Wind tunnel experiments for design and validation of control concepts for wind turbine blades with trailing edge flaps Recent developments in the wind tunnel equipment and measurement techniques let researchers to investigate and validate more complex dynamics such as turbulence in the flow and tower shadow effects. The wind tunnel facilities of the University of Oldenburg offer defined inflow situations and reproducible conditions, which is a very flexible and inexpensive way to gain deeper understanding of the behavior of the wind turbines.
Scope The main overall goal of this structured state of the art project is to design and validate control concepts for smart wind turbine through wind tunnel experiments and aeroelastic numeric simulations. The project will include experimental aerodynamic characterization for different static and dynamic inflow conditions and flap angles. The performed characterization will be used for preparation of numerical models of the blade segment, and for designing control algorithms for the blade segment. In parallel, various control approaches for smart rotors will be tested in aerodynamic simulations, and more promising ones will be implemented for wind tunnel experiments. The end goal is to test different control concepts (model free, predictive control, optimal control) in hardware in the loop (HiL) experiments. To this aim, various tools will be used throughout the project, including Matlab, Python, LabVIEW, etc. Concrete work projects can be tailored based on your interests, background knowledge and experience. Possible project formats are: • Lab project II, 6 ECTS • Bachelor thesis, 15 ECTS • Master thesis, 30 ECTS • European Master in Renewable Energy, 45 ECTS • Practical training, internship (Berufsfeldbezogenes, Praktikum), 15 ECTS • Other formats? Lets talk about it! If you are interest in, please contact us for a more detailed discussion.
General project tasks Based on your interest and scale of the project (Lab Project II / Bachelor / Master) you may contribute in one or more of the following tasks: • Test experimental model setup inside the wind tunnel. • Static polar measurements (each measurement run will be performed with fixed flow angle and flap position). • Dynamic polar measurements (each measurement run will be performed while the flow angle and flap position change with independent amplitude and frequency in a periodic motion). • Extraction of the polars from recorded test data using the numerical programming. This may require learning and application of signal processing techniques. • Numerical investigate of the open-loop controller on the flap data based on the measured aerodynamic properties of the blade profile static and dynamic flow cases.In this task, the effect of flap control signals such as step and sine on the aerodynamic properties of the blade profile will be investigated. • Design and simulation of a feedback and feed-forward controllers on the flap for static and dynamic flow cases. The flow condition and load measurements will be used as control signals. • Implementation of the designed controller in the test model using National instrument’s motion control modules and LabVIEW programming. • Validation of the active flap controller in HiL experiments in wind tunnel. Beyond a single project, you will be familiarized with the theory and the techniques of wind tunnel experiments, measurement tools, LabVIEW programming and motion control concepts and mechanisms.
Requirements For data acquisition and programming tasks you should be familiar with numerical programming language such as MATLAB, Python or equivalent For controller design and evaluation tasks you may have basic understanding of the control theory.
First examiner:
Prof. Martin Kuhn ¨
Supervisor:
S. Mohsen Forghani +49 0441 798 5068
[email protected]
Place:
Wind Energy Systems, ForWind Institute, Oldenburg University
