A smart rotor configuration with linear quadratic control of adaptive trailing edge flaps for active load alleviation

The paper proposes a smart rotor configuration where adaptive trailing edge flaps (ATEFs) are employed for active alleviation of the aerodynamic loads on the blades of the NREL 5 MW reference turbine. The flaps extend for 20% of the blade length and are controlled by a linear quadratic (LQ) algorithm based on measurements of the blade root flapwise bending moment. The control algorithm includes frequency weighting to discourage flap activity at frequencies higher than 0.5 Hz. The linear model required by the LQ algorithm is obtained from subspace system identification; periodic disturbance signals described by simple functions of the blade azimuthal position are included in the identification to avoid biases from the periodic load variations observed on a rotating blade. The LQ controller uses the same periodic disturbance signals to handle anticipation of the loads periodic component. The effects of active flap control are assessed with aeroelastic simulations of the turbine in normal operation conditions, as prescribed by the International Electrotechnical Commission standard. The turbine lifetime fatigue damage equivalent loads provide a convenient summary of the results achieved with ATEF control: 10% reduction of the blade root flapwise bending moment is reported in the simplest control configuration, whereas reductions of approximately 14% are achieved by including periodic loads anticipation. The simulations also highlight impacts on the fatigue damage loads in other parts of the structure, in particular, an increase of the blade torsion moment and a reduction of the tower fore‐aft loads. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

System identification and controller design for individual pitch and trailing edge flap control on upscaled wind turbines

Active load reduction strategies such as individual pitch control (IPC) and trailing edge flap (TEF) actuation present ways of reducing the fatigue loads on the blades of wind turbines. This may enable development of lighter blades, improving the performance, cost effectiveness and viability of future multi‐megawatt turbine designs. Previous investigations into the use of IPC and TEFs have been limited to turbines with ratings up to 5 MW and typically investigate the use of these load reduction strategies on a single turbine only. This paper extends the design, implementation and analysis of individual pitch and TEFs to a range of classically scaled turbines between 5 and 20 MW. In order to avoid designing controllers which favour a particular scale, identical scale‐invariant system identification and controller design processes are applied to each of the turbines studied. Gain‐scheduled optimal output feedback controllers are designed using identified models to target blade root load fluctuations at the first and second multiples of the rotational frequency using IPC and TEFs respectively. The use of IPC and TEFs is shown in simulations to provide significant reductions in fatigue loads at the blade root. Fatigue loads on non‐rotating components such as the yaw bearing and tower root (yaw moment) are also reduced with the use of TEFs. Individual pitch performance is seen to be slightly lower on larger turbines, potentially due to a combination of reduced actuator bandwidth and movement of the rotational frequency of larger turbines into a more energetic part of the turbulent spectrum. However, TEF performance is consistent irrespective of scale. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Investigation of the theoretical load alleviation potential using trailing edge flaps controlled by inflow data

A novel control concept for fatigue load reduction with trailing edge flaps based on the measurement of the inflow locally on the blade was presented. The investigation was conducted with the aeroelastic code HAWC2. The aerodynamic modelling in the code is based on blade element momentum theory. The simulations were carried out for the NREL 5MW reference wind turbine, and the mean wind speed at hub height was 8 m s^?1. The turbine was operated with fixed rotational speed. The energy at the blade is concentrated in spectral bands centred at multiples of the rotational frequency up to three times the rotational frequency. The highest fatigue load reduction was achieved when the inflow sensor was placed at the outer parts of the blade. In the best case, the reduction of the local fatigue loads induced by the blade sectional normal force was 60%. The control method gave the highest fatigue load reductions in conditions with strong wind shear. The demands for the flap actuator in terms of deflection angles was ±10°. The requirements in terms of the flap deflection velocity depend mainly on the inflow turbulence intensity. The maximum value was ±40°s^?1 for 20% inflow turbulence intensity. Unsteady aerodynamic effects seem to be negligible. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A comprehensive investigation of trailing edge damage in a wind turbine rotor blade

