NREL 5MW Reference WT - Power Curve

[Francesco.Caccia]

Dear all,

I've been trying to reproduce the power curve and the data shown in Figure 9-1 of the 2009 report of the NREL 5MW Reference Wind Turbine. I've run simulations for the onshore model at different steady and homogeneus (null shear exponent) wind speeds. Results look fine, yet the rated wind speed that I'm obtaining is 11.8 m/s, instead of the 11.4 m/s stated in the report.

Results are attached to the post; the original data points are taken from viewtopic.php?t=363.

My guess is that the difference is simply due to the development that fast and the various submodules (or the controller itself) went through all these years: is it plausible? Are there some particular parameters that I should double-check?

Also, is there maybe any more up-to-date data available?

Best Regards,
Francesco

[Jason.Jonkman]

Dear Francesco,

Good question. I would guess the aerodynamic model set up is likely the most influential on these results. The original NREL 5-MW results where generated with an old version of FAST--most consistent with AeroDyn v13 in FAST v7. Which version of FAST (OpenFAST?) are you running and which version of AeroDyn are running? If you are using OpenFAST, does switching between CompAero = 1 (AeroDyn v14, which is similar to AeroDyn v13) and CompAero = 2 (AeroDyn v15) result in similar differences?

Best regards,

[Francesco.Caccia]

Dear Jason,

I'm running OpenFAST 2.4.0 with AeroDyn15.
Your assumption is right: I've just run a couple of simulations around the rated speed switching to AeroDyn14, and the results are indeed consistent with the 2009 report.

Thank you for pointing me in the right direction!

Francesco