Development of an aerodynamic measurement system for wind turbines

Abstract

In this paper an aerodynamic measurement system is presented that can be installed as a retrofit on virtually any onshore turbine. The aerodynamic measurement system consists of pressure sensors embedded in thin glass-fiber shells, which are glued to the rotor blades. Additionally, an aerodynamic probe is attached to outboard side the shells with a thin flange. In this study the system was installed on an 8 MW offshore prototype turbine located in Bremerhaven. It was mounted at two sections of one of the rotor blades with 72 pressure sensors in total (18 sensors each on the pressure side and suction side, respectively). Additionally, at each section an aerodynamic probe with 5 sensors was installed in front of the leading edge to measure inflow speed and direction. Results were compared to CFD simulations.