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Abstract:The noise emission from a vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) has been investigated. A noise measurement campaign on a 200 kW straight-bladed VAWT has been conducted, and the result has been compared to a semi-empirical model for turbulent-boundary-layer trailing edge (TBL-TE) noise. The noise emission from the wind turbine was measured, at wind speed 8 m/s, 10 m above ground, to 96.2 dBA. At this wind speed, the turbine was stalling as it was run at a tip speed lower than optimal due to constructional constraints. The noise emission at a wind speed of 6 m/s, 10 m above ground was measured while operating at optimum tip speed and was found to be 94.1 dBA. A comparison with similar size horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWTs) indicates a noise emission at the absolute bottom of the range. Furthermore, it is clear from the analysis that the turbulent-boundary-layer trailing-edge noise, as modeled here, is much lower than the measured levels, which suggests that other mechanisms are likely to be important, such as inflow turbulence.

The relation between power performance and turbulence intensity for a VAWT H-rotor is studied using logged data from a 14 month (discontinuous) period with the H-rotor operating in wind speeds up to 9 m/s. The turbine, designed originally for a nominal power of 200 kW, operated during this period mostly in a restricted mode due to mechanical concerns, reaching power levels up to about 80 kW. Two different approaches are used for presenting results, one that can be compared to power curves consistent with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standard and one that allows isolating the effect of turbulence from the cubic variation of power with wind speed. Accounting for this effect, the turbine still shows slightly higher efficiency at higher turbulence, proposing that the H-rotor is well suited for wind sites with turbulent winds. The operational data are also used to create a C p (λ) curve, showing slightly lower C p compared with a curve simulated by a double multiple streamtube model.

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This paper assesses pipe sizing aspects for previously proposed, novel, low heat distribution technology with three pipes. Assessment issues include heat loss, pressure loss, and pipe sizing for different typical pipe configurations. This assessment has been provided by the analysis of a case area with single-family houses. Concerning heat loss, the proposed three-pipe solutions have the same magnitude of heat loss as conventional twin pipes, since lower return temperatures compensate for the larger heat loss area from the third pipe. Regarding pressure loss, the main restriction on the size of the third pipe is limited to the pressure loss in the third pipe. Thermostatic valves to manage the flow rate of the third pipe are advocated, since alternative small pumps have not been found to be commercially available. The pipe sizing recommendation is that the third pipe for recirculation purposes can be two to three standard pipe sizes smaller than the corresponding supply and return pipe, if no prosumer is connected in the heat distribution network.

An upper size of vertical axis wind turbines.Wind Energy, 17 (10) ABSTRACTThe scaling behaviour of a straight-bladed vertical axis wind turbine is considered. A scaling scheme is described that, in the presence of a wind shear profile, aims at leaving the material stresses of the scaled construction unchanged. Based on a recent 200 kW three-bladed H-rotor design, a structural upper size of the turbine is proposed, this size being the scale at which the gravitational force starts to become important. As gravity has a much worse scaling behaviour than the aerodynamic and centrifugal forces, the construction work will become increasingly more difficult above this scale. The upper size is estimated to be around 30 MW.

Eigen frequencies of a vertical axis wind turbine tower made out of laminated wood which are both bolted to the ground and supported by guy wires are studied and compared. Using beam theory, an analytical model taking the guy wires into account for calculating the first mode eigen frequency of the tower has been derived. The analytical model is then evaluated by comparing with FEM-simulations and measurements performed on the actual tower. The model is found to be reasonably accurate keeping in mind that the estimated masses and second moments of area are somewhat rough. Furthermore the model can be used to give an indication of the magnitude of change in eigen frequency when modifying a tower or guy wire property.

Strategies for parking a vertical axis wind turbine at storm load are considered. It is proposed that if a directly driven permanent magnet synchronous generator is used, an elegant choice is to short-circuit the generator at storm, since this makes the turbine efficiently damped. Nondamped braking is found to be especially problematic for the case of two blades where torsional oscillations may imply thrust force oscillations within a range of frequencies.