Semi-active control of a wind turbine via magnetorheological dampers

摘要

This paper investigates the use of magnetorheological (MR) dampers to semi-actively control wind induced vibrations of a 1/20 scaled wind tower model. The idea consists in realizing a variable restraint at the base of the model, able to modify in real time its mechanical properties according to the instantaneous response of the tower. The restraint is made up of a cylindrical hinge, two springs and two prototype MR devices, the behavior of the latter being driven by control algorithms aiming to reduce the structural demand imposed to the steel tower. The demand is expressed in terms of base bending stress and top displacement.