Altair Case Studies Aeroelastic Investigation of Wind Turbine Blades Using Computational Fluid Dynamics

	Aeroelastic Investigation of Wind Turbine Blades Using Computational Fluid Dynamics Altair

Aeroelastic Investigation of Wind Turbine Blades Using Computational Fluid Dynamics

Altair

Technology Category	Drones - Multirotor Drones Sensors - Level Sensors
Applicable Industries	Electrical Grids Renewable Energy
Applicable Functions	Maintenance Product Research & Development
Use Cases	Digital Twin Virtual Reality
Challenge	The increasing trend in wind power technology is to enhance power output through an increase in rotor diameter. However, as the rotor diameter increases, aeroelastic effects become increasingly important in the design of an efficient blade. A detailed understanding of the fluid elastic coupling can lead to improved designs, yielding more power, reduced maintenance, and ultimately leading to an overall reduction in the cost of electricity. Current wind turbine design practices use desktop engineering tools such as FAST and ADAMS to provide information about the aero-elastic behavior of the turbines. However, each of these techniques has its own advantages and disadvantages. An evolving approach for generating performance data on wind turbine rotors is through the use of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). Read More
About Customer	The customer in this case study is not explicitly mentioned. However, it can be inferred that the customer would be any organization or entity involved in the design, production, and operation of wind turbines. This could include wind power technology companies, renewable energy providers, and potentially government bodies or research institutions involved in the development and regulation of wind power technology. The customer would be interested in this study as it provides a detailed methodology for improving the design and efficiency of wind turbine blades, potentially leading to increased power output, reduced maintenance costs, and an overall reduction in the cost of electricity generated by wind power. Read More
Solution	In this study, a high fidelity Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) methodology is presented for performing fully coupled Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) simulations of wind turbine blades and rotors using a commercially available flow solver, AcuSolve. The fully coupled fluid/structure interaction problem is simulated using a modal superposition approach. This technique, known as Practical Fluid Structure Interaction (or P-FSI) requires the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of the structure as input to the CFD model. Once this information is provided, AcuSolve is able to independently compute the structural deformation in response to the fluid forces on the wetted surfaces. The starting point for this analysis is a CAD model of the 13.2 MW blade design. The geometric model is created based on the specified airfoil sections that make up the blade geometry. For the CFD side of the analysis, the bounding fluid volume around the rotor is created using a simple cylindrical solid region. Read More Log in to view content
Contents

Technology Category

Drones - Multirotor Drones

Sensors - Level Sensors

Applicable Industries

Electrical Grids

Renewable Energy

Applicable Functions

Maintenance

Product Research & Development

Use Cases

Digital Twin

Virtual Reality

Challenge

The increasing trend in wind power technology is to enhance power output through an increase in rotor diameter. However, as the rotor diameter increases, aeroelastic effects become increasingly important in the design of an efficient blade. A detailed understanding of the fluid elastic coupling can lead to improved designs, yielding more power, reduced maintenance, and ultimately leading to an overall reduction in the cost of electricity. Current wind turbine design practices use desktop engineering tools such as FAST and ADAMS to provide information about the aero-elastic behavior of the turbines. However, each of these techniques has its own advantages and disadvantages. An evolving approach for generating performance data on wind turbine rotors is through the use of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD).

About Customer

The customer in this case study is not explicitly mentioned. However, it can be inferred that the customer would be any organization or entity involved in the design, production, and operation of wind turbines. This could include wind power technology companies, renewable energy providers, and potentially government bodies or research institutions involved in the development and regulation of wind power technology. The customer would be interested in this study as it provides a detailed methodology for improving the design and efficiency of wind turbine blades, potentially leading to increased power output, reduced maintenance costs, and an overall reduction in the cost of electricity generated by wind power.

Solution

In this study, a high fidelity Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) methodology is presented for performing fully coupled Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) simulations of wind turbine blades and rotors using a commercially available flow solver, AcuSolve. The fully coupled fluid/structure interaction problem is simulated using a modal superposition approach. This technique, known as Practical Fluid Structure Interaction (or P-FSI) requires the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of the structure as input to the CFD model. Once this information is provided, AcuSolve is able to independently compute the structural deformation in response to the fluid forces on the wetted surfaces. The starting point for this analysis is a CAD model of the 13.2 MW blade design. The geometric model is created based on the specified airfoil sections that make up the blade geometry. For the CFD side of the analysis, the bounding fluid volume around the rotor is created using a simple cylindrical solid region.

Impact #1	The use of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) methodology for performing fully coupled Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) simulations of wind turbine blades and rotors has shown promising results. The AcuSolve CFD package was able to independently compute the structural deformation in response to the fluid forces on the wetted surfaces, providing a more accurate representation of the aero-elastic behavior of the turbines. This approach allows for a more detailed understanding of the fluid elastic coupling, which can lead to improved designs of wind turbine blades. The results of the simulations performed in this study indicate a decay of the signal, and no evidence of any type of fluid-elastic coupling that may lead to an undamped oscillation of the blade. This suggests that the CFD model is a reliable tool for investigating the aeroelastic stability of wind turbine blades.

Impact #1

The use of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) methodology for performing fully coupled Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) simulations of wind turbine blades and rotors has shown promising results. The AcuSolve CFD package was able to independently compute the structural deformation in response to the fluid forces on the wetted surfaces, providing a more accurate representation of the aero-elastic behavior of the turbines. This approach allows for a more detailed understanding of the fluid elastic coupling, which can lead to improved designs of wind turbine blades. The results of the simulations performed in this study indicate a decay of the signal, and no evidence of any type of fluid-elastic coupling that may lead to an undamped oscillation of the blade. This suggests that the CFD model is a reliable tool for investigating the aeroelastic stability of wind turbine blades.

Benefit #1	The AcuSolve results show excellent agreement for the power predictions amongst all three codes up to the 11.3 m/s wind speed.
Benefit #2	The AcuSolve results compare very well to WT_Perf, whereas the FAST results show an over prediction in thrust at all wind speeds when compared against the others.
Benefit #3	The WT_Perf and AcuSolve results agree very well when comparing the flapwise bending moment, while FAST tends to show a higher value.

Benefit #1

The AcuSolve results show excellent agreement for the power predictions amongst all three codes up to the 11.3 m/s wind speed.

Benefit #2

The AcuSolve results compare very well to WT_Perf, whereas the FAST results show an over prediction in thrust at all wind speeds when compared against the others.

Benefit #3

The WT_Perf and AcuSolve results agree very well when comparing the flapwise bending moment, while FAST tends to show a higher value.

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Overview

Aeroelastic Investigation of Wind Turbine Blades Using Computational Fluid Dynamics

Operational Impact

Quantitative Benefit