Characterizing the effects of inflow on a 2.5 MW research utility turbine

A series of field experiments conducted at the Eolos wind research facility studied the impact of inflow conditions on a utility scale wind turbine. This research strives to answer (i) how wind at various elevations influences the turbine's power production and (ii) what effects wind gusts have on individual blade loading. The Eolos test facility is operated by the University of Minnesota's Saint Anthony Falls Laboratory (SAFL) and is home to a 2.5 megawatt (MW) Clipper Liberty C96 wind turbine and meteorological tower. In addition to the flow information provided by the meteorological tower, on site we have a WindCube LIDAR wind profiler, allowing wind data to be gathered at any desired location on site. The wind data coupled with the time history of the power output and ten strain gauges located in each of the blades provided us with the ability to track the effect of wind gusts on the power production as well as the blade structural loading. We hope this information along with the correlation of wind at different elevations to the power output will help the wind turbine controls community mitigate fatigue loads while maintaining or increasing power production.