Rotor effective wind field estimation and multi-body dynamic characterization of a 45 kW horizontal axis wind turbine

Journal article, 2026

This paper presents inverse systems identification of a horizontal axis wind turbine to bench-mark the complete multi-body system. This is achieved by an extended Kalman-based time marching algorithm of a rotor-effective wind flow model involving rotor speed, generator torque, and power output. In addition to wind estimation, comprehensive inverse characterization of the turbine is also presented here. For this purpose, the dynamic characterization of a unique wooden tower is considered first, followed by the detailed aeroelastic characterization of the blades made of carbon fiber using a series of tests and detailed modeling. The tower and blade root measurements are utilized to identify in situ modal characteristics, further validating the model and its performance. Finally, the steady-state response of the tower and blade at different mean wind speeds is identified for complete bench-marking. The numerical results presented in this article highlight the accuracy of the proposed wind estimation and the characterization of the close-loop system under different operating conditions.