Dynamic study of a turbine tapered blade

Chelirem and Bahi

Lakhdar
3- Calculation of mode shapes andTayeb
frequencies
The results
obtained by both methods are
Physics
Department,
The vibrations are said free
when
they are Mentouri University of Constantine
very close to giving a validation method
not imposed by external efforts (ie) what it
comes down to F = 0 in equation
(2-2), which
(FEM) that was used
Chelirem_tayeb@yahoo.fr
, bahi.lak@gmail.com
gives:
M (q) + K q = 0
- Comparison of results for a blade of constant
(3-1)
section and a tapered blade
The modes of vibration are those for which
Table II gives the first three natural
all points vibrate in phase
frequencies obtained for the case of an
Therefore, we seek the solution in the form:
cantilevered blade of constant section and a
Abstract - The exploitation of wind energy as a
The study aims to highlight the dynamic
blade section variable.
q(t)= x
renewable and clean energy requires machines called
phenomena requesting blades for their
For this comparison, it was held that the
(3-2)
wind turbines, where their choice depends on several
design
to
fatigue.
weight of the blade of constant section is
replacing
parameters.
in On
(3-1),
one yields:
hand, we aim to maximize the
Practically, the work leads to a simulation
equal to the weight of the blade of variable
energy captured by increasing the size of the blades;
tool that highlights the dynamic effects on a
(KM) x = 0
section, for this to happen we have used the
on the other hand, we should minimize the structural
blade during its rotation, taking into account
following relationship between sections [4]:
(3-3)
problems produced by vibration phenomena and
both mechanical forces (centrifugal, inertial)
Seq =s1s2
This
is the instabilities.
eigenvalueThe
equation.
aeroelastic
objective of this work is
and
aerodynamic effects. The approach
Seq: the constant section
The
xi are the
defined
as specific
to study
behavior
of themode
rotor shapes
blades of
by
used is the finite element method applied to
S1 section to the frame of the tapered blade
the
structure,
represent
the corresponding
nodes
determining
thewhich
mode shapes
and the
the beams. The flow will be assumed
S2: section at the end of the blade tapered
displacements
the finite
element
mesh at to
frequencies, andin also
the stress
distribution
stationary. The code is written in Matlab.
r = S2 / S1 (aspect ratio)
the
natural
theblades.
blade.We used the
evaluate
thefrequency
lifetime ofofthe
The
Hamilton
matrixprinciple
systemand
(3-3)
thehas
finite
no element
trivial method.
2- Equations
motion
Taking
r = of
0.2
The study(xhas
been
done its
for determinant
the case of a is
constant
solution
0)
if only
section blade and a tapered one with a comparison
zero.
The blade of the turbine is treated as a
between them.
beam.
Only
Blade
of the method of longitudinal
Det (KM) = 0
Tapered
For this purpose, a numerical code has been
bending
strain was
studied V/C
saw its
constant
(3-4)
Blade of deformation
developed based on Matlab language and the
dominance
over
other
modes
section
obtained results have been validated by comparison
The finite element method was used to
1.11
1.45
1.48
with different
authors.
Results
and Analysis
discretize
the
differential
equations
3.11

