Evaluating the structural changes during physical testing of a full-scale 13 metre long wind turbine blade

Ahmad, Ayaz, Munaweera Thanthirige, Tenis Ranjan, Finnegan, William, Jiang, Yadong, Flanagan, Michael, Kazemi Vanhari, Afrooz, & Goggins, Jamie (2024). Evaluating the structural changes during physical testing of a full-scale 13 metre long wind turbine blade. Paper presented at the Civil Engineering Research in Ireland (CERI 2024) conference, Galway, 29-30 August.

Abstract

The structural testing of wind turbine blades is crucial to ensure their performance aligns with testing specifications and can withstand anticipated loads over their operational lifespan. The industry standard IEC 61400-23 generally recommends three main types of tests for wind turbine blades: dynamic, static, and fatigue testing. The static test assesses the wind turbine blade's structural integrity, dynamic testing examines its dynamic performance, and fatigue testing investigates the blade's durability over its expected service life. This study at the University of Galway's Large Structures Testing laboratory, examines the impacts of static and dynamic testing on a full-scale 13-meter-long wind turbine blade. From measured accelerations in dynamic testing, the first and second natural frequencies of the blade were estimated to be 2.48Hz and 7.60Hz, respectively. When the flapwise and edgewise design loads were applied to the blade during static testing, the maximum measured strain values on the suction side at 5 metres from the blade root were1220µm and 1095µm, respectively. These results validate the dynamic and static design requirements of the blade and derisk the blades related to the idealised dynamic and static loading conditions. In addition, the decision tree model from machine learning accurately predicted the strain results in the static tests by giving the coefficient of determination (R2) value equal to 0.999. The statistical check and 10-fold validation approach also confirm the precision of the decision tree model by indicating the high R2 results and lower value of the errors. In this context, this research underscores the importance of dynamic and static testing along with the modelling techniques in ensuring wind turbine blades meet relevant performance standards, thus contributing to the advancement and reliability of wind turbine blades.

Funder

Science Foundation Ireland
MaREI Research Centre
Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland
Marine Institute

Publisher

Civil Engineering Research Association of Ireland

Rights

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

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Collections

Civil Engineering (Conference Papers)