Stellar winds are a major source of uncertainty in understanding the life and deaths of massive stars. Across studies in the field, prescriptions for stellar winds differ substantially in both their physical assumptions and implementation, making them a dominant contributor to model-to-model variation. In this work, we present a systematic analysis of the physical assumptions underlying commonly adopted wind prescriptions for optically thin and optically thick winds of hot stars, as well as the winds of cool supergiants. Our analysis reveals substantial discrepancies across all regimes: predicted mass-loss rates for optically thin winds differ by more than an order of magnitude, while rates for cool supergiants vary by several orders of magnitude, with even wider uncertainties arising in extrapolation regimes beyond the Humphreys-Davidson limit. These disparities introduce significant ambiguity into the predicted formation of Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars, a problem further compounded by the inconsistent application of transition criteria. A central issue is the "cool Wolf-Rayet problem", a temperature regime where the classical electron-scattering Eddington factor ($Γ_{\rm e}$) loses phys
The variability of wind power supply can present substantial challenges to incorporating wind power into a grid system. Thus, Wind Power Forecasting (WPF) has been widely recognized as one of the most critical issues in wind power integration and operation. There has been an explosion of studies on wind power forecasting problems in the past decades. Nevertheless, how to well handle the WPF problem is still challenging, since high prediction accuracy is always demanded to ensure grid stability and security of supply. We present a unique Spatial Dynamic Wind Power Forecasting dataset: SDWPF, which includes the spatial distribution of wind turbines, as well as the dynamic context factors. Whereas, most of the existing datasets have only a small number of wind turbines without knowing the locations and context information of wind turbines at a fine-grained time scale. By contrast, SDWPF provides the wind power data of 134 wind turbines from a wind farm over half a year with their relative positions and internal statuses. We use this dataset to launch the Baidu KDD Cup 2022 to examine the limit of current WPF solutions. The dataset is released at https://aistudio.baidu.com/aistudio/com
We provide a condition monitoring system for wind farms, based on normal behaviour modelling using a probabilistic multi-layer perceptron with transfer learning via fine-tuning. The model predicts the output power of the wind turbine under normal behaviour based on features retrieved from supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems. Its advantages are that (i) it can be trained with SCADA data of at least a few years, (ii) it can incorporate all SCADA data of all wind turbines in a wind farm as features, (iii) it assumes that the output power follows a normal density with heteroscedastic variance and (iv) it can predict the output of one wind turbine by borrowing strength from the data of all other wind turbines in a farm. Probabilistic guidelines for condition monitoring are given via a cumulative sum (CUSUM) control chart, which is specifically designed based on a real-data classification exercise and, hence, is adapted to the needs of a wind farm. We illustrate the performance of our model in a real SCADA data example which provides evidence that it outperforms other probabilistic prediction models.
Recent large eddy simulations have led to improved parameterizations of the effective roughness height of wind farms. This effective roughness height can be used to predict the wind velocity at hub-height as function of the geometric mean of the spanwise and streamwise turbine spacings and the turbine loading factors. Meyers and Meneveau (Wind Energy 15, 305-317 (2012)) used these parameterizations to make predictions for the optimal wind turbine spacing in infinitely large wind farms. They found that for a realistic cost ratio between the turbines and the used land surface the optimal turbine spacing may be considerably larger than used in conventional wind farms. Here we extend this analysis by taking the length of the wind farm, i.e.\ the number of rows in the downstream direction, into account and show that the optimal turbine spacing strongly depends on the wind farm length. For small to moderately sized wind farms the model predictions are consistent with spacings found in operational wind farms. For much larger wind farms the extended optimal spacing found for infinite wind farms is confirmed.
