SBIR Phase I: Development of an ultra-low-cost distributed wind turbine

这一小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力旨在解决美国分布式风力涡轮机（DWT）市场的衰退问题，并支持向可再生能源的过渡。自2012年以来，DWT市场经历了下滑，主要原因是可靠性低和能源成本高。然而，部署DWT对于满足公用事业和政府机构设定的雄心勃勃的绿色能源目标至关重要。该项目通过增加制造的便利性和使用现成的材料来解决这些挑战。 该项目还将改进超高效的负载路径，从而产生独特的低成本和低质量结构。此外，所提出的设计实现了更大的转子扫掠面积并提高了总功率提取效率，使得风力涡轮机与典型的水平轴和垂直轴风力涡轮机相比更高效、更轻且更便宜。对消费者的价值主张是相对于DWT竞争对手节省约40%或更多的成本。SBIR第一阶段项目旨在开发一种新的风力发电技术，并为其可行性提供概念验证。项目团队包括结构动力学、控制系统设计、涡轮机设计、计算机辅助工程、电力电子和电力传输以及原型和认证测试方面的专家。在第一阶段，将创建DWT的完整全尺寸设计，包括详细的气动弹性建模，控制开发和组件的结构评估。第一阶段的研究支柱包括创建严格的气动伺服弹性模型，详细的3D实体模型以及关键部件的有限元分析。控制系统将在分析的基础上开发，该团队将努力实现动态系统所需满足的适当控制规范和约束。预期的技术成果包括：精确估算功率系数，优化独立叶片控制和载荷降低策略，改进关键部件的设计驱动载荷值，降低气动弹性不稳定性和共振的可能性，和改进的细化的能源估算的平准化成本。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的学术价值和更广泛的影响评审标准。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to address the declining U.S. distributed wind turbine (DWT) market and support the transition to renewable energy sources. The DWT market has experienced a decline since 2012, mostly due to low reliability and high levelized cost of energy. However, the deployment of DWTs is crucial to meet ambitious green energy goals set by utilities and governmental agencies. This project addresses these challenges by increasing the ease of manufacturing and using readily available materials. The project will also improve an ultra-efficient load path that yields a uniquely low-cost and low-mass structure. Additionally, the proposed design achieves a larger rotor-swept-area and increases overall power extraction efficiency, making the wind turbine more efficient, lighter, and inexpensive compared to typical horizontal-axis and vertical-axis wind turbines. The value proposition for consumers is a cost savings of approximately 40% or more with respect to DWT competitors. This SBIR Phase I project proposes to develop a new wind power technology and provide a proof-of-concept for its viability. The project team includes experts in structural dynamics, control system design, turbine design, computer-aided engineering, power electronics and power transfer, and prototype and certification testing. In Phase I, a complete full-scale design of the DWT will be created, including detailed aeroelastic modeling, control development, and structural evaluation of the components. The research pillar of Phase I involves the creation of a rigorous aero-servo-elastic model, a detailed 3D solid model, and finite element analyses of the key components. The control system will be developed based on analytical analyses, and the team will work toward proper control specifications and constraints to be met by the dynamic system. The anticipated technical results include a refined estimate of the power coefficient, an optimized strategy for independent blade control and load reduction, improved design driving load values for the key components, decreased potential for aero-elastic instabilities and resonances, and the improved refined levelized costs of energy estimates.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.