Investigation of horizontal-axis wind turbine (HAWT) blade threedimensional rotational effect based on field experiments

Field experiments are performed on a two-bladed 33 kW horizontal-axis wind turbine (HAWT). The pressures are measured with 191 pressure sensors positioned around the surfaces of seven spanwise section airfoils on one of the two blades. Three-dimensional (3D) and two-dimensional (2D) numerical simulations are performed, respectively, on the rotor and the seven airfoils of the blade. The results are compared with the experimental results of the pressure distribution on the seven airfoils and the lift coefficients. The 3D rotational effect on the blade aerodynamic characteristics is then studied with a numerical approach. Finally, some conclusions are drawn as follows. From the tip to the root of the blade, the experimental differential pressure of the blade section airfoil increases at first and then decreases gradually. The calculated 3D result of the pressure distribution on the blade surface is closer to that of the experiment than the 2D result. The 3D rotational effect has a significant impact on the blade surface flow and the aerodynamic load, leading to an increase of the differential pressure on the airfoils and their lift coefficient than that with the 2D one because of the stall delay. The influence of the 3D rotational effect on the wind turbine blade especially takes place on the sections with flow separation.     

钝后缘风力机翼型的环量控制研究

钝后缘风力机翼型具有结构强度高、对表面污染不敏感等优点,但其较大的阻力系数使得翼型的整体气动特性不够理想. 利用环量控制方法对钝后缘风力机翼型进行了流动控制,以改善钝后缘风力机翼型的气动特性,减弱尾迹区脱体涡强度. 通过对钝后缘风力机翼型环量控制方法进行相关的数值模拟,对比研究了环量控制方法的增升减阻效果, 研究了环量控制下翼型升阻力特性随射流动量系数的变化规律,并对不同射流动量系数下环量控制方法的气动品质因子和控制效率进行了分析. 研究结果表明:环量控制方法能够大幅提升钝后缘风力机翼型的升力系数,同时有效地降低翼型的阻力系数; 翼型的升力系数随射流动量系数的增大而增大,表现出很明显的分离控制阶段和超环量控制阶段的变化规律; 射流能耗的功率系数随射流动量系数的增大而增大,且增长速率逐渐增大;实施环量控制方法后叶片的输出功率同样随射流动量系数增大而增大,但增长速率逐渐降低. 总体来说,环量控制方法可以有效地改善钝后缘风力机翼型的气动特性以及功率输出特性,在大型风力机流动控制中具有很好的应用前景.      

Numerical analysis of the effect of flaps on the tip vortex of a wind turbine blade

Two oscillating flaps located close to the tip and at mid span are used to excite the unstable modes of the tip vortex system of a wind turbine blade. The two flaps are deflected in opposite directions such that the root bending moment of the wind turbine blade remains almost unchanged. To investigate the mechanism of how and to what extent the deflection of the flaps influences the tip-vortex system, Large-Eddy Simulations in the Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian formulation in a rotating frame of reference are performed at an averaged chord based Reynolds number of 300,000. Periodic boundary conditions are applied in the circumferential direction such that the flow over only one of the three blades of the wind turbine needs to be computed. A subsequent simulation of the trailing tip-vortex system is performed to analyze the evolution of the disturbed tip vortex. These simulations use a far-wake model based on the parameters obtained from the wind turbine simulation as inflow condition for the wake flow field. The comparison of the flow without and with oscillating flaps shows that the tip-vortex core is displaced by approximately 5% of the rotor radius by the flap motion. The root bending moment and torque at the root of the blade with flaps vary sinusoidally. Due to the compensation by the middle span flap, the difference of the root bending moment and torque is found to be less than 5% compared to the case without moving flaps. The simulations of trailing tip vortex show considerably earlier breakdown of the excited system, which proves the concept to excite instabilities in the vortex system by oscillating flaps successful.     

Particle image velocimetry （PIV） measurements of tip vortex wake structure of wind turbine

Large-view flow field measurements using the particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique with high resolution CCD cameras on a rotating 1/8 scale blade model of the NREL UAE phase VI wind turbine are conducted in the engineering-oriented Φ3.2 m wind tunnel.The motivation is to establish the database of the initiation and development of the tip vortex to study the flow structure and mechanism of the wind turbine.The results show that the tip vortex first moves inward for a very short period and then moves out...     

