E. Branlard, J. Jonkman, Cameron Brown, Jiatian Zhang
Abstract. In this work, we implement, verify, and validate a physics-based digital twin solution applied to a floating offshore wind turbine. The digital twin is validated using measurement data from the full-scale TetraSpar prototype. We focus on the estimation of the aerodynamic loads, wind speed, and section loads along the tower, with the aim of estimating the fatigue lifetime of the tower. Our digital twin solution integrates (1) a Kalman filter to estimate the structural states based on a linear model of the structure and measurements from the turbine, (2) an aerodynamic estimator, and (3) a physics-based virtual sensing procedure to obtain the loads along the tower. The digital twin relies on a set of measurements that are expected to be available on any existing wind turbine (power, pitch, rotor speed, and tower acceleration) and motion sensors that are likely to be standard measurements for a floating platform (inclinometers and GPS sensors). We explore two different pathways to obtain physics-based models: a suite of dedicated Python tools implemented as part of this work and the OpenFAST linearization feature. In our final version of the digital twin, we use components from both approaches. We perform different numerical experiments to verify the individual models of the digital twin. In this simulation realm, we obtain estimated damage equivalent loads of the tower fore–aft bending moment with an accuracy of approximately 5 % to 10 %. When comparing the digital twin estimations with the measurements from the TetraSpar prototype, the errors increased to 10 %–15 % on average. Overall, the accuracy of the results is promising and demonstrates the possibility of using digital twin solutions to estimate fatigue loads on floating offshore wind turbines. A natural continuation of this work would be to implement the monitoring and diagnostics aspect of the digital twin to inform operation and maintenance decisions. The digital twin solution is provided with examples as part of an open-source repository.
{"title":"A digital twin solution for floating offshore wind turbines validated using a full-scale prototype","authors":"E. Branlard, J. Jonkman, Cameron Brown, Jiatian Zhang","doi":"10.5194/wes-9-1-2024","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-9-1-2024","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract. In this work, we implement, verify, and validate a physics-based digital twin solution applied to a floating offshore wind turbine. The digital twin is validated using measurement data from the full-scale TetraSpar prototype. We focus on the estimation of the aerodynamic loads, wind speed, and section loads along the tower, with the aim of estimating the fatigue lifetime of the tower. Our digital twin solution integrates (1) a Kalman filter to estimate the structural states based on a linear model of the structure and measurements from the turbine, (2) an aerodynamic estimator, and (3) a physics-based virtual sensing procedure to obtain the loads along the tower. The digital twin relies on a set of measurements that are expected to be available on any existing wind turbine (power, pitch, rotor speed, and tower acceleration) and motion sensors that are likely to be standard measurements for a floating platform (inclinometers and GPS sensors). We explore two different pathways to obtain physics-based models: a suite of dedicated Python tools implemented as part of this work and the OpenFAST linearization feature. In our final version of the digital twin, we use components from both approaches. We perform different numerical experiments to verify the individual models of the digital twin. In this simulation realm, we obtain estimated damage equivalent loads of the tower fore–aft bending moment with an accuracy of approximately 5 % to 10 %. When comparing the digital twin estimations with the measurements from the TetraSpar prototype, the errors increased to 10 %–15 % on average. Overall, the accuracy of the results is promising and demonstrates the possibility of using digital twin solutions to estimate fatigue loads on floating offshore wind turbines. A natural continuation of this work would be to implement the monitoring and diagnostics aspect of the digital twin to inform operation and maintenance decisions. The digital twin solution is provided with examples as part of an open-source repository.\u0000","PeriodicalId":46540,"journal":{"name":"Wind Energy Science","volume":"44 16","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139447785","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
M. J. van den Broek, Delphine De Tavernier, Paul Hulsman, Daan van der Hoek, Benjamin Sanderse, J. van Wingerden
Abstract. Near-wake effects of wind turbine models using the free-vortex wake have been studied extensively, but there is a lack of validation for such predictions in the mid to far wake. This paper presents a novel validation study using three free-vortex wake models of increasing complexity: an actuator disc, an actuator disc with rotation, and a lifting-line model. We emphasise the application for dynamic wind farm flow control optimisation with a focus on wake redirection using yaw misalignment. For this purpose, wake models should provide sufficiently accurate power predictions at a low computational expense to enable real-time control optimisation. Three sets of wind tunnel data are used for validation: flow measurements under steady yaw misalignment, time-resolved flow measurements for a step change in yaw, and turbine output measurements with yaw control and simulated wind direction variation. Results indicate that the actuator-disc model provides the best balance between computational cost and accuracy in power predictions for the mid to far wake, which is not significantly improved upon by the addition of rotation. In the near wake, the added complexity of the lifting-line model may provide value as it models blade loading and individual tip vortices. Altogether, this study provides important validation for further studies into optimisation of wake steering under time-varying conditions and suggests that the actuator-disc model is a suitable candidate for use in a model-predictive wind farm flow control framework.