Wind turbine rotor blades are sophisticated, multipart, lightweight structures whose aeroelasticity‐driven geometrical complexity and high strength‐to‐mass utilization lend themselves to the application of glass‐fibre or carbon‐fibre composite materials. Most manufacturing techniques involve separate production of the multi‐material subcomponents of which a blade is comprised and which are commonly joined through adhesives. Adhesive joints are known to represent a weak link in the structural integrity of blades, where particularly, the trailing‐edge joint is notorious for its susceptibility to damage. Empiricism tells that adhesive joints in blades often do not fulfil their expected lifetime, leading to considerable expenses because of repair or blade replacement. Owing to the complicated structural behaviour—in conjunction with the complex loading situation—literature about the root causes for adhesive joint failure in blades is scarce. This paper presents a comprehensive numerical investigation of energy release rates at the tip of a transversely oriented crack in the trailing edge of a 34m long blade for a 1.5MW wind turbine. First, results of a non‐linear finite element analysis of a 3D blade model, compared with experimental data of a blade test conducted at Danmarks Tekniske Universitet (DTU) Wind Energy (Department of Wind Energy, Technical University of Denmark), showed to be in good agreement. Subsequently, the effects of geometrical non‐linear cross‐section deformation and trailing‐edge wave formation on the energy release rates were investigated based on realistic aeroelastic load simulations. The paper concludes with a discussion about critical loading directions that trigger two different non‐linear deformation mechanisms and their potential impact on adhesive trailing‐edge joint failure. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

High‐fidelity linear time‐invariant model of a smart rotor with adaptive trailing edge flaps

A high‐fidelity linear time‐invariant model of the aero‐servo‐elastic response of a wind turbine with trailing‐edge flaps is presented and used for systematic tuning of an individual flap controller. The model includes the quasi‐steady aerodynamic effects of trailing‐edge flaps on wind turbine blades and is integrated in the linear aeroelastic code HAWCStab2. The dynamic response predicted by the linear model is validated against non‐linear simulations, and the quasi‐steady assumption does not cause any significant response bias for flap deflection with frequencies up to 2–3 Hz. The linear aero‐servo‐elastic model support the design, systematic tuning and model synthesis of smart rotor control systems. As an example application, the gains of an individual flap controller are tuned using the Ziegler–Nichols method for the full‐order poles. The flap controller is based on feedback of inverse Coleman transformed and low‐pass filtered flapwise blade root moments to the cyclic flap angles through two proportional‐integral controllers. The load alleviation potential of the active flap control, anticipated by the frequency response of the linear closed‐loop model, is also confirmed by non‐linear time simulations. The simulations report reductions of lifetime fatigue damage up to 17% at the blade root and up to 4% at the tower bottom. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Experimental assessment of a blended fatigue-extreme controller employing trailing edge flaps

This paper presents an experimental assessment of a blended fatigue-extreme controller for load control employing trailing edge flaps on a lab-scale wind turbine. The controller blends between a repetitive model predictive controller that targets fatigue loads and a dedicated extreme load controller, which consists of a simple on-off load control strategy. The Fatigue controller uses the flapwise blade root bending moments of the three blades as input sensors. The Extreme controller additionally uses on-blade angle of attack and velocity measurements as well as acceleration measurements to detect extreme events and to allow for a fast reaction. The experiments are conducted on the Berlin Research Turbine within the large wind tunnel of the TU Berlin. In order to reproduce test cases with deterministic extreme wind conditions that follow industry standards, the wind tunnel was redesigned. The analyzed test cases are extreme direction change, extreme coherent gust, extreme operating gust and extreme coherent gust with direction change. The test cases are analyzed by on-blade angle of attack and velocity measurements. The load control performance of the Blended controller is compared to the pure fatigue oriented and the pure extreme load controller. The Blended controller achieves a maximum flapwise blade root bending moment reduction of 23%, which is comparable to the reduction achieved by the Extreme controller.     

