On the functional design of the DTU10 MW wind turbine scale model of LIFES50+ project

Abstract

This paper illustrates the mechatronic design of the wind tunnel scale model of the DTU 10MW reference wind turbine, for the LIFES50+ H2020 European project. This model was designed with the final goal of controlling the angle of attack of each blade by means of miniaturized servomotors, for implementing advanced individual pitch control (IPC) laws on a Floating Offshore Wind Turbine (FOWT) 1/75 scale model. Many design constraints were to be respected: among others, the rotor-nacelle overall mass due to aero-elastic scaling, the limited space of the nacelle, where to put three miniaturized servomotors and the main shaft one, with their own inverters/controllers, the slip rings for electrical rotary contacts, the highest stiffness as possible for the nacelle support and the blade-rotor connections, for ensuring the proper kinematic constraint, considering the first flapwise blade natural frequency, the performance of the servomotors to guarantee the wide frequency band due to frequency scale factors, etc. The design and technical solutions are herein presented and discussed, along with an overview of the building and verification process. Also a discussion about the goals achieved and constraints respected for the rigid wind turbine scale model (LIFES50+ deliverable D.3.1) and the further possible improvements for the IPC-aero-elastic scale model, which is being finalized at the time of this paper.