复合材料叶片截面刚度对风力机叶片气弹响应的敏感性研究

为更深入考查叶片刚度对风力机气弹响应的影响，对叶片截面的刚度矩阵中的主对角线刚度系数在稳态风和湍流风况下的风力机气弹响应的影响以及敏感性进行系统研究。气弹模型中的气动模块采用基于叶素动量理论，并采用几何精确梁理论对叶片的结构动力学响应进行仿真。选用美国可再生能源实验室（NREL）5 MW风力机组作为基准模型，调整叶片各截面刚度矩阵的主对角线刚度系数，利用敏感性影响因子评估刚度系数变化对叶片载荷的影响。结果表明：主对角线上挥舞方向的剪切刚度、挥舞弯曲刚度、摆振弯曲刚度、扭转刚度对气弹响应具有中高的敏感性。研究结果对掌握风力机气弹响应规律，发掘更深层次的风力机叶片设计方法提供了一定的指导意义。该方法能进一步扩展至研究叶片刚度对风力机机组气弹响应的敏感性研究。     

风力机叶片动态气弹变形及其对整机性能的影响

基于风力机整机刚柔耦合模型,文章提出了一种叶片动态气弹扭转变形分析的新方法。该方法采用SIMPACK和AeroDyn软件联合数值仿真对风力机在几种恶劣风况下进行动力学分析,通过对分析结果的变换处理,进而得到叶片在复杂工况下的动态气弹变形数据。采用该方法,重点分析了叶片气弹扭转变形对风力机气动功率及气弹稳定性的影响。该方法为大型风电叶片的气弹特性评价以及气弹剪裁设计提供了一种新的技术手段。     

非定常条件下风力机柔性叶片气弹耦合分析

研究叶片振动与扭转变形对气动载荷的反馈以及基于静、动态气动模型的叶根载荷的差异。应用计算多体动力学理论和叶片气动模型,建立受约束的柔性叶片非线性气弹耦合方程,得出叶片气弹耦合时域响应。以某5 MW风力机叶片为研究对象,研究柔性叶片的振动和变形对叶根力矩的反馈;在修正的叶素动量理论(BEM)基础上,引入Beddoes-Lesihman动态失速模型,考察叶片气动载荷的非定常效应。分析表明,随着叶片柔性增加,气弹耦合现象愈加明显;动态失速将引起叶片载荷有较大的振荡幅值和频率,影响叶片疲劳载荷谱的分析和疲劳寿命的设计。     

基于整机刚柔耦合的风力机叶片气弹稳定性分析

为了研究弯扭柔性叶片在实际工况下的气弹变形及气弹稳定性问题,文章以某2 MW低风速风力机为对象,基于SIMPACK通用软件,构建了风力机整机刚柔耦合多体动力学气-弹-控联合仿真模型。文章提出了可定量分析叶尖截面失速特性的新方法,在控制系统正常和控制系统失效两种工况下对叶片的气弹稳定性进行了时域和频域分析。在湍流风况下,对叶片的气弹变形进行了计算分析,通过与GH Bladed软件的分析结果进行对比,验证了风力机气弹动力学模型和气弹分析方法的正确性。基于整机刚柔耦合提出的风力机叶片气弹稳定性分析方法有利于解决风力机大型高效与轻量可靠之间的矛盾。     

风力机叶片翼段气弹变形对翼型气动特性影响分析

当前弹性变形对风力机性能的影响是叶片气弹耦合机理研究重点,忽略了气弹变形对翼型气动特性的影响,而风力机性能很大程度上取决于变形后翼型气动性能。基于叶素动量理论及有限元法,采用MATLAB与APDL语言编制气动载荷插值程序,建立复合材料风力机叶片翼段气弹耦合模型。针对某2 MW实际叶片变形较大的叶尖附近翼段,选取厚度相同的3种不同翼型,通过不断迭代收敛研究翼段气弹变形对翼型气动特性的影响。研究表明,3种翼型气弹变形对其气动性能均有不同程度影响,而对WT180翼型影响较小。该研究对于设计抗气弹变形的新型翼型具有重要的理论指导作用。     

