In wind turbines, flow pressure variations on the air-structure interface cause aerodynamic forces. Consequently the structure deforms and starts to move. The interaction between aerodynamic forces and structural deformations mainly concerns aeroelasticity. Since these two are coupled, they have to be considered simultaneously in cases which the deformations are not negligible in comparison to the other geometric dimensions. The purpose of this work is to improve the simulation model of a vertical axis wind turbine by modifying the structural model from undamped Euler-Bernoulli beam theory with lumped mass matrix to the more advanced Timoshenko beam theory with consistent mass matrix plus an additional damping term. The bending of the beam is then unified with longitudinal and torsional deformations based on a fixed shape cross-section assumption and the Saint-Venant torsion theory. The whole work has been carried out by implementing the finite element method using MATLAB code and implanting it in a previously developed package as a complement. Finally the results have been verified by qualitative comparisons with alternative simulations.

The aim of this study is to act as a pre-study for AirSon Engineering AB regarding a small scale wind turbine they want to install. This by means of collecting data about the windspeeds present at said location, taking into consideration local regulations and doing calculations on the turbulence in the wind, which is affected by nearby obstacles and by the house which the wind turbine is planned to be installed next to. The study puts specific focus on three main questions, namely: What kind of production is to be expected? What is the economy like for the installation of the wind turbine? What are the possibilities/limitations from a construction perspective? An analysis of the location of the installation and a comparison of the selected wind turbines and their respective dimensions, potential for production and economics is presented in this study. The emphasis of the analysis is on examining the respective wind turbines and determining which of them that best fits AirSon with regard to all three aspects. Different graphs have been used to compile wind data and the program used for this study is Matlab. In addition to that the program Excel has been used to compile and present the results for the various wind turbines.  A total of nine small scale vertical axis wind turbines with rated output powers between 1 kW and 10 kW have been examined and are presented as potential suggestions for installation. The manufacturers whose wind turbines are presented are Aeolos, Toyoda and Ropatec. By the end of this study a recommendation from the authors, to AirSon is presented for which windturbine the authors think might fit best. The plan for this study is furthermore to act as a guidance so that AirSon can, following up on the study, directly work toward acquiring and installing said wind turbine. / Syftet med detta arbete är att genomföra en förstudie åt AirSon Engineering AB rörande ett småskaligt vindkraftverk som de vill installera. Arbetet innefattar insamling av data om vindhastigheter från den befintliga platsen samt hänsynstagande till de lokala omständigheterna, till exempel vad gäller turbulensen i vinden, som påverkas av närliggande hinder och av huset vilket vindkraftverket planeras att installeras intill. Examensarbetet har sitt fokus specifikt på tre huvudfrågor, nämligen: Vad för produktion förväntas från platsen? Hur ser ekonomin ut för installationen av vindkraftverket? Vad finns det för möjligheter/hinder ur ett kontruktionsperspektiv? I arbetet presenteras en analys av platsen som vindkraftverket ska installeras på samt en analys av utvalda vindkraftverk med hänsyn till storlek, produktion och ekonomi. Analysens tyngdpunkt ligger i att undersöka det vindkraftverk som passar in bäst för AirSon med hänsyn till alla tre aspekterna. Till analysen har olika grafer använts för att sammanställa vinddata och programmet som användes till detta är Matlab. För att sammanställa och presentera de olika vindkraftverken har Excel använts.  Totalt sett har nio småskaliga vertikalaxlade vindkraftverk med märkeffekter mellan 1 kW och 10 kW undersökts och tagits fram som potentiella förslag för installation. De tillverkare vars vindkraftverk presenteras är Aeolos, Toyoda och Ropatec. I slutet av detta arbete presenteras en rekommendation för vilket vindkraftverk som författarna anser vara lämpligast för AirSon. Avsikten med arbetet är att vägleda AirSon tillräckligt mycket för att de ska kunna använda analysen för att installera verket.

In this thesis the Counter Rotating vertical Axis Floating Tilting wind turbine (CRAFT) has been explored by creating a simulation model in the program Simulink. The CRAFT prototype is a new type of wind turbine under development by World Wide Wind and Uppsala University with the aim to produce a large scale floating vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) with two cone shaped counter rotating turbines. The objective of this thesis is to study the required size of the secondary generator in the CRAFT. The generator is required in order to keep both of the turbines rotating with the same but opposite rotational speed, even when the turbines are experiencing different wind loads. Further areas that are investigated are if certain parameters have a specifically high impact on the need for the secondary generator.  The objective was reached by creating a model of the prototype and implementing control algorithms for both the secondary and main generator in order to control the rotational speed of the turbines. The behaviour of the CRAFT was then simulated with different wind loads and varying parameters such as the size of the main load, the size of the power output to the secondary generator and the wing length of the lower turbine. The simulations showed that it is possible to keep the rotational speed of the two turbines equal and opposite even during turbulent wind loads with the chosen control algorithm. The simulation also showed that if a small deviation in the turbine's rotational speed is allowed, a secondary generator of only 1 kW is needed instead of the currently used 5 kW generator. It was also shown that the elongating of the lower turbine wings had a small and positive effect on the energy output of the CRAFT.

