Study of Centrifugal Stiffening on the Free Vibrations and Dynamic Response of Offshore Wind Turbine Blades

Amna Algolfat (), Weizhuo Wang () and Alhussein Albarbar
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Amna Algolfat: Smart Infrastructure and Industry Research Group, Department of Engineering, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester M1 5GD, UK
Weizhuo Wang: Smart Infrastructure and Industry Research Group, Department of Engineering, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester M1 5GD, UK
Alhussein Albarbar: Smart Infrastructure and Industry Research Group, Department of Engineering, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester M1 5GD, UK

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 17, 1-19

Abstract: Due to their large and increasing size and the corrosive nature of salt water and high wind speeds, offshore wind turbines are required to be more robust, more rugged and more reliable than their onshore counterparts. The dynamic characteristics of the blade and its response to applied forces may be influenced dramatically by rotor rotational speed, which may even threaten the stability of the wind turbine. An accurate and computationally efficient structural dynamics model is essential for offshore wind turbines. A comprehensive model that takes the centrifugal stiffening effect into consideration could make rapid and accurate decisions with live data sensed from the structure. Moreover, this can enhance both the performance and reliability of wind turbines. When a rotating blade deflects in its plane of rotation or perpendicular to it, the centrifugal force exerts an inertia force that increases the natural frequencies and changes the mode shapes, leading to changes in the dynamic response of the blade. However, in the previous literature, studies of centrifugal stiffening are rarely found. This study investigates the influence of centrifugal stiffening on the free vibrations and dynamic response of offshore wind turbine blades. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 5 MW blade benchmark was considered to study the effect of angular speed in the flap-wise and edge-wise directions. The results demonstrate that the angular speed directly affects the modal features, which directly impacts the dynamic response. The results also show that the angular velocity effect in the flap-wise direction is more significant than its effect in the edge-wise direction.

Keywords: wind turbine vibration; the influence of rotational speed on free vibration; the influence of rotational speed on dynamic deflection; centrifugal stiffening; free vibration analysis; flap-wise vibration; edge-wise vibration; blade dynamic response (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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