Investigations on vibration control of Domestic small horizontal axis wind Turbine blade using shape memory Alloy

Abstract

Renewable energy has become a prominent part of the human era. Various advancements are made in the technologies that harvest renewable energy to improve their efficiency. Recent developments in large wind turbine blade technology have led to higher efficiency in harvesting renewable energy and prolong the life of wind turbine blades. Yet the smaller domestic wind turbines are not commercially viable due to the flutter-induced noise and maintenance issues in the blades. The domestic wind turbine system is more space-efficient when compared to other commercially available renewable energy harvesting systems. The blades of domestic wind turbines have to be developed to withstand the critical wind load and flutter-based vibration, out of which the latter plays a predominant role in the performance of the domestic wind turbine blade. newlineWind turbine blades are commercially made using Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer (GFRP), which has a significantly low density and proportional high strength when compared to other blade materials. The blade made up of GFRP has a higher potential to withstand steady wind load, corresponding to cut-off wind speed. However, the efficiency of the turbine reduces when the blade s flapwise vibration coincides with the wind s excitation frequency. The vibration control methods utilized in large wind turbine blades are ineffective for domestic wind turbine blades, as the domestic wind turbine blade requires an actuation system that possesses a high actuation force to weight ratio. Considering various actuating systems, Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) based actuation system possesses a high actuation force to weight ratio. Yet, the research on SMA-based vibration control methods is relatively low. newline