A tuned cable-inerter system for wind turbine blades vibration suppression

Abstract

With low damping in the edge-wise of the wind turbine blade, significant damage can be caused by the high-amplitude vibrations resulting from environmental loads. This paper proposes the use of a tuned cable-inerter system (TCIS) to mitigate the edge-wise vibration of the blades by exploiting the bending deformation of the blade. Firstly, the TCIS is studied analytically, and a reduce-order blade-TCIS model is established for describing the dynamic behavior. A closed-form solution allowing for parameter optimization is then derived based on the fixed-point theory. Subsequently, a coupling wind turbine model with the TCIS is established. By employing the NREL 5MW wind turbine as a benchmark model, the feasibility of the TCIS is verified in both frequency and time domain. The simulation results show that the TCIS performs superior in reducing the blade response with smaller stroke, compared with the traditional tuned mass damper (TMD) and tuned mass damper with inerter (TMDI). The investigation on feasibility of TCIS in blade vibration control shows potential value for utilization in the narrow spaces of wind turbine blades without additional weight on the blade. Furthermore, the closed-form solution offers an analytical method for rapid and effective parameters optimization.