Multivariate Stochastic Methods for the Structural Design of Wind Turbines

Abstract

Abstract. In order to improve the structural design of steel towers for wind turbines, and in order to allow for detailed structural optimizations, a methodology is desirable which allows for quick and reliable considerations of the complex dynamic load situations. Whereat for the design of details for the machinery and the blade optimization time domain methods using multibody-simulations are well established, their usage is often to extensive due to the needed level of detail to use them for an iterative tower design. Especially with regard to lattice towers, it is therefore desirable to investigate faster stochastic methods which focus on the overall dynamic behavior based on the probability of structural stresses within the tower construction. For this aim, in the present paper a modern stochastic concept is presented and results are compared to NRELS FAST algorithm.