Design of Wind Turbine Passive Smart Blades

† ‡
Alireza Maheri and Askin T. Isikveren
†
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
Alireza.Maheri@northumbria.ac.uk
‡
Department of Aerospace Engineering, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK

Abstract:
This paper demonstrates a wind turbine blade design tool, developed based on the concept of
Variable-State Design Parameter. The design code can be utilised to convert ordinary blades of
a constant speed horizontal axis wind turbine, with or without pitch control system into passive
smart blades. The design objectives are to maximise the rotor power yield and to minimise the
maximum blade loading. The design software gives the optimum rotor radius, chord and pre-
twist distributions, along with a metric indicating the required level of elastic coupling in the
smart blade.

Keywords: Wind Turbine Design, Adaptive Blade, Smart Blade, Decoupled Design,
Engineering Software, Variable-State Design Parameter

1 Introduction
Particular lay-ups and fibre orientations in a structure constructed of fibrous composites produce
some elastic coupling in that structure. Rotor blades made of composite materials can therefore
be aeroelastically tailored, performing as a smart blade adapting to wind turbine run condition.
Implementation of stretch-twist and bend-twist elastic couplings in wind turbine blades can have
positive effects on the performance of the blade in several different ways. Employing adaptive
blades have recently been identified as a promising means of producing cheaper energy
through increasing the operational life of turbines due to blade load alleviation, enhancement of
the energy capture capabilities and eliminating or reducing the size and operating cost of pitch
control system.
The research on the concept of aeroelastic tailoring in wind turbine applications has been
carried out mainly in three areas of (i) materials, structural design and manufacturing [1 to 5], (ii)
parametric studies of wind turbines with adaptive blades [6 to 9], and (iii) blade topology design
[10 to 12].
To bring the concept of adaptive blades into practice, two crucial questions should be
answered: (i) how to manufacture a blade with the required amount of bend-twist or stretch-twist
elastic coupling implemented in it and (ii) how to design an adaptive blade aerodynamically to
make it cost effective. There has been a vast amount of research on manufacturing, material
selection and structural design of these blades referencing issues such as the effect of elastic
coupling on dynamic aeroelastic behaviour of blades and generating maximum twist with
minimum cost and impact on the other aspects. However, to answer the second question, a
design tool, capable of performing optimal topology design of adaptive blades is required.
The software presented in this paper has been developed to serve as a blade topology
design tool for quantification of the benefits that can be achieved by replacing a conventional
blade with an adaptive one on an existing wind turbine unit.

2 Design strategy
An adaptive blade has a dynamic topology and therefore seeks a different approach in its
design [12]. The presented design tool is based on the decoupled design approach [13] and the
concept of variable-state design parameters [14], in which the aero-structure design process is
decomposed into two separate aerodynamic and structural design phases. In the aerodynamic
design phase, the induced twist is treated as an independent aerodynamic design parameter
among other design parameters (chord and pre-twist distributions and rotor radius). Induced
twist depends upon the wind turbine operating condition, and therefore it has a variable state.
To be able to treat the induced twist as a design parameter, it must be assigned to a reference
operating condition β ref .
The dependency of the induced twist on the material and structural characteristics of the
blade is taken into account by imposing a proper constraint on the structure of the blade in the
structural design phase. In the structural design, the material and structural design parameters
are selected such that the requirements of generating the induced twist, as planned in the
aerodynamic design phase, are met [13]. To ease the fulfilment of the constraint in structural
design phase and to avoid situations in which the imposed structural constraint is impossible to
be satisfied, the structural design space can be reduced by deciding some material/structural
characteristics of the blade prior to commencing the aerodynamic design [14]. In this design
code, the reduction of the structural design space takes place by deciding the material and
structural configuration of the blade. The material and structural configuration of the blade refers
to the dimensionless span-wise variations of mechanical properties of the blade material, ply
angle, shell thickness, etc. Adopting this approach, the induced twist can be divided into two
parts: the induced twist at the tip of the blade β T , which serves as a design parameter, and its
normalised span-wise distribution β * , which can be determined based on a specified material
and structural configuration as explained in Reference [13].
The main advantage of a decoupled design approach is a significant reduction in the
evaluation time by replacing a FEA-based coupled aero-structure simulation in each
aerodynamic objective evaluation by a non-FEA-based simulation [13].

