Design, Build and Test of a High-Efficiency, Smart Darrieus Wind Turbine

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Design, Build and Test of a High-Efficiency,

Smart Darrieus Wind Turbine

Maziar Arjomandi and Brad Gibson

Thomas William Duncker, Craig David Hall, Adrian Patrick P. Miles, Matthew Yang-Wei Radosevic,

Fraser Stephen S. Rigby, Matthew John Seccafien and Sam Darrell Thoday

(Commenced: 01-Jan-2010, Concluded: 30-Nov-2010)

arjomandi[1]

Maziar Arjomandi

Brad Gibson

Thomas William Duncker

Craig David Hall

Adrian Patrick P. Miles

Matthew Yang-Wei Radosevic

Fraser Stephen S. Rigby

Matthew John Seccafien

Sam Darrell Thoday

Rising energy costs, increasing power consumption, diminishing fuel reserves and global warming are serious problems that the world is currently facing. These problems are compounded by a lack of viable, large scale, renewable energy sources. In South Australia wind energy is abundant, and as a result accounts for almost 50% of Australia’s total wind energy. Much of this energy is produced by large centralised wind farms located in regional areas. The urban environment, however, appears void of wind energy production. Noise, aesthetics, cost and performance in non ideal wind conditions are the likely cause, and hence design of a small scale wind turbine which can address these issues could see the advancement of renewable wind energy.

The project detailed in this report involved the development of a ‘smart’ Darrieus wind turbine, its installation at an appropriate site and performance testing. The project team constructed a Darrieus turbine which was compared in testing with a conventional horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT). The project aimed to demonstrate that a Darrieus turbine integrated with active pitch control can achieve efficiencies comparable to a HAWT, as well as improving on the minimum wind speed at which rotation occurs, a fundamental issue with Darrieus turbines. Two turbines, one active pitch control Darrieus and a horizontal axis wind turbine were successfully installed alongside a weather station at a site located within AGL Energy’s Torrens Island Power Station

in South Australia. Comparative performance testing was conducted on the two turbines and it was found that the smart Darrieus turbine was able to successfully self start in lower wind speeds than the HAWT. It was also observed that the active control system successfully responded to changing meteorological conditions, updating the blade actuation to optimise the produced torque.

This success was a culmination of investigation, design, manufacturing and testing. Initial stages of the project involved the review of literature surrounding the design and performance of Darrieus turbines. A statistical analysis was performed to predict the preliminary sizing of a turbine which met the requirements and mathematical models were developed, allowing for the prediction of turbine performance. These initial steps allowed a conceptual model of the final turbine to be developed and refined before a final design was sent for manufacture. Prior to installation, rigorous testing and quality control of turbine components was performed to ensure that all design requirements were met.

The system was successful in achieving the project objectives regarding the successful installation and operation of the pitch control system to improve Darrieus self starting. Additionally an autonomous braking system was successfully installed on both the Darrieus and HAWT, with the HAWT being successfully used as a comparison for turbine performance.

Project Sponsors

· AGL Energy

· Parsons Brinckerhoff

Project Deliverables

Presentation

Final Report

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