Analysis A01 L0: tower geometrical characteristics check

Introduction

Aim

To verify that the geometrical characteristics of the tower are compatible against a series of simple geometrical checks.

Constraints

#

Constraint name

Unit

Suggested value

Description

1

Eq_twr_top_OD

m

6.5^

Compatibility. Tower top diameter compatible with RNA bedplate

2

Eq_twr_top_thick

m

0.050^

Compatibility. Tower top thickness compatible with RNA bedplate

3

Max_twr_OD

m

10^^

Manufacturability. Max tower outer diameter

4

Max_twr_slope

deg

4.00^^

Structural integrity. Each can cannot have a slope higher than this

5

Min_twr_d_to_t

N/A

80^^?

Manufacturability. Min tower outer diameter to thickness ratio

6

Max_twr_d_to_t

N/A

150^^?

Manufacturability. Max tower outer diameter to thickness ratio

Notes

^

For IEA 15MW Reference Wind Turbine (Updated reference values here)

^^

Value agreed in WIND-14 STIFF-STIFF TOWER DESIGN FOR FLOATING WIND TURBINES (Previous TIC LCPE project)

Methodology

Level 0 (L0)

The values of the parameters, read from the WEIS output files, are compared against the constraint values. No postprocessing of the WEIS output necessary.

Perform the analysis

Prepare the input file

The SCUBE input data can be found in scube\data.

Constraints

  • Open the file CNSTR.xlsx

  • Familiarise yourself with the variables, explained in the legend sheet

  • Select the sheet constraints_A01_L0

  • A pre-prepared list of contraints and values can be found. Adjust the value for each constraint (where available) if necessary

  • Save and close the spreadsheet file

Tower

  • Open the file INPUT_tower.xlsx

  • Familiarise yourself with the variables, explained in the legend sheet

  • Specify the geometry of the cans in the geometry sheet

  • Specify the aerodynamic drag properties of the tower in the drag sheet (if unsure, leave the default values, they can be applied to a wide range of dimensions)

  • Specify the tower material characteristics in the material sheet (the default values are for the steel ASTM A572 Grade 50, see more here

  • Save and close the spreadsheet file

Environment

For this analysis, this input file is not used, so you can ignore it.

Run the analysis

  • Open a miniforge/miniconda/conda terminal prompt

  • Activate the WEIS environment you set up (see Installation)

conda activate weis-env

  • Navigate to the root folder scube

  • Launch the analysis with the following command

python main.py A01 L0

Expected conda prompt outcome

If all goes well, you should see something similar to the following.

Using weis.aeroelasticse in rosco.toolbox...

 ******* SCUBE: preprocessing - updating tower geometry *******

 ******* SCUBE: processing - WEIS analysis *******
RuntimeWarning: C:\Users\mauri\miniforge3\envs\weis-env2\Lib\site-packages\wisdem\commonse\utilization_dnvgl.py:322
The number of calls to function has reached maxfev = 50.RuntimeWarning: C:\Users\mauri\miniforge3\envs\weis-env2\Lib\site-packages\wisdem\commonse\cylinder_member.py:513
divide by zero encountered in scalar divideRuntimeWarning: C:\Users\mauri\miniforge3\envs\weis-env2\Lib\site-packages\wisdem\commonse\cylinder_member.py:514
divide by zero encountered in scalar divide----------------
Design Variables
----------------
name  val  size  lower  upper
----  ---  ----  -----  -----

-----------
Constraints
-----------
name  val  size  lower  upper  equals
----  ---  ----  -----  -----  ------

----------
Objectives
----------
name  val  size
----  ---  ----

Run time (A01_L0): 11.173307180404663

 ******* SCUBE: postprocessing - results VS constraints analysis *******
UserWarning: C:\Users\mauri\miniforge3\envs\weis-env2\Lib\site-packages\openpyxl\worksheet\_read_only.py:85
Data Validation extension is not supported and will be removed
         ******* Constraint definitions imported *******

         ******* Simulation output xlsx and yaml files data loaded *******

         ******* Constraint verification started *******

                 Check of constraint Min_twr_d_to_t

                 Check of constraint Max_twr_d_to_t

                 Check of constraint Max_twr_OD

                 Check of constraint Eq_twr_top_OD

                 Check of constraint Eq_twr_top_thick

                 Check of constraint Max_twr_slope

         ******* Constraint verification completed *******

 ******* SCUBE: Validation report with formatting exported successfully *******

[INFO] Time taken: 0:00:13

Interpret the output file (validation report)

If run successfully, the file validation_report_A01_L0.xlsx should have been created in the folder scube\output.

Note

NB If the file already existed, it will be overwritten.

In this spreadsheet, you should see a “Constraint Checks” sheet, in which the results of the validation are reported. An example is given in the following figure.

Note

When a constraint need to be verified for each can specified in INPUT_tower.xlsx, the constraint is repeated n times, where n is the number of the cans/sections.

Validation report spreadsheet

Analysis validation report example

Common errors

Permission error

PermissionError: [Errno 13] Permission denied: 'data/INPUT_tower.xlsx'

The file INPUT_tower.xlsx is still open on your pc. In order to be safely read by SCUBE, the file needs to be closed.

A similar error can occur for CNSTR.xlsx