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Analysis of Wind Turbine Blade Prototype using ANSYS

Article · December 2020

DOI: 10.9790/9622-1012020109

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Mr. Aditya Arvind Yadav, et. al. International Journal of Engineering Research and Applications
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ISSN: 2248-9622, Vol. 10, Issue 12, (Series-II) December 2020, pp. 01-09

RESEARCH ARTICLE OPEN ACCESS

Analysis of Wind Turbine Blade Prototype using ANSYS

Mr. Aditya Arvind Yadav1, Ms. Ketki Suryakant Deshmane2, Mr. Niranjan
Nitin Oturkar3, Mr. Shreyash Shashikant Wadekar4
1
Student, M. Tech (Energy Technology), Department of Technology Shivaji University, Kolhapur, Maharashtra,
India.
2
Student, M. Tech (Energy Technology), School of Energy Studies, SPPU, Pune, Maharashtra, India.
3
Student, M. Tech (Energy Technology), School of Energy Studies, SPPU, Pune, Maharashtra, India.
4
Student, M. Tech (CAD/CAM/CAE Engineering), MIT World Peace University, Pune, Maharashtra, India.

ABSTRACT:
Wind turbine blade undergoes variable static and dynamic during its actual life cycle. Modern wind turbine
blades are designed to withstand various dynamic loading conditions. Wind turbine blades undergoes failure in
combination of flap wise and edge wise. For optimum design of wind turbine blades, there should be proper
selection of materials for turbine blades. Wind turbine blades are manufactured by using composite materials
such as epoxy resin, and various other carbon fiber reinforced plastics. In this paper wind turbine blade
prototype is analyzed using finite element analysis (ANSYS) for various loading conditions.
Key Words: Wind Turbine Blade, ANSYS, Variable Loading, Finite Element Analysis.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------
Date of Submission: 24-11-2020 Date of Acceptance: 07-12-2020
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------

I. INTRODUCTION pitch of the blades. Weight savings is therefore of

The structural design of wind turbine great importance, and significant efforts are devoted
blades for horizontal axis wind turbine is a by wind turbine companies in the selection of
complicated process that requires the keen materials. To ensure that the blades can meet the
knowledge of materials, modelling and testing required design life, the materials must have high
methods. A wind turbine blade must be designed stiffness, be fatigue resistant, and be damage
against undesired aero-elastic phenomena and tolerant. [1]
failures for a great variety of aerodynamic load The orientation of the shaft and rotational
cases and environmental conditions. Thus, the axis determines the first classification of the wind
design process involves a number of different areas, turbine. A turbine with a shaft mounted horizontally
such as knowledge of the external loads originating parallel to the ground is known as a horizontal axis
from wind and gravity and knowledge of the wind turbine or (HAWT). A vertical axis wind
performance, the strength and the endurance of the turbine (VAWT) has its shaft normal to the ground
full structure and of the basic materials used. The as shown in figure below. [2]
goal of the design process is to ensure that the wind
turbine blade will function safely for its design life.  Loads on wind turbine blade:
The design lifetime of modern wind turbines is The rotor blade is loaded in a combination
normally for 20 years and number of rotations is of of flap wise and edgewise loads. Basically, the
the order 108 to 109, which is approximately two blades are exposed to three different load sources.
orders of magnitude higher than the load cycles One is the wind load that through the lift and drag
experienced by composite materials used in other on the aerodynamic profile loads the blade primarily
highly loaded structural applications such as in bending flap wise. The second load source is the
helicopter blades. gravity varying edgewise from tension/compression
The main trends in the development of in leading edge and compression/tension in trailing
wind turbine blades are towards longer and edge. This is the main reason for the edgewise
optimized blades; this is particularly the case for fatigue bending of the blade. Finally, the blades are
offshore wind turbines. The weight of a large wind exposed to centrifugal forces during the rotation.
turbine blade also increases the loads on the rotor However, these longitudinal loads are relatively low
input shaft and bearings as well as the wind turbine and often not taken into account in the design.
tower and mechanisms used to control yaw and

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Mr. Aditya Arvind Yadav, et. al. International Journal of Engineering Research and Applications
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ISSN: 2248-9622, Vol. 10, Issue 12, (Series-II) December 2020, pp. 01-09

