Structural design of a novel aeroelastically tailored wind turbine blade

摘要

The structural design for a recently presented aeroelastically-tailored wind turbine blade is produced. Variable elastic twist has been shown to improve performance in response to load variation across different wind conditions. This load variation is exploited as a source of passive structural morphing. Therefore, the angle of attack varies along the blade and adjusts to different operating conditions, hence improving both energy harvesting and gust load alleviation capability, below and above rated wind speed, respectively. The twist variation is achieved by purposefully designing spatially varying bend-twist coupling into the structure via tow steering and using a curved blade planform. This process enables the blade sections to twist appropriately while bending flapwise.