Fluid structure interaction of a morphed wind turbine blade

One serious challenge of energy systems design, wind turbines in particular, is the need to match the system operation to the variable load. This is so because system efficiency drops at off‐design load. One strategy to address this challenge for wind turbine blades and obtain a more consistent efficiency over a wide load range, is varying the blade geometry. Predictable morphing of wind turbine blade in reaction to wind load conditions has been introduced recently. The concept, derived from fish locomotion, also has similarities to spoilers and ailerons, known to reduce flow separation and improve performance using passive changes in blade geometry. In this work, we employ a fully coupled technique on CFD and FEM models to introduce continuous morphing to desired and predetermined blade design geometry, the NACA 4412 profile, which is commonly used in wind turbine applications. Then, we assess the aerodynamic behavior of a morphing wind turbine airfoil using a two‐dimensional computation. The work is focused on assessing aerodynamic forces based on trailing edge deflection, wind speed, and material elasticity, that is, Young's modulus. The computational results suggest that the morphing blade has superior part‐load efficiency over the rigid NACA blade. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

一种水平轴风轮叶片的气动设计方法

发展了两种先进的水平轴风轮叶片气动计算和设计方法－PROPGA和PROPID,PROPGA是基于最优化方法的遗传算法,用于最初的叶片选择和几何设计;PROPID是一种基于反问题的叶片气动设计方法,用于最后的叶片造型和性能预估。给出了两个实例,一个是以基础科学研究为目的实验探索用全新风轮,另一个则是用于商业生产的小型风轮。在实际风轮设计中的成功使用证明,PROPID和PROPGA是一种强有力的设计工具,两者的结合使用可以得到最佳的风力涡轮气动性能。     

Influence of blade rotation on the lightning stroke characteristic of a wind turbine

The blades of a wind turbine rotate during normal operation. To investigate the influence of blade rotation on the lightning‐attracting ability of a wind turbine, a discharge test platform is designed for scaled wind turbines. The 50% impulse voltages and flash probabilities of the scaled wind turbines with gap distances of 1 to 8 m in the static and rotary conditions are determined by using the discharge test and selective discharge test. The discharge test for a single wind turbine with a gap of 1 to 2 m indicates that the breakdown voltages of the gap between the scaled turbine and electrodes increases with an increase in the blade rotation speed. However, the discharge test with a gap distance of 4 to 8 m indicates that the breakdown voltage of the fan decreases with an increase in the blade rotation speed. The test results of the scaled dual wind turbines experiment have the same rules. To explain this phenomenon, the influence of wind speed on the space‐charge distribution and electrical field intensity of corona discharge is simulated in the background of a target thundercloud. The rotation of the fan reduces the space‐charge density near the area of the blade tip, which leads to an increase in the field strength near the blade tip of the wind turbine and a decrease in the field strength away from the blade tip. This influence varies in short and long air gap, resulting in opposite relationships between discharge voltage and distance from the tip of the turbine. The results can provide a reference for the lightning protection of wind turbines.     

A new method for spatial allocation of turbines in a wind farm based on lightning protection efficiency

Existing studies of the spatial allocation of wind farms are typically based on turbine power generation efficiency and rarely consider the damage caused by lightning strikes. However, lightning damage seriously affects the economic performance of wind farms because of the high cost of repairing or replacing damaged blades. This paper proposes a method for the spatial optimization of multiple turbines based on lightning protection dependability. Firstly, the lightning protection efficiency of turbine blade protection systems is analyzed by combining the physical mechanisms of lightning leader progression with a conventional electro‐geometric model to develop an electro‐geometric model of turbine blades (EGMTB). Then, the optimized spatial allocation of multiple turbines in a wind farm is investigated using the EGMTB. The results are illustrated from an example wind farm with 1.5 MW turbines, which shows that the optimal spacing between two turbines perpendicular to the prevailing wind direction L_⊥ is 4R‐6R, where R is the length of a turbine blade. This spacing is shown to effectively shield turbine blades from lightning damage over a wide range of lightning currents (>26‐60 kA). Note that, the suggested L_⊥ will be smaller considering the influence of lightning polarity as it takes more difficulty developing upward leader (UL) in the condition of positive lightning striking. Experiments verify the effectiveness and correctness of this method.     

