16 research outputs found
Fundamental aeroelastic properties of a bend–twist coupled blade section
AbstractThe effects of bend–twist coupling on the aeroelastic modal properties and stability limits of a two-dimensional blade section in attached flow are investigated. Bend–twist coupling is introduced in the stiffness matrix of the structural blade section model. The structural model is coupled with an unsteady aerodynamic model in a linearised state–space formulation. A numerical study is performed using structural and aerodynamic parameters representative for wind turbine blades. It is shown that damping of the edgewise mode is primarily influenced by the work of the lift which is close to antiphase, making the stability of the mode sensitive to changes in the stiffness matrix. The aerodynamic forces increase the stiffness of the flapwise mode for flap–twist coupling to feather for downwind deflections. The stiffness reduces and damping increases for flap–twist to stall. Edge–twist coupling is prone to an edgetwist flutter instability at much lower inflow speeds than the uncoupled blade section. Flap–twist coupling results in a moderate reduction of the flutter speed for twist to feather and divergence for twist to stall
Modal Properties and Stability of Bend-Twist Coupled Wind Turbine Blades
Coupling between bending and twist has a significant influence on
the aeroelastic response of wind turbine blades. The coupling can arise from
the blade geometry (e.g. sweep, prebending, or deflection under load) or from
the anisotropic properties of the blade material. Bend–twist coupling can be
utilized to reduce the fatigue loads of wind turbine blades. In this study
the effects of material-based coupling on the aeroelastic modal properties
and stability limits of the DTU 10 MW Reference Wind
Turbine are investigated. The modal
properties are determined by means of eigenvalue analysis around a
steady-state equilibrium using the aero-servo-elastic tool HAWCStab2 which
has been extended by a beam element that allows for fully coupled
cross-sectional properties. Bend–twist coupling is introduced in the
cross-sectional stiffness matrix by means of coupling coefficients that
introduce twist for flapwise (flap–twist coupling) or edgewise (edge–twist
coupling) bending. Edge–twist coupling can increase or decrease the damping
of the edgewise mode relative to the reference blade, depending on the
operational condition of the turbine. Edge–twist to feather coupling for
edgewise deflection towards the leading edge reduces the inflow speed at
which the blade becomes unstable. Flap–twist to feather coupling for
flapwise deflections towards the suction side increase the frequency and
reduce damping of the flapwise mode. Flap–twist to stall reduces frequency
and increases damping. The reduction of blade root flapwise and tower bottom
fore–aft moments due to variations in mean wind speed of a flap–twist to
feather blade are confirmed by frequency response functions
Large-scale analysis of structural brain asymmetries in schizophrenia via the ENIGMA consortium
Left-right asymmetry is an important organizing feature of the healthy brain that may be altered in schizophrenia, but most studies have used relatively small samples and heterogeneous approaches, resulting in equivocal findings. We carried out the largest case-control study of structural brain asymmetries in schizophrenia, using MRI data from 5,080 affected individuals and 6,015 controls across 46 datasets in the ENIGMA consortium, using a single image analysis protocol. Asymmetry indexes were calculated for global and regional cortical thickness, surface area, and subcortical volume measures. Differences of asymmetry were calculated between affected individuals and controls per dataset, and effect sizes were meta-analyzed across datasets. Small average case-control differences were observed for thickness asymmetries of the rostral anterior cingulate and the middle temporal gyrus, both driven by thinner left-hemispheric cortices in schizophrenia. Analyses of these asymmetries with respect to the use of antipsychotic medication and other clinical variables did not show any significant associations. Assessment of age- and sex-specific effects revealed a stronger average leftward asymmetry of pallidum volume between older cases and controls. Case-control differences in a multivariate context were assessed in a subset of the data (N = 2,029), which revealed that 7% of the variance across all structural asymmetries was explained by case-control status. Subtle case-control differences of brain macro-structural asymmetry may reflect differences at the molecular, cytoarchitectonic or circuit levels that have functional relevance for the disorder. Reduced left middle temporal cortical thickness is consistent with altered left-hemisphere language network organization in schizophrenia
Cortical brain abnormalities in 4474 individuals with schizophrenia and 5098 control subjects via the enhancing neuro Imaging genetics through meta analysis (ENIGMA) Consortium
BACKGROUND: The profile of cortical neuroanatomical abnormalities in schizophrenia is not fully understood, despite hundreds of published structural brain imaging studies. This study presents the first meta-analysis of cortical thickness and surface area abnormalities in schizophrenia conducted by the ENIGMA (Enhancing Neuro Imaging Genetics through Meta Analysis) Schizophrenia Working Group.
METHODS: The study included data from 4474 individuals with schizophrenia (mean age, 32.3 years; range, 11-78 years; 66% male) and 5098 healthy volunteers (mean age, 32.8 years; range, 10-87 years; 53% male) assessed with standardized methods at 39 centers worldwide.
RESULTS: Compared with healthy volunteers, individuals with schizophrenia have widespread thinner cortex (left/right hemisphere: Cohen's d = -0.530/-0.516) and smaller surface area (left/right hemisphere: Cohen's d = -0.251/-0.254), with the largest effect sizes for both in frontal and temporal lobe regions. Regional group differences in cortical thickness remained significant when statistically controlling for global cortical thickness, suggesting regional specificity. In contrast, effects for cortical surface area appear global. Case-control, negative, cortical thickness effect sizes were two to three times larger in individuals receiving antipsychotic medication relative to unmedicated individuals. Negative correlations between age and bilateral temporal pole thickness were stronger in individuals with schizophrenia than in healthy volunteers. Regional cortical thickness showed significant negative correlations with normalized medication dose, symptom severity, and duration of illness and positive correlations with age at onset.
CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate that the ENIGMA meta-analysis approach can achieve robust findings in clinical neuroscience studies; also, medication effects should be taken into account in future genetic association studies of cortical thickness in schizophrenia
Effect of Turbulence on Power for Bend-Twist Coupled Blades
Bend-twist coupling of wind turbine blades reduces the structural loads of the turbine but it also results in a decrease of the annual energy production. The main part of the power loss can be mitigated by pretwisting the blade, but some power loss remains and previous studies indicate that it might be related to the dynamic response of bend-twist coupled blades in turbulent flow. This paper contains estimations of the power curve from nonlinear time simulations, a linear frequency domain based method and a normal distribution weighted average method. It is shown that the frequency domain based estimation is highly dependant on the validity of the linearized model, thus estimations are poor for operational points close to rated wind speed. The weighted average method gives good results if an appropriate standarddeviation is known a priori. The nonlinear time simulations show that changes in power due to turbulence are similar for coupled and uncoupled blades. Power gains at low wind speeds are related to the curvature of the steady state power curve. Losses around rated wind speed are caused by the effects of controller switching between partial and full power operation