• Wind and Structures
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.369-381
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• 2015

Moore, Oklahoma was hit by an EF5 tornado on May 20, 2013. The tornado track slightly overlapped with two previous tornadoes that occurred on May 3, 1999 and May 8, 2003 respectively. A research team from Texas Tech University was deployed to investigate the performance of shelters based on observation of their post-storm conditions. Sixty-one shelter units were further documented by size, manufacturer, and date of installation if available. Then they were crossed referenced with the external databases to determine their compliance with design and construction standards by the International Code Council/National Storm Shelter Association and/or criteria from the Federal Emergency Management Agency publications. Wind intensity was estimated for each shelter location using the EF scale. Results showed a marked increase in the number of exterior underground shelters as well as the popularity of a new in-garage floor underground shelter design. All of the units provided protection for their occupants with no loss of life reported. However, one older shelter had a door failure due to neglect of maintenance. Recommendations were made to improve future performance of shelters.

• Journal of Magnetics
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.379-385
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• 2011

This paper presents an optimal design of a direct-drive permanent magnet synchronous generator for a small-scale wind energy conversion system. An analytical model of a small-scale grid-connected wind energy conversion system is presented, and the effects of generator design parameters on the payback period of the system are investigated. An optimization procedure based on genetic algorithm method is then employed to optimize four design parameters of the generator for use in a region with relatively low wind-speed. The aim of optimization is minimizing the payback period of the initial investment on wind energy conversion systems for residential applications. This makes the use of these systems more economical and appealing. Finite element method is employed to evaluate the performance of the optimized generator. The results obtained from finite element analysis are close to those achieved by analytical model.

• The KSFM Journal of Fluid Machinery
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.43-47
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• 2016

Vertical axis wind turbine, despite of its limit in power efficiency, the simplicity in structure and maintenance is a competitive factor that keeps this type of turbine in the game until nowadays. Continuous solutions have been given to handle its major weakness and the use of omni-directional guide vane is an considerable one. In this paper, a 5kkW scale Savonius-based wind turbine enhanced with such guide vane system was design and studied. Together with reasonable blade design, the wind turbine shows promising performance compared with basic design while maintaining its original advantages.

• 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.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.263-275
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• 2023

As a new kind of construction facility for high rise buildings, the integral steel platform scaffold system (ISPS) consisting of the steel skeleton and suspended scaffold faces high wind during the construction procedure. The lattice structure type and existence of core tubes both make it difficult to estimate the wind load and calculate the wind-induced responses. In this study, an aeroelastic model with a geometry scale ratio of 1:25 based on the ISPS for Shanghai Tower, with the representative square profile, is manufactured and then tested in a wind tunnel. The first mode of the prototype ISPS is a torsional one with a frequency of only 0.68 Hz, and the model survives under extreme wind speed up to 50 m/s. The static wind load and wind vibration factors are derived based on the test result and supplementary finite element analysis, offering a reference for the following ISPS design. The spacer at the bottom of the suspended scaffold is suggested to be long enough to touch the core tube in the initial status to prevent the collision. Besides, aerodynamic wind loads and cross-wind loads are suggested to be included in the structural design of the ISPS.

• Journal of Advanced Marine Engineering and Technology
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.827-833
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• 2008

In this study, mathematical expressions based upon the conventional BEMT(blade element momentum theory) was applied to basic 100kW wind turbine blade configuration design. Power coefficient and related flow parameters, such as Prandtl's tip loss coefficient, tangential and axial flow induction factors of the wind turbine were analyzed systematically. X-FOIL was used to acquire lift and drag coefficients of the 2-D airfoils and Viterna-Corrigan formula was used o interpolate he aerodynamic characteristics in post-stall region. Also, aerodynamic characteristics, measured in a wind tunnel to calculate he power coefficient was applied. The comparative results such as axial and tangential flow factors, power coefficients were presented in this study. Power coefficient, calculated by in-house code was compared with the GH-Bladed result. The difference of the aerodynamic characteristics caused the difference of the performance characteristics as variation as TSR.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.205-221
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• 2017

