Techno Press
Techno Press

Wind and Structures
  Volume 33, Number 2, August 2021 , pages 169-185
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12989/was.2021.33.2.169
 


Long-term fatigue reliability enhancement of horizontal axis wind turbine blade
M. Mohamed Sajeer and Arunasis Chakraborty

 
Abstract
    The enhancement of fatigue life of ultra-large horizontal axis wind turbine blade using longitudinal stiffening is the theme of this work. For this purpose, a tendon made of shape memory alloy is used along the longitudinal axis of blade, which is modelled in aeroelastic spinning finite element framework. The force developed in the tendon acts against the deformation where the material is modelled using Liang and Rogers constitutive relationship along with the principles of thermodynamics. The fatigue design follows the guidelines provided in internationally recognised codal provisions. The blade responses are simulated using aeroelastic loads obtained from blade element momentum theory. These dynamic responses are utilised to evaluate the longitudinal stress in the extreme fibre over the blade profile. Then, short-term and long-term damages are evaluated using rainflow matrix obtained from these stresses. Finally, the reliability of blade against fatigue failure is investigated. The numerical analysis presented in this study clearly demonstrates the performance of the longitudinal stiffening in combination with pitch angle on the fatigue life of the blade.
 
Key Words
    fatigue damage; Palmgren-Miners summation; reliability analysis; semi-active control; shape memory alloy; wind turbine
 
Address
M. Mohamed Sajeer and Arunasis Chakraborty: Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Assam 781039, India
 

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