Vortex‐induced vibrations on a modern wind turbine blade

This article investigates the aero‐elastic response of the DTU 10‐MW RWT blade in deep stall conditions with angles of attack in the vicinity of 90 degrees. The simulations were conducted with the high‐fidelity fluid–structure interaction simulation tool HAWC2CFD employing the multi‐body‐based structural model of HAWC2 and the incompressible computational fluid dynamics solver EllipSys3D. The study utilizes detached eddy simulation computations and considers the three‐dimensional blade geometry including blade twist and taper. A preliminary frequency analysis of the load variations on a stiff blade showed that an inclined inflow with a velocity component along the blade axis can trigger a spanwise correlated vortex shedding over large parts of the blade. Moderate wind speeds were sufficient to generate vortex shedding with frequencies close to the first edgewise eigenfrequency of the blade. Aero‐elastic computations of the elastic blade confirmed the findings of the frequency analysis. Inflow conditions with inclination angles between Ψ = 20° and Ψ = 55° and relatively low to moderate wind speeds between V = 16 and V = 26ms^?1 were sufficient to trigger severe edgewise blade vibrations with blade tip amplitudes of several metres. The investigated inflow conditions are considered realistic and might occur when the wind turbine is idling or standing still and the yaw system is unable to align the wind turbine with the incoming wind. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The performance of Wells turbine under bi-directional airflow

This paper presents the performance of a Wells turbine operating under unsteady bi-directional airflow conditions. In this study, four kinds of blade profile were selected, NACA0020, NACA0015, CA9 and HSIM 15-262123-1576. The experiments have been carried out for two solidities under sinusoidal and irregular unsteady flow conditions based on Irish waves (Site2). It was found that for a Wells turbine operating under bi-directional air flow, the rotor geometry preferred is the blade profile of CA9 with rotor solidity σ=0.64. In addition, the efficiency curve of the Wells turbine under unidirectional flow conditions fails to present the rapid rise in the instantaneous efficiency which occurs at low flow coefficient of bi-directional flow condition. A comparative analysis between the numerical simulation results and experimental results was carried out. As a result, an excellent agreement was found between the numerical and experimental results. In addition, the effect of blade profile and rotor solidity on hysteretic characteristics of the turbine has been clarified experimentally under bi-directional airflow.     

Time‐accurate blade surface static pressure behaviour on a rotating H‐Darrieus wind turbine

Time‐accurate blade pressure distributions on a rotating H‐Darrieus wind turbine at representative tip speed ratios during start‐up are presented here, which allow blade dynamic stall and laminar separation bubbles to be observed clearly and which provide a rare experimental demonstration of the flow curvature effect inherent in H‐Darrieus turbine operation. The convection of a dynamic stall vortex along the blade surface at high reduced frequency has also been clearly identified. This study provides new information of the complex aerodynamics of the vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs) and provides unique experimental data to validate the transient blade static surface pressure distribution predicted by CFD models. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first time that the instantaneous pressure variation around the blade has been measured and recorded directly for an H‐Darrieus wind turbine.     

Comparison of the near‐wake between actuator‐line simulations and a simplified vortex model of a horizontal‐axis wind turbine

The flow around an isolated horizontal‐axis wind turbine is estimated by means of a new vortex code based on the Biot–Savart law with constant circulation along the blades. The results have been compared with numerical simulations where the wind turbine blades are replaced with actuator lines. Two different wind turbines have been simulated: one with constant circulation along the blades, to replicate the vortex method approximations, and the other with a realistic circulation distribution, to compare the outcomes of the vortex model with real operative wind‐turbine conditions (Tjæreborg wind turbine). The vortex model matched the numerical simulation of the turbine with constant blade circulation in terms of the near‐wake structure and local forces along the blade. The results from the Tjæreborg turbine case showed some discrepancies between the two approaches, but overall, the agreement is qualitatively good, validating the analytical method for more general conditions. The present results show that a simple vortex code is able to provide an estimation of the flow around the wind turbine similar to the actuator‐line approach but with a negligible computational effort. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

