scholarly journals Impact of the wind field at the complex terrain site Perdigão on the surface pressure fluctuations of a wind turbine

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florian Wenz ◽  
Judith Langner ◽  
Thorsten Lutz ◽  
Ewald Krämer

Abstract. The influence of turbulent inflow, as it occurs in complex terrain, on the unsteady surface pressure distributions on a wind turbine is investigated numerically. A method is presented that enables an accurate reproduction of the inflow to the turbine in the complex terrain in Perdigao, Portugal. For this purpose, a precursor simulation with the steady-state atmospheric computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code E-Wind and a high-resolution Delayed Detached Eddy Simulation (DDES) with FLOWer is performed. The conservation of the flow field is validated by a comparison with measurements from the 2017 field campaign in Perdigao. Then, the resolved fluid-structure coupled generic wind turbine I82 is included in the FLOWer simulation to investigate the impact of the complex terrain inflow on the surface pressure fluctuations on tower and blades. A comparison with simulations of the same turbine in flat terrain with simpler inflows shows that the turbine in complex terrain has a significantly different vortex shedding at the tower, which dominates the periodic pressure fluctuations at the tower sides and back. However, the dominant source of periodic pressure fluctuations on the upper part of the tower, the blade-tower interaction, is hardly altered by the terrain flow. The pressure fluctuations on the blade have a rather broadband characteristic, caused by the interaction of the leading edge with the inflow turbulence. In general, it is shown that a sophisticated DDES of the complex terrain plays a decisive role in the unsteady aerodynamics of the turbine, due to its specific flow characteristic.

1992 ◽  
Vol 114 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. P. Butterfield ◽  
George Scott ◽  
Walt Musial

Horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT) performance is usually predicted by using wind tunnel airfoil performance data in a blade element momentum theory analysis. This analysis assumes that the rotating blade airfoils will perform as they do in the wind tunnel. However, when stall-regulated HAWT performance is measured in full-scale operation, it is common to find that peak power levels are significantly greater than those predicted. Pitch-controlled rotors experience predictable peak power levels because they do not rely on stall to regulate peak power. This has led to empirical corrections to the stall predictions. Viterna and Corrigan (1981) proposed the most popular version of this correction. But very little insight has been gained into the basic cause of this discrepancy. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), funded by the DOE, has conducted the first phase of an experiment which is focused on understanding the basic fluid mechanics of HAWT aerodynamics. Results to date have shown that unsteady aerodynamics exist during all operating conditions and dynamic stall can exist for high yaw angle operation. Stall hysteresis occurs for even small yaw angles and delayed stall is a very persistent reality in all operating conditions. Delayed stall is indicated by a leading edge suction peak which remains attached through angles of attack (AOA) up to 30 degrees. Wind tunnel results show this peak separating from the leading edge at 18 deg AOA. The effect of this anomaly is to raise normal force coefficients and tangent force coefficients for high AOA. Increased tangent forces will directly affect HAWT performance in high wind speed operation. This report describes pressure distribution data resulting from both wind tunnel and HAWT tests. A method of bins is used to average the HAWT data which is compared to the wind tunnel data. The analysis technique and the test set-up for each test are described.


2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 977-981 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna-Maria Tilg ◽  
Charlotte Bay Hasager ◽  
Hans-Jürgen Kirtzel ◽  
Poul Hummelshøj

Abstract. Leading-edge erosion (LEE) of wind turbine blades is caused by the impact of hydrometeors, which appear in a solid or liquid phase. A reduction in the wind turbine blades' tip speed during defined precipitation events can mitigate LEE. To apply such an erosion-safe mode, a precipitation nowcast is required. Theoretical considerations indicate that the time a raindrop needs to fall to the ground is sufficient to reduce the tip speed. Furthermore, it is described that a compact, vertically pointing radar that measures rain at different heights with a sufficiently high spatio-temporal resolution can nowcast rain for an erosion-safe mode.


