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Wind and Structures Volume 34, Number 3, March 2022 , pages 303-312 DOI: https://doi.org/10.12989/was.2022.34.3.303 |
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Experimental study of the loads induced by a large-scale tornado simulation on a HAWT model |
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Juan P. Lopez, Horia Hangan and Ashraf El Damatty
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| Abstract | ||
| As wind turbine rotors increase, the overall loads and dynamic response become an important issue. This problem is augmented by the exposure of wind turbines to severe atmospheric events with unconventional flows such as tornadoes, which need specific designs not included in standards and codes at present. An experimental study was conducted to analyze the loads induced by a tornado-like vortex (TLV) on horizontal-axis wind turbines (HAWT). A large-scale tornado simulation developed in The Wind Engineering, Energy and Environment (WindEEE) Dome at Western University in Canada, the so-called Mode B Tornado, was employed as the TLV flow acting on a rigid wind turbine model under two rotor operational conditions (idling and parked) for five radial distances. It was observed that the overall forces and moments depend on the location and orientation of the wind turbine system with respect to the tornado vortex centre, as TLV are three-dimensional flows with velocity gradients in the radial, vertical, and tangential direction. The mean bending moment at the tower base was the most important in terms of magnitude and variation in relation to the position of the HAWT with respect to the core radius of the tornado, and it was highly dependent on the rotor Tip Speed Ratio (TSR). | ||
| Key Words | ||
| experimental test; HAWT; tornadoes; wind loads; wind turbine; WindEEE Dome | ||
| Address | ||
| Juan P. Lopez:Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada Horia Hangan:Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada/ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ontario Tech University, Oshawa, Ontario, Canada Ashraf El Damatty:Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada | ||