Weighty advancements in developing and improving large-scale wind turbines have been taking place in the last decades, which has led to some very efficient and powerful designs in the large-scale wind energy industry. However, blindly adopting such designs and assigning them to their small-scale counterparts generally leads to a serious performance reduction and a restriction on reaching the desired potential. These different operating conditions compel us to invest some time and effort towards designing efficient small-scale wind turbines for satisfactory power outputs while operating at low wind speeds. Hence, this study carries out a multi-fidelity modeling and optimization of a small-scale wind turbine (rotor diameter \<100cm).

 Reduced-order modeling is combined with computational fluid dynamics as well as wind tunnel experimental verifications in order to ensure an all-inclusive study that encompasses the fluid structure interaction aspect, and targets a total efficiency of 25% at a rated speed of 5m/s. The aim is to eventually construct efficient and robust power sources that could contribute jointly to open many new prospects for the use of wireless and portable devices in energy-restricted areas.

Since the reduced-order model (ROM) allows the analysis of a single blade only, COMSOL Multiphysics software is used in order to complement the ROM’s obtained numerical results and ensure a high-fidelity analysis. This latter takes into consideration not only one blade, but the whole three-bladed turbine, and accounts for different structural interactions between the turbine structure and the incoming wind.

 

Regarding the wind turbine technology, aerodynamic performance is directly related to efficiency. One of the primary aerodynamic factors that affect the blade design, and hence the turbine output, is the airfoil type. That is why it is necessary to select the most suitable airfoil for a specific application. The airfoil type is selected based on the operability conditions and requirements as well as the model geometry.

In order to ensure a full control over the turbine’s design, 3D printing designed CAD models are chosen instead of off-the-shelf parts purchasing. A CAD model is developed using SOLIDWORKS software. The latter model is to be used as a geometry input for the 3D flow COMSOL simulation in order to get a near time-dependent results. In addition, the same model was 3D printed for the Small Scale Wind Turbine (SSWT) prototyping dedicated to experimental wind tunnel testing. Once implemented, a comprehensive experimental performance analysis will take place to assess the operability of the developed wind turbine under varying electrical, vibrational, and flow conditions. To measure success, the wind turbine should be able to maintain a high efficiency in a range of low wind speeds.

          

 

 

 


Multi-Fidelity Analysis and Manufacturing of Small Scale Wind Turbines for Low-Power Applications

Division / Sponsors: 
Design Engineering Division and Computers & Information In Engineering Division


Paper Proceedings: https://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/IDETC-CIE/IDETC-CIE2020/volume/83907

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