A Review of Research on Large Scale Modern Vertical Axis Wind Turbines at Uppsala University

This paper presents a review of over a decade of research on Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWTs) conducted at Uppsala University. The paper presents, among others, an overview of the 200 kW VAWT located in Falkenberg, Sweden, as well as a description of the work done on the 12 kW prototype VAWT in Marsta, Sweden. Several key aspects have been tested and successfully demonstrated at our two experimental research sites. The effort of the VAWT research has been aimed at developing a robust large scale VAWT technology based on an electrical control system with a direct driven energy converter. This approach allows for a simplification where most or all of the control of the turbines can be managed by the electrical converter system, reducing investment cost and need for maintenance. The concept features an H-rotor that is omnidirectional in regards to wind direction, meaning that it can extract energy from all wind directions without the need for a yaw system. The turbine is connected to a direct driven permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG), located at ground level, that is specifically developed to control and extract power from the turbine. The research is ongoing and aims for a multi-megawatt VAWT in the near future.

[1]  H. Bernhoff,et al.  Rotor design for PM generators reflecting the unstable neodymium price , 2012, 2012 XXth International Conference on Electrical Machines.

[2]  Hans Bernhoff,et al.  Adapting a VAWT with PM generator to telecom applications , 2010 .

[3]  Eduard Muljadi,et al.  The History and State of the Art of Variable-Speed Wind Turbine Technology , 2001 .

[4]  Hans Bernhoff,et al.  Resonances and Aerodynamic Damping of a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine , 2012 .

[5]  Olov Ågren,et al.  Conformal mapping and efficient boundary element method without boundary elements for fast vortex particle simulations , 2008 .

[6]  Hans Bernhoff,et al.  Noise Emission of a 200 kW Vertical Axis Wind Turbine , 2015 .

[7]  Hans Bernhoff,et al.  Generator-Damped Torsional Vibrations of a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine , 2005 .

[8]  Mats Leijon,et al.  Investigating the overload capacity of a direct‐driven synchronous permanent magnet wind turbine generator designed using high‐voltage cable technology , 2007 .

[9]  Hans Bernhoff,et al.  Design of a 12kW vertical axis wind turbine equipped with a direct driven PM synchronous generator , 2006 .

[10]  Anders Goude,et al.  Fluid Mechanics of Vertical Axis Turbines : Simulations and Model Development , 2012 .

[11]  Mats Leijon,et al.  Influence of a Varying Vertical Velocity Profile on Turbine Efficiency for a Vertical Axis Marine Current Turbine , 2009 .

[12]  Sverker Holmgren,et al.  Dynamic Autotuning of Adaptive Fast Multipole Methods on Hybrid Multicore CPU and GPU Systems , 2013, SIAM J. Sci. Comput..

[13]  Hans Bernhoff,et al.  Loss evaluation and design optimization for direct driven permanent magnet synchronous generators for wind power , 2008 .

[14]  Hans Bernhoff,et al.  Measurements of the Aerodynamic Normal Forces on a 12-kW Straight-Bladed Vertical Axis Wind Turbine , 2015 .

[15]  Stefan Engblom,et al.  Adaptive fast multipole methods on the GPU , 2012, The Journal of Supercomputing.

[16]  A. Mizuno,et al.  Numerical Simulation of Aerodynamic Noise Radiated form Vertical Axis Wind Turbines , 2005 .

[17]  Hans Bernhoff,et al.  Electrical Starter System for an H-Rotor Type VAWT with PM-Generator and Auxiliary Winding , 2011 .

[18]  Sandra Eriksson.  Inherent Difference in Saliency for Generators with Different PM Materials , 2014 .

[19]  Mats Leijon,et al.  A parameter study of the influence of struts on the performance of a vertical-axis marine current turbine. , 2009 .

[20]  Hans Bernhoff,et al.  Power coefficient measurement on a 12 kW straight bladed vertical axis wind turbine , 2011 .

[21]  D. R. Smith.  The Wind Farms of the Altamont Pass Area , 1987 .

[22]  Thomas Ackermann,et al.  Wind Power in Power Systems , 2005 .

[23]  Hans Bernhoff,et al.  Design of a unique direct driven PM generator adapted for a telecom tower wind turbine , 2012 .

[24]  Senad Apelfröjd,et al.  Laboratory verification of system for grid connection of a 12 kW variable speed wind turbine with a permanent magnet synchronous generator , 2012 .

[25]  Olov Ågren,et al.  Numerical Simulation of a Farm of Vertical Axis Marine Current Turbines , 2010 .

[26]  S. Iniyan,et al.  A review of wind energy technologies , 2007 .

[27]  Hans Bernhoff,et al.  Electric Control Substituting Pitch Control for Large Wind Turbines , 2013 .

[28]  Longya Xu,et al.  Design and FE analysis of an outer-rotor PM generator for directly-coupled wind turbine applications , 1998, Conference Record of 1998 IEEE Industry Applications Conference. Thirty-Third IAS Annual Meeting (Cat. No.98CH36242).

[29]  Hans Bernhoff,et al.  Tip speed ratio control of a 200 kW VAWT with synchronous generator and variable DC voltage , 2013 .

[30]  Helge Aagaard Madsen,et al.  DeepWind-from Idea to 5 MW Concept , 2014 .