Influence of a wind turbine service life on the mechanical properties of the material and the blade

This paper presents results out of investigations of the DEBRA‐25 wind turbine blades. Almost unique in the history of modern wind energy, these blades were in operation for 18 years next to a weather station and were investigated afterward. Therefore, the loads experienced in the operational life could be post‐processed accurately with the measured data of the weather station and the turbine. The blades are made of materials that are similar with today's wind turbines. Furthermore, intensive laboratory tests and free field tests have been carried out, and all load assumptions and data and results are still available today. The results include experimental investigations on the moisture content of the load‐carrying material, static and fatigue behavior of the material, the relaxation of the coupling joints, the natural frequencies of the blade and a full scale static blade test. It is shown that the structural performance of the DEBRA‐25 service blades is comparable with modern wind turbine blades. Although some damage was found by visual inspection, the service blade of the DEBRA‐25 showed excellent mechanical behavior in the full scale blade test. Only small changes of the edgewise eigenfrequencies were detected. The pre‐tensioning forces of the IKEA bolts, where the two blade parts are connected, were measured and were still adequate. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On the role of surface roughness in the aerodynamic performance and energy conversion of horizontal wind turbine blades: a review

Renewable energy is one of the main pillars of sustainable development, especially in developing economies. Increasing energy demand and the limitation of fossil fuel reserves make the use of renewable energy essential for sustainable development. Wind energy is considered to be one of the most important resources of renewable energy. In North African countries, such as Egypt, wind energy has an enormous potential; however, it faces quite a number of technical challenges related to the performance of wind turbines in the Saharan environment. Seasonal sand storms affect the performance of wind turbines in many ways, one of which is increasing the wind turbine aerodynamic resistance through the increase of blade surface roughness. The power loss because of blade surface deterioration is significant in wind turbines. The surface roughness of wind turbine blades deteriorates because of several environmental conditions such as ice or sand. This paper is the first review on the topic of surface roughness effects on the performance of horizontal‐axis wind turbines. The review covers the numerical simulation and experimental studies as well as discussing the present research trends to develop a roadmap for better understanding and improvement of wind turbine performance in deleterious environments. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A cascade model of blade element interaction for wind turbines with unequal blades

Horizontal-axis wind turbines often operate with unequally performing blades. A simple extension of blade element analysis for unequal blades is developed using the two-dimensional cascade analogue of wind turbines. The vortex strengths of the blade elements can vary with blade number. For three-bladed rotors, the unequal strengths induce an extra velocity at each blade, but for two blades there is no additional velocity. For both blade numbers, there is a modification to the rotational inflow factor. To determine the significance of blade differences, test calculations are presented for two- and three-bladed turbines with different blade pitch angles. The modifications proposed here do not substantially alter the calculations of turbine power and thrust near the point of maximum performance. However, some substantial differences were found at higher thrust. Furthermore, the new method predicts much larger variations in the blade element torque between the blades in the hub region for most operating conditions.     

Combined analytical/FEA-based coupled aero structure simulation of a wind turbine with bend–twist adaptive blades

The simulation of wind turbines with bend–twist adaptive blades is a coupled aero-structure (CAS) procedure. The blade twist due to elastic coupling is a required parameter for wind turbine performance evaluation and can be predicted through a finite element (FE) structural analyser. FEA-based codes are far too slow to be useful in the aerodynamic design/optimisation of a blade. This paper presents a combined analytical/FEA-based method for CAS simulation of wind turbines utilising bend–twist adaptive blades. This method of simulation employs the induced twist distribution and the flap bending at the hub of the blade predicted through a FEA-based CAS simulation at a reference wind turbine run condition to determine the wind turbine performance at other wind turbine run conditions. This reduces the computational time significantly and makes the aerodynamic design/optimisation of bend–twist adaptive blades practical. Comparison of the results of a case study which applies both combined analytical/FEA-based and FEA-based CAS simulation shows that when using the combined method the required computational time for generating a power curve reduces to less than 5%, while the relative difference between the predicted powers by two methods is only about 1%.     

