Díaz-Nevárez, Otoniel

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    Seismic analysis of horizontal axis wind turbines
    (2010) Díaz-Nevárez, Otoniel; Suárez, Luis E.; College of Engineering; López-Rodríguez, Ricardo R.; Martínez-Cruzado, José A.; Pando-López, Miguel A.; Rivera-Borrero, Mario A.; Department of Civil Engineering; Pabón-Ortiz, Carlos U.
    The wind energy industry has seen a substantial growth in several industrialized countries in recent years. Traditionally, territories in northern Europe, with a low level of seismicity, have been the leaders in the use of this technology, but nowadays its growth has extended to other regions susceptible to earthquakes, such as the US, China, and India. In order to improve the reliability of the system under these adverse conditions, there is a need to perform a detailed assessment of the seismic response of wind turbines. This dissertation presents the development of a new analytical model for the seismic response of a three-bladed horizontal axis wind turbine. The proposed model allows assessment of the likelihood of yielding or buckling failure of the structure. The proposed model involves a multi-body system with 16 degrees of freedom that account for flexibilities in the flap direction of the blades and the twisting and flexure motions of the tower. The equations of motion of the rotor were developed based on Lagrange equations. They were subsequently coupled with the equations of motion of the tower which was modeled with beam elements. The model considers aerodynamic and structural damping, as well as gyroscopic effects due to the rotational nature of the system. The proposed model was applied to a specific example involving the Vestas V82 wind turbine. This turbine was analyzed under several historical earthquake records using the three components of motion. The analysis of the results revealed that in seismic regions some aspects of the tower design, specifically at the tower top end section, may be controlled by the combination of earthquake loads and mean steady wind loads rather than by the extreme wind load conditions.