Understanding wind conditions is crucial to optimize energy yield, minimize fatigue loading, and improve the power output quality of wind turbines and farms. This thesis aims to turn the rotor of a wind turbine into a sensor by devising a technique for estimating wind speed using measurements of rotor loads. Specific objectives of this thesis are:
- create a control-oriented model of the rotor loads response to the incoming wind
- embed the model in an estimator (e.g., Kalman filter) to estimate quantities such as the rotor-equivalent wind speed, horizontal and vertical wind shear
- verify the prediction algorithm within a wind turbine simulation software (OpenFAST+Simulink, no CFD)
- apply the algorithm to wind tunnel measurements from wind tunnel tests conducted with scale-model wind turbines.
Contacts: Marco Belloli, Alessandro Fontanella