Cross-correlating blade--wake dynamics for a model wind turbine

TL;DR

This study experimentally investigates how wind turbine wake dynamics influence blade strain, revealing that operating conditions and turbulence modulate blade-wake interactions, with blade strain often preceding wake velocity changes.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed, spatially resolved analysis of wake-blade coupling using synchronized flow and structural measurements in a model wind turbine.

Findings

Blade strain dynamics are strongly governed by tip-speed ratio.

Wake-induced blade response is localized within shear layers and organized around rotation-coherent frequencies.

Blade strain fluctuations tend to precede downstream wake velocity fluctuations, indicating a causal influence.

Abstract

Understanding how wakes interact with wind turbine blades under varying operating and inflow conditions is essential for improving fatigue prediction and performance assessment in increasingly dense wind farms. We present an experimental investigation of wake-blade coupling in a model wind turbine, focusing on the role of tip-speed ratio, $\lambda$, under varying free-stream turbulence conditions. Spatially resolved wake velocity measurements are acquired concurrently with distributed blade strain measurements using Rayleigh backscattering fibre-optic sensing, enabling direct, time-synchronised analysis of fluid-structure interaction across the blade's span. The blades' strain dynamics are strongly governed by $\lambda$, where variations of the operating condition of the turbine modify the amplitude, coherence, and the temporal/spectral organisation of the blade's structural dynamics, while free-stream turbulence primarily modulates these responses. Instantaneous joint statistics reveal negligible zero-lag dependence between wake velocity and blade strain, motivating a lagged and frequency-resolved analysis. Cycle-averaged cross-correlation and cross-power spectral density analyses demonstrate that wake-induced blade response is spatially localised within the wake shear layers and organised around rotation-coherent frequencies, with the coupling strength peaking at intermediate downstream locations. These results highlight the dominant role of operating condition in shaping wake-mediated blade loading and demonstrate the value of concurrent, spatially resolved flow-structure measurements for resolving blade-exciting flow dynamics in wind-turbine wakes. Furthermore, a consistent negative-lag peak indicates that blade strain fluctuations systematically precede downstream wake velocity fluctuations, suggesting a causal, blade-driven imprint on the wake.