The physics of modeling unsteady flaps with gaps

Research indicates that active control concepts have promise in mitigating numerous adverse phenomena associated with the aeromechanics of lifting surfaces. These techniques are being applied to delay stall of fixed wing aircraft, as well as to eliminate or mitigate vibratory loads, blade–vortex interaction, and dynamic stall of the flow about rotorcraft and wind turbine blades. These phenomena are nonlinear and unsteady for dynamic systems, which add yet another layer of complexity on the physics of the flow. While a plethora of different active control techniques is being explored, the use of trailing edge flaps appears to be one of the more viable and cost-effective concepts. Static multi-element airfoils and wings have been analyzed computationally, but little exists on the ability to model these when the airfoil and flap are dynamic. The costs associated with modeling the gap between the airfoil and flap have led to approximations where the flap is modeled only as a morphed tip of the airfoil (no gap). Using a hybrid Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes/Large-Eddy-Simulation turbulence technique, an oscillating flapped airfoil has been studied to determine the influence of modeling the gap on the performance and acoustic signature of the airfoil. Results are compared with the experimental data to confirm the validity of the computational approach. Both attached and separated (dynamic stall) oscillating flows are examined. The physics within the gap are found to be important for the airfoil performance when stall is encountered, as well as when acoustic signatures are required.     

风力机叶片翼型动态试验技术研究

风力机叶片动态振荡过程往往伴随着俯仰和横摆同时进行, 以前对许多动态问题不清楚的阶段, 工程上不惜以增加叶片重量为代价而采用偏安全的设计, 通常忽略横摆振荡的影响; 大型风力机设计对获取翼型更加全面、准确的动态载荷提出了更高要求, 研究横摆振荡对翼型动态气动特性的影响规律具有重要意义. 本文首次开展翼型横摆振荡动态风洞试验研究, 采用“电子凸轮”技术代替机械凸轮实现了振荡频率和振荡角度的无级变化, 基于设计的电子外触发装置实现了对动态流场的实时测量, 实现了风洞来流、模型角位移和动态压力数据的同步采集, 分别开展了翼型静态测压、俯仰/横摆动态测压、粒子图像测速和荧光丝线等试验研究, 试验结果准度较高、规律合理; 分析了动态试验洞壁干扰影响机制. 研究表明, 横摆振荡翼型的气动曲线也存在明显迟滞效应; 随着振荡频率升高, 翼型俯仰和横摆振荡下的气动迟滞性均增强; 翼型俯仰振荡正行程的动态失速涡破裂有所延迟; 洞壁与模型端部交界处的强三维效应对翼型压力分布影响较大; 建立的横摆振荡试验技术可为风力机动态掠效应的研究提供技术支撑.      

Visualization by PIV of dynamic stall on a vertical axis wind turbine

The aerodynamic behavior of a vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) is analyzed by means of 2D particle image velocimetry (PIV), focusing on the development of dynamic stall at different tip speed ratios. The VAWT has an unsteady aerodynamic behavior due to the variation with the azimuth angle θ of the blade’s sections’ angle of attack, perceived velocity and Reynolds number. The phenomenon of dynamic stall is then an inherent effect of the operation of a VAWT at low tip speed ratios, impacting both loads and power. The present work is driven by the need to understand this phenomenon, by visualizing and quantifying it, and to create a database for model validation. The experimental method uses PIV to visualize the development of the flow over the suction side of the airfoil for two different reference Reynolds numbers and three tip speed ratios in the operational regime of a small urban wind turbine. The field-of-view of the experiment covers the entire rotation of the blade and almost the entire rotor area. The analysis describes the evolution of the flow around the airfoil and in the rotor area, with special focus on the leading edge separation vortex and trailing edge shed vorticity development. The method also allows the quantification of the flow, both the velocity field and the vorticity/circulation (only the results of the vorticity/circulation distribution are presented), in terms of the phase locked average and the random component.     

Experimental and numerical investigation on sound generation from airfoil-flow interaction

Aerodynamic noise due to interaction between incoming turbulence and rotating blades is an important component in the wind turbine noise. The rod-airfoil configuration is used to investigate the interactive phenomenon experimentally and numerically. Distribution of unsteady pressure on the airfoil surface is measured for different rod positions and airfoil attack angles. Two National Advisory Committee for Aeronatics (NACA) airfoils, NACA0012 and NACA0018, and two wind turbine airfoils, S809 and S825 are investigated. In addition, for low angles of attack, the flow field around the airfoil's leading edge is investigated with the particle image velocimetry (PIV). The experimental results indicate that unsteady pressure disturbances on the airfoil surface are related to the rod vortex shedding. Meanwhile, the interaction flow field of the rod and NACA0012 airfoil is simulated with the unsteady Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes method (URANS), and the obtained pressure spectra are compared with the experimental results.     

