Design and simulation of a horizontal axis wind turbine using ANSYS

Abstract

In recent years, the demands of customers in the automotiive  sector have increased. The use of renewable sources for the production of electricity worldwide has intensified in recent years. In particular, the installed capacity for electrical production by wind turbines has doubled in the last 10 years, and it is projected that 48% of the world’s electricity will be generated through renewable sources. The size of the wind turbines has grown to meet this need; for these turbines to generate more electricity, it is necessary for their rotors to capture a greater amount of kinetic energy from the wind. This is achieved by increasing the size of the rotors and, therefore, the size of the blades that make up the rotor. However, this increase in the size of the blades creates a logistical problem regarding their transportation to the installation site of the wind turbine. There is a solution to this problem, this consists of segmenting the blades, transporting the segments separately, and joining the blade at the installation site. However, all scientific knowledge is reserved because it has been developed by private companies. The present work consisted of designing a permanent coupling medium for a segmented blade of 60 m, which would allow the segmented blade to have a structural behavior equal or better than a conventional blade. Initially, a conventional blade with a weight of 22 tons and 60 m was studied structurally. The results of the structural analyses showed a first natural frequency of 0.658 Hz, a deflection of the tip of 5 m, and a maximum deformation of 2.974 µe. The results of the structural behavior of the segmented blade showed the same natural frequency as the conventional one, a lower deflection at the tip of 2.8 m, and a deformation of 3,529 µe, with a weight gain of 1,150 kg. These results demonstrate behavior similar to that of the conventional blade, with a lower deflection at the tip and only a weight increase of 5%.