{"title":"Free-vortex models for wind turbine wakes under yaw misalignment – a validation study on far-wake effects","authors":"M. J. van den Broek, Delphine De Tavernier, Paul Hulsman, Daan van der Hoek, Benjamin Sanderse, J. van Wingerden","doi":"10.5194/wes-8-1909-2023","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-8-1909-2023","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract. Near-wake effects of wind turbine models using the free-vortex wake have been studied extensively, but there is a lack of validation for such predictions in the mid to far wake. This paper presents a novel validation study using three free-vortex wake models of increasing complexity: an actuator disc, an actuator disc with rotation, and a lifting-line model. We emphasise the application for dynamic wind farm flow control optimisation with a focus on wake redirection using yaw misalignment. For this purpose, wake models should provide sufficiently accurate power predictions at a low computational expense to enable real-time control optimisation. Three sets of wind tunnel data are used for validation: flow measurements under steady yaw misalignment, time-resolved flow measurements for a step change in yaw, and turbine output measurements with yaw control and simulated wind direction variation. Results indicate that the actuator-disc model provides the best balance between computational cost and accuracy in power predictions for the mid to far wake, which is not significantly improved upon by the addition of rotation. In the near wake, the added complexity of the lifting-line model may provide value as it models blade loading and individual tip vortices. Altogether, this study provides important validation for further studies into optimisation of wake steering under time-varying conditions and suggests that the actuator-disc model is a suitable candidate for use in a model-predictive wind farm flow control framework.\u0000","PeriodicalId":46540,"journal":{"name":"Wind Energy Science","volume":"37 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138956514","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract. Feedforward blade pitch control is one of the most promising lidar-assisted control strategies due to its significant improvement in rotor speed regulation and fatigue load reduction. A high-quality preview of the rotor-effective wind speed is a key element of control benefits. In this work, a single-beam lidar is simulated in the spinner of a bottom-fixed IEA 15 MW wind turbine. Both continuous-wave (CW) and pulsed lidar systems are considered. The single-beam lidar can rotate with the wind turbine rotor and scan the inflow with a circular pattern, which mimics a multiple-beam nacelle lidar at a lower cost. Also, the spinner-based lidar has an unimpeded view of the inflow without intermittent blockage from the rotating blade. The focus distance and the cone angle of the spinner-based single-beam lidar are optimized for the best wind preview quality based on a rotor-effective wind speed coherence model. Then, the control benefits of using the optimized spinner-based lidar are evaluated for an above-rated wind speed in OpenFAST with an embedded lidar simulator and virtual four-dimensional Mann turbulence fields considering the wind evolution. Results are compared against those using a single-beam nacelle-based lidar. We found that the optimum scanning configurations of both CW and pulsed spinner-based single-beam lidars lead to a lidar scan radius of 0.6 of the rotor radius. Also, results show that a single-beam lidar mounted in the spinner provides many more control benefits (i.e. better rotor speed regulations and higher reductions in the damage equivalent loads on the tower base and blade roots) than the one based on the nacelle. The spinner-based single-beam lidar has a similar performance to a four-beam nacelle lidar when used for feedforward control.
