Analysis of the effect of defects for fatigue life of composite wind turbine blades using FEM data

U. I.K. Galappaththi, A. M. De Silva, M. Macdonald, O. Adewale

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

One of the main global engineering challenges for wind energy sector is to develop efficient wind turbine blades with high fatigue life. Large wind turbine blades made out of polymer composites to delivering high specific stiffness and strength, and good fatigue performance. The arbitrary nature of wind flow and extreme weather conditions render wind turbine blades as fatigue critical elements. Therefore, reliable fatigue damage models need to be developed. Numerous studies were carried out in the past to identify the effect of various materials and loading conditions for fatigue life of wind turbine blades. However, these models do not consider the effect of manufacturing defects and in-service damages for fatigue life of wind turbine blades. This paper discusses the available fatigue life estimation models for wind turbine blades and their limitations. The paper, propose a framework for developing fatigue life estimation technique for wind turbine blades based on finite element analysis (FEM) stress and strain data.

Original languageEnglish
Article number845
Pages (from-to)1827-1831
Number of pages5
JournalRenewable Energy and Power Quality Journal
Volume1
Issue number10
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 25 Apr 2012

Keywords

  • fatigue
  • in-service damages
  • manufacturing defects
  • polymer composites
  • wind turbine blades

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
  • Energy Engineering and Power Technology
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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