Browsing by Author "Wright, Alan"

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Open Access
Direct speed control using LIDAR and turbine data
(2013) Schlipf, David; Fleming, Paul; Kapp, Stefan; Scholbrock, Andrew; Haizmann, Florian; Belen, Fred; Wright, Alan; Cheng, Po Wen
LIDAR systems are able to provide preview information of the wind speed in front of wind turbines. One proposed use of this information is to increase the energy capture of the turbine by adjusting the rotor speed directly to maintain operation at the optimal tip-speed ratio, a technique referred to as Direct Speed Control (DSC). Previous work has indicated that for large turbines the marginal benefit of the direct speed controller in terms of increased power does not compensate for the increase of the shaft loads. However, the technique has not yet been adequately tested to make this determination conclusively. Further, it is possible that applying DSC to smaller turbines could be worthwhile because of the higher rotor speed fluctuations and the small rotor inertia. This paper extends the previous work on direct speed controllers. A DSC is developed for a 600 kW experimental turbine and is evaluated theoretically and in simulation. Because the actual turbine has a mounted LIDAR, data collected from the turbine and LIDAR during operation are used to perform a hybrid simulation. This technique allows a realistic simulation to be performed, which provides good agreement with theoretical predictions.
Open Access
Field testing of feedforward collective pitch control on the CART2 using a nacelle-based lidar scanner
(2012) Schlipf, David; Fleming, Paul; Haizmann, Florian; Scholbrock, Andrew; Hofsäß, Martin; Wright, Alan; Cheng, Po Wen
This work presents the first results from a field test to proof the concept of LIDAR assisted collective pitch control using a scanning LIDAR device installed on the nacelle of a research turbine. The purpose of the campaign was to show that a reduction of rotor speed variation is feasible with a feedforward update without changing the feedback controller. Although only a small amount of data could be collected, positive effects can be observed not only on the rotor speed but also on tower, blade and shaft loads in the case that the correlation of the wind preview and the turbine reaction is taken into account.
Open Access
Optimization of a feed-forward controller using a CW-lidar system on the CART3
(2015) Haizmann, Florian; Schlipf, David; Raach, Steffen; Scholbrock, Andrew; Wright, Alan; Slinger, Chris; Medley, John; Harris, Michael; Bossanyi, Ervin; Cheng, Po Wen
This work presents results from a new field-testing campaign conducted on the three-bladed Controls Advanced Research Turbine (CART3) at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in 2014. Tests were conducted using a commercially available, nacelle-mounted continuous-wave lidar system from ZephIR Lidar for the implementation of a lidar-based collective pitch feed-forward controller. During the campaign, the data processing of the lidar system was optimized for higher availability. Furthermore, the optimal scan distance was investigated for the CART3 by means of a spectra-based analytical model and found to match the lidar's capabilities well. Throughout the campaign the predicted correlation between the lidar measurements and the turbine's reaction was confirmed from the measured data. Additionally, the baseline feedback controller's gains were tuned based on a simulation study that included the lidar system to achieve further load reductions. This led to some promising first results, which are presented at the end of this paper.