Range Of Wind Turbines Research Articles

Wind Lidar and Radiosonde Measurements of Low-Level Jets in Coastal Areas of the German Bight

For wind energy, the knowledge of the available wind resource is essential. Therefore, specific wind phenomena at the altitude range of wind turbines are currently the focus of investigations. One such specific feature is the low-level jet (LLJ). The article analyses LLJ properties at two locations in the German Bight: A wind lidar system for measuring wind profiles at heights from 50 m to 500 m a.g.l. (above ground level) was first installed at the offshore island of Heligoland, Germany, and then at the coastal island of Norderney, Germany, for one year. The LLJ is defined here as a maximum horizontal wind speed in the vertical profile of horizontal wind speed followed by a minimum wind speed, independent of the mechanism or origin of the phenomenon. The two sites showed a similar annual and diurnal distribution of LLJ events with a maximum occurrence in spring and summer and during the night, and a most frequent jet core height of around 120 m a.g.l. Based on radiosondes launched from Norderney at midnight and noon, it is shown that LLJ events at noon are most frequent when atmospheric conditions are stable. A case study shows the horizontal extent of an LLJ event over at least 100 km by simultaneous wind lidar measurements at four sites in the German Bight and mesoscale simulations with the weather research and forecast (WRF) model.

Analysis of throw distances of detached objects from horizontal-axis wind turbines

This paper aims at predicting trajectories of the detached fragments from wind turbines, in order to better quantify consequences of wind turbine failures. The trajectories of thrown objects are attained using the solution to equations of motion and rotation, with the external loads and moments obtained using blade element approach. We have extended an earlier work by taking into account dynamic stall and wind variations due to shear, and investigated different scenarios of throw including throw of the entire or a part of blade, as well as throw of accumulated ice on the blade. Trajectories are simulated for modern wind turbines ranging in size from 2 to 20 MW using upscaling laws. Extensive parametric analyses are performed against initial release angle, tip speed ratio, detachment geometry, and blade pitch setting. It is found that, while at tip speeds of about 70 m/s (normal operating conditions), pieces of blade (with weights in the range of approximately 7-16 ton) would be thrown out less than 700 m for the entire range of wind turbines, and turbines operating at the extreme tip speed of 150 m/s may be subject to blade throw of up to 2 km from the turbine. For the ice throw cases, maximum distances of approximately 100 and 600 m are obtained for standstill and normal operating conditions of the wind turbine, respectively, with the ice pieces weighting from 0.4 to 6.5 kg. The simulations can be useful for revision of wind turbine setback standards, especially when combined with risk assessment studies. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Characteristic Analysis of Three-Bladed Darrieus Wind Turbine Based on the Multiple Streamtube Model

The paper analyzes the effect of airfoil thickness, camber and blade pitch angle on the performance of the three-bladed Darrieus wind turbines. The research results show that the increase of airfoil thickness, camber and pitch angle of blade, can improve power coefficient when the wind turbine tip speed ratio between zero and four. The increase of thickness and camber of the airfoil leads to running tip speed ratio range of wind turbine get narrowed, and reduces the power coefficient when wind turbine runs in high tip speed ratio range. When the pitch angle of blade is 1˚, power coefficient reaches the maximum value. Negative pitch angle has a bad impact on power coefficient and even creates negative power coefficients.

An assessment of the effectiveness of individual pitch control on upscaled wind turbines

The use of individual pitch control (IPC) based on loads transformed into nonrotating coordinates is explored on a range of wind turbines with ratings between 5MW and 15MW. Turbine models are generated using classical upscaling based on properties of the NREL 5MW reference wind turbine. The Ziegler-Nichols method is used with a low order linear model of each turbine to objectively tune a gain-scheduled, proportional-integral individual pitch controller. The performance of IPC is assessed by measuring reductions in blade and tower root damage equivalent loads from simulations at several wind speeds spanning Region 3. It is observed that the load reductions obtained with individual pitch control are maintained on upscaled turbines, with minimal impact on tower root loads, while actuator usage scales at a rate lower than expected with classical scaling.

Frequency-Response Matching to Optimize Wind-Turbine Test Data Correlation

Pre-averaging is often applied to wind turbine test data to improve correlation between wind speed and power output data. In the past, trial and error or intuition have been used in the selection of pre-averaging time and researchers and institutions have differed widely in their pre-averaging practice. In this paper a standardized method is proposed for selection of the optimum pre-averaging time. The method selects an averaging time such that the test data are low-pass-filtered at the same frequency as the response frequency of the test wind turbine/anemometer system. A theoretial method is provided for estimation of the wind system transfer function as a function of the anemometer location, rotor moment of inertia, the stiffness of the connection between the rotor and the electrical grid, hub height, rotor speed and wind speed. The method is based in proven theory, repeatable, easy to use and applicable to a wide range of wind turbines and test conditions. Results of the transfer function predictions are compared with the measured response of two wind systems. Agreement between the predicted and measured response is completely adequate for the purposes of the method. Example results of calculated averaging times are presented for several wind turbines. In addition, a case study is used to demonstrate the dramatic effects of test design and data analysis methods on the results of a power coefficient measurement.