CFD study of some factors affecting performance of HAWT with swept blades

Most modern high-power wind turbines are horizontal axis type with straight twisted blades. Upgrading power and performance of these turbines is considered a challenge. A recent trend towards improving the horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT) performance is to use swept blades or sweep twist adaptive blades. In the present work, the effect of blade curvature, sweep starting point and sweep direction on the wind turbine performance was investigated. The CFD simulation method was validated against available experimental data of a 0.9?m diameter HAWT. The wind turbine power and thrust coefficients at different tip speed ratios were calculated. Flow field, pressure distribution and local tangential and streamwise forces were also analysed. The results show that the downstream swept blade has the highest C_p value at design point as compared with the straight blade profile. However, the improvement in power coefficient is accompanied by a thrust increase. Results also show that the best performance is obtained when the starting blade sweeps at 25% of blade radius for different directions of sweep.     

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.     

On the structural topology of wind turbine blades

As wind turbines continue to grow in size, it becomes increasingly important to ensure that they are as structurally efficient as possible to ensure that wind energy can be a cost‐effective source of power generation. A way to achieve this is through weight reductions in the blades of the wind turbine. In this study, topology optimization is used to find alternative structural configurations for a 45 m blade from a 3 MW wind turbine. The result of the topology optimization is a layout that varies along the blade length, transitioning from a structure with trailing edge reinforcement to one with offset spar caps. Sizing optimization was then performed on a section with the trailing edge reinforcement and was shown to offer potential weight savings of 13.8% when compared with a more conventional design. These findings indicate that the conventional structural layout of a wind turbine blade is sub‐optimal under the static load conditions that were applied, suggesting an opportunity to reduce blade weight and cost. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Numerical study of a concept for major repair and replacement of offshore wind turbine blades

Repair and replacement of offshore wind turbine blades are necessary for current and future offshore wind turbines. To date, repair activities are often conducted using huge jack‐up crane vessels and by applying a reverse installation procedure. Because of the high costs associated with installation and removal of offshore wind turbine components and the low profit margin of the offshore wind industry, alternative methods for installation and removal are needed. This paper introduces a novel concept for replacement or installation of offshore wind turbine blades. The concept involves a medium‐sized jack‐up crane vessel and a tower climbing mechanism. This mechanism provides a stable platform for clamping, lowering, and lifting of a blade. A case study of a 5‐MW offshore wind turbine is shown, where common engineering practices were applied and numerical simulations of the marine operations were carried out using finite element and multibody simulation tools. Operational limits for wave and wind actions were established to demonstrate the technical feasibility of the proposed concept.     

复合材料风电叶片检查维护及维修

风电叶片直接承受风载并长期面对各种侵蚀,其状态直接影响风电机组发电效率和使用寿命,风电场运营商和承保保险公司应该认识到,由专业团队定期对叶片进行检查和维护非常必要。复合材料风电叶片有其自身的特点,本文介绍了其检查、维护、损伤鉴定和维修的意义、方法和内容,并展望了装机叶片检查维护的前景。     

