Improving wind turbine drivetrain designs to minimize the impacts of non‐torque loads

Non‐torque loads induced by the wind turbine rotor overhang weight and aerodynamic forces can greatly affect drivetrain loads and responses. If not addressed properly, these loads can result in a decrease in gearbox component life. This work uses analytical modeling, computational modeling and experimental approaches to evaluate two distinct drivetrain designs that minimize the effects of non‐torque loads on gearbox reliability: a modified three‐point suspension drivetrain studied by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Gearbox Reliability Collaborative (GRC) and the Pure Torque® drivetrain developed by Alstom. In the original GRC drivetrain, the unequal planetary load distribution and sharing were present and they can lead to gear tooth pitting and reduce the lives of the planet bearings. The NREL GRC team modified the original design of its drivetrain by changing the rolling element bearings in the planetary gear stage. In this modified design, gearbox bearings in the planetary gear stage are anticipated to transmit non‐torque loads directly to the gearbox housing rather than the gears. Alstom's Pure Torque drivetrain has a hub support configuration that transmits non‐torque loads directly into the tower rather than through the gearbox as in other design approaches. An analytical model of Alstom's Pure Torque drivetrain provides insight into the relationships among turbine component weights, aerodynamic forces and the resulting drivetrain loads. In Alstom's Pure Torque drivetrain, main shaft bending loads are orders of magnitude lower than the rated torque and hardly affected by wind speed, gusts or turbine operations. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Planetary gear load sharing of wind turbine drivetrains subjected to non‐torque loads

An analytical formulation was developed to estimate the load‐sharing and planetary loads of a three‐point suspension wind turbine drivetrain considering the effects of non‐torque loads, gravity and bearing clearance. A three‐dimensional dynamic drivetrain model that includes mesh stiffness variation, tooth modifications and gearbox housing flexibility was also established to investigate gear tooth load distribution and non‐linear tooth and bearing contact of the planetary gears. These models were validated with experimental data from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Gearbox Reliability Collaborative. Non‐torque loads and gravity induce fundamental excitations in the rotating carrier frame, which can increase gearbox loads and disturb load sharing. Clearance in the carrier bearings reduces the bearing stiffness significantly. This increases the amount of pitching moment transmitted from the rotor to the gear meshes and disturbs the planetary load share, thereby resulting in edge loading. Edge loading increases the likelihood of tooth pitting and planet‐bearing fatigue, leading to reduced gearbox life. Additionally, at low‐input torque, the planet‐bearing loads are often less than the minimum recommended load and thus susceptible to skidding. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Radar‐based structural health monitoring of wind turbine blades: The case of damage localization

This short communication reports on a radar approach for structural health monitoring of wind turbine blades. Therefore, a bistatic frequency‐modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radar in the frequency range from 33.4 to 36.0 GHz has been developed and tested experimentally using a laboratory wind turbine demonstrator. A differential damage localization framework is presented here that exploits signal differences between measurements from the intact and the damaged structure for 3D imaging of the defect. We have achieved the localization of a 30‐mm cut in a glass fiber composite structure as well as the localization of a water pack at the backside of the specimen with a localization error of several centimeters.     

Implementation of a non‐linear foundation model for soil‐structure interaction analysis of offshore wind turbines in FAST

Bottom‐fixed offshore wind turbines (OWTs) involve a wide range of engineering fields. Of these, modelling of foundation flexibility has been given little priority. This paper investigates the modelling of bottom‐fixed OWTs in the non‐linear aero‐hydro‐servo‐elastic simulation tool FAST v7. The OWTs considered is supported on a monopile. The objective of this paper was to implement a non‐linear foundation model in this software. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory's idealized 5MW reference turbine was used as a base for the analyses. Default modelling of foundation in FAST v7 is by means of a rigid foundation. This implies that soil stiffness and damping is disregarded. Damping may lead to lower design loads. A softer foundation, on the other hand, will increase the natural periods of the system, shifting them closer to the frequencies of the environmental loads. This may in turn lead to amplified moments at the mudline. Therefore, it is important to include soil stiffness and damping in analyses. In this paper, a non‐linear foundation model is introduced in FAST v7 by means of uncoupled parallel springs. To verify that the implementation is successful, non‐linear load‐displacement curves of the foundation spring are presented. These show the typical hysteresis loops of an inelastic material, which confirms the implementation. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Prediction of turbulent flow and heat transfer within rotating U‐shaped passages

