Session: 15-01-01: ASME International Undergraduate Research and Design Exposition

Paper Number: 100691

100691 - Investigation of Stresses Experienced by Wind Turbine Blades by Using Fluid-Structure Interaction Analysis 

The use of wind turbines as a means of generating clean, renewable power has risen in recent years. These turbines have experienced blade failures due to excess stresses caused by irregular wind conditions. Additionally, fluid-structure interaction simulations have become increasingly accurate and effective as a means of estimating the stresses and deformation experienced by solids when interacting with a moving fluid. This research aims to create a unified analytical, computational, and experimental model to predict the stresses experienced by wind turbine blades due to the wind. In this research, we consider a theoretical fluid structure interaction between the wind and a simplified model of a wind turbine blade. At later stages this simplified assumption will be removed to increase the accuracy of the model. The blade is subjected to a steady, incompressible fluid flow, analogous to real applications, to determine the forces experienced by the components in order to theoretically express the cause of failure. ANSYS Workbench was used to simulate the test subject in the wind tunnel. The simulation used was a 2-way fluid-structure interactions simulation. This means that the wind affecting the solid subject will also be affected by the deflecting solid, which creates a more accurate simulation since fewer assumptions are made. This was used so that future, more complex loadings will be more accurate, even if this is not necessary for this preliminary simple case. Additionally, a mathematical model for these systems was created using standard assumptions. This model is compared to fluid-structure interactions simulations. The mathematical model was created based on the deflection of a cantilever beam and the distributed load caused by the drag of the test sample. Using this, three wind speeds were analyzed for the deflection they would cause on the beam. These wind speeds were then analyzed using ANSYS Workbench and their deflection in the X axis was compared to the deflection from the numerical model. The wind speeds were analyzed at 10m/s, 15m/s, and 20m/s. The two models were found to agree well with each other, producing a 0.99%, 0.54%, 0.60% error respectively. Plans for a proposed experimental procedure to verify these results are also outlined in this research but such experiments have not yet been conducted. In later research, these results will be tested experimentally. Assumptions will then be removed in order to create a model that is more applicable to real world conditions, and can be used to accurate predict stresses and deflections on wind turbine blades.

Presenting Author: Joe Hughes Western Kentucky University

Presenting Author Biography: Mr. Hughes is a recent graduate of the Mechanical Engineering Program at WKU. He is seeking to pursue graduate studies in the spring of 2023. He was a passionate student and interested in doing research in thermal-fluid systems. He worked on many engineering projects during his time at WKU. Particularly, He was involved in the design of a self-propelled robot to use the potential energy of water for the ASME SDC competition in 2022. This team placed 14th rank nationally!

Authors:

Manohar Chidurala Western Kentucky University
Joe Hughes Western Kentucky University