Nondeterministic dynamic analysis and fatigue assessment of wind turbine towers
Palavras-chave:
Steel wind tower, non-deterministic wind dynamic loads, numerical modelling, fatigue verificationResumo
Wind energy has been playing a very important role in whole world energy matrix. In this sense, a
great technological evolution has occurred over several decades, transforming old windmills into extremely tall
and slender towers, with the capacity to generate large amounts of energy. In Brazil, considering this advance,
the conventional conical steel tower is a predominant type of supporting structure. According to this context, this
research works aims to study the dynamic structural response and structural fatigue assessment (service life) of a
steel tower to support a wind turbine model MM92 by Repower. In this way, a numerical model was developed
to represent the investigated tower, using the Finite Element Method (FEM) simulations implemented in the
ANSYS program. The analysis of the non-deterministic dynamic response of the tower is performed for several
wind velocities, having in mind a critical evaluation about the maximum values obtained for the von Mises’s
stresses and the service life of the investigated structure. Finally, the results obtained along this research work
are evaluated and compared with the limit values recommended by international design codes and
recommendations.