Numerical predictions of three‐dimensional flow and heat transfer are presented for rotating serpentine passages with and without rib turbulators. The coolant air is pressurized and its operating conditions are selected closely to match actual turbine operating parameters. Two different arrangements of rib turbulators were studied: (1) transverse ribs on the leading and trailing walls and (2) transverse ribs on all four walls. The rib height‐to‐hydraulic diameter ratio (e/D_h) is 0.143; the rib pitch‐to‐height ratio (s/e) is 7. Results for the rib‐roughened serpentine passages were compared with those of smooth ones calculated in the literature. It was shown that a significant enhancement is achieved by means of rib turbulators in a serpentine passage at a stationary state as well as in a rotating state. In the radially‐outward flow passages, the effect of rotation on heat transfer is relatively prominent. The secondary flows induced by the Coriolis forces are most intensive in the channel with four ribbed surfaces. The heat transfer after a 180° sharp turn in the smooth channel is influenced more by the sharp‐turn‐induced flow than the rib‐roughened ones. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res, 35(6): 410–420, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.20125     

Experimental study of a small wind turbine for low‐ and medium‐wind regimes

The results of an experimental assessment of a small prototype battery charging wind turbine designed for low‐ and medium‐wind regimes are presented. The turbine is based on a newly designed axial flow permanent magnet synchronous generator and a three‐bladed rotor with variable twist and taper blades. Overspeed control is performed by a furling mechanism. The turbine has the unique feature of being capable of operating at either 12, 24 or 48 V system voltage, requiring no load control in any case. In the 48 V configuration, the system is capable of providing 2 kWh day^?1 for an average wind speed as low as 3.5 m s^?1 and an air density of 85% of the standard pressure and temperature value. The experimental assessment has been conducted under field conditions with the turbine mounted on a 20 m guy‐wired tubular tower. The experimental power curves are shown to be in good agreement with a detailed aerodynamical and electromechanical model of the turbine for non‐furling conditions and for wind speeds above the theoretical cut‐in speed. In the case of the rapidly spinning load configurations, a finite power production at wind speeds below the theoretical cut‐in speed can be observed, which can be explained in terms of inertia effects. During the measurement campaigns with high loads, we were able to observe bifurcations of the power curve, which can be explained in terms of instabilities arising in situations of transition from attached to separated flow. A full experimental C_p(λ)‐curve has been constructed by operating the turbine under different load conditions and the findings are in good agreement with a variable Reynolds‐number blade‐element momentum model. The three proposed system configurations have been found to operate with a high aerodynamic efficiency with typical values of the power coefficient in the 0.40–0.45 range. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Investigating the impact of non‐linear geometrical effects on wind turbine blades—Part 1: Current status of design and test methods and future challenges in design optimization

This article is the first part of a three‐article series and it deals with full‐scale tests of a load‐carrying box girder. The two other articles present more details on smaller sub‐component levels as well as cap specimens (article 2) and shear webs (article 3). This article also links to the two other articles and brings the main results from them into relevance for a wind turbine blade designer. The investigated failure modes in all three articles relate to the Brazier effect, which is expected to be the key dominating failure mechanism in future wind turbine blade designs. The Brazier effect may also have a significant impact on present wind turbine blades. In this article, a 34 m long load‐carrying box girder has been tested in static flap‐wise bending, and it has been demonstrated that, for this design, the Brazier effect is a critical phenomenon of great relevance for the ultimate failure strength. The box girder has been evaluated with and without a cap (wire) reinforcement. The cap reinforcement is one out of seven inventions Risø DTU published in 2008, which are all intended to result in a lighter and more reliable blade design. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Numerical Modelling of the Aeroelastic Behaviour and Variable Loads for the Turbine Stage in 3D Transonic Flow

