Implementation of the KDamper concept to wind turbine towers

Abstract

A novel passive vibration isolation and damping concept is implemented to wind turbine towers in order to minimize their response, under wind or seismic loads. This concept, called KDamper, constitutes a combination of the classic Tunned Mass Damper isolation system (TMD) with negative stiffness elements. The formulation of the linear and non-liner dynamic problem is a prerequisite. A parametric study is performed to determine the optimal parameters of the KDamper which degradate the response. For this scope, the calculation process of the aerodynamic load that exerts along the tower of the wind turbine is described. A comparison with a non-isolated wind turbine, as long as with a TMD isolated wind turbine indicates that KDamper is a promising isolation system, offering numerous advantages, such as increased damping and simple technological implementations.