水平轴风力机叶片弯弯耦合气弹响应分析

为分析风力机叶片的振动行为,采用Hermite梁单元对叶片进行离散。将叶片的振动行为嵌入到气动力的计算中,建立气动弹性耦合的分析模型。将叶片的气动阻尼系数运用到虚功原理推导其气动阻尼矩阵,再与结构阻尼矩阵叠加生成总阻尼矩阵。根据叶片的几何和结构特征,深入分析叶片弯弯耦合产生的原因。得到弹性耦合项和阻尼耦合项,然后建立弯弯耦合动力学方程,采用常加速度假设法求解方程。以NREL 5 MW风力机为例,对其在额定风况下的剪切流进行仿真。结果表明,考虑弯弯耦合计算的叶片振动位移和速率比不考虑弯弯耦合时更大;叶片振动速率相比诱导速度(叶素动量理论)不能被忽略。     

10MW风力机叶片设计及其在随机风载荷下的响应分析

对大型风力机柔性叶片的设计方法及其在随机风载荷作用下的动态响应与载荷特性进行了研究。根据风力机叶片空气动力学和结构设计理论,将柔性叶片离散为多个刚体,形成一个多体系统。根据多体动力学的建模方法和叶片气动模型,考虑两者的相互作用,建立了柔性叶片的非线性耦合动力学方程并开发了相应的仿真程序。算例分析了叶片在随机风载荷作用下的气弹载荷与随机振动响应,并对稳定风速和紊流风速下的响应结果作了对比分析。     

水平轴风力机失速模型及对比验证

风力机叶片旋转产生的失速延迟效应使建立在二维流动假设基础上的动量-叶素理论（BEM）不再适用,因此需要对BEM进行修正。目前最常用的Du＆Selig模型、Chaviaropoulos ＆ Hansen模型和Snel模型对失速延迟区域的升力系数和阻力系数进行了修正。运用上述三种失速模型对UAE Phase Ⅵ风力机进行气动性能计算,将计算结果与NASA-Ames风洞实验数据进行对比,验证各失速模型的优缺点及适用范围。     

海上浮式水平轴风力机气动特性研究

以NREL-5 MW风力机为研究对象,基于叶素动量理论,考虑动态失速、风剪切及塔影效应等气动修正模型,开发Matlab非定常气动载荷计算程序,研究浮式水平轴风力机气动特性。结果表明:为保证风力机气动载荷模拟的正确性,气动修正模型必不可少;基础运动对风力机气动性能有显著影响,基础运动使风力机输出功率增大,但同时存在较大的振荡幅度,导致功率输出不稳定;叶片变桨失效导致功率输出更加不稳定。     

偏航工况下水平轴风力机叶片气动变形数值模拟研究

以非定常叶素动量方法和水平轴风力机结构动力学为基础,建立风力机气弹计算的仿真程序,将偏航模型耦合进气弹程序中,针对某5 MW水平轴风力机进行仿真计算,分析比较了该风力机在不同偏航角工况下叶片变形沿径向和周向的分布情况,总结了不同偏航工况对风力机叶片变形的影响规律。研究结果对风力机叶片设计和疲劳寿命的预测有一定的指导意义。     

风力机旋转叶片动力学方程的Neumann级数解法

运用现代柔性多体动力学方法,研究了水平轴风力机柔性叶片空间旋转运动与其弹性变形间的相互耦合关系及其所导致的动力学效应;导出了旋转叶片的有限元动力学方程及其数值求解方法;对大型风力机叶片在机械和气动载荷作用下的弯曲变形进行了动态模拟。由于该有限元动力学方程为时变方程,文中应用Neumann级数和Newmark直接积分方法求解动力方程,编制了相应的计算机程序;以1.5MW风力机叶片为例,计算了风力机在启动、刹车和正常运转时的叶片弯曲挠度响应,并与常规有限元数值分析结果进行了比较。结果表明,该方法能有效地求解该类时变方程并准确地反映旋转叶片的动力学特性和动力学响应,本文工作为进一步进行叶片强度和气动弹性稳定性分析打下了基础。     

The impact of yaw error on aeroelastic characteristics of a horizontal axis wind turbine blade

Horizontal axis wind turbines operate under yawed conditions for a considerable period of time due to the power control mechanism or sudden changes in the wind direction. This in turn can alter the dynamic characteristics of a turbine blade because the flow over the rotor plane may trigger complicated induced velocity patterns. In this study, an aeroelastic analysis under yawed flow conditions is carried out to investigate the effects of yaw error on the blade behaviors and dynamic stability. A beam model including geometric nonlinearity coupled with unsteady aerodynamics based on a free-vortex wake method with the blade element theory is employed in the present study. The aerodynamic approach for a horizontal axis wind turbine blade under yawed flow conditions is verified through comparison with measurements. It is also shown that the present method gives slightly better results at high yaw angles than does the method previously published in the literature. The dynamic instabilities of a National Renewable Energy Laboratory 5 MW reference wind turbine have subsequently been investigated for various wind speeds and yaw angles. Observations are made that yaw effects induce considerable changes in airloads and blade structural behavior. Also, the aeroelastic damping values for this particular blade under yawed flow conditions can be reduced by up to approximately 33% in the worst case. Therefore, it is concluded that the impacts of yaw misalignments adversely influenced the dynamic aeroelastic stability of the horizontal axis wind turbine blade.     

