• Wind and Structures
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.709-726
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• 2015

In this study, a novel vision-based bolt-loosening monitoring technique is proposed for bolted joints connecting tubular steel segments of the wind turbine tower (WTT) structure. Firstly, a bolt-loosening detection algorithm based on image processing techniques is developed. The algorithm consists of five steps: image acquisition, segmentation of each nut, line detection of each nut, nut angle estimation, and bolt-loosening detection. Secondly, experimental tests are conducted on a lab-scale bolted joint model under various bolt-loosening scenarios. The bolted joint model, which is consisted of a ring flange and 32 sets of bolt and nut, is used for simulating the real bolted joint connecting steel tower segments in the WTT. Finally, the feasibility of the proposed vision-based technique is evaluated by bolt-loosening monitoring in the lab-scale bolted joint model.

• Journal of Industrial Technology
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• v.27 no.A
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• pp.47-53
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• 2007

A theoretical model based on Rayleigh-Ritz method is proposed to predict the resonance frequency of a W/T(Wind Turbine) tower structure supported by guy cables. In order to verify the validity of the theoretical model, a reduced W/T tower system is manufactured and tested. Frequency response and mode data are determined by modal testing and finite element analysis is performed to calculate the natural frequency of the tower model. Numerical and experimental results are compared with those by the theoretical analysis. Parametric study by the theoretical model shows how the cable tension and cable elasticity influence the resonance frequency of the W/T tower structure. Finally, vibration response under various rotating speed is investigated to examine the possibility of severe resonance.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.445-459
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• 2024

To model the aeroelasticity in vortex-induced vibrations (VIV) of slender tubular towers, this paper presents an approach where the aerodynamic damping distribution along the height of the structure is calculated not only as a function of the normalized lateral oscillation but also considering the local incoming wind velocity ratio to the critical velocity (velocity ratio). The three-dimensionality of aerodynamic damping depending on the tower's displacement and the velocity ratio has been observed in recent studies. A contour map model of aerodynamic damping is generated based on the forced vibration tests. A sectional calculation procedure based on the spectral method is developed by defining the aerodynamic damping locally at each increment of height. The proposed contour map model of aerodynamic damping and the sectional calculation procedure are validated with full-scale measurement data sets of a rotorless wind turbine tower, where good agreement between the prediction and measured values is obtained. The prediction of cross-wind response of the wind turbine tower is performed over a range of wind speeds which allows the estimation of resulting fatigue damage. The proposed model gives more realistic prediction in comparison to the approach included in current standards.

• The KSFM Journal of Fluid Machinery
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.5-9
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• 2013

In this study, operational vibration experiment and analysis have been conducted for the 4-blade small vertical-axis wind turbine (VAWT) including the effect of tower elastic behavior. Computational structural dynamics analysis method is applied to obtain Campbell diagram for the VAWT with elastic tower. An open type wind-tunnel is used to change and keep the wind velocity during the ground test. Equivalent elastic tower is used to support the VAWT so that the effect of elastic stiffness of the tower can be considered in the present vibration experiment. Various excitation conditions with wind loads are considered and the dominant operating vibration phenomena are physically investigated in detail.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.727-753
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• 2015

A double-skinned composite tubular (DSCT) wind power tower was suggested and automatic section design software was developed. The developed software adopted the nonlinear material model and the nonlinear column model. If the outer diameter, material properties and design capacities of a DSCT wind power tower are given, the developed software performs axial force-bending moment interaction analyses for hundreds of sections of the tower and suggests ten optimized cross-sectional designs. In this study, 80 sections of DSCT wind power towers were designed for 3.6 MW and 5.0 MW turbines. Moreover, the performances of the 80 designed sections were analyzed with and without considerations of large displacement effect. In designing and analyzing them, the material nonlinearity and the confining effect of concrete were considered. The comparison of the analysis results showed the moment capacity loss of the wind power tower by the mass of the turbine is significant and the large displacement effect should be considered for the safe design of the wind power tower.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.455-463
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• 2012

