Wind tunnel testing of scaled wind turbine models: Beyond aerodynamics

Bottasso, Carlo L.; Campagnolo, Filippo; Petrović, Vlaho

doi:10.1016/j.jweia.2014.01.009

Cited by 187 publications

(124 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…A more sophisticated method of non-geometrical scaling is to modify the wind turbine airfoil shape and chord length in order to obtain improved performance at low Reynolds numbers. Improvements to the turbine performance in a wave basin have been documented, but it is not currently possible to simultaneously match the thrust, torque, and slope of the thrust curve adequately [8][9][10]. Numerical code validation using tests with non-geometrically scaled rotors has also proved challenging due to three-dimensional effects at low Reynolds numbers which are not accounted for by commonly used methods such as blade/element momentum [11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Real-Time Hybrid Model Testing of a Braceless Semi-Submersible Wind Turbine: Part II — Experimental Results

Bachynski

Thys

Sauder

et al. 2016

Volume 6: Ocean Space Utilization; Ocean Renewable Energy

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Real-Time Hybrid Model (ReaTHM) tests of a braceless semi-submersible wind turbine were carried out at MARIN-TEK's Ocean Basin in 2015. The tests sought to evaluate the performance of the floating wind turbine (FWT) structure in environmental conditions representative of the Northern North Sea. In order to do so, the tests employed a new hybrid testing method, wherein simulated aerodynamic loads were applied to the physical structure in the laboratory. The test method was found to work well, and is documented in [1].The present work describes some of the experimental results. The test results showed a high level of repeatability, and permitted accurate investigation of the coupled responses of a FWT, including unique conditions such as blade pitch faults. For example, the influence of the wind turbine controller can be seen in decay tests in pitch and surge. In regular waves, aerodynamic loads due to constant wind had little influence on the structure motions (except for the mean offsets). Tests in irregular waves with and without turbulent wind are compared directly, and the influence of the wave-frequency motions on the aerodynamic damping of wind-induced low-frequency motions can be observed.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Real-Time Hybrid Model Testing of a Braceless Semi-Submersible Wind Turbine: Part II — Experimental Results

Bachynski

Thys

Sauder

et al. 2016

Volume 6: Ocean Space Utilization; Ocean Renewable Energy

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The experimental set-up in the wind tunnel (Bottasso et al, 2014) at the Politecnico di Milano (PoliMi) consisted of three generically scaled wind turbine models (see Fig. 1), named G1, and two short-range WindScanners.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Over the past few years, several research groups have focused attention on wind tunnel experiments with the innovative idea of supporting research not only related to the validation of purely aerodynamic models, but also to support numerical activities on control and aero-servo-elasticity (Bottasso et al, 2014) as well as to understand the interaction of wind turbines with turbulent flow (Rockel et al, 2014). In fact, the full-scale testing of wind turbines in the atmospheric boundary layer imposes several constraints, such as the difficulty in obtaining accurate knowledge and repeatability of the environmental conditions and higher costs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Demonstration and uncertainty analysis of synchronised scanning lidar measurements of 2-D velocity fields in a boundary-layer wind tunnel

et al. 2017

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Abstract. This paper combines the research methodologies of scaled wind turbine model experiments in wind tunnels with short-range WindScanner lidar measurement technology. The wind tunnel at the Politecnico di Milano was equipped with three wind turbine models and two short-range WindScanner lidars to demonstrate the benefits of synchronised scanning lidars in such experimental surroundings for the first time. The duallidar system can provide fully synchronised trajectory scans with sampling timescales ranging from seconds to minutes. First, staring mode measurements were compared to hot-wire probe measurements commonly used in wind tunnels. This yielded goodness of fit coefficients of 0.969 and 0.902 for the 1 Hz averaged u and v components of the wind speed, respectively, validating the 2-D measurement capability of the lidar scanners. Subsequently, the measurement of wake profiles on a line as well as wake area scans were executed to illustrate the applicability of lidar scanning to the measurement of small-scale wind flow effects. An extensive uncertainty analysis was executed to assess the accuracy of the method. The downsides of lidar with respect to the hotwire probes are the larger measurement probe volume, which compromises the ability to measure turbulence, and the possible loss of a small part of the measurements due to hard target beam reflection. In contrast, the benefits are the high flexibility in conducting both point measurements and area scanning and the fact that remote sensing techniques do not disturb the flow during measuring. The research campaign revealed a high potential for using short-range synchronised scanning lidars to measure the flow around wind turbines in a wind tunnel and increased the knowledge about the corresponding uncertainties.

