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Structural Analysis of Large-Scale Vertical-Axis Wind Turbines, Part I: Wind Load Simulation

Author

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  • Jinghua Lin

    (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
    China Energy Engineering Group Guangdong Electric Power Design Institute Co. Ltd., Guangzhou 510663, China)

  • You-Lin Xu

    (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China)

  • Yong Xia

    (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
    College of Civil Engineering and Mechanics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China)

  • Chao Li

    (Shenzhen Graduate School, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China)

Abstract

When compared with horizontal-axis wind turbines, vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWTs) have the primary advantages of insensitivity to wind direction and turbulent wind, simple structural configuration, less fatigue loading, and easy maintenance. In recent years, large-scale VAWTs have attracted considerable attention. Wind loads on a VAWT must be determined prior to structural analyses. However, traditional blade element momentum theory cannot consider the effects of turbulence and other structural components. Moreover, a large VAWT cannot simply be regarded as a planar structure, and 3D computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation is computationally prohibitive. In this regard, a practical wind load simulation method for VAWTs based on the strip analysis method and 2D shear stress transport (SST) k-ω model is proposed. A comparison shows that the wind pressure and aerodynamic forces simulated by the 2D SST k-ω model match well with those obtained by 2.5D large eddy simulation (LES). The influences of mean wind speed profile, turbulence, and interaction of all structural components are considered. A large straight-bladed VAWT is taken as a case study. Wind loads obtained in this study will be applied to the fatigue and ultimate strength analyses of the VAWT in the companion paper.

Suggested Citation

  • Jinghua Lin & You-Lin Xu & Yong Xia & Chao Li, 2019. "Structural Analysis of Large-Scale Vertical-Axis Wind Turbines, Part I: Wind Load Simulation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-31, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:12:y:2019:i:13:p:2573-:d:245514
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Jinghua Lin & You-lin Xu & Yong Xia, 2019. "Structural Analysis of Large-Scale Vertical Axis Wind Turbines Part II: Fatigue and Ultimate Strength Analyses," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-18, July.
    2. Guangjun Yang & Xiaoxiao Li & Li Ding & Fahua Zhu & Zhigang Wang & Sheng Wang & Zhen Xu & Jingxin Xu & Pengxiang Qiu & Zhaobing Guo, 2019. "CFD Simulation of Pollutant Emission in a Natural Draft Dry Cooling Tower with Flue Gas Injection: Comparison between LES and RANS," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-21, September.
    3. Xiangyuan Zheng & Huadong Zheng & Yu Lei & Yi Li & Wei Li, 2020. "An Offshore Floating Wind–Solar–Aquaculture System: Concept Design and Extreme Response in Survival Conditions," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-23, January.

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