{"title":"Feedforward pitch control for a 15 MW wind turbine using a spinner-mounted single-beam lidar","authors":"Wei Fu, F. Guo, D. Schlipf, Alfredo Peña","doi":"10.5194/wes-8-1893-2023","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-8-1893-2023","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract. Feedforward blade pitch control is one of the most promising lidar-assisted control strategies due to its significant improvement in rotor speed regulation and fatigue load reduction. A high-quality preview of the rotor-effective wind speed is a key element of control benefits. In this work, a single-beam lidar is simulated in the spinner of a bottom-fixed IEA 15 MW wind turbine. Both continuous-wave (CW) and pulsed lidar systems are considered. The single-beam lidar can rotate with the wind turbine rotor and scan the inflow with a circular pattern, which mimics a multiple-beam nacelle lidar at a lower cost. Also, the spinner-based lidar has an unimpeded view of the inflow without intermittent blockage from the rotating blade. The focus distance and the cone angle of the spinner-based single-beam lidar are optimized for the best wind preview quality based on a rotor-effective wind speed coherence model. Then, the control benefits of using the optimized spinner-based lidar are evaluated for an above-rated wind speed in OpenFAST with an embedded lidar simulator and virtual four-dimensional Mann turbulence fields considering the wind evolution. Results are compared against those using a single-beam nacelle-based lidar. We found that the optimum scanning configurations of both CW and pulsed spinner-based single-beam lidars lead to a lidar scan radius of 0.6 of the rotor radius. Also, results show that a single-beam lidar mounted in the spinner provides many more control benefits (i.e. better rotor speed regulations and higher reductions in the damage equivalent loads on the tower base and blade roots) than the one based on the nacelle. The spinner-based single-beam lidar has a similar performance to a four-beam nacelle lidar when used for feedforward control.\u0000","PeriodicalId":46540,"journal":{"name":"Wind Energy Science","volume":" 12","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138960150","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract. This paper presents a new upscaling methodology for semi-submersible floating offshore wind turbine platforms. The size and power rating of offshore wind turbines have been growing in recent years, with modern wind turbines rated at 10–18 MW in contrast with 2–5 MW in 2010. It is not apparent how much further wind turbine size can be increased before it is unjustified. Scaling relations are a useful method for analyzing wind turbine designs to understand the mass, load, and cost increases with size. Scaling relations currently do not exist but are needed for floating offshore platforms to understand how the technical and economic development of floating offshore wind energy may develop with increasing turbine size. In this paper, a hydrodynamic model has been developed to capture the key platform response in pitch. The hydrodynamic model is validated using OpenFAST, a high-fidelity offshore wind turbine simulation software. An upscaling methodology is then applied to two semi-submersible case studies of reference systems (the Offshore Code Comparison Collaboration Continuation (OC4) 5 MW and the International Energy Agency (IEA) 15 MW). For each case study, the platform pitch angle at rated wind turbine thrust is constrained to a specified value. The results show that platform dimensions scale to a factor of 0.75, and the platform steel mass scales to a factor of 1.5 when the wall thickness is kept constant. This study is the first to develop generalized upscaling relations that can be used for other triangular semi-submersible platforms that have three outer columns with the turbine mounted at the center of the system. This is in contrast with other studies that upscale a specific design to a larger power rating. This upscaling methodology provides new insight into trends for semi-submersible platform upscaling as turbine size increases.
