Dynamic aeroelastic response of wind turbine rotors under active flow control

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Date

11-20-2019

Department

Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics

Abstract

The significance of wind power and the associated relevance of utility-scale wind turbines are becoming more prominent in tapping renewable sources for power. Operational wind turbines today rated at 8 MW have rotor diameters of 164 m. Economies-of-scale factor suggest a sustained growth in rotor size, forecasting the use of longer and heavier blades. This has led to an increased emphasis on studies related to improvements and innovations in aerodynamic load-control methodologies. Among several approaches to controlling the stochastic aerodynamics loads on wind turbine rotors, most popular is the pitch control. Widely used in operational wind turbines, conventional pitch control is an effective approach for long-term load variations. However, their application to mitigate short-term fluctuations have limitations that present a bottleneck for growth in rotor size. Sporadic changes occurring within short time scales near the turbine rotor have significant impact on the aeroelastic behavior of the blades, power generation, with long-term effects on the rotor life-span. Cyclic variations occurring within few seconds emphasize the need for swift response of control methods that counter the resulting adverse effects.

Publication Title

ASME-JSME-KSME 2019 8th Joint Fluids Engineering Conference

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