Evaluation of equivalent structural properties of NREL phase VI wind turbine blade

摘要

This paper presents the structural model development and verification process for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Phase VI wind which consists of the blades, rotor, nacelle, and tower. The mass and stiffness properties of all parts had to be clearly defined to develop the structural model for the entire turbine. However, it was difficult to define the geometries and material properties of the blade structure and power generating machinery because of their complexity. To perform a FSI analysis, fluid and structural models that shared the associated interface topology had to be provided. With the help of an eigen-value analysis, the structural stiffness and mass properties were verified in comparison with the values reported by NREL A finite element (FE) model that included the blade, nacelle, and tower was developed based on the NREL's reported data. The commercial FE software ANSYS was used to develop the geometry and mesh, and to perform the eigen-value analysis. The various material properties and configurations of the entire turbine system were tested to obtain the proper material properties to determine this value. Overall, the proposed geometry, material, and mass properties were in good agreement with the measurements, but need to be discussed further. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.