The study of Vertical-Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) technology at Sandia National Laboratories started in the 1970's and concluded in the 1990's. These studies concentrated on the Darrieus configurations because of their high inherent efficiency, but other configurations (e.g., the Savonius turbine) were also examined. The Sandia VAWT program culminated with the design of the 34-m 'Test Bed' Darrieus VAWT. This turbine was designed and built to test various VAWT design concepts and to provide the necessary databases to validate analytical design codes and algorithms. Using the Test Bed as their starting point, FloWind Corp. developed a commercial VAWT product line with composite blades and an extended height-to-diameter ratio. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the design process and results of the Sandia 34-m VAWT Test Bed program and the FloWind prototype development program with an eye toward future offshore designs. This paper is our retrospective of the design, analysis, testing and commercial process. Special emphasis is given to those lessons learned that will aid in the development of an off-shore VAWT.
Active aerodynamic load control of wind turbine blades has been heavily researched for years by the wind energy research community and shows great promise for reducing turbine fatigue damage. One way to benefit from this technology is to choose to utilize a larger rotor on a turbine tower and drive train to realize increased turbine energy capture while keeping the fatigue damage of critical turbine components at the original levels. To assess this rotor-increase potential, Sandia National Laboratories and FlexSys Inc. performed aero/structural simulations of a 1.5MW wind turbine at mean wind speeds spanning the entire operating range. Moment loads at several critical system locations were post-processed and evaluated for fatigue damage accumulation at each mean wind speed. Combining these fatigue damage estimates with a Rayleigh wind-speed distribution yielded estimates of the total fatigue damage accumulation for the turbine. This simulation procedure was performed for both the turbine baseline system and the turbine system incorporating a rotor equipped with FlexSys active aerodynamic load control devices. The simulation results were post-processed to evaluate the decrease in the blade root flap fatigue damage accumulation provided by the active aero technology. The blade length was increased until the blade root flap fatigue damage accumulation values matched those of the baseline rotor. With the new rotor size determined, the additional energy capture potential was calculated. These analyses resulted in an energy capture increase of 11% for a mean wind speed of 6.5m/s.
Results from an experimental study of the aerodynamic and aeroacoustic properties of a flatback version of the TU Delft DU97-W-300 airfoil are presented for a chord Reynolds number of 3 × 106. The data were gathered in the Virginia Tech Stability Wind Tunnel, which uses a special aeroacoustic test section to enable measurements of airfoil self-noise. Corrected wind tunnel aerodynamic measurements for the DU97-W-300 are compared to previous solid wall wind tunnel data and are shown to give good agreement. Aeroacoustic data are presented for the flatback airfoil, with a focus on the amplitude and frequency of noise associated with the vortex-shedding tone from the blunt trailing edge wake. The effect of a splitter plate attachment on both drag and noise is also presented. Computational Fluid Dynamics predictions of the aerodynamic properties of both the unmodified DU97-W-300 and the flatback version are compared to the experimental data.
Results from an experimental study of the aerodynamic and aeroacoustic properties of a ftatback version of the TU Delft DU97-W-300 airfoil are presented. Measurements were made for both the original DU97-W-300 and the flatback version. The chord Reynolds number varied from l.6 x 106 to 3.2 x 106. The data were gathered in the Virginia Tech Stability Wind Tunnel, which includes a special aeroacoustic test section to enable measurements of airfoil self-noise. Corrected wind tunnel aerodynamic measurements for the DU97-W-300 are compared to previous solid wall wind tunnel data and are shown to give good agreement. Force coefficient and surface pressure distributions are compared for the flatback and the original airfoil for both free-transition and tripped boundary layer configurations. Aeroacoustic data are presented for the flatback airfoil, with a focus on the amplitude and frequency of noise associated with the vortex-shedding tone from the blunt trailing edge wake. The effect of a splitter plate trailing edge attachment on both drag and noise of the ftacback airfoil is also investigated.
