COCOFLEX
Novel control strategies and physics-informed co-design for large scale wind turbines (COCOFLEX)
Publieke samenvatting / Public summary
Aanleiding
The trend of increasing wind energy penetration is made possible by industrial and academic efforts to optimize the turbine design to outperform the cube-square law. One side-effect of increasing sizes with the desire for cost reductions by relative material savings is that long rotor blades and tall towers become increasingly flexible. Considering the rotor, the complex aeroelastic behavior under dynamic loading leads to varying operational conditions and aerodynamic performance. Furthermore, the increased flexibility leads to an elevated risk of resonance excitation and accelerated fatigue damage, potentially resulting in aeroelastic instabilities.
Doelstelling
This project considers establishing a fundamentally novel controller strategy that inherently considers aeroelasticity and structural flexibility. Moreover, a physics-informed control co-design approach optimizes the integrated design of the turbine structure and controller.
Korte omschrijving
In recent years, and on top of extreme global price pressure, a focus shift in wind turbine design and operation has been observed from minimizing the levelized cost of energy (LCoE) to a complex trade-off between power production, turbine loading, and grid integration requirements. Research for the operation of turbines in light of these new requirements remains largely underexposed and will impact the combined turbine design and corresponding operating and control strategy. State-of-the-art control strategies are based on stiff-structure assumptions and disregard the significant aeroelasticity and structural flexibility of present-day and future-engineered turbines. The assumption forms the basis of most industrial turbine controllers and breaks down for future turbines with large, flexible support structures.
Resultaat
The resulting design and strategy satisfies the complex trade-off between power production, turbine loading, and grid integration requirements and enables the further upscaling of future-engineered wind turbines.
The trend of increasing wind energy penetration is made possible by industrial and academic efforts to optimize the turbine design to outperform the cube-square law. One side-effect of increasing sizes with the desire for cost reductions by relative material savings is that long rotor blades and tall towers become increasingly flexible. Considering the rotor, the complex aeroelastic behavior under dynamic loading leads to varying operational conditions and aerodynamic performance. Furthermore, the increased flexibility leads to an elevated risk of resonance excitation and accelerated fatigue damage, potentially resulting in aeroelastic instabilities.
Doelstelling
This project considers establishing a fundamentally novel controller strategy that inherently considers aeroelasticity and structural flexibility. Moreover, a physics-informed control co-design approach optimizes the integrated design of the turbine structure and controller.
Korte omschrijving
In recent years, and on top of extreme global price pressure, a focus shift in wind turbine design and operation has been observed from minimizing the levelized cost of energy (LCoE) to a complex trade-off between power production, turbine loading, and grid integration requirements. Research for the operation of turbines in light of these new requirements remains largely underexposed and will impact the combined turbine design and corresponding operating and control strategy. State-of-the-art control strategies are based on stiff-structure assumptions and disregard the significant aeroelasticity and structural flexibility of present-day and future-engineered turbines. The assumption forms the basis of most industrial turbine controllers and breaks down for future turbines with large, flexible support structures.
Resultaat
The resulting design and strategy satisfies the complex trade-off between power production, turbine loading, and grid integration requirements and enables the further upscaling of future-engineered wind turbines.