Application of a Genetic Algorithm to Wind Turbine Design

1996 ◽  
Vol 118 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. S. Selig ◽  
V. L. Coverstone-Carroll
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Algorithm ◽  
Wind Speed ◽  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Wind Turbines ◽  
Energy Production ◽  
Turbine Blades ◽  
Hybrid Approach ◽  
Optimization Method ◽  
Average Wind Speed ◽  
Average Wind

This paper presents an optimization method for stall-regulated horizontal-axis wind turbines. A hybrid approach is used that combines the advantages of a genetic algorithm with an inverse design method. This method is used to determine the optimum blade pitch and blade chord and twist distributions that maximize the annual energy production. To illustrate the method, a family of 25 wind turbines was designed to examine the sensitivity of annual energy production to changes in the rotor blade length and peak rotor power. Trends are revealed that should aid in the design of new rotors for existing turbines. In the second application, five wind turbines were designed to determine the benefits of specifically tailoring wind turbine blades for the average wind speed at a particular site. The results have important practical implications related to rotors designed for the Midwestern US versus those where the average wind speed may be greater.

scholarly journals A Simplified Morphing Blade for Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines

2013 ◽  
Vol 136 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Weijun Wang ◽  
Stéphane Caro ◽  
Fouad Bennis ◽  
Oscar Roberto Salinas Mejia
Keyword(s):  
Wind Speed ◽  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Wind Turbines ◽  
Energy Production ◽  
Turbine Blades ◽  
Wind Turbine Blades ◽  
Annual Average ◽  
Average Wind Speed ◽  
Pitch Control ◽  
Average Wind

The aim of designing wind turbine blades is to improve the power capture ability. Since rotor control technology is currently limited to controlling rotational speed and blade pitch, an increasing concern has been given to morphing blades. In this paper, a simplified morphing blade is introduced, which has a linear twist distribution along the span and a shape that can be controlled by adjusting the twist of the blade's root and tip. To evaluate the performance of wind turbine blades, a numerical code based on the blade element momentum theory is developed and validated. The blade of the NREL Phase VI wind turbine is taken as a reference blade and has a fixed pitch. The optimization problems associated with the control of the morphing blade and a blade with pitch control are formulated. The optimal results show that the morphing blade gives better results than the blade with pitch control in terms of produced power. Under the assumption that at a given site, the annual average wind speed is known and the wind speed follows a Rayleigh distribution, the annual energy production of wind turbines was evaluated for three types of blade, namely, morphing blade, blade with pitch control and fixed pitch blade. For an annual average wind speed varying between 5 m/s and 15 m/s, it turns out that the annual energy production of the wind turbine containing morphing blades is 24.5% to 69.7% higher than the annual energy production of the wind turbine containing pitch fixed blades. Likewise, the annual energy production of the wind turbine containing blades with pitch control is 22.7% to 66.9% higher than the annual energy production of the wind turbine containing pitch fixed blades.

Optimal Design of a Simplified Morphing Blade for Fixed-Speed Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weijun Wang ◽  
Stéphane Caro ◽  
Fouad Bennis ◽  
Oscar Roberto Salinas Mejia
Keyword(s):  
Wind Speed ◽  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Energy Production ◽  
Turbine Blades ◽  
Numerical Code ◽  
Wind Turbine Blades ◽  
Annual Average ◽  
Average Wind Speed ◽  
Pitch Control ◽  
Average Wind

The aim of designing the wind turbine blades is to improve the power capture ability. Since the rotor control technology is currently limited to controlling the rotor rotational speed and the pitch of the blades, an increasing concern has been given to the morphing blades. In this paper, a simplified morphing blade is introduced, which has a linear twisted distribution along the span and its shape can be controlled by adjusting the root twisted angle and the tip twisted angle of the blade. Moreover, to evaluate the performances of the wind turbine blades, a numerical code based on the blade element momentum theory is developed and validated. The blade of the NREL Phase VI wind turbine is taken as a reference blade, and the optimization problems associated with the morphing blade and pitch control blade are both formulated. The optimal results show that the morphing blade gives better results than the pitch control blade in terms of produced power. Under the assumption that in a given site, the annual average wind speed is known and the wind speed follows the Rayleigh distribution, we can evaluate the annual energy produced by these three blade types. While the annual average wind speed varies from 5 m/s to 15 m/s, the results show that the optimal morphing blade can increase 23.9 percent to 71.4 percent in annual energy production while the optimal pitch control blade can increase 22.5 percent to 67.4 percent in annual energy production, over the existing twisted pitch fixed blade.