Aerodynamic loads calculation and analysis for large scale wind turbine based on combining BEM modified theory with dynamic stall model

The aerodynamic loads for MW scale horizontal-axis wind turbines are calculated and analyzed in the established coordinate systems which are used to describe the wind turbine. In this paper, the blade element momentum (BEM) theory is employed and some corrections, such as Prandtl and Buhl models, are carried out. Based on the B-L semi-empirical dynamic stall (DS) model, a new modified DS model for NACA63-4xx airfoil is adopted. Then, by combing BEM modified theory with DS model, a set of calculation method of aerodynamic loads for large scale wind turbines is proposed, in which some influence factors such as wind shear, tower, tower and blade vibration are considered. The research results show that the presented dynamic stall model is good enough for engineering purpose; the aerodynamic loads are influenced by many factors such as tower shadow, wind shear, dynamic stall, tower and blade vibration, etc, with different degree; the single blade endures periodical changing loads but the variations of the rotor shaft power caused by the total aerodynamic torque in edgewise direction are very small. The presented study approach of aerodynamic loads calculation and analysis is of the university, and helpful for thorough research of loads reduction on large scale wind turbines.     

Aeroelastic analysis of a wind turbine blade using the harmonic balance method

An aeroelastic model for wind turbine blades derived from the unsteady Navier‐Stokes equations and a mode shape–based structural dynamics model are presented. For turbulent flows, the system is closed with the Spalart‐Allmaras turbulence model. The computation times for the aerodynamic solution are significantly reduced using the harmonic balance method compared to a time‐accurate solution. This model is significantly more robust than standard aeroelastic codes that rely on blade element momentum theory to determine the aerodynamic forces. Comparisons with published results for the Caradonna‐Tung rotor in hover and the classical AGARD 445.6 flutter case are provided to validate the aerodynamic model and aeroelastic model, respectively. For wind turbines, flutter of the 1.5 MW WindPACT blade is considered. The results predict that the first flapwise and edgewise modes dominate flutter at the rotor speeds considered.     

Development of an aeroelastic code based on three‐dimensional viscous–inviscid method for wind turbine computations

Aerodynamic and structural dynamic performance analysis of modern wind turbines are routinely estimated in the wind energy field using computational tools known as aeroelastic codes. Most aeroelastic codes use the blade element momentum (BEM) technique to model the rotor aerodynamics and a modal, multi‐body or the finite‐element approach to model the turbine structural dynamics. The present work describes the development of a novel aeroelastic code that combines a three‐dimensional viscous–inviscid interactive method, method for interactive rotor aerodynamic simulations (MIRAS), with the structural dynamics model used in the aeroelastic code FLEX5. The new code, called MIRAS‐FLEX, is an improvement on standard aeroelastic codes because it uses a more advanced aerodynamic model than BEM. With the new aeroelastic code, more physical aerodynamic predictions than BEM can be obtained as BEM uses empirical relations, such as tip loss corrections, to determine the flow around a rotor. Although more costly than BEM, a small cluster is sufficient to run MIRAS‐FLEX in a fast and easy way. MIRAS‐FLEX is compared against the widely used FLEX5 and FAST, as well as the participant codes from the Offshore Code Comparison Collaboration Project. Simulation tests consist of steady wind inflow conditions with different combinations of yaw error, wind shear, tower shadow and turbine‐elastic modeling. Turbulent inflow created by using a Mann box is also considered. MIRAS‐FLEX results, such as blade tip deflections and root‐bending moments, are generally in good agreement with the other codes. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Open‐loop frequency response analysis of a wind turbine using a high‐order linear aeroelastic model

