• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.35 no.10
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• pp.884-890
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• 2007

The procedure for the aerodynamic design of the rotor blades for 10 kW-level HAWT (horizontal axis wind turbine) has been investigated to be practiced systematically. The approximately optimal shape was designed using an inverse method based on the momentum theory and the blade element method. The configuration was tested in the wind tunnel of the Korea Air Force Academy, and the data was compared with those obtained from the real system manufactured from the present design. From this research, the authors established the systematic technolo for wind turbine blades, and set up the technical procedure which can be extended for the future design of middle and large sized wind turbines.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.20 no.9
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• pp.922-929
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• 2014

Wind turbines are in the limelight in the alternative energy industry. However, they face frequent and various problems during operation. We focused on the supervising of the blades of a wind turbine. In this paper, we present the design of a maintenance robot that takes the size of wind turbine blades into consideration, so the general form of the robot is a square with four wires fixed to its vertices and to the nacelle. After the robot is placed near the nacelle, it moves along the blades. We also designed an attitude control algorithm for the robot to maintain its balance. Our control algorithm for the robot consists of roll and pitch attitude controllers and a height controller. Each controller was designed independently and then superposed together. We used simulations to verify our control algorithm.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Technology Engineers
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.102-108
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• 2012

A study of terahertz waves (T-ray) was made for the nondestructive evaluation of FRP (Fiber reinforced plastics) composite materials. The to-be-used systems were time domain spectroscopy (TDS) and continuous wave (CW). The composite materials investigated include both turbine blades of wind energy (non-conducting polymeric composites) and conducting carbon fiber composites. Terahertz signals in the TDS mode resembles that of ultrasound; however, unlike ultrasound, a terahertz pulse was not able to detect a material with conductivity. This was demonstrated in CFRP (Carbon fiber reinforced plastics) laminates. Refractive index (n) was defined as one of mechanical properties; so a method was solved in order solve the "n" in the material with the cut parts of the turbine blades of wind energy. The defects and anomalies investigated by terahertz radiation were foreign material inclusions and simulated disband. Especially, it is found that the T-ray went through the turbine blade with greater thickness (about 90mm).

• 한국전산유체공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.230-231
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• 2003

Two and three-dimensional flows around a cross-flow wind turbine are investigated by the numerical simulation. The turbine studied in this paper has cylindrical shape with many small blades along its periphery. Incompressible Navier-Stokes equation is used for this simulation. A rotating coordinate system, which rotates at the same speed of the turbine, is used in order to simplify the boundary conditions on the blades of the turbine. Additionally, a boundary fitted coordinate system is employed in order to express the shape of the blades precisely. A third order upwind scheme is chosen for the approximation of the non-linear terms. When the number of blades is about 10, the highest torque is obtained.

• New & Renewable Energy
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.45-50
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• 2008

GFRP based composite rotor blades were developed for 750 kW & 2 MW wind turbines. The blade sectional geometry was designed to have a general shell-spar and shear web structure. For verifying the structural safety under all relevant extreme loads specified in the GL guidelines, the structural analysis of the rotor blades was performed using commercial FEM codes. The static load carrying capacity, blade tip deflections and natural frequencies were evaluated to satisfy the strength and stability requirements. Full-scale proof tests of rotor blades were carried out with optical fiber sensors for real-time condition monitoring. Finally, the prototype of each rotor blade passed all proof tests for GL certification.

• The KSFM Journal of Fluid Machinery
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.63-68
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• 2012

This paper deals with the aerodynamic analysis and structural test under estimated loading condition for small composite blade, which is utilized in dual rotor wind turbine system. Firstly, the front and rear blades of dual rotor wind turbine system were modeled using reverse engineering method. And using finite volume method, the aerodynamic forces were analyzed at the rated and cutout wind speed to identify the pressure distribution on blades. And then, the full scale structural tests were conducted according to load and strength based methodology in IEC 61400-2 to identify the structural integrity of composite blade.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2002.08a
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• pp.17-22
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• 2002

Non-uniform and unsteady inflow into a Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine (HAWT) brings about an asymmetric flow field on the rotor plane and an unsteady aerodynamic load on the blades. In the present paper effects of yawed inflow and wind shear are analyzed by an inviscid aerodynamic model based on the asymptotic acceleration potential method. In the analysis the rotor blades are represented by spanwise and chordwise pressure distribution composed of analytical first-order asymptotic solutions for the Laplace equation. As the actual wind field experienced by a HAWT is turbulent, the effects of the turbulence are also examined using the Veers' model.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.243-257
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• 2007

A numerically efficient superelement is proposed as a low degree of freedom model for dynamic analysis of rotating tapered beams. The element uses a combination of polynomials and trigonometric functions as shape functions in what is also called the Fourier-p approach. Only a single element is needed to obtain good modal frequency prediction with the analysis and assembly time being considerably less than for conventional elements. The superelement also allows an easy incorporation of polynomial variations of mass and stiffness properties typically used to model helicopter and wind turbine blades. Comparable results are obtained using one superelement with only 14 degrees of freedom compared to 50 conventional finite elements with cubic shape functions with a total of 100 degrees of freedom for a rotating cantilever beam. Excellent agreement is also shown with results from the published literature for uniform and tapered beams with cantilever and hinged boundary conditions. The element developed in this work can be used to model rotating beam substructures as a part of complete finite element model of helicopters and wind turbines.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.261-273
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• 2020

This paper deals with the design, wind tunnel testing, and performance analysis of small wind turbines targeting low-power applications. Three different small-size blade designs in terms of size, shape, and twisting angle are considered and tested. We conduct wind tunnel tests while measuring the angular speed of the rotating blades, the generated voltage, and the current under varying resistive loading and air flow conditions. An electromechanical model is also used to predict the measured voltage and power and verify their consistency and repeatability. The measurements are found in qualitative agreement with those reported in previously-published experimental works. We present a novel methodology to estimate the mechanical torque applied to the wind turbine without the deployment of a torque measuring device. This method can be used to determine the power coefficient at a given air speed, which constitutes an important performance indicator of wind turbines. The wind tunnel tests revealed the capability of the developed wind turbines to deliver more than 1225 mW when subject to an air flow with a speed of 7 m/s. The power coefficient is found ranging between 26% and 32%. This demonstrates the aerodynamic capability of the designed blades to extract power from the wind.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.647-670
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• 2013

The paper presents a numerical approach to study of fluid flow characteristics and to predict performance of wind turbines. The numerical model is based on Finite-volume method (FVM) discretization of unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) equations. The movement of turbine blades is modeled using moving mesh technique. The turbulence is modeled using commonly used turbulence models: Renormalization Group (RNG) k-${\varepsilon}$ turbulence model and the standard k-${\varepsilon}$ and k-${\omega}$ turbulence models. The model is validated with the experimental data over a large range of tip-speed to wind ratio (TSR) and blade pitch angles. In order to demonstrate the use of numerical method as a tool for designing wind turbines, two dimensional (2-D) and three-dimensional (3-D) simulations are carried out to study the flow through a small scale Darrieus type H-rotor Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT). The flows predictions are used to determine the performance of the turbine. The turbine consists of 3-symmetrical NACA0022 blades. A number of simulations are performed for a range of approaching angles and wind speeds. This numerical study highlights the concerns with the self-starting capabilities of the present VAWT turbine. However results also indicate that self-starting capabilities of the turbine can be increased when the mounted angle of attack of the blades is increased. The 2-D simulations using the presented model can successfully be used at preliminary stage of turbine design to compare performance of the turbine for different design and operating parameters, whereas 3-D studies are preferred for the final design.