The unsteady flow field disturbance between the blades and tower is one of the primary factors affecting the aerodynamic performance of wind turbine. Based on the research object of a 3MW horizontal axis wind turbine which was developed independently by Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, numerical simulation on the aerodynamic performance of wind turbine system in halt state with blades in different position was conducted using large eddy simulation (LES) method. Based on the 3D unsteady numerical simulation results in a total of eight conditions (determined by the relative position with the tower during the complete rotation process of the blade), the characteristics of wind pressure distributions of the wind turbine system and action mechanism of surrounding flow field were analysed. The effect of different position of blades on the aerodynamic performance of wind turbine in halt state as well as the disturbance effect was evaluated. Results of the study showed that the halt position of blades had significant effect on the wind pressure distribution of the wind turbine system as well as the characteristics of flow around. Relevant conclusions from this study provided reference for the wind-resistant design of large scale wind turbine system in different halt states.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.1149-1157
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• 2015

As a key part in the wind turbine system, the power electronic converter is proven to have high failure rates. At the same time, the failure of the wind power converter is becoming more unacceptable because of the quick growth in capacity, remote locations to reach, and strong impact to the power grid. As a result, the correct assessment of reliable performance for power electronics is a crucial and emerging need; the assessment is essential for design improvement, as well as for the extension of converter lifetime and reduction of energy cost. Unfortunately, there still exists a lack of suitable physic-of-failure based evaluation tools for a reliability assessment in power electronics. In this paper, an advanced tool structure which can acquire various reliability metrics of wind power converter is proposed. The tool is based on failure mechanisms in critical components of the system and mission profiles in wind turbines. Potential methodologies, challenges, and technology trends involved in this tool structure are also discussed. Finally, a simplified version of the tool is demonstrated on a wind power converter based on Double Fed Induction Generator system. With the proposed tool structure, more detailed information of reliability performances in a wind power converter can be obtained before the converter can actually fail in the field and many potential research topics can also be initiated.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.12-21
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• 1997

Nowadays, non-pollution energy sources have been strongly needed because of the exhaustion of fossil fuels and serious environmental problems. Because wind energy can be enormously obtained from natural atmosphere, this type of energy has lots of advantages in a economic and pollution point of view. This study has established the aerodynamic and structural design procedure of the rotor blade with an appropriate aerodynamic performance and structural strength for the 500㎾ medium class wind turbine system. The aerodynamic configuration of the rotor blade was determined by considering the wind condition in the typical local operation region, and based on this configuration aerodynamic performance analysis was performed. The rotor blade has the shell-spar structure based on glass/epoxy composite material and is composed of shank including metal joint parts and blade. Structural design was done by the developed design program in this study and structural analysis, for instance stress analysis, mode analysis and fatigue life estimation, was performed by the finite element method. As a result, a medium scale wind turbine rotor blade with starting characteristics of 4m/s wind speed, rated power of 500㎾ at 12m/s wind speed and over 20 years fatigue life has been designed.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.1-14
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• 2014

Rail-mounted cranes can be easily damaged by a sudden gust of wind while working at a running speed, due to the large mass and high barycenter positions. In current designs, working rail-mounted cranes mainly depend on wheel braking torques to resist large wind load. Regular brakes, however, cannot satisfactorily stop the crane, which induces safety issues of cranes and hence leads to frequent crane accidents, especially in sudden gusts of wind. Therefore, it is necessary and important to study the braking performance of working rail mounted cranes under wind load. In this study, a simplified mechanical model was built to simulate the working rail mounted gantry crane, and dynamic analysis of the model was carried out to deduce braking performance equations that reflect the qualitative relations among braking time, braking distance, wind load, and braking torque. It was shown that, under constant braking torque, there existed inflection points on the curves of braking time and distance versus windforce. Both the braking time and the distance increased sharply when wind load exceeded the inflection point value, referred to as the threshold windforce. The braking performance of a 300 ton shipbuilding gantry crane was modeled and analyzed using multibody dynamics software ADAMS. The simulation results were fitted by quadratic curves to show the changes of braking time and distance versus windforce under various mount of braking torques. The threshold windforce could be obtained theoretically by taking derivative of fitted curves. Based on the fitted functional relationship between threshold windforce and braking torque, theoretical basis are provided to ensure a safe and rational design for crane wind-resistant braking systems.