{"title":"A new methodology for upscaling semi-submersible platforms for floating offshore wind turbines","authors":"Kaylie L. Roach, M. Lackner, J. Manwell","doi":"10.5194/wes-8-1873-2023","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-8-1873-2023","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract. This paper presents a new upscaling methodology for semi-submersible floating offshore wind turbine platforms. The size and power rating of offshore wind turbines have been growing in recent years, with modern wind turbines rated at 10–18 MW in contrast with 2–5 MW in 2010. It is not apparent how much further wind turbine size can be increased before it is unjustified. Scaling relations are a useful method for analyzing wind turbine designs to understand the mass, load, and cost increases with size. Scaling relations currently do not exist but are needed for floating offshore platforms to understand how the technical and economic development of floating offshore wind energy may develop with increasing turbine size. In this paper, a hydrodynamic model has been developed to capture the key platform response in pitch. The hydrodynamic model is validated using OpenFAST, a high-fidelity offshore wind turbine simulation software. An upscaling methodology is then applied to two semi-submersible case studies of reference systems (the Offshore Code Comparison Collaboration Continuation (OC4) 5 MW and the International Energy Agency (IEA) 15 MW). For each case study, the platform pitch angle at rated wind turbine thrust is constrained to a specified value. The results show that platform dimensions scale to a factor of 0.75, and the platform steel mass scales to a factor of 1.5 when the wall thickness is kept constant. This study is the first to develop generalized upscaling relations that can be used for other triangular semi-submersible platforms that have three outer columns with the turbine mounted at the center of the system. This is in contrast with other studies that upscale a specific design to a larger power rating. This upscaling methodology provides new insight into trends for semi-submersible platform upscaling as turbine size increases.\u0000","PeriodicalId":46540,"journal":{"name":"Wind Energy Science","volume":"29 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138971697","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract. The continuous up-scaling of wind turbines enabled by more lightweight and flexible blades in combination with coning has challenged the assumptions of a plane disc in the commonly used blade element momentum (BEM)-type aerodynamic codes for the design and analysis of wind turbines. The objective with the present work is thus to take a step back relative to the integral 1-dimensional (1-D) momentum theory solution in the BEM model in order to study the actuator disc (AD) flow in more detail. We present an analytical, linear solution for a two-dimensional (2-D) AD flow with one equation for the axial velocity and one for the lateral velocity, respectively. Although it is a 2-D model, we show in the paper that there is a good correlation with axis-symmetric and three-dimensional (3-D) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations on a circular disc. The 2-D model has thus the potential to form the basis for a simple and consistent rotor induction model. For a constant loading, the axial velocity distribution at the disc is uniform as in the case of the classical momentum theory for an AD. However, an important observation of the simulated flow field is that immediately downstream of the disc the axial velocity profiles change rapidly to a shape with increased induction towards the edges of the disc and less induction on the central part. This is typically what is seen at the disc in full non-linear CFD AD simulations, which is what we compare with in the paper. By a simple coordinate rotation the analytical solution is extended to a yawed disc with constant loading. Again, a comparison with CFD, now with a 3-D simulation on a circular disc in yaw, confirms a good performance of the analytical 2-D model for this more complicated flow. Finally, a further extension of the model to simulate a coned disc is obtained using a simple superposition of the solution of two yawed discs with opposite yaw angles and positioned so the two discs just touch each other. Now the validation of the model is performed with results from axis-symmetric CFD simulations of an AD with a coning of both 20 and −20∘. In particular, for the disc coned in the downwind direction there is a very good correlation between the simulated normal velocity to the disc, whereas some deviations are seen for the upwind coning. The promising correlation of the results for the 2-D model in comparison with 3-D simulations of a circular disc with CFD for complicated inflow like what occurs at yaw and coning indicates that the 2-D model could form the basis for a new, consistent rotor induction model. The model should be applied along diagonal lines on a rotor and coupled to an angular momentum model. This application is sketched in the outlook and is a subject for future research.
