Synthetic image dataset of shaft junctions inside wind turbines in presence or absence of oil leaks
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Cardoni M
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8591346 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Similar Datasets
Project description:There are a wide variety of devices behaving essentially as flexible and elastic systems while interacting dynamically with fluids, usually water or air, under normal operating conditions. Interactions of this kind involve a double complexity of the dynamics, as the systems go through large deformation due to the flow actions, and simultaneously, the flow dynamics is strongly influenced by the shape adopted by the systems. The present research adapts mathematical methods, still new to the field, to represent ways of dealing with flows of fluid in bidirectional interactions with those new technologies, and particularly applies them to the exploration of vorticity wind turbines (VWT), a new kind of vertical blade-less turbine that gathers energy from the vortex induced vibrations (VIV) of a relatively short and scalable mast. This research presents a framework for such modeling by coupling the discrete element method (DEM) with the Immersed Boundary Method (IBM), for the representation of VWT; and with the finite volume method (FVM), for solving the Navier-Stokes equations. Simulations show that the VWT achieves the lock-in effect for wind velocities between 9 and 15 m/s, with efficiency values between 20 and 30%. The preliminary results together with logistic and cost-related reasons, make these devices very promising, especially when considering the difficulties of implementing new approaches in developing countries.
| S-EPMC7557875 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Wind turbines are causing unprecedented numbers of bat fatalities. Many fatalities involve tree-roosting bats, but reasons for this higher susceptibility remain unknown. To better understand behaviors associated with risk, we monitored bats at three experimentally manipulated wind turbines in Indiana, United States, from July 29 to October 1, 2012, using thermal cameras and other methods. We observed bats on 993 occasions and saw many behaviors, including close approaches, flight loops and dives, hovering, and chases. Most bats altered course toward turbines during observation. Based on these new observations, we tested the hypotheses that wind speed and blade rotation speed influenced the way that bats interacted with turbines. We found that bats were detected more frequently at lower wind speeds and typically approached turbines on the leeward (downwind) side. The proportion of leeward approaches increased with wind speed when blades were prevented from turning, yet decreased when blades could turn. Bats were observed more frequently at turbines on moonlit nights. Taken together, these observations suggest that bats may orient toward turbines by sensing air currents and using vision, and that air turbulence caused by fast-moving blades creates conditions that are less attractive to bats passing in close proximity. Tree bats may respond to streams of air flowing downwind from trees at night while searching for roosts, conspecifics, and nocturnal insect prey that could accumulate in such flows. Fatalities of tree bats at turbines may be the consequence of behaviors that evolved to provide selective advantages when elicited by tall trees, but are now maladaptive when elicited by wind turbines.
| S-EPMC4210316 | biostudies-literature
Project description:A free-vortex wake (FVW) model is developed in this paper to analyse the unsteady aerodynamic performance of offshore floating wind turbines. A time-marching algorithm of third-order accuracy is applied in the FVW model. Owing to the complex floating platform motions, the blade inflow conditions and the positions of initial points of vortex filaments, which are different from the fixed wind turbine, are modified in the implemented model. A three-dimensional rotational effect model and a dynamic stall model are coupled into the FVW model to improve the aerodynamic performance prediction in the unsteady conditions. The effects of floating platform motions in the simulation model are validated by comparison between calculation and experiment for a small-scale rigid test wind turbine coupled with a floating tension leg platform (TLP). The dynamic inflow effect carried by the FVW method itself is confirmed and the results agree well with the experimental data of a pitching transient on another test turbine. Also, the flapping moment at the blade root in yaw on the same test turbine is calculated and compares well with the experimental data. Then, the aerodynamic performance is simulated in a yawed condition of steady wind and in an unyawed condition of turbulent wind, respectively, for a large-scale wind turbine coupled with the floating TLP motions, demonstrating obvious differences in rotor performance and blade loading from the fixed wind turbine. The non-dimensional magnitudes of loading changes due to the floating platform motions decrease from the blade root to the blade tip.
| S-EPMC4290409 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The U.S. Department of Energy has estimated that if the United States is to generate 20% of its electricity from wind, over 50 GW will be required from shallow offshore turbines. Hurricanes are a potential risk to these turbines. Turbine tower buckling has been observed in typhoons, but no offshore wind turbines have yet been built in the United States. We present a probabilistic model to estimate the number of turbines that would be destroyed by hurricanes in an offshore wind farm. We apply this model to estimate the risk to offshore wind farms in four representative locations in the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal waters of the United States. In the most vulnerable areas now being actively considered by developers, nearly half the turbines in a farm are likely to be destroyed in a 20-y period. Reasonable mitigation measures--increasing the design reference wind load, ensuring that the nacelle can be turned into rapidly changing winds, and building most wind plants in the areas with lower risk--can greatly enhance the probability that offshore wind can help to meet the United States' electricity needs.