In this study, we calculate dynamic constrained force of tower top and blade root of a floating offshore wind turbine. The floating offshore wind turbine is multibody system which consists of a floating platform, a tower, a nacelle, and a hub and three blades. All of these parts are regarded as a rigid body with six degree-of-freedom(DOF). The platform and the tower are connected with fixed joint, and the tower, the nacelle, and the hub are successively connected with revolute joint. The hub and three blades are connected with fixed joint. The recursive formulation is adopted for constructing the equations of motion for the floating wind turbine. The non-linear hydrostatic force, the linear hydrodynamic force, the aerodynamic force, the mooring force, and gravitational forces are considered as external forces. The dynamic load at the tower top, rotor shaft, and blade root of the floating wind turbine are simulated in time domain by solving the equations of motion numerically. From the simulation results, the mutual effects of the dynamic response between the each part of the floating wind turbine are discussed and can be used as input data for the structural analysis of the floating offshore wind turbine.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2011.05a
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• pp.58.1-58.1
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• 2011

In this paper, the purpose is a study on structural analysis for offshore wind turbine using commercial code. Because offshore wind turbine is subjected to great wind and wave force, it is necessary to analyse the dynamics and minimize the response of wind turbine. The offshore wind turbine tower is modelled as a single degree of freedom and multi degree of freedom structure. It is assumed that the blades, nacelle are composed of concentrated masses.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2011.10a
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• pp.602-606
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• 2011

In this study, operational vibration experiment and analysis have been conducted for the 4-blade small vertical-axis wind turbine (VAWT) including the effect of tower elastic behavior. Computational structural dynamics analysis method is applied to obtain Campbell diagram for the VAWT with elastic tower. An open type wind-tunnel is used to change and keep the wind velocity during the ground test. Equivalent reduced elastic tower is supported to the VAWT so that the elastic stiffness effect of the tower can be reflected to the present vibration experiment. Various excitation sources with aerodynamic forces are considered and the dominant operating vibration phenomena are physically investigated in detail.

• International Journal of Aeronautical and Space Sciences
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.17-27
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• 2017

The treatment of rotor wake has been a critical issue in the field of the rotor aerodynamics. This paper presents a new free wake model for the unsteady analysis for a wind turbine. A blade-wake-tower interaction is major source of unsteady aerodynamic loading and noise on the wind turbine. However, this interaction can not be considered in conventional free wake model. Thus, the free wake model named Finite Vortex Element (FVE hereafter) was devised in order to consider the interaction effects. In this new free wake model, the wake-tower interaction was described by dividing one vortex filament into two vortex filaments, when the vortex filament collided with a tower. Each divided vortex filaments were remodeled to make vortex ring and horseshoe vortex to satisfy Kelvin's circulation theorem and Helmholtz's vortex theorem. This model was then used to predict aerodynamic load and wake geometry for the horizontal axis wind turbine. The results of the FVE model were compared with those of the conventional free wake model and the experimental results of SNU wind tunnel test and NREL wind tunnel test under various inflow velocity and yaw condition. The result of the FVE model showed better correlation with experimental data. It was certain that the tower interaction has a strong effect on the unsteady aerodynamic load of blades. Thus, the tower interaction needs to be taken into account for the unsteady load prediction. As a result, this research shows a potential of the FVE for an efficient and versatile numerical tool for unsteady loading analysis of a wind turbine.

• Journal of the Korean Solar Energy Society
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.1-13
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• 2018

This paper deals with the NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) 5-MW reference wind turbine. The controller which include MPPT (Maximum power point tracking) control algorithm and tower load reduction control algorithm was designed by MATLAB Simulink. This paper propose a tower damper algorithm to improve the existing tower damper algorithm. To improve the existing tower damper algorithm, proposed tower damper algorithm were applied the thrust sensitivity scheduling and PI control method. The thrust sensitivity scheduling was calculated by thrust force formula which include thrust coefficient table. Power and Tower root moment DEL (Damage Equivalent Load) was set as a performance index to verify the load reduction algorithm. The simulation were performed 600 seconds under the wind conditions of the NTM (Normal Turbulence Model), TI (Turbulence Intensity)16% and 12~25m/s average wind speed. The effect of the proposed tower damper algorithm is confirmed through PSD (Power Spectral Density). The proposed tower damper algorithm reduces the fore-aft moment DEL of the tower up to 6% than the existing tower damper algorithm.