Reliability-based design of wind turbine blades

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 wind turbine blades.For wind turbine blades, tests with the basic composite materials and a few full-scale blades are normally performed during the design process. By adopting a reliability-based design approach, information from these tests can be taken into account in a rational way during the design process. In the present paper, a probabilistic framework for design of wind turbine blades are presented and it is demonstrated how information from tests can be taken into account using the Maximum-Likelihood method and Bayesian statistics.In a numerical example, the reliability is estimated for a wind turbine blade in both ultimate and fatigue limit states. Information from tests is used to formulate the stochastic models used in the limit state equations. Partial safety factors for use in traditional deterministic design are estimated using the stochastic models.     

Defect distribution and reliability assessment of wind turbine blades

In this paper, two stochastic models for the distribution of defects in wind turbine blades are proposed. The first model assumes that the individual defects are completely randomly distributed in the blade. The second model assumes that the defects occur in clusters of different size, based on the assumption that one error in the production process tends to trigger several defects. For both models, additional information, such as number, type, and size of the defects, is included as stochastic variables.In a numerical example, the reliability is estimated for a generic wind turbine blade model both with and without defects in terms of delaminations. The reliability of the blade decreases when defects are included. However, the distribution of the defects influences how much the reliability is decreased. It is also shown how non-destructive inspection (NDI) after production can be used to update the reliability for the wind turbine blade using Bayesian statistics.     

Savonius风力机叶片气动性能模拟与分析

针对Savonius阻力型风力发电机扰流流动特点,建立了二维不可压缩湍流模型,并对基于流体连续性方程和N-S方程及k-ε湍流模型的二维流场进行数值模拟计算.用ICEM构建了风力机叶片二维模型,完成了网格的划分,在FLUENT中模拟了流场内叶片截面的受力情况和速度分布情况,得到了Savonius风机的气动性能.     

Experimental and numerical investigations of flow fields behind a small wind turbine with a flanged diffuser

Experimental and numerical investigations were carried out for flow fields of a small wind turbine with a flanged diffuser. The present wind-turbine system gave a power coefficient higher than the Betz limit (=16/27) owing to the effect of the flanged diffuser. To elucidate the flow mechanism, mean velocity profiles behind a wind turbine were measured using a hot-wire technique. By processing the obtained data, characteristic values of the flow fields were estimated and compared with those for a bare wind turbine. In addition, computations corresponding to the experimental conditions were made to assess the predictive performance of the simulation model presently used and also to investigate the flow field in more detail. The present experimental and numerical results gave useful information about the flow mechanism behind a wind turbine with a flanged diffuser. In particular, a considerable difference was seen in the destruction process of the tip vortex between the bare wind turbine and the wind turbine with a flanged diffuser.     

The methodology for aerodynamic study on a small domestic wind turbine with scoop

The aim of this study is to investigate the possibility of improving wind energy capture, under low wind speed conditions, in a built-up area, and the design of a small wind generator for domestic use in such areas. This paper reports the first part of this study: the development of the methodology using physical tests conducted in a boundary layer wind tunnel and computer modelling using commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code. The activities reported in this paper are optimisation of a scoop design and validation of the CFD model. The final design of scoop boosts the airflow speed by a factor of 1.5 times equivalent to an increase in power output of 2.2 times with the same swept area. Wind tunnel tests show that the scoop increases the output power of the wind turbine. The results also indicate that, by using a scoop, energy capture can be improved at lower wind speeds. The experimentally determined power curves of the wind generator located in the scoop are in good agreement with those predicted by the CFD model. This suggests that first the developed computer model was robust and could be used later for design purposes. Second the methodology developed here could be validated in a future study for a new rotor blade system to function well within the scoop. The power generation of such a new wind turbine is expected to be increased, particularly at locations where average wind speed is lower and more turbulent. The further study will be reported elsewhere.     

风力发电机组火灾特性与消防系统试验研究

建立了国内唯一的风力发电机组火灾特性与消防系统模拟试验装置。在对机舱火灾危险性进行深入分析的基础上,进行了风电机舱大面积失火状态的火灾模拟试验。试验结果显示:风电机舱内部的温度场变化受进风和排风影响明显;吸气式烟雾探测系统能够可靠探测火灾烟气并实现火灾报警;全淹没超细干粉灭火方式可以有效地对风电机舱实施灭火保护。     

2D and 3D numerical simulation of the wind-rotor/nacelle interaction in an atmospheric boundary layer

Two-dimensional axisymmetric and three-dimensional steady turbulent flow computations around two horizontal-axis wind turbines (Nordex N80 and Jeumont J48) are carried out to investigate the wind-rotor/nacelle interaction and quantify its effects on the wind speed at the nacelle anemometry. The actuator disk concept has been used to model the action of the blades. For both turbines, the geometry of the nacelle was reproduced as faithfully as possible. The terrain was represented by an appropriate law of the wall to account for roughness with particular attention paid to the boundary conditions in order to reproduce the neutral atmospheric boundary layer. The calculated velocity field in the vicinity of the nacelle exhibits good agreement with available experimental data. The results also show that for a complex nacelle geometry, like that of the N80, a three-dimensional calculation is necessary to obtain a good prediction of the velocity field in the near wake. The hub height effect is evaluated for the J48 by raising the nacelle from a height of 36 to 60 m. No significant impact is noted on the ratio nacelle wind speed/freestream wind speed.     

