A 3D panel method code for the analysis of swept wind turbine blade geometries

A 3D panel method code, named AWSM3D, is developed as an extension to the AeroModule aerodynamic software suite of TNO which includes a Blade Element Momentum theory (BEM) and a Lifting Line (LL) code. The underlying panel code method is presented along with a gradual process of simulation validation culminating in validating the code against...

Unsteady aerodynamics and vortex shedding of a wind turbine blade

The thesis presents an analysis of unsteady vortex shedding and vortex induced vibrations (VIV) on wind turbine blades using a combination of Stereoscopic Particle Image Velocimetry (SPIV) and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). A spanwise uniform blade with a symmetric NACA0021 airfoil section, 0.075 m chord, and 0.4 m span was tested...

An investigation into DIC using free vortex wake methods: Identifying the optimal dynamic induction control law to trigger effective wake mixing in a two turbine system

Wind farm control is an area of research that looks to maximise the performance of individual but most importantly the collective performance of wind farms. The performance of turbines located in a wind farm is heavily dependent on the effects of turbine wakes, and improving the efficiency of wind farms by mitigating the wake effects is an...

Dynamic stall models applied to deep stall models

Wind turbines experience a variety of different operating conditions during their operation. As a result, sections of their blades experience a range of angles of attack. Additionally, several commonly used modelling methods use the sectional loading of the blade directly. To adapt this sectional loading for higher angles of attack dynamic stall...

Effects of platform induced pitching motion on the aerodynamics of a FOWT

The hunt for new methods to harness wind energy is at an all-time high as wind energy quickly overtakes other renewable energy sources. Deep waters are promising alternatives with higher average wind speed (thus, higher yields) and also due to lesser availability of land on shore. Even though the design of the blades and rotor of a FOWT is...

Wake Dynamics of a Cylinder with a Flexible Splitter Plate: An Experimental Study

As the world grapples with the challenges of global warming, there has been a significant push for the development of new methods of harnessing renewable energy. Energy harvesters have been a new avenue to generate electrical power locally for remote applications. An energy harvester is a device that taps into aeroelastic phenomena to convert...

On the Control of Downstream Wind Turbines using the Helix Approach: A Wake Synchronization Method

The placement of wind turbines in wind farms is economically beneficial to the industry. Consequently, the wake generated by the upstream turbines introduces interactions with downstream turbines that significantly affect power generation. However, it is common practice to control the individual turbines to operate at their optimal settings and...

Experimental study of dynamic inflow conditions of an actuator disc

The main objective of this master’s thesis is to experimentally investigate the effects of dynamic inflow conditions on the wake of an actuator disc. Dynamic inflow is the unsteady wake in momentum theory. Dynamic inflow can experimentally be generated by a gust generator. During the experiments, in which Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) was...

CFD study of induction and finite blade effect on a floating horizontal-axis wind turbine

As the need for abundant and reliable renewable energy increases, there is a growing interest in floating wind turbines, which would allow to harness the wind resource in areas where bottom-founded wind turbines cannot be used. However, the movements of the platform are expected to cause unsteady aerodynamics effects, including different wake...