Rotor blade

Structural analysis of blades

The rotor blades are next to the tower and the nacelle, a primary component of any wind turbine. They are made of fiberglass and / or carbon fiber materials and are hollow inside. They are manufactured to held together in a sandwich construction and in the interior of webs. Thus, they are relatively light but able to withstand the stresses during operation. Meanwhile prototypes are tested with 70 to 80m in length and are used in the multi-MW turbines.

In appearance and in profile they resemble airplane wings and propellers of helicopters. Due to their shape, the air flowing above the profile faster along the surface than below. This produces at the top of a vacuum, which ensures that the blade undergoes an upward movement and a rotational movement is carried out, which is used for driving the rotor axis.

The pressure is dependent on many different factors. This includes the wind speed, the angle (pitch angle) between the rotor blade and inflowing air, and the form of the sheet. To study the rotor blade forms an airfoil may be read as a negative body in a CFD program, which then air flow is simulated. By evaluating the results of such flow coefficients, the velocity and pressure profiles are generated.