The capability of the DLR flow solver to simulate a wind turbine operating in an extreme gust event is presented by propagating the extreme gust through the flow field. The behaviour of the aerodynamic rotor loading and flow characteristics on the rotor blades were evaluated. The long-term perspective is to improve the understanding of the effects of instationary aerodynamics on the wind turbine. This will help to improve wind turbine design methods.

Current approaches to wind turbine extreme load estimation are insufficient to routinely and reliably make required estimates over 50-year return periods. Our work hybridizes the two main approaches and casts the problem as stochastic optimization. However, the extreme variability in turbine response implies even an optimal sampling strategy needs unrealistic computing resources. We therefore conclude that further improvement requires better understanding of the underlying causes of loads.

Our experimental wind tunnel study on a pair of model wind turbines demonstrates a significant potential of turbine yaw angle control for the combined optimization of turbine power and rotor loads. Depending on the turbines' relative positions to the incoming wind, a combined power increase and individual rotor load reduction can be achieved by operating the turbine rotors slightly misaligned with the main wind direction (i.e., at a certain yaw angle).

This research poses the question of whether rotor performance can be increased by an optimized design of the nacelle. For this purpose, the main geometrical parameters of the nacelle, such as the diameter, the relative position of the blade and the detailed shape in the junction of the blade, are investigated by means of computational fluid dynamics. By implementing a fairing-type shape in the junction, the detrimental flow separation in the inner part of the rotor could be eliminated.

This paper shows how a definitive part of the commonly used Mann (1994) atmospheric turbulence model (its so-called eddy lifetime) implies that the model parameters can be directly related to typical measurements in wind energy projects. Most importantly, the characteristic turbulence length scale is found in terms of commonly measured (10 min mean) quantities (shear and standard deviation of wind speed); this estimator is found to give useful results, over different sites and flow regimes.

A wind turbine sees an overshoot in loading after a step change in pitch angle because the wake takes some time to reach a new equilibrium. The time constants of this dynamic inflow effect are expected to decrease significantly towards the blade tip. This radial dependency has not been found to the expected extent in previous analyses of force measurements from the NASA Ames Phase VI experiment. In the present article the findings from the experiment are explained based on a simple vortex model.

The present work provides a technical basis for the design of jacket structures used as substructures for offshore wind turbines. This involves models for the geometry, costs, and structural design code checks. An example application is shown in this paper, in which three different structural designs are compared. This work may lead to improved design approaches and finally to a cost reduction of offshore substructures.

Satellites offer wind measurements offshore and can resolve the wind speed on scales of up to 500 m. To date, this data is not routinely used in the industry for planning wind farms. We show that this data can be used to predict local differences in the mean wind speed around the Anholt offshore wind farm. With satellite data, site-specific wind measurements can be introduced early in the planning phase of an offshore wind farm and help decision makers.

This paper validates the use of idealized large-eddy simulations with periodic lateral boundary conditions to provide boundary-layer flow quantities of interest for wind energy applications. Sensitivities to model formulation, forcing parameter values, and grid configurations were also examined, both to ascertain the robustness of the technique and to characterize inherent uncertainties, as required for the evaluation of more general wind plant flow simulation approaches under development.

The modeling, operating strategy, and controller design for an actual in-field wind turbine with a fixed-displacement hydraulic drivetrain are presented. An analysis is given on a passive torque control strategy for below-rated operation. The turbine lacks the option to influence the system torque by a generator, so the turbine is regulated by a spear valve in the region between below- and above-rated operation. The control design is evaluated on a real-world 500 kW hydraulic wind turbine.

Wind turbines are exposed to harsh weather, leading to surface defects on rotor blades emerging from the first day of operation. Defects grow quickly and affect the performance of wind turbines. Thus, there is demand for an easily applicable remote-inspection method that is sensitive to small surface defects. In this work we show that infrared thermography can meet these requirements by visualizing differences in the surface temperature of the rotor blades downstream of surface defects.

The interannual variability (IAV) of annual energy production (AEP) from wind turbines due to IAV in wind speeds from proposed wind farms plays a key role in dictating project financing but is only poorly constrained. This study provides improved quantification of IAV over eastern N. America using purpose-performed long-term numerical simulations. It may be appropriate to reduce the IAV applied to preconstruction AEP estimates, which would decrease the cost of capital for wind farm developments.

This study shows that using probabilistic forecasting can improve next-day production forecasts for wind energy in cold climates. Wind turbines can suffer from severe production losses due to icing on the turbine blades. Short-range forecasts including the icing-related production losses are therefore valuable when planning for next-day energy production. Probabilistic forecasting can also provide a likelihood for icing and icing-related production losses.

This study investigates the behaviour of wind turbine wakes in complex terrain. Using six scanning lidars, we measured the wake of a single turbine at the Perdigão site in Portugal in 2015. Our findings show that wake propagation is highly dependent on the atmospheric stability, which is mostly ignored in flow simulation used for wind farm layout design. The wake is lifted up during unstable atmospheric conditions and follows the terrain downwards during stable conditions.

