Experimental characterization of H-VAWT turbine for development of a digital twin

Abstract

A digital twin can be described as a digital replica of a physical asset. The use of such models is key to understanding complex loading phenomena experienced during testing of vertical axis wind turbines. Unsteady aerodynamic and structural effects such as dynamic stall and dynamically changing thrust and blade loading are difficult to predict with certainty. This leads to inefficient turbine designs or worse yet premature failures. Many of these phenomena can be better understood through scaled wind tunnel testing. The analysis of these test results is greatly improved by having a well calibrated digital twin model of the turbine. This paper discusses the methodologies used in the development of the model for a H style vertical axis wind turbine. This includes physical measurements of the as built system, updates to the models based upon experimental testing and a final correlation between test and model on a component by component as well as fully assembled system.