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Integrating variable wind load, aerodynamic, and structural analyses towards accurate fatigue life prediction in composite wind turbine blades

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Abstract

A comprehensive fatigue analysis framework for composite wind turbine blades has been developed. It includes variable wind loads from wind field simulation and aerodynamic analysis, stress prediction by finite element analysis, and fatigue damage evaluation based on the resulting fatigue data. The variable wind load is represented by a joint distribution of mean wind speed and turbulence intensity. In order to simulate realistic wind loads applied on the blade while maintaining affordable computational time, the sectional surface pressure fields obtained from the potential flow aerodynamics model XFOIL are transformed to match the lift, drag, and moment coefficients obtained using AeroDyn. Thus, the modified pressure distribution includes the effect of dynamic stall, rotation, and wake effects on the blade aerodynamics. A high-fidelity finite element blade model, in which the design of composite materials can be easily tailored, has been parameterized for detailed stress analysis. The non-proportional multi-axial complex stress states are involved when calculating 10-min fatigue damage of section points through laminate thickness. The annual fatigue damage is calculated based on the 10-min fatigue damage and the joint distribution of 10-min mean wind speed and 10-min turbulence intensity. Consequently, the blade fatigue effect due to not only the mean wind speed and the atmospheric turbulence in the short term, but also the wind load variation in a large spatiotemporal range, can be investigated. The developed fatigue analysis framework can facilitate reliability analysis and reliability-based design optimization of composite wind turbine blades.

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Abbreviations

ASTM:

American Society for Testing and Materials

BEM:

Blade element momentum

CFD:

Computational fluid dynamics

CLD:

Constant life diagram

DES:

Detached Eddy Simulation

DOE:

U.S. Department of Energy

EPSCoR:

Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research

FAST:

Fatigue, Aerodynamics, Structures, and Turbulence

FE:

Finite element

FEA:

Finite element analysis

HAWT:

Horizontal axis wind turbine

IAWIND:

Iowa Alliance for Wind Innovation and Novel Development

IEC:

International Electrotechnical Commission

MLE:

Maximum likelihood estimation

MSU:

Montana State University

NACA:

National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics

NREL:

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

PDF:

Probability density function

PSD:

Power spectral density

RMS:

Root mean square

SNL:

Sandia National Laboratories

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Acknowledgments

This work is primarily supported by the Iowa Alliance Wind Innovation and Novel Development (IAWIND) 09-IPF-15 and by the National Science Foundation EPSCoR under Grant Number EPS-1101284. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this work are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. Weifei Hu also extends his gratitude to Dr. Hyunkyoo Cho, Dr. Nicholas J. Gaul, and Dr. Ed Hardee for many helpful discussions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA

    Weifei Hu, K. K. Choi, Olesya Zhupanska & James H.J. Buchholz

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  1. Weifei Hu
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  2. K. K. Choi
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  3. Olesya Zhupanska
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Correspondence to K. K. Choi.

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Hu, W., Choi, K.K., Zhupanska, O. et al. Integrating variable wind load, aerodynamic, and structural analyses towards accurate fatigue life prediction in composite wind turbine blades. Struct Multidisc Optim 53, 375–394 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00158-015-1338-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00158-015-1338-5

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