The simulation error caused by input loading variability in offshore wind turbine structural analysis

Stochastic representations of turbulent wind and irregular waves are used in time domain simulations of offshore wind turbines. The variability due to finite sampling of this input loading is an important source of simulation error. For the OC4 reference jacket structure with a 5 MW wind turbine, an error of 12–34% for ultimate loads and 6–12% for fatigue loads can occur with a probability of 1%, for simulations with a total simulation length of 60 min and various load cases. In terms of fatigue life, in the worst case, the lifetime of a joint was thereby overestimated by 29%. The size of this error can be critical, i.e., ultimate or fatigue limits can be exceeded, with probability depending on the choice of number of random seeds and simulation length. The analysis is based on a large simulation study with about 30,000 time domain simulations. Probability density functions of response variables are estimated and analyzed in terms of confidence intervals; i.e., how probable it is to obtain results significantly different from the expected value when using a finite number of simulations. This simulation error can be reduced to the same extent, either using several short simulations with different stochastic representations of the wind field or one long simulation with corresponding total length of the wind field. When using several short‐term simulations, it is important that ultimate and fatigue loads are calculated based on the complete, properly combined set of results, in order to prevent a systematic bias in the estimated loads. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Comparison and testing of power reserve control strategies for grid‐connected wind turbines

The stability of the electrical grid depends on enough generators being able to provide appropriate responses to sudden losses in generation capacity, increases in power demand or similar events. Within the United States, wind turbines largely do not provide such generation support, which has been acceptable because the penetration of wind energy into the grid has been relatively low. However, frequency support capabilities may need to be built into future generations of wind turbines to enable high penetration levels over approximately 20%. In this paper, we describe control strategies that can enable power reserve by leaving some wind energy uncaptured. Our focus is on the control strategies used by an operating turbine, where the turbine is asked to track a power reference signal supplied by the wind farm operator. We compare the strategies in terms of their control performance as well as their effects on the turbine itself, such as the possibility for increased loads on turbine components. It is assumed that the wind farm operator has access to the necessary grid information to generate the power reference provided to the turbine, and we do not simulate the electrical interaction between the turbine and the utility grid. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Adjustment of wind farm power output through flexible turbine operation using wind farm control

When the installed capacity of wind power becomes high, the power generated by wind farms can no longer simply be that dictated by the wind speed. With sufficiently high penetration, it will be necessary for wind farms to provide assistance with supply‐demand matching. The work presented here introduces a wind farm controller that regulates the power generated by the wind farm to match the grid requirements by causing the power generated by each turbine to be adjusted. Further, benefits include fast response to reach the wind farm power demanded, flexibility, little fluctuation in the wind farm power output and provision of synthetic inertia. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simplified fatigue load assessment in offshore wind turbine structural analysis

The estimation of fatigue lifetime for an offshore wind turbine support structure requires a large number of time‐domain simulations. It is an important question whether it is possible to reduce the number of load cases while retaining a high level of accuracy of the results. We present a novel method for simplified fatigue load assessments based on statistical regression models that estimate fatigue damage during power production. The main idea is to predict the total fatigue damage only and not also the individual damage values for each load case. We demonstrate the method for a jacket‐type support structure. Reducing the number of simulated load cases from 21 to 3, the total fatigue damage estimate exhibited a maximum error of about 6% compared with the complete assessment. As a consequence, a significant amount of simulation time can be saved, in the order of a factor of seven. This quick fatigue assessment is especially interesting in the application of structural optimization, with a large number of iterations. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Blade load mitigation control design for a wind turbine operating in the path of vortices

As wind turbine rotor size continues to increase, load mitigation becomes an important control objective. Turbines with hub heights of nearly 100m operate in the stable, nocturnal boundary layer where coherent turbulence can be generated by atmospheric phenomena outside the surface layer. These coherent turbulent structures may contribute to blade fatigue loads that can be mitigated with advanced control algorithms. Disturbance accommodating control (DAC) methods were implemented in a wind turbine structural dynamics simulation code to mitigate transient blade load response induced by a simple, Rankine vortex in the inflow. As a best‐case scenario, a full‐state feedback controller (which included a very detailed disturbance model) showed that blade flap damage equivalent load caused by the vortex passing through the rotor could be reduced by 30% compared to one that resulted from simulation of a typical proportional‐integral (PI) controller. A realizable DAC controller that incorporates only the vertical shear component of the vortex reduced loads by 9% compared to that resulting from simulation of a PI controller. The load reduction was even greater when the vortex was superimposed over full‐field, homogeneous turbulence. DAC methods have the flexibility to incorporate properties of coherent turbulent inflow structures in the controller design to mitigate blade fatigue loads. Further work must be done to develop disturbance models as more details about the turbulent structures are identified. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A new control methodology of wind turbine generators for frequency control of power system in isolated island

