SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Variable Speed”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

SourceResearch connectionFrom yearThrough year

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 91 records · Page 5

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

NASA NTRS2007

A Sequential Shifting Algorithm for Variable Rotor Speed Control

A proof of concept of a continuously variable rotor speed control methodology for rotorcraft is described. Variable rotor speed is desirable for several reasons including improved maneuverability, agility, and noise reduction. However, it has been difficult to implement because turboshaft engines are designed to operate within a narrow speed band, and a reliable drive train that can provide continuous power over a wide speed range does not exist. The new methodology proposed here is a sequential shifting control for twin-engine rotorcraft that coordinates the disengagement and engagement of the two turboshaft engines in such a way that the rotor speed may vary over a wide range, but the engines remain within their prescribed speed bands and provide continuous torque to the rotor; two multi-speed gearboxes facilitate the wide rotor speed variation. The shifting process begins when one engine slows down and disengages from the transmission by way of a standard freewheeling clutch mechanism; the other engine continues to apply torque to the rotor. Once one engine disengages, its gear shifts, the multi-speed gearbox output shaft speed resynchronizes and it re-engages. This process is then repeated with the other engine. By tailoring the sequential shifting, the rotor may perform large, rapid speed changes smoothly, as demonstrated in several examples. The emphasis of this effort is on the coordination and control aspects for proof of concept. The engines, rotor, and transmission are all simplified linear models, integrated to capture the basic dynamics of the problem.

Litt, Jonathan S.↗

DOE OSTI2024

Recharge Demand Mitigation for Latent Heat Thermal Energy Storage at Off-peak Hours

The utilization of integrated heat pump thermal energy storage (HP-TES) systems for space conditioning applications can reduce electrical power demand and achieve utility savings resulting from peak shaving and load shifting. However, issues arise when the energy required to recharge the TES exceeds the shifted energy demand, especially in extreme climates where high-temperature lifts between the outdoor air conditions and phase-change materials (PCMs) during recharging may occur. In this work, a single room-temperature (22°C) PCM-TES is integrated into a single-speed heat pump system using a secondary hydronic loop where the TES is recharged using the outdoor unit during off-peak hours. Three recharge strategies were investigated as potential pathways to reduce recharging power demand: (i) considering different heat source/sink temperatures, (ii) using a variable-speed compressor, and (iii) using a variable-speed pump. Simulations were conducted using Modelica for HP-TES recharging at different heat source/sink temperatures from -30 – 20℃ in heating mode and 0 – 30℃ in cooling mode. Results show that the most effective recharge demand reduction strategy is an HP-TES system using a single-speed compressor with a variable-speed pump for the hydronic loop run at preferable heat source/sink temperatures when the temperature lifts were reduced. Utilizing a variable-speed compressor for the HP-TES system reduced recharge time in extreme cases at the cost of additional compressor power input. The findings motivate potential control strategies that minimize recharge energy and maximize peak energy savings, hence reducing overall operating costs and annual energy consumption for HP-TES systems for space conditioning applications.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

DOE OSTI2024

Cold Climate Air-Source Heat Pump Demonstration and Analysis: Experimental Study on Cold Temperature Performance

Space heating energy is the largest end use for U.S. residential buildings, accounting for nearly 45% of residential building energy consumption nationwide, and approximately 51% of space heating energy is consumed on-site by combusting natural gas (EIA 2020a). In Colorado, approximately 53% of the statewide residential building energy consumption goes to space heating, 76% of which is provided by natural gas (EIA 2020a). Heat pumps are an efficient, electric alternative space heating technology and have been proven viable for decades. However, historically air-source heat pumps (ASHPs) have been limited to temperate climates because of (1) subpar performance at extremely cold outdoor air temperatures, (2) the need for air conditioning in summer months, and (3) the availability of natural gas in colder climates. Relatively recent advances to cold climate ASHP technology, which typically relies on inverter-driven, variable-speed compressors and variable-speed fans, have significantly improved low-temperature heat pump performance, enabling the technology to potentially save energy for many homes in cold climates.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

NASA NTRS1993

Benefits of variable rotor speed in integrated helicopter/engine control

Current helicopter flight and propulsion controls are typically designed with the assumption that rotor speed will be held to a constant setpoint. A new flight and propulsion control system using a continuously variable rotor speed command is proposed to improve the maneuverability and agility of helicopter systems. In this new approach, the flight control system generates an optimal variable rotor speed command in addition to conventional control commands in a framework of integrated flight/propulsion control. The benefits (i.e. improved maneuverability and agility) of varying rotor speed during transient maneuvers are demonstrated using a bob-up maneuver as an example. In particular, two types of benefits are identified in different maneuver conditions. One comes from a thrust augmentation, while the other comes from an exchange of rotational and translational energy. In the example, a simple linear dynamic hover model is used with an optimal control design method to generate the optimal rotor speed command.