Furthermore, the design loads are divided into static consisting of PMC face sheets and lightweight
loads and cyclic loads. However, the blades are closed-cell polymer foam or end-grain balsa wood
subjected to various environmental loadings. [1] cores. The box girder is constructed using glass fiber
composites or carbon fiber composites.
 Blade Construction: Since most wind turbine blades are bonded
Modern wind turbine blades are together, the adhesives used to join blade segments
structurally advanced constructions utilizing will have a direct influence on the reliability of the
composite laminates, sandwich core materials, blade. The adhesives utilized in blades are primarily
gelcoat films and adhesive joints. Although there are epoxy, polyurethane and methacrylate-based
a variety of wind turbine designs, the functionality adhesives. The quality and mechanical properties
of wind turbine blades from a structural viewpoint (e.g. strength, creep, defect tolerance) of blade
can be understood by considering the blade as a adhesives are critical since they are used to bond
load-carrying beam (spar) enclosed by a shell. very large areas of the blade aero shells and box
girder and are subjected to complex cyclic loading
Analysis of Wind Turbine Blade Prototype using histories. [1]
ANSYS
The primary purpose of the shell is to give II. LITERATURE OUTCOMES: -
the blade an aerodynamic shape, creating the 1. Failure modes of wind turbine blades
aerodynamic forces that make the wind turbine Wind turbine blades can fail by a number
blade to rotate and thus extracts energy from the of failure and damage modes. Obviously, the details
wind to make electrical power. The aerodynamic of damage evolution will differ from one blade
forces are transmitted to the wind turbine hub design to another. However, experience shows that,
through a load-carrying beam within the blade. The irrespective of specific blade design, several types
load-carrying beam can be made as a box girder, of material-related damage modes can develop in a
sometimes called the main spar, or as laminates in blade. In some instances, these damage modes can
the aero shell supported by webs. Figure 2 shows a lead to blade failure or require blade repair or
sketch of the cross section of a typical wind turbine replacement.
blade. [1] The load-carrying laminates in the blade
aero shell and box girder are made of composite
materials and adhesive joints that are damage
tolerant. Damage tolerant behaviour implies that the
first mode of damage does not lead directly to
failure, but propagates in a stable manner and gives
detectable changes so that the damage can be
detected before it reaches a critical size where it
leads to failure. Therefore, failure of wind turbine
blades does not occur as a direct result of crack
initiation along an interface or by progressive
damage to the fibres and matrix. Rather, global
failure of a wind turbine blade involves the
progression of several damage mechanisms that can
act in series or in parallel. [1]
Figure 1. Terminology and Structural parts of wind 2. Materials Properties: -
turbine blade. a. Elastic properties: -
Modern wind turbine blades are three-
 Materials: - dimensional structures made by the use of several
Materials used for wind turbine blades different materials and the elastic properties and
must be low density and possess high strength, thermal–physical constants, such as thermal
fatigue resistance and damage tolerance. Large parts expansion coefficient, of materials influence the
of the blades are made of composite materials, i.e. damage developed in a blade. As a result, the stress
materials that consist of more constituents, e.g. long field depends on the elastic properties of the
aligned fibers embedded in a continuous phase materials used. For isotropic materials, the elastic
called the matrix material. The shells that define the properties are the Young's modulus, E, and the
aerodynamic blade profile are typically constructed Poisson's ratio. Orthotropic materials, such as
using polymer matrix composites (PMCs) (e.g. glass composite laminates with aligned continuous fibres,
fiber reinforced polyester) and sandwich structures have different elastic properties in different

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Mr. Aditya Arvind Yadav, et. al. International Journal of Engineering Research and Applications
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ISSN: 2248-9622, Vol. 10, Issue 12, (Series-II) December 2020, pp. 01-09

directions. Therefore, the elastic properties must be coordinate system that follows the direction of the
related to a coordinate system. It is convenient to fibres. [1]
use a global x – y – z coordinate system and a local

Table 1. Classification of various materials used in wind turbine blades.