| S-EPMC3295275 | biostudies-literature
Project description:To meet the expanding land use required for wind energy development, a better understanding of the effects on terrestrial animals' responses to such development is required. Using GPS-data from 50 freely ranging female reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) in the Malå reindeer herding community, Sweden, we determined reindeer calving sites and estimated reindeer habitat selection using resource selection functions (RSF). RSFs were estimated at both second- (selection of home range) and third-order (selection within home range) scale in relation to environmental variables, wind farm (WF) development phase (before construction, construction, and operation), distance to the WFs and at the second-order scale whether the wind turbines were in or out of sight of the reindeer. We found that the distance between reindeer calving site and WFs increased during the operation phase, compared to before construction. At both scales of selection, we found a significant decrease in habitat selection of areas in proximity of the WFs, in the same comparison. The results also revealed a shift in home range selection away from habitats where wind turbines became visible toward habitats where the wind turbines were obscured by topography (increase in use by 79% at 5 km). We interpret the reindeer shift in home range selection as an effect of the wind turbines per se. Using topography and land cover information together with the positions of wind turbines could therefore help identify sensitive habitats for reindeer and improve the planning and placement of WFs. In addition, we found that operation phase of these WFs had a stronger adverse impact on reindeer habitat selection than the construction phase. Thus, the continuous running of the wind turbines making a sound both day and night seemed to have disturbed the reindeer more than the sudden sounds and increased human activity during construction work.
| S-EPMC6202756 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Although the ultimate causes of high bat fatalities at wind farms are not well understood, several lines of evidence suggest that bats are attracted to wind turbines. One hypothesis is that bats would be attracted to turbines as a foraging resource if the insects that bats prey upon are commonly present on and around the turbine towers. To investigate the role that foraging activity may play in bat fatalities, we conducted a series of surveys at a wind farm in the southern Great Plains of the US from 2011-2016. From acoustic monitoring we recorded foraging activity, including feeding buzzes indicative of prey capture, in the immediate vicinity of turbine towers from all six bat species known to be present at this site. From insect surveys we found Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, and Orthoptera in consistently high proportions over several years suggesting that food resources for bats were consistently available at wind turbines. We used DNA barcoding techniques to assess bat diet composition of (1) stomach contents from 47 eastern red bat (Lasiurus borealis) and 24 hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus) carcasses collected in fatality searches, and (2) fecal pellets from 23 eastern red bats that were found on turbine towers, transformers, and tower doors. We found that the majority of the eastern red bat and hoary bat stomachs, the two bat species most commonly found in fatality searches at this site, were full or partially full, indicating that the bats were likely killed while foraging. Although Lepidoptera and Orthoptera dominated the diets of these two bat species, both consumed a range of prey items with individual bats having from one to six insect species in their stomachs at the time of death. The prey items identified from eastern red bat fecal pellets showed similar results. A comparison of the turbine insect community to the diet analysis results revealed that the most abundant insects at wind turbines, including terrestrial insects such as crickets and several important crop pests, were also commonly eaten by eastern red and hoary bats. Collectively, these findings suggest that bats are actively foraging around wind turbines and that measures to minimize bat fatalities should be broadly implemented at wind facilities.
| S-EPMC5672837 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The EU aims for carbon neutrality by 2050, focusing on offshore wind energy. Investments in North Sea wind farms, with optimal wind resources, play a crucial role. We employed a high-resolution regional climate model, which incorporates a wind farm parametrization, to investigate and address potential mitigating impacts of large wind farms on power generation and air-sea fluxes. Specifically, we examined the effects of replacing 5 MW turbines with larger 15 MW turbines while maintaining total capacity. Our study found that substituting 15 MW turbines increases the capacity factor by 2-3%, enhancing efficiency. However, these turbines exhibit a slightly smaller impact on 10 m wind speed (1.2-1.5%) and near-surface kinetic energy (0.1-0.2%), leading to reduced effects on sea surface heat fluxes compared to 5 MW turbines. This was confirmed by a stronger reduction in net heat flux of about 0.6-1.3% in simulations with 5 MW compared to 15 MW wind turbines. Air-sea fluxes influence ocean dynamics and marine ecosystems; therefore, minimizing these impacts is crucial. Overall, deploying 15 MW turbines in offshore wind farms may offer advantages for ocean dynamics and marine ecosystems, supporting the EU's carbon-neutral objectives.
