Abstract
Abstract. Wind farm control is one of the solutions recently proposed to increase the overall energy production of a wind power plant. A generic wind farm control is typically synthesized so as to optimize the energy production of the entire wind farm by reducing the detrimental effects due to wake–turbine interactions. As a matter of fact, the performance of a farm control is typically measured by looking at the increase in the power production, properly weighted through the wind statistics. Sometimes, fatigue loads are also considered in the control optimization problem. However, an aspect which is rather overlooked in the literature on this subject is the evaluation of the impact that a farm control law has on the individual wind turbine in terms of maximum loads and dynamic response under extreme conditions. In this work, two promising wind farm controls, based on wake redirection (WR) and dynamic induction control (DIC) strategy, are evaluated at the level of a single front-row wind turbine. To do so, a two-pronged analysis is performed. Firstly, the control techniques are evaluated in terms of the related impact on some specific key performance indicators, with special emphasis on ultimate loads and maximum blade deflection. Secondarily, an optimal blade redesign process is performed with the goal of quantifying the modification in the structure of the blade entailed by a possible increase in ultimate values due to the presence of wind farm control. Such an analysis provides for an important piece of information for assessing the impact of the farm control on the cost-of-energy model.
Highlights
Introduction and motivationSo far, the majority of the works devoted to wind farm control have been aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of such techniques as means of power harvesting maximization
A procedure to evaluate the effects of wind farm control techniques on a single wind turbine has been developed
The study is conducted by simulating the main design load cases prescribed by the standards with the inclusion of the chosen wind farm control
Summary
The majority of the works devoted to wind farm control have been aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of such techniques as means of power harvesting maximization. We quantify the impact of wake steering and dynamic induction control at the level of the front-row turbine through some indicators strictly connected to machine design, which are the ultimate loads and the maximum blade tip deflection, computed according to the present standards. Ultimate loads and maximum blade tip deflection are evaluated considering different settings of the controls (e.g., different yaw misalignment angles for wake redirection) in order to find the most impacting conditions for the turbine. Such sensitivity analysis is viewed as a preliminary step for the optimal blade design process which is described in Sect.
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