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• Kutalmis Bercin

Personal:

Kutalmis Bercin graduated from Istanbul Technical University with BSc (Honour/High Honour lists) in Mechanical Engineering in 2010, specialized on mechanical energy systems. He received his MSc (Distinction) in Sustainable Energy Technologies from University of Southampton in 2011. He currently studies in AFM group on computational fluid-structure interaction of wind turbine blades, funded by the Lord Rayleigh Scholarship and partially EPRSC & ARUP.

Project description:

The increased size (e.g. with the height of a wind turbine more than 100 metres) and flexibility of modern wind turbines have resulted in significant dynamic flapwise deflections, which have become an important design consideration. Extreme wind conditions, e.g. variation of wind magnitude and direction, peak wind speed and significant wind shear intensify the dynamic flapwise deflection of the blade. Such a dynamic deflection causes considerable structure problems (e.g. fatigue). On 9th December 2011 at Ardrossan, North Ayrshire, Scotland, a £2 million, 100 metre-tall wind turbine caught fire in hurricane-force winds during severe weather. Such a flapwise deflection also increases noise pollution and enhance vortex shedding and reduce the performance of the turbine.

Before we attempt to control the deflection, it is crucial to understand the mechanism and sources which induce the deflection. For example, peak wind loading and frequency, dynamical stall, conditions of approach wind and vortex shedding must be considered. The ultimate approach to tackle these problems, e.g. using passive adaptive control or active control, is to investigate the Fluid and Structure Interaction (FSI). Computational Fluid Dynamics along with Structure Analysis will be the main approach to investigate flows around a 3-D turbine blade and their interactions with the structure.

The research is aimed to bring a deep insight into these problems and be able to provide a tool to be used in early stages of design.

Working with...

Stephen Turnock Professor, Engineering Sciences (FEE)

Zheng-Tong Xie Professor, Engineering Sciences (FEE)