Design Tool for Direct Drive Wind Turbine Generators:Proposed solutions for direct drive Darrieus generators 20MW

摘要

The current work offers a comparison of the proposed machine geometries for 6 [MW] direct drive wind generator candidates with the prospective of up scaling to 20MW. The suggestions are based on a design tool especially built for this investigation. The in-built flexibility of the design tool gives the possibility of calculating a large variation of geometries using existing modules. The main goal is to be able to quickly and transparently asses the feasibility of a proposed machine for a set of requirements.As a first step, a set of suitable machine types for the 6 [MW] design were investigated. A comparison of the selected machine types in view of up-scaling to 20 [MW] was performed. As an example fitness criterion, the use of active materials for the generators was considered. Based on this, suggestions for 20 [MW] generators were made. The results are discussed and future work, directions and suggestions for potential improvement were listed.The design is obtained analytically at first; then visualised in 3D CAD (Computer Assisted Design) and evaluated in FEM. An analytical optimisation (Particle Swarm –PSO and Genetic Algorithms -GA) patch is available for improving the design. The tool is destined for engineers that are involved in the design of wind turbine systems.The visualisation of the design in work is important for the overall assessment of the machine concept. The tool provides facilities for reporting on a shaped design: list of geometrical and electromagnetic quantities, pictures of the machine itself (3D particular drawing); FEM (Finite Element Model) electromagnetic profile, dynamic simulation model results and characteristic curves.The structure of the design tool is modular and independent so that new machine types and geometries can be designed by reusing recombining and altering the different calculation modules. The design algorithm is transparent as logging of location and comments is used throughout the program. The purpose of this is to enable further development of the design tool by several contributors.The tool was validated by both software and laboratory tests on a prototype and by comparing results with literature reporting of similar machines.