摘要由于叶片更轻、更灵活,再加上锥形结构,风力涡轮机的规模不断扩大,这对用于设计和分析风力涡轮机的常用叶片动量(BEM)型空气动力学代码中的平面圆盘假设提出了挑战。因此,本研究的目的是相对于 BEM 模型中的一维(1-D)动量理论整体解法后退一步,以便更详细地研究致动器圆盘(AD)流。我们为二维(2-D)AD 流提出了一个分析性线性解决方案,其中一个方程分别表示轴向速度,一个方程表示横向速度。虽然这是一个二维模型,但我们在论文中表明,它与轴对称和三维(CFD)计算流体动力学(CFD)圆盘模拟有很好的相关性。因此,二维模型有可能成为简单一致的转子感应模型的基础。对于恒定负载,圆盘上的轴向速度分布是均匀的,就像经典动量理论中的 AD 一样。然而,对模拟流场的一个重要观察结果是,紧靠圆盘下游的轴向速度剖面迅速变化为圆盘边缘感应增加而中心部分感应减少的形状。这是在全非线性 CFD AD 模拟中在圆盘处看到的典型情况,也是我们在本文中进行比较的情况。通过简单的坐标旋转,分析解决方案扩展到了具有恒定负载的偏航圆盘。通过与 CFD 进行比较(现在是对偏航圆盘进行三维模拟),再次证实了二维分析模型在这种更为复杂的流动中的良好性能。最后,通过对两个偏航角度相反的圆盘进行简单的叠加求解,使两个圆盘刚好相碰,从而进一步扩展了模型,以模拟锥形圆盘。现在,我们利用轴对称 CFD 仿真结果对模型进行验证,仿真结果显示 AD 的锥度分别为 20 和 -20∘。特别是,对于下风方向的圆锥盘,模拟的法向速度与圆锥盘之间的相关性非常好,而对于上风方向的圆锥盘,则出现了一些偏差。二维模型的结果与使用 CFD 对圆盘进行的三维模拟结果相比,具有很好的相关性,这表明二维模型可以作为新的、一致的转子感应模型的基础。该模型应沿对角线应用于转子,并与角动量模型相结合。这种应用在展望中作了概述,是未来研究的一个课题。
{"title":"An analytical linear two-dimensional actuator disc model and comparisons with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations","authors":"H. A. Madsen","doi":"10.5194/wes-8-1853-2023","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-8-1853-2023","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract. The continuous up-scaling of wind turbines enabled by more lightweight and flexible blades in combination with coning has challenged the assumptions of a plane disc in the commonly used blade element momentum (BEM)-type aerodynamic codes for the design and analysis of wind turbines. The objective with the present work is thus to take a step back relative to the integral 1-dimensional (1-D) momentum theory solution in the BEM model in order to study the actuator disc (AD) flow in more detail. We present an analytical, linear solution for a two-dimensional (2-D) AD flow with one equation for the axial velocity and one for the lateral velocity, respectively. Although it is a 2-D model, we show in the paper that there is a good correlation with axis-symmetric and three-dimensional (3-D) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations on a circular disc. The 2-D model has thus the potential to form the basis for a simple and consistent rotor induction model. For a constant loading, the axial velocity distribution at the disc is uniform as in the case of the classical momentum theory for an AD. However, an important observation of the simulated flow field is that immediately downstream of the disc the axial velocity profiles change rapidly to a shape with increased induction towards the edges of the disc and less induction on the central part. This is typically what is seen at the disc in full non-linear CFD AD simulations, which is what we compare with in the paper. By a simple coordinate rotation the analytical solution is extended to a yawed disc with constant loading. Again, a comparison with CFD, now with a 3-D simulation on a circular disc in yaw, confirms a good performance of the analytical 2-D model for this more complicated flow. Finally, a further extension of the model to simulate a coned disc is obtained using a simple superposition of the solution of two yawed discs with opposite yaw angles and positioned so the two discs just touch each other. Now the validation of the model is performed with results from axis-symmetric CFD simulations of an AD with a coning of both 20 and −20∘. In particular, for the disc coned in the downwind direction there is a very good correlation between the simulated normal velocity to the disc, whereas some deviations are seen for the upwind coning. The promising correlation of the results for the 2-D model in comparison with 3-D simulations of a circular disc with CFD for complicated inflow like what occurs at yaw and coning indicates that the 2-D model could form the basis for a new, consistent rotor induction model. The model should be applied along diagonal lines on a rotor and coupled to an angular momentum model. This application is sketched in the outlook and is a subject for future research.\u0000","PeriodicalId":46540,"journal":{"name":"Wind Energy Science","volume":"29 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139005080","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Negin Sadeghi, Pietro D'Antuono, N. Noppe, Koen Robbelein, W. Weijtjens, C. Devriendt
Abstract. Offshore wind turbine support structures are fatigue-driven designs subject to a wide variety of cyclic loads from wind, waves, and turbine controls. While most wind turbine loads and metocean data are collected at short-term 10 min intervals, some of the largest fatigue cycles have periods over 1 d. Therefore, these low-frequency fatigue dynamics (LFFDs) are not fully considered when working with the industry-standard short-term window. To recover these LFFDs in the state-of-the-industry practices, the authors implemented a short- to long-term factor applied to the accumulated short-term damages while maintaining the ability to work with the 10 min data. In the current work, we study the LFFD impact on the damage from the fore–aft and side–side bending moments and the sensors' strain measurements and their variability within and across wind farms. While results might vary strongly between sites, for the current site and a stress–life (SN) curve slope of m=5, up to 65 % of damage is directly related to LFFDs.
