Wind turbine scale models
Our Mechanical Engineering Department offers a suite of high-fidelity, scale models for advanced aerodynamic testing of wind turbine systems and offshore wind farms. These models feature performance-scaled rotors, designed using specific airfoils to ensure their thrust and power responses accurately mimic those of full-scale machines, regardless of size.
All models have a real-time control system, allowing researchers to emulate full-scale operational strategies. Onboard data acquisition systems measure rotor loads, tower accelerations, rotor speed, and position. Additional instrumentations can be mounted on the wind turbines for specialized studies.
Available Configurations:
– 1.2m-Diameter Rotor Units (x6): each unit features an integrated generator enabling active regulation of rotor speed and torque. They can also be outfitted with actuators to control the nacelle angle relative to wind direction.
– 2.4m-Diameter Rotor Units (x2): these units are equipped with actuators allowing dynamic control of rotor speed/torque and blade pitch (individual or collective).
HexaFloat Robotic System
To accurately study floating structures, researchers of the Mechanical Engineering Department utilize a custom-developed six-degrees-of-freedom robotic platform. The HexaFloat system faithfully reproduces the large-scale motions of floating bodies, in particular offshore wind turbine platforms. It couples with all available turbine models, enabling control via prescribed trajectories in all six degrees of freedom or by calculating setpoints based on real-time aerodynamic forces developed by the mounted model.
SwarmWaves System
The SwarmWaves setup utilizes two robotic platforms, each formed by a 1.2m-diameter wind turbine rotor coupled with a high-precision motion system. This arrangement accurately reproduces the dynamic fore-aft translation and pitching rotation characteristic of full-scale floating wind turbines. Like the HexaFloat system, SwarmWaves supports both predefined trajectory following and real-time setpoint adjustments driven by the rotors’ measured aerodynamic loads.
