Vibration-induced aerodynamic loads on large horizontal axis wind turbine blades

Abstract

The blades of a large Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine (HAWT) are subjected to significant vibrations during operation. The vibrations affect the dynamic flow field around the blade and consequently alter the aerodynamic forces on the blade. In order to better understand the influence of blade vibrations on the aerodynamic loads, the dynamic stall characteristics of an S809 airfoil undergoing translational motion as well as pitching motion were investigated using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) techniques. Simulation results indicated that both the out-of-plane and in-plane translational motions of the airfoil affect the unsteady aerodynamic forces significantly. In order to investigate the effects of blade vibration on the aerodynamic load on a large-scale HAWT blade during its operating lifetime, an aerodynamic model based on the Blade Element-Momentum (BEM) theory and the Beddoes-Leishman (B-L) dynamic stall model was proposed. The BEM model was revised to account for the vibration-induced velocity components in the calculation of the effective angle of attack. Aerodynamic load analysis of a 5 MW wind turbine was then performed and the impact of blade vibration on the lifetime aerodynamic fatigue loads was analysed.

Aerodynamic Performance of Wind Turbine Airfoil DU 91-W2-250 under Dynamic Stall

“…Consequently, in the CFD software ANSYS Fluent, the transition SST k − ω model, which is capable of capturing the transition process, was chosen. Some researchers have also discussed that the accuracy of this model is satisfactory [15,17,[36][37][38][39][40].…”

Clean, efficient and affordable energy for a sustainable future

“…The objective of this work was to find the most suitable configuration in order to maximize the power production and minimize the blade stress and the cost of energy. Liu et al [29] investigated the effect of blade vibrations on the blade aerodynamic loads using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques. Simulation results indicated that both the out-of-plane and in-plane translational motions have significant effects on the unsteady aerodynamic forces.…”

Resonance Monitoring of a Horizontal Wind Turbine by Strain-Based Automated Operational Modal Analysis

“…With regard to the wind turbines in operational states, the total damping ratio is defined as: ξ total = ξ struct + ξ aero (22) where ξ struct is the structural damping, and ξ aero is the aerodynamic damping. The damping of the wind turbine correlates with the nature of the structural material, which reflects the degree of energy loss [28,29]. The interaction between blades and wind leads to a hindrance in the vibration.…”