Mitigation of Wind Turbine/Vortex Interaction Using Disturbance Accommodating Control

[摘要] Wind turbines, a competitive source of emission-free electricity, are being designed with diameters and hub heights approaching 100 m, to further reduce the cost of the energy they produce. At this height above the ground, the wind turbine is exposed to atmospheric phenomena such as low-level jets, gravity waves, and Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities, which are not currently modeled in wind turbine design codes. These atmospheric phenomena can generate coherent turbulence that causes high cyclic loads on wind turbine blades. These fluctuating loads lead to fatigue damage accumulation and blade lifetime reduction. Advanced control was used to mitigate vortex-induced blade cyclic loading. A full-state feedback controller that incorporates more detailed vortex inputs achieved significantly greater blade load reduction. Blade loads attributed to vortex passage, then, can be reduced through advanced control, and further reductions appear feasible.

[发布日期] 2003-12-01 [发布机构] National Renewable Energy Laboratory (U.S.)

[关键词] Low-Level Jets;Feedback;Disturbances;Gravity Waves;Cyclic Loading