SHAPING OF AN AUTONOMOUS POWER SYSTEM FOR GUARANTEED POWER SUPPLY WITH THE PREDOMINANCE WIND ENERGY

2018 ◽  
pp. 28-50
Author(s):  
S. G. Ignatiev ◽  
S. V. Kiseleva
Keyword(s):  
Energy Storage ◽  
Wind Speed ◽  
Wind Energy ◽  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Wind Turbines ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Diesel Generator ◽  
Average Wind Speed ◽  
Wind Speeds ◽  
Average Wind

Optimization of the autonomous wind-diesel plants composition and of their power for guaranteed energy supply, despite the long history of research, the diversity of approaches and methods, is an urgent problem. In this paper, a detailed analysis of the wind energy characteristics is proposed to shape an autonomous power system for a guaranteed power supply with predominance wind energy. The analysis was carried out on the basis of wind speed measurements in the south of the European part of Russia during 8 months at different heights with a discreteness of 10 minutes. As a result, we have obtained a sequence of average daily wind speeds and the sequences constructed by arbitrary variations in the distribution of average daily wind speeds in this interval. These sequences have been used to calculate energy balances in systems (wind turbines + diesel generator + consumer with constant and limited daily energy demand) and (wind turbines + diesel generator + consumer with constant and limited daily energy demand + energy storage). In order to maximize the use of wind energy, the wind turbine integrally for the period in question is assumed to produce the required amount of energy. For the generality of consideration, we have introduced the relative values of the required energy, relative energy produced by the wind turbine and the diesel generator and relative storage capacity by normalizing them to the swept area of the wind wheel. The paper shows the effect of the average wind speed over the period on the energy characteristics of the system (wind turbine + diesel generator + consumer). It was found that the wind turbine energy produced, wind turbine energy used by the consumer, fuel consumption, and fuel economy depend (close to cubic dependence) upon the specified average wind speed. It was found that, for the same system with a limited amount of required energy and high average wind speed over the period, the wind turbines with lower generator power and smaller wind wheel radius use wind energy more efficiently than the wind turbines with higher generator power and larger wind wheel radius at less average wind speed. For the system (wind turbine + diesel generator + energy storage + consumer) with increasing average speed for a given amount of energy required, which in general is covered by the energy production of wind turbines for the period, the maximum size capacity of the storage device decreases. With decreasing the energy storage capacity, the influence of the random nature of the change in wind speed decreases, and at some values of the relative capacity, it can be neglected.

Development and Field Testing of an Inclined Flanged Compact Diffuser for a Micro Wind Turbine

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandip Kale ◽  
S. N. Sapali
Keyword(s):  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Wind Velocity ◽  
Wind Turbines ◽  
Energy Production ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Field Testing ◽  
International Electrotechnical Commission ◽  
Average Wind Speed ◽  
Average Wind ◽  
Power Curves

Micro wind turbines installed in various applications, experience average wind speed for most of the time during operations. Power produced by the wind turbine is proportional to the cubic power of the wind velocity and a small increase in wind velocity results increases power output significantly. The approach wind velocity can be increased by covering traditional wind turbine with a diffuser. Researchers are continuously working to develop a compact, lightweight, cost effective and feasible diffuser for wind turbines. The present work carried out to develop a diffuser with these stated objectives. A compact, lightweight inclined flanged diffuser developed for a micro wind turbine. Bare micro wind turbine and wind turbine covered with developed efficient inclined flanged diffuser tested in the field as per International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standards and results presented in the form of power curves. The prediction of annual energy production for both wind turbines determined as per IEC standards.