3 Design parameters
In order to convert an ordinary blade to an adaptive blade the first design parameter is the level
of elastic coupling in the adaptive blade. Adopting a decoupled design methodology based on
the reduced structural design space, the tip induced twist at a reference operating condition,
β T , ref , serves as a measure to the level of elastic coupling in the blade.
If the original blade has been designed optimally, increasing the blade span does not
necessarily cause an improvement in the amount of the power yield without a penalty on the
blade loading. Also, decreasing the blade span affects the blade loading but with a reduction in
the rotor maximum power. However, when a change in the blade span is accompanied with the
effect of elastic coupling in its structure, the adaptivity nature of the blade allows us to increase
or decrease the blade span. This will improve the energy capture capability without increasing
the blade loading, or reduce the blade loading without a loss on the amount of power yield.
Therefore, when converting an ordinary blade to an adaptive one, since the adaptivity of the
blades allows for optimal design of longer or shorter blades, the rotor radius R should be
considered as a design parameter.
In adaptive blades the blade twist is a combination of the pre-twist β 0 and the induced
twist β . The pre-twist distribution of the adaptive blade must be therefore different from that of
the original blade to insure the optimal aerodynamic performance of the adaptive blade. Two
methods of pre-twist modification have been implemented in the software.
In the first method [15], the pre-twist is modified such that the adaptive blade operates
optimally at the same operating condition at which the original blade experiences its optimal
performance. Here, the goal of pre-twist modification is to cancel the effect of induced twist at
the design wind speed Vd . In other words, as presented by Equation 1, the twist distribution of
the adaptive blade at the design wind speed must be the same as the pre-twist of the original
blade.

(β0 + β |at designspeed )adptiveblade = (β0 )originalblade (1)

 Design wind speed, Vd , is defined as the wind speed at which the power coefficient, C P , of
the wind turbine with original blades has its maximum value. In this method if the reference wind
speed is taken equal to the design wind speed, V ref = V design , the new pre-twist can be determined
directly from the original pre-twist and β T , ref as follows:

β 0, adptive blade = β 0, original blade − β T , ref β * (2)

In the second method, pre-twist is redesigned entirely. The pre-twist distribution is defined at
n precision points, serving as n design parameters β 0 ,1 to β 0 , n . Precision points ( r1* = 0 to rn* = 1 )
are located along the blade span with equal spacing. The dimensionless span-wise coordinate
r * is defined as:

r − Rhub (3)
r* =
R − Rhub

Span-wise variation of the blade thickness is mostly affected by the form of the span-wise
distribution of the blade internal forces, more specifically, the flap bending moment as the
dominant internal force. Retaining the aerofoil distribution unchanged, the thickness-chord ratio
distribution of the smart blade will be the same as that of the original blade. The chord
distribution of the smart blade will be therefore mainly affected by the form of the span-wise
distribution of the flap bending moment. Since the form of the span-wise distribution of the blade
internal forces is not a strong function of the aerodynamic load distribution, (for instance see
Figures 5 to 7 of Reference [16]), no dramatic modification to the form of the chord distribution
is necessary. However, since extending or shortening the rotor radius affects the value of the
flap bending, in order to have a control on the maximum stress level or the weight of the blade
through the design process, the blade chord can be scaled. In case of scaling, to retain the
blade chord at the hub radius and the trend of chord distribution unchanged, the scale factor is
constant over the blade span except for the inner part of the blade with increasing chord. The
rotor hub radius is also retained unchanged during blade topology modification process.
In this software the rotor speed and blade pitch angle can also be treated as design
parameters allowing the designer to investigate the possibilities of removing or adding a pitch
control system or changing the rotor speed.

