Tower Vibration Research Articles

Coordinative optimization for wind farms considering improved fatigue load index

In the wind farm(WF), there exists a serious uneven distribution of damage equivalent load(DEL) on the wind turbine(WT), which increases the maintenance cost of wind power generation. Previous researches focus on a single objective such as the total or the standard deviation of fatigue loads for optimal control. To address these, this paper proposes a coordinative optimization by considering an improved fatigue load index. The coordinative optimization is achieved on both WF level and WT level. For WF level, a state-space model is built for the active power dispatch by utilizing small signal linearization. Then, an improved sensitivity analysis is performed to evaluate the fatigue load on the component of the tower and shaft. Further, a coordinative multi-objective function is designed, which minimizes the total DEL of the WF, and balances the individual fatigue load distribution of the WT. For WT level, an adaptive internal model control is proposed to suppress both tower vibrations and torque fluctuation of the main shaft. Several experiments are performed to verify the significance of the proposed method with the weight analysis of power and load coefficient. The comparison results reveals the superiority of the coordinative optimization in restraining the total DEL of the WF, balancing WF fatigue distribution, decreasing the DEL of the single WT, and satisfying the power reference tracking simultaneously.

Modal identification of wind turbine tower based on optimal fractional order statistical moments

AbstractIn vibration testing of civil engineering structures, the first two vibration modes are crucial in representing the global dynamic behavior of the structure measured. In the present study, a comprehensive method is proposed to identify the first two vibration modes of wind turbine towers, which is based on the analysis of fractional order statistical moments (FSM). This study offers novel contributions in two key aspects: (1) theoretical derivations of the relationship between FSM and vibration mode; and (2) successful use of 32/7‐order displacement statistical moment as the optimal FSM to identify wind turbine tower modes, by combining with noise resistance analysis, sensitivity analysis, and stability analysis, respectively. Using the proposed method, the FSM was first used to identify the modal vibration of wind turbine towers. By obtaining the response of the structure on the same vertical line, FSM was then calculated to estimate the corresponding structural modal vibration. Considering other influencing factors in the field test, the modal identification results of this index under different excitation forms and noise conditions were analyzed based on numerical simulation and verified with field wind tower test data. The results of the evaluation show that the proposed statistical moments of can accurately identify the first two vibration modes of wind turbine towers. This presents a new robust method for modal vibration identification, that is, simple and effective in its implementation.

Low frequency vibration monitoring of wind turbine tower based on optical fiber sensor and its potential for internet of things

Among all renewable energy sources, wind energy is a cost-effective alternative energy source. The majority of wind turbines are built in harsh environments due to their power generation characteristics, which is one of the prime reasons resulting in frequent failures of wind turbine. Among various failures, the vibration of wind turbine tower cannot be ignored because it is a precursor of the failure of the wind turbine. The electrical vibration sensors have the problems of power supply and electromagnetic interference for the condition assessment of wind turbine tower. A vibration sensor based on optical Fabry-Perot (F-P) interference principle with high sensitivity is designed, fabricated and characterized to further meet the requirements of vibration detection of wind turbine tower. The mechanical simulation model of the diaphragm and optical vibration platform is constructed to verify the sensing characteristic of the F-P optical fiber vibration sensor (OFVS). The experiment results indicate a resonant frequency of the F-P OFVS of 223 Hz, an output sensitivity of 122.22 mV/m·s−2 at 10 Hz, and a horizontal output of less than 6 %. In addition, the designed F-P OFVS possesses the superiorities of compact structure, passive and excellent anti-electromagnetic interference, and has a wide application prospect in the vibration detection of the wind turbine tower.

Controlling wind turbine tower vibration under external force by applying control systems combination

The global focus has recently shifted away from fuel-based power sources, and one of the most important projects for energy production is wind energy. To maintain low costs, the current research examines the problem of vibrations affecting wind turbine towers’ performance (WTTs). In particular, the tower, resulting from excessive vibrations, can negatively affect a structure’s power output and service life, as it can cause fatigue. Therefore, we conducted numerical tests on various types of controlled systems. Our tests revealed that combining a new technique cubic negative velocity control (CNVC) and linear negative acceleration control (LNAC) was the most effective and cost-efficient option for vibration damping. This solution was derived by using an approximation method for the averaging technique. The external force is an important component of a nonlinear dynamic system and can be characterized by two-degree-of-freedom (2-DOF) differential coupled equations. After implementing the control measures, we conducted a numerical analysis of the vibration values before and after the operation. Stability is studied numerically. The numerical and approximate solutions were confirmed through the frequency response equation and time history with fourth-order Runge–Kutta (RK-4). Finally, we investigated the effect of parameters and compared our results with those of previously published studies.