2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (14n16) ◽  
pp. 2040088
Author(s):  
Hongbiao Wang ◽  
Baoshan Zhu ◽  
Jian Xiong

To investigate the static pressure distribution characteristics of a flying-wing model, an advanced binary pressure sensitive paint (PSP) technique is introduced. It has low-temperature sensitivity and can compensate the errors induced by temperature. The pressure measurement test was performed in 0.6 m trisonic wind tunnel at angles of attack ranging from 0[Formula: see text] to 12[Formula: see text] in supersonic condition, adopting a low-aspect-ratio flying wing model. The binary PSP is sprayed on the upper surface of the model while pressure taps are installed on the upper surface of the right wing. Luminescent images of two probes are acquired with a color charge-coupled-device camera system and processed with calibration results. During the test, the surface pressure is measured by PSP and transducer, respectively. The results obtained show that the binary paint is of advantage to the surface pressure measurement and flow characteristic analysis. The high-resolution pressure spectra at different angle of attack clearly reveal the impact of leading edge vortex on the upper surface pressure distributions. The pressure measured by PSP also agrees well with the pressure tap results. The root mean square error of pressure coefficient is 0.01 at [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text].


Author(s):  
Christina Tsalicoglou ◽  
Sarah Barber ◽  
Ndaona Chokani ◽  
Reza S. Abhari

This work examines the effect of flow inclination on the performance of a stand-alone wind turbine and of wind turbines operating in the wakes of upstream turbines. The experimental portion of this work, which includes performance and flowfield measurements, is conducted in the ETH dynamically-scaled wind turbine test facility, with a wind turbine model that can be inclined relative to the incoming flow. The performance of the wind turbine is measured with an in-line torquemeter, and a 5-hole steady-state probe is used to detail the inflow and wake flow of the turbine. Measurements show that over a range of tip-speed ratios of 4–7.5, the power coefficient of a wind turbine with an incoming flow of 15 deg inclination decreases on average by 7% relative to the power coefficient of a wind turbine with a noninclined incoming flow. Flowfield measurements show that the wake of a turbine with an inclined incoming flow is deflected; the deflection angle is approximately 6 deg for an incoming flow with 15 deg inclination. The measured wake profiles are used as inflow profiles for a blade element momentum code in order to quantify the impact of flow inclination on the performance of downstream wind turbines. In comparison to the case without inclination in the incoming flow, the combined power output of two aligned turbines with incoming inclined flow decreases by 1%, showing that flow inclination in complex terrain does not significantly reduce the energy production.


2005 ◽  
Vol 127 (2) ◽  
pp. 214-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Bertagnolio ◽  
N. N. Sørensen ◽  
F. Rasmussen

The objective of this paper is an improved understanding of the physics of the aeroelastic motion of wind turbine blades in order to improve the numerical models used for their design. Two- and three-dimensional Navier–Stokes calculations of the flow around a wind turbine airfoil using the k−ω SST and Detached Eddy Simulation (DES) turbulence models, as well as an engineering semiempirical dynamic stall model, are conducted. The computational results are compared to the experimental results that are available for both the static airfoil and the pitching airfoil. It is shown that the Navier–Stokes simulations can reproduce the main characteristic features of the flow. The DES model seems to be able to reproduce most of the details of the unsteady aerodynamics. Aerodynamic work computations indicate that a plunging motion of the airfoil can become unstable.


2021 ◽  
Vol 233 ◽  
pp. 04036
Author(s):  
Chenghao Yang ◽  
Heying Feng ◽  
Yehui Peng

Four subgrid-scale models based on large eddy simulation (LES), such as Smagorinsky–Lilly (SL), dynamic Smagorinsky–Lilly (DSL), wall-adapting local eddy-viscosity (WALE), and dynamic kinetic-energy transport (KET) were used and couple Ffowcs Williams–Hawkings equation to accurately analyze and identify the characteristics and position of the sound sources of rod–airfoil interaction. The results of four models were compared with experimental data. It was found that the DSL model was the optimal subgrid-scale model for the study of the interaction noise considering the calculation accuracy. Therefore, the DSL model was selected for analyzing and identifying the characteristics and location of the interaction noise source. During the calculation, solid and permeable data surfaces were used for acoustic integral surfaces. The results show that the impact of the quadrupole source is negligible at a low Mach number, and the dipole noise coming from the pressure fluctuations is dominant. Meanwhile, the dipole noise from the airfoil is louder than that from the rod; the leading edge of about 30% chord length of airfoil the is the main sound source of interference effect. Above results can provide guidance for research of blade-vortex interaction noise.