Wind turbine controllers are commonly designed on the basis of low‐order linear models to capture the aeroelastic wind turbine response due to control actions and disturbances. This paper characterizes the aeroelastic wind turbine dynamics that influence the open‐loop frequency response from generator torque and collective pitch control actions of a modern non‐floating wind turbine based on a high‐order linear model. The model is a linearization of a geometrically non‐linear finite beam element model coupled with an unsteady blade element momentum model of aerodynamic forces including effects of shed vorticity and dynamic stall. The main findings are that the lowest collective flap modes have limited influence on the response from generator torque to generator speed, due to large aerodynamic damping. The transfer function from collective pitch to generator speed is affected by two non‐minimum phase zeros below the frequency of the first drivetrain mode. To correctly predict the non‐minimum phase zeros, it is essential to include lateral tower and blade flap degrees of freedom. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Predicting wind turbine blade loads and aeroelastic response using a coupled CFD–CSD method

The aeroelastic response and the airloads of horizontal-axis wind turbine rotor blades were numerically investigated using a coupled CFD–CSD method. The blade aerodynamic loads were obtained from a Navier–Stokes CFD flow solver based on unstructured meshes. The blade elastic deformation was calculated using a FEM-based CSD solver which employs a nonlinear coupled flap-lag-torsion beam theory. The coupling of the CFD and CSD solvers was accomplished in a loosely coupled manner by exchanging the information between the two solvers at infrequent intervals. At first, the present coupled CFD–CSD method was applied to the NREL 5MW reference wind turbine rotor under steady axial flow conditions, and the mean rotor loads and the static blade deformation were compared with other predicted results. Then, the unsteady blade aerodynamic loads and the dynamic blade response due to rotor shaft tilt and tower interference were investigated, along with the influence of the gravitational force. It was found that due to the aeroelastic blade deformation, the blade aerodynamic loads are significantly reduced, and the unsteady dynamic load behaviors are also changed, particularly by the torsional deformation. From the observation of the tower interference, it was also found that the aerodynamic loads are abruptly reduced as the blades pass by the tower, resulting in oscillatory blade deformation and vibratory loads, particularly in the flapwise direction.     

Isogeometric based framework for aeroelastic wind turbine blade analysis

A framework based on isogeometric analysis is presented for parametrizing a wind turbine rotor blade and evaluating its response. The framework consists of a multi‐fidelity approach for wind turbine rotor analysis. The aeroelastic loads are determined using a low‐fidelity model. The model is based on isogeometric approach to model both the structural and aerodynamic properties. The structural deformations are solved using an isogeometric formulation of geometrically exact 3D beam theory. The aerodynamic loads are calculated using a standard Blade Element Momentum(BEM) theory. Moreover, the aerodynamic loads calculated using BEM theory are modified to account for the change in the blade shape due to blade deformation. The aeroelastic loads are applied in finite element solver Nastran, and both the stress response and buckling response are extracted. Furthermore, the capabilities of Nastran are extended such that design dependent loads can be applied, resulting in correct aeroelastic sensitivities of Nastran responses, making this framework suitable for optimization. The framework is verified against results from the commercial codes FAST and GH Bladed, using the NREL 61.5m rotor blade as a baseline for comparison, showing good agreement. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Lift correction model for local shear flow effect on wind turbine airfoils

Wind turbines operate under various wind conditions in which turbulence virtually always exists. Therefore, unsteady wind turbine simulation methods to estimate wind loading in turbulent inflow conditions are very important for developing optimally designed wind turbines. Several methods have been developed for this purpose and are usually based on the blade element momentum theory (BEMT), which is used for calculation of the wind loading on turbine blades. The local shear flow effect induced by turbulence, however, is not explicitly considered in the popular BEMT-based simulations. Extreme situations can occur in a large-scale wind farm where the inflow field of a wind turbine may contain strong tip vortices generated from upstream turbines. In this study, the effects of idealized local shear flows around a two-dimensional airfoil, S809, on its aerodynamic characteristics were analyzed by CFD simulations. Various parameters including reference inflow velocity, shear rate, angle of attack, and cord length of the airfoil were examined. From the simulation results, several important characteristics were found. The shear rate in a flow causes some changes in the lift coefficient depending on its sign and magnitude, while the angle of attack does not have a distinguishable influence. The chord length and reference inflow also cause proportional and inversely proportional changes in the lift coefficient, respectively. Based on these observations, we adopted an analytic expression for the lift coefficient from the thin airfoil theory and proposed a lift correction model, which is easily applicable to the traditional load analysis procedure based on the BEMT.