Aerodynamic load control in horizontal axis wind turbines with combined aeroelastic tailoring and trailing-edge flaps

ABSTRACT This paper presents an aeroservoelastic modeling approach to investigate dynamic load alleviation in large wind turbines with composite blades and trailing‐edge aerodynamic surfaces. The tower and rotating blades are modeled using geometrically non‐linear composite beams and linearized about reference rotating conditions with potentially arbitrarily large structural displacements. The aerodynamics of the rotor are represented using a linearized unsteady vortex lattice method, and the resulting aeroelastic system is written in a state‐space description that is both convenient for model reductions and control design. A linear model of a single blade is then used to design an ℋ∞ regulator, capable of providing load reductions of up to 13% in closed loop on the full wind turbine non‐linear aeroelastic model. When combined with passive load alleviation through aeroelastic tailoring, dynamic loads can be further reduced to 35%. While the separate use of active flap controls and passive mechanisms for load alleviation has been well‐studied, an integrated approach involving the two mechanisms has yet to be fully explored and is the focus of this paper. Finally, the possibility of exploiting torsional stiffness for active load alleviation on turbine blades is also considered. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.