{"title":"Quantifying the effect of low-frequency fatigue dynamics on offshore wind turbine foundations: a comparative study","authors":"Negin Sadeghi, Pietro D'Antuono, N. Noppe, Koen Robbelein, W. Weijtjens, C. Devriendt","doi":"10.5194/wes-8-1839-2023","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-8-1839-2023","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract. Offshore wind turbine support structures are fatigue-driven designs subject to a wide variety of cyclic loads from wind, waves, and turbine controls. While most wind turbine loads and metocean data are collected at short-term 10 min intervals, some of the largest fatigue cycles have periods over 1 d. Therefore, these low-frequency fatigue dynamics (LFFDs) are not fully considered when working with the industry-standard short-term window. To recover these LFFDs in the state-of-the-industry practices, the authors implemented a short- to long-term factor applied to the accumulated short-term damages while maintaining the ability to work with the 10 min data. In the current work, we study the LFFD impact on the damage from the fore–aft and side–side bending moments and the sensors' strain measurements and their variability within and across wind farms. While results might vary strongly between sites, for the current site and a stress–life (SN) curve slope of m=5, up to 65 % of damage is directly related to LFFDs.\u0000","PeriodicalId":46540,"journal":{"name":"Wind Energy Science","volume":"41 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138595207","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract. Pitch bearings are critical for the safe and efficient operation of wind turbines. They connect the rotor blades to the rotor hub and allow for pitching movements that control loads and rotor speeds. While four-point-contact ball bearings have been dominant in the past, three-row roller bearings are increasingly used in current designs due to their higher load capacity at the same diameter. Wear of the raceways is one of the possible damage mechanisms in pitch bearings. As roller bearings differ significantly from previous designs and because the operational conditions of wind turbines differ from other industrial applications, it is a reasonable de-risking exercise to undergo wear tests prior to the commissioning of such bearings. This study outlines a process for developing a wear test program based on aero-elastic simulation data and wind speed measurements. The process is then applied to an example roller bearing. The final program covers both standstill conditions and pitch cycles. The first is the main addition to former approaches. With existing test rigs and a reasonable budget and timeline, the program can be executed.
{"title":"Wear test programs for roller-type pitch bearings of wind turbines","authors":"M. Stammler","doi":"10.5194/wes-8-1821-2023","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-8-1821-2023","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract. Pitch bearings are critical for the safe and efficient operation of wind turbines. They connect the rotor blades to the rotor hub and allow for pitching movements that control loads and rotor speeds. While four-point-contact ball bearings have been dominant in the past, three-row roller bearings are increasingly used in current designs due to their higher load capacity at the same diameter. Wear of the raceways is one of the possible damage mechanisms in pitch bearings. As roller bearings differ significantly from previous designs and because the operational conditions of wind turbines differ from other industrial applications, it is a reasonable de-risking exercise to undergo wear tests prior to the commissioning of such bearings. This study outlines a process for developing a wear test program based on aero-elastic simulation data and wind speed measurements. The process is then applied to an example roller bearing. The final program covers both standstill conditions and pitch cycles. The first is the main addition to former approaches. With existing test rigs and a reasonable budget and timeline, the program can be executed.\u0000","PeriodicalId":46540,"journal":{"name":"Wind Energy Science","volume":"14 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138595478","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract. This paper studies the electrostatic discharge effect in wind turbines, a possible trigger source of the main bearing current. A lab setup with a charge generator and downsized wind turbine was built to verify the impact of electrostatic discharge on the main bearing current. In the test, a fatal amplitude for the bearing current was found at only −93 mV driven voltage on the shaft. Compared with the bearing current driven by the common-mode voltage, the electrostatic discharge effect triggers the bearing breakdown at a lower shaft voltage but much higher bearing current amplitude. The results demonstrate that the electrostatic discharge effect is a pattern of the bearing current in wind turbines and is much more dangerous to the bearing.