Design of a scaled wind turbine with a smart rotor for dynamic load control experiments

The ever increasing size of wind turbines poses a number of design issues for the industry, like increasing component mass and fatigue loads. An interesting concept for reducing fatigue loads is the implementation of spanwise distributed devices to control the aerodynamic loading along the span of the blade, thus mitigating fluctuations in loading and adding damping to the blade modes. This is usually referred to as the smart rotor concept. In the design of such a rotor, as compared to a traditional one, the integration of sensors and actuators poses additional design challenges. In the research discussed in this paper, a scaled smart rotor was designed and constructed to study its fatigue load reduction potential. A 1.8 m diameter rotor was manufactured and equipped with trailing‐edge flaps. The flaps were based on piezo electric Thunder actuators that allow for high‐frequent actuation. The dynamic strain behaviour of the blade was analysed for optimal placement of the sensors. Several sensors that record the strains and accelerations at different locations along the blade were implemented, but the controller was based on a piezo electric strain sensor. The rotor blades were mounted on a small turbine in the Delft University's Open Jet Facility wind tunnel and a mathematical state space model was obtained by using dedicated system identification techniques. Single‐Input Single‐Output, Multi‐Input Multi‐Output ??_∞ feedback and feedforward controllers were designed, each focusing on different parts of the load spectrum. The rotor was tested at 0 and 5° yaw angles, with and without load control. A significant reduction of the dynamic loads was attained. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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

Wind turbine rotor blades are commonly manufactured from composite materials by a moulding process. Typically, the wind turbine blade is produced in two halves, which are eventually adhesively joined along their edges. Investigations of operating wind turbine blades show that debonding of the trailing edge joint is a common failure type, and information on specific reasons is scarce. This paper is concerned with the estimation of the strain energy release rates (SERRs) in trailing edges of wind turbine blades in order to gain insight into the driving failure mechanisms. A method based on the virtual crack closure technique (VCCT) is proposed, which can be used to identify critical areas in the adhesive joint of a trailing edge. The paper gives an overview of methods applicable for fracture cases comprising non‐parallel crack faces in the realm of linear fracture mechanics. Furthermore, the VCCT is discussed in detail and validated against numerical analyses in 2D and 3D. Finally, the SERR of a typical blade section subjected to various loading conditions is investigated and assessed in order to identify potential design drivers for trailing edge details. Analysis of the blade section model suggests that mode III action is governing and accordingly that flapwise shear and torsion are the most important load cases.Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Full‐scale test of trailing edge flaps on a Vestas V27 wind turbine: active load reduction and system identification

A full‐scale test was performed on a Vestas V27 wind turbine equipped with one active 70 cm long trailing edge flap on one of its 13 m long blades. Active load reduction could be observed in spite of the limited spanwise coverage of the single active trailing edge flap. A frequency‐weighted model predictive control was tested successfully on this demonstrator turbine. An average flapwise blade root load reduction of 14% was achieved during a 38 minute test, and a reduction of 20% of the amplitude of the 1P loads was measured. A system identification test was also performed, and an identified linear model, from trailing edge flap angle to flapwise blade root moment, was derived and compared with the linear analytical model used in the model predictive control design model. Flex5 simulations run with the same model predictive control showed a good correlation between the simulations and the measurements in terms of flapwise blade root moment spectral densities, in spite of significant differences between the identified linear model and the model predictive control design model. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Investigation of the load reduction potential of two trailing edge flap controls using CFD

In this work, a 2D aero‐servo‐elastic model of an airfoil section with 3 degrees of freedom (DOF) based on the 2D CFD solver EllipSys2D to calculate the aerodynamic forces is utilized to calculate the load reduction potential of an airfoil equipped with an adaptive trailing edge flap (ATEF) and subjected to a turbulent inflow signal. The employed airfoil model corresponds to a successfully tested prototype airfoil where piezoelectric actuators were used for the flapping. In the present investigation two possible control methods for the flap are compared in their ability to reduce the fluctuating normal forces on the airfoil due to a 4 s turbulent inflow signal and the best location of the measurement point for the respective control input is determined. While Control 1 uses the measurements of a Pitot tube mounted in front of the leading edge (LE) as input, Control 2 uses the pressure difference between the pressure and suction side of the airfoil measured at a certain chord position. Control 1 achieves its maximum load reduction of R_Std(Fy) = 76.7% for the shortest Pitot tube of the test, i.e. a Pitot tube with a length of 0.05% of the chord length. Control 2 shows the highest load reduction of R_Std(Fy) = 77.7% when the pressure difference is measured at a chord position of approximately 15%. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

