Assessment of onshore wind turbine fatigue damage subjected to tropical cyclone

Abstract

Tropical cyclones (TCs) affect structures and infrastructure systems. They can cause low-cycle high amplitude stress for onshore and offshore structures, such as wind turbines (WTs). This study aims to evaluate the impact of TCs on the accumulated fatigue damage for onshore WTs located along the southeast coastal region of mainland China. The analysis is carried out using a simulation-based framework, which includes the use of simulated stochastic TC tracks, TC wind field model, and dynamic responses of onshore WT. In particular, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 5 MW WT placed at two locations in the coastal region of mainland China is considered. For the example WT, analysis results indicate that fatigue damage for the tower structure could be more severe than that for the blade; fatigue damage is also site-dependent since the TC wind hazard is geographically varying. The lifetime fatigue damage can be as much as 9% of the designed capacity for the tower provided that the classic Minerﾒs rule is assumed.