Structural Design of Intelligent Wind Turbine Rotor Blades

Abstract

The aim of the present master thesis is to investigate concepts of structural designs of wind turbine rotor blades, which should result into a load reduction. This load reduction should lead to larger rotor diameters being feasible for wind turbines, or existing blades being produced more cost-effectively by reducing the weight of the blade. With the help of automated processes, the structural models are constructed using a reference rotor blade and then the associated loads are simulated. The resulting loads and masses of the different concepts are compared with those of the reference rotor blade. The results show that both a structural design with a c-beam and a structural design with a swept beam leads to a load reduction. Another concept based on the use of an active trailing edge flap can only be evaluated using reference loads. This shows a significant increase in weight, which must be absorbed by a load reduction through the flap.