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A Large-Eddy Simulation-Based Assessment of the Risk of Wind Turbine Failures Due to Terrain-Induced Turbulence over a Wind Farm in Complex Terrain

Author

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  • Takanori Uchida

    (Research Institute for Applied Mechanics (RIAM), Kyushu University, 6-1 Kasuga-kouen, Kasuga, Fukuoka 816-8580, Japan)

  • Susumu Takakuwa

    (Eurus Energy Holdings Corporation, 3-13, Toranomon 4-Chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-0001, Japan)

Abstract

The first part of the present study investigated the relationship among the number of yaw gear and motor failures and turbulence intensity (TI) at all the wind turbines under investigation with the use of in situ data. The investigation revealed that wind turbine #7 (T7), which experienced a large number of failures, was affected by terrain-induced turbulence with TI that exceeded the TI presumed for the wind turbine design class to which T7 belongs. Subsequently, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation was performed to examine if the abovementioned observed wind flow characteristics could be successfully simulated. The CFD software package that was used in the present study was RIAM-COMPACT, which was developed by the first author of the present paper. RIAM-COMPACT is a nonlinear, unsteady wind prediction model that uses large-eddy simulation (LES) for the turbulence model. RIAM-COMPACT is capable of simulating flow collision, separation, and reattachment and also various unsteady turbulence–eddy phenomena that are caused by flow collision, separation, and reattachment. A close examination of computer animations of the streamwise (x) wind velocity revealed the following findings: As we predicted, wind flow that was separated from a micro-topographical feature (micro-scale terrain undulations) upstream of T7 generated large vortices. These vortices were shed downstream in a nearly periodic manner, which in turn generated terrain-induced turbulence, affecting T7 directly. Finally, the temporal change of the streamwise (x) wind velocity (a non-dimensional quantity) at the hub-height of T7 in the period from 600 to 800 in non-dimensional time was re-scaled in such a way that the average value of the streamwise (x) wind velocity for this period was 8.0 m/s, and the results of the analysis of the re-scaled data were discussed. With the re-scaled full-scale streamwise wind velocity (m/s) data (total number of data points: approximately 50,000; time interval: 0.3 s), the time-averaged streamwise (x) wind velocity and TI were evaluated using a common statistical processing procedure adopted for in situ data. Specifically, 10-min moving averaging (number of sample data points: 1932) was performed on the re-scaled data. Comparisons of the evaluated TI values to the TI values from the normal turbulence model in IEC61400-1 Ed.3 (2005) revealed the following: Although the evaluated TI values were not as large as those observed in situ, some of the evaluated TI values exceeded the values for turbulence class A, suggesting that the influence of terrain-induced turbulence on the wind turbine was well simulated.

Suggested Citation

  • Takanori Uchida & Susumu Takakuwa, 2019. "A Large-Eddy Simulation-Based Assessment of the Risk of Wind Turbine Failures Due to Terrain-Induced Turbulence over a Wind Farm in Complex Terrain," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-19, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:12:y:2019:i:10:p:1925-:d:232759
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    7. Takanori Uchida, 2018. "Computational Fluid Dynamics Approach to Predict the Actual Wind Speed over Complex Terrain," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-14, June.
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    1. Takanori Uchida, 2020. "Effects of Inflow Shear on Wake Characteristics of Wind-Turbines over Flat Terrain," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-31, July.
    2. Takanori Uchida & Yoshihiro Taniyama & Yuki Fukatani & Michiko Nakano & Zhiren Bai & Tadasuke Yoshida & Masaki Inui, 2020. "A New Wind Turbine CFD Modeling Method Based on a Porous Disk Approach for Practical Wind Farm Design," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-27, June.
    3. Takanori Uchida, 2019. "Numerical Investigation of Terrain-Induced Turbulence in Complex Terrain Using High-Resolution Elevation Data and Surface Roughness Data Constructed with a Drone," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-20, October.
    4. Takanori Uchida & Yasushi Kawashima, 2019. "New Assessment Scales for Evaluating the Degree of Risk of Wind Turbine Blade Damage Caused by Terrain-Induced Turbulence," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-27, July.
    5. Takanori Uchida & Tadasuke Yoshida & Masaki Inui & Yoshihiro Taniyama, 2021. "Doppler Lidar Investigations of Wind Turbine Near-Wakes and LES Modeling with New Porous Disc Approach," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-33, April.
    6. Susumu Takakuwa & Takanori Uchida, 2022. "Improvement of Airflow Simulation by Refining the Inflow Wind Direction and Applying Atmospheric Stability for Onshore and Offshore Wind Farms Affected by Topography," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-27, July.
    7. Gürdal Ertek & Lakshmi Kailas, 2021. "Analyzing a Decade of Wind Turbine Accident News with Topic Modeling," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-34, November.
    8. Takanori Uchida & Kenichiro Sugitani, 2020. "Numerical and Experimental Study of Topographic Speed-Up Effects in Complex Terrain," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-38, July.
    9. Takanori Uchida & Susumu Takakuwa, 2020. "Numerical Investigation of Stable Stratification Effects on Wind Resource Assessment in Complex Terrain," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-32, December.

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