Abstract
A smart material–based active external trailing-edge flap was designed for wind turbine blades in this study. Its vibration-fatigue load reduction potential was evaluated during normal operation. The blade–external flap configuration was chosen based on a wind tunnel–testing report of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. The internal structure of the flap was determined based on an aeroelastic sectional analysis code, with the input of aerodynamic forces obtained from a computational fluid dynamics simulation in order to meet strength and serviceability requirements. The work done by the aerodynamic forces and centrifugal forces acting on the flap was calculated to determine the required actuator capacity. Piezoelectric stack actuators combined with a double-lever mechanical linkage were designed to achieve the required force and displacement in order to activate the flap. By combining the flap control scheme and the aerodynamic-aeroelastic simulation, the time responses of the wind turbine blades were obtained. The fatigue analysis showed that the external flap can reduce the fluctuation of the blade root flapwise bending moment and the magnitude of the damage equivalent loads.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the National Science Foundation under Grants 1300970, 1300149, and 0952218. The authors are indebted to Dr. Taeoh Lee for providing information and help. The authors thank Dr. Jason Jonkman, Dr. Bonnie Jonkman, and Dr. Matthew Lackner for their inspiring discussions and help.
References
Abbott, I. H., and Von Doenhoff, A. E. (1959). Theory of wing sections, including a summary of airfoil data, Dover Publications, Moneola, NY.
ANSYS 14.5 [Computer software]. Fluent Academic Research, ANSYS, Canonsburg, PA.
Bak, C. (2007). “Sensitivity of key parameters in aerodynamic wind turbine rotor design on power and energy performance.” J. Phys. Conf. Ser., 75(1), 012008.
Bak, C., Johansen, J., and Andersen, P. B. (2006). “Three-dimensional corrections of airfoil characteristics based on pressure distributions.” Proc., European Wind Energy Conf., Brussels, Belgium.
Barlas, A., and Van Kuik, G. (2009). “Aeroelastic modelling and comparison of advanced active flap control concepts for load reduction on the upwind 5MW wind turbine.” Proc., 2009 European Wind Energy Conf. and Exhibition, Marseille, France.
Barlas, T. K., and Van Kuik, G. (2007). “State of the art and prospectives of smart rotor control for wind turbines.” J. Phy. Conf. Ser., 75(1), 012080.
Basualdo, S. (2005). “Load alleviation on wind turbine blades using variable airfoil geometry.” Wind Eng., 29(2), 169–182.
Bergami, L. (2008). Aeroelastic stability of a 2D airfoil section equipped with a trailing edge flap, Risø National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy, Technical Univ. of Denmark, Roskilde, Denmark.
Bir, G. (2008a). “MBC: A MATLAB-based postprocessor for multi-blade coordinate transformation of wind turbine state-space models.” National Wind Technology Center, Golden, CO.
Bir, G. (2008b). “Multiblade coordinate transformation and its application to wind turbine analysis.” Proc., 46th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit, AIAA, Reston, VA.
Bossanyi, E. (2003). “Individual blade pitch control for load reduction.” Wind Energy, 6(2), 119–128.
Buhl, T., Gaunaa, M., and Bak, C. (2005a). “Load reduction potential using airfoils with variable trailing edge geometry.” Proc., 43th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit, AIAA, Reston, VA.
Buhl, T., Gaunaa, M., and Bak, C. (2005b). “Potential load reduction using airfoils with variable trailing edge geometry.” J. Solar Energy Eng., 127(4), 503–516.
Burton, T., Jenkins, N., Sharpe, D., and Bossanyi, E. (2011). Wind energy handbook, Wiley, Hoboken, NJ.
Castaignet, D., et al. (2014). “Full-scale test of trailing edge flaps on a Vestas V27 wind turbine: Active load reduction and system identification.” Wind Energy, 17(4), 549–564.
Chopra, I. (2002). “Review of state of art of smart structures and integrated systems.” AIAA J., 40(11), 2145–2187.
Daynes, S., and Weaver, P. M. (2012). “A morphing trailing edge device for a wind turbine.” J. Intell. Mater. Syst. Struct., 23(6), 691–701.
Drela, M. (1989). “XFOIL: An analysis and design system for low Reynolds number airfoils.” Low Reynolds number aerodynamics, Springer, Heidelberg, 1–12.
FAST/AeroDyn [Computer software]. National Wind Technology Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO.
Fung, Y. C. (2002). “An introduction to the theory of aeroelasticity.” Courier Corporation, North Chelmsford, MA.
Ge, M., Fang, L., and Tian, D. (2015). “Influence of Reynolds number on multi-objective aerodynamic design of a wind turbine blade.” PloS One, 10(11), e0141848.
Gillebaart, T., Bernhammer, L. O., Zuijlen, A. H. V., and Kuik, G. A. M. V. (2014). “Active flap control on an aeroelastic wind turbine airfoil in gust conditions using both a CFD and an engineering model.” J. Phys. Conf. Ser., 524(1), 012060.
Giurgiutiu, V. (2000). “Review of smart-materials actuation solutions for aeroelastic and vibration control.” J. Intell. Mater. Syst. Struct., 11(7), 525–544.
Giurgiutiu, V., Chaudhry, Z., and Rogers, C. (1995). “Effective use of induced strain actuators in static and dynamic applications.” Proc., 36th Structures, Structural Dynamics and Materials Conf., American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Reston, VA.
Giurgiutiu, V., Rogers, C., and Chaudhry, Z. (1997). “Design of displacement-amplified induced-strain actuators for maximum energy output.” J. Mech. Des., 119(4), 511–517.
Giurgiutiu, V., and Rogers, C. A. (1997). “Large-amplitude rotary induced-strain (laris) actuator.” J. Intell. Mater. Syst. Struct., 8(1), 41–50.
Giurgiutiu, V., Rogers, C. A., and Chaudhry, Z. (1996). “Energy-based comparison of solid-state induced-strain actuators.” J. Intell. Mater. Syst. Struct., 7(1), 4–14.
Guntur, S., and Sørensen, N. N. (2013). “A detailed study of the rotational augmentation and dynamic stall phenomena for wind turbines.” Ph.D. thesis, Technical Univ. of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark.
Hall, S. R., Tzianetopoulou, T., Straub, F. K., and Ngo, H. T. (2000). “Design and testing of a double X-frame piezoelectric actuator.” Proc., SPIE 3985, Smart Structures and Materials 2000: Smart Structures and Integrated Systems, SPIE, Bellingham, WA.
Hansen, M. H. (2007). “Aeroelastic instability problems for wind turbines.” Wind Energy, 10(6), 551–577.
Hayman, G. (2012). “MLife theory manual for version 1.00.” National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO.
Henriksen, L. C., Bergami, L., and Andersen, P. B. (2013). “A model based control methodology combining blade pitch and adaptive trailing edge flaps in a common framework.” Proc., European Wind Energy Association 2013, Vienna, Austria.
Hoa, S. (1979). “Vibration of a rotating beam with tip mass.” J. Sound Vibr., 67(3), 369–381.
Hodges, D. H. (2006). “Nonlinear composite beam theory.” Progress in astronautics aeronautics, AIAA, Reston, VA.
IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission). (2009). “Wind turbines. Part 3: Design requirements for offshore wind turbines.” IEC 61400-3, Geneva.
Johnson, W. (1980). Helicopter theory, Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.
Jonkman, B. J. (2009). “TurbSim user’s guide: Version 1.50.” National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO.
Jonkman, J. M. (2001). “Modeling of the UAE wind turbine for refinement of FASTAD.” Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO.
Jonkman, J. M., and Buhl, M. L. (2005). “FAST user’s guide.” National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO.
Jonkman, J. M., Butterfield, S., Musial, W., and Scott, G. (2009). “Definition of a 5-MW reference wind turbine for offshore system development.”, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO.
Lachenal, X., Daynes, S., and Weaver, P. M. (2013). “Review of morphing concepts and materials for wind turbine blade applications.” Wind Energy, 16(2), 283–307.
Lackner, M. A., and van Kuik, G. (2010). “A comparison of smart rotor control approaches using trailing edge flaps and individual pitch control.” Wind Energy, 13(2–3), 117–134.
Lee, S. Y., Lin, S. M., and Wu, C. T. (2004). “Free vibration of a rotating non-uniform beam with arbitrary pretwist, an elastically restrained root and a tip mass.” J. Sound Vibr., 273(3), 477–492.
Lee, T. (1999). “High displacement piezoelectric trailing-edge flap mechanism for helicopter rotors.” Ph.D. thesis, Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD.
Lee, T., and Chopra, I. (2001). “Design of piezostack-driven trailing-edge flap actuator for helicopter rotors.” Smart Mater. Struct., 10(1), 15–24.
Li, L., Li, Y., Liu, Q., and Jiang, B. (2016). “Effect of balance weight on dynamic characteristics of a rotating wind turbine blade.” J. Eng. Math., 97(1), 49–65.
Løgstrup Andersen, T., Aagaard Madsen, H., Barlas, T. K., Mortensen, U. A., and Andersen, P. B. (2015). “Design, manufacturing and testing of controllable rubber trailing edge flaps.”, DTU Wind Energy, Roskilde, Denmark.
MATLAB [Computer software]. MathWorks, Natick, MA.
Menon, M., Ponta, F., Sun, X., and Dai, Q. (2016). “Aerodynamic analysis of flow-control devices for wind turbine applications based on the trailing edge slotted flap concept.” J. Aerosp. Eng., 04016037.