Application of vector form intrinsic finite element on integrated simulation of wind turbine

Large wind turbine system is a periodic time‐varying system with many rigid‐flexible coupling bodies. It is difficult to deal with the singular stiffness matrix produced by the rotation of blades via the traditional finite element method. However, the vector form intrinsic finite element (VFIFE) method can effectively solve the geometric deformation of elastic continuum, the nonlinear or discrete constitutive model, the coupling motion continuum, and rigid body. In this study, a solver program of space beam element is developed by VFIFE method, and three typical examples are chosen to verify its accuracy. And then the integrated simulation of wind turbine system is established, and its dynamic response is analyzed. The natural frequencies of the turbine system, which are obtained by modal parameter identification, can agree well with the results obtained by traditional finite element method. The weighted amplitude wave superposition method and the proper orthogonal decomposition method as well as B‐spline surface interpolation are employed to obtain the wind time series of wind turbine under the normal operation condition. The wind‐induced dynamic response of wind turbine system is calculated by VFIFE method. The numerical results can reflect the periodic influence of gravity on the internal forces of blades and the interaction between blades and the tower.     

Effect of structural nonlinearity on probabilistic risk assessment of offshore wind turbine including inelastic soil medium

This research intends to evaluate the influence of structural nonlinearity on the seismic risk of an offshore wind turbine with respect to linear analysis. The structural nonlinearity is presented into the structure, as materially nonlinear, by calibrating plastic hinge at the end of the elastic beam-element of the structure. To guarantee ideal circumstance for seismic analysis, this study includes inelastic soil stratum by using an equivalent linear approach. Monte Carlo simulation is performed by means of seismic vulnerability of the structural system. The research presents a study of a large amount of simulation over the nonlinear and linear structures considering the random character of basic variables of soil under selective earthquakes. The earthquakes having different source-to-site (STS) distances ranging from 7 to 145?km have consistency with the soil parameters. This rigorous implementation is done to accomplish site-specific dynamic analysis. Illustrative results obtained from nonlinear and linear dynamic analysis are compared. The overall finding shows that the nonlinear structure produces highest estimated uncertainty compared to the linear structure. Another termination can be addressed that the earthquake with less STS distance (7.29?km) causes the highest level of destruction to the structure.     

Experimental and numerical study on natural ventilation performance of various multi-opening wind catchers

Wind catcher as a natural ventilation system is increasingly used in modern buildings to minimize the consumption of non-renewable energy and reduce the harmful emissions. Height, cross section of the air passages and also place and the number of openings are the main factors which affect the ventilation performance of a wind catcher structure. In this study, experimental wind tunnel, smoke visualization testing and computational fluid dynamic (CFD) modeling were conducted to investigate ventilation performance of wind catchers with different number of openings to find how the number of opening affects hydrodynamic behavior of wind catchers. To achieve this particular aim, five cylindrical models with same cross section areas and same heights were employed. The cross sections of all these wind catchers were divided internally into various segments to get two-sided, three-sided, four-sided, six-sided and twelve-sided wind catchers. The experimental investigations were conducted in an open circuit subsonic wind tunnel. For all these five shapes, the ventilated air flow rate into the test room was measured at different air incident angles. Numerical solutions were used for all these five configurations to validate the proposed measuring techniques and the corresponding wind tunnel results. The results show that the number of openings is a main factor in performance of wind catcher systems. It also shows that the sensitivity of the performance of different wind catchers related to the wind angle decreases by increasing the number of openings. Moreover, comparing with a circular wind catcher a rectangular system provides a higher efficiency.     

