On the structural response of a tall hybrid onshore wind turbine tower

• Published in: Procedia engineering Vol. 199; pp. 3200 - 3205
• Main Authors: Gkantou, M., Martinez-Vazquez, P., Baniotopoulos, C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 2017
• Subjects: aeroelasticity; DLC; hybrid tower; time history; Wind turbine tower; Wind turbine tower; DLC; hybrid tower; aeroelasticity; time history
• ISSN: 1877-7058; 1877-7058
• DOI: 10.1016/j.proeng.2017.09.535

Given the increasing demand for taller structures in wind energy applications and the accompanying need for a better understanding of their structural response, the present study performs aeroelastic analysis on a novel wind turbine structure and discusses the obtained results. The response of a hybrid onshore wind turbine tower consisting of a 60 m lattice structure and a 60 m tapered tubular structure, with a 5 MW class AII turbine, is investigated. From the Design Load Cases (DLC) established in IEC64100-1 standard, focus is set on DLC 1.1 and DLC 1.3 which correspond to power production conditions and embody the requirements for loads resulting from atmospheric turbulence during normal and extreme operating conditions respectively. DLC 6.1 which refers to standstill or idling conditions under extreme wind model is also studied. In order to account for the interaction between elastic, viscous and inertial forces of the structure and the external aerodynamic forces, ashes, an integrated analysis software, is used. After developing the wind turbine tower model and generating the turbulence models, 600 seconds simulations are performed. The wind flow is assumed to be parallel to the hub axis. For DLC 1.1 and DLC 1.3, parametric studies with the wind speed ranging from 3 to 25 m/s, with an incremental step of 1 m/s, are executed. In DLC 6.1, the blades are feathered and the wind speed is rapidly increased to 42.5 m/s. Time histories of the elemental forces and the nodal displacements are extracted in critical positions of both the lattice and the tubular part. The mean values of the output data are evaluated and plotted against the wind speed. Conclusions regarding the influence of the wind speed on the induced tower behaviour are drawn.