Energies 2014, 7(2), 988-1002; doi:10.3390/en7020988
Multi-Objective Structural Optimization Design of Horizontal-Axis Wind Turbine Blades Using the Non-Dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II and Finite Element Method
1
National Engineering Research Center of Water Resources Efficient Utilization and Engineering Safety, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China
2
College of Mechanics and Materials, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China
3
College of Water Conservancy and Hydropower Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 26 December 2013 / Revised: 30 January 2014 / Accepted: 10 February 2014 / Published: 24 February 2014
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wind Turbines 2014)
Abstract
A multi-objective optimization method for the structural design of horizontal-axis wind turbine (HAWT) blades is presented. The main goal is to minimize the weight and cost of the blade which uses glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP) coupled with carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) materials. The number and the location of layers in the spar cap, the width of the spar cap and the position of the shear webs are employed as the design variables, while the strain limit, blade/tower clearance limit and vibration limit are taken into account as the constraint conditions. The optimization of the design of a commercial 1.5 MW HAWT blade is carried out by combining FEM analysis and a multi-objective evolutionary algorithm under ultimate (extreme) flap-wise load and edge-wise load conditions. The best solutions are described and the comparison of the obtained results with the original design is performed to prove the efficiency and applicability of the method.Keywords:
structural optimization design; horizontal-axis wind turbine (HAWT) blades; non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA) II; finite element method (FEM); blade weight
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 3.0).
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Zhu, J.; Cai, X.; Pan, P.; Gu, R. Multi-Objective Structural Optimization Design of Horizontal-Axis Wind Turbine Blades Using the Non-Dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II and Finite Element Method. Energies 2014, 7, 988-1002.
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