Modeling and Calibration of Small-scale Wind Turbine Blade

Paper in proceeding, 2013

The SEM Substructuring Focus Group has chosen an Ampair 600W wind turbine to be used as a test bed in the continued efforts to further experimental and experimental-analytical substructure coupling techniques. To assess such coupling techniques, validated models of the parts, the substructures considered, play a crucial role. This paper describes the modeling, calibration and validation of a Finite Element (FE) model of a blade for the test bed turbine. State-of-the-art composite material modeling is used to set up the model, which is calibrated and validated based on results from an ambitious measurement campaign including both nondestructive testing for dynamic properties and dedicated destructive tests for deduction of material properties. The measurement campaign is carefully described in the paper.