A Multi-Scale Progressive Damage Model to Estimate the Fatigue Life of Wind Turbine Blades

Gunness, Neysa Meagan

A Multi-Scale Progressive Damage Model to Estimate the Fatigue Life of Wind Turbine Blades

dc.contributor.advisor	Sun, Qiao
dc.contributor.author	Gunness, Neysa Meagan
dc.contributor.committeemember	Singh, Meera Nand Kaur
dc.contributor.committeemember	Wong, Ron Chik-Kwong
dc.date	2024-11
dc.date.accessioned	2024-06-19T19:31:16Z
dc.date.available	2024-06-19T19:31:16Z
dc.date.issued	2024-06-18
dc.description.abstract	Wind turbine blades experience fatigue loads resulting from cyclic loading conditions during its operation. Damage caused by fatigue loads poses a threat to the integrity of the wind turbine structure thus, it is critical to accurately predict the effect of damage progression on the remaining life of the blade. As it is the case with most composite material structures, a multiscale modelling approach is required when designing a fatigue methodology for wind turbines. Coupled models at different geometric scales have been used to understand how the operational response of the entire wind turbine system is affected by damage in the composite blades. However these methodologies employ high-fidelity damage models that are time and computationally intensive. Furthermore, most models that predict the blade’s lifetime rely on macroscopic damage models that do not consider the physical damage mechanisms. The macroscopic models produce a very conservative estimate of the fatigue life of the blades. Damage mechanics models which capture the stiffness degradation of the damaged blade in terms of a physical damage parameter such as matrix cracking can be incorporated within a multiscale framework. This type of model can capture the effects of the damaged blade on the entire wind turbine system to estimate the fatigue life with increased accuracy. This study aims to improve the current multiscale methodology by incorporating a damage mechanics model which accounts for matrix crack evolution under cyclic loading. The damage mechanics model implemented and presented in this thesis, is implemented based on a 2D finite element cross-section analysis in which the entire blade is modelled as a beam composed of several cross-sections. The material response and the structural response was analysed as damage progresses. This multiscale methodology which includes coupling with an aeroelastic analysis software, HAWC2, can be used to predict the structural response of the blades subjected to damage. The proposed method can also reduce the reliance on high-fidelity damage models to calculate the fatigue life due to damage, thus resulting in a more efficient approach.
dc.identifier.citation	Gunness, N. M. (2024). A multi-scale progressive damage model to estimate the fatigue life of wind turbine blades (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/1880/118989
dc.language.iso	en
dc.publisher.faculty	Graduate Studies
dc.publisher.institution	University of Calgary
dc.rights	University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.
dc.subject	composite materials
dc.subject	wind turbine blade
dc.subject	progressive damage
dc.subject	fatigue
dc.subject.classification	Materials Science
dc.subject.classification	Engineering--Mechanical
dc.title	A Multi-Scale Progressive Damage Model to Estimate the Fatigue Life of Wind Turbine Blades
dc.type	master thesis
thesis.degree.discipline	Engineering – Mechanical & Manufacturing
thesis.degree.grantor	University of Calgary
thesis.degree.name	Master of Science (MSc)
ucalgary.thesis.accesssetbystudent	I require a thesis withhold – I need to delay the release of my thesis due to a patent application, and other reasons outlined in the link above. I have/will need to submit a thesis withhold application.