Advanced Wind Turbine Program Next Generation Turbine ... - NREL

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• Independent Blade Pitch for Asymmetric Load Control • Load-Limiting Control • Alternative Yaw Control Strategies • Damage Monitoring and Feedback Control • Adaptive Drive Train Damping. All of these concepts except for the alternative yaw control strategies show potential for improving the cost of energy, either through reductions in loads or improvement of energy capture. The rotor and structural concepts investigated include: • Rotor and other turbine structural flexibility • Concurrent aerodynamic and structural design optimization • Carbon composite rotor blades • Aeroelastic tailoring of rotor blades • Variable diameter rotors. Again, all of these concepts show potential for improving COE through either reduced component costs or improved energy capture. The implications of the concept studies that show innovations most likely to produce near-term COE benefits at risk levels acceptable to the wind energy financial community are: • Optimized low-solidity rotor blades • Larger rotor enabled by sophisticated load-alleviating controls systems • Advanced controls systems, including: o Independent blade pitch to effect asymmetric load control o Tower top accelerometer feedback for tower damping o Coupling of pitch and generator torque control • Taller, more flexible towers. Achieving the originally stated NGT goal of $0.025/kWh at IEC Class II sites does not appear to be achievable in the near term for technologies with market-compatible risk levels. GE has identified through its NGT concept studies, high-risk concepts that can provide additional reductions in COE between 10%–25%, thereby making the $0.025/kWh goal achievable. The most important of these factors are the variable diameter rotor and aeroelastic tailoring of rotor blades. Additionally, damage identification and feedback control may offer benefits to COE in the 5%–10% range. However, these three ideas entail risk perceived by the market as excessive, and they have not been pursued to the hardware stage in the NGT Program. As the first of the concept studies were being completed, GE began designing the POC turbine. Installation of the turbine was completed at the GE wind farm in Tehachapi, California, in April, 2000. This turbine is rated at 1.5 MW and features a three-bladed, upwind rotor of 70.5-m diameter driving a six-pole wound rotor asynchronous generator through a three-stage planetary gearbox. The POC turbine employs several innovations identified in the concept studies: • Flexible, low-solidity rotor blades employing high-lift, thicker airfoils • Coupling of pitch and torque control • Taller, soft hybrid steel/concrete towers. iii
In addition to innovations resulting from the concept studies, the POC turbine also employs a water-cooled generator. Certification testing of the POC turbine for noise, loads, power performance, and power quality has been completed under the supervision of personnel of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Power performance exceeds the predicted results and the noise results indicate that the POC1.5/70.5 configuration is the quietest turbine on the market among units of similar size. The EMD turbine was installed in Tehachapi, California, in April 2002. The EMD turbine is an evolution from the POC turbine incorporating the following improvements in its design: • A larger 77-m diameter rotor • 37-m blades with tip curvature • Tower-top accelerometer feedback for tower damping • Independent blade pitch control for asymmetric load control. Certification testing of the EMD turbine for noise, loads, and power performance has been completed under the supervision of personnel at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Additional load testing to verify the performance of the asymmetric load control system has also been performed by GE personnel. Through the application of the above-mentioned near-term concepts in the EMD turbine, GE has been able to shave the cost of energy from wind power by 13% relative to the baseline configuration, without even adjusting for inflation. GE Wind Energy has commercialized the POC turbine as the GE1.5s. As of December 31, 2004, GE had manufactured and deployed 1160 turbines of this configuration in the United States alone. GE Wind has commercialized the EMD turbine as the GE1.5sle. As of December 31, 2004, over 1000 1.5sle-turbines were on order for delivery during 2005. iv
Page 1 and 2: National Renewable Energy Laborator
Page 3 and 4: NOTICE This report was prepared as
Page 5: Abstract This document reports the
Page 9 and 10: 3.2.3 Mechanical Loads Testing of t
Page 11 and 12: List of Symbols and Abbreviations A
Page 13 and 14: The SOW also stipulates that GE see
Page 15 and 16: 2.1 Electromechanical Systems Conce
Page 17 and 18: Table 1. Summary of the Key Drive T
Page 19 and 20: 2.1.1 Conventional-Speed Generators
Page 21 and 22: other than the wound rotor inductio
Page 23 and 24: offer compelling advantages to COE.
Page 25 and 26: cluded that the same would likely b
Page 27 and 28: cannot be designed for unity power
Page 29 and 30: Figure 5. Fatigue Damage Equivalent
Page 31 and 32: 2.3 Rotor and Structural Design Con
Page 33 and 34: 2.3.1.1 Upwind Rotor Blade and Towe
Page 35 and 36: Percent Change in Load Percent Chan
Page 37 and 38: the other three combinations of rot
Page 39 and 40: Percent Reduction in Component of F
Page 41 and 42: Design rules were used to estimate
Page 43 and 44: formed using the baseline rotor des
Page 45 and 46: duce an average flapwise deflection
Page 47 and 48: would be to reduce the COE by reduc
Page 49 and 50: 2.3.5 Boundary Layer Control GE com
Page 51 and 52: Perhaps the most important outcome
Page 53 and 54: Table 3. Proof of Concepts Turbine
Page 55 and 56: Figure 16. Schematic of the Proof o
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• Measure thermal characteristics
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Figure 21. POC Drive Train on the N
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• The lift and drag characteristi
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Figure 24. NGT POC Airfoil Family F
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One of the prototype blades was ini
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least 20 years of equivalent loadin
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3.2.1 Power Performance Testing of
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Maxi mum Ti p Speed (m/s) Sound Pow
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Table 6. Engineering & Manufacturin
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GE briefly considered the costs and
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Figure 38. EMD 37-m (GE37a) Blade 6
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Development of the concept required
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Bench tests verified PLC control mo
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4.3.2 Mechanical Loads Testing of t
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5 Commercialization of GE NGT Techn
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F1146-E(12/2004) REPORT DOCUMENTATI
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