Experimental validation of novel structural control algorithms is a vital step in both developing and building acceptance
for this technology. Small-scale experimental test-beds fulfill an important role in the validation of multiple-degree-offreedom
(MDOF) and distributed semi-active control systems, allowing researchers to test the control algorithms,
communication topologies, and timing-critical aspects of structural control systems that do not require full-scale
specimens. In addition, small-scale building specimens can be useful in combined structural health monitoring (SHM)
and LQG control studies, diminishing safety concerns during experiments by using benchtop-scale rather than largescale
specimens. Development of such small-scale test-beds is hampered by difficulties in actuator construction. In order
to be a useful analog to full-scale structures, actuators for small-scale test-beds should exhibit similar features and
limitations as their full-scale counterparts. In particular, semi-active devices, such as magneto-rheological (MR) fluid
dampers, with limited authority (versus active mass dampers) and nonlinear behavior are difficult to mimic over small
force scales due to issues related to fluid containment and friction. In this study, a novel extraction-type small-force (0-
10 N) MR-fluid damper which exhibits nonlinear hysteresis similar to a full-scale, MR-device is proposed. This actuator
is a key development to enable the function of a small-scale structural control test-bed intended for wireless control
validation studies. Experimental validation of this prototype is conducted using a 3-story scale structure subjected to
simulated single-axis seismic excitation. The actuator affects the structural response commanded by a control computer
that executes an LQG state feedback control law and a modified Bouc-Wen lookup table that was previously developed
for full-scale MR-applications. In addition, damper dynamic limitations are characterized and presented including force
output magnitude and frequency characteristics.
Horizontal-axis wind turbines (HAWTs) are growing in size and popularity for the generation of renewable energy to meet the world’s ever increasing demand. Long-term safety and stability are major concerns related to the construction and use-phase of these structures. Braking and active pitch control are important tools to help maintain safe and stable operation, however variable cross-section control represents another possible tool as well. To properly evaluate the usefulness of this approach, modeling tools capable of representing the dynamic behavior of blades with conformable cross sections are necessary. In this study, a modeling method for representing turbine blades as a series of interconnected spinning finite elements (SPEs) is presented where the aerodynamic properties of individual elements may be altered to represent changes in the cross section due to conformability (e.g., use of a mechanical flap or a “smart” conformable surface). Such a model is expected to be highly valuable in design of control rules for HAWT blades with conformable elements. Sensitivity and stability of the modeling approach are explored.
KEYWORDS: Data modeling, Structural health monitoring, Algorithms, Stochastic processes, Matrices, Systems modeling, System identification, Wind energy, Process modeling, Wind turbine technology
Structural health monitoring (SHM) relies on collection and interrogation of operational data from the monitored
structure. To make this data meaningful, a means of understanding how damage sensitive data features relate to the
physical condition of the structure is required. Model-driven SHM applications achieve this goal through model
updating. This study proposed a novel approach for updating of aero-elastic turbine blade vibrational models for
operational horizontal-axis wind turbines (HAWTs). The proposed approach updates estimates of modal properties for
spinning HAWT blades intended for use in SHM and load estimation of these structures. Spinning structures present
additional challenges for model updating due to spinning effects, dependence of modal properties on rotational velocity,
and gyroscopic effects that lead to complex mode shapes. A cyclo-stationary stochastic-based eigensystem realization
algorithm (ERA) is applied to operational turbine data to identify data-driven modal properties including frequencies and
mode shapes. Model-driven modal properties are derived through modal condensation of spinning finite element models
with variable physical parameters. Complex modes are converted into equivalent real modes through reduction
transformation. Model updating is achieved through use of an adaptive simulated annealing search process, via Modal
Assurance Criterion (MAC) with complex-conjugate modes, to find the physical parameters that best match the
experimentally derived data.
Wind energy is becoming increasingly important worldwide as an alternative renewable energy source. Economical, maintenance and operation are critical issues for large slender dynamic structures, especially for remote offshore wind farms. Health monitoring systems are very promising instruments to assure reliability and good performance of the structure. These sensing and control technologies are typically informed by models based on mechanics or data-driven identification techniques in the time and/or frequency domain. Frequency response functions are popular but are difficult to realize autonomously for structures of higher order and having overlapping frequency content. Instead, time-domain techniques have shown powerful advantages from a practical point of view (e.g. embedded algorithms in wireless-sensor networks), being more suitable to differentiate closely-related modes. Customarily, time-varying effects are often neglected or dismissed to simplify the analysis, but such is not the case for wind loaded structures with spinning multibodies. A more complex scenario is constituted when dealing with both periodic mechanisms responsible for the vibration shaft of the rotor-blade system, and the wind tower substructure interaction. Transformations of the cyclic effects on the vibration data can be applied to isolate inertia quantities different from rotating-generated forces that are typically non-stationary in nature. After applying these transformations, structural identification can be carried out by stationary techniques via data-correlated Eigensystem realizations. In this paper an exploration of a periodic stationary or cyclo-stationary subspace identification technique is presented here by means of a modified Eigensystem Realization Algorithm (ERA) via Stochastic Subspace Identification (SSI) and Linear Parameter Time-Varying (LPTV) techniques. Structural response is assumed under stationary ambient excitation produced by a Gaussian (white) noise assembled in the operative range bandwidth of horizontal-axis wind turbines. ERA-OKID analysis is driven by correlation-function matrices from the stationary ambient response aiming to reduce noise effects. Singular value decomposition (SVD) and eigenvalue analysis are computed in a last stage to get frequencies and mode shapes. Proposed assumptions are carefully weighted to account for the uncertainty of the environment the wind turbines are subjected to. A numerical example is presented based on data acquisition carried out in a BWC XL.1 low power wind turbine device installed in University of California at Davis. Finally, comments and observations are provided on how this subspace realization technique can be extended for modal-parameter identification using exclusively ambient vibration data.