In 2002, Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) initiated a research program to demonstrate the use of carbon fiber in wind turbine blades and to investigate advanced structural concepts through the Blade Systems Design Study, known as the BSDS. One of the blade designs resulting from this program, commonly referred to as the BSDS blade, resulted from a systems approach in which manufacturing, structural and aerodynamic performance considerations were all simultaneously included in the design optimization. The BSDS blade design utilizes "flatback" airfoils for the inboard section of the blade to achieve a lighter, stronger blade. Flatback airfoils are generated by opening up the trailing edge of an airfoil uniformly along the camber line, thus preserving the camber of the original airfoil. This process is in distinct contrast to the generation of truncated airfoils, where the trailing edge the airfoil is simply cut off, changing the camber and subsequently degrading the aerodynamic performance. Compared to a thick conventional, sharp trailing-edge airfoil, a flatback airfoil with the same thickness exhibits increased lift and reduced sensitivity to soiling. Although several commercial turbine manufacturers have expressed interest in utilizing flatback airfoils for their wind turbine blades, they are concerned with the potential extra noise that such a blade will generate from the blunt trailing edge of the flatback section. In order to quantify the noise generation characteristics of flatback airfoils, Sandia National Laboratories has conducted a wind tunnel test to measure the noise generation and aerodynamic performance characteristics of a regular DU97-300-W airfoil, a 10% trailing edge thickness flatback version of that airfoil, and the flatback fitted with a trailing edge treatment. The paper describes the test facility, the models, and the test methodology, and provides some preliminary results from the test.
This report provides an overview on the current state of wind turbine control and introduces a number of active techniques that could be potentially used for control of wind turbine blades. The focus is on research regarding active flow control (AFC) as it applies to wind turbine performance and loads. The techniques and concepts described here are often described as 'smart structures' or 'smart rotor control'. This field is rapidly growing and there are numerous concepts currently being investigated around the world; some concepts already are focused on the wind energy industry and others are intended for use in other fields, but have the potential for wind turbine control. An AFC system can be broken into three categories: controls and sensors, actuators and devices, and the flow phenomena. This report focuses on the research involved with the actuators and devices and the generated flow phenomena caused by each device.
A computational fluid dynamics study of thick wind turbine section shapes in the test section of the UC Davis wind tunnel at a chord Reynolds number of one million is presented. The goals of this study are to validate standard wind tunnel wall corrections for high solid blockage conditions and to reaffirm the favorable effect of a blunt trailing edge or flatback on the performance characteristics of a representative thick airfoil shape prior to building the wind tunnel models and conducting the experiment. The numerical simulations prove the standard wind tunnel corrections to be largely valid for the proposed test of 40% maximum thickness to chord ratio airfoils at a solid blockage ratio of 10%. Comparison of the computed lift characteristics of a sharp trailing edge baseline airfoil and derived flatback airfoils reaffirms the earlier observed trend of reduced sensitivity to surface contamination with increasing trailing edge thickness.
Wind-energy researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have developed a new, light-weight, modular data acquisition system capable of acquiring long-term, continuous, multi-channel time-series data from operating wind-turbines. New hardware features have been added to this system to make it more flexible and permit programming via telemetry. User-friendly Windows-based software has been developed for programming the hardware and acquiring, storing, analyzing, and archiving the data. This paper briefly reviews the major components of the system, summarizes the recent hardware enhancements and operating experiences, and discusses the features and capabilities of the software programs that have been developed.
Wind energy researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have developed a small, lightweight, time- synchronized, robust data acquisition system to acquire long-term time-series data on a wind turbine rotor. A commercial data acquisition module is utilized to acquire data simultaneously from multip!e strain-gauge, analog, and digital channels. Acquisition of rotor data at precisely the same times as acquisition of ground data is ensured by slaving the acquisition clocks on the rotor- based data unit and ground-based units to the Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) system with commercial GPS receiver units and custom-built and programmed programmable logic devices. The acquisition clocks will remain synchronized within two microseconds indefinitely. Field tests have confirmed that synchronization can be maintained at rotation rates in excess of 350 rpm, Commercial spread-spectrum radio modems are used to transfer the rotor data to a ground- based computer concurrently with data acquisition, permitting continuous acquisition of data over a period of several hours, days or even weeks.