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“…However, wind tunnel testing embraced over the years more aspects of wind turbine design, going one step further from airfoil performance experiments to testing of scaled wind turbine models. Indeed, wind tunnel testing of scaled wind turbines has been used for a plethora of applications such as wake studies [2,3], wind turbine control tests [4], wind farm control validation [5] and complex terrain studies [6]. Undoubtedly, scaled wind turbine model design evolved over the years following the demand for new research applications.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Models of similar size have been used for simulating wind farms in a wind tunnel, as for example the nine scaled models of 12 cm rotor diameter used for simulating a 3×3 array in [9]. In [4], an aeroelastically scaled model of a Vestas V90 wind turbine was developed, featuring a 2 m rotor diameter and active torque, yaw and individual pitch control. In [5], a model with similar control capabilities but a smaller rigid rotor (1.1 m diameter) and flexible tower was developed.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Design of a multipurpose scaled wind turbine model

Nanos

Kheirallah

Campagnolo

et al. 2018

J. Phys.: Conf. Ser.

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Abstract. This paper describes the methodology that was followed for designing a scaled wind turbine model. This model is intended to be used in complex terrain studies as well as deep array wind farm control tests. Therefore, emphasis was given on making it as compact as possible while keeping a high level of instrumentation. The result is a three blade wind turbine with rotor diameter of 0.6 m equipped with active pitch, yaw and torque control. After a discussion on the design procedure, we present preliminary performance characteristics of the model obtained experimentally. IntroductionWind tunnel testing is an invaluable tool for improving wind turbine efficiency and eventually reducing the levelized cost of energy from wind. The wind turbine component that has benefited the most from wind tunnel testing is certainly the blade, since wind tunnel testing of wind turbine airfoils was used from the very beginning of the wind energy industry [1]. However, wind tunnel testing embraced over the years more aspects of wind turbine design, going one step further from airfoil performance experiments to testing of scaled wind turbine models. Indeed, wind tunnel testing of scaled wind turbines has been used for a plethora of applications such as wake studies [2,3], wind turbine control tests [4], wind farm control validation [5] and complex terrain studies [6]. Undoubtedly, scaled wind turbine model design evolved over the years following the demand for new research applications. For example, in the MEXICO project [2, 3] a 4.5 m diameter wind turbine model was developed with highly instrumented blades with the purpose of creating a database of wake and rotor load data. In other wake studies smaller scaled wind turbines were used, such as the 10 cm diameter model that Chamoro et al. used in [7] or the 15 cm model developed by Bastankhah in [8]. Models of similar size have been used for simulating wind farms in a wind tunnel, as for example the nine scaled models of 12 cm rotor diameter used for simulating a 3×3 array in [9]. In [4], an aeroelastically scaled model of a Vestas V90 wind turbine was developed, featuring a 2 m rotor diameter and active torque, yaw and individual pitch control. In [5], a model with similar control capabilities but a smaller rigid rotor (1.1 m diameter) and flexible tower was developed.The above list, although not exhaustive, reveals the great diversity of scaled wind turbine models that exist in the literature. Some of them are quite sophisticated in terms of design and instrumentation, yet their size requires large wind tunnels and/or limits the number of wind turbines that can be used to avoid blockage or other undesirable effects. Some others are quite small and, despite being very useful for wind farm aerodynamic studies, they have limited capabilities and/or aerodynamic performance. In this paper we introduce a multipurpose scaled

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Wind tunnel testing of scaled wind turbine models: Beyond aerodynamics

Cited by 187 publications

References 23 publications

Real-Time Hybrid Model Testing of a Braceless Semi-Submersible Wind Turbine: Part II — Experimental Results

Real-Time Hybrid Model Testing of a Braceless Semi-Submersible Wind Turbine: Part II — Experimental Results

Demonstration and uncertainty analysis of synchronised scanning lidar measurements of 2-D velocity fields in a boundary-layer wind tunnel

Design of a multipurpose scaled wind turbine model

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