基于CFD技术的垂直轴风力机动态尾流特性研究

利用CFD软件对麦克马斯特大学垂直轴风力机进行不同叶尖速比下的数值模拟,计算结果与风洞试验数据吻合良好。近场尾流中,与单叶片的风力机模拟结果比较,上游叶片产生并向下游延伸的旋涡影响下游运行轨道上叶片的升阻力特性,不仅使叶片扭矩输出峰值降低,而且峰值产生的时间延迟。对垂直轴风力机叶片叶梢进行修改,模拟结果显示,叶片扭矩输出峰值不变,但是谷值有所降低,修改后风力机沿风向推力幅值降低明显;远场尾流中,采用风速轮廓线原理,以瑞典的法尔肯贝里市200kW垂直轴风力机为原型,按照真实的空间排布进行数值模拟。模拟结果显示,上游风力机上下两端处产生较为集中的远场尾流,影响下游风力机叶片下半段的气动性能,下游风力机功率输出降低明显。     

Dynamic wind loads and wake characteristics of a wind turbine model in an atmospheric boundary layer wind

An experimental study was conducted to characterize the dynamic wind loads and evolution of the unsteady vortex and turbulent flow structures in the near wake of a horizontal axis wind turbine model placed in an atmospheric boundary layer wind tunnel. In addition to measuring dynamic wind loads (i.e., aerodynamic forces and bending moments) acting on the wind turbine model by using a high-sensitive force-moment sensor unit, a high-resolution digital particle image velocimetry (PIV) system was used to achieve flow field measurements to quantify the characteristics of the turbulent vortex flow in the near wake of the wind turbine model. Besides conducting “free-run” PIV measurements to determine the ensemble-averaged statistics of the flow quantities such as mean velocity, Reynolds stress, and turbulence kinetic energy (TKE) distributions in the wake flow, “phase-locked” PIV measurements were also performed to elucidate further details about evolution of the unsteady vortex structures in the wake flow in relation to the position of the rotating turbine blades. The effects of the tip-speed-ratio of the wind turbine model on the dynamic wind loads and wake flow characteristics were quantified in the terms of the variations of the aerodynamic thrust and bending moment coefficients of the wind turbine model, the evolution of the helical tip vortices and the unsteady vortices shedding from the blade roots and turbine nacelle, the deceleration of the incoming airflows after passing the rotation disk of the turbine blades, the TKE and Reynolds stress distributions in the near wake of the wind turbine model. The detailed flow field measurements were correlated with the dynamic wind load measurements to elucidate underlying physics in order to gain further insight into the characteristics of the dynamic wind loads and turbulent vortex flows in the wakes of wind turbines for the optimal design of the wind turbines operating in atmospheric boundary layer winds.     

Laser velocimetry measurements in a laboratory vaned diffuser

Laser velocimetry measurements were made within a laboratory radial vaned diffuser with three different blade configurations. Measurements were made through passages with four, six and eight blades installed at off design conditions. Also, in the eight blade diffuser measurements were made between the blade passage exit and diffuser exit so that the complete secondary flow could be defined. The flow was found to separate from the blades and form large separation zones. The separation zones consisted primarily of two vortices rotating in opposite directions. At the passage exit the separation region encompassed 23% of the circumferential area for the four blade diffuser, 45% for the six blade and 40% in the eight blade diffuser. Separation occurred at 23%, 27% and 50% from the leading edge of the blades for the 4, 6 and 8 bladed diffusers, indicating that more blades better controlled the separation. Turbulence intensities ranged from approximately 5% to 15% in the primary flow and reached a few hundred percent in the secondary flow within the separation regions.     

Numerical Simulation of the 3D Laminar Viscous Flow on a Horizontal-axis Wind Turbine Blade

The aim of this paper is to describe the methodology followed in order to determine the viscous effects of a uniform wind on the blades of small horizontal-axis wind turbines that rotate at a constant angular speed. The numerical calculation of the development of the three-dimensional boundary layer on the surface of the blades is carried out under laminar conditions and considering flow rotation, airfoil curvature and blade twist effects. The adopted geometry for the twisted blades is given by cambered thin blade sections conformed by circular are airfoils with constant chords. The blade is working under stationary conditions at a given tip speed ratio, so that an extensive laminar boundary layer without flow separation is expected. The boundary layer growth is determined on a non-orthogonal curvilinear coordinate system related to the geometry of the blade surface. Since the thickness of the boundary layer grows from the leading edge of the blade and also from the tip to the blade root, a domain transformation is proposed in order to solve the discretized equations in a regular computational 3D domain. The non-linear system of partial differential coupled equations that governs the boundary layer development is numerically solved applying a finite difference technique using the Krause zig-zag scheme. The resulting coupled equations of motion are linearized, leading to a tridiagonal system of equations that is iteratively solved for the velocity components inside the viscous layer applying the Thomas algorithm, procedure that allows the subsequent numerical determination of the shear stress distribution on the blade surface.     

