The steady growth of installed wind power together with the upscaling of the single wind turbine power capability has pushed the research and development of power converters toward full-scale power conversion, lowered cost pr kW, increased power density, and also the need for higher reliability. In this paper, power converter technologies are reviewed with focus on existing ones and on those that have potential for higher power but which have not been yet adopted due to the important risk associated with the high-power industry. The power converters are classified into single- and multicell topologies, in the latter case with attention to series connection and parallel connection either electrical or magnetic ones (multiphase/windings machines/transformers). It is concluded that as the power level increases in wind turbines, medium-voltage power converters will be a dominant power converter configuration, but continuously cost and reliability are important issues to be addressed.

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Power Electronics Converters for Wind Turbine Systems

The state-of-the-art advancement in wind turbine condition monitoring and fault diagnosis for the recent several years is reviewed. Since the existing surveys on wind turbine condition monitoring cover the literatures up to 2006, this review aims to report the most recent advances in the past three years, with primary focus on gearbox and bearing, rotor and blades, generator and power electronics, as well as system-wise turbine diagnosis. There are several major trends observed through the survey. Due to the variable-speed nature of wind turbine operation and the unsteady load involved, time-frequency analysis tools such as wavelets have been accepted as a key signal processing tool for such application. Acoustic emission has lately gained much more attention in order to detect incipient failures because of the low-speed operation for wind turbines. There has been an increasing trend of developing model based reasoning algorithms for fault detection and isolation as cost-effective approach for wind turbines as relatively complicated system. The impact of unsteady aerodynamic load on the robustness of diagnostic signatures has been notified. Decoupling the wind load from condition monitoring decision making will reduce the associated down-time cost.

A review of recent advances in wind turbine condition monitoring and fault diagnosis

Wind energy is the fastest growing alternate source of energy in the world since its purely economic potential is complemented by its great positive environmental impact. The wind turbine, whether it may be a Horizontal-Axis Wind Turbine (HAWT) or a Vertical-Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT), offers a practical way to convert the wind energy into electrical or mechanical energy. Although this book focuses on the aerodynamic design and performance of VAWTs based on the Darrieus concept, it also discusses the comparison between HAWTs and VAWTs, future trends in design and the inherent socio-economic and environmental friendly aspects of wind energy as an alternate source of energy.

Wind turbine design with emphasis on Darrieus concept Ion Paraschivoiu

This paper reviews the trends in wind turbine generator systems. After discussing some important requirements and basic relations, it describes the currently used systems: the constant speed system with squirrel-cage induction generator, and the three variable speed systems with doubly fed induction generator (DFIG), with gearbox and fully rated converter, and direct drive (DD). Then, possible future generator systems are reviewed. Hydraulic transmissions are significantly lighter than gearboxes and enable continuously variable transmission, but their efficiency is lower. A brushless DFIG is a medium speed generator without brushes and with improved low-voltage ride-through characteristics compared with the DFIG. Magnetic pseudo DDs are smaller and lighter than DD generators, but need a sufficiently low and stable magnet price to be successful. In addition, superconducting generators can be smaller and lighter than normal DD generators, but both cost and reliability need experimental demonstration. In power electronics, there is a trend toward reliable modular multilevel topologies.

Trends in Wind Turbine Generator Systems

As the demand for wind energy continues to grow at exponential rates, reducing operation and maintenance (OM) costs and improving reliability have become top priorities in wind turbine (WT) maintenance strategies. In addition to the development of more highly evolved WT designs intended to improve availability, the application of reliable and cost-effective condition-monitoring (CM) techniques offers an efficient approach to achieve this goal. This paper provides a general review and classification of wind turbine condition monitoring (WTCM) methods and techniques with a focus on trends and future challenges. After highlighting the relevant CM, diagnosis, and maintenance analysis, this work outlines the relationship between these concepts and related theories, and examines new trends and future challenges in the WTCM industry. Interesting insights from this research are used to point out strengths and weaknesses in today’s WTCM industry and define research priorities needed for the industry to meet the challenges in wind industry technological evolution and market growth.

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Wind Turbine Condition Monitoring: State-of-the-Art Review, New Trends, and Future Challenges

We have investigated the reliability of more than 6000 modern onshore wind turbines and their subassemblies in Denmark and Germany over 11 years and particularly changes in reliability of generators, gearboxes and converters in a subset of 650 turbines in Schleswig Holstein, Germany. We first start by considering the average failure rate of turbine populations and then the average failure rates of wind turbine subassemblies. This analysis yields some surprising results about which subassemblies are the most unreliable. Then we proceed to consider the failure intensity function variation with time for wind turbines in one of these populations, using the Power Law Process, of three subassemblies; generator, gearbox and converter. This analysis shows that wind turbine gearboxes seem to be achieving reliabilities similar to gearboxes outside the wind industry. However, wind turbine generators and converters are both achieving reliabilities considerably below that of other industries but the reliability of these subassemblies improves with time. The paper also considers different wind turbine concepts. Then we conclude by proposing that offshore wind turbines should be subject to more rigorous reliability improvement measures, such as more thorough subassembly testing, to eliminate early failures. The early focus should be on converters and generators.

