Steady-state and vibration analysis of a WindPACT 1.5-MW turbine blade

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to study the stresses and deformations of a wind turbine blade under the steady-state load condition in addition to investigating the vibration characteristics (natural frequencies and mode shapes). The selected wind turbine blade is WindPACT 1.5-MW with upwind horizontal axis that has three blades of a length 34.125m and rotor diameter 70m. The wind turbine blade model was made using SOLIDWORKS software then exported to ANSYS Workbench. Finite element analysis has been used to achieve the numerical simulation of the wind blade. The steady-state behavior of the selected wind turbine blade was investigated deeply at the rated output power (maximum rotational velocity 20.5 RPM). In this research paper two different isotropic materials [structural steel (Blade A) and Al 2024 (Blade B)] were selected for different parts of the blade to spotlight the effect of materials type on the stresses, deformations and natural frequencies of wind turbine blade. The results presented the von-Mises stresses, total deformations and the ten first natural frequencies of WindPACT 1.5-MW wind blade. It was found that the wind blade response was improved when used the Al 2024 material instead of the structural steel.