Date of Award
2025
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics
Department
Mechanical, Industrial and Systems Engineering
First Advisor
Sumanta Das
Abstract
The trailing edge of wind turbine blades represents one of the most failure prone regions due to local buckling phenomena and repeated mechanical stresses. This thesis explores a specific reinforcement strategy aimed at extending blade longevity by integrating Re-entrant honeycomb structures made of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) within the trailing edge. By numerically identifying and targeting high stress zones, the insertion of lightweight auxetic TPU foam enhances local stiffness and mitigates premature failure without compromising aerodynamic performance. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) simulations demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach when compared to blades models without any internal reinforcement. The methodology of this thesis commenced with the design of a wind turbine blade model, without any internal TPU reinforcement, developed using SolidWorks. This initial configuration was subjected to Finite Element Analysis in Abaqus under uniform pressure loading conditions, with the objective of identifying critical Tsai-Wu failure index values, particularly within the trailing edge region. In response to the observed structural weaknesses, a re-entrant honeycomb insert composed of TPU was engineered to conform precisely to the affected area. The insert was modeled in SolidWorks and subsequently fitted into the blade geometry. The modified, reinforced blade was then re-analyzed in Abaqus under identical loading conditions to assess the structural enhancements introduced by the TPU insert. This methodological approach enabled an evaluation of the performance between the unreinforced and reinforced blade configurations. The findings of this thesis indicate that the integration of a re-entrant honeycomb TPU insert significantly enhances the buckling resistance of the wind turbine blade, particularly in the critical trailing edge region previously identified as the most failure prone. The reinforced blade showed a substantial reduction in the Tsai-Wu failure index, confirming the effectiveness of the proposed reinforcement strategy. Furthermore, to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of the insert performance, several geometric variations of the re-entrant honeycomb structure were explored. These modifications resulted in additional improvements in mechanical response, demonstrating the potential for further optimization of the reinforcement design.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Provvisiero, Gianluca, "ADVANCING WIND TURBINE BLADE LONGEVITY THROUGH INNOVATIVE TRAILING EDGE REINFORCEMENT USING AUXETIC TPU STRUCTURES" (2025). Open Access Master's Theses. Paper 2662.
https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/theses/2662