Aerodynamic Damping and Seismic Response of Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine Towers
Publication: Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 140, Issue 11
Abstract
Aerodynamic damping has an important effect on the seismic response of horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWTs). Some researchers have estimated that aerodynamic damping in operational HAWTs is of critical in the fore-aft direction (i.e., perpendicular to the rotor and parallel to the prevailing wind). In most recent studies, dynamic analyses of HAWT towers under seismic loads have neglected aerodynamic damping, and this assumption has significant implications in the predicted seismic response. This paper presents a closed-form solution for the aerodynamic damping of HAWTs responding dynamically in the fore-aft and side-to-side directions. The formulation is intended as a convenient method for structural earthquake engineers to include the effect of aerodynamic damping in the seismic analysis of HAWTs. The formulation is based on blade element momentum theory and is simplified by assuming a rigid rotor subjected to a steady and uniform wind oriented perpendicular to the rotor plane. This paper examines the impact of these simplifying assumptions with an analysis of the 1.5-MW baseline HAWT developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The analysis compares predictions from this formulation with those from FAST, an open-source program developed by NREL, and the comparison shows a reasonable correlation. Finally, the influence of aerodynamic damping on the seismic response of a HAWT is demonstrated for a dynamic model, and the practical implications of the results are discussed.
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Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge Northeastern University and National Science Foundation Grant CMMI-1234560 for supporting this research.
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Published In
Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 140 • Issue 11 • November 2014
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Aug 2, 2012
Accepted: Dec 2, 2013
Published online: May 29, 2014
Discussion open until: Oct 29, 2014
Published in print: Nov 1, 2014
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