Separated Pitch Control at Tip: Innovative Blade Design Explorations for Large MW Wind Turbine Blades

Abstract

This paper focuses on the deployment and evaluation of a separated pitch control at blade tip (SePCaT) control strategy for large megawatt (MW) wind turbine blade and explorations of innovative blade designs as a result of such deployment. SePCaT configurations varied from five to thirty percent of the blade length in 5 percentage increments (SePCaT5, SePCaT10, SePCaT15, SePCaT20, SePCaT25, and SePCaT30) are evaluated by comparing them to aerodynamical responses of the traditional blade. For low, moderate, high, and extreme wind speed variations treated as 10, 20, 30, and 40 percent of reference wind speeds, rotor power abatement in region 3 of the wind speed power curve is realized by feathering full length blade by 6, 9, 12, and 14 degrees, respectively. Feathering SePCaT30, SePCaT25, SePCaT20, and SePCaT15 by 14, 16, 26, and 30 degrees, respectively, achieves the same power abatement results when compared to traditional blade at low wind speeds. Feathering SePCaT30, SePCaT25, and SePCaT20 by 18, 26, and 30 degrees on the other hand has the same effect at high wind speeds. SePCaT30 feathered to 26 and 30 degrees has the same abatement effects when compared to traditional blade at high and extreme wind speeds.