Effects of Gyroscopic Coupling on the Dynamics of a Wind Turbine Blade with Horizontal Axis

Abstract

It is about a wind turbine blade of five meters of length in composite material, Glass Fiber Reinforced Plastics (GRP), calculated using the finite elements method (FEM) to determine the influence of the gyroscopic coupling on its dynamic behavior. First, using the blade element momentum method (BEM) we wrote the aerodynamic forces applied on the blade, depending on the wind speed. Then we incorporated these expressions into the laws of structures behavior to reach a matrix formulation of the equations of motion of the blade taking into account the nonlinear deformation. The obtaining of the mechanical stiffness, geometric stiffness, mass and gyroscopic coupling matrices of the blade allows to simulate its dynamic response in transient and permanent phases under the action of its weight, and under a sudden variation of the wind speed.