Aero-structural Investigation of Sesquiplane Wind Turbine Blades

The flexibility of large-scale wind turbines requires new structural blade designs to guarantee rigidity and avoid mechanical interference between the blades and tower. Segmented and partial reinforcement are effective approaches to improve the structural performance of large blades. This paper presents a novel sesquiplane blade design inspired by the biplane and sesquiplane aircraft, which have a similar development process. Wind tunnel testing and finite element simulation were conducted to investigate the aerodynamics and structural performance of the new design. The results indicate the sesquiplane blade, with airfoil sections in both the main and reinforcing spars, can notably enhance the integral rigidity and bearing capacity without a substantial loss in aerodynamic performance. (C) 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.