Aeroservoelastic analysis of large horizontal-axis wind turbines: a new methodology

SERGIO PREIDIKMAN; CRISTIAN GEBHARDT; ALEJANDRO BREWER; BRUNO ROCCIA

Foz do Iguaçu, Paraná, Brazil

Congreso; PACAM XI - 11th PAN-AMERICAN CONGRESS OF APPLIED MECHANICS; 2010

American Academy of Mechanics (AAM)

The current trend in wind turbine development shows a vast increase in turbine dimensions. Rotor blade manufacturers are aware of the fact that scaling-up can introduce aeroservoelastic stability problems. The present effort is directed towards better understanding of the unsteady and nonlinear aeroservoelastic characteristics of large scale horizontal-axis wind turbines. This understanding is to be realized by developing comprehensive computational tools, and the understanding gained is to be used for predicting the uncontrolled and controlled responses of large horizontal-axis wind turbines. The primary components of the computational analysis are the following: a model of the flow field; a model of the structure; a model of the control system; a scheme for inter-model communication; and a method to numerically integrate all of the governing equations simultaneously and interactively in the time domain. Since the aim is to study general unsteady motions and also explore nonlinear phenomena, it is proposed to carry out the simulations in the time-domain. The simulation framework is highly modular, so that individual components can be changed/replaced without modifying the overall organization.