A wind turbine generator (WTG) system's output is not constant and fluctuates depending on wind conditions. Fluctuating power causes frequency deviations and adverse effects to an isolated power system when large output power from WTG systems is penetrated in the power system. This paper presents an output power control methodology of a WTG for frequency control using a load power estimator. The load power is estimated by a disturbance observer, and the output power command of the WTG is determined according to the estimated load. Besides, the WTG can also be controlled during wind turbulence since the output power command is determined by considering wind conditions. The reduction of the power system frequency deviation by using the WTG can be achieved by the proposed method. The effectiveness of the proposed method is validated by numerical simulations. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Maximum thermodynamic power coefficient of a wind turbine

According to the centenary Betz‐Joukowsky law, the power extracted from a wind turbine in open flow cannot exceed 16/27 of the wind transported kinetic energy rate. This limit is usually interpreted as an absolute theoretical upper bound for the power coefficient of all wind turbines, but it was derived in the special case of incompressible fluids. Following the same steps of Betz classical derivation, we model the turbine as an actuator disk in a one dimensional fluid flow but consider the general case of a compressible reversible fluid, such as air. In doing so, we are obliged to use not only the laws of mechanics but also and explicitly the laws of thermodynamics. We show that the power coefficient depends on the inlet wind Mach number , and that its maximum value exceeds the Betz‐Joukowsky limit. We have developed a series expansion for the maximum power coefficient in powers of the Mach number that unifies all the cases (compressible and incompressible) in the same simple expression: .     

新型变桨风力机结构设计与性能分析

为满足分布式电网发展要求,提高小型风力机风能利用率,防止大风条件损坏风力发电设备,文章设计了一种应用于小型风力机的新型主动统一变桨调节装置。文章介绍了装置的基本构造与工作原理,利用熔融沉积3D打印技术制作小比例模型验证了变桨装置的可行性,并通过数值模拟方法对功率输出性能及风轮载荷进行了模拟分析。模拟结果表明:通过适当调节桨距角大小,可有效控制风力机输出功率保持在额定功率值附近,且高转速条件下增大桨距角对功率输出性能有较强抑制作用;叶片应力集中区域主要在叶根及叶片中部靠近前缘部位,在功率调控过程中,随着桨距角与风速的增加,应力集中区域由叶中向叶根转移,最大应力值总体呈下降趋势。     

Direct adaptive torque control for maximizing the power captured by wind turbine in partial loading condition

In this paper, a direct adaptive control approach is used to track the tip speed ratio (TSR) of wind turbine to maximize the power captured during the below rated wind speed operation. Assuming a known optimum value of TSR, the deviation of actual TSR from the optimum one is mathematically expressed as TSR tracking error. Since the actual TSR is not a measurable quantity, this expression for TSR tracking error is linearized and simplified to express it in terms of wind speed and rotor speed, where rotor speed can easily be measured. Although it is possible to measure the wind speed with high accuracy using LiDAR, using it raises the overall cost of wind turbine installation; hence, a method to estimate the wind speed is also proposed. The adaptive controller operates on this simplified TSR tracking error to drive it to zero and to keep the TSR constant at desired optimum value. The performance of the proposed control scheme is illustrated by implementing and simulating it in the National Renewable Energy Laboratory 5MW wind turbine model and comparing the results with the existing baseline fixed gain controller. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Power generation control of a hydrostatic wind turbine implemented by model‐free adaptive control scheme

The hydrostatic wind turbine (HWT) is a type of wind turbine that uses hydrostatic transmission (HST) drivetrain to replace the traditional gearbox drivetrain. Without the fragile and expensive gearbox and power converters, HWT can potentially reduce the maintenance costs owing to the gearbox and power converter failures in wind power system, especially in offshore cases. We design an MFAC torque controller to regulate the pump torque of the HWT and compared with an torque controller. Then we design an MFAC pitch controller to stabilise the rotor speed of HWT and compared with a gain‐scheduling proportional‐integral (PI) controller and a gain‐scheduling PI controller with antiwindup (PIAW). The results indicate that MFAC torque controller provides more effective tracking performance than the controller and that MFAC pitch controller shows better rotor speed stabilisation performance in comparison with the gain‐scheduling PI controller and PIAW.     

