Control System on a Wind Turbine: Evaluation of Control Strategies for a Wind Turbine with Hydraulic Drive Train by Means of Aeroelastic Analysis

Abstract

The evolution of wind turbines are going towards floating offshore structures. To improve the stability of these turbines, the weight of the nacelle should be as low as possible. The company ChapDrive has developed a hydraulic drive train that gives the ability to move the generator to the base of the tower and to replace the traditional gearbox. To test the system, ChapDrive has constructed a prototype turbine which is located at Valsneset.This thesis describes the combined aero-elastic and hydraulic modeling of the prototype turbine. The dynamic properties of the system are investigated, and a number of different control strategies are developed and tested. A load case analysis is conducted, and the performance in terms of power production and fatigue damage is evaluated.