Introduction Aeroelastic phenomena in the turbine stage are characterized by instability, continuous interaction and energy exchange between the fluid and the structure; so they cannot be studied properly in the frame of each of uncoupled domains separately (aerodynamics or structural dynamics). The traditional approach in flutter calculations of bladed disks is based on frequency domain analysis[1,2], in which the blade motion is assumed to be a harmonic function of time with a constant phas…     

Prediction of wind‐turbine fatigue loads in forest regions based on turbulent LES inflow fields

Large‐eddy simulations (LES) were used to predict the neutral atmospheric boundary layer over a sparse and a dense forest, as well as over grass‐covered flat terrain. The forest is explicitly represented in the simulations through momentum sink terms. Turbulence data extracted from the LES served then as inflow turbulence for the simulation of the dynamic structural response of a generic wind turbine. In this way, the impact of forest density, wind speed and wind‐turbine hub height on the wind‐turbine fatigue loads was studied. Results show for example significantly increased equivalent fatigue loads above the two forests. Moreover, a comparison between LES turbulence and synthetically generated turbulence in terms of load predictions was made and revealed that synthetic turbulence was able to excite the same spectral peaks as LES turbulence but lead to consistently lower equivalent fatigue loads. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Comparative analysis of methods for modelling the short‐term probability distribution of extreme wind turbine loads

We have tested the performance of statistical extrapolation methods in predicting the extreme response of a multi‐megawatt wind turbine generator. We have applied the peaks‐over‐threshold, block maxima and average conditional exceedance rates (ACER) methods for peaks extraction, combined with four extrapolation techniques: the Weibull, Gumbel and Pareto distributions and a double‐exponential asymptotic extreme value function based on the ACER method. For the successful implementation of a fully automated extrapolation process, we have developed a procedure for automatic identification of tail threshold levels, based on the assumption that the response tail is asymptotically Gumbel distributed. Example analyses were carried out, aimed at comparing the different methods, analysing the statistical uncertainties and identifying the factors, which are critical to the accuracy and reliability of the extrapolation. The present paper describes the modelling procedures and makes a comparison of extrapolation methods based on the results from the example calculations. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On‐site inspection of potential defects in wind turbine rotor blades with thermography

Recurrent non‐destructive testing inspections are necessary to prevent damages in wind turbine rotor blades, but so far, there is no established method that detects defects in blades from greater distances – although this becomes increasingly important in the context of hardly accessible offshore wind parks. Thermography is a promising method for detecting subsurface defects, but various challenges arise when this method is applied on‐site to turbine blades in operation. Disturbing influences from the environment easily lead to a misinterpretation of thermograms (i.e. thermographic images), such as thermal signatures caused by reflections, dirt and other superficial inhomogeneities. This study explores several problems and effects that arise, when (rotating) blades are monitored with thermography. It will then be demonstrated that a meaningful defect inspection in this scenario is essentially restricted to a procedure following three steps: Firstly, calculating the so‐called difference thermograms of all blade pairs for eliminating disturbing reflections. Secondly, identifying potentially relevant signals, which are associated neither with structural features nor with dynamical effects, and the identification of these signals' allocations (through comparison of all difference thermograms with each other). And thirdly, comparing these signals with (processed) photos for excluding incorrect indications by surface effects. Unlike common thermographic analysis methods, which typically only include an aspect of this procedure, the composition presented in this contribution constitutes an advanced technique for minimizing disturbing influences in thermograms. The proposed thermographic technique enables the detection of potential subsurface defects within rotating rotor blades from greater distances – such as from the ground, air crafts or vessels. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Analysis of the convective heat transfer and flow behavior around two counter‐rotating side‐by‐side cylinders

This study presents details of the heat and fluid flow around two counter‐rotating cylinders. For this goal, three different nondimensional gap spaces such as G/D = 1.5, 2.0, and 3.0 are examined in the constant Reynolds number of 200 and Prandtl number of 7.0. In addition, computations are carried out at various nondimensional rotating speeds (R.S) in the range from 0 to 4. The obtained results are validated against the available data in the open literature for stationary cases. The results showed that the flow structure, vortex shedding process, and exerted forces on the cylinders strongly depended on the R.S and G/D. Reductions of the drag coefficients are observed for both cylinders with increasing the R.S due to suppression of the wake downstream of the cylinders at low R.S and eliminating the vortex shedding process at high R.S. Finally, it is demonstrated that, regardless of the G/D value, increasing the R.S diminishes dramatically the convective heat exchange rate between the cylinders and fluid flow.     