<p>This work is a five-article-based collection of published and to-be-published research articles that explore a novel combination of inlet conditions, wind turbine design, and non-flat topography by performing scaled-down experiments in a wind tunnel.</p>

No description available.

The finite element methods (FEM) have been developed over decades, and together with the growth of computer engineering, they become more and more important in solving large-scale problems in science and industry. The objective of this thesis is to develop high-performance finite element methods (HP-FEM), with two main applications in mind: computational diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and simulation of the turbulent flow past a vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT). In the first application, we develop an efficient high-performance finite element framework HP-PUFEM based on a partition of unity finite element method to solve the Bloch-Torrey equation in heterogeneous domains. The proposed framework overcomes the difficulties that the standard approaches have when imposing the microscopic heterogeneity of the biological tissues. We also propose artificial jump conditions at the external boundaries to approximate the pseudo-periodic boundary conditions which allows for the water exchange at the external boundaries for non-periodic meshes. The framework is of a high level simplicity and efficiency that well facilitates parallelization. It can be straightforwardly implemented in different FEM software packages and it is implemented in FEniCS for moderate-scale simulations and in FEniCS-HPC for the large-scale simulations. The framework is validated against reference solutions, and implementation shows a strong parallel scalability. Since such a high-performance simulation framework is still missing in the field, it can become a powerful tool to uncover diffusion in complex biological tissues. In the second application, we develop an ALE-DFS method which combines advanced techniques developed in recent years to simulate turbulence. We apply a General Galerkin (G2) method which is continuous piecewise linear in both time and space, to solve the Navier-Stokes equations for a rotating turbine in an Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) framework. This method is enhanced with dual-based a posterior error control and automated mesh adaptation. Turbulent boundary layers are modeled by a slip boundary condition to avoid a full resolution which is impossible even with the most powerful computers available today. The method is validated against experimental data of parked turbines with good agreements. The thesis presents contributions in the form of both numerical methods for high-performance computing frameworks and efficient, tested software, published open source as part of the FEniCS-HPC platform. / <p>QC 20180411</p>

<p>This thesis reports on a numerical and experimental investigation of the unsteady loading of high solidity vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs). Two-dimensional, unsteady Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes simulations of a small scale, high solidity, H-type Darrieus vertical axis wind turbine revealed the dominant effect of dynamic stall on the power production and vibration excitation of the turbine. Operation of the turbine at low blade speed ratios resulted in complex flow-blade interaction mechanisms. These include; dynamic stall resulting in large scale vortex production, vortex impingement on the source blade, and significant flow momentum extraction.</p> <p>To validate the numerical model, a series of full-scale experimental wind tunnel tests were performed to determine the aerodynamic loading on the turbine airfoils, vibration response behaviour, and wake velocity. In order to accomplish this, a complex force measurement and wireless telemetry system was developed. During the course of this investigation, high vibration response of the turbine was observed. This resulted in conditions that made it difficult or impossible to measure the underlying aerodynamic loading. A vibration mitigation methodology was developed to remove the effect of vibration from the measured aerodynamic forces. In doing so, an accurate and complete measurement of the aerodynamic loading on the turbine blades was obtained.</p> <p>Comparison of the two-dimensional numerical model results to the experimental measurements revealed a considerable over-prediction of the turbine aerodynamic force and power coefficients, and wake velocity. From this research, it was determined that the three-dimensional flow effects due to the finite aspect ratio of the turbine and blades, as well as parasitic losses, could be accounted for through the application of inlet velocity and turbine height correction factors. In doing so, the two-dimensional numerical model results could be properly scaled to represent the three-dimensional flow behaviour of the turbine prototype. Ultimately, a validated VAWT design tool was developed.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

