Evaluation of Dynamic Thrust Under Wind Shear in Wind Turbine Below Rated Wind Speed

As wind turbines are getting larger in size with multi-MW capacity, the blades are getting longer, over 40 m, and hence the asymmetric loads produced during the rotation of the rotor blades are increasing. Some factors such as wind shear, tower shadow, and turbulence have an effect on the asymmetric loads on the blades. This paper focuses on a method of modeling the dynamic load acting on a blade because of thrust variation under wind shear. A method that uses thrust coefficient is presented. For this purpose, "wind shear coefficient of thrust variation" is defined and introduced. Further, we calculate the values of the "wind shear coefficient of thrust variation" for a 2 MW on-shore wind turbine, and analyze them for speeds below the rated wind speed. Then, we implement a dynamic model that represents the thrust variation under wind shear on a blade, using MATLAB/Simulink. It is shown that it is possible to express thrust variations on three blades under wind shear by using both thrust coefficient and "wind shear coefficient of thrust variation."