考虑风剪切的1.3MW风力机整机三维定常流动数值研究

分别采用均匀风和剪切风对1.3 MW失速调节风力机整机在8 m/s和13 m/s来流风速下的绕流流场进行全三维定常数值模拟。根据模拟结果分析叶片不同截面的压力系数分布、沿叶展方向的功率分布、风轮三维流场细节、风轮下游不同距离处的静压分布和二维相对速度矢量分布情况。结果表明：剪切风下,风力机功率计算值与设计值吻合较好;在靠近叶根处,适当地减小有效攻角可提高翼型气动性能,选择适应较大攻角的翼型,可以提高叶根处的输出功率;在靠近叶尖的部位,适当增加有效攻角,同时选择适应小攻角的翼型可以提高叶尖处的输出功率;在叶根部位,发生了明显的流动分离;塔架与轮毂所在位置的下游尾迹处产生的漩涡和干扰要远远大于叶轮面其他部位。     

Near wake Reynolds‐averaged Navier–Stokes predictions of the wake behind the MEXICO rotor in axial and yawed flow conditions

In the present paper, Reynolds‐averaged Navier–Stokes predictions of the flow field around the MEXICO rotor in yawed conditions are compared with measurements. The paper illustrates the high degree of qualitative and quantitative agreement that can be obtained for this highly unsteady flow situation, by comparing measured and computed velocity profiles for all three Cartesian velocity components along four axial transects and several radial transects. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effect of wind and wave directionality on the structural performance of non‐operational offshore wind turbines supported by jackets during hurricanes

Risk of hurricane damage is an important factor in the development of the offshore wind energy industry in the United States. Hurricane loads on an offshore wind turbine (OWT), namely wind and wave loads, not only exert large structural demands, but also have temporally changing characteristics, especially with respect to their directions. Waves are less susceptible to rapid changes, whereas wind can change its properties over shorter time scales. Misalignment of local winds and ocean waves occurs regularly during a hurricane. The strength capacity of non‐axisymmetric structures such as jackets is sensitive to loading direction and misalignment relative to structural orientation. As an example, this work examines the effect of these issues on the extreme loads and structural response of a non‐operational OWT during hurricane conditions. The considered OWT is a 5 MW turbine, supported by a jacket structure and located off the Massachusetts coast. A set of 1000 synthetic hurricane events, selected from a catalog simulating 100,000 years of hurricane activity, is used to represent hurricane conditions, and the corresponding wind speeds, wave heights and directions are estimated using empirical, parametric models for each hurricane. The impact of wind and wave directions and structural orientation are quantified through a series of nonlinear static analyses under various assumptions for combining the directions of wind and wave and structural orientation for the considered example structure. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Impact of mooring lines dynamics on the fatigue and ultimate loads of three offshore floating wind turbines computed with IEC 61400‐3 guideline

The calculation of loads for floating offshore wind turbines requires time‐domain integrated simulation tools where most of the physical concepts involved in the system dynamics are considered. The loads at the different components are used for the structural calculation and influence the design noticeably. This study quantifies the influence of mooring dynamic models on the calculation of fatigue and ultimate loads with integrated tools and compares its performance with a lower computational cost quasi‐static mooring model. Three platforms representing the principal topologies (spar, semisubmersible and tension‐leg platform) were assumed to be installed at the same 200 m depth location in the Irish coast. For each platform, the fatigue and ultimate loads were computed with an integrated floating wind turbine simulation code using both, a quasi‐static and a fully dynamic moorings model. More than 3500 simulations for each platform and mooring model were launched and post‐processed according to the IEC 61400‐3 guideline in an exercise similar to what a certification entity may require to an offshore wind turbine designer. The results showed that the impact of mooring dynamics in both fatigue and ultimate loads increases as elements located closer to the platform are evaluated; the blade and the shaft loads are only slightly modified by the mooring dynamics in all the platform designs; the tower base loads can be significantly affected depending on the platform concept; and the mooring lines tensions strongly depend on the lines dynamics, both in fatigue and extreme loads for all the platform concepts evaluated. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Numerical study of heat transfer and viscous flow in a dual rotating extendable disk system with a non‐Fourier heat flux model

