Optimization of Wind Turbine Blade Spars

Pirrera, Alberto; Capuzzi, Marco; Buckney, Neil

doi:10.2514/6.2012-1500

Cited by 13 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…This effectively results in a new spar cap position in which they have become offset from the point of maximum thickness as the upper spar cap is located towards the trailing edge. (This spar cap position has also been seen in parallel work by Pirrera et al 21 ) The most obvious difference to a typical blade design is the reinforcement at the trailing edge of the blade. Starting at the root, this decreases in size along the length and eventually disappears as can be seen in Section B.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 53%

Wind Turbine Blade Structural Efficiency

Buckney¹,

Green²,

Pirrera³

2012

53rd AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics and Materials ConferenceSelf Cite

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Alternative structural layouts for wind turbine blades are investigated with the aim to improve their design, minimize weight and reduce the cost of wind energy. To obtain the new concepts, topology optimization is performed on a 45 m wind turbine blade. Additionally, shape factors for non-symmetric sections under biaxial bending are developed to evaluate the results in terms of ability to minimize deflection and stress. The topology optimization results in a concept which transforms along the length of the blade, changing from a design with spar caps at the maximum thickness and a trailing edge mass, to a design with offset spar caps towards the tip. The shape factors indicate that the trailing edge reinforcement and the offset spar cap topology are both more efficient in minimising deflection and stress. In summary, an alternative structural layout for a wind turbine blade has been found and shape factors have been developed, which can quantitatively assess the structural efficiency under asymmetric bending.

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Section: Resultssupporting
confidence: 53%

Wind Turbine Blade Structural Efficiency
Buckney¹,
Green²,
Pirrera³
2012
53rd AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics and Materials ConferenceSelf Cite
1
0
3
0
View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In order to estimate the penalty, an additional adaptive spar of minimal weight is produced by repeating the structural optimisation described in [11]. The design space therein is now modified and narrowed.…”

Section: Weight Penalty Due To Stiffness Tailoringmentioning
confidence: 99%

“…The latter being based on the observation, reported in the same article, that the structural performance is relatively insensitive to the spar's position within the aerodynamic section. The thickness of the walls is also sized according to the results in [11]. However, the caps' thickness and lay-up were later tailored to introduce the desired anisotropic elastic effects.…”

Section: Finite Element Analysis Functional Design Of the Adaptive Sparmentioning
confidence: 99%

“…Conversely, the webs are not tailored. Their stiffness should be appropriate to withstand edgewise loads, as imposed in the structural optimisation [11].…”

Section: Finite Element Analysis Functional Design Of the Adaptive Sparmentioning
confidence: 99%

“…The spar's width varies linearly from 40 cm to 10 cm with its cross sections centred at the blade's quarter-chord point towards the leading edge (LE). These values were obtained by adapting the results of the spar's structural optimisation presented in [11] and following engineering judgement. The latter being based on the observation, reported in the same article, that the structural performance is relatively insensitive to the spar's position within the aerodynamic section.…”

Section: Finite Element Analysis Functional Design Of the Adaptive Sparmentioning
confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations
Structural design of a novel aeroelastically tailored wind turbine blade
Capuzzi
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Pirrera
²
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Weaver
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2015
Thin-Walled Structures
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The structural design for a recently presented aeroelastically-tailored wind turbine blade is produced. Variable elastic twist has been shown to improve performance in response to load variation across different wind conditions. This load variation is exploited as a source of passive structural morphing. Therefore, the angle of attack varies along the blade and adjusts to different operating conditions, hence improving both energy harvesting and gust load alleviation capability, below and above rated wind speed, respectively. The twist variation is achieved by purposefully designing spatially varying bendtwist coupling into the structure via tow steering and using a curved blade planform. This process enables the blade sections to twist appropriately while bending flapwise.To prove the feasibility of the proposed adaptive behaviour, a complete blade structure is analysed by using refined finite element models, with structural stability and strength constraints imposed under realistic load cases. Nonlinear structural effects are analysed as well as modal dynamic features. In addition, the weight penalty due to aeroelastic tailoring is assessed using structural optimisation studies.
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Dynamic characteristics and enhanced performance of a novel wind turbine rotor analyzed via experiments and numerical simulation
Lu
¹
,
Zhang
²
,
Lei
³

2016
Int. J. Energy Res.
3
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SUMMARYThe enormous demand for large wind turbine rotors has led to a need to develop high-performance and reliable wind turbine rotors. The flexibility of the huge blade was a challenge in creating a balanced design with regard to dynamic behavior, mass, and power output. To enhance the wind turbine rotor, a newly designed wind turbine system with a supporting rod and damper was proposed and investigated. A scaled blade was experimentally tested, with the results indicating an increase in both frequency and damping of the system. Through the use of a self-coded numerical model, the correlations between the design constraints and the dynamic behavior, tip displacement, and additional mass of the rotor were demonstrated. This showed that the novel rotor has some preferable characteristics in both static and dynamic aspects. In particular, this blade is stiffer and has a smaller tip displacement compared with a traditional cantilevered blade. These characteristics enabled the effective application of the novel rotor to a 5-MW wind turbine to achieve a 15.16% power output increase based on the blade element momentum theory with Prandtl correction, as well as 5.1% mass savings.

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Optimization of Wind Turbine Blade Spars

Cited by 13 publications

References 4 publications

Wind Turbine Blade Structural Efficiency

Wind Turbine Blade Structural Efficiency

Structural design of a novel aeroelastically tailored wind turbine blade

Dynamic characteristics and enhanced performance of a novel wind turbine rotor analyzed via experiments and numerical simulation

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