尾随涡对风力机叶片气动性能影响机理研究

以Phase Ⅵ风力机叶片为研究对象,以r/R=30%、63%和95%处叶素为参考,建立与7、9、15 m/s试验风速下该风力机叶片附着涡环量沿展向分布相同的叶片模型,分析尾随涡对风力机当地翼型气动性能的影响机理。采用带转捩效应的SST k-ω湍流模型,对所建立的叶片模型和二维S809翼型的气动特性进行研究和对比分析。结果表明：旋转叶片尾随涡对分离现象产生抑制作用且随攻角的增大减弱;尾随涡的影响表现出多重效应,除了减小当地翼型的攻角,还降低其吸力面负压系数和压力面正压系数。     

Characterization of the unsteady flow in the nacelle region of a modern wind turbine

A three‐dimensional Navier–Stokes solver has been used to investigate the flow in the nacelle region of a wind turbine where anemometers are typically placed to measure the flow speed and the turbine yaw angle. A 500 kW turbine was modelled with rotor and nacelle geometry in order to capture the complex separated flow in the blade root region of the rotor. A number of steady state and unsteady simulations were carried out for wind speeds ranging from 6 m s^?1 to 16 m s^?1 as well as two yaw and tilt angles. The flow in the nacelle region was found to be highly unsteady, dominated by unsteady vortex shedding from the cylindrical part of the blades, which interacted with the root vortices from each blade, generating high‐velocity gradients. As a consequence, the nacelle wind speed and the nacelle flow angle were found to vary significantly with the height above the nacelle surface. The nacelle anemometry showed significant dependence on both yaw and tilt angles with yaw errors of up to 10 degrees when operating in a tilted inflow. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

超微涡轮动叶栅叶顶间隙对流场影响的数值模拟

通过数值求解基于雷诺时均的三维定常粘性N-S方程,结合RNGk-ε湍流模型和非平衡壁面函数,对一种超微型向心涡轮动叶栅内的流动情况进行了数值模拟。揭示了具有极低展弦比动叶栅叶顶间隙对流场参数分布和气动损失的影响,为超微涡轮的设计和改进提供了理论依据。模拟结果表明,叶顶间隙的大小对通道内马赫数分布有重要影响,其中顶部间隙射流所引发的泄漏涡与主流的掺混是主流马赫数降低的重要原因;叶顶间隙的存在使得总压损失系数均匀化,即近壁区和主流区的总压损失都较高;动叶栅在叶展方向上的载荷分布均匀,弦向载荷主要由接近尾缘的弧段承担;模拟中还解析出三维的尾迹涡,这主要是动叶栅尾缘过厚所导致,应进行叶型改进。     

Numerical investigation of rotational augmentation for S822 wind turbine airfoil

Direct numerical simulations were carried out for an S822 wind turbine blade section at a chord Reynolds number of Re = 100, 000 and an angle of attack of α = 5°. Results for a stationary non‐rotating blade section compare favorably with wind tunnel data by the University of Illinois at Urbana‐Champaign and XFoil predictions. By adding volume forcing terms to the right‐hand side of the Navier–Stokes equations, the Coriolis and centrifugal accelerations resulting from blade rotation are modeled in the blade section simulations. Blade rotation is shown to delay separation especially near the hub, resulting in a lift increase of up to 100% and a drag reduction. The simulations provide insight into a physical mechanism that offers an explanation for the lift increase observed for rotating blade sections when compared with stationary blade sections, which is commonly referred to as rotational augmentation. Rotation is shown to lead to a radial velocity component toward the blade tip in areas where the velocity is substantially different from its free‐stream value, such as near the stagnation point and especially in the separated flow region, and to the appearance of stationary and traveling crossflow vortices. A linear stability theory analysis that compares favorably with the simulation data provides proof that the primary instabilities are of a mixed type, including both a two‐dimensional mode (Tollmien–Schlichting and Kelvin–Helmholtz type) and a stationary and unsteady crossflow mode. The crossflow instabilities accelerate transition, leading to separation delay, lift increase and drag reduction. This effect is very pronounced at 20% blade radius and still present at 80% radius. Because periodicity conditions were applied in the spanwise direction, the present results provide an explanation for rotational augmentation that is not based on the transfer of fluid from the inboard region toward the blade tip (‘centrifugal pumping’). For the low Reynolds number conditions considered here, crossflow instabilities, which destabilize the flow leading to earlier transition and a separation delay, may contribute to rotational augmentation. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.     

