Schanzenbach, George P.

    1995-01-01

    This paper provides descriptions of the requirements analysis, hardware development and software development phases of the Control System design for the MOD-5A 7.3 mW Wind Turbine Generator. The system, designed by General Electric Company, Advanced Energy Programs Department, under contract DEN 3-153 with NASA Lewis Research Center and DOE, provides real time regulation of rotor speed by control of both generator torque and rotor torque. A variable speed generator system is used to provide both airgap torque control and reactive power control. The wind rotor is designed with segmented ailerons which are positioned to control blade torque. The central component of the control system, selected early in the design process, is a programmable controller used for sequencing, alarm monitoring, communication, and real time control. Development of requirements for use of aileron controlled blades and a variable speed generator required an analytical simulation that combined drivetrain, tower and blade elastic modes with wind disturbances and control behavior. An orderly two phase plan was used for controller software development. A microcomputer based turbine simulator was used to facilitate hardware and software integration and test.