Modal Analysis of Vertical Wind Turbine Blade

Faculty of Engineering, Tunku Abdul Rahman University College  

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Abstract

Wind turbines cannot simply be installed in Malaysia due to low wind speed condition. the project has analyzed the existing wind turbine blade (Aeolos-V 1k) design based on modal properties using computational approach (ANSYS Workbench) and redesign it. the modal analysis is simulated to observe natural frequency and corresponding mode shaped of the system under free vibration. the flow induced vibration can cause blade failure due to resonance or fatigue. Fluid Structural Interaction (FSI) ANSYS is used to the determined the interaction between the wind flow and the blade. Harmonic Response ANSYS is used to analyze the frequency response of the blade under wind induced vibration. After modification, the first mode has increased from 91.42 Hz to 102.12, since it is more than 50.92 Hz (Turbine maximum operating frequency), resonance would not occur during operating condition. the Aeolos-V’s blade has been modified by using. teak wood material and. redesign the blade for weight. reduction and aim for lower blade cost. the weight of modified blade has reduced 72.8 % after using teak wood and the efficiency of the wind turbine also increased. Modified design has been tested under Malaysia maximum wind speed of 9.44 m/s, the yield stress of teak wood (10.3 MPa) is higher than the maximum stress (4.2 MPa) obtained under force vibration which gives safety factor of 2.4. Hence, modified blade is reliable, efficient and more economic for Malaysia.