Nonlinear, steady‐state, viscous flow, and heat transfer between two stretchable rotating disks spinning at dissimilar velocities are studied with a non‐Fourier heat flux model. A nondeformable porous medium is intercalated between the disks and the Darcy model is used to simulate matrix impedance. The conservation equations are formulated in a cylindrical coordinate system and via the von Karman transformations are rendered into a system of coupled, nonlinear ordinary differential equations. The emerging boundary value problem is controlled by number of dimensionless parameters, that is, Prandtl number, upper disk stretching, lower disk stretching, permeability, non‐Fourier thermal relaxation, and relative rotation rate parameters. A perturbation solution is developed and the impact of selected parameters on radial and tangential velocity components, temperature, pressure, lower disk radial, and tangential skin friction components and surface heat transfer rate are visualized graphically. Validation of solutions with the homotopy analysis method is included. Extensive interpretation of the results is presented which are relevant to rotating disk bioreactors in chemical engineering.     

Rotor‐tower interactions of DTU 10MW reference wind turbine with a non‐linear harmonic method

In this paper, a computational study of the DTU 10MW reference wind turbine unsteady aerodynamics is presented. The whole wind turbine assembly was considered, including the complete rotor and the tower. The FINE/Turbo flow solver developed by NUMECA International was employed for the simulations. In particular, the Non‐Linear Harmonic (NLH) method was applied in order to accurately model flow unsteadiness at reduced computational cost. Important vortex shedding structures were identified at low blade span range and all along the tower height. A strong interaction between rotor and tower flows was also observed. Lastly, the performance of the NLH approach was compared against a standard Unsteady Reynolds‐Averaged Navier Stokes simulation. The same complex unsteady flow phenomena were captured by both technologies. Nevertheless, the NLH approach was found to be 10 times faster than the Unsteady Reynolds‐Averaged Navier Stokes method for this particular application. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Matching experimental and numerical data of dynamic power train loads by modeling of defects

Defects on wind turbines such as power train misalignments or blade pitch angle deviations are dealt with. These defects cause additional dynamic excitations and thus can reduce the fatigue life of wind turbine components. In order to improve the reliability of dynamic load computations and related fatigue dimensioning of wind turbines, a highly discretized simulation model that incorporates potential system defects is set up. A sensitivity analysis of the impact of system defects on power train dynamics is performed. Experimental measurements of gearbox orbital paths and of the corresponding torque arm loads could be reproduced with good correlation when the simulation model was complemented by power train misalignments and by blade pitch angle deviations. Comparisons of experimental and numerical data are presented in time and frequency domains. Feasible consequences about the impact of alignment defects on the resulting fatigue damage are presented. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Estimation of the electric fields and dielectric breakdown in non‐conductive wind turbine blades subjected to a lightning stepped leader

In this paper, the electric fields in the wind turbine blades due to the lightning stepped leader are studied, and the dielectric breakdown is assessed. The developed finite element analysis (FEA) includes the full length of the leader and enables one to incorporate various uniform and non‐uniform charge density models. The lightning striking distance is calculated using the rolling sphere method. The electric field in a horizontal axis wind turbine with three blades representing Sandia 100 m All‐glass Baseline Wind Turbine Blades (SNL 100‐00) at three different lightning protection levels (LPL) is computed and compared to the dielectric breakdown strength of the blades. The dielectric breakdown strength of the blades is evaluated based on the experimental data. The results show that the tip region of the blade is the most vulnerable to the dielectric breakdown with the safety factor as low as 1.32 at LPL I. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.