Isotropic materials Orthotropic materials

Adhesives Glass fiber/polyester composites

Steel Carbon fiber/epoxy composites

Polymer foam Wood
Gelcoat Bamboo

b. Strength and fracture toughness properties common to observe scorching damage and cracking
Damage and failure modes are described by around the lightning attraction point of a blade as
various parameters that may be stress based, energy- well as spar rupture, separation and surface tearing
based or length-based (e.g. critical defect length). A in more extreme cases.[3]
damage mode that involves a distributed damage
zone is usually described in terms of a critical stress III. MATERIALS AND METHODS
value, i.e. by a maximum stress criterion (tensile or The finite element method (FEM) is a
compressive strength). Crack growth along a mathematical technique for setting up and solving
fracture plane is a localized phenomenon. The onset systems of partial differential (or integral) equations.
of crack growth can be described in terms of a In engineering, the finite element method is used to
maximum stress intensity this can be done by a divide a system whose behavior cannot be predicted
cohesive law (a traction-separation law). The area using closed form equations into small pieces, or
under the traction-separation law is the work of elements, whose solution is known or can be
separation. approximated. The finite element method requires
These concepts are applicable to static the system geometry to be defined by a number of
failure factor (fracture toughness) or a maximum points in space called nodes. Each node has a set of
energy release rate (fracture energy). A crack degrees of freedom (temperature, displacements,
experiencing fiber bridging requires modeling of the etc.) that can vary based on the inputs to the system.
bridging fibers. [1] These nodes are connected by elements that define
the mathematical interactions of the degrees of
c. Overview of Blade Damage: freedom (DOFs). For some elements, such as
In addition to the various structural loading beams, the closed form solution is known. For other
effects, wind turbine blades can also be subjected to elements, such as continuum elements, the
lightning strikes, physical impacts and damaging interaction among the degrees of freedom is
surface erosion conditions whilst in operation. In estimated by a numerical integration over the
certain rare but dramatic cases, a particular event element. All individual elements in the model are
can cause the total failure of a blade almost combined to create a set of equations that represent
immediately; a powerful lightning strike or an the system to be analyzed. Finally, these equations
extreme wind loading that leads to a rotating blade are solved to reveal useful information about the
hitting the tower for example. Operators of wind behavior of the system.[6] – [7]
farms take measures to minimize exposure of their
structural assets to the full effect of storm conditions IV. RESULT AND DISCUSSION
when these are forecast. But more commonly, over Basic Procedure for Finite Element Analysis:
the course of a normal 25-year service life, it is There are 10 basic steps in any finite
expected that the composite material in a wind element analysis. First, the solid model geometry is
turbine blade will accumulate some signs of created, the element type(s) and material properties
damage. are defined, and the solid model geometry is meshed
Blades are the most vulnerable parts of a to create the finite element model. In ANSYS, these
wind turbine with respect to lightning. As every steps are performed in the Preprocessor (PREP7).
turbine can expect to experience a significant Next, loads and constraints are applied, solution
number of strikes during service life, all blades have options are defined, and the problem is solved.
a lightning protection system to reduce the effect of These steps are performed in the Solution processor
such strikes when they occur. Despite this it is (SOL). After the solution is ready, the results are

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Mr. Aditya Arvind Yadav, et. al. International Journal of Engineering Research and Applications
www.ijera.com
ISSN: 2248-9622, Vol. 10, Issue 12, (Series-II) December 2020, pp. 01-09

plotted, viewed, and exported in one of the 2. Select the Element Types.
postprocessors (POST1 or POST26). Finally, the 3. Define the Material Properties
results are compared to first-order estimates, closed- 4. Mesh
form solutions, mathematical models, or 5. Define the Boundary Conditions
experimental results to ensure that the output of the 6. Define the Loads
program is reasonable and as expected. [4]& [8] 7. Set the Solution Options
8. Solve
Procedure: 9. Plot, View, and Export the Results
1. Define the Solid Model Geometry 10. Compare and Verify the Results

Figure 3. Detail drafting of wind turbine blade

The software approach for 3D modelling was done in SOLIDWORKS and for simulation ANSYS was used.

