Study on coupled mode flutter parameters of large wind turbine blades

Abstract

As the size of wind turbine blades increases, the flexibility of the blades increases. In actual operation, airflow flow can cause aerodynamic elastic instability of the blade structure. Long blades may experience coupled mode flutter due to the bending torsion coupling effect, leading to blade failure. Based on Euler Bernoulli beam theory combined with Theodorsen non directional aerodynamic loads, a blade flutter characteristic equation is established through finite element method. Taking NREL 5 MW wind turbine blades as an example, analyze the influence of parameter changes in different regions of the blades on flutter characteristics. Research has found that paramter changes in the tip region of blade have the greatest impact on flutter characteristics. The vibration frequency shows an overall upward trend with the increase of waving stiffness and torsional stiffness. The flutter velocity of the three regions tends to stabilize as the bending stiffness decreases. The blade flutter speed increases with the increase of torsional stiffness. The radius of gyration is inversely proportional to the flutter frequency and flutter velocity. The impact of centroid offset on blade structure flutter frequency is minimal, but the centroid offset in the tip region has a greater impact on flutter velocity. Increasing the torsional frequency can prevent coupled mode flutter and provide a theoretical basis for blade flutter prevention design.