In this dissertation, various VAT parameters are investigated to determine the effect of the overall efficiency of the turbine at a high Reynolds number. To increase the efficiency of the vertical axis turbines, 2D CFD simulations are completed in an effort to better understand the physics behind the operation of these turbines. Specifically, the effect of advance ratio, solidity, and wake interactions were investigated. Simulations were completed in OpenFOAM using the k-ω SST turbulence model at a nominal Reynolds number of 500,000 using a NACA 0015 airfoil. To simulate the motion of the turbine, Arbitrary Mesh Interfacing (AMI) was used. For all of the parameters tested, it was found that the geometric effective angle of attack seen by the turbine blades had a significant impact on the power extracted from the flow. The range of effective angles of attack was found to decrease as the advance ratio increased. In spite of this, a severe loss in the power coefficient occurred at an advance ratio of 2.5 during which the blade experienced dynamic stall. This effect was also seen when the number of turbine blades was changed to four, at a solidity of 1.08. This negative impact on performance was found to be due to the increase in the drag component of the tangential force when dynamic stall occurs. Results indicate that wake interactions between subsequent blades have a large impact on performance especially when the wake interaction alters the flow direction sufficiently to create conditions for dynamic stall. To improve the performance of the VAT in the presence of dynamic stall, calculations were completed of a static twisted blade profile using GenIDLEST and OpenFOAM. There was found to be no improvement in the lift coefficient when comparing the twisted blade profile with a 2D blade at the same median angle of attack as the twisted blade. To further see the effects of the twisted blade, an effective VAT pitching motion was given to the blade and again compared to a 2D blade with the same motion. In this case there was significant improvement seen in the performance of the twisted blade. / Master of Science

<p>The 21st century would be a nightmare for Don Quijote: thousands of windmills are installed all over the globe and the number will increase tremendously over the next years. If climate change was an issue in the early 17th century, Don Quijote might have specialized in fighting nuclear or fossil fuel power plants.</p><p>The change in power production is clearly pronounced, and it inspires the market to respond immediately. Numerous wind turbine manufacturers emerge, developing one technological innovation after another. The trend clearly goes in one direction: horizontal axis wind turbines in all possible variations. However, there are a few companies that do not follow the mainstream – they swim against the current and introduce new concepts, with the potential to set new standards in the industry.</p><p>Nevertheless, the question whether these companies can establish operations and survive in an industry dominated by large multinational corporations arises. If these companies want to become recognized, they need to compete on an international scale from the outset – they become born globals.</p><p>This master’s thesis investigates the preconditions under which an innovative start-up company can become born global in the wind turbine industry. For that, distinctive resources and capabilities of such companies, as well as key success factors for the industry are defined. Furthermore, enhancing or restricting parameters lying within company’s environment – in particular, within its networks – are discovered. These findings are based on and supported by the case study of an innovative vertical axis wind turbine manufacturer. In addition, the influence of this company’s university spin-off origin is investigated.</p>

On étudie des phénomènes de séparation d'écoulement avec deux approches différentes. Dans la première partie, on considère des écoulements 2D, instationnaires, incompressibles et non visqueux. Un modèle analytique-numérique, basé sur la jonction d'une transformation conforme et d'une méthode aux tourbillons ponctuels, est construit pour définir l'écoulement potentiel dans un domaine doublement connecté où les corps sont caractérisés par une variation temporelle de leur circulation. En particulier, on s'intéresse à l'étude de l'écoulement autour d'un VAWT avec deux pales. Dans la seconde partie on considère des écoulements visqueux et compressibles. On construit un solveur qui résoud les équations de Navier-Stokes en y introduisant une technique de pénalisation: les corps sont modélisés comme des milieux poreux ayant une porosité très petite par rapport à la porosité du fluide extérieur. Cette technique permet d'utiliser des maillages cartésiens pour des géométries très complexes. / In the present work flow separation phenomena are investigated by means of two different approaches. In the first part, 2D unsteady incompressible inviscid flows are studied. An analytical-numerical model, based on the conjunction of a conformal mapping and a point vortex method, is built to define the potential flow field in a doubly connected domain where bodies are characterized by a variation in time of their circulation. In particular, the study of the unsteady flow past a 2-blade Darrieus VAWT is addressed. Until now the study of vortex motions has only been described in doubly-connected flow fields where the circulations have a constant null value. The flow field here analysed has a deep unsteadiness, which determines the circulations varying in time: so a technique is developed to uniquely define the circulations around the bodies. Three conditions result necessary to be imposed: in addition to the two Kutta conditions at the trailing edges, another one has to be imposed in order to respect the Kelvin theorem. With a classical configuration, this machine, experiencing angles of attack of opposite values, gives rise to complex vortex shedding phenomena that reduce its performances and stress its structure. In order to control the flow separation from the blades, an innovative solution is qualitatively investigated which consists of taking blade profiles provided with vortex trapping cavities. Interesting results are obtained, even if in the limit of inviscid flow. In the second part compressible viscous flows are taken into account. A fully Navier-Stokes equations solver is implemented introducing the penalization technique. The idea is to replace the bodies by the fluid, in a way that also into the bodies the penalized Navier-Stokes equations remain valid, respecting the boundary conditions on their contours. Starting from this purpose, the bodies are considered as porous media with a little porosity with respect to that of the external flow, which tends to infinity. This technique allows simple Cartesian meshes to be used, also for very complex geometries like those of industrial interest. The resulting code is tested on different flow fields, both steady and unsteady, both subsonic and supersonic, obtaining always a good agreement with other theoretical and numerical results described in literature.