Metamaterial-based vibration control for offshore wind turbines operating under multiple hazard excitation forces

Abstract

Wind energy holds growing investment perspectives due to its renewable and sustainable energy production potential. The harvesting capability of wind turbines is directly related to their size. Therefore, those wind energy generators still encounter challenges related to excessive vibrations aggravated by environmental factors, compromising energy generation and resulting in fatigue damage and downtime. Various vibration control strategies have been explored to address these issues, with passive control emerging as a preferred choice due to its ease of manufacture, cost-effectiveness, and simple installation. Nevertheless, the limitations of these controls lie in their substantial size and weight associated with optimal installation positions for achieving a good performance. Recently, mechanical metamaterials have demonstrated tremendous advancements in efficiency regarding band isolation and vibration mitigation, coupled with enhanced manufacturing possibilities. Hence, this paper proposes a novel approach to control the vibration of wind turbines employing mechanical metamaterials in their design. A spectral approach is used to model the metamaterial turbine and its interaction with external excitations, such as wind, waves, and blade rotation. The numerical results show the efficiency of the metamaterial turbine by its tunable stopband features and vibration amplitude reduction under multiple hazard excitations, emphasising its superior suppressing vibrations compared to conventional tuned mass damper. Thus, the proposed wind turbine metastructures offer a compelling combination of effective vibration attenuation while reducing dynamic resonators’ overall stiffness, mass, and size. The outcome advances wind turbine design and energy technology for reliable wind energy production.