scholarly journals Remaining Useful Life Estimation of Wind Turbine Blades under Variable Wind Speed Conditions Using Particle Filters

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bhavana Valeti ◽  
Shamim N. Pakzad
Keyword(s):  
Wind Speed ◽  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Turbine Blades ◽  
Remaining Useful Life ◽  
Structural Components ◽  
Wind Turbine Blades ◽  
Average Wind Speed ◽  
Average Wind ◽  
Useful Life ◽  
Variable Wind

Rotor blades are the most complex structural components in a wind turbine and are subjected to continuous cyclic loads of wind and self-weight variation. The structural maintenance operations in wind farms are moving towards condition based maintenance (CBM) to avoid premature failures. For this, damage prognosis with remaining useful life (RUL) estimation in wind turbine blades is necessary. Wind speed variation plays an important role influencing the loading and consequently the RUL of the structural components. This study investigates the effect of variable wind speed between the cutin and cut-out speeds of a typical wind farm on the RUL of a damage detected wind turbine blade as opposed to average wind speed assumption. RUL of wind turbine blades are estimated for different initial crack sizes using particle filtering method which forecasts the evolution of fatigue crack addressing the non-linearity and uncertainty in crack propagation. The stresses on a numerically simulated life size onshore wind turbine blade subjected to the above wind speed loading cases are used in computing the crack propagation observation data for particle filters. The effects of variable wind speed on the damage propagation rates and RUL in comparison to those at an average wind speed condition are studied and discussed.

Feasibility of Small Wind Turbine via Net Metering in Greek Islands

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-28
Author(s):  
D. Daskalaki ◽  
J. Fantidis ◽  
P. Kogias
Keyword(s):  
Wind Speed ◽  
Greenhouse Gases ◽  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Wind Turbines ◽  
Average Wind Speed ◽  
Small Wind Turbine ◽  
Net Metering ◽  
Average Wind ◽  
Environmental Criteria ◽  
Small Wind Turbines

The evaluation of a small 3kW wind turbine through the net metering scheme is studied in this article. 14 near to sea locations in Greece examined with the help of the RetScreen expert software. The simulations based on electrical, financial and environmental criteria. Siros with average wind speed of 6.93 m/s is the most attractive area while Iraklion is the least attractive location. According to the results the simulated project is already economically sound and a small wind turbine in the Greek islands will become a progressively an even more financially source of electricity in Greece. Finally yet importantly is the fact that the use of small wind turbines has as a result that significant amount of Greenhouse gases do not reradiate into the topical atmosphere.

ANALISA PERFORMA TURBIN ANGIN SUMBU HORISONTAL BERSUDU AIRFOIL MELALUI VARIASI JUMLAH SUDU

ROTOR ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 18
Author(s):  
Wabang A Jhon ◽  
Abanat D.J Jufra ◽  
Hattu Edwin
Keyword(s):  
Wind Speed ◽  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Wind Turbines ◽  
Mechanical Energy ◽  
Coefficient Of Performance ◽  
Research Activity ◽  
Average Wind Speed ◽  
Wind Speeds ◽  
Average Wind