A vortex panel model for the simulation of the wake flow past a vertical axis wind turbine in dynamic stall

A 2D vortex panel model with a viscous boundary layer formulation has been developed for the numerical simulation of a vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT), including the operation in dynamic stall. The model uses the ‘double wake’ concept to reproduce the main features of the unsteady separated flow, including the formation and shedding of strong vortical structures and the wake–blade interaction. The potential flow equations are solved together with the integral boundary layer equations by using a semi‐inverse iterative algorithm. A new criterion for the reattachment of the boundary layer during the downstroke of a dynamically stalled aerofoil is implemented. The model has been validated against experimental data of steady aerofoils and pitching aerofoils in dynamic stall at high and low Reynolds numbers (Re = 1.5 × 10⁶ and Re = 5 × 10⁴). For the low Reynolds number case, time‐resolved 2D particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements have been performed on a pitching NACA 0012 aerofoil in dynamic stall. The PIV vorticity fields past the oscillating aerofoil are used to test the model capability of capturing the formation, growth and release of the strong leading edge vortex that characterizes the dynamic stall. Furthermore, the forces extracted from the PIV velocity fields are compared with the predicted ones for a quantitative validation of the model. Finally, the model is applied to the computation of the wake flow past a VAWT in dynamic stall; the predicted vorticity fields and forces are in good agreement with phase‐locked PIV data and CFD‐DES available in the literature. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

New vortex‐lift and tangential‐force models for HAWT aerodynamic load prediction

Horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWTs) experience three‐dimensional rotational and unsteady aerodynamic phenomena at the rotor blades sections. These highly unsteady three‐dimensional effects have a dramatic impact on the aerodynamic load distributions on the blades, in particular, when they occur at high angles of attack due to stall delay and dynamic stall. Unfortunately, there is no complete understanding of the flow physics yet at these unsteady 3D flow conditions, and hence, the existing published theoretical models are often incapable of modelling the impact on the turbine response realistically. The purpose of this paper is to provide an insight on the combined influence of the stall delay and dynamic stall on the blade load history of wind turbines in controlled and uncontrolled conditions. New dynamic stall vortex and nonlinear tangential force coefficient modules, which integrally take into account the three dimensional rotational effect, are also proposed in this paper. This module along with the unsteady influence of turbulent wind speed and tower shadow is implemented in a blade element momentum (BEM) model to estimate the aerodynamic loads on a rotating blade more accurately. This work presents an important step to help modelling the combined influence of the stall delay and dynamic stall on the load history of the rotating wind turbine blades which is vital to have lighter turbine blades and improved wind turbine design systems.     

Simulation and wake analysis of a single vertical axis wind turbine

Because of several design advantages and operational characteristics, particularly in offshore farms, vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs) are being reconsidered as a complementary technology to horizontal axial turbines. However, considerable gaps remain in our understanding of VAWT performance since cross‐flow rotor configurations have been significantly less studied than axial turbines. This study examines the wakes of VAWTs and how their evolution is influenced by turbine design parameters. An actuator line model is implemented in an atmospheric boundary layer large eddy simulation code, with offline coupling to a high‐resolution blade‐scale unsteady Reynolds‐averaged Navier–Stokes model. The large eddy simulation captures the turbine‐to‐farm scale dynamics, while the unsteady Reynolds‐averaged Navier–Stokes captures the blade‐to‐turbine scale flow. The simulation results are found to be in good agreement with three existing experimental datasets. Subsequently, a parametric study of the flow over an isolated VAWT, carried out by varying solidities, height‐to‐diameter aspect ratios and tip speed ratios, is conducted. The analyses of the wake area and velocity and power deficits yield an improved understanding of the downstream evolution of VAWT wakes, which in turn enables a more informed selection of turbine designs for wind farms. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

PIV measurements and CFD simulation of the performance and flow physics and of a small‐scale vertical axis wind turbine

