Structural Design of Wind Turbine Blades

Kim Branner
 Credit: U.S. Geological Survey/photo by J.C. Tinsley

We want to prevent
structures from failing
Credit: NTSB

Credit: flickr

Credit: flickr
Learning objectives

After this lecture you will be able to:

•Formulate the basic principles in structural design

•Explain the difference between loads, boundary conditions and

strength

•Explain the load carrying capacity of a wind turbine blade

Structural design

Boundary Structural
conditions requirements

Loads Failure?

Structure
 Design of tennis racket

Loads?

Boundary
conditions?

Photo: REUTERS/Vincent Kessler Photo: AP/Kin Cheung

 Design of bicycle
Photo: gettyimages/Bryn Lennon

Loads?

Boundary
conditions?

Credit: flickr
Design of wind turbine blade

Loads?
Boundary
conditions?

Gravity

Wind

Courtesy of Vestas Wind Systems A/S Courtesy of Vestas Wind Systems A/S
Typical blade design

• Compromise between aerodynamic and structural requirements.

• Flapwise: Loads mainly taken by a load carrying box/beam build into the blade.
• Edgewise: Loads mainly taken by strengthening of the leading and trailing edge.
• Blades are fairly flexible.
Downwind side
Towards tip
Trailing edge

Aerodynamic
Leading edge shell

Upwind side

Main spar
(load carrying box)

Courtesy of LM Wind Power A/S

Different length scales
L
Wing scale L ~ 10-60 m

•Blade design requires at various Face (laminate) Core

length scales an understanding of: Sandwich scale H ~ 50-100 mm
H
–Material behaviour
–Structural behaviour Laminate scale h ~ 1-50 mm

–Failure modes h
Lamina scale t t ~ 100-500 m

Matrix
d
Microscale d ~ 5-150 m

Fiber
Ra Ra ~ 10-50 nm
Roughness scale

Molecular scale   ~ 0,5-10 nm

Generation of load carrying capacity envelope

• The envelope tells

how much load the
blade can carry in
different directions
Comparing load carrying capacity with load
envelope
Perhaps the
• Which load most critical load
direction!
direction is most
critical for this
blade design?

• It is necessary to
compare the load
carrying capacity
with load
envelope.

• We tested the
blade in that
direction
Summary

In this lecture you have learned:

•The basic principles in structural design

•The difference between loads, boundary conditions and strength

•The load carrying capacity of a wind turbine blade