4 Objective and constraints

The objective of the aerodynamic design is to maximise the energy capture capability, or
equivalently to maximise the average power of the rotor, defined as:
VO
Pav = ∫ P(V ) PDF (V )dV (4)
VI

in which, V is wind velocity, PDF (V ) stands for the wind velocity probability density function,
P(V ) is the rotor mechanical power and V I and VO denote cut-in and cut-out velocities,
respectively. In the software, the designer has the option of selecting a Rayleigh or a user
defined probability density function.
In the aerodynamic design phase, employing an aerodynamic code that accounts for the
effect of induced twist, some constrained parameters such as maximum rotor power and
maximum blade loading can be determined independent of the blade structural/ material
properties.
Some other constrained parameters cannot be determined unless the actual values of the
material properties and structural characteristics, which are not available in the first phase of a
decoupled design, are known. However, since the design process is based on the modification
of an ordinary blade, which has known properties, some of these constrained parameters can
be estimated without involvement of the actual values. For example, the weight of adaptive
blade, W AB , can be estimated using that the weight of the original blade, WOB , through the
following equation,

AAB
W AB = WOB (5)
AOB

in which AAB and AOB stand for the plan area of the adaptive and original blades respectively.
Some other constrained parameters such as tip deflection, inter-laminate stresses, stiffness
and natural frequency neither can be calculated accurately nor can they be estimated in the
aerodynamic phase of the design. These constraints, along with having the planned induced
twist at a reference operating condition must be satisfied in the structural phase of the design, if
necessary through feedbacks to the first phase, as shown in Figure 1.
Aerodynamic
Design Phase

Select
1. aerodynamic design parameters
(including β T , ref )
2. material/structural configuration

Simulate wind turbine to

1. determine aero objective
2. determine aero constrained
parameters
3. estimate some structural
constrained parameters

Select Material/Structural design

parameters

Analyse blade structure to

determine
1. structural objective
2. structural constrained parameters
(including β T at reference
operating condition)

Structural Design Phase

Figure 1: Decoupled aerodynamic and structural design

5 Design space search

Design space search is based on a genetic algorithm (GA) as illustrated by Block “2” in Figure
2. Each design candidate is defined by a chromosome containing information on the blade
span, chord and pre-twist distributions as well as its tip induced twist at the reference run
condition. In case of defining rotor speed and pitch angle as two other design parameters, the
values of these parameters at which the design candidate operate optimally are also included in
the chromosome. However, in search for the optimal values, these parameters are treated
differently from topology related design parameters. These values are obtained through a direct
search by analysing the design candidate over a range of rotor speeds and blade pitch angles.
In GA reproduction operations, therefore, only those parameters representing the topology of
the blade are involved.

Start
1

Select material/ structural

configuration

Load topology of
the original blade

Generate an initial population

of design candidates

generation loop:
1 ≤ igen ≤ ngen

population loop:
1 ≤ ipop ≤ popsize
3
Evaluate each individual in the
population and assign a fitness
to it

2 Produce a new population of

design candidates

Select design candidate with

the highest fitness

End

Figure 2: Design space search

Each crossover operation produces two blades. Crossover is geometric single-cut. Selection
of parents for crossover is based on a hybrid method. In order to achieve a fine tuned solution,
a dynamic arithmetic mutation operation is applied on the genes. More details on the GA
reproduction operations used in this software are given in References [17] and [18].

