The influence of material properties on the aeroelastic behavior of a composite wind turbine blade

The main objective of this research is to investigate the degree to which variations in mechanical properties of constitutive composite materials can influence the aeroelastic behavior of a wind turbine blade. First, structural behavior of a full-scale wind turbine blade is evaluated from different aspects of bending, torsional and axial rigidities. For this purpose, simplified model of the blade is constructed and it is validated with experimental data of the full-scale blade. Then, a parametric study is performed to determine the most dominant mechanical properties which have a severe impact on the structural behavior of the blade. Identified dominant properties are varied randomly and independently. Thus, stochastic analysis is performed to investigate the variations in natural frequencies of the blade as the governing parameter in defining aeroelastic behavior. Finally, susceptibility of the blade to dynamics instability is also examined. Aeroelastic effects are found to have a stronger effect on the blade with lower material properties that lead to more power reduction. Published by AIP Publishing.