Wind energy

[25] Maximum load estimation on a wind turbine support structure during power production

○Atsushi Yamaguchi¹, Takeshi Ishihara² (1.Institute of Engineering Innovation, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 2.Department of Civil Engineering, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo)

Keywords:Wind turbine support structures, maximum load estimation, Empirical formula

In this study,a tornado-like flow under the horizontal shear flow was generated by Large Eddy Simulation
with a real scale rectangular numerical field. Funnel clouds as surfaces, on which water vapor is saturated by
adiabatic change, were calculated for the tornado-like flow. Effects of the relative humidity and the
maximum tangential velocity, U_tmax, on the shape of funnel clouds were investigated. Moreover, the relation
between the sizes of funnel clouds and the Utmax were also investigated. As results of this study, it was
clarified that the height of funnel clouds changes in proportional to the square of the U_tmax, and the relative
humidity controls the relation between the ratio of the width of funnel cloud to the core radius and the U_tmax,
under the condition that the bottom of funnel cloud does not reach to the ground.