6 Objective evaluation
To find the average power Pav , the performance of each design candidate (a blade with new
topology) must be analysed over a range of wind speeds [VI , VO ] . As explained before, when the
rotor speed is selected as a design parameter, a range of variation is assigned to it. Wind
turbine utilising the design candidate is then simulated over the range of rotor speeds to find the
rotor speed at which the objective Pav is maximised. A third loop on the pitch angle is also
required when the blade is designed for a wind turbine utilising a pitch control system or when
the pitch angle is treated as a design parameter.
Having decided the design parameters, a rotor aerodynamic code based on Blade Element
Momentum Theory calculates the wind turbine power and the blade loading at various operating
conditions. To take the effect of the induced twist on the blade topology into account, the
normalised induced twist β * is required as an input to the code. It can be either calculated by
employing a mathematical model [16] or predicted by performing a FE-based coupled aero-
structure simulation using WTAB [19] simulation code. In the latter case, since a reduced
structural design space approach has been adopted, any arbitrary set of material/structural
properties accompanied by the planned material/structural configuration can be used to feed
into WTAB to predict the normalised induced twist. Calculated β * for a reference operating
condition is valid for all operating conditions [16].
Constraints have been categorised as either soft or hard constraints. Design candidates with
violated hard constraints are discarded, while design candidates with violated soft constraints
are still treated as feasible solutions. A penalty is, however, applied to the fitness of these
solutions. Hard constraints are the maximum power and the limit on the aerodynamic loading.
Soft constraints are those from structural characteristics of the blade which are calculated or
estimated in the aerodynamic design phase. Soft constraints in the aerodynamic phase still can
be treated as hard constraints in the structural design phase.

7 Design code features

Theoretically, in converting a conventional blade to an adaptive one, the adaptive blade may
be of the same topology and size as the original blade, but with the effect of elastic coupling in
its structure, or it may have a completely different size and topology. This software, therefore,
allows to design an adaptive blade with the same topology and size as the original blade, or
different in span and/or chord distribution and/or pre-twist distribution. In practice, this depends
on how much a blade manufacturer is willing to modify its current production line.
The graphical user interface (GUI) of the software allows the designer to define constraints
on any combinations of power, maximum flap bending and weight of the blade as well as a set
of user defined constraints. Applying user defined constraints is realised by calling user defined
functions or externally linked applications.
The probability density function and the site average wind speed are two input parameters
affecting the design. Each adaptive blade is therefore designed to perform optimally for a
specified site.
In the GUI of the software the following options are also available to the designer:
Blade pitch:
• Constant and known.
• Constant, but unknown. In this case the software predicts the optimal value for the
blade pitch angle with respect to the specified objective and constraints.
• Variable pitch. In this case the software predicts the pitch variation at which the blade
performs optimally with respect to the specified objective and constraints.
Rotor speed:
• Constant and known.
• Constant, but unknown. In this case the software finds the optimal value for the rotor
speed with respect to the specified objective and constraints. This feature can be used
when modification of the unit gear-train is a practical option.

8 Case studies and conclusion

Two wind turbines, with ordinary blades, have been considered as baselines and four designs
have then been carried out. For Designs (1) to (3) the modelled wind turbine is an
approximation of a pitch-control 3-blade V52-850 wind turbine with a rotor radius of 25 m
running at 26 rpm. It is assumed that the blades are made of NACA 63-415, and also yaw and
conning angle are assumed to be zero. In Design (4) a 300 KW constant-speed stall regulated
AWT-27 wind turbine with a rotor radius of 13.7 m running at 53 rpm has been considered as
the baseline. Table 1 summarises these designs.

Design Wind turbine Constraints Modifications Designed Adaptive

Blade
• Elastic coupling: Tip
induced twist of
V52-850 β T ,ref = 3.8 o (toward
1 • Power None
pitch controlled
stall) at wind speed of
V ref = 10 m / s

• Rotor radius • Elastic coupling:

V52-850 • Pre-twist β T ,ref = 11.6 o (TS) at
2 • Power
pitch controlled • Full pitch control
V ref = 10 m / s
stall regulated • R = 26.2m
• Rotor radius • Elastic coupling:
• Power • Pre-twist β T ,ref = 11.6 o (TS) at
V52-850
3 • Flap • Full pitch control
V ref = 10 m / s
pitch controlled
bending Semi activated pitch
control • R = 26.2m
• Elastic coupling:
AWT-27 • Rotor radius β T ,ref = 5.72 o (TS) at
4 • Power
stall regulated • Pre-twist V ref = 10 m / s
• R = 14.45m
Table 1: Design case studies