{"title":"Electrostatic discharge impacts on the main shaft bearings of wind turbines","authors":"Jian Zhao, Xiangdong Xu, Ola Carlson","doi":"10.5194/wes-8-1809-2023","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-8-1809-2023","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract. This paper studies the electrostatic discharge effect in wind turbines, a possible trigger source of the main bearing current. A lab setup with a charge generator and downsized wind turbine was built to verify the impact of electrostatic discharge on the main bearing current. In the test, a fatal amplitude for the bearing current was found at only −93 mV driven voltage on the shaft. Compared with the bearing current driven by the common-mode voltage, the electrostatic discharge effect triggers the bearing breakdown at a lower shaft voltage but much higher bearing current amplitude. The results demonstrate that the electrostatic discharge effect is a pattern of the bearing current in wind turbines and is much more dangerous to the bearing.\u0000","PeriodicalId":46540,"journal":{"name":"Wind Energy Science","volume":"123 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138599627","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract. Wind turbine power performance measurements often occur at the perimeter of a wind farm, where the wind flow is subject to blockage effects, which might impact the measured power performance. We perform Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes simulations of a wind farm with five rows of 20 turbines each, operating in a conventionally neutral boundary layer, to evaluate whether the power performances measured for turbines in the upstream row would differ from that of a turbine operating in isolation under the same inflow conditions. We simulate the power performance measurements with both meteorological masts and nacelle-mounted lidars. Results show that blockage effects have an impact on the measured power performance of the wind farm turbines, with measured power coefficient varying more than 1 % relative to what is measured for the isolated turbine. In this work, we propose a method to correct for the effect of blockage on power performance measurements, yielding a curve that is more consistent with how power curves in energy yield analyses are defined and used, and thereby allowing for more useful comparisons between these curves. Our numerical results indicate that the correction method greatly reduces blockage-related variance and bias in the measured power curves. While flow modeling can be used to calculate the correction factors for actual power performance measurements in the field, we additionally show how some of the correction factors can be derived from lidar measurements. Finally, the numerical results suggest that the method could also be used to correct for the effect of wakes on power performance measurements conducted on turbines located downstream of the leading row.