Integrated design of downwind land‐based wind turbines using analytic gradients

Wind turbines are complex systems where component‐level changes can have significant system‐level effects. Effective wind turbine optimization generally requires an integrated analysis approach with a large number of design variables. Optimizing across large variable sets is orders of magnitude more efficient with gradient‐based methods as compared with gradient‐free method, particularly when using exact gradients. We have developed a wind turbine analysis set of over 100 components where 90% of the models provide numerically exact gradients through symbolic differentiation, automatic differentiation, and adjoint methods. This framework is applied to a specific design study focused on downwind land‐based wind turbines. Downwind machines are of potential interest for large wind turbines where the blades are often constrained by the stiffness required to prevent a tower strike. The mass of these rotor blades may be reduced by utilizing a downwind configuration where the constraints on tower strike are less restrictive. The large turbines of this study range in power rating from 5–7MW and in diameter from 105m to 175m. The changes in blade mass and power production have important effects on the rest of the system, and thus the nacelle and tower systems are also optimized. For high‐speed wind sites, downwind configurations do not appear advantageous. The decrease in blade mass (10%) is offset by increases in tower mass caused by the bending moment from the rotor‐nacelle‐assembly. For low‐wind speed sites, the decrease in blade mass is more significant (25–30%) and shows potential for modest decreases in overall cost of energy (around 1–2%). Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

分形尾缘叶片气动性能及流场数值模拟

针对风力机存在尾流效应问题,通过在垂直轴风力机叶片尾缘布置分形孔的方法,建立分形叶片三维实体造型,进行了分形叶片和原始叶片三维非定常不可压流动的分析,得出叶片绕流流场数值模拟结果,重点研究具有分形特征的尾缘对叶片尾流流场及叶片气动特性的影响。结果表明:分形叶片对改善叶片尾流流场有较显著作用。在8°~18°攻角范围内,分形叶片升、阻力系数随攻角变化波动性小于原始叶片;当攻角大于原始叶片失速攻角时,这种波动性差距更大。分形孔的存在使叶片周围流场结构及气动参数对攻角变化敏感性降低:在攻角大于原始叶片失速攻角时,分形叶片阻力系数随攻角变化标准差仅为原始叶片的0.6倍,升力系数标准差仅为原始叶片0.4倍。研究结果将改善垂直轴风力机叶片尾流互相干扰及水平轴风力机叶尖脱落涡情况。     

Power,structural and noise performance tests on different wind turbine rotor blade designs

Most blades available for commercial-grade wind turbines incorporate a straight, span-wise profile and airfoil-shaped cross-sections. These blades are found to be very efficient at low and medium wind speeds compared with the potential energy that can be extracted. This paper explores the possibility of increasing the efficiency of the blades by modifying the blade design to incorporate a swept edge. The design intends to maintain efficiency at low to medium wind speeds by selecting the appropriate orientation and size of the airfoil cross-sections based on an oncoming wind speed and given constant rotation rate. The torque generated from a blade with straight-edge geometry is compared with that generated from a blade with a swept edge as predicted by CFD simulations. To validate the simulations, the experimental curve of the NTK500/41 turbine using LM19.1 blades is reproduced using the same computational conditions. In addition, structural deformations, stress distributions and structural vibration modes are compared between these two different turbine blade surfaces.     

Maximizing the returns of LIDAR systems in wind farms for yaw error correction applications

Wind energy is an important source of renewable energy with significant untapped potential around the world. However, the cost of wind energy production is high, and efforts to lower the cost of energy generation will help enable more widespread use of wind energy. Yaw error reduces the efficiency of turbines as well as lowers the reliability of key components in turbines. Light detection and ranging (LIDAR) devices can correct the yaw error; however, they are expensive, and there is a trade‐off between their costs and benefits. In this study, a stochastic discrete‐event simulation was developed that models the operation of a wind farm. We maximize the net present value (NPV) changes associated with using LIDAR devices in a wind farm and determine the optimum number of LIDAR devices and their associated turbine stay time as a function of number of turbines in the wind farm for specific turbine sizes. The outcome of this work will help wind farm owners and operators make informed decisions about purchasing LIDAR devices for their wind farms.     