| S-EPMC10950853 | biostudies-literature
Project description:This dataset provides a comprehensive collection of vibrational data for the purpose of structural health monitoring, particularly focusing on the detection of bolt loosening in offshore wind turbine jacket foundations. The data set comprises 780 comma-separated values (CSV) files, each corresponding to specific experimental conditions, including various structural states of the wind turbine's support structure. These states are systematically varied considering three main aspects: the amplitude of a white noise (WN) signal, the type of bolt damage, and the level at which damage has occurred. The data were meticulously collected using eight triaxial accelerometers (PCB R Piezotronic model 356A17), strategically placed at different locations on a scaled-down replica of an offshore jacket-type wind turbine. This setup facilitated the acquisition of detailed vibrational data through a National Instruments' data acquisition (DAQ) system, comprising six input modules (NI 9234 model) housed in a chassis (cDAQ model). The white noise signal, simulating wind disturbance at the nacelle, was produced by a modal shaker and varied in three amplitudes (0.5, 1, and 2), directly proportional to the induced vibration in the wind turbine. The dataset uniquely captures the vibrational behaviour under different scenarios of bolt loosening in the turbine's foundation. The conditions include a healthy state (bolts tightened to 12 Nm) and various degrees of loosening (bolts loosened to 9 Nm, 6 Nm, and completely absent), examined at four distinct levels of the turbine's base structure. This granular approach offers a nuanced view of how varying degrees of bolt loosening impact the vibrational characteristics of the structure. The value of this dataset lies in its potential for wide-ranging applications in the field of structural health monitoring. Researchers and engineers can leverage this data for developing and testing new methodologies for early damage detection and progressive damage assessment in offshore wind turbines. The dataset's comprehensive coverage of damage scenarios makes it a valuable resource for the validation and enhancement of existing damage detection algorithms. Furthermore, the dataset can serve as a benchmark for comparing the efficacy of different vibrational analysis techniques in the context of wind turbine maintenance and safety. Its application is not only limited to wind turbines but can extend to other structures where bolt integrity is critical for operational safety. This dataset represents a significant contribution to the field of structural health monitoring, providing a detailed and practical resource for enhancing the reliability and safety of offshore wind turbines and similar structures.
| S-EPMC10907167 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Small Wind Turbines (SWTs) are a growing micro-generation industry with over 870,000 installed units worldwide. No research has focussed on public attitudes towards SWTs, despite evidence the perception of such attitudes are key to planning outcomes and can be a barrier to installations. Here we present the results of a UK wide mail survey investigating public attitudes towards SWTs. Just over half of our respondents, who were predominantly older, white males, felt that SWTs were acceptable across a range of settings, with those on road signs being most accepted and least accepted in hedgerows and gardens. Concern about climate change positively influenced how respondents felt about SWTs. Respondent comments highlight visual impacts and perceptions of the efficiency of this technology are particularly important to this sector of the UK public. Taking this into careful consideration, alongside avoiding locating SWTs in contentious settings such as hedgerows and gardens where possible, may help to minimise public opposition to proposed installations.
| S-EPMC4806928 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Using a Monte Carlo hazard modeling approach, this study assesses the damage and losses to wind turbines caused by tornadoes over Germany. The model combines observed climatology of tornadoes, exposure map of wind turbines and their capacities, vulnerability curve (first developed in this study), and costs of wind turbines to estimate the likelihood of financial losses of different magnitudes. The losses are presented in terms of aggregated and highest annual losses as a function of the return period. Deterministic modeling of the vulnerability function produced larger variability of the most severe losses (rare, but high-intensity events) compared to the pseudorandom sampling of the damage from the vulnerability curve. Doubling the number of current wind turbines results in smaller expected losses than installing fewer but more powerful units (repowerment). Tornadoes are most frequent in the summer months when the capacity factors of wind farms are the lowest and the electricity consumption is also lower than in the winter months. By repeatedly placing a tornado track of a fixed size over the same wind farm, we further investigated the sensitivity of our model to different parameters. The probability of tornadoes of different intensities hitting a wind turbine over Germany is also calculated.
| S-EPMC9910775 | biostudies-literature