{"title":"A method to correct for the effect of blockage and wakes on power performance measurements","authors":"A. Sebastiani, J. Bleeg, Alfredo Peña","doi":"10.5194/wes-8-1795-2023","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-8-1795-2023","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract. Wind turbine power performance measurements often occur at the perimeter of a wind farm, where the wind flow is subject to blockage effects, which might impact the measured power performance. We perform Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes simulations of a wind farm with five rows of 20 turbines each, operating in a conventionally neutral boundary layer, to evaluate whether the power performances measured for turbines in the upstream row would differ from that of a turbine operating in isolation under the same inflow conditions. We simulate the power performance measurements with both meteorological masts and nacelle-mounted lidars. Results show that blockage effects have an impact on the measured power performance of the wind farm turbines, with measured power coefficient varying more than 1 % relative to what is measured for the isolated turbine. In this work, we propose a method to correct for the effect of blockage on power performance measurements, yielding a curve that is more consistent with how power curves in energy yield analyses are defined and used, and thereby allowing for more useful comparisons between these curves. Our numerical results indicate that the correction method greatly reduces blockage-related variance and bias in the measured power curves. While flow modeling can be used to calculate the correction factors for actual power performance measurements in the field, we additionally show how some of the correction factors can be derived from lidar measurements. Finally, the numerical results suggest that the method could also be used to correct for the effect of wakes on power performance measurements conducted on turbines located downstream of the leading row.\u0000","PeriodicalId":46540,"journal":{"name":"Wind Energy Science","volume":"23 16","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138604036","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract. In the realm of novel technologies for generating electricity from renewable resources, an emerging category of wind energy converters called airborne wind energy systems (AWESs) has gained prominence. These pioneering systems employ tethered wings or aircraft that operate at higher atmospheric layers, enabling them to harness wind speeds surpassing conventional wind turbines' capabilities. The balloon wind turbine is one type of AWESs that utilizes the buoyancy effect to elevate the turbine to altitudes typically ranging from 400 to 1000 m. In this paper, the wake characteristics and aerodynamics of a balloon wind turbine were numerically investigated for different wind scenarios. Large eddy simulation, along with the actuator disk model, was employed to predict the wake behavior of the turbine. To improve the accuracy of the simulation results, a structured grid was generated and refined by using an algorithm to resolve about 80 % of the local turbulent kinetic energy in the wake. Results contributed to designing an optimized layout of wind farms and stability analysis of such systems. The capabilities of the hybrid large eddy simulation and actuator disk model (LES–ADM) when using the mesh generation algorithm were evaluated against the experimental data on a smaller wind turbine. The assessment revealed a good agreement between numerical and experimental results. While a weakened rotor wake was observed at the distance of 22.5 diameters downstream of the balloon turbine, the balloon wake disappeared at about 0.6 of that distance in all the wind scenarios. Vortices generated by the rotor and balloon started to merge at the tilt angle of 10∘, which intensified the turbulence intensity at 10 diameters downstream of the turbine for the wind speeds of 7 and 10 m s−1. By increasing the tilt angle, the lift force on the wings experienced a sharper increase with respect to that of the whole balloon, which signified a controlling system requirement for balancing such an extra lift force.
{"title":"Wake characteristics of a balloon wind turbine and aerodynamic analysis of its balloon using a large eddy simulation and actuator disk model","authors":"Aref Ehteshami, Mostafa Varmazyar","doi":"10.5194/wes-8-1771-2023","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-8-1771-2023","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract. In the realm of novel technologies for generating electricity from renewable resources, an emerging category of wind energy converters called airborne wind energy systems (AWESs) has gained prominence. These pioneering systems employ tethered wings or aircraft that operate at higher atmospheric layers, enabling them to harness wind speeds surpassing conventional wind turbines' capabilities. The balloon wind turbine is one type of AWESs that utilizes the buoyancy effect to elevate the turbine to altitudes typically ranging from 400 to 1000 m. In this paper, the wake characteristics and aerodynamics of a balloon wind turbine were numerically investigated for different wind scenarios. Large eddy simulation, along with the actuator disk model, was employed to predict the wake behavior of the turbine. To improve the accuracy of the simulation results, a structured grid was generated and refined by using an algorithm to resolve about 80 % of the local turbulent kinetic energy in the wake. Results contributed to designing an optimized layout of wind farms and stability analysis of such systems. The capabilities of the hybrid large eddy simulation and actuator disk model (LES–ADM) when using the mesh generation algorithm were evaluated against the experimental data on a smaller wind turbine. The assessment revealed a good agreement between numerical and experimental results. While a weakened rotor wake was observed at the distance of 22.5 diameters downstream of the balloon turbine, the balloon wake disappeared at about 0.6 of that distance in all the wind scenarios. Vortices generated by the rotor and balloon started to merge at the tilt angle of 10∘, which intensified the turbulence intensity at 10 diameters downstream of the turbine for the wind speeds of 7 and 10 m s−1. By increasing the tilt angle, the lift force on the wings experienced a sharper increase with respect to that of the whole balloon, which signified a controlling system requirement for balancing such an extra lift force.","PeriodicalId":46540,"journal":{"name":"Wind Energy Science","volume":"88 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139197128","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}