Supercritical and subcritical dynamic flow-induced instabilities of a small-scale wind turbine blade placed in uniform flow

There is a growing interest in extracting more power per turbine by increasing the rotor size in offshore wind turbines. As a result, the turbine blades will become longer and therefore more flexible, and a flexible blade is susceptible to flow-induced instabilities. In order to design and build stable large wind turbine blades, the onset of possible flow-induced instabilities should be considered in the design process. Currently, there is a lack of experimental work on flow-induced instabilities of wind turbine blades. In the present study, a series of experiments were conducted and flow-induced instabilities were observed in wind turbine blades. A small-scale flexible blade based on the NREL 5 MW reference wind turbine blade was built using three-dimensional printing technique. The blade was placed in the test section of a wind tunnel and was subjected to uniform oncoming flow, representing the case of a parked wind turbine blade. The blade׳s tip displacement was measured using a non-contacting displacement measurement device as the oncoming wind speed was increased. At a critical wind speed, the blade became unstable and experienced limit cycle oscillations. The amplitude of these oscillations increased with increasing wind speed. Both supercritical and subcritical dynamic instabilities were observed. The instabilities were observed at different angles of attack and for blades both with and without a geometric twist. It was found that the blade twist had a significant influence on the observed instability: a blade without a twist experienced a strong subcritical instability.     

一种风力机气动计算的全自由涡尾迹模型

采用全自由方式建立风力机尾流场的涡尾迹模型,引入“虚拟周期”的概念,并发展一种自适应松弛因子方法,从而改善了自由尾迹迭代的稳定性,提高了迭代收敛速度。利用建立的自由涡尾迹模型,计算了风力机叶片的尾流场结构、气动性能及叶片载荷,并与实验结果进行了对比分析。结果表明,尖速比越大,自适应松弛因子方法对缩小模型计算时间越有效;全自由涡尾迹模型能准确给出风力机尾流场的结构,包括尾迹的扩张以及叶尖涡和叶根涡的产生、发展和耗散的过程,风轮扭矩与实验数据吻合;叶片载荷分布的计算结果在低风速下与实验值基本一致,但是在大风速下差别较大,说明需要一个准确的失速模型。     

叶片转动对涡轮间隙内部流动影响的数值研究

机匣与叶片的相对转动是影响涡轮叶顶间隙流动的重要冈素之一.对LISA 1.5级轴流涡轮间隙内部流动的数值计算结果表明:叶片转动对涡轮间隙流动有阻塞作用.叶片静止时,由于阻塞作用消失,导致间隙入口速度增大,间隙流鼍增加,并且通过间隙的流体全部卷起形成间隙涡.同时在叶片顶部吸力面侧前缘、中部各形成一个间隙涡,使得间隙流动损失增加.而且转速下降会加剧动叶出口截面气流过偏/偏转不足现象.同时叶片静止时,间隙前部各个弦长截面内静压自间隙入口开始一直呈增加趋势,直到叶片尾缘附近截面,间隙截面内静压才逐渐稳定.     

A Vibration Estimation Method for Wind Turbine Blades

This paper reports the development of a vibration monitoring system for wind turbine blades. This system is used to estimate the deflection at the tip blade on a wind turbine tower. Technical accidents of wind turbine blades have become increasingly common. Thus, regular monitoring of the blades is very important to prevent breakdowns, especially in cases when the blades begin to vibrate excessively. The monitoring system developed in this study satisfies two main objectives for practicality. First, our system is easy to install on existing wind turbines. Second, blade deflection is measured in real time. Our system can be operated using a few strain gages attached at the blade root, and the deflection is calculated based on the monitored stress. Thus, direct measurement of deflection at the blade tip is unnecessary. An estimation algorithm for this purpose is adopted based on the experimental modal analysis. This paper focuses on the evaluation of the estimation algorithm to investigate the feasibility of our system. Basic experiments were conducted using a simple blade model of a 300 W scaled wind turbine under rotation. Signals from the strain gages were acquired by a sensor network and sent to a computer through a wireless connection. The results show that the estimation accuracy is acceptably high. Therefore, we conclude that our proposed system is practical.     