The actual working of the wind turbine: -

Cut-in speed = 3.5m/s
Rated wind speed = 11.5 m/s
Cut-out speed = 20.0 m/s
Survival wind speed = 59.5 m/s
The detail of loading condition is as per given following standard: -

igure 4. Wind speed to pressure conversion chart [5]

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Mr. Aditya Arvind Yadav, et. al. International Journal of Engineering Research and Applications
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ISSN: 2248-9622, Vol. 10, Issue 12, (Series-II) December 2020, pp. 01-09

The material properties of the glass fiber is as follows: -

Figure 5. Materials properties of wind turbine prototype

The details of the ANSYS report is as follows: -

For
Survival wind speed = 59.5 m/s
Therefore, Pressure applied = 2200 Pa

Figure 6. Detail meshing of the wind turbine blade

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Mr. Aditya Arvind Yadav, et. al. International Journal of Engineering Research and Applications
www.ijera.com
ISSN: 2248-9622, Vol. 10, Issue 12, (Series-II) December 2020, pp. 01-09

Figure 7. Total Deformation at survival speed.

Figure 8. Maximum Principal Stress at survival speed.

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Mr. Aditya Arvind Yadav, et. al. International Journal of Engineering Research and Applications
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ISSN: 2248-9622, Vol. 10, Issue 12, (Series-II) December 2020, pp. 01-09

Figure 9. Maximum Principal Elastic Strain at survival speed.

The details of the ANSYS report is as follows: -

For
As cut out wind speed = 20 m/s
Therefore, Pressure applied = 250 Pa

Figure 10. Total Deformation at cut out speed

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Mr. Aditya Arvind Yadav, et. al. International Journal of Engineering Research and Applications
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ISSN: 2248-9622, Vol. 10, Issue 12, (Series-II) December 2020, pp. 01-09

Figure 11. Maximum Principal Stress at Cut out speed

Figure 12. Maximum Principal Elastic Strain at cut out speed.

V. SUMMARY
The detail result of the wind turbine blade is as given below:

Table 3. Detail result of loading conditions for deformation, stress and Strain for Survival Speed
Sr. No Mechanical properties Loading Condition Minimum value Maximum value
1 Total deformation 2200 Pa 0mm 0.38611
2 Maximum Principal Stress 2200Pa -0.15042 MPa 1.9372 MPa
3 Maximum Principal Strain 2200 Pa -4.8 ×10 -9 2.64 ×10-5

Table 2. Detail result of loading conditions for deformation, stress and Strain for Cut out Speed
Sr. No Mechanical Properties Loading Conditions Minimum value Maximum value
1 Total deformation 250Pa 0mm 0.0438 mm
2 Maximum Principal Stress 250Pa -0.0170MPa 0.22014 MPa

3 Maximum Principal Strain 250Pa -5.5×10 -10 3.00×10-6

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 Mr. Aditya Arvind Yadav, et. al. International Journal of Engineering Research and Applications
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ISSN: 2248-9622, Vol. 10, Issue 12, (Series-II) December 2020, pp. 01-09

VI. CONCLUSION
The results obtained from the ANSYS reports states that for maximum loading conditions i.e. 250 Pa and 2200
Pa wind pressures following range was obtained: -

Table 4. Range of data obtained from ANSYS report

Sr. No Mechanical properties Range

1. Total deformation 0.0438 to 0.38611 mm
1. Maximum Principle Stress 0.22014 to 1.9372 MPa
3. Minimum Principle Stress 3.00×10 -6 to 2.64×10-5

Total deformation observed for cutout and Prediction of Worldwide Energy Resources (
survival speed ranges from 0.04381 to 0.38611 mm, NASA Power). 2020;2530 –2538.
for 250 and 2200 Pa loading conditions. The glass [7]. Sagare PM, Arvind Yadav A, Mahadev Pol A,
fiber material loses its elastic properties at survival Deepak Mane P. Recycling Plastics to
speed range i.e. at 2200 Pa, and it begins to behave Automobile Fuel. Int J Res Eng Appl Manag.
like a brittle material, thereby increasing the rate of 2018;
failure of the wind turbine blade. As the value of [8]. Sagare PM, Yadav AA, Manglekar S,
maximum principal strain decreases for higher Mahadev A, et al. Finite Element Analysis of
loading condition, the material begins to lose its Piston using Aluminum Alloys on ANYSYS.
elastic properties, and fails due to fracture. Further Vol. 4, IJSTE-International Journal of Science
dealing with materials the use of composite materials Technology & Engineering |. 2018.
such as glass fiber along with vinyl esters provides
more strength and the elastic limit of the material
also increases consequently. The major area of
concern is to make the material in more elastic limit
rather than in plastic limit. For excessive loading
conditions the materials show direct deformation to
the load respectively.

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