The wind energy sector is growing rapidly with the installation of wind turbines with long, slender blades in a diverse range of locations. To enhance the operational performance under specific wind conditions and to validate the aerodynamic design of flexible blades, it is crucial to obtain comprehensive data on the aerodynamic behaviour of the blades in the field, such as time-resolved pressure distributions, local inflow conditions and dynamic responses of the blade. However, published field measurements are scarce for large-scale rotor blades due to the complex and costly installation of the requisite measurement systems. In recent work, we developed a wireless and self-sufficient aerodynamic measurement system, named Aerosense, which is less complex and costly than conventional aerodynamic measurement systems. The Aerosense system uses Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) sensors to obtain local aerodynamic pressures, blade motions, and inflow conditions. In this paper, we demonstrate the value of Aerosense in understanding the aerodynamic behaviour of rotor blades, using a 7kW wind turbine operating in the field. After a thorough calibration and correction process, we demo
This work presents a nonlinear system identification framework for modeling the power extraction dynamics of wind turbines, including both freestream and waked conditions. The approach models turbine dynamics using data-driven power coefficient maps expressed as combinations of compact radial basis functions and polynomial bases, parameterized in terms of tip-speed ratio and upstream conditions. These surrogate models are embedded in a first-order dynamic system suitable for model-based control. Experimental validation is carried out in two wind tunnel configurations: a low-turbulence tandem setup and a high-turbulence wind farm scenario. In the tandem case, the identified model is integrated into an adapted Kω^2 controller, resulting in improved tip-speed ratio tracking and power stability compared to BEM-based and steady-state models. In the wind farm scenario, the model captures the statistical behavior of the turbines despite unresolved turbulence. The proposed method enables interpretable, adaptive control across a range of operating conditions without relying on black-box learning strategies.
Wind power generated by wind has non-schedule nature due to stochastic nature of meteorological variable. Hence energy business and control of wind power generation requires prediction of wind speed (WS) from few seconds to different time steps in advance. To deal with prediction shortcomings, various WS prediction methods have been used. Predictive data mining offers variety of methods for WS predictions where artificial neural network (ANN) is one of the reliable and accurate methods. It is observed from the result of this study that ANN gives better accuracy in comparison conventional model. The accuracy of WS prediction models is found to be dependent on input parameters and architecture type algorithms utilized. So the selection of most relevant input parameters is important research area in WS predicton field. The objective of the paper is twofold: first extensive review of ANN for wind power and WS prediction is carried out. Discussion and analysis of feature selection using Relief Algorithm (RA) in WS prediction are considered for different Indian sites. RA identify atmospheric pressure, solar radiation and relative humidity are relevant input variables. Based on relevant i
Wind speed and direction variations across the rotor affect power production. As utility-scale turbines extend higher into the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) with larger rotor diameters and hub heights, they increasingly encounter more complex wind speed and direction variations. We assess three models for power production that account for wind speed and direction shear. Two are based on actuator disc representations and the third is a blade element representation. We also evaluate the predictions from a standard power curve model that has no knowledge of wind shear. The predictions from each model, driven by wind profile measurements from a profiling LiDAR, are compared to concurrent power measurements from an adjacent utility-scale wind turbine. In the field measurements of the utility-scale turbine, discrete combinations of speed and direction shear induce changes in power production of -19% to +34% relative to the turbine power curve for a given hub height wind speed. Positive speed shear generally corresponds to over-performance and positive direction shear to under-performance, relative to the power curve. Overall, the blade element model produces both higher correlation an
We describe a generalization of the Coupled Wake Boundary Layer (CWBL) model for wind-farms that can be used to evaluate the performance of wind-farms under arbitrary wind inflow directions whereas the original CWBL model (Stevens et al., J. Renewable and Sustainable Energy 7, 023115 (2015)) focused on aligned or staggered wind-farms. The generalized CWBL approach combines an analytical Jensen wake model with a "top-down" boundary layer model coupled through an iterative determination of the wake expansion coefficient and an effective wake coverage area for which the velocity at hub-height obtained using both models converges in the "deep-array" portion (fully developed region) of the wind-farm. The approach accounts for the effect of the wind direction by enforcing the coupling for each wind direction. Here we present detailed comparisons of model predictions with LES results and field measurements for the Horns Rev and Nysted wind-farms operating over a wide range of wind inflow directions. Our results demonstrate that two-way coupling between the Jensen wake model and a "top-down" model enables the generalized CWBL model to predict the "deep-array" performance of a wind-farm bet
Kinetic exospheric models revealed that the solar wind is accelerated by an ambipolar electric field up to supersonic velocities. The presence of suprathermal Strahl electrons at the exobase can further increase the velocity to higher values, leading to profiles comparable to the observations in the fast and slow wind at all radial distances. Such suprathermal electrons are observed at large distances and recently at low distances as well. Those suprathermal electrons were introduced into the kinetic exospheric model using Kappa distributions. Here, the importance of the exobase's altitude is also underlined for its ability to maintain the electric potential to a higher level for slower winds, conversely to what is induced through the effect of a lower kappa index only. In fact, the exobase is located at lower altitude in the coronal holes where the density is smaller than in the other regions of the corona, allowing the wind originating from the holes to be accelerated from lower distances to higher velocities. The new observations of Parker Solar Probe (PSP) and Solar Orbiter (SolO) from launch to mid-2023 are here used to determine the characteristics of the plasma in the corona