Indonesia is an area that has the potential for sufficient wind resources to be utilized for kinetic energy into other energy such as mechanical energy and electrical energy through its generators (generators). The way to utilize wind kinetic energy into other energy is through a device called a wind turbine. Wind turbines have been around since ancient times, and are called airfoil angled wind turbines. This airfoil wind turbine is designed only for areas with average wind speeds above 6m / s. While in Indonesia not all regions have the same wind speed. In certain seasons, the average wind speed is below 6 m / s. This has become a major problem in regions that have average wind speeds below 6 m / s. Seeing this condition, there is a need for scientific research to obtain wind turbines that can be used in areas with average wind speeds below 5m / s. For this reason, the research I want to do is get a wind turbine that can be used as a power plant in areas that have wind speeds below 6m / s. This research was conducted on the basis of scientific theory in fluid mechanics regarding the sweeping area of wind turbines and the performance of variations in the number of blades in the wind. In addition, the research in several scientific journals was used as the basis of this research This research method is an experimental method, in the form of testing a wind turbine axis prototype horizontal and airfoil axis. The details of the research activity are the design and manufacture of laboratory scale horizontal airfoil axis turbines. Next, testing with a fan as a source of wind. The fan used has three variations of speed, all of which are used to determine the lowest average wind speed that can be applied. The results of the research are where wind turbines with the greatest torque and power and the Coefficient of Performance (CP) with the highest value will be used as a result to be applied to the community. Based on experimental data, it can be concluded that the greatest torque and power occur in turbines with 4 blades with details at speed 1, the largest torque and power are 0.201 Nm and 4.5 W; at speed 2, the biggest torque and power are 0.25 Nm and 7.21 W; at speed 3, the biggest torque and power are 0.28 Nm and 8.35 W Keywords: wind turbine, airfoil, nozzle, diffuser

A practical seasonal performance evaluation of small wind turbine in urban environment

2019 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 344-358
Author(s):  
Zakariya Rajab ◽  
Yousef sassi ◽  
Ahmed Taher ◽  
Asharf Khalil ◽  
Faisal Mohamed
Keyword(s):  
Performance Evaluation ◽  
Wind Speed ◽  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Urban Environment ◽  
Output Power ◽  
Energy Production ◽  
Average Wind Speed ◽  
Average Wind ◽  
Small Wind Turbines ◽  
Seasonal Performance

Due to the low environmental impact, smaller storage units, low wind speed, low power system distribution network impact, and low maintenance, small wind turbines have gained more attention. However, the usage of small turbines usually faces several shortcomings, and the actual yield is often lower than expected, generally because the output power is low when compared with the manufacturer, and the actual wind turbine behavior does not reproduces. In a view of performance evaluation of a small wind turbines using high-accuracy measurement devices to measure wind speed and energy production, this article illustrates an experimental seasonal performance evaluation of a 0.5-kW Hummer small wind turbine, placed in an urban environment. In addition, we study the influence of the height in the energy output and analyze its effect in the system performance, which is another aim in this work. Three cases have been carried out: 4 m in order to protect rotor blades during strong winds and storms in the first scenario and 6 m the manufacturing height in the second scenario while 10 m the third case. A 0.5-kW Hummer wind turbine has been installed in Noagia-Benghazi since 2010 for educational purposes, field studies, training, graduate projects, and research. The wind turbine seasonal performance under different periods was obtained and compared in terms of the wind speed, output power, energy production, and average wind speed. The average wind speed is 6.4, 4, 5.8, and 4 m/s, and the average energy production is 948.24, 172.8, 648, and 172.8 kWh in spring, summer, winter, and autumn, respectively. Spring has the highest wind speed followed by winter and autumn then summer for all height. Improvement is attained if the wind turbine tower height is 6 m, and 10 m where more energy is harvested. But the main problem at 10 m is that the system control needs more improvement because the wind speed exceeds 14 m/s which represents the maximum speed. The system can produce about 1.942 MW yearly and save CO2 emissions.

Importance of Shear in Site Assessment of Wind Turbine Fatigue Loads

2018 ◽  
Vol 140 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
René M. M. Slot ◽  
Lasse Svenningsen ◽  
John D. Sørensen ◽  
Morten L. Thøgersen
Keyword(s):  
Wind Speed ◽  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Wind Turbines ◽  
Structural Reliability ◽  
Turbine Blades ◽  
Structural Response ◽  
Fatigue Loading ◽  
Worst Case ◽  
Shear Model ◽  
Wind Climate

