Performance of an angular flange aeroelastic wind energy converter
ALL conventional wind turbines operate on the principles of turbomachinaries, with wind being made to flow over a set of rotating vanes. Recently, a new concept for wind energy conversion based on aeroelastic instability was introduced. It is well known that couplings between the vibration of an elastic structure and fluid stream may lead to aeroelastic instability. Energy then is transferred from the airstream into the elastic structure, which results in a destructive monotonic increase of the vibration amplitude of the structure. The failure of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge is one of the well-known examples of such a disaster. The use of an aeroelastic instability (or flutter) mechanism for constructing a wind energy converter was suggested. The theory for a torsional wind energy converter and the results of some model tests were also presented. Recently, some studies on similar types of wind energy converters using oscillating airfoils were reported. In the present study an angular flange H-section model of a torsional aeroelastic wind energy converter is constructed, and its performances under various conditions are investigated. The effects of the variations of the flange angle and the flange width on the performance of the model are studied. The weight of the pendulum is also varied, and its effects on the power coefficient of the model are investigated. It is observed that the efficiency of energy conversion decreases with an increase in wind speed. A method for possible improvement of the theoretical prediction is suggested and discussed.
- Research Organization:
- Clarkson College of Technology, Potsdam, New York
- OSTI ID:
- 7033051
- Journal Information:
- J. Energy; (United States), Vol. 7:3
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
WIND TURBINES
DESIGN
FUNCTIONAL MODELS
PERFORMANCE
AERODYNAMICS
AIR FLOW
COEFFICIENT OF PERFORMANCE
COUPLINGS
ELECTRIC GENERATORS
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
INSTABILITY
TURBINE BLADES
WIND POWER
EFFICIENCY
ENERGY SOURCES
FLUID FLOW
FLUID MECHANICS
GAS FLOW
MACHINERY
MECHANICS
POWER
RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES
TURBINES
TURBOMACHINERY
170602* - Wind Energy Engineering- Turbine Design & Operation