Noise and vibrations that increase acoustic pollution and shorten the turbine’s lifespan.
OBLIX is a cientific and technological innovation initiative led by researchers from UPC (Technical University of Catalonia) developing advanced ACTIVE FLOW CONTROL (AFC) methods to OPTIMISE THE PERFORMANCE of horizontal-axis wind turbines (HAWTs) and entire wind farms, in collaboration with industry partners.
THROUGH ACTIVE FLOW CONTROL (AFC) TECHNIQUES, WE INTEND
AT LOW/MEDIUM-SPEED
- Structural protection against overloads.
- Greater availability without compromising mechanical integrity.
AT HIGH-SPEED
- To increased energy production to prevent structural damage by reducing extreme loads.
- To reduce noise and vibrations to allow operation at higher wind speeds without compromising mechanical integrity.
- To reduced flow separation and wake losses.
THE OBLIX TECHNOLOGY OPTIMISES THE VORTEX STRUCTURES IN WIND TURBINE BLADE TIPS THROUGH ACTIVE FLOW CONTROL. IN THE WAKE . THANKS TO THIS TECHNOLOGY, IT IS POSSIBLE TO IMPROVE:
VORTEX STRUCTURES IN THE WAKE OF A WIND TURBINE. THE OBLIX TECHNOLOGY OPTIMISES THEIR DYNAMICS THROUGH ACTIVE FLOW CONTROL. THANKS TO THIS TECHNOLOGY, IT IS POSSIBLE TO IMPROVE:
- The energy production of wind turbines at low and medium wind speeds.
- The lifespan and efficiency of the wind turbines.
- The compactness of wind farms through the reduction of downwind wakes.
- The reduction of vibrations and noise, reducing fatigue problems and acoustic pollution.
The outcome of OBLIX: more energy, less maintance, and greater profitability.
COLLABORATING WITH OBLIX IS INTERESTING FOR
WIND TURBINE MANUFACTURERS seeking to integrate innovative optimisation solutions.
WIND FARM OPERATORS interested in extending turbine lifespan and improving performance.
CLEAN-TECH INVESTORS committed to deep-tech solutions for the energy transition.
INNOVATION CENTRES AND TECHNOLOGICAL INSTITUTES seeking collaboration in transfer and validation.
THE PERFORMANCE OF CURRENT TURBINES IS LIMITED BY SEVERAL PHENOMENA
Flow separation, which reduces turbine energy production at low and medium wind speeds.
Extreme loads at high wind speeds that might compromise the structure.
Structural overloads at high wind speeds.
AERODYNAMIC ANALYSIS AND VALIDATION
To develop our active flow control technology, we analysed 24 different airfoil profiles to understand how geometry and boundary-layer separation influence flow behaviour and turbine efficiency.
Chord length, boundary layer separation point, and its associated vortex shedding frequency, for each of the 24 airfoils evaluated in this study.
Streamlines of the average velocity field and contours of time averaged turbulent viscosity.
Streamlines of temporal average velocity field and contours of turbulence velocity at z/R = 0.25, 0.30 and 0.35. The baseline case maximum lift, and maximum efficiency cases are introduced as the top, central, and bottom row, respectively.
Comparison of (a) Lift coefficient distribution (b) Lift coefficient distribution along the blade (Error bars showing the amplitude of vortex shading) with previous works.
Wake comparison between the baseline and the maximum lift cases for the tree airfoils considered. The wake is presented as a function of the turbulence viscosity Nut evolution.
Choosing active flow control with oblix means securing a technological and competitive advantage to lead the future of the wind energy sector.
DO YOU WANT TO BE THE FIRST TO CREATE HIGH-QUIALITY TURBINES?
