Design and Implementation of an Experimental Test Bench for the Study of Active Flow Control in Scale Wind Turbines

Abstract Advances in wind turbine technology are critical in the global renewable energy landscape. The continuous growth of wind turbine capacities has presented various challenges for flow and power control strategies. Developing novel smart systems capable of monitoring and controlling loads and power is required for optimal operation in modern wind generation systems. Several methods have been proposed, but the experimental validation contains complications like operation costs, size, and time required to fabricate a fully scaled wind turbine prototype. Concerning this, the implementation of reduced-scaled wind turbine test benches offers an alternative to validate new flow control strategies for optimizing the efficiency of wind turbines. This paper presents designing and implementing a wind turbine test bench for active flow control systems in small-scale wind turbines. The system includes a multi-degree mounting system, a dynamic torque sensor, a PMG (Permanent Magnet Generator), and a configurable hub for different wind rotor designs. The process design includes a FEM (Finite Element Method) analysis to evaluate the different configurations of the proposal system. As a result, the design and implementation of the overall functional structure, dynamic sensors, and complementary elements are presented. Finally, an approach of the scaling methodology is revealed based on the mathematical criteria of similarity conditions between a lab-scale wind turbine model and a reference prototype, providing helpful information to optimize wind turbine performance. It contributes to developing more efficient and reliable wind energy control solutions.