About this Research Topic
The development of renewable energy is an inevitable choice to deal with the dual challenges of the energy crisis and global warming. In many countries, wind energy has become the most potential renewable energy than other renewable energy sources, such as in the USA, UK, AUS, GER, and DK, etc. It can be roughly estimated that an 8 MW wind turbine can reduce CO2 up to 2.5 kg for a single rotor revolution. With the rotor sweeping area equivalent to 3 football fields, the scope of a single wind turbine research involves the largest dynamics in the world.
Continuous development in wind energy has led to large rotors that are much lighter and cheaper than before. Current innovations include higher tip speed, higher lift, and thicker airfoils, result in more slender and lighter blades. In the meanwhile, the coupled effects of aeroelastic and aeroacoustic are the key research challenges. Therefore, integrated research in many aspects of wind energy innovation is important, such that the overall objectives of the low cost of energy, high system reliability, and environment-friend can be achieved. Envisioned rotor design concepts emerge to satisfy the up-scale trend, but a crucial problem is that the material of the blade almost follows a cubic law, but the wind energy capture only scales as a square law. Apparently, further utilization of wind energy meets the critical challenge to continuously grow in size and continuously decrease in price per kilowatt.
For either inland or offshore wind energy applications, our Research Topic of the innovation in wind energy science and engineering can be focused on the following subjects:
(1) The highly flexible blade structure creates extreme aeroelastic behavior as well as vortex-induced vibrations. It is of vital importance to reveal the physics associated with super large scale rotor dynamic systems that mainly include aerodynamics and structural dynamics.
(2) Enhance the system reliability under the complex loadings, such that the massive rotating machines have a longer lifetime when interacting with highly turbulence inflow, extreme wind shear as well as surviving all extreme weathers.
(3) To bridge the very thin blade surface boundary layer to the large atmospheric surface layer, such that the crucial design aspects of the airfoil, blade, and wind farm are integrated, result in an ultimate objective to optimize the rotor with the lowest cost of energy and a minimum negative environmental impact such as noise radiation.
Continuous development in wind energy has led to large rotors that are much lighter and cheaper than before. Current innovations include higher tip speed, higher lift, and thicker airfoils, result in more slender and lighter blades. In the meanwhile, the coupled effects of aeroelastic and aeroacoustic are the key research challenges. Therefore, integrated research in many aspects of wind energy innovation is important, such that the overall objectives of the low cost of energy, high system reliability, and environment-friend can be achieved. Envisioned rotor design concepts emerge to satisfy the up-scale trend, but a crucial problem is that the material of the blade almost follows a cubic law, but the wind energy capture only scales as a square law. Apparently, further utilization of wind energy meets the critical challenge to continuously grow in size and continuously decrease in price per kilowatt.
For either inland or offshore wind energy applications, our Research Topic of the innovation in wind energy science and engineering can be focused on the following subjects:
(1) The highly flexible blade structure creates extreme aeroelastic behavior as well as vortex-induced vibrations. It is of vital importance to reveal the physics associated with super large scale rotor dynamic systems that mainly include aerodynamics and structural dynamics.
(2) Enhance the system reliability under the complex loadings, such that the massive rotating machines have a longer lifetime when interacting with highly turbulence inflow, extreme wind shear as well as surviving all extreme weathers.
(3) To bridge the very thin blade surface boundary layer to the large atmospheric surface layer, such that the crucial design aspects of the airfoil, blade, and wind farm are integrated, result in an ultimate objective to optimize the rotor with the lowest cost of energy and a minimum negative environmental impact such as noise radiation.
Keywords: wind turbine blade, aerodynamics, aeroelastics, aeroacoustics, cost of energy
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