Renewable energy sources like wind are important technologies, useful to alleviate for the current fossil-fuel crisis. Capturing wind energy in a more efficient way has resulted in the emergence of more sophisticated designs of wind turbines, particularly Horizontal-Axis Wind Turbines (HAWTs). To promote efficiency, traditional finite element methods have been widely used to characterize the aerodynamics of these types of multi-body systems and improve their design. Given their aeroelastic behavior, tapered-swept blades offer the potential to optimize energy capture and decrease fatigue loads. Nevertheless, modeling special complex geometries requires huge computational efforts necessitating tradeoffs between faster computation times at lower cost, and reliability and numerical accuracy. Indeed, the computational cost and the numerical effort invested, using traditional FE methods, to reproduce dependable aerodynamics of these complex-shape beams are sometimes prohibitive. A condensed Spinning Finite Element (SFE) method scheme is presented in this study aimed to alleviate this issue by means of modeling wind-turbine rotor blades properly with tapered-swept cross-section variations of arbitrary order via Lagrangian equations. Axial-flexural-torsional coupling is carried out on axial deformation, torsion, in-plane bending and out-of-plane bending using super-convergent elements. In this study, special attention is paid for the case of damped yaw effects, expressed within the described skew-symmetric damped gyroscopic matrix. Dynamics of the model are analyzed by achieving modal analysis with complex-number eigen-frequencies. By means of mass, damped gyroscopic, and stiffness (axial-flexural-torsional coupling) matrix condensation (order reduction), numerical analysis is carried out for several prototypes with different tapered, swept, and curved variation intensities, and for a practical range of spinning velocities at different rotation angles. A convergence study for the resulting natural frequencies is performed to evaluate the dynamic collateral effects of tapered-swept blade profiles in spinning motion using this new model. Stability analysis in boundary conditions of the postulated model is achieved to test the convergence and integrity of the mathematical model. The proposed framework presumes to be particularly suitable to characterize models with complex-shape cross-sections at low computation cost.
Wind energy is an increasingly important component of this nation's renewable energy portfolio, however safe and
economical wind turbine operation is a critical need to ensure continued adoption. Safe operation of wind turbine
structures requires not only information regarding their condition, but their operational environment. Given the difficulty
inherent in SHM processes for wind turbines (damage detection, location, and characterization), some uncertainty in
conditional assessment is expected. Furthermore, given the stochastic nature of the loading on turbine structures, a
probabilistic framework is appropriate to characterize their risk of failure at a given time. Such information will be
invaluable to turbine controllers, allowing them to operate the structures within acceptable risk profiles. This study
explores the characterization of the turbine loading and response envelopes for critical failure modes of the turbine blade
structures. A framework is presented to develop an analytical estimation of the loading environment (including loading
effects) based on the dynamic behavior of the blades. This is influenced by behaviors including along and across-wind
aero-elastic effects, wind shear gradient, tower shadow effects, and centrifugal stiffening effects. The proposed solution
includes methods that are based on modal decomposition of the blades and require frequent updates to the estimated
modal properties to account for the time-varying nature of the turbine and its environment. The estimated demand
statistics are compared to a code-based resistance curve to determine a probabilistic estimate of the risk of blade failure
given the loading environment.
Wind turbine systems are attracting considerable attention due to concerns regarding global energy consumption as
well as sustainability. Advances in wind turbine technology promote the tendency to improve efficiency in the structure
that support and produce this renewable power source, tending toward more slender and larger towers, larger gear boxes,
and larger, lighter blades. The structural design optimization process must account for uncertainties and nonlinear effects
(such as wind-induced vibrations, unmeasured disturbances, and material and geometric variabilities). In this study, a
probabilistic monitoring approach is developed that measures the response of the turbine tower to stochastic loading,
estimates peak demand, and structural resistance (in terms of serviceability). The proposed monitoring system can
provide a real-time estimate of the probability of exceedance of design serviceability conditions based on data collected
in-situ. Special attention is paid to wind and aerodynamic characteristics that are intrinsically present (although
sometimes neglected in health monitoring analysis) and derived from observations or experiments. In particular, little
attention has been devoted to buffeting, usually non-catastrophic but directly impacting the serviceability of the
operating wind turbine. As a result, modal-based analysis methods for the study and derivation of flutter instability, and
buffeting response, have been successfully applied to the assessment of the susceptibility of high-rise slender structures,
including wind turbine towers. A detailed finite element model has been developed to generate data (calibrated to
published experimental and analytical results). Risk assessment is performed for the effects of along wind forces in a
framework of quantitative risk analysis. Both structural resistance and wind load demands were considered probabilistic
with the latter assessed by dynamic analyses.
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