B.

Tech Project
Free vibration of wind turbine blade modeled as a tapered twisted cantilever beam with aerofoil
cross-section and varying twist angle.

Problem Statement
The free vibration analysis of a wind turbine blade using the Euler-Bernoulli beam theory is presented. The blade is modeled
as a tapered cantilever beam, with an aerofoil cross-section (NACA4412 and NACA4415). The aerofoil shape is generated in
closed-form by using the Kutta-Joukowsky transformation, which maps a circle into a cambered aerofoil. First, the free
vibration of a uniform twisted cantilever beam (Fig.1) is analyzed to generate the uniform beam modeshapes; which then act
as admissible functions into the Rayleigh-Ritz method, which is used to solve the non-uniform (tapered) beam vibration. This
is followed by the free vibration analysis of a twisted uniform cantilever beam.

Fig.1 Twisted Euler-Bernoulli beam

The system of governing differential equations of a twisted beam is a coupling between the horizontal and vertical modes of
transverse vibration. The free vibration modeshapes of a uniform twisted cantilever beam act as admissible functions into the
Rayleigh-Ritz method, which is used to study the free vibration of the tapered twisted cantilever beam. The length of the
𝑐𝑐(𝑥𝑥)
beam is 𝑅𝑅 = 100 𝑚𝑚. The maximum chord length 𝑐𝑐𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 is 5 m. The chord-to-length ratio and the twist angle (degrees)
𝑅𝑅
varies over the length of the beam are fiven in Fig.2(a,b).

Fig.2(a) Chord-to-Length ratio vs. Radius Fig.2(b) Twist angle distribution vs. Radius

Kutta-Joukowsky transformation : 𝜉𝜉(𝜃𝜃) = 𝑐𝑐cos𝜃𝜃; 𝜂𝜂(𝜃𝜃) = ± 𝑐𝑐(𝑒𝑒 + 𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒 ± 𝛽𝛽sin𝜃𝜃)𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 ; 0 ≤ 𝜃𝜃 ≤ 2𝜋𝜋.

Here, 𝑐𝑐 is the chord length at that station, 𝑒𝑒 is the fineness ratio, 𝛽𝛽 is the camber shift.
3√3 3√3
• The max. thickness of the aerofoil is 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐. The max. thick-to-chord ratio is 𝑒𝑒 = 0.12 for a NACA0012 aerofoil.
2 2
𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐
• The maximum camber-to-chord ratio is 4% (the first digit), i.e. = 0.04. Maximum camber = 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 = 0.04.
𝑐𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜
• The position of the maximum camber is 40% (second digit), which is expressed as a %age of 𝑐𝑐 from the leading edge.
Once the free vibration characteristics are known, the blade is studied for flexural response to turbulent wind in both onshore
and offshore locations. The wind spectrum (Fig.3) is used to model the wind load as a function of time. The shear boundary
layer is used for the spatial corrections of the wind velocity profile above the ground. The flexural response is analytically
generated to estimate the stress tensor and every location of the blade. Validations are done using ANSYS.

Fig.3 Wind spectrum

Objective
1) To optimize the blade geometry (without compromising on the aerodynamic performance) for the following structural
concerns :
• Prevent resonance of the blade with turbulence frequency.
• Give structural recommendations to fatigue life.
2) Case-study of a few standard blade geometries from L&M Energy, Bangalore.

References
Banerjee, J. R. "Free vibration analysis of a twisted beam using the dynamic stiffness method." International Journal of
Solids and Structures 38.38-39 (2001): 6703-6722.
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Outputs from this work

• One journal publication (Elsevier, Impact factor > 2)
• One International conference publication (IN top 300 conferences earmarked by IITKGP)
• Internship Opportunity : L&M energy, Bangalore (Turbine Blade supplier to GE Renewables, Bangalore).

Duration of this work : ≤ 6 months.

Requisites of the student :

1) Background in mechanical / structural vibrations
2) Strong MATLAB skills.
3) High grades in Math-1, Maths-2, Mechanics.
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Interested students of 3rd/4th /5th year may contact me ASAP with your CV.
Dr. N.Datta
307, OE&NA Building.
Mobile 96799-84485 (Phone and Whatsapp) Email : ndatta@naval.iitkgp.ernet.in
For more information about my research group, please visit :
(a) https://sites.google.com/site/nabanitadatta/ (b) https://www.facebook.com/avrg26/