Strength and Reliability of Wood for the Components of Low-Cost Wind Turbines: Computational and Experimental Analysis and Applications

Abstract

This paper reports the latest results of the comprehensive program of experimental and computational analysis of strength and reliability of wooden parts of low cost wind turbines. The possibilities of prediction of strength and reliability of different types of wood are studied in the series of experiments and computational investigations. Low cost testing machines have been designed, and employed for the systematic analysis of different sorts of Nepali wood, to be used for the wind turbine construction. At the same time, computational micromechanical models of deformation and strength of wood are developed, which should provide the basis for microstructure-based correlating of observable and service properties of wood. Some correlations between microstructure, strength and service properties of wood have been established.