Computational fluid dynamics simulations and wind tunnel measurements of unsteady wind loads on a scaled model of a very large optical telescope: A comparative study

Thorough theoretical and experimental investigations were performed to analyze the main characteristics of unsteady flows past a 1:100-scale wind tunnel (WT) model of a very large optical telescope housed within a spherical enclosure. The investigations were focused on the prediction and measurements of unsteady pressures on the inner and outer surfaces of the enclosure and on the telescope primary mirror. The WT measurements were performed essentially to provide aerodynamic data on the telescope structure and also to build a database for correlation with numerical simulation of the flow using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Unsteady viscous flow solutions were computed for different telescope orientations using the lattice Boltzmann method coupled with the RNG k-ε turbulence model. For WT testing, unsteady pressure measurements were performed in an open jet WT for different telescope orientations and wind speeds, using a number of pressure taps distributed around the inner and the outer surfaces of the enclosure and on the primary mirror surface. A smoke stream visualization technique was also used to study the flow behavior around and inside of the telescope enclosure. The flow solutions were computed using the WT flow conditions. Correlations were obtained between CFD and WT data in terms of the mean pressure coefficients on the enclosure and the primary mirror surfaces, and for their standard deviations. Power spectral density analyses were also carried out for a number of pressure signals collected on the primary mirror surface. Both CFD solutions and WT measurements demonstrated that the flow inside and outside the enclosure was unsteady and massively separated on the back of the enclosure. The mean values and standard deviations of the pressure coefficients on the enclosure and the primary mirror surfaces correlated well with the experimental data. Using the WT Mach number in the simulation, the shear layer over the enclosure opening and the resulting acoustic wave effects were well captured, and there was excellent agreement between the CFD results and the WT measurements.     

The relative influence of wind,sunlight and temperature on user comfort in urban outdoor spaces

This paper presents the development of a comfort index that measures adaptivity in outdoor spaces. Over a 9-month period 649 people were surveyed in three locations, in temperatures between 10 and 28 °C. An exploratory factor analysis develops a 15-item scale of comfort that includes measures of adaptivity: clothing, exposure time and seating location. The scale is regressed on physical measures: average instantaneous wind speed; maximum wind speed; mean-exposed radiant temperature; mean-shaded radiant temperature and ambient temperature. The results model the relative contributions of the microclimatic factors for the comfort in the outdoor space. Analyses suggest gustiness and wind speed are most important in determining user satisfaction. There is strong support for the theory that people actively adapt to microclimatic conditions.     

海上风机部分埋入群桩水平-摇摆振动与结构共振分析

对于海上风机部分埋入群桩基础,风机结构的高度将导致基础承受较大的倾覆力矩,因而在风机振动分析中需要考虑到基础的摇摆特性。为避免发生共振,风机结构第一阶自振频率应避开风轮转动频率（1P频率）和叶片通过频率（3P或2P频率）。目前关于风机结构动力特性的研究常常以底部刚性固定为假定,忽略了地基基础的影响,因而可能带来误差。结合既有研究成果,推导简化解析方法研究了部分埋入群桩基础的水平-摇摆耦合振动特性以及基础阻抗对风机结构共振特性的影响。首先,推导了采用动力Winkler地基模型的部分埋入群桩基础水平-摇摆动力阻抗,与精确解进行对比,验证了方法的正确性;其次,考虑基础阻抗的作用,推导了风机结构水平-摇摆振动方程;最后,通过简化方法和频域有限元方法对不同地基条件下某风机结构的共振特性及基础阻抗进行了计算和对比,研究了基础阻抗对结构共振特性的影响,并验证了简化方法的正确性。     

室外风对走廊温度分层和房间自然排烟的影响

为研究室外风对走廊中火灾烟气分层特性和自然排烟的影响,在相似原理的基础上开展了1/3 缩尺寸实验。通过改变火源功率、室外风速和外窗尺寸,结合对走廊火灾烟气分层特性和自然排烟效果的判断,找出使分层失效的临界室外风速以及使自然排烟失效的临界室外风速,运用量纲分析和数据拟合的方法分析无量纲火源功率和无量纲临界失效风速之间的关系。研究发现,温度分层无量纲临界失效风速与无量纲火源功率呈现良好的线性关系,温度分层临界失效风速随窗口尺寸减小而增大;自然排烟无量纲临界失效风速与无量纲火源功率呈现显著的对数函数关系,窗口尺寸相同时,火源功率越大,自然排烟临界失效风速越大。     

大气氧化致诱黏性土土性异变现象及其机理

关注了常温、常压、常态的大气环境下黏性土土性发生缓慢异变现象。以湛江黏土为研究对象,在大气氧化影响下,土色由青灰色、绿灰色变为淡黄棕、黄棕色;颗粒团聚程度增强,塑性、膨胀性、收缩性、灵敏性、结构屈服强度皆有所降低。大气氧化对土性改造使其力学性质有所强化,但因结构强度的减损对其力学稳定性的影响是长期的,且潜在危害较大。通过建立结构概化模型讨论了大气氧化致诱黏性土土性异变机理,大气环境诱发氧化还原环境变化,水-土-大气间的化学反应与运动影响颗粒间作用力改变,导致结构单元体联结形式更改进而重塑微观结构形态,控制土体的稳定性状态。氧化反应促使土中铁离子的化合价升高,在浓度梯度与土颗粒表面吸附能的作用下发生迁移并伴随着胶体态氧化铁的老化反应向晶质态发展,由#x0201c;混铁#x0201d;变为#x0201c;包铁#x0201d;为主的存在形式,微观结构变为低塑性的、物理接触的、弱结构强度的散凝结构。该研究可为因环境变化引起的地质灾害、工程灾害的预防、控制和治理提供了一定的理论支持。     