Maximum wind power generation in a power system imposed by system inertia and primary reserve requirements

Although the technology to simulate inertia or to provide primary control in wind power generators is mature, most of them are a source of power with neither inertia nor primary reserve provision mainly because it means wind spilling. Therefore, an increasing wind power penetration means a reduction in the inertia of the system and of the primary reserve due to the substitution of conventional generation. In this paper, the maximum wind power penetration focusing on system inertia and primary reserve value is assessed. The Spanish power system is used as an example for the calculation of these values. For this purpose, real Spanish scenario data are used. Results will show that high penetrations of wind power can be achieved without risking adequate values of primary reserve or inertia of the power system even if wind power does not contribute to these items. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Advanced control algorithms for reduction of wind turbine structural loads

To enable further growth of wind turbine dimensions and rated power, it is essential to decrease structural loads that wind turbines experience. Therefore a great portion of research is focused on control algorithms for reduction of wind turbine structural loads, but typically wind turbine rotor is considered to be perfectly symmetrical, and therefore such control algorithms cannot reduce structural loads caused by rotor asymmetries. Furthermore, typical approach in the literature is to use blade load measurements, especially when higher harmonics of structural loads are being reduced. In this paper, improvements to standard approach for reduction of structural loads are proposed. First, control algorithm capable of reducing structural loads caused by rotor asymmetries is developed, and then appropriate load transformations are introduced that enable presented control algorithms to use load measurements from various wind turbine components. Simulation results show that proposed control algorithm is capable of reducing structural loads caused by rotor asymmetries.     

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.     

以电网跟踪备用为约束的风电消纳能力分析模型

文章在研究风电出力特性及其同时率变化的基础上,引入相邻两个连续采样间隔下的风电上网同时率差值指标,通过分析此指标的动态变化情况,以电网跟踪备用为约束条件,计算电网的风电消纳能力。该方法求解过程简捷,适应性强,便于实际工程应用,有利于风电场规划阶段较快估算出电网的消纳能力。文章构建的方法模型考虑利用电网跟踪备用容量来解决风电并网运行时电网的功率不平衡问题,可有效解决风电输出功率波动性引起的电网功率的不平衡,避免风电并网对电网运行的功率扰动。最后,以我国东北地区某风电场出力数据为对象进行分析和论证,结果表明,模型具有一定的合理性与实用性。     

UPFC setting to avoid active power flow loop considering wind power uncertainty

The active power loop flow (APLF) may be caused by impropriate network configuration, impropriate parameter settings, and/or stochastic bus powers. The power flow controllers, e.g., the unified power flow controller (UPFC), may be the reason and the solution to the loop flows. In this paper, the critical existence condition of the APLF is newly integrated into the simultaneous power flow model for the system and UPFC. Compared with the existing method of alternatively solving the simultaneous power flow and sensitivity-based approaching to the critical existing condition, the integrated power flow needs less iterations and calculation time. Besides, with wind power fluctuation, the interval power flow (IPF) is introduced into the integrated power flow, and solved with the affine Krawcyzk iteration to make sure that the range of active power setting of the UPFC not yielding the APLF. Compared with Monte Carlo simulation, the IPF has the similar accuracy but less time.     

Analysis and synthesis of sliding mode control for large scale variable speed wind turbine for power optimization

The problem of designing a nonlinear feedback control scheme for variable speed wind turbines, without wind speed measurements, in below rated wind conditions was addressed. The objective is to operate the wind turbines in order to have maximum wind power extraction while also the mechanical loads are reduced. Two control strategies were proposed seeking a better performance. The first strategy uses a tracking controller that ensures the optimal angular velocity for the rotor. The second strategy uses a Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) algorithm while a non-homogeneous quasi-continuous high-order sliding mode controller is applied to ensure the power tracking. Two algorithms were developed to solve the tracking control problem for the first strategy. The first one is a sliding mode output feedback torque controller combined with a wind speed estimator. The second algorithm is a quasi-continuous high-order sliding mode controller to ensure the speed tracking. The proposed controllers are compared with existing control strategies and their performance is validated using a FAST model based on the Controls Advanced Research Turbine (CART). The controllers show a good performance in terms of energy extraction and load reduction.     

单周期控制在变速恒频风力发电中的应用

在几种典型的变速恒频风电系统中,抽取3种基本电路单元:Boost变换器、三相PWM整流器和三相PWM并网逆变器,分别介绍了单周期控制在3种电路单元中的应用,并对单周期控制的改进方法和硬件实现进行了讨论,为单周期控制在变速恒频风力发电系统中的进一步研究和应用提供参考.     

风切变对大直径风力机风轮输出功率影响的初探

以风切变幂指数为0．14的风廓线模型进行了风轮输出功率计算,并与以风轮中心风速计算风轮功率进行了对比分析,指出风切变对风轮输出功率的影响不容忽视。     

我国的风电技术和风电发展

发展风力发电是我国能源战略的一项重要内容.文章首先介绍了我国风电利用的总体状况;然后从风机叶片制造、控制系统及整机制造等方面,详述了现阶段我国风电设备的基本状况;最后对我国风电发展障碍进行了分析,并提出了相关建议.