Characterization of small wind turbine system dynamics**

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Small wind turbines have been shown to be a promising means of providing local, cost-effective energy in communities in the Arctic and other remote locations. Building off an existing, proven Canadian 1 kW wind turbine, Borrum Energy Solutions is developing a small wind turbine specifically for the unique climate, operational and logistical challenges of remote Arctic locations. Ensuring that the new small wind turbine design will produce power efficiently and reliably is essential, which requires extra attention to detail in the design process, including careful attention to turbine dynamics, loads and transient operations. Understanding of small wind turbine dynamics is not as well developed as for larger utility-scale wind turbines. This project proposes to address this need by instrumenting Borrum's prototype turbine and taking direct, high resolution (32 Hz) measurements of the turbine response to wind fluctuations, something that is rare in the literature for turbines at this scale. Experiments will be conducted at an existing test site, utilizing the researcher's prior experience with this class of experimental investigation. Custom sensors will be fit to record yaw angle and furling tail angle. Rotor speed, power output, and wind conditions will also be recorded. The resulting database of field measurements will be compared to predictions of furling behavior and dynamic responses from an existing dynamics and furling model (FAST v7). Furling and other dynamic responses will be isolated and ensemble analyzed to determine the effect of furling geometry on the turbine energy output and structural loads. The analysis results will be used to both immediately support wind turbine design at Borrum and investigate the unique dynamics of low inertia, small wind turbines in furling, start-up and sudden wind changes. This project will contribute new knowledge in the field of small wind turbine design, while supporting a Canadian company in the development of a reliable and predictable energy generation technology that has the potential to reduce energy costs and environmental impacts in remote and Northern communities.