Urban Physics: Effect of the micro-climate on comfort,health and energy demand

The global trend towards urbanisation explains the growing interest in the study of the modification of the urban climate due to the heat island effect and global warming, and its impact on energy use of buildings. Also urban comfort, health and durability, referring respectively to pedestrian wind/thermal comfort, pollutant dispersion and wind-driven rain are of interest. Urban Physics is a well-established discipline, incorporating relevant branches of physics, environmental chemistry, aerodynamics, meteorology and statistics. Therefore, Urban Physics is well positioned to provide key-contributions to the current urban problems and challenges. The present paper addresses the role of Urban Physics in the study of wind comfort, thermal comfort, energy demand, pollutant dispersion and wind-driven rain. Furthermore, the three major research methods applied in Urban Physics, namely field experiments, wind tunnel experiments and numerical simulations are discussed. Case studies illustrate the current challenges and the relevant contributions of Urban Physics.     

高温与不同水压下深部砂岩渗透特性试验研究

岩石的力学性质与渗透特性与应力,温度及渗透压力具有密切关系。运用Rock Top多场耦合试验仪对红砂岩进行100℃高温下不同静水压力与渗透压差条件下的温度–应力–渗流耦合试验研究。研究结果表明:(1)100℃高温下红砂岩全应力–应变经历裂隙压密→线弹性变形→微裂纹稳定发展→非稳定破裂发展→峰后变形与破坏5个阶段;(2)对应岩石应力–应变曲线,流量随应力差的增大呈现反向急速溢出段,反向稳定溢出段,急剧上升段,稳定增长段,此时渗透率随应力差的增大呈现先由初始值下降,保持水平常值,急速增长至伪峰值后衰落,稳定增长至真峰值等变化特征;(3)红砂岩在高温、高围压作用下的渗透率随围压的等梯度增长近似呈线性降低趋势,在高围压下渗透压差对渗透率影响并不明显,渗透率值趋于稳定,2种方法均显示红砂岩属于典型低渗类岩石;(4)相同围压与渗透压差下,瞬态法与稳态法2种渗透率测试方法所测结果相近,在30～60 MPa围压范围内,压力条件是影响渗透率的主要原因。     

Effect of temperature on porosity and on chloride diffusion in cement pastes

This paper is related to the effect of temperature upon the diffusive properties and the microstructural features of cementitious materials. Our experimental studies aim at linking the transport properties to the porosity and the cracks network of the microstructure.

The studied materials were three cement pastes having different water to cement (W/C) ratios (W/C = 0.35, 0.45 and 0.60). Rise of temperature in concrete structures was simulated by heating at different temperatures (45 °C, 80 °C and 105 °C). Evolution of microstructure was essentially characterized by mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP). Diffusion tests in non-steady-state regime were carried out in order to characterize the diffusive properties. Apparent diffusion coefficients were determined from colorimetric method to follow the ingress of chloride and an analytical solution of Fick’s second law.

Our results showed that rise of temperature induced macroscopic cracking network and modification of pore size distribution. As a consequence, the transport properties were modified by thermal treatment. These modifications were mostly explained by the increase of capillary porosity.     

Effect of moisture and temperature variation on DOC release from a peatland: conflicting results from laboratory, field and historical data analysis

Peatlands are large repositories of atmospheric carbon and concern has been raised over the stability of this carbon store because increasing dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations have been observed in peatland drainage waters. A number of potential causes have been proposed in the literature, and conflicting results among studies conducted at different spatial and temporal scales suggest that the methodological approach may be an important confounding factor. The objective of this study was to determine the influence of moisture and temperature on DOC release from a south-central Ontario peatland during the fall (a major export period) following three commonly used approaches: laboratory microcosms, an intensive field study and analysis of long-term data (1980-2008). The effect of variations in temperature and moisture differed among microcosm, field study and analysis of the long-term record. Water content was important at the microcosm scale as DOC concentration and aromaticity increased with peat water-saturation. Drought caused a decrease in DOC concentration and pH, and an increase in sulphate and base cation concentrations. In contrast, the field study indicated that DOC concentration was strongly associated with temperature, and weakly correlated (negatively) with stream discharge. Average fall DOC concentration (but not export) increased over the 29 year record, and was correlated with fall discharge and precipitation (negative) and summer precipitation and fall stream pH (positive). As no common strong predictor of fall DOC was found at three scales of investigation at a single, well-studied site, it may be unreasonable to expect to identify a universal driver behind the widespread increase in DOC concentration.