Passive Shunted Piezoelectric Systems for Vibration Control of Wind Turbine Towers: A Feasibility Study

Many countries have a variety of offshore and onshore wind turbines that face extreme aging challenges. Issues with harmful vibrations that must be minimized are addressed in this paper. A new method of wind turbine tower vibration control using piezoelectricity and shunt circuits is proposed in this paper. The passive vibration control method is shown to improve the tower’s structural performance under various environmental loads, like wind and seismic excitations. To examine the effectiveness of the suggested shunted piezoelectric system, a simple surrogate finite element model of a wind turbine tower is considered, and various investigations at the second eigenfrequency are carried out. An alternative way of modeling the studied structure is considered and the results demonstrate better performance. The advantages of setting up structural damping systems for decreasing tower vibrational loads and boosting their structural stability and resilience against extreme events are highlighted throughout this work.

Analysis of Vibration Characteristics of Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine Tower under Random Wind Action

As the main supporting structure of wind turbines, the service quality of towers directly affects the operational safety of wind turbines. Researching tower vibration characteristics, evaluating its service quality and early warning of damage is an important means to improve the operational safety of wind turbines. Firstly, the external load conditions of the wind turbine tower were determined through wind load calculation, and the load and dynamic theory of the variable pitch torque wind turbine tower were summarized. Secondly, based on the Euler-Lagrange energy equation, the Lagrange equation of the simplified dynamic model of the wind turbine tower is established, and the vibration characteristics of the tower under different wind speeds are analyzed. The research results can provide a theoretical basis for the research on the characteristics of the wind turbine tower.

Mechanism of scour around two piers

AbstractScour around the bridge piers is the main cause of bridge failure below any bridge pier placed within the waterways. It is more than hundred years back a number of researchers described the vortex shedding phenomenon and the resulting Aeolian tones from a circular cylinder. Since then there have been a large number of investigations dealing with various aspects of this phenomenon. In many practical works and situations, flow takes place around more than one obstruction and objects in close proximity. Invariably in all these cases, interference effects occur and the forces on the obstructions are much influenced by these effects. These effects play a key role in the structures like flow-induced vibration of TV and transmission towers, and in many other practical situations. In this research paper the changes in the flow field that occur due to the interference effects are shown, analysed and the results as given in literature are compared with the present experimental work. The features have been brought out in this paper mainly make use of stand and geometry of circular cylinders in close proximity and the flow part of geometry in side by side arrangement.

Rapid full-field deformation measurements of tall buildings using UAV videos and deep learning

Full-field deformation of tall buildings is informative and imperative for structural health condition assessments. This study explores the feasibility of using videos recorded by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to measure the vibration profiles of tall buildings with the aid of deep neural networks. First, a Transformer network with a self-attention mechanism is used, and its outcome is employed for the homography transformation to minimize the drifting problems induced by the UAV. Second, a boundary-aware salient object detection network is adopted to extract the boundary of the buildings in the stabilized videos for further full-field deformation measurements. The accuracy of the proposed method is experimentally validated using a wood frame structure under harmonic excitations. Under a measuring distance of approximately 4.2 m, the proposed method achieves averages of root-mean-square-errors (RMSEs) for the displacement and rotation measurements of 2.13 mm and 1.74 × 10−3 rad, respectively, as compared to that determined by an infrared light tracking system. The study further analyzes the field-test data recorded from the vibration of a 247-m tower. Under a measuring distance of about 55 m, the proposed method is comparable to the vibration measurement at a specific story and estimates the full-field deformation within the region of interest. Overall, the proposed method with rapid UAV deployment is feasible and accurate for monitoring the full-field deformation using the UAV-recorded videos.

