Design and verification of airfoil families for large-size wind turbine blades

For the design of wind turbine blades, the use of a family of specially tailored airfoils is particularly important. The dedicated airfoils can dramatically improve the capability of capturing wind power, reduce the structural weight to save the cost of manufacturing and transportation, and lower the inertial loads as well as the loads due to gust. An overview of the world-wide wind turbine airfoil families developed since 1990's is presented, such as the S series, the DU series, the Risø series, and the FFA series. The design and wind-tunnel tests of the Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU) airfoil family for megawatt-size wind turbines, called the NPU-WA series, are summarized. All tests for the NPU-WA series are carried out in the NF-3 low-speed wind-tunnel with a two-dimensional (2D) test section of 1.6m×0.8m and at the Reynolds number ranging from 1.6×10⁶ to 5×10⁶. The research activities for further improving the NPU-WA airfoils towards lower roughness sensitivity are also reviewed. The development of the new NPUWA series dedicated for multi-megawatt wind turbines is discussed.     

随机湍流工况低雷诺数风力机翼型优化研究

为改善小型风力机随机湍流工况适应性,以NACA0012翼型为研究对象,采用非嵌入式概率配置点法,获得随机湍流工况下小型风力机叶片翼型运行攻角分布规律;在气动优化中耦合层流分离预测,基于Transition SST模型、拉丁超立方试验设计、Kriging模型和带精英策略非支配排序遗传算法NSGA-II进行高湍流低雷诺数风力机翼型气动优化。结果表明,优化翼型叶片平均风能捕获效率分别提高3.01%和4.76%,标准差分别降低4.76%和14.93%,优化翼型湍流适应性增强。该方法将翼型设计与湍流风况相匹配,为湍流工况低雷诺数翼型及小型风力机设计提供参考。     

Effects of the particle Stokes number on wind turbine airfoil erosion

Under natural conditions, wind turbines are inevitably eroded by the action of sand-wind flow. To further investigate the effects of dust drift on the erosion of the wind turbine blades in sand-wind environments, the effects of the wind velocity, particle diameter, and particle density on the erosion of wind turbine airfoils are studied, and the effects of the particle Stokes number on the airfoil erosion are discussed. The results show that, when the angle of attack(AOA) is 6.1°, there will be no erosion on the airfoil surface if the particle Stokes number is lower than 0.013 5, whereas erosion will occur if the particle Stokes number is higher than 0.015 1. Therefore, there exists a critical range for the particle Stokes number. When the particle Stokes number is higher than the maximum value in the critical range, airfoil erosion will occur. The result is further confirmed by changing the particle diameter, particle density, and inflow speed. It is shown that the erosion area on the airfoil and the maximum erosion rate are almost equal under the same particle Stokes number and AOA. The extent of airfoil erosion increases when the particle Stokes number increases, and the critical particle Stokes number increases when the AOA increases. Moreover, the geometric shape of the airfoil pressure surface greatly affects the airfoil erosion, especially at the curvature near the leading edge.     

Validation of adaptive unstructured hexahedral mesh computations of flow around a wind turbine airfoil

In this paper we investigate local adaptive refinement of unstructured hexahedral meshes for computations of the flow around the DU91 wind turbine airfoil. This is a 25% thick airfoil, found at the mid‐span section of a wind turbine blade. Wind turbine applications typically involve unsteady flows due to changes in the angle of attack and to unsteady flow separation at high angles of attack. In order to obtain reasonably accurate results for all these conditions one should use a mesh which is refined in many regions, which is not computationally efficient. Our solution is to apply an automated mesh adaptation technique. In this paper we test an adaptive refinement strategy developed for unstructured hexahedral meshes for steady flow conditions. The automated mesh adaptation is based on local flow sensors for pressure, velocity, density or a combination of these flow variables. This way the mesh is refined only in those regions necessary for high accuracy, retaining computational efficiency. A validation study is performed for two cases: attached flow at an angle of 6° and separated flow at 12°. The results obtained using our adaptive mesh strategy are compared with experimental data and with results obtained with an equally sized non‐adapted mesh. From these computations it can be concluded that for a given computing time, adapted meshes result in solutions closer to the experimental data compared to non‐adapted meshes for attached flow. Finally, we show results for unsteady computations. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Two-dimensional integral equation for a thin wind turbine blade rotating in the round tunnel

The paper presents a mathematical treatment of the aerodynamic problem about a thin wind turbine blade rotating in the round tunnel. The radius of the blade is almost the radius of the tunnel. This permits formulation of the boundary condition on the tip vortex line to the simple slip condition over the surface of the tunnel. By applying a standard technique from potential theory, the problem is reduced to a two-dimensional integral equation whose kernel is connected with a special Green's function satisfying the homogeneous Neumann boundary condition on the tunnel surface. This Green's function is constructed in an explicit analytical form.     

