This work discusses the influence of flexibility within the multibody approach for wind-turbine gearbox modeling and validates them, by means of a generic gearbox calculation consisting of one planetary gear stage and two helical stages. First the state-of-the-art rigid multibody modeling with discrete flexibility is discussed. Secondly flexible multibody modeling by means of reduced finite ele...

In addition to wind and photovoltaic power, concentrating solar thermal power (CSP) will make a major contribution to electricity provision from renewable energies. Drawing on almost 30 years of operational experience in the multi-megawatt range, CSP is now a proven technology with a reliable cost and performance record. In conjunction with thermal energy storage, electricity can be provided ac...

Annoyance, recognition and detection of noise from a single wind turbine were studied by means of a two-stage listening experiment with 50 participants with normal hearing abilities. In-situ recordings made at close distance from a 1.8-MW wind turbine operating at 22 rpm were mixed with road traffic noise, and processed to simulate indoor sound pressure levels at LAeq 40 dBA. In a first part, w...

An experimental investigation is performed to assess the characteristics of the fluid– structure interactions and microburst-induced wind loads acting on a wind turbine model sited in microburst-liked winds. The experiment study was conducted with a scaled wind turbine model placed in microburst-like winds generated by using an impinging-jet-typed microburst simulator. In addition to quantifyin...

A short overview of composite materials for wind turbine applications is presented here. Requirements toward the wind turbine materials, loads, as well as available materials are reviewed. Apart from the traditional composites for wind turbine blades (glass fibers/epoxy matrix composites), natural composites, hybrid and nanoengineered composites are discussed. Manufacturing technologies for win...

Wind turbines reliability is affected by stochastic factors in the turbulent inflow and wind turbine structures. On one hand, the variability in wind dynamics and the inherent stochastic structures result in random loads on wind turbine rotor and tower. On the other hand, the inherent structural uncertainties caused by imperfect control of manufacturing process introduce unpredictable failures ...

The aim of this paper is to investigate the performance of a specially designed micro wind turbine for urban environment where the wind speed is usually low. Differing from the traditional wind turbine that can be connected directly to the grid, the micro wind turbine is linked to a small generator and mainly used for local applications. The advantage of the micro wind turbine is that, apart fr...

To investigate the aerodynamic characteristics of an Archimedes spiral wind turbine for urban-usage, both experimental and numerical studies were carried out. The Archimedes spiral blade was designed to produce wind power using drag and lift forces on the blade together. Instantaneous velocity fields were measured by two-dimensional PIV method in the near field of the blade. Mean velocity profi...