Iwata, Takanori↗

NASA NTRS2018

Two-Speed Rotorcraft Research Transmission Power-Loss Associated with the Lubrication and Hydraulic Rotating Feed-Through Design Feature

An investigation was completed into the power loss associated with a rotating feed-through (RFT) design feature used to transfer lubrication and a hydraulic control signal from the static reference frame to a rotating reference frame in the NASA GRC two-speed transmission tests conducted in the Variable-Speed Drive Test Rig. The RFT feature, not commercially available, was created specifically for this research project and is integral to all two-speed transmission configurations tested, as well as a variant concept design for a geared variable-speed transmission presented at AHS Forum 71 in 2015. The experimental set-up and results from measurements in the isolated rotating-feed-through (RFT) experiments are presented. Results were used in an overall power loss assessment for a scaled conceptual 1,000 horsepower inline concentric two-speed transmission to support a NASA Revolutionary Vertical Lift Technologies (RVLT) Technical Challenge, demonstrating 50% speed change with less than 2% power loss while maintaining current power-to-weight ratios.

Rotorcraft↗

NASA NTRS2018

Two-Speed Rotorcraft Research Transmission Power-Loss Associated with the Lubrication and Hydraulic Rotating Feed-Through Design Feature

Rotorcraft↗

NASA NTRS2018

Two-Speed Rotorcraft Research Transmission Power-Loss Associated with the Lubrication and Hydraulic Rotating Feed-Through Design Feature

Rotorcraft↗

NASA NTRS1982

Description of the 3 MW SWT-3 wind turbine at San Gorgonio Pass, California

The SWT-3 wind turbine, a microprocessor controlled three bladed variable speed upwind machine with a 3MW rating that is presently operational and undergoing system testing, is discussed. The tower, a rigid triangular truss configuration, is rotated about its vertical axis to position the wind turbine into the prevailing wind. The blades rotate at variable speed in order to maintain an optimum 6 to 1 tip speed ratio between cut in and fated wind velocity, thereby maximizing power extraction from the wind. Rotor variable speed is implemented by the use of a hydrostatic transmission consisting of fourteen fixed displacement pumps operating in conjunction with eighteen variable displacement motors. Full blade pitch with on-off hydraulic actuation is used to maintain 3MW of output power.

Rybak, S. C.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Four quadrant control of induction motors

Induction motors are the nation's workhorse, being the motor of choice in most applications due to their simple rugged construction. It has been estimated that 14 to 27 percent of the country's total electricity use could be saved with adjustable speed drives. Until now, induction motors have not been suited well for variable speed or servo-drives, due to the inherent complexity, size, and inefficiency of their variable speed controls. Work at NASA Lewis Research Center on field oriented control of induction motors using pulse population modulation method holds the promise for the desired drive electronics. The system allows for a variable voltage to frequency ratio which enables the user to operate the motor at maximum efficiency, while having independent control of both the speed and torque of an induction motor in all four quadrants of the speed torque map. Multiple horsepower machine drives were demonstrated, and work is on-going to develop a 20 hp average, 40 hp peak class of machine. The pulse population technique, results to date, and projections for implementation of this existing new motor control technology are discussed.

Hansen, Irving G.↗

NASA NTRS1995

Control system design for the MOD-5A 7.3 mW wind turbine generator

This paper provides descriptions of the requirements analysis, hardware development and software development phases of the Control System design for the MOD-5A 7.3 mW Wind Turbine Generator. The system, designed by General Electric Company, Advanced Energy Programs Department, under contract DEN 3-153 with NASA Lewis Research Center and DOE, provides real time regulation of rotor speed by control of both generator torque and rotor torque. A variable speed generator system is used to provide both airgap torque control and reactive power control. The wind rotor is designed with segmented ailerons which are positioned to control blade torque. The central component of the control system, selected early in the design process, is a programmable controller used for sequencing, alarm monitoring, communication, and real time control. Development of requirements for use of aileron controlled blades and a variable speed generator required an analytical simulation that combined drivetrain, tower and blade elastic modes with wind disturbances and control behavior. An orderly two phase plan was used for controller software development. A microcomputer based turbine simulator was used to facilitate hardware and software integration and test.