A DPIV study of the trailing vortex elements from the blades of a horizontal axis wind turbine in yaw

Digital particle image velocimetry (DPIV) has been used in a wind tunnel study to measure the velocity field of the trailing vortices from the blades of a horizontal axis wind-turbine (HWAT) in yaw. The creation of the trailing vortex circulation is shown to vary as a function of the phase angle of the rotor and the angle of yaw between the wind and turbine rotor. The strength of the convecting vorticity was also shown to vary with time. The initial formation of the vortex is shown determined by the flow expansion angle while in yawed flows the developing vortex is then influenced by the vortex sheet shed from the inboard blade trailing edge. This interaction is shown to significantly affect the roll up of the tip vortex. Received: 17 December 1997/Accepted: 16 June 1999     

透平机械叶尖间隙流场研究的进展

叶尖间隙流动对透平机械性能有很大影响。长期以来,叶尖间隙流动机理一直是透平机械领域研究的一个热点,同时也是一个尚未认识清楚的难点。把叶尖间隙内流动的研究进展分成两个部分:一部分是透平叶栅和透平转子内部叶尖间隙流场的研究进展,另一部分是压气机叶栅和压气机转子内部叶尖间隙流场的研究进展。对目前叶尖间隙研究集中的问题,如泄漏涡系结构,泄漏流动模型,泄漏涡旋涡强度的变化,泄漏涡和激波的相互作用等进行了简要的总结。文中还对透平机械叶尖间隙泄漏流动常用的数值计算方法进行了总结。认为今后应进一步对以下问题进行研究,其中包括研究高速透平机械叶尖泄漏涡旋涡强度变化问题,径流式叶轮机械叶尖间隙泄漏流动过程及泄漏涡发生发展规律问题,泄漏涡与激波相互作用产生阻塞区域的大小问题。      

Investigation of three-dimensional dynamic stall on an airfoil using fast-response pressure-sensitive paint

Dynamic stall on a pitching OA209 airfoil in a wind tunnel is investigated at Mach 0.3 and 0.5 using high-speed pressure-sensitive paint (PSP) and pressure measurements. At Mach 0.3, the dynamic stall vortex was observed to propagate faster at the airfoil midline than at the wind-tunnel wall, resulting in a “bowed” vortex shape. At Mach 0.5, shock-induced stall was observed, with initial separation under the shock foot and subsequent expansion of the separated region upstream, downstream and along the breadth of the airfoil. No dynamic stall vortex could be observed at Mach 0.5. The investigation of flow control by blowing showed the potential advantages of PSP over pressure transducers for a complex three-dimensional flow.     

Unsteady flow structure and vorticity convection over the airfoil oscillating at high reduced frequency

Unsteady vortex structures and vorticity convection over the airfoil (NACA 0012), oscillating in the uniform inflow, are studied by flow visualization and velocity measurements. The airfoil, pivoting at one-third of the chord, oscillates periodically near the static stalling angle of attack (AOA) at high reduced-frequency. The phase-triggering and modified phase-averaged techniques are employed to reconstruct the pseudo instantaneous velocity field over the airfoil. During the down stroke cycle, the leading-edge separation vortex is growing and the vortex near the trailing edge begins to shed into the wake. During the upstroke cycle, the leading-edge separation vortex is matured and moves downstream, and the counter clockwise vortex is forming near the trailing edge. Convection speeds and wavelength of the unsteady vortex structure over the airfoil equal to that of the counter clockwise vortex shed into the wake. This kind of vortex structure is termed as “synchronized shedding” type. The wavelength of unsteady vortex structure over the airfoil is significantly different from that at low reduced-frequency. Consistent convection speeds of the leading-edge separation vortex are acquired from the spatial-temporal variations of local circulation and local surface vorticity generation, and equals that predicted from flow visualization. Spatial-temporal variations of the local surface vorticity generation clearly reveal the formation and passage of the leading-edge separation vortex only in the region where the flow does not separate completely from the surface. Significant amounts of the surface vorticity are generated within the leading-edge region of the airfoil during the upstroke cycle. Only negligible amount of surface vorticity is produced within the region of complete flow separation. During the down stroke cycle, the surface vorticity generation is mild along the airfoil surface, except the leading-edge region where a small scale leading-edge separation vortex is forming and growing.