3.27

1.05
For the numerical simulations presented
governing the physical phenomenon studied.
Keywords
:
blade,
vibration,
lifetime,
finite
elements,
below, we will take a blade that has the
5.96
5.54
0.90
Matlab code
following
characteristics:
9.91
8.60
0.81
NACA 0012
15.02
12.46
0.75
Length1-ofIntroduction
the rope C = 0.4 m (for the blade
Table
II
The
first
five
eigenmodes
obtained
of
section)
Toconstant
fight against
climate change, we advocate
for a cantilevered blade of constant section
quadratic
moment
the
section
the blade
increasing the useofof
clean
andofsustainable
and variable section.
Io
= 9.5.10-7
energy.
This m4
will aim to reduce emissions of
The equations describing the motion of
linear
mass
(m): 6.69
kg are
/ m mainly produced
polluted
gases.
These
flexion
(ignoring
depreciation)
are treated
We
can see
that the
first two natural
Blade
length Lfuels
= 8m (oil, gas and coal).
by fossil
using the Lagrange
variational
approach
as.
frequencies
obtained
for
the
blade
of
parameters
(specific
speed): (exploitation
L) / V = 8 of
Furthermore,
the excessive
variable section are more than the blade of
material
used:by
aluminum
alloy countries
E= 7.1 will
fossil fuels
industrialized
(2-1)
constant section. For the last two
1010N
cause,/ m
within less than a century, their
frequencies,
the
reverse
occurs.
The
tapered
supposed
to have a
Where
scarcity
or blade
evenis their
disappearance.
To
Comparison
between mode forms of a
linear
variation
of
the
rope
L: is the Lagrangian
of the mechanical
compensate for any eventuality, it is
cantilevered
blade of constant
section
Cessential
(r) = C1 and
* (1 -vital
(1-r1))
C1: root
Rope
system defined
by L=T-U
to exploit
more
renewable
and
a
tapered
blade
C2:
tip Rope
r 1 =wind
C2 / power
C1
T: is the kinetic energy of the blade
energy,
especially
which is less
r=s2/s1
(aspect
ratio)
s1 :section
a
U: is the
elastic
energy stored by
the shapes
flexible
expensive
and less
cost effective
than at
other
Below
are
the corresponding
mode
root
s2
:
section
at
a
tip
blade.
renewable energies in the many windy
(the first three modes) for a tapered blade
Fe: a
is constant
the column
vector
representing
regions of the globe [1].
and
section
blade
for N=10, the
=
Comparison of results obtained by the finite element
generalized
external
force
vector.
In
recent
years,
and
in
response
to
a
need
for
11rd/s and r =0.2
method with those obtained by the method of
q : is the column vector representing the
more and
increasing world energy
assumed
modes more
[3]
generalized
coordinates of motion
consumption
,
size
of
wind
turbines
for
Initially, the numerical results obtained by
In
writing
the
kinetic energy and elastic
electricity
generation
has
grown
steadily.
The
the MEF, to a cantilevered blade of constant
potential
energy
of an element of the blade
effects
of
increasing
the
size
of
machines
section are compared to those obtained with
we
derive
the
dynamic
model of it is written
and
more
particularly
the
blades,
results
in
the method of assumed modes.
as
follows
the
appearance
of
vibration
phenomena
and
Table. I give the first three eigenmode
The equation of motion [2] we write for an
obtained for the case of a beam of constant
element of the blade
section built by the method of assumed
1
modes and the MEF. For
results given below, the blade is divided into
10 elements (Ne = 10).
: rotation speed of the blade

To evaluate the differente components of the

aerodynamic force F, we integrate over the
entire blade.
4-2 - Solving the equation of forced movement
4-2-1 - Modal superposition method [6]
In

the

equation

of

the

blade

forced

movement M + K q = F, where M and K

are 2n by 2n matrices and q and F are
vectors of size n, where n is the number of
degrees of freedom of the system (which is
equal to the number of nodes multiplied by
the number of possible displacements of
each node).
Because of the non-diagonal matrix K
structure and although the matrix M can
often be seen as diagonal, there is a coupling
between the degrees of freedom of the
system. The equation of rank i of the system
(4 - 11) involves not only the degree of
freedom of qi but also the degrees of
freedom
of
qj
(j

i).

Fig2- Second mode shape

Fig3- third mode shape

We note that the amplitude of vibration of the
blade of constant section is constant and that of
the tapered blade is variable, and that the
amplitude of the tapered blade is lower than the
uniform blade on three-quarters of the length of
the blade and there top on the last quarter.

q(x,t) = V1
+ Vn

(t) +
(t)

V2
+

(t) + V3

(t) +

+ V2n

(t)

(4-3)
Or in the matrix form
q(t)=V(t)
where V = [V1, V2, V3, ... .. V2N]
is the
matrix of the above eigenvectors.

4- Study of forced vibrations

We have to solve the following equation
M +

To decouple the equations of this system, we

use the orthogonality property of modes. It is
interesting to rewrite this equation in the
basis
of
eigenvectors
[15].
The displacement q (x, t) is expressed in this
basis as follows:

(4-1)
The matrix M and K were determined in the
previous chapter. It remains to determine the
force vector F.
4-1: Basic Aerodynamic force
To define the aerodynamic force, we use a very
simplified theory by dividing the blade length
into elements [5]. Lets consider the movement
of a blade element. According to aerodynamic
theory, the blade profile is subjected to a
pressure exerted by the relative wind. The
pressure generates a resistance force per unit
area on the blade element . We write for the
elementary aerodynamic force, exerted on the
blade element, the following equation
dFe=
0.5W2C
().
c.dr 2
(4-2)
Where
: is the density of air.
C: is the aerodynamic coefficient .

