Dynamic loads on wind turbines

I discussed in another post the relevance of resonance analysis in the design of steel tower for wind turbines and the different technical solutions currently in the market.

But what are the loads that could induce resonance in the wind turbine?

There are several different type of dynamic loads:

Unbalanced rotor. This basically means that the blades have not the same weight. This problem can happen for several reasons: accumulation of snow, ice or simply variance in the production of the blade itself in the factory. The consequence is that the centre of gravity will move with the rotation of the blades inducing a centrifugal force in the system.

Tower shadow effect. It is also known as dam effect – basically, the tower affect the speed of the wind nearby. This will affect the blade passing in front of the tower, unbalancing the rotor.

Wind shear. The wind will usually have a different speed increasing from the bottom of the rotor to the top.

Errors in the configuration of the turbine. In this category I include any type of asymmetry generated by design mistakes, assembly errors, software errors, etc. For instance, a difference in the pitch of the blades could create a dynamic load.

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About Francesco Miceli

Hello! My name is Francesco and I'm a civil engineer specialized in EPC (that is, "turnkey") wind farms projects. I'm currently based in Hamburg, Germany and I'm developing several interesting project all around the world - southern Europe, LATAM and various other countries. If you want to contact me please don't leave a comment in the blog (I don't check them very often) - you can use the contact form. You can write me in English, Spanish and Italian. To find a (somewhat concise) description of my non-wind business activities you can visit my webpage - www.francescomiceli.com If you want to know more about my work, here you can download my CV - www.windfarmbop.com/CV_Francesco_Miceli.pdf Hope you like the blog! Francesco

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