跨音速翼型反设计的一种大范围收敛方法

求解跨音速翼型的反设计问题时,传统的梯度型方法一般均为局部收敛. 为增大求解的收敛范围,依据同伦方法的思想,通过构造不动点同伦,将原问题的求解 转化为其同伦函数的求解,并依据拟Sigmoid函数调整同伦参数以提高计算效率,进而构造 出一种具有较高计算效率的大范围收敛反设计方法. 数值算例以RAE2822翼型的表面压力分 布为拟合目标,分别采用B样条方法, PARSEC方法及正交形函数方法等3种不同的 参数化方法,并分别以NACA0012, OAF139及VR15翼型为初始翼型进行迭代计 算. 计算结果证明,该方法适用于多种参数化方法,且具有较好的计算效率,从多 个不同的初始翼型出发,经较少次数迭代后, 均能与目标翼型很好地拟合,是一种高效的大范围收敛方法.     

风机叶片覆冰机理与预测分析

高原和寒冷地区风能资源十分丰富,风机在此地区运行时叶片表面极易出现覆冰现象.针对寒区风机叶 片覆冰问题,本文首先明确覆冰机理以及主要的影响参数;基于数值模拟分析在冻雨条件下,环境因素和叶片几何参数对叶片覆冰的影响.结果表明,当温度不变,风速从2 m/s增加到4 m/s时,叶片表面的最大覆冰厚度增幅高达117％;当风速从...     

高空长航时无人机高升阻比两段翼型设计研究

针对某特定无人机的使用设计要求,在单段翼型设计研究的基础上,尝试了高升阻比低雷诺数两段翼型的设计方法的分析与研究.采用求解椭圆型方程加控制点约束条件的"椭圆-控制点切割法"完成了两段翼型外形的生成,并针对巡航构型的襟翼偏角对缝道参数进行了优化;应用MSES计算分析程序对所设计的两段翼型的气动特性进行了分析评估.计算结果表明:本文所设计的两段翼型的最大升力系数达到2.72,最大升阻比为158.71;与原始单段翼型相比,最大升力系数增大了74.35%,最大升阻比增大了28.64%.     

新型升阻混合型垂直轴风力机气动特性研究

考虑S型与H型垂直轴风力机的特点,设计了一种新型升阻混合型垂直轴风力机,采用CFD法计算其启动与气动性能。结果表明,原始H型垂直轴风力机数值结果与试验值在各工况下吻合良好;新型升阻混合型垂直轴风力机不同方位角下的启动力矩均大于原始H型风力机,最小及最大值分别提升232%和83.3%;S型风轮输出功率随叶片重叠比增加而减小,完全重叠时输出功率基本为0;新型升阻混合型垂直轴风力机最大风能利用率为0.298,具有更复杂的流场特性。     

Nonlinear modeling of tuned liquid dampers (TLDs) in rotating wind turbine blades for damping edgewise vibrations

Tuned liquid dampers (TLDs) utilize the sloshing motion of the fluid to suppress structural vibrations and become a natural candidate for damping vibrations in rotating wind turbine blades. The centrifugal acceleration at the tip of a wind turbine blade can reach a magnitude of 7–8g. This facilitates the use of a TLD with a relatively small fluid mass and with feasible geometric dimensions to mitigate the lightly-damped edgewise vibrations effectively. In the present paper, modal expansions are carried out directly on the velocity field and the free surface of the sloshing liquid in the rotating coordinate system. A formulation has been proposed leading to coupled nonlinear ordinary differential equations, which have been obtained through the Galerkin variational approach together with the modal expansion technique. Two models, with one sloshing mode and three sloshing modes, have been studied in the numerical simulation. It is shown that the one-mode model is able to predict the sloshing force and the damped structural response accurately, since the primary damping effect on the structure is achieved by the first sloshing mode of the fluid. Although it is unable to predict the fluid free-surface elevation equally well, the one-mode model can still be utilized for the design of TLD. Parametric optimization of the TLD is carried out based on the one-mode model, and the optimized damper effectively improves the dynamic response of wind turbine blades.     