Researchers at the National Wind Technology Center have identified a need to acquire data on the rotor of an operating wind turbine at precisely the same time as other data is acquired on the ground or on a non-rotating part of the wind turbine. The researchers will analyze that combined data with statistical and correlation techniques to clearly establish phase information and loading paths and insights into the structural loading of wind turbines. A data acquisition unit has been developed to acquire the data from the rotating system at precise universal times specified by the user. The unit utilizes commercial data acquisition hardware, spread-spectrum radio modems, and a Global Positioning Satellite receiver as well as a custom-built programmable logic device. A prototype of the system is now operational, and initial field deployment is anticipated this summer.
Wind-energy researchers at the National Wind Technology Center (NWTC), representing Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), are developing a new, light-weight, modular data acquisition unit capable of acquiring long-term, continuous time-series data from small and/or dynamic wind-turbine rotors. The unit utilizes commercial data acquisition hardware, spread-spectrum radio modems, and Global Positioning System receivers, and a custom-built programmable logic device. A prototype of the system is now operational, and initial field deployment is expected this summer. This paper describes the major subsystems comprising the unit, summarizes the current status of the system, and presents the current plans for near-term development of hardware and software.
Wind-energy researchers at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) are developing a new, light-weight, modular system capable of acquiring long-term, continuous time-series data from current-generation small or large, dynamic wind-turbine rotors. Meetings with wind-turbine research personnel at NREL and SNL resulted in a list of the major requirements that the system must meet. Initial attempts to locate a commercial system that could meet all of these requirements were not successful, but some commercially available data acquisition and radio/modem subsystems that met many of the requirements were identified. A time synchronization subsystem and a programmable logic device subsystem to integrate the functions of the data acquisition, the radio/modem, and the time synchronization subsystems and to communicate with the user have been developed at SNL. This paper presents the data system requirements, describes the four major subsystems comprising the system, summarizes the current status of the system, and presents the current plans for near-term development of hardware and software.
Vertical-axis wind turbine technology is not well understood, even though the earliest wind machines rotated about a vertical axis. The operating environment of a vertical-axis wind turbine is quite complex, but detailed analysis capabilities have been developed and verified over the last 30 years. Although vertical-axis technology has not been widely commercialized, it exhibits both advantages and disadvantages compared to horizontal-axis technology, and in some applications, it appears to offer significant advantages.
A non-contact, high-resolution laser ranging device has been incorporated into an instrument for accurately mapping the surface of WECS airfoils in the field. Preliminary scans of composite materials and bug debris show that the system has adequate resolution to accurately map bug debris and other surface contamination. This system, just recently delivered and now being debugged and optimized, will be used to characterize blade surface contamination on wind turbines. The technology used in this system appears to hold promise for application to many other measurements tasks, including a system for quickly and very accurately determining the profile of turbine blade molds and blades.
The DOE/Sandia 34-m diameter Vertical-Axis Wind turbine (VAWT) utilizes a step-tapered, multiple-airfoil section blade. One of the airfoil sections is a natural laminar flow profile, the SAND 0018/50, designed specifically for use on VAWTs. The turbine has now been fully operational for more than a year, and extensive turbine aerodynamic performance data have been obtained. This paper reviews the design and fabrication of the rotor blade, with emphasis on the SAND 0018/50 airfoil, and compares the performance measurements to date with the performance predictions. Possible sources of the discrepancies between measured and predicted performance are identified, and plans for additional aerodynamic testing on the turbine are briefly discussed. 12 refs., 10 figs.