Wind farm control can play a key role in reducing the negative impact of wakes on wind turbine power production. The helix approach is a recent innovation in the field of wind farm control, which employs individual blade pitch control to induce a helical velocity profile in a wind turbine wake. This forced meandering of the wake has turned out to be very effective for the recovery of the wake, increasing the power output of downstream turbines by a significant amount. This paper presents a wind tunnel study with two scaled wind turbine models, of which the upstream turbine is operated with the helix approach. We used tomographic particle image velocimetry to study the dynamic behavior of the wake under influence of the helix excitation. The measured flow fields confirm the wake recovery capabilities of the helix approach compared to normal operation. Additional emphasis is put on the effect of the helix approach on the breakdown of blade tip vortices, a process that plays an important role in re-energizing the wake. Measurements indicate that the breakdown of tip vortices, and the resulting destabilization of the wake is enhanced significantly with the helix approach. Finally, turb
The research presents an automated method for determining the trajectory of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for wind turbine inspection. The proposed method enables efficient data collection from multiple wind installations using UAV optical sensors, considering the spatial positioning of blades and other components of the wind energy installation. It includes component segmentation of the wind energy unit (WEU), determination of the blade pitch angle, and generation of optimal flight trajectories, considering safe distances and optimal viewing angles. The results of computational experiments have demonstrated the advantage of the proposed method in monitoring WEU, achieving a 78% reduction in inspection time, a 17% decrease in total trajectory length, and a 6% increase in average blade surface coverage compared to traditional methods. Furthermore, the process minimizes the average deviation from the optimal trajectory by 68%, indicating its high accuracy and ability to compensate for external influences.
With the rapid development of green energy, the efficiency and reliability of wind turbines are key to sustainable renewable energy production. For that reason, this paper presents a novel intelligent system architecture designed for the dynamic collection and real-time processing of visual data to detect defects in wind turbines. The system employs advanced algorithms within a distributed framework to enhance inspection accuracy and efficiency using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with integrated visual and thermal sensors. An experimental study conducted at the "Staryi Sambir-1" wind power plant in Ukraine demonstrates the system's effectiveness, showing a significant improvement in defect detection accuracy (up to 94%) and a reduction in inspection time per turbine (down to 1.5 hours) compared to traditional methods. The results show that the proposed intelligent system architecture provides a scalable and reliable solution for wind turbine maintenance, contributing to the durability and performance of renewable energy infrastructure.
With increased wind power penetration in modern power systems, wind plants are required to provide frequency support similar to conventional plants. However, for the existing frequency regulation scheme of wind turbines, the control gains in the auxiliary frequency controller are difficult to set because of the compromise of the frequency regulation performance and the stable operation of wind turbines, especially when the wind speed remains variable. This paper proposes a novel frequency regulation scheme (FRS) for de-loaded wind turbines. Instead of an auxiliary frequency controller, frequency support is provided by modifying the parametrized power versus rotor speed curve, including the inertia power versus rotor speed curve and the droop power versus rotor speed curve. The advantage of the proposed scheme is that it does not contain any control gains and generally adapts to different wind speeds. Further, the proposed scheme can work for the whole section of wind speed without wind speed measurement information. The compared simulation results demonstrate the scheme improves the system frequency response while ensuring the stable operation of doubly-fed induction generators (DF
We study galaxy super-winds driven in major mergers, using pc-resolution simulations with detailed models for stellar feedback that can self-consistently follow the formation/destruction of GMCs and generation of winds. The models include molecular cooling, star formation at high densities in GMCs, and gas recycling and feedback from SNe (I&II), stellar winds, and radiation pressure. We study mergers of systems from SMC-like dwarfs and Milky Way analogues to z~2 starburst disks. Multi-phase super-winds are generated in all passages, with outflow rates up to ~1000 M_sun/yr. However, the wind mass-loading efficiency (outflow rate divided by SFR) is similar to that in isolated galaxy counterparts of each merger: it depends more on global galaxy properties (mass, size, escape velocity) than on the dynamical state of the merger. Winds tend to be bi- or uni-polar, but multiple 'events' build up complex morphologies with overlapping, differently-oriented bubbles/shells at a range of radii. The winds have complex velocity and phase structure, with material at a range of speeds up to ~1000 km/s, and a mix of molecular, ionized, and hot gas that depends on galaxy properties and different
With the rapid evolution of the wind energy sector, there is an ever-increasing need to create value from the vast amounts of data made available both from within the domain, as well as from other sectors. This article addresses the challenges faced by wind energy domain experts in converting data into domain knowledge, connecting and integrating it with other sources of knowledge, and making it available for use in next generation artificially intelligent systems. To this end, this article highlights the role that knowledge engineering can play in the process of digital transformation of the wind energy sector. It presents the main concepts underpinning Knowledge-Based Systems and summarises previous work in the areas of knowledge engineering and knowledge representation in a manner that is relevant and accessible to domain experts. A systematic analysis of the current state-of-the-art on knowledge engineering in the wind energy domain is performed, with available tools put into perspective by establishing the main domain actors and their needs and identifying key problematic areas. Finally, guidelines for further development and improvement are provided.
