Optimal blade pitch control for enhanced vertical-axis wind turbine performance.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 38553502.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-024-46988-0 and PMC identifier 10980684.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Vertical-axis wind turbines are great candidates to enable wind power extraction in urban and off-shore applications. Currently, concerns around turbine efficiency and structural integrity limit their industrial deployment. Flow control can mitigate these concerns. Here, we experimentally demonstrate the potential of individual blade pitching as a control strategy and explain the flow physics that yields the performance enhancement. We perform automated experiments using a scaled-down turbine model coupled to a genetic algorithm optimiser to identify optimal pitching kinematics at on- and off-design operating conditions. We obtain two sets of optimal pitch profiles that achieve a three-fold increase in power coefficient at both operating conditions compared to the non-actuated turbine and a 77% reduction in structure-threatening load fluctuations at off-design conditions. Based on flow field measurements, we uncover how blade pitching manipulates the flow structures to enhance performance. Our results can aid vertical-axis wind turbines increase their much-needed contribution to our energy needs.