The influence of trailed vorticity on flutter speed estimations

This paper briefly describes the implementation of a coupled near and far wake model for wind turbine rotor induction in the aeroelastic code HAWC2 and its application for flutter analysis of the NREL 5 MW wind turbine. The model consists of a far wake part based on Blade Element Momentum (BEM) theory, which is coupled with Beddoes' near wake model for trailed vorticity.

The first part of this work outlines the implementation in HAWC2, with a focus on the interaction of the induction from the blade based near wake model with the induction from the polar grid based BEM model in HAWC2. The influence of the near wake model on the aeroelastic stability of the blades of the NREL 5 MW turbine in overspeed conditions is investigated in the second part of the paper.

The analysis is based on a runaway case in which the turbine is free to speed up without generator torque and vibrations start building up at a critical rotor speed. Blades with modified torsional and flapwise stiffness are also investigated. A flutter analysis is often part of the stability investigations for new blades but is normally carried out with engineering models that do not include the influence of unsteady trailed vorticity.

Including this influence results in a slightly increased safety margin against classical flutter in all simulated cases.