Publications

A high-performance computer was used to simulate ninety-six years of operation of a five megawatt wind turbine. Over five million aero-elastic simulations were performed, with each simulation consisting of wind turbine operation for a ten minute period in turbulent wind conditions. These simulations have produced a large database of wind turbine loads, including ten minute extreme loads as well as fatigue cycles on various turbine components. In this paper, the extreme load probability distributions are presented. The long total simulation time has enabled good estimation of the tails of the distributions down to probabilities associated with twenty-year (and longer) return events. The database can serve in the future as a truth model against which design-oriented load extrapolation techniques can be tested. The simulations also allow for detailed examination of the simulations leading to the largest loads, as demonstrated for two representative cases.

An efficient, stability-preserving model reduction technique for non-linear initial boundary value problems whose solutions exhibit inherently non-linear dynamics such as metastability and periodic regimes (limit cycles) is developed. The approach is based on the 'continuous' Galerkin projection approach in which the continuous governing equations are projected onto the reduced basis modes in a continuous inner product. The reduced order model (ROM) basis is constructed via a proper orthogonal decomposition (POD). In general, POD basis modes will not satisfy the boundary conditions of the problem. A weak implementation of the boundary conditions in the ROM based on the penalty method is developed. Asymptotic stability of the ROM with penalty-enforced boundary conditions is examined using the energy method, following linearization and localization of the governing equations in the vicinity of a stable steady solution. This analysis, enabled by the fact that a continuous representation of the reduced basis is employed, leads to a model reduction method with an a priori stability guarantee. The approach is applied to two non-linear problems: the Allen-Cahn (or 'bistable') equation and a convection-diffusion-reaction system representing a tubular reactor. For each of these problems, bounds on the penalty parameters that ensure asymptotic stability of the ROM solutions are derived. The non-linear terms in the equations are handled efficiently using the 'best points' interpolation method proposed recently by Peraire, Nguyen et al. Numerical experiments reveal that the POD/Galerkin ROMs with stability-preserving penalty boundary treatment for the two problems considered, both without as well as with interpolation, remain stable in a way that is consistent with the solutions to the governing continuous equations and capture the correct non-linear dynamics exhibited by the exact solutions to these problems. Published 2012. This article is a US Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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The preliminary design for a three-bladed cross-flow rotor for a reference marine hydrokinetic turbine is presented. A rotor performance design code is described, along with modifications to the code to allow prediction of blade support strut drag as well as interference between two counter-rotating rotors. The rotor is designed to operate in a reference site corresponding to a riverine environment. Basic rotor performance and rigid-body loads calculations are performed to size the rotor elements and select the operating speed range. The preliminary design is verified with a simple finite element model that provides estimates of bending stresses during operation. A concept for joining the blades and support struts is developed and analyzed with a separate finite element analysis. Rotor mass, production costs, and annual energy capture are estimated in order to allow calculations of system cost-of-energy. Evaluation Only. Created with Aspose.Pdf.Kit. Copyright 2002-2011 Aspose Pty Ltd Evaluation Only. Created with Aspose.Pdf.Kit. Copyright 2002-2011 Aspose Pty Ltd

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The proposed DOE/Sandia Scaled Wind Farm Technology Facility (SWiFT) hosted by Texas Tech University at Reese Technology Center in Lubbock, TX, will provide a facility for experimental study of turbine-turbine interaction and complex wind farm aerodynamics. This document surveys the current status of wind turbine wake and turbine-turbine interaction research, identifying knowledge and data gaps that the proposed test site can potentially fill. A number of turbine layouts is proposed, allowing for up to ten turbines at the site.

Aerodynamic noise from wind turbine rotors leads to constraints in both rotor design and turbine siting. The primary source of aerodynamic noise on wind turbine rotors is the interaction of turbulent boundary layers on the blades with the blade trailing edges. This report surveys concepts that have been proposed for trailing edge noise reduction, with emphasis on concepts that have been tested at either sub-scale or full-scale. These concepts include trailing edge serrations, low-noise airfoil designs, trailing edge brushes, and porous trailing edges. The demonstrated noise reductions of these concepts are cited, along with their impacts on aerodynamic performance. An assessment is made of future research opportunities in trailing edge noise reduction for wind turbine rotors.

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The aerodynamic and acoustic performance of a Kevlar-walled anechoic wind tunnel test section has been analyzed. Aerodynamic measurements and panel method calculations were performed on a series of airfoils to reveal the influence of the test section walls, including their porosity and flexibility. A lift interference correction method was developed from first principles which shows consistently high accuracy when measurements are compared to viscous free-flight calculations. Interference corrections are an order of magnitude smaller than those associated with an open jet test section. Blockage corrections are found to be a fraction of those which would be associated with a hard-wall test section of the same size, and are negligible in most cases. New measurements showing the acoustic transparency of the Kevlar and the quality of the anechoic environment in the chambers are presented, along with benchmark trailing edge noise measurements. © 2010 by William J. Devenport, Ricardo A. Burdisso, Aurelien Borgoltz, Patricio Ravetta and Matthew F Barone.

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CACTUS (Code for Axial and Cross-flow TUrbine Simulation) is a turbine performance simulation code, based on a free wake vortex method, under development at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) as part of a Department of Energy program to study marine hydrokinetic (MHK) devices. The current effort builds upon work previously done at SNL in the area of vertical axis wind turbine simulation, and aims to add models to handle generic device geometry and physical models specific to the marine environment. An overview of the current state of the project and validation effort is provided.

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The aerodynamic performance and aeroacoustic noise sources of a rotor employing flatback airfoils have been studied in field test campaign and companion modeling effort. The field test measurements of a sub-scale rotor employing nine meter blades include both performance measurements and acoustic measurements. The acoustic measurements are obtained using a 45 microphone beamforming array, enabling identification of both noise source amplitude and position. Semi-empirical models of flatback airfoil blunt trailing edge noise are developed and calibrated using available aeroacoustic wind tunnel test data. The model results and measurements indicate that flatback airfoil noise is less than drive train noise for the current test turbine. It is also demonstrated that the commonly used Brooks, Pope, and Marcolini model for blunt trailing edge noise may be over-conservative in predicting flatback airfoil noise for wind turbine applications.

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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.