考虑叶片旋转及土-结构相互作用对风电结构动力特性影响的研究

风力发电建设场地土特性及叶片转速变化会引起风力发电机动力特性及响应发生变化。基于西北地区某风电场的2 MW三桨叶水平轴风力发电机,利用ANSYS软件建立风力发电机整机模型,考虑叶片旋转及土-结构相互作用对风力发电机动力特性的影响,研究风力发电机在不同叶片转速、不同场地条件及两者共同作用下的动力特性变化规律,并利用坎贝尔图分析上述工况下风力发电机的共振特性。结果表明:叶片转速增加使风力发电机的自振频率逐渐增大,塔筒与叶片的耦合变形使频率增长加快;考虑土-结构相互作用时,风力发电机频率降低,且场地土越软风力发电机频率越小;当两种工况共同作用时,叶片旋转只对一阶频率产生影响,对高阶频率影响甚微,且风力发电机频率降低;考虑叶片旋转时风力发电机在1P转频内不产生共振点,在3P转频内一阶频率的共振点为14 r/min。此外在不同场地土下风力发电机均会产生共振点,其中Ⅲ类土的共振频率最远离额定转频。因此在风电场的场地选择、结构设计及日常运行时应注意其动力特性变化,使其频率远离共振区域,为风力发电机安全运行提供保障。     

Discharge path observation and the statistical characteristics of discharge paths for long–air gap discharge for in‐operation wind turbines

When a wind turbine is in normal operation, the blades are rotating, and this blade rotation may affect the process of lightning striking the wind turbine. To investigate this problem, long‐gap discharge tests are performed in this study. Moreover, a multiple physical parameter synchronous observation platform is designed for a scaled wind turbine. Long‐gap discharge tests of a static and rotary‐scaled wind turbine with blade tip‐electrode gap distances of 1 to 8 m are conducted, and the discharge paths under different gaps and wind turbine operating conditions are obtained. The characteristic parameters—arc shape upon discharge, lengths of the downward and upward leaders, blade angle at the moment of discharge, and angle of upward leader initiation—are statistically analyzed. The analysis of the aforementioned data indicates that rotation has opposite effects on the discharge characteristic parameters under short and long gap distances. According to the analysis, blade rotation reduces the space charge density of the corona discharge near the tip, which leads to an increase in the field strength near the blade tip and a decrease in the field strength away from the blade tip. Short and long gaps have different degrees of influence on discharge, which changes the difficulty of upward leader initiation at the blade tip and consequently alters the entire discharge process. The obtained results can provide a reference for the lightning protection of wind turbines.     

Quantification of wind turbine energy loss due to leading-edge erosion through infrared-camera imaging,numerical simulations,and assessment against SCADA and meteorological data

Quantification of the performance degradation on the annual energy production (AEP) of a wind farm due to leading-edge (LE) erosion of wind turbine blades is important to design cost-effective maintenance plans and timely blade retrofit. In this work, the effects of LE erosion on horizontal axis wind turbines are quantified using infrared (IR) thermographic imaging of turbine blades, as well as meteorological and SCADA data. The average AEP loss of turbines with LE erosion is estimated from SCADA and meteorological data to be between 3% and 8% of the expected power capture. The impact of LE erosion on the average power capture of the turbines is found to be higher at lower hub-height wind speeds (peak around 50% of the turbine rated wind speed) and at lower turbulence intensity of the incoming wind associated with stable atmospheric conditions. The effect of LE erosion is investigated with IR thermography to identify the laminar to turbulent transition (LTT) position over the airfoils of the turbine blades. Reduction in the laminar flow region of about 85% and 87% on average in the suction and pressure sides, respectively, is observed for the airfoils of the investigated turbines with LE erosion. Using the observed LTT locations over the airfoils and the geometry of the blade, an average AEP loss of about 3.7% is calculated with blade element momentum simulations, which is found to be comparable with the magnitude of AEP loss estimated through the SCADA data.