4-3- Deflection and Stress

4-3-1- Blade deflection
Blade deflection q (x, t) is given according to
the eigenvectors by the equation (4-3):
We take into consideration only the first
three modes. The deflection of any point of
the blade is given by the following
expression:
q(x,t) = V1

(t) +

V2

(t) +

V3

(t)

(4-4)
4-3 2- Blade normal stress
Consider again the beam of Figure 4.6, to
study the normal stresses acting on its cross
section.
The normal stresses in the cross section A,
acting at a point distant of y from the
neutral axis, is [18]:

ymax : The half-thickness of the blade

section.
Using the expression u (x, t) = A(x).w(t) , we
obtain the stress expression.
4-4- Results and Analysis

we note that the deflection of the blade of

constant section is greater than the blade
tapered over a length of 3 / 4 L and the last
quarter of the length is the reverse happens.
4.4.3- Normal stress distribution

For the numerical simulations presented

below, we will take a blade that has the
following characteristics:
Hollow NACA 0012
Chord length C = 0.4m (for the blade of
constant section)
Quadratic moment of the blade section Io =
9.5.10-7 m4
Linear mass (m): 6.69kg / m.
Length of the blade L = 8m
Operating parameter (specific speed): ( L) /
V=8
Material used: Alloy aluminum E
=7.1.1010N/m
The tapered blade is assumed to have a
linear slope variation.
C(r) = C1*(1 - (1-r1))
C1: Chord at the root
C2: Chord at the tip
r 1 = C2 / C1

- For the blade of constant section the

maximum stress is located at the embidding
and it s upper than the maximum stress in
the blade for variable section under the
same conditions (speed, weight, length).

4.4.1- Tip blade deflection

For the blade of variable section the

maximum stress is localized not to the level
of embedding, but of the length of the
blade.
The latter result is especially true for low
aspect ratio (r) and
for rotational speeds of the blade ( <10).
4.4.4- Maximum root normal stress

Fig 4.8 Tip blade displacement, =

6rd/s, r = 0.05
4.4.2- Total Deflection

The maximum normal stress for embedding

the blade of constant section is greater than
that of the cantilever beam of variable
section in all cases.
This difference is even more important than
the aspect ratio is small.

REFERENCES

5- CONCLUSION
The main objective of this study is to develop
a mathematical model of analysis and study
of vibrations of wind turbine blades subject
to aerodynamic loads.
For this, we have developed an analytical
model and numerical simulation of a
dynamic blade vibration to determine the
dynamic blade behavior.

[1] Munif Jourieh Dveloppement dun

modle reprsentatif dune olienne afin
dtudier limplantation de plusieurs
machines sur un parc olien , thse de
doctorat, lENSAM-Paris 2007.
[2] F.S. Stoddard Dynamic rotor loads of
wind turbine via hand-held calculators , J. of
Energy, vol 5, N2, 1981.

The finite element method was used to

descritize the differential equations
governing the physical phenomenon studied.

[3] Z. Mehri
Etude des vibrations des
vibrations des pales dun arognrateur ,
Thse
de
Magister,
Universit
de
Constantine, Janvier 1991.

Using the experimental curve of Whole, it

was possible to determine the lifetime of the
blade which is necessary for the blade design
by choosing the appropriate aspect ratio,
based on the blade profile and its geometric
characteristics, and the dynamic conditions
to increase the lifetime blade.

[4] S .p Timoshenko Vibration problem in

engineering , Edition John Wiley 1974.
[5] J. M. Jonkman Modeling of the UAE Wind
Turbine for Refinement of FAST-AD ,
Technical report, NREL/TP-500-34755, 2003.

The maximum normal stress for a

cantilevered blade of constant section is
greater than the one for a cantilever beam of
variable section in all cases.

[6] Thomas Gmur Dynamique des

structures: Analyse modale numrique ,
Presses polytechniques et Universitaires
Romandes 1997.

This difference becomes more important as

the aspect ratio goes down
In conclusion, for the same blade mass, the
tapered blade structure has better
advantages over the blade constant section.