Aeroelastic measurements on a vertical axis wind turbine

Aerodynamic pressure and acceleration are measured synchronously on a blade of a full scale vertical axis wind turbine during operation using a novel type of aeroelastic measurement device: the WAMB (Wireless Aeroelastic Measurement Belt). The objective is to investigate the aeroelastic behaviour of the blade during the rotation, where the flow might change from attached to separated from the surface of the blade, depending on the azimutal position. These important variations of the aerodynamic loading might lead to dynamics stall. When coupled to the flexibility of the blades, important vibrations of the turbine are expected. At this stage, convincing preliminary tests have been performed to demonstrate the capability of the WAMB to measure pressure and vibrations on a rotating blade. A future test campaign is planned to perform similar in situ measurements on the wind turbine for different operating conditions, including low tip speed ratios, for which dynamic stall is expected to take place.