Generic fully coupled framework for reliability assessment of offshore wind turbines under typical limit states

Offshore wind turbines (OWTs) generally experience harsh marine environments with uncertainties in marine loads, soil properties, and material properties; therefore, the structural integrity assessment of OWTs is a challenging task. Most of the previously proposed methods for reliability assessment are time-consuming and neglect the coupling effects of aerodynamics, hydrodynamics, and OWT structural dynamics under complex environmental loads. In this study, a fully coupled framework for the reliability assessment of OWTs is proposed, in which a dynamic simulation tool in the time domain is combined with surrogate models. The established Kriging, multivariate regression, and support vector regression surrogate models are compared to determine the most feasible model. Furthermore, the influence of different solving methods, such as first-order reliability method (FORM), importance sampling (IS), and subset simulation (SS), on the estimation of structural reliability indexes are discussed. The superiority of the estimated reliability indexes in the safety assessment of OWTs is proved using the SS method based on the Kriging surrogate model. Subsequently, the potential failure modes of an OWT under different operational states are revealed, indicating that excessive tower vibrations must be eliminated for stable power production from OWTs. Furthermore, the SS method is found to be feasible as it ensures the estimation accuracy of the reliability indexes of the parked OWT based on Kriging and the other surrogate models. Finally, the significance of soil–structure interactions in the reliability index estimation is investigated, and the equivalent coupled spring boundary is proposed from the perspectives of structural safety and simulation accuracy.

Influence and the Control of Shield Tunneling on Ancient Tower Vibration

In recent years, to effectively mitigate the issue of urban traffic congestion, tunnels have become widely used new type of road. However, when the soil layer is excavated and disturbed, the resulting vibration affects the safety of the buildings above it, especially for ancient buildings that are very sensitive to vibrations. Taking the White Tower in Hangzhou as an example, in this paper, the vibration response propagation of large-diameter shield tunnel excavation to adjacent ancient towers is studied through field measurements. The vibration response of the unexcavated south line tunnel is predicted by using 3D numerical analysis software, and the optimal construction parameters are obtained. The study found that the frequency domain component of the White Tower bedrock vibration caused by shield tunneling is mainly 5–20 Hz, and the vibration response attenuates significantly beyond 40 m. Further, reducing the propulsive force can reduce the vibration response of the White Tower; therefore, controlling the propulsion and reducing the tunneling velocity can reduce the vibration response.

Real-time hybrid model test to replicate high-rise building resonant vibration under wind loads

In May 2021, the 72-story Shenzhen Saige building experienced abnormal vibration that was strongly felt on many floors and triggered social panic. The tower was therefore closed for more than 2 months resulting in huge economic losses. A preliminary study consisting of field resonant excitation tests and a series of numerical simulations were carried out. It was concluded that the wind loads provoked the higher modes of the building vibration. Specifically, the vibration of the mast, which is located at the building top, induced this abnormal vibration. To validate this conclusion, real-time hybrid model (RTHM) tests was developed to reproduce this building vibration incident. This paper presents the details of the validation RTHM tests including testing design and result discussions. Structural vibration parameters obtained from the field tests were used in the numerical substructure building model, and the experimental substructures were the two scaled down mast models (the cantilever beam section of the masts). During RTHM test, the restoring force of the experimental substructure due to real wind loads induced by an air fan was measured and used in the numerical simulation to compute interface motions. A shaking table was then used to impose the interface motion back to the bottom of the mast model to reproduce the abnormal vibration incident. The demonstrated ability of the developed RTHM testing method to reproduce the resonant phenomenon of the wind-induced tower vibration provides an alternative experimental method to study vibration responses of high-rise buildings in future.

Control of seismic induced response of wind turbines using KDamper

Earthquake-induced vibrations of wind turbines may compromise structural serviceability and safety. Most previous studies adopted passive control devices to mitigate the seismic responses of wind turbines. However, their control effectiveness is heavily dependent on the mass ratio between control devices and wind turbines, and they were typically housed at the tower top or within the nacelle. The restricted space within the hollow tower and the nacelle imposes considerable challenges for the implementation of such devices, rendering the application of large-scale control devices unfeasible for structural vibration control of wind turbines. To this end, this paper integrates a negative stiffness element within a conventional tuned mass damper (TMD), termed KDamper, to mitigate vibrations of wind turbine towers under seismic loads. Specifically, the widely used NREL 5 MW wind turbine is selected as a prototype structure and its tower is modelled as a multiple-degree-of-freedom system. Then KDamper is incorporated into the developed model and its parameters are optimized based on the H2 criterion. Subsequently, the control effectiveness of KDamper is investigated and compared with TMD in the frequency domain, and the control performances in terms of the effectiveness and robustness of KDamper are further examined under a series of earthquake records. Results show that KDamper has superior control effectiveness and robustness than TMD, indicating it has considerable potential for application in improving wind turbine performances against earthquake hazards.

