Abstract
Abstract. A previously published wind sensing method is applied to an experimental dataset obtained from a 3.5 MW turbine. The method is based on a load-wind model that correlates once-per-revolution blade load harmonics to rotor-equivalent shears and wind directions. Loads measured during turbine operation are used to estimate online – through the load-wind model – the inflow at the rotor disk, thereby turning the whole turbine into a sort of generalized anemometer. The experimental dataset consists of synchronous measurements of loads, from blade-mounted strain gages, and of the inflow, obtained from a nearby met mast. As the mast reaches only to hub height, a second independent method is used to extend the met-mast-measured shear above hub height to cover the entire rotor disk. Part of the dataset is first used to identify the load-wind model, and then the performance of the wind observer is characterized with the rest of the data. Although the experimental setup falls short of providing a thorough validation of the method, it still allows for a realistic practical demonstration of some of its main features. Results indicate a good quality of the estimated linear shear both in terms of 1 and 10 min averages and of resolved time histories, with mean average errors around 0.04. A similarly accuracy is found in the estimation of the yaw misalignment, with mean errors typically below 3∘.
Highlights
This paper presents a first attempt at the field validation of a wind sensing method based on load harmonics
This paper has presented the application of a previously published harmonic-based wind sensing method to an experimental dataset
Ing explained the methodology and described the test site, the paper has formulated a new method to extend the shear measured by a hub-tall mast to the tip of the rotor in order to compute a full-rotor shear
Summary
This paper presents a first attempt at the field validation of a wind sensing method based on load harmonics. Standard production machines are typically equipped with nacelle-mounted anemometers and wind vanes These sensors need to be carefully calibrated to eliminate effects caused by – among others – the rotor wake, blade passage, and flow distortions caused by the large bluff body represented by the nacelle. Even when these effects are properly accounted for, nacelle mounted sensors suffer from the unavoidable limitation of providing only point-wise measurements. Met masts are available and can in principle provide additional infor-
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