The increasing integration of wind generation is accompanied with a growing concern about secure and reliable power system operation. Due to the intermittent nature of wind, the base-load units need to cycle significantly more than they were designed for, resulting in reduced life cycle and increased costs. Therefore, it is becoming necessary for wind turbines to take part in frequency control, and reduce the need for additional ancillary services provided by conventional generators. In this paper, we propose an optimised operation strategy for the wind farms. In this strategy, we maximise the kinetic energy of wind turbines by an optimal combination of the rotor speed and the pitch angle. We exploit the wake interaction in a wind farm, and de-load some of the up-wind turbines. We show that the kinetic energy accumulated in the rotating masses of the WTs can be increased compared to the base case without compromising efficiency of the wind farm. In a specific system, we show that by implementing this strategy, and injecting the stored kinetic energy of the WTs' rotors into the system during a frequency dip, we can delay the system frequency nadir up to 30 s.
Wind farm control using dynamic concepts is a research topic that is receiving an increasing amount of interest. The main concept of this approach is that dynamic variations of the wind turbine control settings lead to higher wake turbulence, and subsequently faster wake recovery due to increased mixing. As a result, downstream turbines experience higher wind speeds, thus increasing their energy capture. The current state of the art in dynamic wind farm control is to vary the magnitude of the thrust force of an upstream turbine. Although very effective, this approach also leads to increased power and thrust variations, negatively impacting energy quality and fatigue loading. In this paper, a novel approach for the dynamic control of wind turbines in a wind farm is proposed: using individual pitch control, the fixed-frame tilt and yaw moments on the turbine are varied, thus dynamically manipulating the wake. This strategy is named the helix approach since the resulting wake has a helical shape. Large eddy simulations of a two-turbine wind farm show that the helix approach leads to enhanced wake mixing with minimal power and thrust variations.
Examples of the different events affecting wind power fluctuations are shown.The behaviors and the responses of the Spanish power system and wind power plants experiencing such events were analyzed. Examples presented in this chapter show that some of the wind power integration issues are related to low-voltage ride-through. They are solved through strict grid code enforcement. Other solutions to manage the reserve power generation and the wind power fluctuations are also very important in order to achieve high levels of wind power penetration. In the Spanish case, this could require increasing the availability of dispatchable and fast-start power plants, as well as increasing wind power plant participation on supporting the power system by providing voltage control, inertial emulation, frequency control, oscillation damping, or updated voltage ride-through capabilities.
Modern utility-scale wind turbines are equipped with a Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) system gathering vast amounts of operational data that can be used for analysis to improve operation and maintenance of turbines. We analyze high frequency SCADA-data from the Thanet offshore wind farm in the UK and evaluate Pearson correlation matrices for a variety of observables with a moving time window. This renders possible a quantitative assessment of non-stationarity in mutual dependencies of different types of data. We show that a clustering algorithm applied to the correlation matrices reveals distinct correlation structures for different states. Looking first at only one and then at multiple turbines, the main dependence of these states is shown to be on wind speed. This is in accordance with known turbine control systems, which change the behavior of the turbine depending on the available wind speed. We model the boundary wind speeds separating the states based on the clustering solution. Our analysis shows that for high frequency data the control mechanisms of a turbine lead to detectable non-stationarity in the correlation matrix. The presented methodology allows ac