Structural and Modal Analysis of a Small Wind Turbine Blade Considering Composite Material and the IEC 61400-2 Standard

Vázquez, Miriam; López, Victor; Campos, Rafael; Cadenas, Erasmo; Marin, Paulina

doi:10.3390/en18030566

Open AccessArticle

Structural and Modal Analysis of a Small Wind Turbine Blade Considering Composite Material and the IEC 61400-2 Standard

by

Miriam Vázquez

¹,

Victor López

^1,*

,

Rafael Campos

^2,*

,

Erasmo Cadenas

¹

and

Paulina Marin

¹

Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Morelia 58000, Mexico

²

Centro Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo Tecnológico, Cuernavaca 62490, Mexico

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Energies 2025, 18(3), 566; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18030566

Submission received: 13 November 2024 / Revised: 14 January 2025 / Accepted: 23 January 2025 / Published: 25 January 2025

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wind Turbines, Wind Farms, and Wind Energy: 2nd Edition)

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Abstract

IEC 61400-2 establishes the Simplified Load Method for designing low-power wind turbine blades without considering dynamic loads in the simplified load methodology. This paper analyzes the load hypotheses established by the standard, also considering the natural frequencies in a 900 W blade. The research methodology begins with the design parameters, the application of the BEM Method, and the use of the QBlade software. Then, the load hypotheses of the standard are defined. Finally, the structural design and the modal and structural analysis of the blade were conducted using FEM-based software. The results show that the minimum participation factors are found on the z-axis and the maximum on the x- and y-axis, and their magnitudes decrease when the natural frequency increases. In general, the principal maximum stresses are located in the middle section of the blade, in the external fiberglass layer, both on the intrados and extrados sides. In conclusion, structural scenarios were established to relate the participation factors of the modal analyses with the load hypotheses. The critical scenarios are at natural frequencies below 280 Hz.

Keywords: wind turbine blade; finite element method; modal analysis; participation factor; IEC 61400-2 standard

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MDPI and ACS Style

Vázquez, M.; López, V.; Campos, R.; Cadenas, E.; Marin, P. Structural and Modal Analysis of a Small Wind Turbine Blade Considering Composite Material and the IEC 61400-2 Standard. Energies 2025, 18, 566. https://doi.org/10.3390/en18030566

AMA Style

Vázquez M, López V, Campos R, Cadenas E, Marin P. Structural and Modal Analysis of a Small Wind Turbine Blade Considering Composite Material and the IEC 61400-2 Standard. Energies. 2025; 18(3):566. https://doi.org/10.3390/en18030566

Chicago/Turabian Style

Vázquez, Miriam, Victor López, Rafael Campos, Erasmo Cadenas, and Paulina Marin. 2025. "Structural and Modal Analysis of a Small Wind Turbine Blade Considering Composite Material and the IEC 61400-2 Standard" Energies 18, no. 3: 566. https://doi.org/10.3390/en18030566

APA Style

Vázquez, M., López, V., Campos, R., Cadenas, E., & Marin, P. (2025). Structural and Modal Analysis of a Small Wind Turbine Blade Considering Composite Material and the IEC 61400-2 Standard. Energies, 18(3), 566. https://doi.org/10.3390/en18030566

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Structural and Modal Analysis of a Small Wind Turbine Blade Considering Composite Material and the IEC 61400-2 Standard

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