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Project

RObust NAcelle Transfer functions under different turbulence conditions (RONAT) (FWOSB144)

Belgium is the fourth-largest producer of offshore wind energy
worldwide. As Flanders is not a producer of large wind turbines,
operation and maintenance is one of the main fields where Flanders
can generate innovation and economic benefit. Such benefit must
come from making optimal use of available data.
Every wind turbine in a wind farm is equipped with a nacelle
anemometer, which measures the wind speed downstream of the
rotor. For the purpose of control and performance measurement, it is
the wind speed upstream of the rotor that needs to be known.
Therefore, it is essential to be able to relate the downstream and
upstream wind speeds. Such a relationship is called a nacelle
transfer function (NTF). The objective of this application is to develop
an extended framework for NTFs. The classical NTF concept for
mean wind speeds will be generalised to include unsteady flows and
to define a novel turbulence nacelle transfer function. This latter
function extends the concept of an NTF to relate downstream
turbulence characteristics to their upstream counterparts.
This allows to achieve robust and reliable power curves for all
turbines in
a farm, regardless of their position. This paves the way for innovative
operation strategies that maximise power production. The extension
of the concept of NTFs to determine inflow turbulence makes it a
promising tool for estimating loads and supplementing other
measurement data to develop optimal predictive maintenance
strategies.
Date:1 Nov 2022 →  Today
Keywords:Nacelle anemometry, Wind tunnel testing, Turbulence
Disciplines:Aerodynamics, Wind energy, Fluid mechanics and fluid dynamics