In Design 1, all characteristics of the blade have remained unchanged except for the material
of the blade which produces bend-twist elastic coupling in the blade. Running the code, the
optimal elastic coupling obtained for the adaptive blade is a tip induced twist of 3.8 degrees
towards stall at a wind velocity of 10m/s. In structural design phase the material should be
selected to produce this amount of tip twist at wind velocity of 10m/s.
Figure 3.a shows the predicted power produced by wind turbines utilising original and
designed blades. The original power curve is the maximum power that theoretically the original
wind turbine can produce due to a full pitch control. According to this figure some improvements
in the rotor power can be achieved if the ordinary blades are replaced by adaptive ones.
Figure 3.b shows the percent increase in the average power when using adaptive blades.
More enhancements can be observed at low and moderate site average speeds; while in higher
site average speeds, namely 9m/s, the improvement becomes less.

1000
5
Percent Increase in Pav

800 4
Power (KW)

600 3
Original Blade
400 2
Adaptive Blade
200 1

0 0
5 10 15 20 25 5 7 9
Wind Speed (m/s) Vav (m/s)

(a) (b)

Figure 3: Design 1; (a) Power curve (b) Percent increase in power yield
 The aim of Design 2, carried out for the same V52-850 wind turbine, is to enhance the
average power while eliminating pitch control system. In this design the pre-twist distribution
and the rotor radius are considered as design parameters while the pitch angle is constant.
Power curves and percent increase in average power are shown in Figure 4. Results show that
for low and moderate site average speeds both of the objectives of Design 2 are achievable.
To improve the average power at high site average speeds, the current aerofoil distribution
must be replaced by aerofoils designed especially for the purpose of stall regulation. Using
these aerofoils in the blades prevents the considerable drop in the power curve at high wind
velocities.

1000 6

Percent Increase in Pav

800 4
Power (KW)

600 2

400 0
5 7 9
Original Blade -2
200
Adaptive Blade
-4
0
5 10 15 20 25 -6
Wind Speed (m/s) Vav (m/s)
(a) (b)

Figure 4: Design 2-Eliminating pitch control system; (a) Power curve (b) Percent increase in
power yield

The results of this design study lead one to conclude that using bend-twist adaptive blades in
conjunction with a pitch control system has the potential of reducing the actuation time and
energy of the pitch control system. Design 3 was carried out for this purpose and the obtained
results for the power curve and percent increase in average power are shown in Figure 5.
Comparing Figures 4.a and 5.a, to keep the rotor power at its rated value and also to prevent
the blade from overloading, the pitch control system of Design 3 needs to be activated only
when the wind speed exceeds 13 m/s.

1000
6
Percent Increase in Pav

800 5
Power (KW)

600 4

3
400
2
Original Blade
200
1
Adaptive Blade
0 0
5 10 15 20 25 5 7 9
Wind Speed (m/s) Vav (m/s)
(a) (b)

Figure 5: Design 3- Semi-activated pitch control system; (a) Power curve (b) Percent increase in
power yield

Figures 6 and 7 present the results of Design 4. Significant improvement in energy capture
capability of the unit in sites with lower average wind speeds can be observed. However, since
in this design no constraint on the blade loading has been applied, this improvement in power
yield is accompanied by about 17% increase in the maximum flap bending in the blade.
 18
350

Percent Increase in Pav

300 15
250 12
Power (KW)

200
9
150 Original Blade
6
100
Adaptive Blade 3
50
0 0
5 10 15 20 25 5 7 9
Wind Speed (m/s) Vav (m/s)
(a) (b)

Figure 6: Design 4; (a) Power curve (b) Percent increase in power yield

180

Flap Bending at Hub (KN.m) .

0.5
160
Power Coefficient (-)

0.4 Original Blade

140

Adaptive Blade 120

0.3
100
0.2 80 Original Blade
60
0.1 Adaptive Blade
40
0 20
5 10 15 20 25 5 10 15 20 25
Wind Speed (m/s) Wind Speed (m/s)
(a) (b)

10

8
Pre-twist (degrees)

6
Original Blade
4
Adaptive Blade
2

0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
r* (-)

(c)

Figure 7: Design 4; (a) Power coefficient (b) Flap bending at hub radius (c) Pre-twist distribution

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