Abstract. The low-frequency emissions from a generic 5 MW wind turbine are investigated numerically. In order to regard airborne noise and structure-borne noise simultaneously, a process chain is developed. It considers fluid–structure coupling (FSC) of a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solver and a multi-body simulations (MBSs) solver as well as a Ffowcs-Williams–Hawkings (FW-H) acoustic solver. The approach is applied to a generic 5 MW turbine to get more insight into the sources and mechanisms of low-frequency emissions from wind turbines. For this purpose simulations with increasing complexity in terms of considered components in the CFD model, degrees of freedom in the structural model and inflow in the CFD model are conducted. Consistent with the literature, it is found that aeroacoustic low-frequency emission is dominated by the blade-passing frequency harmonics. In the spectra of the tower base loads, which excite seismic emission, the structural eigenfrequencies become more prominent with increasing complexity of the model. The main source of low-frequency aeroacoustic emissions is the blade–tower interaction, and the contribution of the tower as an acoustic emitter is stronger than the contribution of the rotor. Aerodynamic tower loads also significantly contribute to the external excitation acting on the structure of the wind turbine.
Abstract. The computational effort for wind turbine design load calculations is more extreme than it is for other applications (e.g., aerospace), which necessitates the use of efficient but low-fidelity models. Traditionally the blade element momentum (BEM) method is used to resolve the rotor aerodynamic loads for this purpose, as this method is fast and robust. With the current trend of increasing rotor size, and consequently large and flexible blades, a need has risen for a more accurate prediction of rotor aerodynamics. Previous work has demonstrated large improvement potential in terms of fatigue load predictions using vortex wake models together with a manageable penalty in computational effort. The present publication has contributed towards making vortex wake models ready for application to certification load calculations. The observed reduction in flapwise blade root moment fatigue loading using vortex wake models instead of the blade element momentum (BEM) method from previous publications has been verified using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. A validation effort against a long-term field measurement campaign featuring 2.5 MW turbines has also confirmed the improved prediction of unsteady load characteristics by vortex wake models against BEM-based models in terms of fatigue loading. New light has been shed on the cause for the observed differences and several model improvements have been developed, both to reduce the computational effort of vortex wake simulations and to make BEM models more accurate. Scoping analyses for an entire fatigue load set have revealed the overall fatigue reduction may be up to 5 % for the AVATAR 10 MW rotor using a vortex wake rather than a BEM-based code.
A high-fidelity process chain is used to numerically investigate the low-frequency emissions from a generic wind turbine under turbulent inflow conditions. It consists of the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) solver FLOWer, which is coupled to the multi-body simulation software SIMPACK to take unsteady aeroelastic effects into account. A realistic flow field for the complex terrain of Perdigão, Portugal is obtained by including the orography and vegetation in the simulation and using a precursor simulation with E-Wind to generate a site- and situation-specific inflow. The acoustic emissions are calculated with the Fflowcs-Williams-Hawkings (FW-H) acoustic solver ACCO. The simulations show that the tower emits noise caused by the blade-tower interaction (BTI) equally strong in all directions. To the sides of the turbine, this contribution is dominant, regardless of the turbulent inflow. The blades, on the other hand, emit significantly more noise under turbulent inflow, especially in streamwise direction, where they become the dominant source. The main noise mechanism here is the low-frequency part of the inflow turbulence (IT), followed by the BTI. The flow field in Perdigão causes additional large-scale variations in IT noise over time.
During the development process of wind turbines, there is a rising demand for detailed flow and multi-physics analyses. Especially the system level computational fluid dynamics (CFD), focusing not on a single component or aspect, but on the turbine as a system of geometric and dynamic properties can be used to improve the turbine quality and time to market. In this paper the integration of the system level CFD into the development process of Enercon wind turbines is introduced. Further two example applications are detailed presenting the benefits of CFD based nacelle anemometer calibration and a risk assessment study based on aero-servo-elastic CFD simulations.
Abstract. The influence of turbulent inflow, as it occurs in complex terrain, on the unsteady surface pressure distributions on a wind turbine is investigated numerically. A method is presented that enables an accurate reproduction of the inflow to the turbine in the complex terrain in Perdigao, Portugal. For this purpose, a precursor simulation with the steady-state atmospheric computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code E-Wind and a high-resolution Delayed Detached Eddy Simulation (DDES) with FLOWer is performed. The conservation of the flow field is validated by a comparison with measurements from the 2017 field campaign in Perdigao. Then, the resolved fluid-structure coupled generic wind turbine I82 is included in the FLOWer simulation to investigate the impact of the complex terrain inflow on the surface pressure fluctuations on tower and blades. A comparison with simulations of the same turbine in flat terrain with simpler inflows shows that the turbine in complex terrain has a significantly different vortex shedding at the tower, which dominates the periodic pressure fluctuations at the tower sides and back. However, the dominant source of periodic pressure fluctuations on the upper part of the tower, the blade-tower interaction, is hardly altered by the terrain flow. The pressure fluctuations on the blade have a rather broadband characteristic, caused by the interaction of the leading edge with the inflow turbulence. In general, it is shown that a sophisticated DDES of the complex terrain plays a decisive role in the unsteady aerodynamics of the turbine, due to its specific flow characteristic.
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