Future Blades - how will we develop the wind turbine blades of 2040
report
Expecting a 27MW Horizontal-Axis Wind Turbines (HAWT) platform to be the norm for wind turbines in 2040, the blades will have to be around 145m long. This will require a robust blade design, taking into account all inherent uncertainties of the design, production, testing, and operation to accurately predict lifetime and obtain reliable maintenance intervals. The slenderness of very long blades will require a more aero-elastically tailored design. Moreover, we expect the design will aim for segmented blades, not only to facilitate transportation, but also to reduce handling and installation loads on the blade itself and the installation equipment. The blade of the future will be further optimised using an integral approach combining the aeroelastic and structural behaviour requirements with
considerations such as life time, robustness and surface degradation. This integral optimisation will entail the entire blade design, including segmentation locations and joining techniques. Optimal locations for integrated sensors for structural health monitoring are also determined. This introduces opportunities for a free-form design optimization procedure such as topology optimisation used to design the shear load bearing structure of the blade.
considerations such as life time, robustness and surface degradation. This integral optimisation will entail the entire blade design, including segmentation locations and joining techniques. Optimal locations for integrated sensors for structural health monitoring are also determined. This introduces opportunities for a free-form design optimization procedure such as topology optimisation used to design the shear load bearing structure of the blade.
Topics
TNO Identifier
961175
Publisher
TNO
Collation
37 p.
Place of publication
Delft