Reliability of wind turbine subassemblies

History of the development of DAWT's stretches a period of more than 50 years. So far without any commercial success. In the initial years of development the conversion process was not understood very well. Experimentalists strived at maximising the pressure drop over the rotor disk, but lacked theoretical insight into optimising the performance. Increasing the diffuser area as well as the negative back pressure at the diffuser exit was found profitable in the experiments. Claims were made that performance augmentations with a factor of 4 or more were feasible, but these claims were not confirmed experimentally. With a simple momentum theory, developed along the lines of momentum theory for bare windturbines, it was shown that power augmentation is proportional to the mass flow increase generated at the nozzle of the DAWT. Such mass flow augmentation can be achieved through two basic principles: increase in the diffuser exit ratio and/or by decreasing the negative back pressure at the exit. The theory predicts an optimal pressure drop of 8/9 equal to the pressure drop for bare windturbines independent from the mass flow augmentation obtained. The maximum amount of energy that can be extracted per unit of volume with a DAWT is also the same as for a bare wind turbine. Performance predictions with this theory show good agreement with a CFD calculation. Comparison with a large amount of experimental data found in literature shows that in practice power augmentation factors above 3 have never been achieved. Referred to rotor power coefficients values of CP,rotor =2.5 might be achievable according to theory, but to the cost of fairly large diffuser area ratio's, typically values of β >4.5.

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The science of making more torque from wind: Diffuser experiments and theory revisited

The implementation of wind energy conversion systems in the built environment renewed the interest and the research on Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWT), which in this application present several advantages over Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines (HAWT). The VAWT has an inherent unsteady aerodynamic behavior due to the variation of angle of attack with the angle of rotation, perceived velocity and consequentially Reynolds number. The phenomenon of dynamic stall is then an intrinsic effect of the operation of a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine at low tip speed ratios, having a significant impact in both loads and power. The complexity of the unsteady aerodynamics of the VAWT makes it extremely attractive to be analyzed using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) models, where an approximation of the continuity and momentum equations of the Navier-Stokes equations set is solved. The complexity of the problem and the need for new design approaches for VAWT for the built environment has driven the authors of this work to focus the research of CFD modeling of VAWT on: •comparing the results between commonly used turbulence models: URANS (Spalart-Allmaras and k-) and large eddy models (Large Eddy Simulation and Detached Eddy Simulation) •verifying the sensitivity of the model to its grid refinement (space and time), •evaluating the suitability of using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) experimental data for model validation. The 2D model created represents the middle section of a single bladed VAWT with infinite aspect ratio. The model simulates the experimental work of flow field measurement using Particle Image Velocimetry by Simao Ferreira et al for a single bladed VAWT. The results show the suitability of the PIV data for the validation of the model, the need for accurate simulation of the large eddies and the sensitivity of the model to grid refinement.

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Simulating Dynamic Stall in a 2D VAWT: Modeling strategy, verification and validation with Particle Image Velocimetry data

This study attempts to obtain more detailed knowledge of failures of wind turbines (WTs) by using the German "250 MW Wind" test program database. Specific objectives are to show the reliability of some major components and to analyze how their design has advanced through time, what the main failures are, and which technologies have proven to work. Within the program, reports on operation and maintenance are analyzed with respect to WT type, size, and technologies used. This paper presents a comparison of component reliability through time, with respect to their technology. The results show significant differences in reliability for certain subcomponents depending on the size of the WT and especially on the type of power control. For instance, induction generators show half the annual failure rate compared to synchronous generators. The study also includes failures of other components that are affected or added due to the use of the components being analyzed. In general, the results show that failure rates of WTs decrease with time. Most of the data show a short period of "early failures" and later a long period of "random failures." However, this is not the case for the megawatt class: As technology is introduced into the market, WTs show a longer early failure behavior, which has not yet become stable. Furthermore, large turbines, included in the database analyzed, show a significantly higher annual failure rate of components, per WT. This may be due to the immature technology of the WTs included in the database.

Reliability of Wind Turbine Technology Through Time

The Dutch Offshore Wind Energy Converter project (DOWEC) aims to design large wind turbines for application in large-scale offshore farms. A baseline windfarm has been considered 43 km off the Dutch coast, with 80 wind turbines, each of 6 MW capacity. In this paper, access methods for O& M crew have been investigated. The methods include: (i) inflatable boats (zodiacs), (ii) special offshore access systems and (iii) helicopters. For the methods considered, operational limits have been established, expressed as 'maximummean' wind speed and as significant wave height. On the basis of the NEXT database the statistics of the corresponding weather-windows have been determined. These statistics, together with the failure statistics and the regular maintenance demand of the wind turbines and the other offshore windfarm components determine its overall-availability at the specific site. Estimates of this overall-availability of the offshore windfarm have been obtained with a sophisticated Monte Carlo simulation m...

van Gjw Gerard Bussel

Papers

Reliability of wind turbine subassemblies

The science of making more torque from wind: Diffuser experiments and theory revisited

Simulating Dynamic Stall in a 2D VAWT: Modeling strategy, verification and validation with Particle Image Velocimetry data

Reliability of Wind Turbine Technology Through Time

The DOWEC Offshore Reference Windfarm: Analysis of Transportation for Operation and Maintenance