Barton, Robert S.↗

DOE OSTI2025

Modeling and Power-Hardware-in-the-Loop Validation of Synchronous Wind: An Inverterless Grid-Forming Wind Power Plant

Grid-forming (GFM) control of Type-3 and Type-4 wind turbine generators (WTGs) has attracted substantial attention in power systems research; however, the limited overcurrent capability of power electronics converters continues to deteriorate the grid strength of the evolving power systems. Synchronous wind, also known as a Type-5 WTG, offers a unique GFM solution to address grid integration and grid strength issues by keeping the grid largely synchronous at very high integration levels of renewable generation. A Type-5 WTG interfaces with the electric grid via a synchronous generator driven by a variable-speed hydraulic torque converter; hence, the wind rotor operates in variable-speed mode for maximum power generation, and the generator shaft remains synchronous to the grid. This paper develops and tests a high-fidelity model of a Type-5 WTG in a power-hardware-in-the-loop (PHIL) testing environment. The PHIL demonstration shows that a Type-5 WTG inherently behaves as a GFM unit and can obtain similar performance in terms of power responses, wind rotor dynamics, and efficiency compared to a Type-3 WTG in high-wind conditions. The developed model provides further insight into how Type-5 WTGs can benefit the smooth transition to power systems with high integration levels of inverter-based resources.

grid strength↗

DOE OSTI2025

Operating Wind Turbine as Synchronous Generator: Modeling and Power-Hardware-in-the-Loop Demonstration

Grid-forming (GFM) control of Type 3 and Type 4 wind turbine generators (WTGs) has attracted substantial attention in power systems research; however, the limited overcurrent capability of power electronics converters continues to deteriorate the grid strength of the evolving power systems. Synchronous wind, also referred to as a Type 5 WTG, offers a unique GFM solution to address grid integration and grid strength issues by keeping the grid largely synchronous at very high integration levels of renewable generation. A Type 5 WTG interfaces with the electric grid via a synchronous generator driven by a variable speed hydraulic torque converter; hence, the wind rotor operates in variable-speed mode for maximum power generation, and the generator shaft remains synchronous to the grid. This paper develops and tests a high-fidelity model of a Type 5 WTG in a power-hardware-in-the-loop testing environment, and it presents its operation characteristics under different grid contingencies. The power-hardware-in-the-loop demonstration shows that a Type 5 WTG inherently behaves as a GFM unit and can obtain similar performance in terms of power response, wind rotor dynamics, and stability enhancement compared to a Type 3 WTG in GFM control mode. Furthermore, the paper provides further insight into how Type 5 WTGs can support the smooth transition to power systems with high integration levels of inverter-based resources.

17 - WIND ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2024

Modeling and Power-Hardware-in-the-Loop Validation of Synchronous Wind: An Inverterless Grid-Forming Wind Power Plant: Preprint

Grid-forming (GFM) control of Type-3 and Type-4 wind turbine generators has attracted substantial attention in power systems research; however, the limited over-current capability of power electronics converters continues to deteriorate the grid strength of the evolving power systems. Synchronous wind, also known as Type-5 wind turbine generator (WTG), offers a unique GFM solution to address grid integration and grid strength issues by keeping the grid largely synchronous at very high penetration levels of renewable generation. A Type-5 WTG interfaces to the electric grid via a synchronous generator (SG) driven by a variable-speed hydraulic torque converter; hence, the wind rotor operates in variable-speed mode for maximum power generation and the generator shaft remains synchronous to the grid. This paper developed and tested a high-fidelity model of Type-5 WTG under power-hardware-in-the-loop (PHIL) testing environment. The PHIL demonstration showed that a Type-5 WTGs inherently behaves as a GFM unit and can obtain similar performance in terms of power responses, wind rotor dynamics, and efficiency compared to Type-3 WTG in high wind conditions. The developed model also provides further insight on how Type-5 WTGs can benefit the smooth transition to power systems with high integration level of inverter-based resources.