[31]  Anders Goude,et al.  Aerodynamic and electrical evaluation of a VAWT farm control system with passive rectifiers and mutual DC-bus , 2013 .

[32]  Hans Bernhoff,et al.  Influence of Incoming Flow Direction on Spacing Between Vertical Axis Marine Current Turbines Placed in a Row , 2012 .

[33]  Ismet Baran,et al.  Design Optimization of a 5 MW Floating Offshore Vertical-axis Wind Turbine , 2013 .

[34]  J. D. Katzberg,et al.  A progress report on an isolated Darrieus wind electrical system , 1991, [Proceedings] WESCANEX '91.

[35]  Hans Bernhoff,et al.  Dynamic Stall Modeling for the Conditions of Vertical Axis Wind Turbines , 2014 .

[36]  Anders Goude,et al.  Robust VAWT control system evaluation by coupled aerodynamic and electrical simulations , 2013 .

[37]  Lars Bååth,et al.  Noise Propagation from a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine , 2014 .

[38]  E. Knudsen,et al.  On the natural β-activity of the air in the atmospheric surface layer , 1973 .

[39]  Hans Bernhoff,et al.  No-load core loss prediction of PM generator at low electrical frequency , 2012 .

[40]  Hans Bernhoff,et al.  A 225 kW Direct Driven PM Generator Adapted to a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine , 2011 .

[41]  P. J. Musgrove,et al.  Wind energy conversion: Recent progress and future prospects , 1987 .

[42]  Hans Bernhoff,et al.  Parking Strategies for Vertical Axis Wind Turbines , 2012 .

[43]  Hans Bernhoff,et al.  Eigen Frequencies of a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine Tower Made of Laminated Wood and the Effect upon Attaching Guy Wires , 2014 .

[44]  Hans Bernhoff,et al.  Evaluation of a Blade Force Measurement System for a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine Using Load Cells , 2015 .

[45]  Hans Bernhoff,et al.  A 225 kW direct driven PM generator for a vertical axis wind turbine , 2010 .

[46]  Olov Ågren,et al.  Simulations of a vertical axis turbine in a channel , 2014 .

[47]  Mats Leijon,et al.  Transformer Magnetization Losses Using a Nonfiltered Voltage-Source Inverter , 2013 .

[48]  Hans Bernhoff,et al.  Simulations and experiments on a 12 kW direct driven PM synchronous generator for wind power , 2008 .

[49]  Senad Apelfröjd,et al.  System Efficiency of a Tap Transformer Based Grid Connection Topology Applied on a Direct Driven Generator for Wind Power , 2014, TheScientificWorldJournal.

[50]  S. Jöckel.  Gearless wind energy converters with permanent magnet generators : an option for the future? , 1996 .

[51]  Hans Bernhoff,et al.  Turbulence influence on wind energy extraction for a medium size vertical axis wind turbine , 2016 .

[52]  Anders Goude,et al.  Simulating Pitching Blade With Free Vortex Model Coupled With Dynamic Stall Model for Conditions of Straight Bladed Vertical Axis Turbines , 2014 .

[53]  Senad Apelfröjd,et al.  Evaluation of Harmonic Content from a Tap Transformer Based Grid Connection System for Wind Power , 2013 .

[54]  Mats Leijon,et al.  Evaluation of different turbine concepts for wind power , 2008 .

[55]  Hans Bernhoff,et al.  An upper size of vertical axis wind turbines , 2014 .

[56]  Paul Deglaire,et al.  Analytical Aerodynamic Simulation Tools for Vertical Axis Wind Turbines , 2010 .

[57]  P N Shankar.  Development of vertical axis wind turbines , 1979 .

[58]  Anders Goude,et al.  Simulating Dynamic Stall Effects for Vertical Axis Wind Turbines Applying a Double Multiple Streamtube Model , 2015 .

[59]  Hans Bernhoff,et al.  Progress of control system and measurement techniques for a 12 kW vertical axis wind turbine , 2008 .

[60]  Stefan Sjökvist,et al.  A Complete Design of a Rare Earth Metal-Free Permanent Magnet Generator , 2014 .

[61]  Lars-Christer Lundin,et al.  Continuous long-term measurements of soil-plant-atmosphere variables at an agricultural site , 1999 .

[62]  Hans Bernhoff,et al.  Experimental results from a 12 kW vertical axis wind turbine with a direct driven PM synchronous generator , 2007 .

[63]  Sandra Eriksson,et al.  Experimental Verification of a Simulation Model for Partial Demagnetization of Permanent Magnets , 2014, IEEE Transactions on Magnetics.

[64]  Hans Bernhoff,et al.  FEM Simulations and Experiments of Different Loading Conditions for a 12 kW Direct Driven PM Synchronous Generator for Wind Power , 2009 .

[65]  Sandra Eriksson,et al.  Determining demagnetisation risk for two PM wind power generators with different PM material and identical stators , 2016 .

[66]  I. Paraschivoiu.  Wind turbine design with emphasis on Darrieus concept [ressource électronique] / Ion Paraschivoiu , 2002 .

[67]  Stefan Sjökvist,et al.  Study of demagnetization risk for a 12 kW direct driven permanent magnet synchronous generator for wind power , 2013 .