尾缘襟翼对风力机翼型气动特性影响研究

尾缘襟翼(TEF)因其对翼型气动特性的调控能力,被认为是降低叶片疲劳和局部载荷最具可行性的气动控制部件。对TEF进行建模,采用Xfoil和CFD软件分析了TEF对翼型气动特性的影响及其机理,并从叶素理论角度对变化来流下TEF的减载效果进行了验证,结果表明:TEF位于不同摆角时翼型升阻力系数均有不同程度的变化,TEF可有效实现对翼型气动特性的主动控制;TEF摆动改变了翼型表面的静压分布和流动状态,进而对翼型升阻力和失速攻角产生影响;TEF可快速有效降低风速突然增加后的叶素受力,进而控制并减小叶片载荷。     

Rotor dynamics correlation for maximum power and transient control of wind turbines

In this paper, a new rotor dynamics model is developed for transient power output from a horizontal axis wind turbine. In addition to the standard maximum kinetic energy of the wind, the model incorporates rotor velocity and rotational acceleration to enhance the control techniques that convert mechanical to electrical energy via shaft rotation. With current methods, the wind kinetic energy is generally the primary parameter that establishes maximum power output. By relating this wind energy to the rotor dynamics, electrical systems can have a more useful upper bound for the rotor control strategy. The new model predicts the rotor velocity for various turbine configurations, operating over a range of wind conditions. The predicted results show that the same power output is obtained as the standard kinetic energy approach, but with significant additional opportunity to better control the rotor dynamics. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

我国风力发电发展现状和问题分析

能源危机的日趋严重,优化能源结构、发展清洁环保的可再生能源迫在眉睫。风能是一种清洁环保的可再生能源,随着国家政策的支持和风力发电技术的不断发展,风力发电越来越得到人们的重视,并将在新能源发电中扮演重要的角色。概述了我国风能资源的储量和分布,介绍了近年来我国风力发电的总体情况、各省(自治区)风力发电的发展概况以及我国风电企业的发展现状,最后指出了我国风力发电目前出现的一些问题,并进行了分析。     

On the proof of concept of a ‘Smart’ wind turbine rotor blade for load alleviation

The trend with offshore wind turbines is to increase the rotor diameter as much as possible to decrease the costs per kilowatt‐hour. The increasing dimensions have led to the relative increase of the loads on the wind turbine structure. Because of the increasing rotor size and the spatial load variations along the blade, it is necessary to react to turbulence in a more detailed way; each blade separately and at several separate radial distances. In this paper, a proof of concept study is performed to show the feasibility of the load alleviation abilities of a ‘Smart’ blade, i.e. a blade equipped with a number of control devices that locally change the lift profile on the blade, combined with appropriate sensors and feedback controllers. Theoretical and experimental models are developed of a scaled non‐rotating rotor blade which is equipped with two trailing edge flaps and strain sensors to facilitate feedback control. A pitch actuator is used to induce disturbances with a similar character as a gust or turbulence. A feedback controller based on classical loop shaping is designed that minimizes the root bending moment in the flapping direction. We show that with appropriate control techniques, the loads for periodic disturbances and for turbulence generated disturbances can be reduced up to 90 and 55%, respectively. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

永磁直驱风力发电系统MPPT控制的研究

文章首先介绍了风力机模型。然后介绍了一种改进型的变步长爬山算法,通过该算法改变直驱风力发电系统三重交错并联Boost变换电路的占空比,从而实现最大功率跟踪,获取最大风能。最后,利用MATLAB/SIMULINK建立直驱永磁风力发电系统仿真模型并进行研究。试验结果表明,改进型变步长爬山算法比传统爬山算法能更快跟踪最大功率点,控制系统具有较好的控制精度和稳定性。     

Smart dynamic rotor control using active flaps on a small‐scale wind turbine: aeroelastic modeling and comparison with wind tunnel measurements

In this paper, the proof of concept of a smart rotor is illustrated by aeroelastic simulations on a small‐scale rotor and comparison with wind tunnel experiments. The application of advanced feedback controllers using actively deformed flaps in the wind tunnel measurements is shown to alleviate dynamic loads leading to considerable fatigue load reduction. The numerical method for aeroelastically simulating such an experiment is described, together with the process of verifying the methods for accurate prediction of the load reduction potential of such concepts. The small‐scale rotor is simulated using the aeroelastic tool, load predictions are compared with the wind tunnel measurements, and similar control concepts are compared and evaluated in the numerical environment. Conclusions regarding evaluation of the performance of smart rotor concepts for wind turbines are drawn from this threefold research investigation (simulation, experiment and comparison). Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Design of a wind turbine rotor for maximum aerodynamic efficiency

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 and a full three‐dimensional Navier–Stokes solver. Excellent agreement is obtained using the three models. Global CP reaches a value of slightly above 0.51, while global thrust coefficient CT is 0.87. The local power coefficient C_p increases to slightly above the Betz limit on the inner part of the rotor; the local thrust coefficient C_t increases to a value above 1.1. This agrees well with the theory of de Vries, which states that including the effect of the low pressure behind the centre of the rotor stemming from the increased rotation, both C_p and C_t will increase towards the root. Towards the tip, both C_p and C_t decrease due to tip corrections as well as drag. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An edge model for the evaluation of wind power ramps characterization approaches

Wind power forecasting is a recognized means of facilitating large‐scale wind power integration into power systems. Recently, there has been focus on developing dedicated short‐term forecasting approaches for large and sharp wind power variations, so‐called ramps. Accurate forecasts of specific ramp characteristics (e.g., timing and probability of occurrence) are important, as related forecast errors may lead to potentially large power imbalances, with a high impact on the power system. Various works about ramps’ periodicity or predictability have led to the development of new characterization approaches. However, a thorough analysis of these approaches has not yet been carried out. Such an analysis is necessary to ensure the reliability of subsequent conclusions on ramps’ characteristics. In this paper, we propose a comprehensive framework for evaluating and comparing different characterization approaches of wind power ramps. As a first step, we introduce a theoretical model of a ramp inspired from edge‐detection literature. The proposed model incorporates some important aspects of the wind power production process so as to reflect its non‐stationary and bounded aspects, as well as the random nature of ramp occurrences. Then, we introduce adequate evaluation criteria from signal‐processing and statistical literature, in order to assess the ability of an approach for reliably estimating ramp characteristics (i.e., timing and intensity). On the basis of simulations from this model and using the evaluation criteria, we study the performance of different ramp detection filters and multi‐scale characterization approaches. Our results show that some practical choices in wind‐energy literature are inappropriate, while others, namely, from signal‐processing literature, are preferable. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A new formulation for rotor equivalent wind speed for wind resource assessment and wind power forecasting

The spurt of growth in the wind energy industry has led to the development of many new technologies to study this energy resource and improve the efficiency of wind turbines. One of the key factors in wind farm characterization is the prediction of power output of the wind farm that is a strong function of the turbulence in the wind speed and direction. A new formulation for calculating the expected power from a wind turbine in the presence of wind shear, turbulence, directional shear and direction fluctuations is presented. It is observed that wind shear, directional shear and direction fluctuations reduce the power producing capability, while turbulent intensity increases it. However, there is a complicated superposition of these effects that alters the characteristics of the power estimate that indicates the need for the new formulation. Data from two field experiments is used to estimate the wind power using the new formulation, and results are compared to previous formulations. Comparison of the estimates of available power from the new formulation is not compared to actual power outputs and will be a subject of future work. © 2015 The Authors. Wind Energy published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

加装后缘小翼的垂直轴风力机输出特性研究

为了研究H型垂直轴风力机后缘加装小翼的输出特性变化规律,文章以NACA0012翼型叶片为例,采用风洞试验与数值模拟的方法,对加装后缘小翼的风力机进行了研究。模拟结果表明,加装后缘小翼的风力机的单叶片扭矩系数及功率性能要优于未加装小翼的风力机,整体功率较未加装小翼的风力机略有提升。风洞实验结果表明:加装后缘小翼可以提高风力机的最大输出功率,其中径长比对于加装小翼的垂直轴风力机功率提升的影响较大;当转速小于300 r/min时,安装径长比为0.6的后缘小翼的风力机输出功率最高;当转速超过300 r/min时,径长比为0.4的后缘小翼的风力机输出功率最高。