The Sensitivity of 5MW Wind Turbine Blade Sections to the Existence of Damage

Due to the large size of offshore wind turbine blades (OWTBs) and the corrosive nature of salt water, OWTs need to be safer and more reliable that their onshore counterparts. To ensure blade reliability, an accurate and computationally efficient structural dynamic model is an essential ingredient. I...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Amna Algolfat, Weizhuo Wang, Alhussein Albarbar
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-01-01
Series:Energies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/3/1367
_version_ 1797624664823955456
author Amna Algolfat
Weizhuo Wang
Alhussein Albarbar
author_facet Amna Algolfat
Weizhuo Wang
Alhussein Albarbar
author_sort Amna Algolfat
collection DOAJ
description Due to the large size of offshore wind turbine blades (OWTBs) and the corrosive nature of salt water, OWTs need to be safer and more reliable that their onshore counterparts. To ensure blade reliability, an accurate and computationally efficient structural dynamic model is an essential ingredient. If damage occurs to the structure, the intrinsic properties will change, e.g., stiffness reduction. Therefore, the blade’s dynamic characteristics will differ from those of the intact ones. Hence, symptoms of the damage are reflected in the dynamic characteristics that can be extracted from the damaged blade. Thus, damage identification in OWTBs has become a significant research focus. In this study, modal model characteristics were used for developing an effective damage detection method for WTBs. The technique was used to identify the performance of the blade’s sections and discover the warning signs of damage. The method was based on a vibration-based technique. It was adopted by investigating the influence of reduced blade element rigidity and its effect on the other blade elements. A computational structural dynamics model using Rayleigh beam theory was employed to investigate the behaviour of each blade section. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 5MW blade benchmark was used to demonstrate the behaviour of different blade elements. Compared to previous studies in the literature, where only the simple structures were used, the present study offers a more comprehensive method to identify damage and determine the performance of complicated WTB sections. This technique can be implemented to identify the damage’s existence, and for diagnosis and decision support. The element most sensitive to damage was element number 14, which is NACA_64_618.
first_indexed 2024-03-11T09:45:47Z
format Article
id doaj.art-28337c88877c4d6bba7a1c8cfdc1bb78
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1996-1073
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-11T09:45:47Z
publishDate 2023-01-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Energies
spelling doaj.art-28337c88877c4d6bba7a1c8cfdc1bb782023-11-16T16:36:28ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732023-01-01163136710.3390/en16031367The Sensitivity of 5MW Wind Turbine Blade Sections to the Existence of DamageAmna Algolfat0Weizhuo Wang1Alhussein Albarbar2Smart Infrastructure and Industry Research Group, Department of Engineering, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester M1 5GD, UKSmart Infrastructure and Industry Research Group, Department of Engineering, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester M1 5GD, UKSmart Infrastructure and Industry Research Group, Department of Engineering, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester M1 5GD, UKDue to the large size of offshore wind turbine blades (OWTBs) and the corrosive nature of salt water, OWTs need to be safer and more reliable that their onshore counterparts. To ensure blade reliability, an accurate and computationally efficient structural dynamic model is an essential ingredient. If damage occurs to the structure, the intrinsic properties will change, e.g., stiffness reduction. Therefore, the blade’s dynamic characteristics will differ from those of the intact ones. Hence, symptoms of the damage are reflected in the dynamic characteristics that can be extracted from the damaged blade. Thus, damage identification in OWTBs has become a significant research focus. In this study, modal model characteristics were used for developing an effective damage detection method for WTBs. The technique was used to identify the performance of the blade’s sections and discover the warning signs of damage. The method was based on a vibration-based technique. It was adopted by investigating the influence of reduced blade element rigidity and its effect on the other blade elements. A computational structural dynamics model using Rayleigh beam theory was employed to investigate the behaviour of each blade section. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 5MW blade benchmark was used to demonstrate the behaviour of different blade elements. Compared to previous studies in the literature, where only the simple structures were used, the present study offers a more comprehensive method to identify damage and determine the performance of complicated WTB sections. This technique can be implemented to identify the damage’s existence, and for diagnosis and decision support. The element most sensitive to damage was element number 14, which is NACA_64_618.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/3/1367damage detectionwind turbine bladesstructural health monitoringcurvature mode shapes
spellingShingle Amna Algolfat
Weizhuo Wang
Alhussein Albarbar
The Sensitivity of 5MW Wind Turbine Blade Sections to the Existence of Damage
Energies
damage detection
wind turbine blades
structural health monitoring
curvature mode shapes
title The Sensitivity of 5MW Wind Turbine Blade Sections to the Existence of Damage
title_full The Sensitivity of 5MW Wind Turbine Blade Sections to the Existence of Damage
title_fullStr The Sensitivity of 5MW Wind Turbine Blade Sections to the Existence of Damage
title_full_unstemmed The Sensitivity of 5MW Wind Turbine Blade Sections to the Existence of Damage
title_short The Sensitivity of 5MW Wind Turbine Blade Sections to the Existence of Damage
title_sort sensitivity of 5mw wind turbine blade sections to the existence of damage
topic damage detection
wind turbine blades
structural health monitoring
curvature mode shapes
url https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/3/1367
work_keys_str_mv AT amnaalgolfat thesensitivityof5mwwindturbinebladesectionstotheexistenceofdamage
AT weizhuowang thesensitivityof5mwwindturbinebladesectionstotheexistenceofdamage
AT alhusseinalbarbar thesensitivityof5mwwindturbinebladesectionstotheexistenceofdamage
AT amnaalgolfat sensitivityof5mwwindturbinebladesectionstotheexistenceofdamage
AT weizhuowang sensitivityof5mwwindturbinebladesectionstotheexistenceofdamage
AT alhusseinalbarbar sensitivityof5mwwindturbinebladesectionstotheexistenceofdamage