Comparison of transient and quasi-steady aeroelastic analysis of wind turbine blade in steady wind conditions

Abstract

In the preliminary design stage of wind turbine blade, faster and simpler methods are preferred to predict the aeroelastic response of the blades in order to get an idea about the appropriateness of the blade stiffness. Therefore, in the present study, applicability of the quasi-steady aeroelastic analysis of wind turbine blade is investigated in terms of how accurately the quasi-steady aeroelastic analysis predicts the deformed state of the blade at certain azimuthal positions. For this purpose, comparative study of transient and quasi-steady aeroelastic analysis of a composite wind turbine blade in steady wind conditions is conducted. To perform the transient analysis, a multi-body wind turbine model is generated with almost rigid components except for the dynamic superelement blade that is inverse designed. Transient analysis of the multi body wind turbine system is performed by imposing constant rotational speed to the main shaft and bypassing the controller. Quasi-steady aeroelastic analysis of the same composite wind turbine blade is performed, by coupling a structural finite element solver with a blade element momentum tool, in steady wind conditions at different azimuthal positions including the effect of the centrifugal and gravitational forces. Results show that for the wind turbine system taken as the case study, reasonably good agreement is obtained between the tip deflections and flapwise root shear forces determined by the transient aeroelastic analysis of the wind turbine and quasi-steady aeroelastic analysis of the blade only.