The aerodynamics generated by a small small‐scale vertical axis wind turbine are illustrated in detail as a NACA0022 rotor blade carries out a complete rotation at three tip speed ratios. These aerodynamic details are then linked to the wind turbine performance. This is achieved by using detailed experimental measurements of performance and near‐blade particle image velocimetry (PIV) and also by using a two‐dimensional Reynolds‐averaged Navier–Stokes‐based computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model. Uniquely, therefore, the CFD model is validated against both PIV visualizations and performance measurements. At low tip speed ratios ( λ = 2), the flow field is dominated by large‐scale stalling behaviour as shown in both the experimental results and simulations. The onset of stall appears to be different between the experiment and simulation, with the simulation showing a gradual separation progressing forward from the trailing edge, while the experiment shows a more sudden leading‐edge roll‐up. Overall, similar scales of vortices are shed at a similar rate in both the experimental results and simulations. The most significant CFD–PIV differences are observed in predicting flow re‐attachment. At a higher tip speed ratio ( λ = 3), the flow separates slightly later than in the previous condition, and as occurs in the lower tip speed ratio, the main differences between the experiment and the simulation are in the flow re‐attachment process, specifically that the simulations predicts a delay in the process. At a tip speed ratio of 4, smaller predicted flow separation in the latter stages of the upwind part of the rotation is the main difference in comparison to the experiment. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Experimental and numerical investigation of tip vortex generation and evolution on horizontal axis wind turbines

The tip vortex of a wind turbine rotor blade is the result of a distribution of aerodynamic loads and circulation over the blade tip. The current knowledge on the generation of the tip vorticity in a 3D rotating environment still lacks detailed experimental evidence, particularly for yawed flow. The aim of this paper is to investigate how circulation at the blade tip behaves and how vorticity is eventually released in the wake, for both axial and 30° yawed flow conditions through the combination of experimental and numerical simulations. Stereo particle image velocimetry is used to measure the flow field at the tip of a 2m diameter, two‐bladed rotor at the TU Delft Open Jet Facility, for both axial and yawed flow; numerical simulations of the experiments are performed using a 3D, unsteady potential flow free‐wake vortex model. The generation mechanisms of the tip vorticity are established. The spanwise circulation along the blade exhibits a similar variation in both axial and yaw cases. A comparison of the chordwise directed circulation variation along the chord between axial and yawed flow is also presented and shown to be different. The analysis is based on contour integration of the velocity field. The tip vortex trajectory for axial flow confirms previous observations on the MEXICO rotor. The experimental results for yawed conditions have clearly shown how vorticity is swept radially away from the blade under the influence of the in‐plane radial component of flow. Such phenomena were only partially captured by the numerical model. The results of this work have important implications on the modelling of blade tip corrections. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Aerodynamic characteristics of wind turbine blades with a sinusoidal leading edge

The aerodynamic characteristics of a kind of bionic wind turbine blades with a sinusoidal leading edge have been investigated in this paper based on a three‐dimensional Reynolds‐averaged Navier–Stokes simulation. The calculated results show that compared with a straight leading‐edge blade, the new‐type blade has a great improvement in shaft torque at high wind speeds. The localized vortices shedding from the leading‐edge tubercles, which can generate a much greater peak of the leading‐edge suction pressure than that from the straight leading‐edge case, are the physical essentials to enhance the wavy blade's aerodynamic performances as the blade goes into stall. In particular, the outboard segment from the 60%R station to the blade tip is the key region for wavy leading‐edge blades to improve the aerodynamic characteristics at high‐speed inflows. In this key region, a wavy blade can obtain a greater power output as the wavelength l and the waveheight δ increase. The present numerical results also show that the wavy leading‐edge shape is unfavorable for a wind turbine blade under the design conditions (e.g., at the rated wind speed). At these conditions, an early boundary‐layer separation as a result of the geometric disturbances of the leading‐edge tubercles will inevitably result in a visible shaft‐torque reduction in the wavy‐blade cases. Anyway, the wavy blades still tend to generate a more robust power output as a whole from 10 to 20 m s ^?1 than the original NREL phase‐VI blade. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于LES的压气机叶栅通道非定常流动结构研究

为了进一步理解压气机叶栅通道内的非定常流动结构,采用大涡模拟(LES)方法研究了来流附面层厚度和稠度变化对叶栅通道内涡系结构及总压损失系数的影响。研究表明：来流附面层增厚将导致端壁处流体的轴向动能降低,使得马蹄涡压力面分支更早地流向相邻叶片吸力面;来流附面层越厚,通道涡在叶栅尾缘沿展向抬升的高度越高,角区分离的范围也越大;叶栅的总压损失随附面层增厚而增加,附面层损失增加显著,二次流损失有所增大;稠度较低时叶栅吸力面表面存在分离,会对通道涡及角区分离产生影响;稠度增大,横向压力梯度减小,叶栅流道的速度分布更均匀,通道涡的强度和尺度减小,角区分离的范围减小;稠度增大使叶表不再分离时,总压损失显著降低,但稠度继续增大会使气流与叶片表面的摩擦损失增加。     

