Sustainable Marine Energies - Fluid/Structure Interractions - 5EUS5EMR

Goal(s)

This course is divided into two parts. The first part aims to provide a better understanding of the tidal and wind turbine blades design (aerodynamic design, turbine performance and control). A 2h conference will also bring to the students general knowledge about the state of the art of marine renewable energy sources (offshore wind, tidal and wave turbines, ocean thermal energy conversion and osmotic power). The second part deals with static and dynamic aeroelasticity.

Content(s)

This course is a mix of lectures and tutorials organised as follows:
I. Wind and tidal turbines: 16h
I.1 The Betz theory: 2h
I.2 Wing sections aerodynamics: 2h
I.3 Rotor design: 2h
I.4 Aerodynamic control of the rotor: 2h
I.5 Electrical control of the rotor: 2h
I.6 Marine energy sources (with the test): 4h
I.7 Duct design for tidal turbines: 2h

II. Aeroelasticity: 16h
II.1 Aerodynamics and strength of materials basics
II.2 Static aeroelasticity
II.3 Dynamic aeroelasticity

3 mini-projects are included in the course:
- MP1 (6h): Aerodynamic design of a wind turbine blade and calculation of the corresponding rotor performance
- MP2 (4h): Annual energy production of a wind turbines
- MP3 (12h supervised + 4h without supervision): Numerical study (CFD/FEA) of a multi-MW wind turbine blade deformation under aerodynamic load.

MP1 allows the students to become familiar with the aerodynamic design of a horizontal-axis wind turbine rotor by calculating the twist angle and chord length variations over the span of a 45m blade.
MP2 deals with variable speed rotors and variable pitch blades technologies through the determination of the annual energy production (AEP) at two different sites.
MP3 consists in the fluid-structure interaction (FSI) study of a wind turbine blade. 4 operating conditions are considered: cut-in, rated, cut-out and survival wind speeds. A CFD simulation is carried out in a first step to obtain the pressure distribution on the blade. This pressure distribution is then used in a FEA simulation to derive the corresponding blade deformation (one-way coupling). ANSYS workbench (Fluent/Mechanical) is used for this project, which gives students the opportunity to develop their skills in this simulation tool.

Both parts of the course require basics of aerodynamics. The FSI part would benefit from basics in strength of materials as well.