Mitigation of side-to-side vibration of a 10MW monopile offshore wind turbine under misaligned wind and wave conditions by an active torque control

Large offshore wind turbines (OWTs) may encounter extreme misaligned wind and wave conditions throughout their lifetime, which could trigger side-to-side resonance of the OWTs and thus substantial reduction in fatigue life. This study aims to (1) understand the dynamic response of fixed-bottom OWTs under misaligned wind and wave conditions, and to (2) propose an active torque control algorithm for dynamic loading mitigation. For these purposes, an integrated aero-elastic model, coupled with an advanced soil-monopile interaction (i.e., p-y+M-θ model), is built in OpenFAST for the DTU 10MW OWT supported by a monopile in soft clay. The numerical results show that under misaligned wind and wave conditions, where the wave peak period is likely to approach the tower natural period, the dynamic loading along the side-to-side direction dominates the fatigue design of the OWT. To mitigate the side-to-side dynamic loading, an active torque control algorithm is designed with feedback from measured side-to-side tower vibration to enhance damping, as well as feedforward from measured incoming wave height to counteract external force. Through the use of the feedback-feedforward active torque controller, the side-to-side dynamic loading of the 10 MW OWT is significantly reduced, with the fatigue life extended from 19 to 39 years.

Measurements of underwater noise genenrated during wind turbine operation in Korea Southwest Offshore Wind Farm

Offshore wind power generation, a representative eco-friendly energy generation, is known as one of the promising solutions for sustainable development. However, the potential negative impact of underwater noise emitted from wind turbine operation on the marine ecosystem may limit development. Measurements of underwater noise generated from the operation of a 3-MW offshore wind turbine in the Korea Southwest Offshore Wind Farm located off the southwest coast of Korea were made twice in late February to early March and November 2021, and the acoustic characteristics of operational noise with wind speed, rotor speed, and tower vibration were investigated. As a result, the tonal frequencies of the underwater noise and tower vibration acceleration signal coincided, and their changes showed high correlations with the wind speed and rotor speed. Our results may be used as a reference to evaluate the impact of underwater operational noise of offshore wind turbines on the marine environment.

Experimental study on mitigating vibration of floating offshore wind turbine using tuned mass damper

Compared to the onshore wind turbine, the floating offshore wind turbine (FOWT) suffers from worse environmental loads during its operation, leading to complicated dynamic responses. Excessive vibration can be potentially harmful to the structural safety and reliability. The Tuned Mass Damper (TMD) is regarded as a promising vibration mitigation device and has been popularized in FOWTs recently. However, the TMD performance in FOWT vibration mitigation is still difficult to investigate due to the flexibility of the FOWT system and the variety of excitations. In this paper, we present an experimental study of dynamic response mitigation of an FOWT under complex environmental loads. A highly adaptive TMD is designed and constructed based on the FOWT tower vibration characteristics. The integrated FOWT-TMD test system is set up. Extensive tests are then conducted with different offshore environments and TMD operating states. The results show that TMD can effectively reduce the FOWT peak acceleration amplitude and the peak base bending moment by 7.8% and 8.8%, respectively, in the survival condition. The present work will serve to verify the effectiveness of TMD and lay the foundation for experimental techniques on advanced FOWT controllers.

Flow field characteristics analysis of vortex-induced vibration of bridge tower based on dynamic mode decomposition method

As a high-rise structure, the tower of a suspension bridge has low stiffness due to the lack of cable system constraints when it is self-supporting. Wind-induced vibration is one of the key factors in design and construction. In this paper, the wind tunnel test of the bridge tower aeroelastic model is carried out in two different flow fields, and the wind vibration response under a self-supporting state is systematically studied. Meanwhile, numerical simulation of the unsteady flow field around the tower section is carried out, and the dynamic modal decomposition (DMD) method is used to study the modal frequency of the flow field, the surface pressure of the section, flow field reconstruction error, and the stability of the flow field around tower section is discussed. The results show that in the self-supporting state, the displacement of the tower top presents a quadratic curve relationship with the wind speed, and no galloping phenomenon occurs under the test wind speed. However, in the uniform flow, when the wind attack angle is 90°, the bridge tower has an obvious vortex-induced vibration (VIV) phenomenon. After decomposing the flow field by the DMD method, it is found that there is strong aerodynamic interference between the double rectangular column sections, the first seven orders of modal energy play a major role in the flow field, and when the main modal energy accounts for more than 90%, the reconstruction can realize the accurate restoration of the information such as the surface pressure. For the complex flow field structure, it shows that the method can more accurately identify the coherent structure and background part in the unsteady flow field. This paper provides an idea for future research on the characteristics of the flow field around complex sections and helps to further improve the understanding of the VIV mechanism.

