Nondeterministic dynamic analysis and structural optimization of the steel towers design for wind turbines support

Resumo

Considering the growing demand for electricity and the need to reduce the greenhouse gases emission,
the adoption of renewable energy has presented considerable growth in recent years. Having in mind its
technological development and competitive prices, the use of wind energy has shown an increasing growth on its
installed capacity around the world. In Brazil, a wind potential of 1.78 TW is estimated. This way, this research
work aims to perform a dynamic structural analysis of a steel tower used to support a Repower model MM92 wind
turbine, with a production capacity of 2 MW. The dynamic analysis is performed based on a three-dimensional
finite element model through the utilization of the ANSYS software, considering the soil-structure interaction
effect, the wind loadings on the rotor and non-deterministic wind loadings applied on the steel tower. To do this,
a wind velocity in the range of survival mode of the turbine is considered, aiming to investigate the tower structural
behavior under this condition. After the steel tower nondeterministic dynamic structural assessment, the
displacements and stresses values calculated in the steady-state response will be considered for the system
optimization, based on the Genetic Algorithms, and using the MATLAB software.