applications


wind farm projects are very expensive. Detecting potential electromagnetic interferences before the deployment of the wind farm has been finalised is key to avoiding any issues. For high-frequency simulations, Altair’s


EM tool FEKO can be used to determine electromagnetic waves of telecommunication systems, which can be perturbed by reflections and obstructions produced by the physical presence of wind turbines. Rapado said: ‘Using FEKO the layout of the farm can be re-designed before it has been built or even finally laid out, providing a more cost-effective solution.’ Noise pollution is also a major challenge for


Vortex wind turbines


energy sector is no exception. A concept called digital twins is currently being investigated, in which a physical turbine is fitted with sensors to gather data on its performance and operations. A digital twin is created to provide predictive analysis, where the twin helps manufacturers to understand the operational failure modes of the product, prevent unplanned downtime, improve product performance and seed the next product generation. A digital twin achieves this by leveraging multi- fidelity simulations from detailed 3D physics


THERE IS LIMITED APPETITE FOR RADICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN WIND TURBINE DESIGNS


to reduced-order models (ROMs) to compress simulation times and demonstrate key product performance aspects. In the simulation space, ANSYS customers use


the full portfolio of engineering simulation tools for fluids, mechanical and electronic and system and control of wind turbines. As a result, they can extend the use of the engineering simulation from design to operation and maintenance. ANSYS is working in the concepts related to predictive performance of turbines to help with, for example, failure mode analysis, lifing and prognostic health monitoring of wind turbines. Ahmad Haidari, global industry director at ANSYS, said: ‘Tese are some of the benefits of digital twins where ANSYS customers can build a replica of their wind turbine virtually, and subject each wind turbine to its real life operating conditions.’ Rapado added: ‘Te arrival of IoT in the


wind turbine market will soon be a reality. Having digital twins of turbines in the cloud will completely change the conception of operations and maintenance, by predicting the behaviour


www.scientific-computing.com l @scwmagazine Simulation of wind turbine components AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2017 27


and controlling the way in which the actuations systems work in real time.’


External factors Te emphasis on reduced maintenance and extending lifetimes of turbines is paramount across the industry. Rapado added: ‘Improvements in fatigue simulation and the possibility of taking on new sources of fatigue into account – which has not been considered until recent years – makes it possible to extend the design life of wind turbines, and manufacturers are making big efforts in this area.’ It’s not just the interior of turbines that must


be investigated using simulation and modelling to achieve this, the exterior environment must be taken into account. For example, while simulations of low-


frequency electromagnetic fields to improve generator design are a longstanding tool, high-frequency electromagnetics (EM) is now an important field of interest. Tis is because


onshore wind turbines. Mark-Paul Buckingham, managing director of Xi Engineering, explained: ‘When working with turbines, you’re trying to reduce the overall sound power level and remove tonal noise. Tere are penalties for tonal noise and restrictions on the absolute power level. We also look to optimise those without loss of generation. For example, making the turbine quieter by running it slower may not be as efficient. We tune in much more acutely to tonal acoustics.’ For offshore turbines, noise is less important


and the improvements in the structural dynamics to optimise the power cost take precedence. Xi Engineering uses COMSOL as its core


platform, and MATLAB coding when looking at the data analysis. Buckingham explained: ‘It’s a multi dynamics approach, as the acoustics and structural dynamics are all in one. We get vibration data from the wind turbine directly and use the structural side of things to model the structural acoustics, and then verify the results of the simulation against data from the field.’ Buckingham added: ‘We can look and assess


what the best solution would be. Te models are calibrated effectively from both ends, which provide us with the solutions that we might use.’


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Altair/Dassault/Ansys


Altair/Dassault/Ansys


Altair/Dassault/Ansys


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