Migliore, P. G., Miller, L., and Quandt, G. (1995). “Wind turbine trailing edge aerodynamic brakes.”, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO.
Miller, L. S., Huang, S., and Quandt, G. (1998). “Atmospheric tests of trailing-edge aerodynamic devices.”, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO.
Miller, S. (1996). “Experimental investigation of aerodynamic devices for wind turbine rotational speed control: Phase II.”, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO.
MLife [Computer software]. National Wind Technology Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO.
Moriarty, P. J., and Hansen, A. C. (2005). AeroDyn theory manual, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO.
Ng, B. F., Hesse, H., Kerrigan, E. C., Palacios, R., and Graham, J. M. R. (2014). “Efficient aeroservoelastic modeling and control using trailing-edge flaps of wind turbines.” 2014 UKACC Int. Conf. on Control (CONTROL), IEEE, New York.
Otero, A. D., and Ponta, F. L. (2010). “Structural analysis of wind-turbine blades by a generalized Timoshenko beam model.” J. Solar Energy Eng., 132(1), 011015.
Platt, R. C. (1936). “Aerodynamic characteristics of wings with cambered external airfoil flaps, including lateral control, with a full-span flap.”, National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, Langley Field, VA.
Platt, R. C., and Abbott, I. H. (1937). “Aerodynamic Characteristics of NACA 23012 and 23021 airfoils with 20-percent-chord external-airfoil flaps of NACA 23012 section.” National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, Langley Field, VA.
Platt, R. C., and Shortal, J. A. (1937). “Wind-tunnel investigation of wings with ordinary ailerons and full-span external-airfoil flaps (NACA-TR-603).” National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, Langley Field, VA.
Ramirez Gutierrez, C. (2014). “Aerodynamic and aeroelastic design of low wind speed wind turbine blades.” Master’s thesis, Delft Univ. of Technology, Delft, Netherlands.
Straub, F., Ngo, H., Anand, V., and Domzalski, D. (2001). “Development of a piezoelectric actuator for trailing edge flap control of full scale rotor blades.” Smart Mater. Struct., 10(1), 25–34.
Stuart, J. G., Wright, A. D., and Butterfield, C. P. (1996a). “Considerations for an integrated wind turbine controls capability at the National Wind Technology Center: An aileron control case study for power regulation and load mitigation.”, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO.
Stuart, J. G., Wright, A. D., and Butterfield, C. P. (1996b). “Wind turbine control systems: Dynamic model development using system identification and the FAST structural dynamics code.”, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO.
Sutherland, H. J. (1999). On the fatigue analysis of wind turbines, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM.
Theodorsen, T. (1949). “General theory of aerodynamic instability and the mechanism of flutter (NACA-TR-496).” National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, Langley Field, VA.
Tibaldi, C., Kim, T., Larsen, T. J., Rasmussen, F., Rocca Serra, R. D., and Sanz, F. (2016). “An investigation on wind turbine resonant vibrations.” Wind Energy, 19(5), 847–859.
Troldborg, N. (2005). “Computational study of the Risø-B1-18 airfoil with a hinged flap providing variable trailing edge geometry.” Wind Eng., 29(2), 89–113.
TurbSim [Computer software]. National Wind Technology Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO.
Van Engelen, T., and Van der Hooft, E. (2005). “Individual pitch control inventory.”, Technical Univ. of Delft, Delft, Netherlands.
Wenzinger, C. J. (1938). “Pressure distribution over an NACA 23012 airfoil with an NACA 23012 external-airfoil flap (NACA-TR-614).” National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, Langley Field, VA.
Wilson, D. G., Resor, B. R., Berg, D. E., Barlas, T. K., and Van Kuik, G. A. (2010). “Active aerodynamic blade distributed flap control design procedure for load reduction on the UpWind 5MW wind turbine.” Proc., 48th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting, AIAA, Reston, VA.
Yu, W., Zhang, M. M., and Xu, J. Z. (2012). “Effect of smart rotor control using a deformable trailing edge flap on load reduction under normal and extreme turbulence.” Energies, 5(9), 3608–3626.
Zhang, M., Tan, B., and Xu, J. (2015). “Parameter study of sizing and placement of deformable trailing edge flap on blade fatigue load reduction.” Renewable Energy, 77, 217–226.
Zhang, M., Tan, B., and Xu, J. (2016). “Smart fatigue load control on the large-scale wind turbine blades using different sensing signals.” Renewable Energy, 87, 111–119.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 30 • Issue 5 • September 2017
Copyright
©2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 25, 2016
Accepted: Mar 30, 2017
Published online: Jul 14, 2017
Published in print: Sep 1, 2017
Discussion open until: Dec 14, 2017
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.