Research Article

The suitability of the IEC 61400-2 wind model for small wind turbines operating in the built environment^★

¹ School of Engineering, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia
² School of Engineering and Information Technology, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia

^* e-mail: samuel.evans@uon.edu.au

Received: 28 February 2017
Received in final form: 7 July 2017
Accepted: 27 July 2017

Abstract

This paper investigates the applicability of the assumed wind fields in International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standard 61400 Part 2, the design standard for small wind turbines, for a turbine operating in the built environment, and the effects these wind fields have on the predicted performance of a 5 kW Aerogenesis turbine using detailed aeroelastic models developed in Fatigue Aerodynamics Structures and Turbulence (FAST). Detailed wind measurements were acquired at two built environment sites: from the rooftop of a Bunnings Ltd. warehouse at Port Kennedy (PK) (Perth, Australia) and from the small wind turbine site at the University of Newcastle at Callaghan (Newcastle, Australia). For both sites, IEC 61400-2 underestimates the turbulence intensity for the majority of the measured wind speeds. A detailed aeroelastic model was built in FAST using the assumed wind field from IEC 61400-2 and the measured wind fields from PK and Callaghan as an input to predict key turbine performance parameters. The results of this analysis show a modest increase in the predicted mean power for the higher turbulence regimes of PK and Callaghan as well as higher variation in output power. Predicted mean rotor thrust and blade flapwise loading showed a minor increase due to higher turbulence, with mean predicted torque almost identical but with increased variations due to higher turbulence. Damage equivalent loading for the blade flapwise moment was predicted to be 58% and 11% higher for a turbine operating at Callaghan and PK respectively, when compared with IEC 61400-2 wind field. Time series plots for blade flapwise moments and power spectral density plots in the frequency domain show consistently higher blade flapwise bending moments for the Callaghan site with both the sites showing a once-per-revolution response.