Experimental Study on Modal and Harmonic Analysis of Small Wind Turbine Blades Using NACA 63-415 Aerofoil Cross-Section
- Ajay Veludurthi1, Venkateshwarlu Bolleddu2,*
1 Research Scholar, School of Mechanical Engineering, Vellore Institute Technology, Vellore, 632014, India
2 Associate Professor Senior, School of Mechanical Engineering, Vellore Institute Technology, Vellore, 632014, India
* Corresponding Author: Bolleddu Venkateshwarlu. Email:
; 
2 Associate Professor Senior, School of Mechanical Engineering, Vellore Institute Technology, Vellore, 632014, India
* Corresponding Author: Bolleddu Venkateshwarlu. Email:
Received 17 March 2020; Accepted 14 April 2020; Issue published 23 April 2020
Abstract
This work focused on modal and harmonic analysis of small wind
turbine blades taken from the NACA 63415 series. The sandwich structure type
composite blade is fabricated from GFRP and epoxy with Uni-vinyl hard foams of
different alignments as stiffeners. In this work, the modal and harmonic analysis
of different varieties of blades like solid, hallow and rectangular alignment blades
is carried out by the finite element method using ANSYS 18.1 software. From
Finite Element Analysis, the natural frequencies, amplitudes and mode shapes are
obtained. Based on the working principle of wind turbine blades, the boundary
conditions are applied. The experimental investigation is also done using a
vibration test rig with specially designed fixtures. The forced vibration approach
is used to analyze the responses of the blade with different forces and frequencies
which gives the feasible study to define the effective blade structure. In addition
to modal analysis, the harmonic analysis is also carried out for different materials
to find the amplitude at different frequencies. The outcome of this analysis can be
used as a reference for improving the structure and material properties of the blade.
Keywords
Wind turbine blade; NACA 63-415; Uni-vinyl foam; natural frequencies; amplitudes; mode shapes
Cite This Article
Veludurthi, A., Bolleddu, V. (2020). Experimental Study on Modal and Harmonic Analysis of Small Wind Turbine Blades Using NACA 63-415 Aerofoil Cross-Section. Energy Engineering, 117(2), 49–61.
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