旋转气冷涡轮流场的数值模拟

应用数值计算的方法,对采用气膜冷却的涡轮叶片在静止和旋转状态下的流场进行数值模拟,研究涡轮叶片在静止和旋转状态下冷却射流和主流的掺混流场结构.结果表明:涡轮叶片压力面极限流线在静止和旋转两种工况下的区别比较明显.旋转使得马蹄涡的尺度有所加强.压力面和吸力面侧都存在明显的反向涡对结构;在吸力面,反向涡对的对称性比压力面的好;反向涡对随着下游距离的增大逐渐减弱,同时旋转使得掺混流场的轨迹有向叶片径向偏转的趋势.旋转工况下涡轮压力面侧反向涡对的衰减速度和程度变化明显,吸力面侧涡对的涡心位置更靠近叶片壁面,涡的影响区域也较小.     

Numerical study of turbulent flow around a wind turbine nacelle

This article presents a numerical method for the simulation of turbulent flow around the nacelle of a horizontal axis wind turbine. The flow field around the turbine and nacelle is described by the Reynolds‐averaged Navier–Stokes equations. The k–? model has been chosen for closure of the time‐averaged turbulent flow equations. The rotor disc is modelled using the actuator disc concept. The main purpose of this article is to assess the impacts of the variation of some operational parameters (e.g. blade pitch angle changes) and atmospheric turbulence upon the relationship between wind speed measured near the nacelle and freestream wind speed established for an isolated turbine. Simulation results were compared with experimental data (from a typical stall‐controlled, commercially available wind turbine rated higher than 600 kW). In general, good qualitative agreements have been found that validate the proposed method. It has been shown that a level of accuracy sufficient for use in power performance testing can be obtained only when a proper aerodynamic analysis of the inboard non‐lifting cylindrical sections of the blade is included. Furthermore, the numerical method has proven to be a useful tool for locating nacelle anemometers. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Digital tuft analysis of stall on operational wind turbines

Operational wind turbines are exposed to dynamic inflow conditions because of, for instance, atmospheric turbulence and wind shear. In order to understand the resulting three‐dimensional and transient aerodynamics effects at a site, a 10m stall‐regulated upwind two‐bladed wind turbine was instrumented for a novel digital tuft flow visualization study. High definition video of a tufted blade was acquired during wind turbine operation in the field, and a novel digital image processing algorithm calculated the blade stall directly from the video. After processing O(10⁵) sequential images, the algorithm achieved a ?5% bias error compared with previous manual analysis methods. With increasing wind speed (5m/s to 20m/s) the fraction of tufts exhibiting stalled flow increased from 5% to 40% on the outboard 40% of the blade. The independently measured instantaneous turbine power production correlates highly with the stall fraction. Some azimuthal variation in the stall fraction associated with dynamic stall induced by vertical wind shear was seen with a maximum in the 45–90° azimuthal location. The high detail, quantitative image processing method demonstrated good agreement with the expected behaviour for a stall‐regulated wind turbine and revealed azimuthal variation because of shear‐induced dynamic stall. The amount of reliable blade stall data to be obtained from digital tuft visualization has hereby been vastly increased. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Accreted ice mass ratio (k‐factor) for rotating wind turbine blade profile and circular cylinder

This paper describes a study to investigate the relation between ice accretion on a rotating wind turbine blade profile (airfoil) and a reference collector (circular cylinder). This relation, known as “k‐factor,” describes the ratio of accreted ice mass on a reference collector and wind turbine blade profile. Analyses are carried out by performing a series of multiphase numerical simulations and ISO 12494‐based analytical calculations. The results show that k‐factor is not equal to constant 20, contrary to currently postulated assumption by VTT and can vary to a significant degree depending on a number of different operating and geometric parameters. These factors include the effects of blade geometry on ice accretion, droplet collision efficiency, droplet distribution spectrum, and median volume diameter under different ambient conditions pertaining to wind speed and tip speed ratios experienced by both the reference collector and wind turbine blade. The results presented in this paper provide a simplistic explanation about k‐factor variance; however, further validation is necessary, in particular when it comes to the ice accretions on different wind turbine blade profiles under different operating and geometric conditions.