2020 ◽  
Vol 142 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Papi ◽  
Lorenzo Cappugi ◽  
Sebastian Perez-Becker ◽  
Alessandro Bianchini

Abstract Wind turbines operate in challenging environmental conditions. In hot and dusty climates, blades are constantly exposed to abrasive particles that, according to many field reports, cause significant damages to the leading edge. On the other hand, in cold climates similar effects can be caused by prolonged exposure to hail and rain. Quantifying the effects of airfoil deterioration on modern multi-MW wind turbines is crucial to correctly schedule maintenance and to forecast the potential impact on productivity. Analyzing the impact of damage on fatigue and extreme loading is also important to improve the reliability and longevity of wind turbines. In this work, a blade erosion model is developed and calibrated using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The Danmarks Tekniske Universitet (DTU) 10 MW Reference Wind Turbine is selected as the case study, as it is representative of the future generation wind turbines. Lift and Drag polars are generated using the developed model and a CFD numerical setup. Power and torque coefficients are compared in idealized conditions at two wind speeds, i.e., the rated speed and one below it. Full aero-servo-elastic simulations of the turbine are conducted with the eroded polars using NREL's BEM-based code OpenFAST. Sixty-six 10-min simulations are performed for each stage of airfoil damage, reproducing operating conditions specified by the IEC 61400-1 power production DLC-group, including wind shear, yaw misalignment, and turbulence. Aeroelastic simulations are analyzed, showing maximum decreases in CP of about 12% as well as reductions in fatigue and extreme loading.


Author(s):  
M. H. Keegan ◽  
D. H. Nash ◽  
M. M. Stack

The effects of rain and hail erosion and impact damage on the leading edge of offshore wind turbine blades have been investigated. A literature review was conducted to establish the effects of exposure to these conditions and also to investigate the liquid impact phenomena and their implications for leading edge materials. The role of Explicit Dynamics software modelling in simulating impact events was then also established. Initial rain impact modelling is then discussed with the results showing good agreement with theoretical predictions both numerically and with respect to the temporal and spatial development of the impact event. Future development of the rain model and a proposed hail model are then detailed. Planned rain impact and erosion testing work is addressed which will be used to validate, inform and compliment the ongoing modelling efforts.


Author(s):  
S. Schreck ◽  
M. Robinson

Surface pressure data were acquired using the NREL Unsteady Aerodynamics Experiment, a full-scale horizontal axis wind turbine, which was erected in the NASA Ames 80 ft × 120 ft wind tunnel. Data were collected first for a stationary blade, and then for a rotating blade with the turbine disk at zero yaw. Analyses compared aerodynamic forces and surface pressure distributions under rotating conditions against analogous baseline data acquired from the stationary blade. This comparison allowed rotational modifications to blade aerodynamics to be characterized in detail. Rotating conditions were seen to dramatically amplify aerodynamic forces, and radically alter surface pressure distributions. These and subsequent findings will more fully reveal the structures and interactions responsible for these flow field enhancements, and help establish the basis for formalizing comprehension in physics based models.


Author(s):  
Amrit Shankar Verma ◽  
Zhiyu Jiang ◽  
Zhengru Ren ◽  
Julie J. E. Teuwen

Abstract Leading edge erosion (LEE) of a wind turbine blade (WTB) is a complex phenomenon that contributes to high operation and maintenance costs. The impact between rain droplets and rotating blades exerts cyclic fatigue stresses on the leading edge — causing progressive material loss and reduced aerodynamic performance. One of the most important parameters for erosion modelling and damage prediction is the relative impact velocity between rain droplets and rotating blade and depends upon the environmental conditions. The environmental condition, in general, could vary for onshore and offshore wind turbines (OWTs) — for instance, the presence of wave-induced loads along with less turbulent wind and varying rainfall conditions in the offshore environment. The present paper tries to provide guidelines whether all these parameters need to be included for LEE modelling. Aero-hydro-servo-elastic simulations are carried out for a rotating blade based on the NREL 5 MW turbine by considering realistic environmental conditions for a land-based wind turbine and monopile-supported OWT. Further, the impact velocities and erosion damage rate, evaluated using a surface fatigue model, are analysed and compared for different environmental conditions. It is found that rainfall intensity and turbulence intensity influences the impact velocity minorly, however, has a substantial effect on the overall erosion damage rate. For instance, for the investigated load cases, an 8% increase in the impact velocity is observed when the turbulence intensity increases from 6% to 26%, which indicates an increase of erosion damage rate by more than 40%. Furthermore, no substantial influence is found due to the effects of wave-induced loads on the wind turbine.


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