This paper presents a simplified numerical model to quickly predict motion and loads of floating offshore wind turbines. Hydrodynamic, aerodynamic and mooring loads are extracted from higher-fidelity numerical tools. Without calibration, the model can predict with good accuracy the motions of the system in real wind and wave conditions. Loads at the tower base are estimated with errors between 0.2 % and 11.3 %. The model can simulate between 1300 and 2700 times faster than real time.

To get a better understanding of noise emissions from wind turbines at frequencies far below the audible range, simulations with increasing complexity were conducted. Consistent with the literature, it has been found that acoustic emission is dominated by the noise generated when the rotor blades pass the tower. These specific frequencies are less dominant in the structure-borne emission. Considering aerodynamic forces acting on the tower is important for the correct modeling of emissions.

Rain erosion on wind turbine blades is a severe challenge for wind energy today. It causes significant losses in power production, and large sums are spent on inspection and repair. Blade life can be extended, power production increased and maintenance costs reduced by rotor speed reduction at extreme precipitation events. Combining erosion test results, meteorological data and models of blade performance, we show that a turbine control strategy is a promising new weapon against blade erosion.

Most wind farm control algorithms in the literature rely on a simplified mathematical model that requires constant calibration to the current conditions. This paper provides such an estimation algorithm for a dynamic model capturing the turbine power production and flow field at hub height. Performance was demonstrated in high-fidelity simulations for two-turbine and nine-turbine farms, accurately estimating the ambient conditions and wind field inside the farms at a low computational cost.

Wind energy site suitability assessment procedures often require estimating the loads a wind turbine will be subject to when installed. The estimation is often time-consuming and requires several iterations. We have developed a procedure for quick and accurate estimation of site-specific wind turbine loads. Our approach employs computationally efficient parametric models that are calibrated to high-fidelity load simulations. The result is a significant reduction in computation efforts.

This work presents a new fully automated method to correct for pitch misalignment imbalances of wind turbine rotors. The method has minimal requirements, as it only assumes the availability of a sensor of sufficient accuracy and bandwidth to detect the 1P harmonic to the desired precision and the ability to command the pitch setting of each blade independently from the others. Extensive numerical simulations are used to demonstrate the new procedure.

This study was done in order to simplify the analysis needed for the assessment of safety criteria that offshore wind turbine support structures must satisfy. The work was done via simulations of the system and computations and analyses of the resulting data. The results show that the proposed methodology has great potential for simplifying the assessment procedure while retaining acceptable accuracy compared to the full analysis. There are several applications within both research and industry.

This paper addresses the modeling aspect of wind farm control. To implement successful wind farm controls, a suitable model has to be used that captures the relevant physics. This paper addresses three different wake models that can be used for controls and compares these models with lidar field data from a utility-scale turbine.

Wind energy development has increased rapidly in rural locations of the United States, areas that also serve general aviation airports. The spinning rotor of a wind turbine creates an area of increased turbulence, and we question if this turbulent air could pose rolling hazards for light aircraft flying behind turbines. We analyze high-resolution simulations of wind flowing past a turbine to quantify the rolling risk and find that wind turbines pose no significant roll hazards to light aircraft.

To find the ideal way to quantify long-term wind-speed variability, we compare 27 metrics using 37 years of wind and energy data. We conclude that the robust coefficient of variation can effectively assess and correlate wind-speed and energy-production variabilities. We derive adequate results via monthly mean data, whereas uncertainty arises in interannual variability calculations. We find that reliable estimates of wind-speed variability require 10 ± 3 years of monthly mean wind data.

Active wake deflection (AWD) aims to increase the power output of a wind farm by misaligning the yaw of upstream turbines. We analysed the effect of dynamic wind direction changes on AWD. The results show that AWD is very sensitive towards these dynamics. Therefore, we present a robust active wake control, which considers uncertainties and wind direction changes, increasing the overall power output of a wind farm. A side effect is a significant reduction of the yaw actuation of the turbines.

The interaction between wind turbines through their wakes is an important aspect of the conception and operation of a wind farm. Wakes are characterized by an elevated turbulence level and a noticeable velocity deficit which causes a decrease in energy output and fatigue on downstream turbines. In order to gain a better understanding of this phenomenon, this work uses large-eddy simulations together with an actuator line model and different ambient turbulences.

The energy capture of a wind turbine can be improved by completely surrounding it with an airfoil-shaped duct. This paper describes a new modeling strategy used to design an experimental 2.5 m ducted turbine, tested at the University of Waterloo wind turbine test facility. The wind tunnel data validated the predicted performance, indicating that the ducted turbine produced more than twice the power output of a conventional turbine design of the same size. Design implications are also discussed.

This article describes a study in which modellers were challenged to compute the wind at a forested site with moderately complex topography. The target was to match the measured wind profile at one exact location for three directions. The input to the models consisted of detailed information on forest densities and ground height. Overall, the article gives an overview of how well different types of models are able to capture the flow physics at a moderately complex forested site.

The US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and industry partners successfully demonstrated a new gearbox design using preloaded tapered roller bearings in the planetary section. The new gearbox design demonstrated improved planetary load-sharing characteristics in the presence of rotor pitch and yaw moments, resulting in a predicted gearbox lifetime that is 3.5 times greater than the previous conventional design with cylindrical roller bearings.