Wind turbines are subjected to fatigue loading during their entire lifetime due to the fluctuating excitation from the wind. To predict the fatigue damage, the design standard IEC 61400-1 describes how to parametrize an on-site specific wind climate using the wind speed, turbulence, wind shear, air density, and flow inclination. In this framework, shear is currently modeled by its mean value, accounting for neither its natural variance nor its wind speed dependence. This very simple model may lead to inaccurate fatigue assessment of wind turbine components, whose structural response is nonlinear with shear. Here we show how this is the case for flapwise bending of blades, where the current shear model leads to inaccurate and in worst case nonconservative fatigue assessments. Based on an optimization study, we suggest modeling shear as a wind speed dependent 60% quantile. Using measurements from almost one hundred sites, we document that the suggested model leads to accurate and consistent fatigue assessments of wind turbine blades, without compromising other main components such as the tower and the shaft. The proposed shear model is intended as a replacement to the mean shear, and should be used alongside the current IEC models for the remaining climate parameters. Given the large number of investigated sites, a basis for evaluating the uncertainty related to using a simplified statistical wind climate is provided. This can be used in further research when assessing the structural reliability of wind turbines by a probabilistic or semiprobabilistic approach.

scholarly journals Wake and Turbulence Analysis for Wind Turbine Layouts in an Island

2018 ◽  
Vol 64 ◽  
pp. 06010
Author(s):  
Bachhal Amrender Singh ◽  
Vogstad Klaus ◽  
Lal Kolhe Mohan ◽  
Chougule Abhijit ◽  
Beyer Hans George
Keyword(s):  
Wind Speed ◽  
Wind Energy ◽  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Wind Turbines ◽  
Energy Production ◽  
Wind Farm ◽  
Full Length Paper ◽  
Turbulence Analysis ◽  
Wake Model ◽  
Wind Resources

There is a big wind energy potential in supplying the power in an island and most of the islands are off-grid. Due to the limited area in island(s), there is need to find appropriate layout / location for wind turbines suited to the local wind conditions. In this paper, we have considered the wind resources data of an island in Trøndelag region of the Northern Norway, situated on the coastal line. The wind resources data of this island have been analysed for wake losses and turbulence on wind turbines for determining appropriate locations of wind turbines in this island. These analyses are very important for understanding the fatigue and mechanical stress on the wind turbines. In this work, semi empirical wake model has been used for wake losses analysis with wind speed and turbine spacings. The Jensen wake model used for the wake loss analysis due to its high degree of accuracy and the Frandsen model for characterizing the turbulent loading. The variations of the losses in the wind energy production of the down-wind turbine relative to the up-wind turbine and, the down-stream turbulence have been analysed for various turbine distances. The special emphasis has been taken for the case of wind turbine spacing, leading to the turbulence conditions for satisfying the IEC 61400-1 conditions to find the wind turbine layout in this island. The energy production of down-wind turbines has been decreased from 2 to 20% due to the lower wind speeds as they are located behind up-wind turbine, resulting in decreasing the overall energy production of the wind farm. Also, the higher wake losses have contributed to the effective turbulence, which has reduced the overall energy production from the wind farm. In this case study, the required distance for wind turbines have been changed to 6 rotor diameters for increasing the energy gain. From the results, it has been estimated that the marginal change in wake losses by moving the down-stream wind turbine by one rotor diameter distance has been in the range of 0.5 to 1% only and it is insignificant. In the full-length paper, the wake effects with wind speed variations and the wind turbine locations will be reported for reducing the wake losses on the down-stream wind turbine. The Frandsen model has been used for analysing turbulence loading on the down-stream wind turbine as per IEC 61400-1 criteria. In larger wind farms, the high turbulence from the up-stream wind turbines increases the fatigues on the turbines of the wind farm. In this work, we have used the effective turbulence criteria at a certain distance between up-stream and down-stream turbines for minimizing the fatigue load level. The sensitivity analysis on wake and turbulence analysis will be reported in the full-length paper. Results from this work will be useful for finding wind farm layouts in an island for utilizing effectively the wind energy resources and electrification using wind power plants.

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