Nonlinear vortex-induced vibration of wind turbine towers: Theory and experimental validation

Vortex-induced vibration (VIV) of wind turbine tower is a common occurrence in practical engineering, significantly impacting the safety and reliability of structure. An effective method is developed to investigate the VIV characteristics of a wind turbine tower with an elastic foundation and a lumped mass. To simulate the fluid–structure interaction, the van der Pol equation is utilized. The equations of motion of wind turbine tower, accounting for aerodynamic force, are established using Hamilton’s principle and the assumed mode method, and they are solved by the method of multiple scales. Modal functions of the wind turbine tower are obtained through the finite element method (FEM). The analysis further explores the influences of various parameters on the VIV characteristics of wind turbine tower. The results show that the VIV occurs within the frequency lock-in and multi-value ranges, and the critical wind speeds are mainly determined by the diameters of the segments near the tower top. Moreover, as the lumped mass increases or the foundation stiffness decreases, the occurrence of VIV shifts to lower wind speeds. A wind tunnel experiment of a scaled wind turbine tower model validates the frequency lock-in range of the VIV analysis results.

Research on the method of digital twin operation and maintenance platform for intelligent early warning of wind turbine tower

Wind power generators have a complex structure and operate in harsh environments, where working conditions are highly variable. As a result, the operation and maintenance of wind turbines face numerous challenges. In response to the need for the development of wind power operation and maintenance informatization, it is necessary to satisfy the requirements for multi-party collaborative monitoring to ensure the long-term safe and reliable operation of wind turbines. In this paper,we proposed a method for building an intelligent early-warning digital twin platform focused on the simulation of wind turbines and tower components. The platform construction method proposed in this article is based on the Web and from the perspective of intelligent operation and maintenance of wind turbines. It establishes a warning model for tower agent simulation and vibration signal time series prediction. The tower mechanism model is established based on the operating data set of a 4MW wind turbine at Shanghai Electric. Different physical responses of the tower under different wind speeds are simulated, and an agent model using LSTM and decision tree models is established for predictive analysis. To account for uncertainty, a Bayesian-LSTM model is established to warn against predictive errors. Finally, a data-driven digital twin wind turbine platform is achieved on the Web.

Structural Vibration Suppression of Wind Turbine Based on Dynamic Vibration Absorption

The vibration of wind turbine towers is a critical issue affecting the reliability and safety of wind turbines. Tuned mass dampers (TMD) have been widely used to reduce the vibration of structures. In this study, the finite element simulation method is used to investigate the tower structure’s response to vibration with and without TMD at different placement positions. The results show that under fluctuating wind loads, the vibration displacement and acceleration in the downwind surface of the tower are larger than those in the windward surface. After installing TMD, the damping effect of the wind power tower can be effectively improved. Under the condition that the total mass ratio is constant, the arrangement of placing a single TMD at the top of the tower is changed to a distributed arrangement at the top and the flange. The placement position of TMD affects the vibration reduction effect and the reliability of the tower structure. A distributed arrangement of TMD can improve the reliability of the tower structure and reduce the space occupied by a single TMD.

Experimental and analytical study on the performance of wind turbine tower attached with particle tuned mass damper

According to the global wind energy council report, a dramatic increase in the annual wind installations is needed to satisfy the goal of net-zero, which means there will be a large market for wind turbine towers. Therefore, the safety and suitability of wind turbine towers must be ensured by certain methods under wind and seismic excitations for reliable wind energy production. This paper presents a comprehensive study involving experimental, analytical, and computational approaches to study the performance of the particle tuned mass damper (PTMD) that is attached to a 1/20 scaled wind turbine tower model through a shaking table test. During the test, the overall performance of PTMD is analyzed under earthquake and equivalent wind excitations. The results indicate that PTMD can significantly mitigate the dynamic responses of the tower top and tower body. Then, a parametric study of PTMD is carried out to detail its damping mechanisms. The results show that the robustness of PTMD is good, and PTMD possesses a wider vibration control frequency band. Finally, based on the experimental test, a finite element model is built, and then a comparison of experimental and numerical results is conducted to investigate the vibration reduction effect of PTMD under coupled wind and earthquake excitations. The numerical simulation and experimental results agree well, and PTMD has good vibration reduction effectiveness under coupled wind and earthquake excitations. Besides, the numerical simulation indicates that aerodynamic damping can restrain the vibration of the wind turbine tower to a certain extent. Both the experimental and numerical results indicate that the PTMD can reduce the vibration of wind turbine towers significantly under wind and earthquake excitations.