An experimental investigation on the characteristics of fluid–structure interactions of a wind turbine model sited in microburst-like winds

An experimental investigation is performed to assess the characteristics of the fluid–structure interactions and microburst-induced wind loads acting on a wind turbine model sited in microburst-liked winds. The experiment study was conducted with a scaled wind turbine model placed in microburst-like winds generated by using an impinging-jet-typed microburst simulator. In addition to quantifying complex flow features of microburst-like winds, the resultant wind loads acting on the turbine model were measured by using a high-sensitive force–moment sensor as the turbine model was mounted at different radial locations and with different orientation angles with respect to the oncoming microburst-like winds. The measurement results reveal clearly that, the microburst-induced wind loads acting on the turbine model were distinctly different from those in a conventional atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) wind. With the scales of the wind turbine model and the microburst-like wind used in the present study, the dynamic wind loadings acting on the turbine model were found to be significantly higher (i.e., up to 4 times higher for the mean loads, and up to 10 times higher for the fluctuation amplitudes) than those with the same turbine model sited in ABL winds. Both the mean values and fluctuation amplitudes of the microburst-induced wind loads were found to vary significantly with the changes of the mounted site of the turbine model, the operating status (i.e., with the turbine blades stationary or freely rotating), and the orientation angle of the turbine model with respect to the oncoming microburst-like wind. The dynamic wind load measurements were correlated to the flow characteristics of the microburst-like winds to elucidate underlying physics. The findings of the present study are helpful to gain further insight into the potential damage caused by the violent microbursts to wind turbines to ensure safer and more efficient operation of the wind turbines in thunderstorm-prone areas.     

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。     

涡轮冷却叶片气动与传热设计优化

提出了航空发动机涡轮冷却叶片叶栅气动与传热自动优化方法,利用函数解析成型方法实现了冷却叶片几何模型的参数化与自动生成,可以建立任意冷却内腔数量的叶片模型;基于N-S方程实现叶片流体域与固体域的流-热耦合分析;采用KS函数方法将多目标优化问题转化为单目标函数进行优化,以总压损失、叶片最高温度和平均温度最小为优化目标进行了自动优化,改善了叶片性能。     

大型海上风力机尾迹区域风场分析

随着世界范围内海上风电场的不断兴起及海上风电场设计规模的日趋庞大,大型海上风力机尾迹区域风场特征的研究对于海上风电场的优化布局有着重要的指导意义。本文基于三维Navier-Stocks控制方程和适用于旋转流场分析的RNGk-ε湍流模型,采用滑移网格技术对美国可再生能源实验室(NREL)的5 MW海上风力机的性能及其尾迹区域的风场特征进行了较为系统的数值模拟。通过将不同风速下风力机输出功率的数值结果与NREL的设计参考数据进行对比,三维数值模型的有效性得到了很好地验证。此外,在此基础上进一步研究了大型海上风力机额定风速下及不同风轮转速下尾迹区域平均风速的分布特征,并得到了一系列具有参考价值的重要结论。     

A design method for turbomachinery blading in three-dimensional flow

A mixed spectral finite element scheme for the implementation of a design method for turbomachinery blading in three-dimensional subcritical compressible flow is presented. The method gives the detailed blade shape that would produce a prescribed tangential mean swirl schedule, given the hub and shroud profiles, the number of blades and their stacking position. After a presentation of the mathematical formulation of the design theory, the current numerical approach is described. It is then applied to the design of blading for radial inflow turbine impellers in three-dimensional flow.     

一种在响应面法中选取样本点的新方法

响应面法中的样本点选取对拟合极限状态曲面的收敛速度及精度至关重要,文中提出了一种区别于通常以插值点为中心展开生成样本点组的新方法:在求解过程中,用插值点逐步替代初始样本点组中距离验算点较远的点,其目的是使所选取的样本点较集中于验算点附近,重新构成下一轮迭代所需的一组样本点,直至满足收敛条件。算例表明,采用新方法可使结构的分析次数显著减少,同时也改善了对于非线性程度很高的极限功能函数求解的收敛性。该方法用于大型复杂结构的可靠度分析中可进一步提高计算效率。     

A method of convolutional neural network based on frequency segmentation for monitoring the state of wind turbine blades

Wind turbine blades are prone to failure due to high tip speed,rain,dust and so on.A surface condition detecting approach based on wind turbine blade aerodynamic noise is proposed.On the experimental measurement data,variational mode decomposition filtering and Mel spectrogram drawing are conducted first.The Mel spectrogram is divided into two halves based on frequency characteristics and then sent into the convolutional neural network.Gaussian white noise is superimposed on the original signal ...     

A computational method for first-excursion reliability

An efficient computational method is suggested for the first-excursion reliability assessment of nonstationary process. In the proposed method, the nonlinear performance function is linearized at the Hasofer-Lind point obtained by an iterative algorithm. The problem of the nonstationary processes is solved by the discrete-time method, in which the precision can be controlled by choosing the steps of discretization. The derived formulae can be conveniently degraded to calculate both the first-excursion reliability with linear performance function of stationary processes and the time-independent reliability. The suggested method is useful for the analysis of components and systems with nonstationary responses in structural design where some uncertainties are represented by a vector of nonstationary processes. Examples are given to demonstrate the fast convergency and effectiveness of the presented method. The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China