grid strength↗

DOE OSTI2024

End-Use Savings Shapes Measure Documentation: Heat Pump Rooftop Units

The heat pump rooftop units (RTUs) measure replaces gas furnace and electric resistance RTUs with high-efficiency heat pump rooftop units (HP-RTUs). The HP-RTUs are intended to be top-of-the line, including high-efficiency fans and heat pump systems. The fans are variable speed, allowing the HP-RTUs to operate as single-zone variable air volume systems. The heat pumps are also variable speed, allowing for high part load performance. All schedules in the existing RTUs are transferred to the new HP-RTUs for consistency. Furthermore, any energy efficiency features in the existing baseline RTUs such as energy recovery or economizers are also transferred to the new HP-RTUs for consistency. This measure is applicable to approximately 45% of the ComStock floor area. The HP-RTU measure demonstrates 10.3% total site energy savings (449 trillion British thermal units [TBtu]) for the U.S. commercial building stock modeled in ComStock.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

NASA NTRS1984

Development of a multiplane multispeed balancing system for turbine systems

A prototype high speed balancing system was developed for assembled gas turbine engine modules. The system permits fully assembled gas turbine modules to be operated and balanced at selected speeds up to full turbine speed. The balancing system is a complete stand-alone system providing all necesary lubrication and support hardware for full speed operation. A variable speed motor provides the drive power. A drive belt and gearbox provide rotational speeds up to 21,000 rpm inside a vacuum chamber. The heart of the system is a dedicated minicomputer with attendant data acquisition, storage and I/O devices. The computer is programmed to be completely interactive with the operator. The system was installed at CCAD and evaluated by testing 20 T55 power turbines and 20 T53 power turbines. Engine test results verified the performance of the high speed balanced turbines.

Martin, M. R.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Design and dynamic simulation of a fixed pitch 56 kW wind turbine drive train with a continuously variable transmission

The dynamic analysis of a horizontal axis fixed pitch wind turbine generator (WTG) rated at 56 kW is discussed. A mechanical Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) was incorporated in the drive train to provide variable speed operation capability. One goal of the dynamic analysis was to determine if variable speed operation, by means of a mechanical CVT, is capable of capturing the transient power in the WTG/wind environment. Another goal was to determine the extent of power regulation possible with CVT operation.

Gallo, C.↗

NASA NTRS2002

Sensitivity of Global Sea-Air CO2 Flux to Gas Transfer Algorithms, Climatological Wind Speeds, and Variability of Sea Surface Temperature and Salinity

Sensitivity analyses of sea-air CO2 flux to gas transfer algorithms, climatological wind speeds, sea surface temperatures (SST) and salinity (SSS) were conducted for the global oceans and selected regional domains. Large uncertainties in the global sea-air flux estimates are identified due to different gas transfer algorithms, global climatological wind speeds, and seasonal SST and SSS data. The global sea-air flux ranges from -0.57 to -2.27 Gt/yr, depending on the combination of gas transfer algorithms and global climatological wind speeds used. Different combinations of SST and SSS global fields resulted in changes as large as 35% on the oceans global sea-air flux. An error as small as plus or minus 0.2 in SSS translates into a plus or minus 43% deviation on the mean global CO2 flux. This result emphasizes the need for highly accurate satellite SSS observations for the development of remote sensing sea-air flux algorithms.

McClain, Charles R.↗

NASA NTRS2010

Technology Assessment for Large Vertical-Lift Transport Tiltrotors

The technical community has identified rotor efficiency as a critical enabling technology for large vertical-lift transport (LVLT) rotorcraft. The size and performance of LVLT aircraft will be far beyond current aircraft capabilities, enabling a transformational change in cargo transport effectiveness. Two candidate approaches for achieving high efficiency were considered for LVLT applications: a variable-diameter tiltrotor (VDTR) and a variable-speed tiltrotor (VSTR); the former utilizes variable-rotor geometry and the latter utilizes variable-rotor speed. Conceptual aircraft designs were synthesized for the VDTR and VSTR and compared to a conventional tiltrotor (CTR). The aircraft were optimized to a common objective function and bounded by a set of physical- and requirements-driven constraints. The resulting aircraft were compared for weight, size, performance, handling qualities, and other attributes. These comparisons established a measure of the relative merits of the variable-diameter and -speed rotor systems as enabling technologies for LVLT capability.

Germanowski, Peter J.↗