Design space exploration and decision‐making for a segmented ultralight morphing 50‐MW wind turbine

Abstract

Abstract Wind turbine design encompasses many different aspects including aerodynamic, structural, electrical, and control system design. To achieve optimal plant performance, a system design approach is utilized in which the performance of the whole wind turbine is evaluated and quantified during operational scenarios with subsystem interactions. In this paper, the design for a Segmented Ultralight Morphing Rotor (SUMR) 50‐MW wind turbine is presented utilizing levelized cost of energy (LCOE) for design choices, with additional quantification of simulated performance shortcomings at the 50‐MW scale. The multi‐disciplinary design process results in a final ultra‐scale turbine configuration that outperforms other existing offshore wind farms regarding the LCOE.

Keywords

• extreme scale wind turbine
• LCOE
• rotor aero‐structural‐control design
• Segmented Ultralight Morphing Wind Turbine
• wind turbine