Vibration Analysis of A Wind Turbine Blade Integrated by A Piezoelectric layer

Abstract

Vibration of wind turbine blades is a critical parameter to study its durability and performance. Active control using piezoelectric sensors and actuators have been emerged as a promising technology. In the present work, finite element analysis (FEA) has been developed for vibration analysis of a smart wind turbine blade, in which a piezoelectric layer is integrated on the blade layers. The numerical model of the blade with active and inactive piezoelectric actuator was constructed in COMSOL Multiphysics. Modal analysis has been performed to identify natural frequencies. It was shown that usage of piezoelectric layer increases the blade stiffness, thus increases the blade natural frequencies. These results indicate the feasibility of using piezoelectric actuators as a smart material for vibration suppression in the wind turbine blades.