Unsteady Surface Pressure Measurement System Suitable for Making Measurements on Wind Turbine Blades in the Field
Better understanding of wind-turbine-blade flows and improving the models used for wind-turbine and wind-plant design require unsteady pressure measurements on wind turbine blades, which are difficult and costly to perform due to the following key drawbacks exhibited by existing systems: poor frequency response, large packaging, fragile and environment-sensitive sensors, high-maintenance equipment, and a lack of availability of a single turnkey system. Additionally, the harsh measurement environment of a wind turbine with moving parts, extreme heat and cold, electrostatic discharge, rain and snow, dust and dirt, and large measurement areas produces significant obstacles for turbine-mounted instrumentation systems to overcome. Among different measurement approaches, conventional tap-tubing-transducer systems have shown significant potential for successful unsteady pressure measurement on wind turbine blades. The objective of this Phase I project was to prove the feasibility of providing long-term and robust solutions to the problems facing accurate and reliable unsteady pressure measurements on wind turbines using tap/tubing systems. During the Phase I effort, shortcomings of previous field measurements and other potential field-related obstacles were identified, and different solution strategies were considered for addressing these challenges. Accordingly, proof-of-concept and demonstration prototypes were designed and built that were comprised of hardware subsystems and software modules that addressed the challenges associated with wind-turbine-based pressure measurements. The culmination of this effort, a bench-top demonstration prototype and associated software, has successfully shown the capability of the proposed system to address the challenges listed above. The demonstration prototype was used to show that all the subsystems were functional. Static calibration, purge, tubing-response characterization, and data acquisition were all tested with the system. These tests required that several of the subsystems work together demonstrating the functionality of the hardware and software components. It was also shown that the frequency response limitations of the long tubing systems can be compensated reliably using the system developed in this project. The results of this Phase 1 effort have laid a solid foundation for the development of a turbine-based unsteady pressure measurement system. In addition, those components and software from the prototype system that apply to a laboratory system targeted at the wind tunnel testing community that is currently under development will hasten its deployment. Other features of the prototype system will apply to systems designed specifically for the automotive and flight test applications.
- Research Organization:
- Resono Pressure Systems, LLC, Laramie, WY (United States); Univ. of Wyoming, Laramie, WY (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Wind Energy Technologies Office
- DOE Contract Number:
- SC0018790
- OSTI ID:
- 1542551
- Type / Phase:
- STTR (Phase I)
- Report Number(s):
- DOE-Resono-8790; 3077450747
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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