Aeroelastic deformation and load reduction of bending-torsion coupled wind turbine blades

Wind turbine blades are adjusted in real-time according to the wind conditions and blade deformations to improve power generation efficiency. It is necessary to predict and reduce the aeroelastic deformations of wind turbine blades. In this paper, the equivalent model of the blade is established by the finite element method (FEM), and the aerodynamic load of the blade is evaluated based on the blade element momentum (BEM) theory. The aeroelastic coupling model is established, in which the bending-torsion coupling effect of the blade is taken into account. The steady and dynamic aeroelastic deformations are calculated. The influences of the blade section's shear centre position and the blade's sweepback design on the deformations are analyzed. The novel approaches of reducing the twist angle of the blade by changing the shear centre position and sweepback of the blade are presented and proven to be feasible.